1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: a show that takes a freewheeling ride through history one 4 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:17,240 Speaker 1: day at a time. I'm Gabe Lousier, and in this episode, 5 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,640 Speaker 1: we're looking at how a new national craze found its 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,919 Speaker 1: footing in an unexpected place and has gone on to 7 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: enjoy successive waves of popularity ever since. The day was 8 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:40,520 Speaker 1: August eleven, eighteen sixty six, James Plimpton opened the first 9 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: public roller skating rink in the United States. The rink 10 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: was housed in the converted dining room of the Atlantic 11 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: House Hotel in Newport, Rhode Island. Plimpton at least the 12 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: trendy resort hotel as a way to introduce the sport 13 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: of skating to the city. The proliferation of skating was 14 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: a cause both true to his heart and his wallet, 15 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: as Plimpton was not only the founder of the New 16 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: York Roller Skating Association, he was also the inventor of 17 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: the modern roller skate. The idea of skating around on 18 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 1: wheeled shoes dates back to at least the early seventeen hundreds. 19 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: The first known prototypes are generally credited to an anonymous 20 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,839 Speaker 1: Dutchman who wished to extend the fun of skiing into 21 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: the warm summer months. His invention, known as skeelers, consisted 22 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 1: of wooden spools nailed to strips of wood and attached 23 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,399 Speaker 1: to the soles of his shoes. It was a novel idea, 24 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,960 Speaker 1: but the use of them never really caught on. A 25 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: few decades later, a Belgian inventor named John Joseph Merlin 26 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: created the world's first indoor roller skate, in the form 27 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: of a metal wheeled boot. Merlin debuted his creation with 28 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: famously disastrous results at a swanky masquerade party in London. 29 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: He made a grand entrance by skating around the ballroom 30 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:08,240 Speaker 1: while also playing the violin. Unfortunately, the skates he designed 31 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: didn't have any breaks or even any way to be steered. 32 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: As a result, Merlin promptly crashed into an expensive mirror 33 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 1: valued at about five hundred pounds and got himself pretty 34 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: sliced up in the process. Oh and he also broke 35 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: his violin. In the eighteen hundreds, several other European cultures 36 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: began experimenting with roller skates. In eighteen eighteen, roller skates 37 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: were used as a stand in for ice skates during 38 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: the performance of a German ballet in Berlin. A year later, 39 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: Monsieur Petti Bladen of France received the world's first patent 40 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: for a roller skate, and in eighteen twenty three, Robert 41 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: John Tires of London invented a five wheeled skate called 42 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: the Roldo. The gradual adoption of roller skating continued over 43 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: the next few decades, with England becoming the first country 44 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: to open dedicated skating rinks in eighteen fifty seven. Up 45 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 1: until that point, all of the various roller skate designs 46 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: had been what we now call inline skates, with all 47 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: of the wheels arranged in a single straight row. However, 48 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: unlike modern inline skates, the early versions had their wheels 49 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: attached directly to the soles of the skate. This design 50 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,800 Speaker 1: made the skates difficult to steer, as the straight line 51 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: of the wheels was too rigid to be shifted one 52 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: way or the other. All of that finally changed in 53 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three, when a New York City furniture dealer 54 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: named James Plimpton patented a new four wheeled roller skate 55 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: that allowed the wearer to turn on command. This early 56 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: take on the modern roller skate used a two by 57 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: two wheel arrangement, and instead of being fastened directly to 58 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: the skate, the wooden wheels were instead attached to a 59 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: pivot that had little rubber springs on it. The assembly 60 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: made for a safer and more enjoyable ride, as skaters 61 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: could simply lean their weight left or right to curve 62 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: their path in that direction. Plimpton fine tuned his rocker 63 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: skate design by testing them on the floor of his 64 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 1: furniture store. Once he had a workable model, he began 65 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: producing the skates and then renting them to customers in 66 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: and around New York City. To help drum up support 67 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,599 Speaker 1: for this new venture, Plimpton also founded the New York 68 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: Roller Skating Association, the first US club dedicated to the 69 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: up and coming pastime. Plimpton quickly realized that in order 70 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: for his rental business model to work, he would need 71 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: to provide his customers with a safe place to skate. 72 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: This would also help attract young Victorian couples, who were 73 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,840 Speaker 1: always on the lookout for socially acceptable activities to do. Together. 