My Grandfather, Carl Rapp, was a cobbler and according to his customers an excellent one. He mostly repaired shoes but was known to make a few pair from scratch. We lived in a coal mining region in southern W.Va and many of his customers were miners that could not afford to buy new boots when a pair was worn out so my Granddad Rapp gave them special attention and never charged them as much money as his work was worth. I remember sitting in one of the rickety wooden chairs he had in his shop all gathered around an old coal stove in winter after school. The heat from coal is very warm and his shop smelled strongly of leather. I am 80 years old now but the memory is vivid and in some way comforting. He was a kind man to everyone and has been missed by me since his passing in the winter of 1957.
I don’t care if they were first class or steerage passengers. All of them were human beings that were trapped in a sinking ship. Their bodies have deteriorated away, but their shoes are left to remind us that there were people on the ship who died. I can’t imagine what the bottom the ocean looked like that night. Absolutely horrifying.
Exactly. It's a tragedy. So what what social class they fell into. Also I'm gonna say why does everyone care about 1st or 3rd class but literally nobody mentions 2nd class. Just shows that the people who care about the class of titanic victims have a political agenda that they're pushing
I was born in 1957. When I was a child of about 10, my grandpa was doing house painting for a lady up the street from us. Her name was Mrs. Parks. She was about 60 yrs old. Grandpa told me she was a survivor from the Titanic. She was 4 years old when the ship went down. She was a very nice lady. Her husband had passed away by that time. So, she survived that traumatic ordeal and was able to have a life whereas many others were not so fortunate. I never spoke with her other than a greeting here and there.
it still bugs me to how close they were to america... they were so close to their final destination... A lot of women and children were saved first so I'm not surprised that most of the survivors were females. Ever since I was little when I first learned about the titanic, it made me so sad. t made me even more sad that people also brought their pets with them, and not a single pet was saved. We talk about the people and forget about the animals.
Robert Ballard made a comment about the bodies of the victims "raining down for hours" onto the sea floor, after the sinking. Some things you can't un-hear.
Imagine telling a person in 1912 that they will be having their shoes analyzed at the bottom of the ocean by people way up on land over a video call in 112 years.
One thing I want to add.........The shoes are very closetogether, indicating that there once was a dead body attached to those shoes. Body is no more......if the shoes was not attached to a body, they would not be this close together as currents would have separated them before they hit the ocean floor
Between $400 and $500 in todays money. The average annual pay for a factory or trades person in 1912 was ~$600 a year. That $12 was a substantial amount of money.
But shoes were built to last many years if cared for, so investing in a good shoe was actually money-saving. IF it was damaged, it could be repaired with the same material and give it more years of use.
@@cavalieroutdoors6036 But the value of currency is still relative to the amount of wealth that's being created. That's what inflation does. It controls value. It makes sure that the equivalent buys you roughly about the same amount of stuff today as it did X amount of years ago. $400 today buys you a nice pair of boots of the same quality as the $13 ones on the Titanic. Your dollars may be worth less but you have a lot more of them.
I hope our friend Mike Brady from oceanliner designs watches this. So much new information since there's an expert here! He would love and appreciate this vid.
They're not, bodies wouldn't sink that low because of buoyancy. Those shoes are what people kicked off of their feet as they were trying to stay afloat! Bodies were washing up on coastlines all over both sides of the Atlantic for weeks after. Dead bodies wouldn't instantly go down that deep, any real scientist knows this!
@@olzzonnot necessarily the case, note there are hair combs and clothes right next to some of those shoes as if packed in a bag that has long since gone.
As a young teen, I was in an old-time fashion show. I wore my great grandmother's wedding dress and a friend of the family brought me a pair of shoes from the late 1800s. They were white ankle boots , very soft and surprisingly comfortable. You could tell they were well made, and they were button up. I think it is one reason I prefer ankle boots in the colder weather, and I always look for leather shoes.
Awesome production on this. Love the videos and photos mixed in with the conversation. It makes a video like this so much better than just two guys on screens talking the whole time. Keep it up!
Leather footware was the fashion for the wealthy and even the poor wore passed down leather boots or leather shoes. I've never seen rubber boots from 1912 era.
Rubber work boots were invented in 1850, they were known as, wellies, gummies and gumboots, I looked it up , rubber has been used for thousands of years,the first known use was in 1600 BC...
all I can think about when I see these pictures is the shoes are PAIRS they're not singles or differences they are PAIRS both left and right shoe. meaning that was the resting spot of those poor souls who died that night...that is all that is left of them. :(
@@gobeklipepe fish and other ocean creatures don't implode down there. The oceangate questions has a long answer. Not everything found at this depth implodes. Many of the people who died the night Titanic sank died by drowning and hypothermia. If you drown you would have lungs filled with water pm that is going to stop you from floating by yourself, if you have air in your body you may float for a bit better but you will still sink. In shallower bodies of water bodies tend to sink and then gases build up and they will begin to float.
