Q 01/05

The name "sneaker" originally referred to what quality of the shoe?

A) Its quiet rubber sole

B) Its low price tag

C) Its canvas upper

D) Its flat laces

Answer · why

A) Its quiet rubber sole

The Boston Journal was already using the word in 1887 for the name boys gave to tennis shoes.

Q 02/05

What do British speakers commonly call sneakers?

A) Runners

B) Trainers

C) Joggers

D) Kicks

Answer · why

B) Trainers

Cheaper canvas versions are plimsolls or daps; in Latvia any sneaker is a bota after a Czech brand.

Q 03/05

Roughly what share of the world's shoes are made in Asia?

A) Half

B) Six in ten

C) Nine in ten

D) Three-quarters

Answer · why

C) Nine in ten

Footwear follows the rest of the clothing industry in being concentrated there.

Q 04/05

The British plimsoll got its nickname from a line on what?

A) A cricket pitch

B) A tennis court

C) A railway map

D) A ship's hull

Answer · why

D) A ship's hull

The coloured band joining the upper to the sole looked like the Plimsoll load line, and water above it meant wet feet.

Q 05/05

In what year was the first Air Jordan released to the public?

A) 1985

B) 1986

C) 1988

D) 1990

Answer · why

A) 1985

It was produced for Jordan in November 1984 and hit shelves on April 1, 1985.