Having been homeless at one time in my life and having to wear one pair of socks for a month or more; in all weathers and at all times. I can honestly say a package of fresh socks is an ideal gift to recieve when you're on the streets.
@@masterimbecile 🤔🧐 Did Lance say that? I must have missed it. If so, it's quite wrong. Each foot is 26 bones in each foot including the ankle. Throw in the tibia and fibula of the leg and you can get 56 bones total... a little more than 1/4 of the 206 typical to the standard, general purpose, regular issue adult human skeleton.
To those who may not know- wools don't have to be washed everyday, as wool textiles don't hold odors like other fibers do. They also require next to nothing to clean: cold water, soap (if available), and a sunny day with a spot to hang. One can even dry them on their person in the field. Wool is the only way to go if your are spending any amount of time outside. o7
I have at least 40 pairs of socks. Thermal, dress, regular and low or no show. In addition, I'm looking into electric heated ones as I ride a motorcycle whenever there's no snow/ice on the road. But my wife has me bested with at least 100 pairs.😂😂
For the last fifteen years I have experienced terrible discomfort in having cold feet at all times while at rest. Standing or walking not so much but since my daughter took up knitting I am blessed by having 90 percent woolen socks gifted to me and they are the best gift an older guy can receive! Socks rock!
Once sorted my ‘singleton’ box to find multiple pairs, and ditched the rest. A week later visiting my ‘independent’ daughter performing the same task, I saw many mates to the now discarded singletons!
I have a rule of never throwing those out. Ever. I've found mates after months & years. It's worth it to me to wait & I have a special drawer just for socks waiting on their mates to come back!
We used foot rags in the Finnish army in 1979. They were superior to socks because foot sores did not happen even on long marches. They were also quickly dried, a very useful feature in winter. Foot rags were removed from use probably in 1990's. Sad.
A lot of Russian soldiers still use them (it’s optional these days they introduced socks for the rank and file in 2013), apparently they fit and feel better in the standard issue boots.
@deedeeramone34 that's not only because of comfort it's because Logistics corp there is a living nightmare. Odds are those foot coverings were in a Soviet era Depot and were made in 1965...
Footwraps are still in use. I think knitting machines replaced a lot of footwraps once they were perfected. Footwraps have a lot of things to reccomend them but rarely fit shoes that are sized for stockings. I did not realize that tube socks were such a recent invention.
Greetings from freezing Connecticut! I’m 66 and one grandmother knitted socks and the other darned them to extend their use. Both lived through the Depression and had many skills that are all but lost today. Jarring and preserving fruit and vegetables, reusing, repairing and saving things that might have a use later. I remember my Dad telling me he carefully used the same paper bag for school lunch for months.
I still have my grandmother's darning mushroom; she taught me how to darn socks when I was very young! All of my grandparents were deeply affected by the Great Depression and raised their children & grandchildren with an appreciation of frugality. Their lessons have helped me weather the turbulent times!
I don't think I ever got a month's worth of use out of my brown paper lunch bags, but I certainly reused them as much as I could back in the 60's and 70's.
Fascinating history and characters but I'm surprised there is no mention of the resurgence of knitting in general since around the 1990s - millions of people around the world have taken up the hobby and a significant percentage of projects are socks. Aside from corporate yarn and garment-making, individuals support the yarn and knitting/crocheting equipment-making industry which is a multimillion dollar business now. Sock patterns number in the thousands and many are available free on the internet, and designers are making their living producing all kinds of knitting and crochet patterns as well as indie spinners and dyers. This is a huge movement and the source of much fun and joy and should not be overlooked! I'm a Boomer who came back to knitting in the early 2000s, and I can tell you that the younger generations have embraced the activity with enthusiasm and great creativity and thanks to them the cliche stereotype of grannies knitting has almost been beaten into oblivion. Darning is also a rejuvenated pastime because handmade socks are precious and easy to repair. Thanks for providing the history of this modern tsunami of tsocks!
Fabulous video! And dear to my heart...I have knit socks by hand for many years, and have always been fascinated by the history of socks. I even took a class in nalbinding to understand how early socks were made .. and for a while, I had a sock knitting machine!😀 Thanks for researching this wonderful creation and acknowledging it as a prime factor in human development.
I never bought anything but black socks so they all matched. My washing machine ate one of each design when I used to buy the different ones. Years later my machine broke and the local Sears was going out of business. A great sale on washers and dryers. I happened to get a colorful pair of socks and they both came out fine. Then I saw a sale on cute socks at a shop going out of business. I bought a few. Still have everyone months later. Finally they fixed the sock thief and I’ve bought lots of fancy socks since.
@@lesliereynolds4492 , George Carlin did a comedy sketch about an afterlife where you were given back everything you ever lost in life, starting with a mountain of unmatched socks!
I once worked at a production nursery for plants. Every spring, we had an entire greenhouse filled with plants we were growing for a guy who grew rich on socks. We just called him the Sock Tycoon.
