- shoes with attached blades, intended for walking or sports competitions on ice. Runners are made from various alloys; in past centuries they were made from steel, and even earlier - from animal bones. The blades are either permanently attached to the boot or removable. It’s interesting that there is no one who invented skates, because they were invented back in the Bronze Age.
Who invented skates?
Here we will find out when and where the first skates appeared, in what century. This inventory does not have a specific inventor. The oldest bone product was discovered in 1967 on the coast of the Southern Bug near Odessa. The age of the find is 3200 years. The first mentions of certain devices worn on the legs for walking on ice are found in ancient Greek sources.
According to ancient books, the first bone skates were used by the Cimmerians, a people who lived on the coast of the Dnieper estuary, where the first archaeological finds were found. In parallel, similar structures were used in other parts of the Earth: in Russia, England, China and other parts of the world.
What were the first skates made of?
In Siberia they were made from walrus tusks, and in China - from bamboo. In most regions of the world, wood and animal bones were used, often femur bones due to the length, strength, and characteristic curve of the hip joint at one end.
How were the first skates made from wood and animal bones?
To do this, bone or wood was ground down on one side to form a flat surface for the sole. Holes were made on both sides through which fasteners for shoes were threaded. On the other side of the bone, an oblong notch was often made, into which a flat bone or wood was inserted, acting as a blade.
Such devices did not slide well, so people pushed off with sticks. Bone implements were used until the 13th century, since iron in those days was very expensive, and bone coped with the task perfectly. The transition to iron took place only with the expansion of metalworking.
Mention of bone skates was found in the book “Chronicles of the Noble City of London,” written by Stephanius, a 12th-century monk. He said that when the swamp that washed the northern part of the city rampart near Mufield froze, the child skated on the ice, putting animal thigh bones on his shoes and pushing off with his hands using wooden sticks.
When did the first skates appear?
Now let’s look at who brought skates to Russia? We can be proud that the classic look - steel blades on a boot - appeared thanks to the Russian Emperor Peter I. Before this, the blades were attached either to wooden blocks or to steel tubes, but this was inconvenient for riding. Peter I, with appropriate decisiveness, attached the wooden skates to his boots, nailing them tightly with nails.
He also brought skates to Russia, along with potatoes, fashion for new clothes and balls, shipbuilding and iron casting. By decree of Peter I, the production of skates began in Tula. After the death of the emperor, a reaction set in, and the new fashion was forgotten for some time. Alexander I, who saw Europe during the Napoleonic Wars, succeeded in renewing it.
The rapid growth in the popularity of ice skating began in 1842, when the first skating rink was built. The surface of a river or lake freezes in uneven lumps, as water expands when it freezes, which greatly hinders beginners from mastering the art of ice skating. Since the emergence of smooth surfaces, a sports boom has begun.
In the Russian Empire, a speed skating organization opened in 1864, and already in 1887 the first international speed skating competitions were held, where the famous Russian speed skater and figure skater Alexander Panshin won. After the October Revolution, skating rinks for figure skaters were built throughout the country.
The evolution of racing skates
The history of racing skates begins in the middle of the 19th century. Originally, the steel blade was mounted on a wooden sole and tied to the leg with straps. This design gave some mobility to the boot on the foot, which was a significant drawback. In 1880, the first tubular skates were created. They were attached to the boot at the back and front using four and six screws, respectively.
In 1887, after the victory of Alexander Panshin, his version of skates became popular, where the blade was lengthened and became very narrow, and the front part was slightly bent, while the interfering curl was cut off. The next improvement occurred thanks to the Norwegian H. Hagen, who made a steel tube and inserted an iron runner into it.
Subsequent inventions occurred with the blade material. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, serious development of chemistry began. Alloying of steel was invented, which doubled the strength of the skids. This made it possible to reduce the thickness of the blade and make it lighter.
The last radical change came in 1990, when skates with a drop-down heel were created, attached only to the toe, which made them look like flip-flops. This structure improved gliding and made running easier, since it was no longer necessary to lift the entire structure.
The evolution of figure skates
Performing jumps and complex movements on ice was popular even before figure skating. The first association of amateurs opened in Edinburgh in 1742. The start of classical figure skating was given by the American Haynes, who in the middle of the 19th century first performed a skating dance to music.
The new fashion quickly gained popularity, and in 1871 figure skating became a sport. In 1908, this type of sport was competed in the first Summer Olympic Games. The program included performing difficult jumps, turns and other tricks on ice.
