History of Socks

January 3, 2010 | In: History facts

I think socks are among the greatest things invented by humanity. I do not know how the world would have looked without the steam engine but without socks i’m sure that would be terribly cold.

As proof that the socks were extremely important in the evolution of mankind you must know that since the stone age period our ancestors wore strip of fur that covers their ankles.

Later, one of the first sock-loving peoples was the Greeks. Since the 8th century BC they used animal hair to wrap their legs.

Taking the example from Greek people, the Romans considered appropriate to protect their feet using pieces of animal skin or material.

From this moment Europe was fully conquered by the socks. The only problem was the difficulty to produce socks.Therefore in the 5th century socks symbolized neither more nor less than a symbol of purity.

In the 10th century only the rich afford socks. Such a gift was appreciated even by kings.

Perhaps even today we had only 2 pairs of socks each if in 1589 William Lee will not invented a weaving socks machine. He invented this machine because his wife spent too much time weaving socks.

If until the 20th century socks were made of wool, cotton or silk, the nylon take the lead now.
Discovered in 1937, the synthetic fibers are presented in a fair in New York as “Nylon”, (a tribute to New York) .

We do not know how will look the future socks , but considering that socks today resembles quite well with those in the 3rd century BC produced in Egypt, i’m daring to believe that in large proportion will be much the same.