What kind of shoes are these?
Where did they come from?
Why are they made out of wood?
Answers:
What kind of shoes are these? Where did they come from?
These are clogs, made in Norway over a hundred years ago. Clogs are shoes made partly or entirely out of wood. Many people may associate clogs more often with Holland than with the Scandinavian countries, but in fact clogs have been used by many cultures around the world, including those throughout Asia and Europe.
Why are they made out of wood?
Before rubber was used in shoes, other materials had to be used which could protect people's feet from injury. Another form of footwear that has fallen out of use in modern times is the patten. Pattens were wooden shoes strapped onto your regular shoes, often with tall platforms to raise the wearer out of the mud. Pattens were in popular use during the European Middle Ages, when unpaved roads were a widespread hazard to pedestrians.
Where can I see these great shoes?
You can see the exhibit featuring these clogs and other artifacts from Scandinavian countries at the Karshner Center now!
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