Quiz on footwear

On December 14, 2006, journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoe at US President George W Bush in Iraq. A perfect day for a quiz on footwear.

Fill the shoes

1 Which organisation started in the Moravian town of Zlín, currently in the Czech Republic, spread worldwide and has a footwear museum in Toronto, Ontario, that is one of the largest in the world?

2 What is the specific name used to refer to the part of the shoe covering the top of the foot underneath the laces?

3 Which pair of boots adapted from Hessian boots were named after a British general and became really popular after their widespread use in the trenches in World War I?

4 Which word for a type of sports shoe was popularised by advertising agent Henry Nelson McKinney, who adopted the word because the rubber sole of the shoe made the wearer stealthy?

5 Which shoe, technically a type of heel, is named after a dagger with a long slender blade and a thin needle point used for stabbing in medieval Italy?

6 Technically, what is the difference between high-heeled shoes and elevator shoes?

7 Which specific group of people wears a ‘pointe’ shoe?

8 While the story of Cinderella has been around in many different versions in countries around the world, which Frenchman wrote the version that first featured the Pumpkin coach, the fairy godmother and the glass slippers?

9 Which global footwear company, established in the late ’40s, was originally known as Ruda?

10 A Geographical Indication tag is a name or sign used on a product which is officially connected to a specific geographical location. Champagne, Darjeeling tea and Mysore silk saris are some examples of GI tagged products. Which is the only footwear product that is GI tagged in India?

Answers

1 Bata, started by Tomáš Baťa

2 The tongue

3 Wellington boots, commonly known as ‘Wellies’, named after Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington

4 Sneakers

5 Stiletto (stiletto heel)

6 In high-heeled shoes, the heel is visible outside. Elevator shoes have thickened portions in the insoles under the heels to make the wearer seem taller while hiding the heel from observers

7 Ballet dancers, while doing pointe work (balancing on toes). It’s said to have been popularised by the famous ballerina Anna Pavlova

8 Charles Perrault. The Brothers Grimm had a more brutal version where the stepsisters, who mutilated their feet in order to squeeze them into the slipper, were blinded by crows at Cinderella’s wedding

9 Puma, established by Rudolf Dassler, who is the brother of Adidas owner Adi Dassler

10 The Kolhapuri chappal. Slippers manufactured in certain districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka are called Kolhapuris

Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster;

Twitter: @joybhattacharj

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