Rubber boots in 1912? YES, the 1903 Sears catalog has boots like the one at 15:04 that have an upper of "Duck", (canvas), coated with rubber. That's much like good rubber boots we had when I was a kid in the 1950's.
$12.50 would have been a lot of money in 1912. My great grandfather, back in the 1990s, had told me that when he and my great grandmother had first gotten married, in 1918, that their groceries would cost them $4.00 a week. I can't remember what he said they paid in rent... seems to me it was about $10 a month. I remember being shocked by how cheap everything was... but years later realizing it's all relative in each time period.
@catgray1 you need to keep in mind that while the cost of living was a lot lower in the early 1900's compared to today you also made less money in the early 1900's compared to today.
@joshuasummers7440 I do realize that. That's why I said a pair of shoes costing $12.50 was a lot of money back then. That would have been three weeks worth of groceries. My husband and I spend spend about $150-$200 a week on groceries now (because Publix prices have gotten so high post covid). If we saved three weeks worth of that money, that would be $450-$600. I would NEVER spend that much on a single pair of shoes, unless they were corrective shoes, or something like that. My great grandfather owned his own, small, fishing boat that he built himself. He was a commercial fisherman his entire working life.... and a very frugal man. He never would have spent three weeks of grocery money on one pair of shoes. Just sayin'. He was still frugal when he passed in the early 1990s. He was an interesting man, with many interesting stories about his life. I miss him very much.
The shoes were in fact being worn by a victim, and they are laying where that persons body ended. Bodies don't last long at that depth. Scavengers and the extreme pressure and bacteria even dissolve the bones after about 3 to 5 years, leaving only remnants of clothing and of course the shoes.
My great grandfather was a shoe repairman during those days in Utah. He died in 1934 so I never knew him. I have seen his ads in the local paper from that time frame.
Shoes were made to last back in the day because everyone walked everywhere , the motor car was for the rich only , nowadays we walk from the front door to the car and from the car to your destination so although they are well made compared to todays standards , back then that was the norm .
My Dad, 84, still walks the dog with the same leather satchel (rucksack / backpack) he had when he was a school kid, and thinks nothing of it. Partly durability, and partly looking after things. I get a new backpack almost every time I travel- partly cheap quality, and partly carelessness I guess!
I think their flesh is actually eaten away by sea creatures. Bones would last longer, but eventually they deteriorate. There would also be tremendous pressure on the body, causing it to basically implode.
well not all of them, remember there was luggage that held clothes and shoed, also there was 2 different kinds of shoes in one pic, so im not convinced that was person rather someones luggage.
@@grantmctaggart9942 ... you're a bit or a moron aren't you. Can you not tell that people are pushing political views when discussing titanic victims?
Modern polyurethane Wellington boots A Wellington boot, often shortened to welly,[1] and also known as a gumboot, rubber boot, or rain boot,[2][3] is a type of waterproof boot made of rubber. Originally a type of leather boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military riding boot, Wellington boots were worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. They became a staple of practical foot wear for the British aristocracy and middle class in the early 19th century. The name was subsequently given to waterproof rubber boots and they are no longer associated with a particular class. They are now commonly used for a range of agricultural and outdoors pursuits.
Rubber boots were around pretty commonly from the late 1800s and were used extensively in farming and seagoing jobs well before the beginning of the 1900s. That’s definitely just a rubber boot in that photo.
Imagine someone sinking after they drown and it probably took them hours to hit the bottom. A slow, steady rain of people slowly drifting down. Some landing head first, some on their sides, some feet first and probably standing up a few seconds before keeling over. They were in total blackness, so none of those images from that description could have been seen. Nobody witnessed it.
Nice picture but pressure at that point, they would've probably looked like strawberry jam. The shoes were blown off like the nose cone of the Titan would be decades later.
@@BalthazarMyrrh70they floated down to the bottom and were eaten by sea life then their skeletons dissolved. The shoes clearly show where they had lain on the seafloor.
This guy is amazing about the dress shoes from the past. I was at the age where you had shoe makers. I Owned some stitched nice leather dress shoes. Now today, it's a throw away shoe, junk shoes. Thank you for this great video. The photo where the shoe expert talks about someone laying on his back. You can see the outline of a leg.
