Saturday Snippets 9th October 2021…Fun Facts and music with Shoes…

This weeks one-word prompt is…Shoes… a suggestion from the lovely Jennie who writes “A Teachers Reflections“ Jennie has introduced me to some wonderful reading books for children and has also given me hope that there are some wonderful teachers out there… after all they are the teachers and custodians of future generations…how and what they teach these young, thirsty minds is important and to Jennie, it is her life’s work…which has now been recognised By Kelly Clarkson and appeared on her show…Very well deserved, Jennie “You rock”!

One word prompt…Shoes!

The history of shoes is a fascinating one from the very first shoes in the earliest times, shoes were made with an important function in mind: to protect the bottoms of the feet. But as society evolved, shoes found their place as both costumes and for ceremonial occasions as well as everyday wear.

Come with me and I will show you what else has a connection to the prompt…Shoes...I hope you enjoy the tour…

My first ideas about shoes as in Stillettos, Louboutins, all the different types of trainers, colours …heels or flats…and then my thoughts turned to Red Shoes…

I thought of “The Red Shoes” published by Hans Christian Andersen in 1845… one of my favourite folktales as a child as was watching the film… “The Pope” wears red shoes as they symbolise the blood of Catholic martyrs spilt through the centuries following in the footsteps of Christ. ..and there is also the reference to the liberation of women’s desires by the wearing of red shoes…

Of course, most famously Dorothy wore red shoes in the”Wizard of Oz”…However In the original book by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy’s magic slippers are silver; for the Technicolor movie, they were changed to ruby red to show up more vividly against the yellow-brick road…

Shoes come in all sizes, colours and heel heights but who wears the biggest shoes?…none other than ” Lady Liberty“…who wears a size 879 in shoes…

Did you Know?

Ones and Two’s are Cockney rhyming slang for “shoes“…

Plain Clothed Detective’s used to be known as “Gumshoes”…it was a reference to when shoes or boots were made of gum rubber. Soft-soled shoes allowed for a quiet step. “To gumshoe” came to mean to sneak around quietly …It did not initially only apply to detectives; it could mean anyone being sneaky or stealthy, robbers and thief-catchers alike.

Van Gogh made a number of still live paintings depicting old shoes. It is said that he used to buy them from flea markets and then wear them until he thought they looked old and worn out enough for still life paintings such as “A Pair of Shoes”, 1886  by Vincent Van Gogh.

No corkscrew? and you need to open that bottle of wine…Easy!

How easy was that..Science prevails!

Horseshoes…

Horseshoes have long been considered lucky. They were originally made of iron, a material that was believed to ward off evil spirits, and traditionally were held in place with seven nails, seven being the luckiest of numbers.

A horseshoe hung open-end up is meant to collect luck. No matter which way you hang a horseshoe, it’s designed to bring luck and prevent misfortune. Hang it open-end up to collect good luck above a doorway or on an exterior wall of a barn, home or other structure.

Brides are often given a symbol of a horseshoe to carry for luck, there is also a game called Horseshoe pitching, a game for two or four players, most popular in the United States and Canada, in which players attempt to throw horseshoes so as to encircle a stake or to get them as close to the stake as possible…

A horseshoe is a fabricated product, normally made of metal, although sometimes made partially or wholly of modern synthetic materials, designed to protect a horses hoof.

It is also the name of a crab...a weird-looking crab which is not really a crab but is very valuable in the medical field…Horseshoe crab blood is blue in colour, due to the presence of copper. But that’s not why it’s valuable. It’s valuable because it contains an “amebocyte” used in the field of biometrics to identify bacterial contamination in vaccines and all injectable drugs.

Sadly though because the Horseshoes Crab is a crucial resource for making human medicines safe it is in danger of being overfished…Every year, pharmaceutical companies round up half a million Atlantic horseshoe crabs, bleed them, and return them to the ocean— after which many will die. This practice, combined with the overharvesting of the crabs for fishing bait, has caused a decline in the species in the region in the past few decades.

Walk-in Their Shoes…Can One Person Change the World is the powerful, personal story of Jim Ziolkowski’s inspiring mission to change the world one community at a time, hailed by the Dalai Lama as “an inspiring tribute to the power of compassion and education: the keys to leading a meaningful life.”

I’m sure most of us have had or heard of shoestring cheese..not only does cheese have a connection to shoes but so does the lovely flatfish called sole…The beautiful lemon sole is lovely lightly dusted with flour and cooked in butter…the Dover sole is a tad bigger and very nice indeed…You’ll find that Dover sole is unlike other fish. It doesn’t have the texture of a normal fish. Its flesh is more like meat, with a delicate, mild, and sweet flavour.