The ideal shape of the blade and boots was gradually found. At this time, the skates became much shorter, since otherwise the partners would interfere with each other. At the same time, the rear part was lengthened, while teeth were made on the runners in front, which made it possible to perform complex numbers while standing on the fingers.
In 1976, ice dancing was added to the list of the Olympic Games, at the same time the USSR figure skaters Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov were recognized as winners of the first competitions in the new sport. By this time, the boot of the skates had become much softer.
The evolution of hockey skates
Ice hockey appeared in 1879. However, it did not become popular in Russia by the October Revolution. After the proletariat came to power, athletes began to play hockey with an inflatable rubber ball, but the plastic puck was introduced only in 1946. At that time, the old skates became extremely uncomfortable.
First the blades were shortened, and later they were made much stronger thanks to steel alloying. Later the boot became more stable and more mobile. A fuse appeared at the front end of the runner. The latest innovation is the mobility of the blades, which, when pushed off, lag behind the shoe, and return to the sole using a spring.
The evolution of rollers
Antique roller skates from the mid-18th century have large metal wheels (much larger than a foot) with spokes. The invention did not gain much popularity, as it was practically uncontrollable. The first successful design, made in 1819, consisted of two-runner wheels mounted in pairs. Such antiques can now be seen in the Louvre.
Modern roller skates appeared at the end of the 20th century, when the wheels were placed in one line. Although the device was more difficult to master, it greatly reduced friction. The skating speed instantly increased. In 1995, the last improvement took place - the roller boot became soft.
Did you know?
The blade of the skates is very narrow, which creates extremely high pressure in a small area. Under this pressure, the ice melts, resulting in excellent lubrication, which greatly reduces the coefficient of friction. This makes it easier to glide.
The first blades had a strongly curved toe, which is why the front of the runners resembled a horse's head. That is why the device got its name - skates.
Skates are one of the oldest inventions of mankind, extremely popular in the modern world. They take a significant part both in the world of professional sports and in the everyday life of millions of lovers of active pastime in the fresh frosty air. Today we decided to trace the evolution of skating and related sports from the very beginning to the present day.
(Total 19 photos)
Based on materials from the Moscow 24 channel
1. It is believed that the first happy owners of skates were the Cimmerians - nomadic tribes who lived 3200 years ago in the Northern Black Sea region. They tied animal bones to their feet. Many other peoples, including our ancestors, did the same for many, many centuries.
Photo: Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters
2. Since the 13th century, skates have served as a means of transportation for people on frozen rivers, lakes and canals in the northern countries. Even then, in Holland they began to make skates consisting of a wooden base into which metal strips were inserted. These skates were attached to the shoes with straps. (In the photo: skates of that time in a modern version.)
3. In the works of the Dutch painter Hendrik Averkamp, painted in the early 1600s, one can clearly see how people not only skate on ice, but also play some kind of game with sticks in their hands. This is exactly how Peter I saw Holland during his famous trip to Europe, from which, among other innovations, he brought skates to Russia, becoming imbued with the Dutch folk pastime.
4. And this is how modern Dutch people skate and play hockey on the frozen canals of Amsterdam, continuing the traditions of their distant ancestors. It’s as if 400 years have not passed since then!
5. Peter the Great would not have been a great reformer if he had simply borrowed a European invention. It is believed that it was he who made the first breakthrough in the evolution of skates, coming up with the idea of nailing skates to shoes.
By the way, the word “skates” itself comes, as you might guess, from the word horse. This is explained by the fact that Russian craftsmen often carved horse figures on the long curved noses that the first skates had.
6. After Peter, skates were forgotten in Russia for almost a hundred years. Interest in them returned when everything English was in fashion, and skates at that time became very popular in Great Britain. (View in the Regent's Park, London, 1838)
Photo: Pictures of England
7. By the way, this is how people skate in modern London.
8. The first ever world speed skating championship was held in January 1889 in Amsterdam, and the champion there was... Russian speed skater Alexander Panshin (pictured). It is believed that it was he who invented racing skates - he removed the interfering curl, lengthened the blade so that the speed was higher, and suggested using a tube into which the blade was soldered. Skates for running remained this way for many years to come.
9. And a month later, in February 1889, the first ice skating championship in Russia took place in Moscow on Petrovka. Of course, not without Panshin’s participation.