I love everything about this video. I love history and I love shoes. My third great grandfather was a shoemaker by trade, so I'm always facinated by how shoes are made, especially how they were made in years and decades past.
Not a shoe brand person and I saw a pair of John lobb shoes at Goodwill today! I didn’t get them because I didn’t know how expensive they are. I’m going back tomorrow first thing to see if they are still there. It’s obviously a brand the workers don’t know about
Interesting! Even when I was a child (1960ish) we only had one pair of shoes per year and one pair for dress. Shoes were not fashion statments quite yet. Oxfords were common for girls. And we took them in for repair. Rubber boots would have been possible for (probably) around a hundred years by then. The men stoking the fires were probably wearing them. The higher heels and the way the heels shown were slung forward toward the arch was most likely a design effected by horseback riding.
@@Jasona1976 that's like asking where are the bones. It broke down over time. Some people have wood luggage, some people only had fabric bags to hold luggage. You don't keep a pair of shoes in separate luggage do you? It would make sense for them to be found together. Leather has potent chemicals preserving it for a long time.
They did have rubber boots back then. In Kansas City there is the wreck of a paddle wheel riverboat, sunk 1870(s) They dug it up, full of artifacts, including rubber boots, I've seen them!
Other than poorer passengers, some of the shoes wouldn't necessarily have been on a human foot as first class passengers would have had more than one pair of shoes.
Leather shoes are absolutely very durable. I worked for a company that did road boring. One job we drilled through the old filled in Erie Canal which after it had been closed and drained in 1878 was used as a trash dump. When drilling we would turn out hand welted leather shoe pieces both men and women's. You could easily tell these were a very old style shoe.
At 17:23, I believe these boots are what remains of a deceased man, and most likely upper class at that. The outer black line/layer that you see laying a few feet away on each side of the boots is most likely what's left of the gentleman's trenchcoat (or whatever they called those type full length coats). I imagine the coat flared out in the water as he floated down and then laid out this way when the man came to rest on the ocean floor. I cannot imagine what the scene looked like...seeing all the debris rain down and so many lives being taken to their watery grave. How horrific that must have been. And to know their deaths were not quick.
Yes, Wellington boots were around in 1912 England: Origin The Wellington boot was invented in the 1790s and originally worn by British Army officers. Popularization Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, popularized the boot in 1817, transforming it from a military uniform item to a fashion staple for the British aristocracy. Design Wellesley asked his shoemaker to make a boot that was easier to wear with new trousers, so the boot was cut lower and the tassel was removed. Material The first Wellingtons were made of leather, but today's boots are made of rubber. Wellington Arch The Wellington Arch in London was built between 1825 and 1827, and a quadriga sculpture was added to the top in 1912. Stratfield Saye House The Dukes of Wellington have lived at Stratfield Saye House in Hampshire since 1817.
I saw another video a few days ago, talking about the shoes, and it was of the opinion that the shoes would have been in people's luggage, which was strewn across the sea floor, and the luggage was made mostly of fabric, or cardboard, and would have rotted away, as would other belongings, leaving only the hard shoes. The first pair shown in this documentary weren't even a a pair, they are of different size and design, we must also sadly remember that after 3 or maybe 5 days, bodies will float to the surface as they decompose and the gases lift them, they would then settle again after being carried around by currents, or eaten by sea creatures, sounds horrible, but it happens.
I’m seeing coins and things around the shoes. Do you think the body’s were upright on the sea floor and “settled” into laying positions eventually. Thinking the coins fell around the feet then wouldn’t that mean the pockets were directly above the feet and in that orientation long enough for the coins to fall straight down? Just an idea, terrifying to think about hundreds of bodies “standing” silent and still on the sea floor for days or weeks?
When you say, “everyone’s got an opinion as to why the shoes are there” I’m racking my brain thinking, what other possible reason could there be than they belonged to passengers on Titanic ? 😂
@@OUTTA-TYME88 We’re getting technical here 😂 That’s “how” the shoes got there, not “why” the shoes are there. What other possible opinions could there be as to why the shoes are there ? They belonged to somebody else ? They fell out of the sky ? It’s obvious why they are there. “How” they got there, well yes, that’s what makes stories like this so interesting 🤔
... I don't think the class matters. You're literally looking at a dead person's shoes. So what what class they belonged too Edit: Is it somehow more sad if they were 1st, 2nd or 3rd class?
I don’t think they’re suggesting that the class mattered. They’re discussing what type of shoes lower class vs first class would wear. It’s history and it’s sad no matter whose shoes they are. 76% of third class died 58% of second class died 39% of first class died More than likely those shoes on the ocean floor were lower class.
