What are the most popular shoes in the world? Sneakers, of course! Almost everybody o at least one pair of sneakers. However, how many people know the history of the sneaker?
Sneakers were first introduced around the b of the 20th century. The sneaker was invented when a shoe company glued a piece of rubber to the shoe shop. They called it an athletic shoe.
In 1917, U. S. Rubber sold athletic shoes called Keds. The shoes became known as "sneakers", because they were so q that you could sneak up on people while wearing them. For many years, sneakers only came in one color c and it wasn't white. They were brown with black bottoms.
The way sneakers looked changed in the early 1960s. A runner named Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman, decided to make them b. They made some experiments to find a light, comfortable athletic shoe, and went into the sneaker business.
One day, Bowerman stuck a piece of rubber into a waffle maker. When he heated it up, the iron made a pattern of criss-crosses (构成十字形图案的) in the rubber. Bowerman was inspired to use this on the bottom of a shoe to give the shoe traction (摩擦力) and a lighter weight. He knew that this rubber wouldn't slip on the gym floor.
The two men named their shoes Nike, after a Greek goddess. Nike was a s of victory. From then on, Nike shoes became winners, too. They were sold in many different colors and styles and have sold millions and millions all around the world.