Black socks 🎵 The longer I wear them the stronger they get 🎵 Sometimes I think I should change them 🎵 But sometimes I think 🎵 No no not yet 🎵 No no not yet 🎵
I buy socks depending on need and style, much to my wife's chagrin. It doesn't matter how many I have, as my daughters just take what they can find (despite buying them their own multiple times). So, I have low-cut athletic socks, boots socks, and now all-black calf-length socks to wear for my job... and I need to buy more, despite probably having 60+ pairs around somewhere. My lab also likes socks, which explains the ones found in the yard and around the house. My wife doesn't understand it, despite me telling her countless times why I refuse to scour the house to find a matching pair of clean socks. In early 2003, I was an E-3/PFC in the Army and packed the required seven pairs of boot socks for our 180-day deployment to the Middle East. Everyone knew we'd be over there for a few months at most, with our senior leaders reassuring us it'd be almost a repeat of the war some 12 years earlier. By early summer, we were still there (ended up being a total of 11 months for OIF 1), and we hadn't gotten any uniform resupply or opportunities to purchase replacement undergarments. I'd come back from patrol, and my socks would be slimy, with a smell like freshly rotting vegetation. Hanging them up to dry overnight, they'd be as stiff as cardboard the following morning, requiring me to roll them between my hands just to put them on. Seven pairs of socks for sustained (12-18 hour or more) operations over the course of months was not a wise idea. Since then, I always at least doubled the number of socks I took to the field and on deployment. Dry, clean socks are a must for me.
@@anonymousm9113 trenchfoot took a lot of soldiers out of commission in WWI, and probably in Vietnam as well. The army has spent tons of money since then to develop better footwear, clothing and body armor for soldiers. Recommended reading: "Grunt: the science of sending men to war" by Mary Roach.
As a retired Navy Sailor, we used one of our black nylon socks to shine our boots with. Slip it on one hand, dab a little black boot wax on the tip along with a little water and rub away.
It takes me about 2 weeks to knit a pair of mid calf length socks. Usually a wool blend with a bit of nylon for durability. They fit my size 10, high arch feet perfectly - store bought are usually fit women sizes 5 to 9. Warm in winter and breathable. Shorties for summer. I learned how to darn them and even replace worn out heels and toes with totally new ones. I cringe with my store bought socks.
While travelling through East Africa (where most people wear flip flops) , I discovered that socks were a great currency, and we often traded our socks for goods.
As someone who works in upscale homes I’m usually required to remove my shoes, therefore over the years I’ve amassed well over 100 pairs of socks, as one doesn’t want to appear shabby or “down at the heels!”
I love socks. I've got about 50 pairs of them. They've saved my feet from all kinds of damage, as I've worked mostly very difficult jobs all my adult life, and I'm 54. From the Marine Corps to oil rigs to concrete and mill work, socks have been saving my feet my entire life. Like most unsung heroes, they don't get enough credit, but just keep improving and performing. Great video!
I am 70 this year and socks are the clothing item I take the most care choosing. I spend a lot of time on my feet and socks are as or more important than the shoes.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am nuts for socks! I have an array of colors and styles. It doesn't matter how many I have, my perfect gift at any time is SOCKS! ❤❤❤
Took me a moment to realise you were talking about puttees used by the British army to 1939. Puttees weren't socks , they were lengths of khaki colour cloth wrapped around each leg outside the trousers from the boot up to just below the knee and usually secured with tapes. Socks around that time were conventional type heavy duty knitted wool. 😊
@@zyxw2000 Cool :) I've got about that many done, too, though not that many in my metaphorical drawer. (I keep them in a waterproof box since the bugs ate half of them.) But then, they do wear out after a while and there's only so many darns I'm gonna do
As a knitter, I love making socks. It’s a great travel project. I have easily a hundred pair. And the stereotype of granny knitting comes from socks. Granny had cataracts and was practically blind, but she still helped out the family by making socks 🧦
A double blessing. She had something to keep her busy and spirits lifted as she thought about who would get whichever pair of socks she was creating and the family looks forward to the loving gifts she shares with all!
Stockings or Socks have had another impact on the sporting world; team names. At one time, teams would identify themselves by the socks they wore; Red Stockings or Brown Stockings, and the two that exist today -- Red Sox and White Sox.
My mother taught me to darn socks, and I did so for a while as an adult, but the cheap replacements won out. I wonder if I still have the darning bobbin that Mom gave me; perhaps in some drawer
Well, this is something. Interesting, informative, and enjoyable. Had worn tubed socks over the summer years ago, but switched to the shorter ones in dealing with the heat. Thought it cool to wear the long ones because I've seen players adorn them. Even I would wear the long ones when it's cold and warm. Plus, I bought new ones to replace the old ones because they would wear and tear over time. This was a good topic to cover.
I’ve been watching for awhile now but is was not until this particular episode that I truly wondered how do you come up with certain topics? I can honestly say that I never thought of socks as a topic! Good on ya! THANKS AGAIN!