Photo: CP Photo/ COC/ Scott Grant
10. Only in the 90s of the 20th century the design of running skates was radically changed. Fundamentally new running skates with a “tear-off” heel appeared, which athletes nicknamed “flip-flops.” They were first used at the Olympic Games in Nagano.
Photo: Americas's Library
11. The evolution of figure skates was no less exciting. The first figure skating club appeared in Edinburgh in 1742. But the first to combine dancing and skating was the American Jackson Haynes - he was the first to skate in theatrical costumes and to music. And this happened in the middle of the 19th century. Haynes has been called the "father of figure skating."
12. In 1871, figure skating was officially recognized as a sport, and in 1908, figure skating became the first winter sport to be included in the program of the Summer Olympic Games in London. (Pictured: British figure skaters at the London Olympics, 1908)
13. In the 40s, a new type of figure skating was formed - ice dancing. They were included in the Olympics only in 1976. And USSR figure skaters Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov became the first Olympic champions in this discipline.
14. As for the skates themselves, at the beginning of the 20th century, figure skate boots became much shorter and acquired rivets. The heel, on the contrary, has grown, and the blade has teeth. They were proposed by Swedish figure skater Ulrich Salchow, the first Olympic champion in figure skating at the games in London in 1908 (pictured).
Photo: Moscow News
15. The next time skates changed only in the 50s, with the development of ice dancing. The blades of the “dancers” are much shorter so as not to touch each other, and the boots are much softer.
16. Ice hockey in our country officially appeared only in 1946, almost 60 years later than in many other countries. But “Russian hockey” was called bandy. Ice hockey is a Canadian invention; its rules were first formulated in Montreal in 1879. Hockey skates then were similar to running skates, but evolution did not bypass them either.
17. In the late 50s, hockey players called their skates “spotty skates.” They were more like curly ones due to the almost right angle of the blade. They were replaced by “eiders”, distinguished by a shortened blade. In the 60s, skates became harder, more stable and more maneuverable. A plastic fuse appeared at the tip of the blade, already made in the form of a tube. And in the early 70s, hockey skates acquired an almost modern look. However, due to the height of the skate, there was a gap between the blade and the boot, into which the puck would sometimes fly.
New modern technologies focus on comfort to ensure the best results - they allow skates to take the individual shape of the athlete's foot, subjected to special heat treatment. This process is called thermoforming.
Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images
18. In addition to professional sports, skating as a way of spending leisure time is gaining more and more popularity every year throughout the world and in our country. Skating rinks are opening everywhere, bringing together lovers of fun and useful time in the fresh air. (Pictured: Muscovites skating in the park)
19. If you, too, can’t wait to join the ranks of figure skaters and hockey players, or just go to the skating rink with family and friends before winter ends, check out the stores Sportmaster, there you can choose the right skates for any sport, age and budget!
Reports: according to the testimony of ancient historians, the most ancient skaters were the Cimmerians, who skated on bone skates on the surface of the frozen Dnieper estuary. Bone skates were used several centuries later. So in the 12th century, monk Stephanius, the author of the Chronicle of the Noble City of London, wrote: “When the large swamp that washes the city rampart at Moorfield from the north freezes, whole groups of young people go there. Some, walking as wide as possible, simply glide quickly. Others, more experienced in playing on ice, tie the shin bones of animals to their legs and, holding sticks with sharp tips in their hands, from time to time they push off from the ice with them and rush as fast as a bird in the air or a spear launched from a ballista ... "
Medieval bone skates, Museum of London
via http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Medieval-skates-London.jpg
2.
Pair of bone skates, 11th century/ A pair of 11th century ice skates made from horse metacarpal bones.
The link in the image will open a file 2,768 × 1,600 pixels, file size: 1.3 MB
via http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BoneSkatesBedfordMuseum.JPG
3.
Skates made of bone/ Eiríksstaðir. Ice skaters made of bone.
The link in the image will open a file 2,560 × 1,920 pixels, file size: 1.68 MB
via http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eir%C3%ADkssta%C3%B0ir_-_Schlittschuh_auf_Knochen.jpg
In the 13th century, changes occurred in skate manufacturing technology in Holland and Iceland. Animal bones were replaced with metal and wood. Sharpened metal strips began to be inserted into wooden blocks. From the beginning of the 18th century, wooden bars were gradually replaced by steel tubes.
4.
Vintage Dutch skates. via http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oude_schaats_uit_Nederland..JPG
5.