I could listen to Elvis for hours…my kind of music…

The crisis of plastic waste is at a tipping point. Now more than ever before, we have a responsibility to the future of our planet. Everything we do, however big or small, impacts our world and our future. Every day, the equivalent of 1440 dump trucks of plastic waste enters our oceans. For every person on the planet, there is one ton of plastic in the ocean. If we continue on the way we are, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

Adidas and Parley…

The plan is to turn plastic bottles into Shoes. How? Please click here…

I hope you have enjoyed this foray through the world of “shoes”…Thank you again Jennie for the word prompt…

See you tomorrow for my weekly roundup…Have a lovely evening xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

45 thoughts on “Saturday Snippets 9th October 2021…Fun Facts and music with Shoes…”

  1. OIKOS™- Art, Books & more

    This posting must have been written by a woman. Lol Women and shoes are normally inseparable terms. 😉 But its very interesting, and the German-Bavarian Pope Benedikt XVI. was the last one, who had worn red shoes. Thanks for sharing all the very interesting, and also funny information. Enjoy a nice week. Michael

    Liked by 1 person

  3. dgkaye

    Loved this shoe episode Carol. As a ‘shoe freak’ I loved learning the history of shoes. Although, I can’t imagine 30 inch long shoes, lol, how many times did they trip on their own feet or get stepped on? LOLOL ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  4. D. Wallace Peach

    That was amazingly fun, Carol. I loved the video on the history of shoes. 36″ long! Some of those styles were the epitome of bizarre. And some of them I’ve seen come back into style. Thanks for all the great music too. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, Diana..I love these one word prompts they reveal so much that I didn’t know ..I love writing them its a fun post to write…Please if you want to send me a one word prompt then I would happy to explore your word…Have a brilliant week 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

      1. koolkosherkitchen

        We do get frozen Dover sole once in a while, and there used to be a French restaurant that served it, with a tableside presentation. Unfortunately, it went out of business with Covid.

        Like

  6. Pingback: CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…October 3rd-October 9th 2021…Culinary A-Z, Shoes, Music with Dido and Yeast Free Raisin Bread… | Retired? No one told me!

  7. petespringerauthor

    These themed posts keep getting better all the time. The old wine in the shoe trick—that’s rich! I didn’t realize there were so many great songs with shoes. Elvis immediately came to mind, but I hadn’t thought of any of the others.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you so much, Pete that means a lot coming from you..A prompt word from you would be good..There are many more songs about shoes and the wine one was priceless just how that cork slid out 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Jennie

    I love this post! I would have never connected the shoes on the Statue of Liberty, and I would be terrified to try and open a bottle of wine with shoes – ha! I didn’t know Dorothy’s shoes were really silver. And, I wish environmentally usable products weren’t so expensive, like shoes made from plastic bottles. Thank you for the shout-out, Carol!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      You are very welcome, Jennie.. when I first started researching shoes all that came up was shoe shops but as I looked deeper I discovered lots of interesting things… it was fun… I’m with you on environmentally usable goods they are always so costly which prices them out of many peoples range its almost a given..

      .. Save the world if you can afford too… Xx

      Liked by 1 person

  10. beetleypete

    I have drunk a great deal of wine during my life, but until now had never known how to use a shoe to open a bottle of it. Fortunately, we now have screw top wine bottles, so I doubt I will ever need to try risking smashing a bottle. 🙂
    Best wishes, Pete. x

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Clive

    Another great post, Carol, and I’ve learned a lot. I loved the wine opening tip, though I doubt I’ll ever try it! The Dido song was a new one for me – rather nice, isn’t it. And that Elvis track was one of his best, before he went showbiz! x

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Clive

        Dido had that massive hit, then kinda dropped off my radar. Nice voice, though, but I think it’s fair to say that Elvis had much more chart success than she did! xx

        Liked by 1 person

  13. Jim Borden

    great collection of shoe-related material. I had never heard of Dido, but I really liked the song you shared. I also like that wine cork video – I may have to try this sometime. I think I’ll start with a cheap bottle… You can’t go wrong with an Elvis song. I liked the fun fact about the size of Lady Liberty’s shoes…

    the first song I thought of when I saw your title was “Diamonds on the Soles of Her shoes” by Paul Simon…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I’ll check that out I don’t think I have heard that one and I like Paul Simon…Let me know how you get on and take a video it should be interesting to watch 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Pingback: Saturday Snippets 9th October 2021…Fun Facts and music with Shoes… – MobsterTiger

  15. Darlene

    I love shoes and had a fabulous collection. I could only bring a few with me to Spain, but then Spain is the perfect place to buy shoes. I have a couple of great shoe stories too. As for horseshoes, it is a very popular game at our family reunions. I have a horseshoe from my dad´s ranch in my Spanish house for good luck and good memories. I love Dido and of course can never hear enough of Elvis. Thanks. have a super weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. tidalscribe.com

    I would never have got on with pointy shoes with my awkward wide feet. Shoe buying I have never enjoyed, but thank goodness for comfortable trainers – when did they become so ubiquitous?

    Liked by 2 people

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