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What is the origin of shoe sizes?

shoe-size.jpgQuestion

What is the origin of shoe sizes? I’m a size 8, but my foot is 10 inches long. How was it created? Why not a size 10? And what about the European size of 42?
Janice, Rochester

Answer

** Definitive **
Name: Ian, Horsham
Qualification: I’ve heard it from two separate shoe salesmen
Answer: Shoe size was originally measured by ears of corn. Each size is an extra ear of corn. They may all have been different sizes, but we still measure horses by hands.

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