Those pairs of shoes down there are not a mysterious accident, they are where bodies of victims came to rest. The entire site is an acknowledged mass grave.
The 2 odd shoes next to each other....I get the feeling that the larger one was the mothers, and the smaller one was her child maybe 9 that they may have drowned together and eventually sank to the bottom and the 2 missing shoes dropped off or were moved by sea creatures out of the picture frame...or buried in the sand. Of course, all the people's bodies desegrated in the depth of the sea..and sea animals devoured any left-over remains...
So on all these pairs of shoes ..is the thinking that right after the ship went down, folks would have been wearing them. And what we see today is where the shoes where resting as the body itself eventually vanished? And if this is the case, is it possible a few bones could still be trapped in the various shoes?
I accidentally spilled battery acid all over my leather backseat. It eventually ruined all my clothes but the seat never had an issue. I did have to get rid of the car because it was all in the way back rug and every time I kneeled on it my jeans disintegrated on the next wash, as well as whatevertouched it. Leather IS tough!
First rubber wellington boots were manufactured in 1953. Given that they're highly waterproof and give good traction I imagine they would have been popular for crew aboard ships
Shoes was better made then, than now. Good old leather Ankle boots should brought back in fashion. Better than all these cheaply made asian footwear of today.
The shoes next to the hair combs are likely to have been in a bag or case that has deteriorated, those laying in a slightly separated way may well have been on a body long since gone. The shoemaker has an expertise in welted construction, but lacking in other shoe knowledge particularly the rubber boot knowledge. Lobb by the way is just one of many welted shoemakers still manufacturing around Northampton, England such as Loake, Barker · Cheaney · Church's · Crockett & Jones · Edward Green · George Cleverley · Grenson The hammered in cleats were sometimes called Segs in the UK.
12 dollars back then was equal to a months pay for the average worker. In today's money, factoring in silver in the coins, about 1,200 dollars. Shoes were not cheap, they were very expensive and many poor could not afford a shoe.
Look what new car prices were in the 70s anybody that bought one new and still has it in good shape could make there money back a few times over Look what houses cost and what wages were, hard to believe it was just 45 years ago roughly but the difference to today is mind boggling
It is without a doubt by actual experts that those shoes are from where the remains came to rest...Your experts are NOT experts ...Geesh, have some respect and respect these people's final resting place and let them rest in peace..Geesh, next yall will be wanting to retrieve the shoes from the ocean floor....smdh...
The Columbus Dispatch "Charles Goodyear had vulcanized natural rubber in the 1850s to make tires, and he sold the use of the patent to Hiram Hutchinson in 1853 to use for boots. They became a fashion statement for a few years..."
My Grandfather, Carl Rapp, was a cobbler and according to his customers an excellent one. He mostly repaired shoes but was known to make a few pair from scratch. We lived in a coal mining region in southern W.Va and many of his customers were miners that could not afford to buy new boots when a pair was worn out so my Granddad Rapp gave them special attention and never charged them as much money as his work was worth. I remember sitting in one of the rickety wooden chairs he had in his shop all gathered around an old coal stove in winter after school. The heat from coal is very warm and his shop smelled strongly of leather. I am 80 years old now but the memory is vivid and in some way comforting. He was a kind man to everyone and has been missed by me since his passing in the winter of 1957.
Thanks for sharing your memories
☺️
That's a wonderful memory sir!✨️
@@saritamullins8294 what wonderful memories. Thank you very much for sharing.
Where in southern WV? I was born and raised in Logan. My dad was a coal miner.
@@amykat75...... Bradshaw, WVa, McDowell County. I know Logan well. Lived at Mallory briefly in the 1970's.
I don’t care if they were first class or steerage passengers. All of them were human beings that were trapped in a sinking ship. Their bodies have deteriorated away, but their shoes are left to remind us that there were people on the ship who died. I can’t imagine what the bottom the ocean looked like that night. Absolutely horrifying.
We know what happens to the human body at that depth. Chance are nothing but chunks made it to the bottom
Exactly. It's a tragedy. So what what social class they fell into. Also I'm gonna say why does everyone care about 1st or 3rd class but literally nobody mentions 2nd class. Just shows that the people who care about the class of titanic victims have a political agenda that they're pushing
So, you don’t get the point of the video. Good to know
Except there must have been a few where it's a worse fate to be alive around them... Talking about cruising and stuff all day, omg
It would have been a horror show.
Vulcanised rubber wellington boots have been around since 1853 (patented 1852), so Titanic CERTAINLY would have had some aboard.
