Episode 39 - These Boots Were Made for Talking: A Very Brief History of Footwear

Anna and Amber rummage around on the floor of history's closet to bring you a brief history of shoes from around the world! Learn why caves in the southwestern USA are full of shoes. Find a shoe museum near you for some sole-searching. Enjoy a description of Anna's favorite goofy historical fashion statement. All this and more!

To learn more about this week’s topic, check out:

First Shoes Worn 40,000 Years Ago (LiveScience)

Why Are Some Caves Full of Shoes? (Sapiens)

King Den's sandal label (Google Arts & Culture)

Taking a Closer Look at an Odd Pair of Very, Very Old Socks (Smithsonian.com)

All About Shoes (Bata Shoe Museum)

A boot from Tønsberg (Museum of Cultural History)

Shoes and Pattens. Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 2 (via Google Books)

Feet and Footwear: A Cultural Encyclopedia (via Google Books)

The Chopine (Helibrunn Timeline of Art History)

Tour These Nine Top Shoe Museums (Footwear News)

Photo credit: Italian chopines from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Herman Delman, 1955. Image donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, licensed via the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.