I love crazy socks! The tackier the better. Plaid, geometric, polkadot... You name it. One wonders what socks the History Guy wears... Do they have bowties on them?? 😁 Also, "darn socks" sounds like what you say when the dryer eats them. 😆
No you don’t say “darn socks” because the socks are in the bottom of the washer until you reach in, grab them and fling them into the dryer. Totally innocent! You say “darn dryer” because if anything is going to be guilty of consuming your socks, it will be the dryer. Unless you happen to own a sock eating dog and then all bets are off!
11:30 One small correction is that the Puttee isn't a foot wrap. They were wrapped around the ankle to the knee overtop of ankle high boots and pants to protect from getting wet while walking through grass or mud but weren't wrapped around the feet themselves..
I remember after Hussein lit all of Kuwait's oil wells on fire, the soot drifted over the Alps. 1990, I think. When it settled, it absorbed heat from the sun and melted the glaciers more than normal that summer. This exposed a 5300 year old, perfectly preserved, mummy from the copper age. I remember reading all about the discovery in the Sunday paper. The thing that amazed me most was that he was wearing socks.
Yes, they were a thing in the '70s when I was a kid, usually brightly colored, too! I think I only had 1 pair, they were a curiosity. They aren't easy to wear. I've seen where they're back in style recently.
Hah!!! I (at 60) not only know how to darn socs, I also know that a light bulb works well as a 'darning egg' if you don't have one, AND I taught both my daughter and son, and my grandson how to darn their socks.
Otzi the Iceman, found frozen in the Alps, lived about 3200 BC, early copper age. He was wearing furs/skins of several different animals, but nothing wool or woven. He had grass inside his shoes to serve as socks.
I'm in Western PA, not far from you! And yes, it's SO cold this week! 😱🥶 It's usually colder where y'all are, though, since you're probably in the mountains. I'm just in the valley on the other side of those mountains. It's supposed to start getting warmer tomorrow!
During the 70’s when I was a ‘lad’ my mum knitted socks for my dad, he was a road man and regularly drive the snow plough and gritters here in Scotland. Mum used three needles (all double pointed) and a normal needle, knitting the ‘tube’… changing technique to fashion the heel and toe section. It was a dying art when she did that, my gran had to show here how to do it.. even though she herself had gone blind.
I remember both my mother and grandmother always has a soup ladle with a sock pulled over it that was in the process of being darned and the contraption was usually sitting on a side-table in the living room.
According to the Disney, 1942 'Sports Goofy' short, "How to Play Baseball": -"The player's uniform is loose fitting allowing freedom of movement; the socks are what the team is named after." I love that line of narrative. Btw, I still stitch up minor holes that tear open in my socks, especially if they're some sort of novelty-design/imprinted socks.
When I was a kid, every christmas and birthday my grandma got me socks. Back then I thought it was so cheap, but now that I'm older I've come to realize that there is NO better gift in the world than a brand new warm pair of socks. When you buy new socks and try them on right out of the package, it's like the whole world just became a lot less hectic. It's true peace. A little treat is when you pull them fresh out of the dryer 😁
i very rarely wear socks. i wear waterproof sandals. Also 'oldest clothing' is when we grab a towel to wrap around if we have to run out of the shower. i bet some caveman grabbed a wooly mammoth and then thought, " this could be so much easier with just the fur." In all seriousness, felt is best because when it's wearing thin on the bottom you can just stuff a patch in your sock and it will meld itself into the rest of the felt without the need to sew anything.
I read a book about an American soldier’s experience about being sent to Europe for WW1, and during training they were given strips of fabric to cover their feet instead of socks. I can’t remember the reason why but it was a disaster, giving them everyone blisters.
Am knitting a pair of socks for my nephew's as-yet unborn child as I watched this. 🧦 Gotta wrap those little feet up good ASAP once they get here! Due to a serious medical condition that makes it more difficult to get up & down my stairs & the fact that my laundry is in my basement, it's easier for me to buy or make new socks than launder the ones I have, so my best estimate is that I have about 200 pairs of socks. I'd rather have help doing laundry, as I'm not that fast of a knitter. Anyway, I always appreciate a great history!
You can always fill your sink or put a basin in the sink, throw in a dab of detergent or a couple of squirts of hand soap, let them sit for a bit. Come back, rinse, squeeze, hang to dry. There’s also always shampoo. I have frequently washed small items like that.
I like to go out walking daily weather permitting, so I have an entire drawer full of socks. I regularly wear out the heels and have to replace them. I always buy white socks, so it's easy to match leftover socks when I throw one away.
Lance, the odds are VERY good that I will wear socks today. The high temp has moderated from ten below to a balmy nine above, but that's in fahrenheit of course, not celsius. So, socks it is. And shoes And layers of pants and shirts. And coat and gloves. 🥶
Not only do socks provide protection from the cold they also provide protection from chafing. They have always been a valuable commodity in the world's military.