I was born in 1957. When I was a child of about 10, my grandpa was doing house painting for a lady up the street from us. Her name was Mrs. Parks. She was about 60 yrs old. Grandpa told me she was a survivor from the Titanic. She was 4 years old when the ship went down. She was a very nice lady. Her husband had passed away by that time. So, she survived that traumatic ordeal and was able to have a life whereas many others were not so fortunate. I never spoke with her other than a greeting here and there.
That's a cool story. Thanks for sharing!
I do love it when someone has a real connection to a video, thanks for sharing
💜
it still bugs me to how close they were to america... they were so close to their final destination... A lot of women and children were saved first so I'm not surprised that most of the survivors were females. Ever since I was little when I first learned about the titanic, it made me so sad. t made me even more sad that people also brought their pets with them, and not a single pet was saved. We talk about the people and forget about the animals.
I heard 2 small dogs were saved actually
Preston is absolutely correct, the shoes are found in pairs because their owners were wearing them.
Not all, in some cases they are spare sets of shoes that were bag or luggage that deteriorated over time.
Robert Ballard made a comment about the bodies of the victims "raining down for hours" onto the sea floor, after the sinking.
Some things you can't un-hear.
It would have been eerie to see the big dresses that the women wore, waving silently in the current in that deep, quiet abyss...
Imagine telling a person in 1912 that they will be having their shoes analyzed at the bottom of the ocean by people way up on land over a video call in 112 years.
Honestly though.. it’s a bizarre and morbid advertisement for shoe quality
One thing I want to add.........The shoes are very closetogether, indicating that there once was a dead body attached to those shoes. Body is no more......if the shoes was not attached to a body, they would not be this close together as currents would have separated them before they hit the ocean floor
$12.50 then is about $400 in todays money.
Thanks for adding that. I was guessing it might be a factor of ten, meaning 120 dollars today. Turns out I was way off.
It's about 4-5 weeks worth of pay as depending on job you made $3-$4 a week.
Edit: At least on east coast of the US. And as a working person.
Wrong, it's over a grand maybe grand and a half. Not cheap.
Between $400 and $500 in todays money. The average annual pay for a factory or trades person in 1912 was ~$600 a year. That $12 was a substantial amount of money.
But shoes were built to last many years if cared for, so investing in a good shoe was actually money-saving. IF it was damaged, it could be repaired with the same material and give it more years of use.
$12.99 in 1912 would be approximately $420 today... so those were definitely high-end shoes
Amazing how 100 years has changed the value of a dollar ain't it?
@@cavalieroutdoors6036 But the value of currency is still relative to the amount of wealth that's being created. That's what inflation does. It controls value. It makes sure that the equivalent buys you roughly about the same amount of stuff today as it did X amount of years ago. $400 today buys you a nice pair of boots of the same quality as the $13 ones on the Titanic. Your dollars may be worth less but you have a lot more of them.
Thank you. I was about to post this comment when i saw your post.
factor in silver and gold ratio. a silver dollar could buy equal to 100 dollars today. more like 1,200 dollar shoes.
Went from "holy crap... a whole dollar" to "holy crap... a whole dollar" just on opposite ends of the spectrum
I hope our friend Mike Brady from oceanliner designs watches this. So much new information since there's an expert here! He would love and appreciate this vid.
@@TheRandompaint Such a great channel! 😍
I cant help but see those lost souls lying there, its so sad..😢
They're not, bodies wouldn't sink that low because of buoyancy.
Those shoes are what people kicked off of their feet as they were trying to stay afloat!
Bodies were washing up on coastlines all over both sides of the Atlantic for weeks after.
Dead bodies wouldn't instantly go down that deep, any real scientist knows this!
Lost soles
I had to
There is no chance that the shoes shown fell through that much water and stayed together without being worn by someone.
They didn't, everyone of them laying together like that had a body in them . There is no bones because it all desolved
@@olzzonnot necessarily the case, note there are hair combs and clothes right next to some of those shoes as if packed in a bag that has long since gone.
@@MrRoyum lol comb could have been in a pocket. Clothes could have been worn
@@olzzonif didn’t de solve. Fishes are them
As a young teen, I was in an old-time fashion show. I wore my great grandmother's wedding dress and a friend of the family brought me a pair of shoes from the late 1800s. They were white ankle boots , very soft and surprisingly comfortable. You could tell they were well made, and they were button up. I think it is one reason I prefer ankle boots in the colder weather, and I always look for leather shoes.
Awesome production on this. Love the videos and photos mixed in with the conversation. It makes a video like this so much better than just two guys on screens talking the whole time.
Keep it up!
Thank you so much for watching. Definitely more to come!
@@HistoryX This interview is so well done I have just joined.