Old skates from Finland / Old skates. Picture taken on the Kylmäpihlaja lighthouse island in front of town Rauma, Finland
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_skates_at_Kylm%C3%A4pihlaja_lighthouse.jpg
6.
Skates, America, mid-19th centuryMetropolitan Museum/ 1840-59. Culture: American Medium: leather, wood, metal Dimensions: 113 in. (287 cm). Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/80096269
In the 50-60s of the 19th century, the craze for skating came to the United States. Metropolitan skates are made from an old Dutch design that has remained unchanged for hundreds of years.
7.
Skates of the year and century are not clear. via http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heulenaars.jpg
One of the problems was attaching the skate to the shoe. Historical chronicles tell about Peter I, who amazed the Dutch with his extraordinary decision: he screwed skates directly to his boots and dashingly glided to the shipyard where he was doing his internship. Upon returning to Russia, he ordered the production of skates to be established in Tula. With the death of Peter, the passion for skating faded away, however, a hundred years later, Pushkin noted “how fun it is, shod with sharp iron on your feet, to glide along the mirror of standing, flat rivers.”
8.
Various skates from the museum of the German city of St. Blasien / Sankt Blasien
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StBlasien_Schlittschuhe.jpg
In the United States, in 1848, an inventor from Philadelphia patented durable skates with an all-metal sole.
9.
Advertisement from the Boston Almanac, 1864
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1864_skate_BostonAlmanac.png
In 1842, Londoner Henry Kirk filled the first skating rink. Man-made ones have been added to the natural winter skiing areas.
Skates in painting
10.
Hieronymus Bosch (circa 1450-1516)Tripti The Garden of Earthly Delights, between 1480/90 and 1510.
Right wing, detailWood, oil. 389×220 cmPrado Museum, Madrid
In the winter landscapes of the small Dutch, people on skates occupy a place of honor. I will limit myself to one artist.
For example, here are three works by the Dutchman Hendrik Averkamp (1585-1634), a master of winter landscapes. In early childhood, his family settled in Kampen (Overijssel province), where his father ran a pharmacy. Hendrik Averkamp was mute from birth, hence his nickname (Stomme Campen, the mute from Campen). Avercamp specialized in winter landscapes in his work, becoming the most famous painter of this theme in European art. The artist organically combined landscapes with genre scenes and depicted the leisure time of citizens. The Pushkin Museum has his winter landscape.
11.
The link in the image will open a file 4,083 × 2,670 pixels, file size: 2.77 MB. vi http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hendrick_Avercamp_-_Skating_Scene_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Hendrik Averkamp 1620s, oil, 240x380 mm, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
12.
The link in the image will open a file 10,718 × 5,438 pixels, file size: 20.18 MB. via http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hendrick_Avercamp_-_A_Scene_on_the_Ice_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Hendrik Averkamp. Scene on Ice, circa 1625, oil on panel, 39.2 x 77 mm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
13.
via the link in the image picture 4271×4226 px, file size 5.7 Mb, from here http://gallerix.ru/album/National-Gallery-London-3/pic/glrx-444597196
Hendrik Averkamp. Winter scene near the castle.
Sources are inside the text.
Earlier on the winter topic and about small winter Dutchmen: Snowball fights in Europe, 14th to 17th centuries:
How great it is to run to the skating rink with friends on a frosty day! And there they compete to see who is faster and who has the steepest turn. And it always seemed to me that skates were called skates because they race so fast. Well, just like horses!
And indeed, the Russian word “skates” was formed from the word “horse”. But not because of the speed, but because earlier the front part of the skates was decorated with a horse's head.
It turns out that our distant ancestors also loved to ride them. Not far from Odessa, archaeologists unearthed two pairs of the most ancient skates ever found on the planet. They are over three thousand years old! They are made from walrus tusks and animal bones. The first skates were similar to skis because they did not have pointed ribs. And people pushed off with the help of sticks, so they skated quickly and confidently.
What were skates made from? In China, pieces of bamboo were attached to boots, in Siberia they rode on walrus tusks, in Kazakhstan they made skates from horse bones.