My toes are always cold so I always wear socks. I do not usually wear shoes inside the house, but I do always wear socks -- ALWAYS wear socks to bed every night! I do not even know exactly how many pairs of socks I own, but I do know without a doubt that the “DRYER SOCK FAIRY” continues to steal socks on a very consistent basis!
My wife always says I need to invest in more socks. We can retire if we buy the right socks. Every time I get a paycheck, I buy socks. I can't wait to one day show her how many socks I've bought.
My Anatolian Shepherds (video on my channel) are extremely tolerant of cold; they'll go outside and lay in the snow if there's a sunny patch. It's impossible to keep any kind of clothing on them ---- socks would be immediately pulled off and chewed. We also had a 25 pound Cairn terrier who you'd think should have worn a sweater in cold weather, but if you put one on her, she became almost catatonic, standing still like a statue, rooted in place. She was a beast ---- on muddy trails she would charge right into and through the mud, while my fastidious male Anatolian Henry would walk around the mud on the grassy fringe, and he'd walk across streams on flat rocks to keep his feet dry.
When I was a kid I was Todd had a darn socks we have several antique darning bulbs in my family made of wood. I don't really bother now unless they're expensive alpaca fiber or wool socks
I’m with Andy Warhol: go shopping once a year for a dozen pairs of identical socks. It protects you from the ravages of the sock monster that lurks in each washing machine
While traveling in Asia once a guy walked up to me and said, "You're from the USA, right?" I asked why he would assume that, I might be Canadian, or something else. He laughed and said, "You are wearing white socks! Only Americans wear white socks."
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
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Having been homeless at one time in my life and having to wear one pair of socks for a month or more; in all weathers and at all times. I can honestly say a package of fresh socks is an ideal gift to recieve when you're on the streets.
Duly noted my friend
Yes. I was homeless a few times in CA. Socks were the best thing next to baby whipes. (I had a job, had to improvise a shower so no one knew.)
So
Using them as bait to catch homeless people to round them up and haul them off would work?
@@brosephbroman7564 A gym membership takes care of the shower problem.
@@LuckyBaldwin777 , you win today's "most clueless internet comment" award.
So, turns out wearing socks with sandals is even more retro than dads would ever have thought
Dads: I’m not uncool, bringing it back
I still don't get that look.
@@Boco_Corwin , I don't like sandals, even at the beach.
I'm a socks with Crocs old guy, complete with shorts and a long sleeve t shirt!
Socks with fur or leather insert inside = flexible protective shoe
For an article of clothing that covers over half of the number of bones we have in the body, this is truly history that should be remembered.
@@masterimbecile 🤔🧐 Did Lance say that? I must have missed it. If so, it's quite wrong. Each foot is 26 bones in each foot including the ankle. Throw in the tibia and fibula of the leg and you can get 56 bones total... a little more than 1/4 of the 206 typical to the standard, general purpose, regular issue adult human skeleton.
To those who may not know- wools don't have to be washed everyday, as wool textiles don't hold odors like other fibers do. They also require next to nothing to clean: cold water, soap (if available), and a sunny day with a spot to hang. One can even dry them on their person in the field. Wool is the only way to go if your are spending any amount of time outside.
o7
they also are a natural antifungal. your pure wool felt will dry quickly, minimal odor, and probably no foot fungus.
I have at least 40 pairs of socks. Thermal, dress, regular and low or no show. In addition, I'm looking into electric heated ones as I ride a motorcycle whenever there's no snow/ice on the road. But my wife has me bested with at least 100 pairs.😂😂
I have 40, also.
I collect them.
GOT EVERY HOLIDAY, even GROUNDHOGs Day Socks!
For the last fifteen years I have experienced terrible discomfort in having cold feet at all times while at rest. Standing or walking not so much but since my daughter took up knitting I am blessed by having 90 percent woolen socks gifted to me and they are the best gift an older guy can receive! Socks rock!
Once sorted my ‘singleton’ box to find multiple pairs, and ditched the rest. A week later visiting my ‘independent’ daughter performing the same task, I saw many mates to the now discarded singletons!
I have a rule of never throwing those out. Ever. I've found mates after months & years. It's worth it to me to wait & I have a special drawer just for socks waiting on their mates to come back!
We used foot rags in the Finnish army in 1979. They were superior to socks because foot sores did not happen even on long marches. They were also quickly dried, a very useful feature in winter. Foot rags were removed from use probably in 1990's. Sad.
A lot of Russian soldiers still use them (it’s optional these days they introduced socks for the rank and file in 2013), apparently they fit and feel better in the standard issue boots.
@deedeeramone34 that's not only because of comfort it's because Logistics corp there is a living nightmare.
Odds are those foot coverings were in a Soviet era Depot and were made in 1965...
Footwraps are still in use. I think knitting machines replaced a lot of footwraps once they were perfected. Footwraps have a lot of things to reccomend them but rarely fit shoes that are sized for stockings. I did not realize that tube socks were such a recent invention.
Greetings from freezing Connecticut! I’m 66 and one grandmother knitted socks and the other darned them to extend their use.