Yes they had rubber work boots in 1912...
Thanks for adding this fact. I really had no idea about the rubber boots
Leather footware was the fashion for the wealthy and even the poor wore passed down leather boots or leather shoes. I've never seen rubber boots from 1912 era.
@@PeaceAndLove303I’m thinking it’s a workman’s boot. Kitchen crew? Cleaning crew perhaps.
Rubber work boots were invented in 1850, they were known as, wellies, gummies and gumboots, I looked it up , rubber has been used for thousands of years,the first known use was in 1600 BC...
all I can think about when I see these pictures is the shoes are PAIRS they're not singles or differences they are PAIRS both left and right shoe. meaning that was the resting spot of those poor souls who died that night...that is all that is left of them. :(
I think that the shoes found near eachother were likely on a body until the body was no more.
Wont the bodies implode like that ocean gate sub? 🤔
@@gobeklipepe fish and other ocean creatures don't implode down there. The oceangate questions has a long answer. Not everything found at this depth implodes.
Many of the people who died the night Titanic sank died by drowning and hypothermia. If you drown you would have lungs filled with water pm that is going to stop you from floating by yourself, if you have air in your body you may float for a bit better but you will still sink.
In shallower bodies of water bodies tend to sink and then gases build up and they will begin to float.
@@gobeklipepeonce they’ve drowned, or froze, no they wouldn’t implode. The lack of oxygen in the body is what makes the difference.
@@hkitty1685 did not know that. Thanks for the info. Really sad what happened to them 😔
@@gobeklipepeNo. No oxygen to cause a pressure difference.
Rubber boots in 1912? YES, the 1903 Sears catalog has boots like the one at 15:04 that have an upper of "Duck", (canvas), coated with rubber. That's much like good rubber boots we had when I was a kid in the 1950's.
What a shame we do not have this quality today.
what do u expect with made in china garbage
We do, people just won't pay for it!
@@davidlelacheur3217 what are u saying ??? some people pay for it other cheap skates not so much
Thanks to free trade, that is why everything is expensive yet poorly made.
@@davidlelacheur3217Most can't because they're poor.
$12.50 would have been a lot of money in 1912. My great grandfather, back in the 1990s, had told me that when he and my great grandmother had first gotten married, in 1918, that their groceries would cost them $4.00 a week. I can't remember what he said they paid in rent... seems to me it was about $10 a month. I remember being shocked by how cheap everything was... but years later realizing it's all relative in each time period.
@catgray1
you need to keep in mind that while the cost of living was a lot lower in the early 1900's compared to today you also made less money in the early 1900's compared to today.
@joshuasummers7440 I do realize that. That's why I said a pair of shoes costing $12.50 was a lot of money back then. That would have been three weeks worth of groceries. My husband and I spend spend about $150-$200 a week on groceries now (because Publix prices have gotten so high post covid). If we saved three weeks worth of that money, that would be $450-$600. I would NEVER spend that much on a single pair of shoes, unless they were corrective shoes, or something like that. My great grandfather owned his own, small, fishing boat that he built himself. He was a commercial fisherman his entire working life.... and a very frugal man. He never would have spent three weeks of grocery money on one pair of shoes. Just sayin'. He was still frugal when he passed in the early 1990s. He was an interesting man, with many interesting stories about his life. I miss him very much.
The shoes were in fact being worn by a victim, and they are laying where that persons body ended. Bodies don't last long at that depth. Scavengers and the extreme pressure and bacteria even dissolve the bones after about 3 to 5 years, leaving only remnants of clothing and of course the shoes.
My great grandfather was a shoe repairman during those days in Utah. He died in 1934 so I never knew him. I have seen his ads in the local paper from that time frame.
Shoes were made to last back in the day because everyone walked everywhere , the motor car was for the rich only , nowadays we walk from the front door to the car and from the car to your destination so although they are well made compared to todays standards , back then that was the norm .
You nailed it! It's wild how we used to walk everywhere, and now we barely make it to the car before we’re tired! 😂
In the US*
In europe we have built our city structures to still walk everywhere.
If you live in the NYC area you usually walk a few miles every day.
Cobblers were way more prevalent, also. They would have them repaired when needed. Good as new.
My Dad, 84, still walks the dog with the same leather satchel (rucksack / backpack) he had when he was a school kid, and thinks nothing of it. Partly durability, and partly looking after things. I get a new backpack almost every time I travel- partly cheap quality, and partly carelessness I guess!