As time passed, the shape of the skates and the material from which they were made changed. In the 17th century, skates were made of wood and lined with iron on the bottom and front.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the first steel skates appeared in northern Europe, but their fastening was weak, and they often flew off the feet of ice skaters. A strong fastening was invented by ours. Historical chronicles tell about Tsar Peter I, who amazed the Dutch with his extraordinary solution: he screwed his skates directly to his boots and dashingly glided to the shipyard where he was doing his internship. Upon returning to Russia, he ordered the production of skates to be established in Tula. With the death of Peter, the passion for skating faded away, however, a hundred years later, Pushkin noted “how fun it is, having shod your feet with sharp iron, to slide along the mirror of standing, flat rivers.” Tsar Peter I, who was fond of skating. He decided that skates and shoes should be one unit and screwed the skates to the boots.
Muscovites learned to skate with great diligence, about which there were curious memoirs of contemporaries written in the 17th century. “The Muscovites studied hard to skate, and they repeatedly fell and were seriously hurt. And since they, through carelessness, sometimes skated on thin ice, some of them fell neck-deep into the water. Meanwhile, they tolerated the cold well and therefore were in no hurry to put on a dry dress, but continued to ride for some time in a wet one. Then we changed into dry clothes and went for a ride again. They did this so zealously that they made progress, and some of them could skate perfectly..."
If at first skates were used only as a means of transportation, then they became a favorite winter pastime. The first skating club opened in 1604 in the Scottish city of Edinburgh. Even the conditions mandatory for skaters who wanted to become members of the club were preserved. It was necessary to drive a circle on one leg, jump over three hats placed one on top of the other, and at high speed pick up a coin lying on the ice.
The very first thin-bladed racing skates were invented in 1888 by two Norwegian runner inventors. On such skates, the speed of athletes increased and the first world champion in speed skating was the Russian athlete Alexander Panshin.
And what are skaters doing on the ice just now? Well, their skates are, of course, special! Nowadays, each sport has its own skates. These are speed skating skates, short track skates, hockey skates, figure skates, as well as recreational skates for tourism. And it all started with a strong bone!
At the end of the 17th century, Russian carpenter Pyotr Mikhailov came to Holland. He tried to be no different from other masters. He led a very ordinary life - he studied shipbuilding, went to buy supplies for lunch, and in the absence of the hostess, he cooked the food himself. In his free time, he enjoyed skating on ice. At that time, skates were tied to boots with straps each time. The carpenter quickly got tired of this boring task, and he simply nailed the skates tightly to the soles.
Soon curious people began to gather around the carpenter, but not because of his invention - few people paid attention to the skates.
The Dutch, who were in Russia on trade business, “identified” the Russian Tsar Peter I in the carpenter and told about it. Here is the entry left in his diary by the inquisitive Dutchman Jacob Nomen, a character in A. N. Tolstoy’s novel “Peter the Great”: “The Tsar managed to live incognito for no more than a week; some who were in Muscovy recognized his face. The rumor about this soon spread throughout our fatherland. On the Amsterdam stock exchange people bet big money and bet whether this was really the great king or just one of his ambassadors.”
More than 150 years have passed, and the American Jackson Heine, who is considered the father of modern figure skating, came to St. Petersburg. He came up with a new skate blade and attached it firmly to the boot. But when he began to advertise his invention, he was saddened to learn that it was not new at all and Peter I should still be considered the real inventor.
Vintage Japanese and European skates.
How old are the skates? No one, unfortunately, will answer this question. One can only assume that they first appeared where there was a lot of smooth ice, while skis appeared in places where there was a lot of snow. One thing is known: already several thousand years ago, our ancestors were fond of skating, made from the ribs or tubular bones of large animals. Typically, the bone was sawed lengthwise, polished, and several holes were drilled to tie it to shoes. This is confirmed by archaeological excavations. The British Museum houses skates that were used several thousand years ago. For a long time they were considered the most ancient, and England and the Scandinavian countries were considered the birthplace of skates. But recently, perhaps the most ancient skates on Earth were found in Kazakhstan. They belong to the Bronze Age. These are carefully polished bones of some animal. There are holes in the toe and end of the skate for fastening.
Ice skating rink of the 18th century.
As time passed, the shape of the skates, the method of fastening, and the material from which they were made changed. In the 17th-18th centuries, skates were made of wood and covered with iron on the bottom and front.
And why, strictly speaking, “skates”? Where does this name come from? “Skates” is a purely Russian word. It was formed from the word “horse” - the front part of the skates was often decorated with the head of a horse. So the name of the object came from its decoration - small horses carrying us forward. By the way, the word “horse” has another meaning. Horse or prince, horse, prince - the top edge, the ridge of the roof. In Russian buildings, the top of the ridge was covered with a thick hollowed out log for greater strength. It was called “okhlupen”, and its end facing the façade was carved in the shape of a horse or a warbird.