Both lived through the Depression and had many skills that are all but lost today. Jarring and preserving fruit and vegetables,
reusing, repairing and saving things that might have a use later. I remember my Dad telling me he carefully used the same paper bag for school lunch for months.
I still have my grandmother's darning mushroom; she taught me how to darn socks when I was very young! All of my grandparents were deeply affected by the Great Depression and raised their children & grandchildren with an appreciation of frugality. Their lessons have helped me weather the turbulent times!
@asdisskagen6487 My sister has my Grandmother's darning mushrooms and other related tools 😊
Hi from london Ontario. 5 degrees here. Feels like minus 15. 🥶
I don't think I ever got a month's worth of use out of my brown paper lunch bags, but I certainly reused them as much as I could back in the 60's and 70's.
@@leifnelson6244
Don't feel bad. Dad might have been exaggerating to emphasize the depression. He was born in 1920.
Fascinating history and characters but I'm surprised there is no mention of the resurgence of knitting in general since around the 1990s - millions of people around the world have taken up the hobby and a significant percentage of projects are socks. Aside from corporate yarn and garment-making, individuals support the yarn and knitting/crocheting equipment-making industry which is a multimillion dollar business now. Sock patterns number in the thousands and many are available free on the internet, and designers are making their living producing all kinds of knitting and crochet patterns as well as indie spinners and dyers. This is a huge movement and the source of much fun and joy and should not be overlooked! I'm a Boomer who came back to knitting in the early 2000s, and I can tell you that the younger generations have embraced the activity with enthusiasm and great creativity and thanks to them the cliche stereotype of grannies knitting has almost been beaten into oblivion. Darning is also a rejuvenated pastime because handmade socks are precious and easy to repair. Thanks for providing the history of this modern tsunami of tsocks!
Fabulous video! And dear to my heart...I have knit socks by hand for many years, and have always been fascinated by the history of socks. I even took a class in nalbinding to understand how early socks were made .. and for a while, I had a sock knitting machine!😀 Thanks for researching this wonderful creation and acknowledging it as a prime factor in human development.
As a kid I hated getting socks for Xmas now nothing makes me happier. Lol
Same lol. I stayed with my mom a few years ago and blew her mind when she asked me what I wanted for Christmas. She had to have an explanation 🤣
You are not alone, brother. Blessings.
In case my wife reads this, I'm still not crazy about getting socks for Christmas.
I just buy one type of sock. That way I never need to match them up.
Wise plan.
I find it near impossible to buy the exact same size, style, color and brand of sock twice, say 6 months apart as socks fall apart or go missing.
@@goodun2974We must start holding Dryers accountable for our billions of missing socks!
You buy all at once. One big sock investment 😂
Same here. Since I've always worn boots having the same functional style has never been an issue. Regards and blessings.
Having been a plant manager of a hosiery plant in the 90’s, I appreciated this video.
Got the notification for this video as I stood working in a warehouse with freezing feet, definitely need better socks.
I never bought anything but black socks so they all matched. My washing machine ate one of each design when I used to buy the different ones. Years later my machine broke and the local Sears was going out of business. A great sale on washers and dryers. I happened to get a colorful pair of socks and they both came out fine. Then I saw a sale on cute socks at a shop going out of business. I bought a few. Still have everyone months later. Finally they fixed the sock thief and I’ve bought lots of fancy socks since.
@@lesliereynolds4492 , George Carlin did a comedy sketch about an afterlife where you were given back everything you ever lost in life, starting with a mountain of unmatched socks!
I once worked at a production nursery for plants. Every spring, we had an entire greenhouse filled with plants we were growing for a guy who grew rich on socks. We just called him the Sock Tycoon.
Black socks 🎵
The longer I wear them the stronger they get 🎵
Sometimes I think I should change them 🎵
But sometimes I think 🎵
No no not yet 🎵
No no not yet 🎵
Thank you for this. I've always worn black socks. Now a cadence to go with them lol
I buy socks depending on need and style, much to my wife's chagrin. It doesn't matter how many I have, as my daughters just take what they can find (despite buying them their own multiple times). So, I have low-cut athletic socks, boots socks, and now all-black calf-length socks to wear for my job... and I need to buy more, despite probably having 60+ pairs around somewhere. My lab also likes socks, which explains the ones found in the yard and around the house.
My wife doesn't understand it, despite me telling her countless times why I refuse to scour the house to find a matching pair of clean socks. In early 2003, I was an E-3/PFC in the Army and packed the required seven pairs of boot socks for our 180-day deployment to the Middle East. Everyone knew we'd be over there for a few months at most, with our senior leaders reassuring us it'd be almost a repeat of the war some 12 years earlier. By early summer, we were still there (ended up being a total of 11 months for OIF 1), and we hadn't gotten any uniform resupply or opportunities to purchase replacement undergarments. I'd come back from patrol, and my socks would be slimy, with a smell like freshly rotting vegetation. Hanging them up to dry overnight, they'd be as stiff as cardboard the following morning, requiring me to roll them between my hands just to put them on. Seven pairs of socks for sustained (12-18 hour or more) operations over the course of months was not a wise idea. Since then, I always at least doubled the number of socks I took to the field and on deployment. Dry, clean socks are a must for me.