THOSE SHOES WERE PEOPLES BODIES THAT SUNK TO THE BOTTOM IN TIME THE SALT WATER DETERIORATE THE FLESH AND BONES
Congrats you figured it out
@@grantmctaggart9942rude
I think their flesh is actually eaten away by sea creatures. Bones would last longer, but eventually they deteriorate. There would also be tremendous pressure on the body, causing it to basically implode.
well not all of them, remember there was luggage that held clothes and shoed, also there was 2 different kinds of shoes in one pic, so im not convinced that was person rather someones luggage.
@@grantmctaggart9942 ... you're a bit or a moron aren't you. Can you not tell that people are pushing political views when discussing titanic victims?
Modern polyurethane Wellington boots
A Wellington boot, often shortened to welly,[1] and also known as a gumboot, rubber boot, or rain boot,[2][3] is a type of waterproof boot made of rubber.
Originally a type of leather boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military riding boot, Wellington boots were worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. They became a staple of practical foot wear for the British aristocracy and middle class in the early 19th century. The name was subsequently given to waterproof rubber boots and they are no longer associated with a particular class. They are now commonly used for a range of agricultural and outdoors pursuits.
I actually see the outline of the whole bottom left leg!!! 😮
What time stamp?
th-cam.com/video/hcM3lzflKcw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=XLIBR2fzT6nG6Xq6&t=16m50s
@@Goldenretriever-k8m16m50s
When he said about the 2 shoes 👞 👞 could be a person laying on their back I could see like a distinct outline of legs in the sand
When you remove the shoes from the salt water is when they will begin to seriously begin to deteriorate when they stay in the air on the surface.
Red Wing Shoes existed in 1912 as well.
Rubber boots, also known as Wellington boots or "Wellies," were invented in the early 19th century.
Yes, he didn't seem to know the history very well, he stuck his foot in it a couple of times, so to speak..
So that's why they call them Wellies! Always wondered that. Thanks ❤😊
@@28FlyingDutchmanNamed after the Duke of Wellington 🙂
Rubber boots were around pretty commonly from the late 1800s and were used extensively in farming and seagoing jobs well before the beginning of the 1900s. That’s definitely just a rubber boot in that photo.
That rubber boot at 15:05 looks like foul weather gear that a sailor would wear on deck.
Which would mean that it was worn by one of the crew.
@@ruthd7274 Probably. Commercial fishermen still wear boots like that.
Imagine someone sinking after they drown and it probably took them hours to hit the bottom. A slow, steady rain of people slowly drifting down. Some landing head first, some on their sides, some feet first and probably standing up a few seconds before keeling over. They were in total blackness, so none of those images from that description could have been seen. Nobody witnessed it.
Nice picture but pressure at that point, they would've probably looked like strawberry jam.
The shoes were blown off like the nose cone of the Titan would be decades later.
@@BalthazarMyrrh70lol no
😂😂 do you really think a body would look anything like it did when it hit the bottom, jeeze..🤯
@@Align500pro Pretty much so! Remember that the human body is 70% water so imploding wouldn't happen or at minimum at best.
@@BalthazarMyrrh70they floated down to the bottom and were eaten by sea life then their skeletons dissolved. The shoes clearly show where they had lain on the seafloor.
In western boots they still use lemonwood pegs and stack leather. I feel they are better made than most shoes. Like boulet or Luccese
There were bodies in those shoes that disintegrated in the water and the shoes are left. It’s not that big of a mystery.
It’s just that they are so well preserved...who would think that skin would be one of the last things that disintegrated!
Red and white tiles were in officer's quarters and second class staircase i think.
If you find a pair of modern Air Jordan shoes, it is from an Oceangate passenger.
lol
Well oceangate passengers were completely imploded and then exploded so even their shoes were turned into mush, or toothpaste
Rubber is not gonna turn into mush....@@Mr.Blonde92
In 2024, $12.90 from 1912 would be worth approximately $419.25.
This guy is amazing about the dress shoes from the past. I was at the age where you had shoe makers. I Owned some stitched nice leather dress shoes. Now today, it's a throw away shoe, junk shoes. Thank you for this great video. The photo where the shoe expert talks about someone laying on his back. You can see the outline of a leg.
Rubber wellies started in 1852
I love everything about this video. I love history and I love shoes. My third great grandfather was a shoemaker by trade, so I'm always facinated by how shoes are made, especially how they were made in years and decades past.
Not a shoe brand person and I saw a pair of John lobb shoes at Goodwill today! I didn’t get them because I didn’t know how expensive they are.
I’m going back tomorrow first thing to see if they are still there. It’s obviously a brand the workers don’t know about
....and then find the STORY! They could be the ancient ones that would have to have a story!!
