Top Five Moments in Shoe History
by Ernie on 27/12/08 at 12:12 pm
5. December 14, 2008, Iraqi journalist Montadhar al-Zaidi throws both of his shoes at American president George W. Bush. He misses both times, but becomes hero to millions.
4. Richard Reid becomes known as “The Shoe Bomber” when, on December 22, 2001, he attempts to ignite a bomb hidden in his shoe to bring down American Airlines flight 63 from Paris to Miami. Disaster is averted by a quick-thinking flight attendant (and Reid’s difficulty in igniting the shoe), but Reid’s actions have meant shoe searches at airports ever since.
3. October 12, 1960, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev removes his right shoe and bangs it on a table in the midst of a debate at the U.N., inspiring years of ridicule.
2. Sometime in the 14th century, for want of a shoe, a battle was lost:
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
1. July 1-3, 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg. Poorly shod confederate troops rush to Gettysburg on the rumor that there is a cache of shoes there. Union troops rush to meet them. The rest is history.