@@anonymousm9113 trenchfoot took a lot of soldiers out of commission in WWI, and probably in Vietnam as well. The army has spent tons of money since then to develop better footwear, clothing and body armor for soldiers. Recommended reading: "Grunt: the science of sending men to war" by Mary Roach.
There's no better feeling than putting on brand new socks.❤
As a retired Navy Sailor, we used one of our black nylon socks to shine our boots with. Slip it on one hand, dab a little black boot wax on the tip along with a little water and rub away.
Been there, done that. Also good for buffing your uniform brass. Back when we were still using Brasso.
@user-vm5ud4xw6n Used Never Dull on the brass fittings on the ship...
It takes me about 2 weeks to knit a pair of mid calf length socks. Usually a wool blend with a bit of nylon for durability. They fit my size 10, high arch feet perfectly - store bought are usually fit women sizes 5 to 9. Warm in winter and breathable. Shorties for summer. I learned how to darn them and even replace worn out heels and toes with totally new ones. I cringe with my store bought socks.
I still have 2 drawers of store-bought socks that I no longer use. I have one drawer with 25 pairs of hand-knitted ones.
While travelling through East Africa (where most people wear flip flops) , I discovered that socks were a great currency, and we often traded our socks for goods.
In my country, in rural areas especially, people used hay straws and newspapers inside shoes when wool socks weren't enough in winter months.
As someone who works in upscale homes I’m usually required to remove my shoes, therefore over the years I’ve amassed well over 100 pairs of socks, as one doesn’t want to appear shabby or “down at the heels!”
Eat the rich time
I love socks. I've got about 50 pairs of them. They've saved my feet from all kinds of damage, as I've worked mostly very difficult jobs all my adult life, and I'm 54. From the Marine Corps to oil rigs to concrete and mill work, socks have been saving my feet my entire life.
Like most unsung heroes, they don't get enough credit, but just keep improving and performing. Great video!
I am 70 this year and socks are the clothing item I take the most care choosing. I spend a lot of time on my feet and socks are as or more important than the shoes.
I'm a bit of a sock connoisseur and I am extremely excited for this episode😂❤🎉
Anyone who knows me knows that I am nuts for socks! I have an array of colors and styles. It doesn't matter how many I have, my perfect gift at any time is SOCKS! ❤❤❤
Fun socks are the best
Socks may come and socks may go, but our guile goes on forever! 😉😁
Took me a moment to realise you were talking about puttees used by the British army to 1939. Puttees weren't socks , they were lengths of khaki colour cloth wrapped around each leg outside the trousers from the boot up to just below the knee and usually secured with tapes.
Socks around that time were conventional type heavy duty knitted wool. 😊
Socks are a good gift. For me at least. I rarely remember to buy socks until I absolutely need to so it's nice when a loved one buys them for me.
'Course I think of my socks regularly; I knit them
I've done about 25 pairs.
@@zyxw2000 Cool :) I've got about that many done, too, though not that many in my metaphorical drawer. (I keep them in a waterproof box since the bugs ate half of them.) But then, they do wear out after a while and there's only so many darns I'm gonna do
Again, the scope of your coverage unveils the intricacies of the unremarkable, love it.
As a knitter, I love making socks. It’s a great travel project. I have easily a hundred pair.
And the stereotype of granny knitting comes from socks. Granny had cataracts and was practically blind, but she still helped out the family by making socks 🧦
A double blessing. She had something to keep her busy and spirits lifted as she thought about who would get whichever pair of socks she was creating and the family looks forward to the loving gifts she shares with all!
Do compression socks next! Those are usually worn for health reasons.
Stockings or Socks have had another impact on the sporting world; team names. At one time, teams would identify themselves by the socks they wore; Red Stockings or Brown Stockings, and the two that exist today -- Red Sox and White Sox.
I enjoyed this episode and learned new things,thank you!
Thanks for helping me avoid politics.
Watch the comments, someone will manage to work politics in.
My mother taught me to darn socks, and I did so for a while as an adult, but the cheap replacements won out. I wonder if I still have the darning bobbin that Mom gave me; perhaps in some drawer
"Who darns our socks and mends our clothes?/Mammi...." from an old song
The old fashioned woman darns her husband's socks, the modern woman socks her darned husband.
I think about socks a lot. I've knitted about 25 pairs, each one a different pattern.
Well, this is something. Interesting, informative, and enjoyable. Had worn tubed socks over the summer years ago, but switched to the shorter ones in dealing with the heat. Thought it cool to wear the long ones because I've seen players adorn them. Even I would wear the long ones when it's cold and warm. Plus, I bought new ones to replace the old ones because they would wear and tear over time. This was a good topic to cover.
