When you were a little kid, someone taught you how to tie your shoes. It was a big accomplishment to tie your shoes when you were little. When did wearing shoes with laces come to be standard or normal for us?
The Art of Tying Shoes
Have you ever wondered what people did before shoelaces were invented? There is some difficulty knowing the exact date that shoelaces were invented because they are made from leather, cotton, jute, hemp, or other materials that will degrade over time. The best estimate is that shoelaces have been around since 3500 B.C.
There is an art to tying your shoes that most of us take for granted. When we are little, it seems like such a big feat to be able to tie your own shoes. You go around telling anyone who will listen to you that you tied your own shoes. Yet, as we age, we take for granted that skill we were once so proud of.
Practice Makes Perfect
How did you get to be so good at tying your shoes that you have forgotten what an accomplishment this is? Practice. We practice this every day until we are so good at it, that some of us may take it for granted.
How to Tie Shoelaces
There are three basic ways to tie shoelaces. The methods all start from the same first few steps and have the same result. Today we will show you just one of those methods.
Step 1 – Take any shoe that has laces on it. Set it on a table or put it on your foot.
Step 2 – Take a lace in each hand.
Step 3 – Tak the right lace in your right hand, cross it over the left lace and pull tight.
Step 4 – Take the right lace in your right hand and wrap it over your left index finger making a loop.
Then bring down the other side of the finger, and grab both pieces with your right hand.
Step 5 – Take the left lace with your left hand and wrap it around your right-hand thumb to the back of the string.
Step 6 – Take your right-hand index finger to push the string through the hole, making a second loop.
Step 7 – Pull the loops tight until it closes the knot.
You have tied your shoes! Now you can teach other people how to tie their shoes using this method. Knowing that this technology has been around for more than 5,000 years and is still being used today should make you feel accomplished.