74 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: With this in mind, Plimpton signed a deal with the 75 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: Atlantic House Hotel in Newport, Rhode Island. The resort had 76 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 1: been occupied by the U. S. Naval Aca me during 77 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: the Civil War, but with the fighting having ended in 78 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five, the hotel was eager to welcome back 79 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: guests for the summer of sixty six. Offering a trendy 80 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: new activity like roller skating seemed like the perfect hook, 81 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,840 Speaker 1: so the hotel allowed Plimpton to convert its dining room 82 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:22,720 Speaker 1: into a skating area, and so on August eleventh, eighteen 83 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: sixty six, America's first roller skating rink open to the public. 84 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 1: As expected, the improvised drink drew quite a crowd that summer, 85 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: and Plimpton made a tidy profit renting skates to families 86 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: and young couples. After his initial success, other shrewd businessmen 87 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,039 Speaker 1: began opening purpose built roller rinks all throughout New England. 88 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 1: Plimpton did the same, and in the eighteen seventies he 89 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 1: began touring the various rinks, offering skating lessons for two 90 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: dollars a week, including skate rental. He made a great 91 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,280 Speaker 1: deal of money off his invention, but he also had 92 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: to spend a out of it fighting patent infringement cases. 93 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,159 Speaker 1: The inventor had given the sport a much needed push 94 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 1: in the US, but after that it rolled on just 95 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: fine without him. In the eighteen eighties, the first mass 96 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 1: produced roller skates hit store shelves, making them more accessible 97 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:21,280 Speaker 1: than ever. Of course, not everyone approved of New England's 98 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: new favorite pastime. For example, one journalist in Lowell, Massachusetts, 99 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,840 Speaker 1: took issue with his local skating rink in eighteen eighty four. 100 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: According to the writer, the rink was quote the cause 101 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: of more and worse immorality in the city than even 102 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: the music halls. One of his main points of contention 103 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: was how frequently women seemed to fall while skating, though 104 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: to be clear, the author's concern was for their propriety, 105 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: not their well being. As he put it, quote, does 106 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,679 Speaker 1: it improve a young girl's modesty or morals to fall 107 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,320 Speaker 1: in a heap on a skating rink floor in the 108 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,360 Speaker 1: gaze of hundreds, with perhaps her feet in the air 109 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 1: and her clothes tossed over her head? Is it good 110 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,159 Speaker 1: for her proper training to see other females in such 111 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: a plight? No one bothered. Responding to that, Killjoy and 112 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: roller rinks continued to gain popularity, both in New England 113 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: and beyond. Over time, people found new uses for roller 114 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: skates too, including roller hockey and speed skating, which eventually 115 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: led to the idea of competitive roller Derby's skating remained 116 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: popular through the Great Depression, but fell out of favor 117 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: during World War Two when materials were in short supply. 118 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: The sport rebounded in the nineteen fifties and early sixties 119 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: as roller skating car hops began delivering meals to customers 120 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: at drive ins, but it was with the rise of 121 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: disco in the nineteen seventies that skating became bigger than ever. 122 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: In fact, by the end of the decade, there were 123 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:59,239 Speaker 1: more than four thousand roller discos spread across the United States. 124 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: Of course, as the disco craze subsided in the nineteen eighties, 125 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: the popularity of roller skating took a dip as well. 126 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: The hobby re emerged again in the early nineteen nineties, 127 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: this time with inline skates or roller blades being the 128 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: preferred way to wheel around. This return to prominence gave 129 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: traditional roller rinks a boost as well, but by the 130 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: two thousands, interest in skating had waned yet again. Today, 131 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: roller skating rinks aren't as common as they used to be, 132 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: though plenty you are still out there waiting for you 133 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 1: to strap on your skates and hit those parquet floors. 134 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: It's also worth noting that roller skating in general has 135 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: undergone yet another resurgence in recent years. The onset of 136 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 1: the COVID nineteen pandemic led to a massive spike in 137 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: sales as people all over the world began looking for 138 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: fun outdoor diversions to help ward off the quarantine blues. 139 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,560 Speaker 1: It remains to be seen how long the latest boom 140 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: period will last or how long the gap will be 141 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: until the next one, but if history is any indication, 142 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:11,240 Speaker 1: will always roll our way back to skating eventually. I'm 143 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:14,559 Speaker 1: Gabe Lousier and hopefully you now know a little more 144 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If you enjoyed 145 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: today's show, you might want to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 146 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d I HC Show. You can 147 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: also send any comments or questions you might have to 148 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: this day at I heart media dot com. Thanks to 149 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 1: Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks to you 150 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow for 151 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:41,680 Speaker 1: another day in History Class.