I’ve been watching for awhile now but is was not until this particular episode that I truly wondered how do you come up with certain topics? I can honestly say that I never thought of socks as a topic! Good on ya!
THANKS AGAIN!
I love crazy socks! The tackier the better. Plaid, geometric, polkadot... You name it. One wonders what socks the History Guy wears... Do they have bowties on them?? 😁 Also, "darn socks" sounds like what you say when the dryer eats them. 😆
@@kraneiathedancingdryad6333 socks may come and socks may go, but our guile goes on forever!
No you don’t say “darn socks” because the socks are in the bottom of the washer until you reach in, grab them and fling them into the dryer. Totally innocent! You say “darn dryer” because if anything is going to be guilty of consuming your socks, it will be the dryer. Unless you happen to own a sock eating dog and then all bets are off!
11:30 One small correction is that the Puttee isn't a foot wrap. They were wrapped around the ankle to the knee overtop of ankle high boots and pants to protect from getting wet while walking through grass or mud but weren't wrapped around the feet themselves..
I remember after Hussein lit all of Kuwait's oil wells on fire, the soot drifted over the Alps. 1990, I think. When it settled, it absorbed heat from the sun and melted the glaciers more than normal that summer. This exposed a 5300 year old, perfectly preserved, mummy from the copper age. I remember reading all about the discovery in the Sunday paper. The thing that amazed me most was that he was wearing socks.
My elder sister wore toe socks (with a separate receptacle for each toe) back in the late 60's. The thought of that still sends shivers down my spine.
I remember seeing those for the first time in the 70s. Was just hilarious!
They still make them and we have two pair somewhere! 🙄😄
Yes, they were a thing in the '70s when I was a kid, usually brightly colored, too! I think I only had 1 pair, they were a curiosity. They aren't easy to wear. I've seen where they're back in style recently.
Wait, what? I thought this would be a biography of Bill Clinton's White House cat.
Excited with anticipation 😅
Thanks for the video. Couldn’t resist. Fun fact - the Russian military were still wearing foot wrapping in the 2000s. Cheers from Australia.
I was wondering if he was going to mention that, in the Russian army, they're still wrapping their feet in scarves rather than using socks...
That was phased out years ago for active duty in 2013.
The Germans used foot wraps during WWII and the East Germans until 1968.
And they aren’t scarves, they are foot wraps which were far far far more common than what we refer to as “socks”.
Hah!!! I (at 60) not only know how to darn socs, I also know that a light bulb works well as a 'darning egg' if you don't have one, AND I taught both my daughter and son, and my grandson how to darn their socks.
Well gall darn it! The washing machine ate another one of my socks!
Needed more fiber, clearly.
Thank you Sir for this video, you find some strange stuff to research & present a video about. Keep on keeping on. I appreciate your efforts.
Otzi the Iceman, found frozen in the Alps, lived about 3200 BC, early copper age. He was wearing furs/skins of several different animals, but nothing wool or woven. He had grass inside his shoes to serve as socks.
This is fascinating! Thank you so much for all you do to keep us informed of niche historical facts. ❤
A truly interesting video. (Noted as I sit here in frigid Western Maryland with cold feet)!
I'm in Western PA, not far from you! And yes, it's SO cold this week! 😱🥶 It's usually colder where y'all are, though, since you're probably in the mountains. I'm just in the valley on the other side of those mountains. It's supposed to start getting warmer tomorrow!
Sock it to me, History Guy!
😂
What a great tale of society and culture. Who knew socks were 1000+ years old. Thank you, THG.
The subject knocked my socks off.
During the 70’s when I was a ‘lad’ my mum knitted socks for my dad, he was a road man and regularly drive the snow plough and gritters here in Scotland. Mum used three needles (all double pointed) and a normal needle, knitting the ‘tube’… changing technique to fashion the heel and toe section. It was a dying art when she did that, my gran had to show here how to do it.. even though she herself had gone blind.
I remember both my mother and grandmother always has a soup ladle with a sock pulled over it that was in the process of being darned and the contraption was usually sitting on a side-table in the living room.
Great one, of course wool socks are a fair bt more durable than the modern fabrics many socks are made from.
Yes, modern sock yarn is a blend of very soft wool, usually merino, and nylon. I have warmth without bulk.
According to the Disney, 1942 'Sports Goofy' short, "How to Play Baseball":
-"The player's uniform is loose fitting allowing freedom of movement; the socks are what the team is named after."
I love that line of narrative. Btw, I still stitch up minor holes that tear open in my socks, especially if they're some sort of novelty-design/imprinted socks.
When I was a kid, every christmas and birthday my grandma got me socks. Back then I thought it was so cheap, but now that I'm older I've come to realize that there is NO better gift in the world than a brand new warm pair of socks. When you buy new socks and try them on right out of the package, it's like the whole world just became a lot less hectic. It's true peace. A little treat is when you pull them fresh out of the dryer 😁
Well, sock it to me. I remember being ordered, "change your socks." Great report.
i smiled all the way through this one. The basketball team depicted could be right out of my early 70s high school year book.