Nowadays, with the light hand of Peter I, skates are tightly attached to shoes. Figured ones - with the help of screws, and hockey and running ones - with the help of rivets.
There are many types of skates. For those who are just getting started with this sport, “snow maidens” are suitable - they are stable. If you love speed, you need lightweight skates with a long thin blade - racing skates. Hockey players use two types of skates: for Russian hockey and ice hockey. The former have slightly shorter blades than the running blades, while the latter have slightly curved blades. This is no coincidence: during intense, high-speed play, these skates are easier to maneuver on the ice. Skaters have special skates with teeth on the front and the blade is sharpened with a groove.
But no matter how comfortable the skates are, they can fail if the ice turns out to be bad. Those who make ice at large skating rinks are called ice makers. Making good ice is both a science and an art. This is how, for example, they fill a treadmill. This is usually done at night, when the frost is stronger.
The pouring machine goes through the first circle, then stops to form an ice crust. Then we hit the road again, but it’s not close. To get a 20-centimeter layer of ice, the car needs to drive in a circle 800 times - 320 kilometers!
For a hockey field, ice is prepared differently: first, the field is covered with snow and then rolled. And only after that they pour water. Among other things, the ice is “cut” - planed, polished, and filled with hot and cold water. It all depends on the skill and experience of the ice makers. After all, it is necessary to take into account the condition of the ice, the air temperature, the presence of precipitation, and much more.
The work of ice makers was greatly facilitated by the advent of refrigeration technology. The first artificial ice skating rink was built in 1876 by the Chelsea refrigeration plant in the USA. By the end of the century, Paris, London and other cities around the world acquired ice arenas.
But there are skates that you can skate on without thinking about the condition of the ice. Because it is not needed at all. But you need special skates - roller skates. By the way, they are not as young as they seem. They are over 200 years old. The story of their demonstration to the public is both funny and sad. Roller skates were invented by a master of musical instruments. He lived in London. To attract attention to his invention, he once drove them into a magnificent masquerade ball, playing the violin, but was unable to brake in time. As a result... the violin is broken, a huge mirror is broken, and the inventor himself is seriously cut.
There are sometimes strange turns in the history of inventions. It would seem that after such a “premiere” the reputation of roller skates was forever undermined. But a short board with wheels, which is attached to shoes with a strap, began to conquer the world. Since the middle of the last century, halls and paved areas for roller skating have been built in Europe and America. Russia is not lagging behind Europe either. However, at first, “roller skaters” appear only at fairgrounds and perform in variety revues. But then athletes, then ballet dancers, got on new skates. Well, how could the ubiquitous boys get behind them, especially if they are “in business”?
Roller skates from the 19th century.
Newsboys rushed along the streets of American cities on roller skates; letter carriers and couriers, often people of advanced age, quickly mastered the innovation. In many countries, airport employees, weavers when servicing machines, workers in large assembly shops, and tour guides in museums began to spend most of their working day on roller skates. If you manage to visit the Louvre, they may offer you such skates.
Modern roller skates.
Very soon it turned out that roller skating was not only pleasant, but also useful. It promotes the development of coordination and improves the vestibular apparatus. Almost everyone can use rollers, and age has absolutely nothing to do with it. To ride them while maintaining balance, you do not need any special training.
But the videos are not as harmless as they seem at first glance. For example, in 1978, the year of the roller skating boom in America, 93 thousand young men and women ended up in hospitals with broken arms and legs. And this is thanks to the so far simple videos, on which no special means were used to increase speed. And there are many such funds. Here are just a few of them.
1906 France. Motorized roller skates have been tested in a Parisian park. Each horse had its own miniature single-cylinder gasoline engine with a gas tank and battery.
1915 USA. Wheeled skates have been invented that move with the help of a small electric motor, and the battery is attached to a wide belt.
1980 Germany. Motorized skates have been improved, their motor has become more miniature, and control is carried out using a special drive.
1983 France. A young man is skating along the asphalt on roller skates. He has a fan in his hands. The traction force is such that it carries a person forward.
Relatively recently in America, roller skates turned into a “board on wheels.” Riding it requires great courage and dexterity. Maybe that's why she quickly gained popularity among young people all over the world? Competitions are already being held in the new sport; on sidewalks and asphalt areas you can often see children deftly balancing on rapidly moving boards on wheels - skateboards...