Shoelaces Quiz | Thematic Clothing

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A recent discovery was made of Otzi the Iceman, who lived around 3000 BC. What were his shoelaces made of?

Answer: Lime bark string

Otzi the Iceman wore leather shoes. His shoes were really unique. They were actually insulated and also tied with shoelaces that had been made from lime bark string. I think this Iceman had good sense, to keep his feet warm.

2. How long should shoelaces be, for jogging shoes, work boots or hiking boots, if there are 5 or 6 pairs of eyelets in your shoe?

Answer: 36 inches

Shoelace lengths vary, depending on the number of pairs of eyelets in the shoe. Here is a pretty standard chart about shoe lace length.

3 to 4 pairs of eyelets require 27 inch laces,
5 or 6 pairs of holes require 36 inch laces,
6 or 7 pairs of eyelets require 40 inch laces,
7 pairs of eyelets require 45 inch laces,
8 pair of eyelets require 54 inch laces,
9 pairs of eyelets require 63 inch laces,
10 to 11 pairs of eyelets require 72 inch laces.

3. Some shoelaces are actually elasticized. Which of these is not elasticized?

Answer: Aglet

Traditional elastic laces look much the same as normal laces. They sometimes come with a clip to fasten them in a more invisible way, but they do tie and untie normally.

Knotty laces have what they call "fat" sections which help resist movement through the eyelets. These areas are used to adjust tension in the part that you are lacing up. You can tie these laces or leave them loose, whichever fashion look you prefer.

Finally, twirly laces are like a tight elastic spring. They can be pulled nice and tight without ever needing to be knotted.

An aglet is the plastic or metal tip on the end of a shoelace.

4. What do you suppose the Gurkha soldiers, who fought for Britain, did in reference to shoelaces?

Answer: Felt shoelaces while crawling

The Gurkha soldiers, from Nepal, have been part of the British army for almost 200 years. They actually have crawled along the ground, unnoticed, feeling the laces of the soldiers they would happen to sneak upon. Without even being noticed, or without their hand ever being felt, they would check to see if the laces were criss-crossed or not.

They knew it was Japanese troops, when the laces were criss-crossed. If the laces were bar-laced or straight, then the Gurkha's knew they belonged to British soldiers.

A lot of emphasis was made to the British troops about how to lace their boots up, or else they could be killed by the Gurkha's if mistaken for Japanese troops. I would never have thought that how you tied your shoes made such a difference.

5. In the 1980s, the television show called "Punky Brewster" was about a sassy and lovable little girl with a strange wardrobe. What was her footwear like?

Answer: Mismatched hi-tops with brightly colored shoelaces

Punky Brewster was a lively young girl with quite the wardrobe. She wore colorful clothes and bright bandannas. Punky wore uneven pig tails and her ponytail holders looked like suns. Punky was responsible for a short lived fashion craze of mismatched hi-top sneakers tied with brightly colored laces.

6. You know that the small plastic or metal sheath, on the end of a shoelace, is called an aglet. Do you know where the word aglet comes from?

Answer: French

The word aglet comes from the Old French word 'aguillette'. This word means 'needle' or 'needle-like'. Nowadays, aglets are usually made of a clear plastic. They once were made of things like metal, glass and even stone.

7. Once there was a candy treat, made of licorice, which could be bought nearly anywhere. Nowadays, it is harder to find. Do you remember what it was called?

Answer: Shoestring licorice

Shoestring licorice came in red or black. It is a nostalgic and fun kind of candy, though often hard to find. It can still be bought in some candy stores today. It is long and thin and really does look like shoelaces. Stringy licorice, licorice twitzlers and licorice stringers are all made up by me, but they sound pretty tasty!

8. Shoelaces have even made it into the realm of superstition. What does it mean, according to some superstitions, if your shoelace keeps coming untied?

Answer: A fortunate letter or good news

If your shoelace continues to become untied, then you can take this as a pretty good omen, according to some superstitions. It means that you are about to receive some kind of fortunate letter, or good news.

9. Injuries happen to children due to untied shoelaces. Which of these accidents can happen?

Answer: All of these

Untied shoelaces can cause serious injuries. Children have been hurt when their untied laces have caused them to trip. Also, their untied laces can get caught in their bicycle chain, in escalators, in skateboard wheels and numerous other things that can cause accidents. With children, be sure that they have their laces securely tied and often double knotted to help prevent accidents. For yourselves, be careful with your shoelaces as well. Adults can also have these types of accidents.

10. Different fund raisers use colored shoelaces for their fund raising walks. What color shoelaces are used to raise funds for breast cancer research?

Answer: Pink

The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness. A pink ribbon logo on white shoelaces is one of the items that "thebreastcancersite.com" provides. They will fund 1.0% of a mammogram for every set of "Pink Ribbon Shoelaces" that are purchased.

These shoelaces are perfect for any breast cancer fund raising walk. They also work as a simple way to show your support.

Source: Author funnytrivianna

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor trident before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Shoelaces Trivia Quiz

Shoelaces are used to tie our shoes. We all know this fact, but do you know these other interesting tidbits about shoelaces?

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