I did not need to know the history of socks until today.
Why did the audio take a nose dive in the last vids?
Idk at 8:55 there's a second of normal sounding audio and the filmed intros sound better, I don't think it's intentional but idk what it is
i very rarely wear socks. i wear waterproof sandals.
Also 'oldest clothing' is when we grab a towel to wrap around if we have to run out of the shower. i bet some caveman grabbed a wooly mammoth and then thought, " this could be so much easier with just the fur."
In all seriousness, felt is best because when it's wearing thin on the bottom you can just stuff a patch in your sock and it will meld itself into the rest of the felt without the need to sew anything.
I read a book about an American soldier’s experience about being sent to Europe for WW1, and during training they were given strips of fabric to cover their feet instead of socks. I can’t remember the reason why but it was a disaster, giving them everyone blisters.
I was brought up in the 1950's and taught to darn socks in school. A sock mushroom needle and wool.
Great intro
Am knitting a pair of socks for my nephew's as-yet unborn child as I watched this. 🧦 Gotta wrap those little feet up good ASAP once they get here!
Due to a serious medical condition that makes it more difficult to get up & down my stairs & the fact that my laundry is in my basement, it's easier for me to buy or make new socks than launder the ones I have, so my best estimate is that I have about 200 pairs of socks. I'd rather have help doing laundry, as I'm not that fast of a knitter.
Anyway, I always appreciate a great history!
You can always fill your sink or put a basin in the sink, throw in a dab of detergent or a couple of squirts of hand soap, let them sit for a bit. Come back, rinse, squeeze, hang to dry. There’s also always shampoo. I have frequently washed small items like that.
Fascinating!
Them: Nobody can do a 15 minute story on socks.
The History Guy: Hold my hat...
Oh great more textile st6ff😮to #TimelineOfMankind project
The last three minutes I searched through my sox box for two that match, but gave up. Happy mismatched socks day.
I like to go out walking daily weather permitting, so I have an entire drawer full of socks. I regularly wear out the heels and have to replace them. I always buy white socks, so it's easy to match leftover socks when I throw one away.
I always assumed that the similarity between the word Sock and Sack had any connection, as a sock can be used as a small sack.
"Charles Nelson Reilly isn't wearing any socks." --Brett Somers
I've never been this early! Sock it to me, @The History Guy!
THG, you rock! ❤ Peace 🤘 🍻 💨
I’m sure Bert from Sesame Street would love this video, he loves argyle socks.
As someone who has been wearing boots for over 20 years, A good pair of socks is vital to ensure you don't have sore feet
Lance, the odds are VERY good that I will wear socks today. The high temp has moderated from ten below to a balmy nine above, but that's in fahrenheit of course, not celsius. So, socks it is. And shoes And layers of pants and shirts. And coat and gloves.
🥶
Not only do socks provide protection from the cold they also provide protection from chafing. They have always been a valuable commodity in the world's military.
My toes are always cold so I always wear socks. I do not usually wear shoes inside the house, but I do always wear socks -- ALWAYS wear socks to bed every night!
I do not even know exactly how many pairs of socks I own, but I do know without a doubt that the “DRYER SOCK FAIRY” continues to steal socks on a very consistent basis!
The oldest garment is the cloak or plaid -- a length of weaving, maybe 6 feet long, that you wrap or hitch around yourself.
My wife always says I need to invest in more socks. We can retire if we buy the right socks. Every time I get a paycheck, I buy socks. I can't wait to one day show her how many socks I've bought.
I can’t wait for the history of jock straps.
At this time of the year even my Great Danes think socks are a good thing, not great but good. 😊
My Anatolian Shepherds (video on my channel) are extremely tolerant of cold; they'll go outside and lay in the snow if there's a sunny patch. It's impossible to keep any kind of clothing on them ---- socks would be immediately pulled off and chewed. We also had a 25 pound Cairn terrier who you'd think should have worn a sweater in cold weather, but if you put one on her, she became almost catatonic, standing still like a statue, rooted in place. She was a beast ---- on muddy trails she would charge right into and through the mud, while my fastidious male Anatolian Henry would walk around the mud on the grassy fringe, and he'd walk across streams on flat rocks to keep his feet dry.
When I was a kid, they would, occasionally, do double duty as mittens.
Ya socked it to us
This episode of THG socked it to me.
When I was a kid I was Todd had a darn socks we have several antique darning bulbs in my family made of wood. I don't really bother now unless they're expensive alpaca fiber or wool socks
I’m with Andy Warhol: go shopping once a year for a dozen pairs of identical socks. It protects you from the ravages of the sock monster that lurks in each washing machine
While traveling in Asia once a guy walked up to me and said, "You're from the USA, right?" I asked why he would assume that, I might be Canadian, or something else. He laughed and said, "You are wearing white socks! Only Americans wear white socks."
Socks make a great gift.
Knitting has most definitely been around longer than that
i always told mama all I wanted for Christmas and my birthday were socks and drawers.