High heel

Discovery

BBC

Science, Technology

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 June 2020

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Katy Brand loves a high heel. Once known by friends and family for her ‘shoe fetish’, her dad even gave her a ceramic heel that could hold a wine bottle at a jaunty angle. These days, Katy’s cherished heels from her torture days live in her cupboard. She has traded the pain for the statement trainer. But their art, history and construction still fascinate her. So what is it about the high heel that has made it stand the test of time? With the help of resident public historian, Greg Jenner, Katy explores the heel’s fascinating passage through time, finding a place on the feet of men, as well as women, in high and low places. Heels donned the feet of men on horseback in 17th century Persia, were adored by King Louis XIV, and gained an erotic currency with the invention of photography. But how has science and engineering ensured the high heel’s survival? Footwear Technologist, Mike George, shows us how the high heel is engineered, and how he can test if a particular design is teetering on the edge of safety. Social scientist, Heather Morgan, reveals the perceived benefits of wearing heels, as well as the risks when she fell foul to when fell in heels and broke her ankle. Producer: Beth Eastwood Picture: High heels, Credit: European Photopress Agency

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast and trust me you'll get there in a moment but if you're a comedy fan
0:05.2	I'd really like to tell you a bit about what we do. I'm Julie Mackenzie and I commission comedy
0:10.1	podcast at the BBC. It's a bit of a dream job really. Comedy is a bit of a dream job really.
0:13.0	Comedy is a fantastic joyous thing to do because really you're making people laugh,
0:18.0	making people's days a bit better, helping them process, all manner of things.
0:22.0	But you know, I also know that comedy is really
0:24.3	subjective and everyone has different tastes. So we've got a huge range of comedy on offer from
0:29.8	satire to silly, shocking to soothing, profound to just general pratting about. So if you
0:36.1	fancy a laugh, find your next comedy at BBC Sounds. This is discovery from the BBC World Service.
0:47.0	I'm comedian Katie Brand and this is the origin of stuff
0:51.0	where I pay homage to those overlooked and sometimes underrated
0:54.7	essentials of everyday life. I haven't worn a pair of heels for over five years
1:02.2	now. I've worn wedges once and even that was too much.
1:06.2	Basically when I became pregnant I stopped, forgot how painful it is and then when I tried again
1:11.0	I thought this is unacceptable.
1:13.7	How did I ever put up with this for God's sake?
1:16.2	This can't go on.
1:17.8	So I took them off.
1:19.3	I wasn't always like this.
1:20.5	I used to love a heel.
1:22.0	I've bought plenty of my time and was known amongst friends and family for my shoe fetish.
1:27.0	One year my dad even gave me a ceramic high heel that could hold a bottle of wine at a jaunty angle. But then I fell out of love, with the
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