As we make fresh new beginnings in the new year, I thought it would be cool to provide a fun interesting fact about skating. Many of you may already know that figure skating got its name from the complex figures skaters were required to carve, as well as the fact that it is the oldest sport in Olympic Winter Games.
But did you know that figure skates used to be made of animal bones?! Yes really - leg bones of large animals, like horses, deer, elk, and sheep! Many thousands of years ago around 3,000 BC, skating was done for practical purposes, mainly used as an efficient means of transportation helping ancient people glide across frozen lakes and rivers. Archaeologists believe that people in Finland were the first to invent ice skates due to the lakes that had to be crossed for hunting. I was amazed to learn that the Finns made holes through each end of the animal bones and strapped them with twine to their feet. Scientists believe they also used walking sticks and wooden poles to help push them forward on the ice. It was not until the 13th century when metal skates were introduced that gliding across the ice became much smoother (Source: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/88660/15-surprising-facts-about-figure-skating).
Pretty interesting, huh? Since these prehistoric origins, figure skating sure has come a long way to become the elegant and graceful sport we know now.