Interesting! Even when I was a child (1960ish) we only had one pair of shoes per year and one pair for dress. Shoes were not fashion statments quite yet. Oxfords were common for girls. And we took them in for repair. Rubber boots would have been possible for (probably) around a hundred years by then. The men stoking the fires were probably wearing them. The higher heels and the way the heels shown were slung forward toward the arch was most likely a design effected by horseback riding.
@8:42 I can see the lines where the legs should be 😢😢i😢😢
That’s funny, I thought of Mike right when I started watching!, One of my favorite channels!💕
Were the shoes attached to a body which has dissolved?
Yes.
Some were on people, some were in luggage.
@@Boss-Possum who opened the luggage? Fish?🐠
@@Jasona1976 that's like asking where are the bones. It broke down over time. Some people have wood luggage, some people only had fabric bags to hold luggage. You don't keep a pair of shoes in separate luggage do you? It would make sense for them to be found together. Leather has potent chemicals preserving it for a long time.
Bob Ballard and his crew found the TITANIC wreckage in 1985, not 1984.
They did have rubber boots back then.
In Kansas City there is the wreck of a paddle wheel riverboat, sunk 1870(s)
They dug it up, full of artifacts, including rubber boots, I've seen them!
The Steamboat Arabia sank in 1856. Awesome museum.
@@hislairdship8961 yes that's the one! They had pull on Rubber Boots then even!
You've seen the display I'm sure,
Other than poorer passengers, some of the shoes wouldn't necessarily have been on a human foot as first class passengers would have had more than one pair of shoes.
Leather shoes are absolutely very durable. I worked for a company that did road boring. One job we drilled through the old filled in Erie Canal which after it had been closed and drained in 1878 was used as a trash dump. When drilling we would turn out hand welted leather shoe pieces both men and women's. You could easily tell these were a very old style shoe.
$12.90 in 1912 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $418.65 today.
I remember having heel cleats on loafers in the 1960s as a child. My Dad had them on his shoes as well. I hadn't thought about that in years!
At 17:23, I believe these boots are what remains of a deceased man, and most likely upper class at that. The outer black line/layer that you see laying a few feet away on each side of the boots is most likely what's left of the gentleman's trenchcoat (or whatever they called those type full length coats). I imagine the coat flared out in the water as he floated down and then laid out this way when the man came to rest on the ocean floor.
I cannot imagine what the scene looked like...seeing all the debris rain down and so many lives being taken to their watery grave. How horrific that must have been. And to know their deaths were not quick.
Yeah, those sea critters wouldn’t EVER figure out what was happening!
Why would their deaths not be quick? The icy waters would quicly lead to loss of sensation, & drowning would soon follow.
Yes, Wellington boots were around in 1912 England:
Origin
The Wellington boot was invented in the 1790s and originally worn by British Army officers.
Popularization
Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, popularized the boot in 1817, transforming it from a military uniform item to a fashion staple for the British aristocracy.
Design
Wellesley asked his shoemaker to make a boot that was easier to wear with new trousers, so the boot was cut lower and the tassel was removed.
Material
The first Wellingtons were made of leather, but today's boots are made of rubber.
Wellington Arch
The Wellington Arch in London was built between 1825 and 1827, and a quadriga sculpture was added to the top in 1912.
Stratfield Saye House
The Dukes of Wellington have lived at Stratfield Saye House in Hampshire since 1817.
An ounce of gold at this time was $20.$12 is 60%of an ounce of gold.
My grandfather was a shoemaker who immigrated from Sicily to the United States.
I saw another video a few days ago, talking about the shoes, and it was of the opinion that the shoes would have been in people's luggage, which was strewn across the sea floor, and the luggage was made mostly of fabric, or cardboard, and would have rotted away, as would other belongings, leaving only the hard shoes. The first pair shown in this documentary weren't even a a pair, they are of different size and design, we must also sadly remember that after 3 or maybe 5 days, bodies will float to the surface as they decompose and the gases lift them, they would then settle again after being carried around by currents, or eaten by sea creatures, sounds horrible, but it happens.
Great work !!!!
Thank you that was interesting.
Thanks a ton! Glad you liked it! Got any suggestions for what you want to see next? 😊
@HistoryX Anything about the Uss North Carolina and her sister Uss Washington.
That was fascinating.
I’m seeing coins and things around the shoes. Do you think the body’s were upright on the sea floor and “settled” into laying positions eventually. Thinking the coins fell around the feet then wouldn’t that mean the pockets were directly above the feet and in that orientation long enough for the coins to fall straight down? Just an idea, terrifying to think about hundreds of bodies “standing” silent and still on the sea floor for days or weeks?
When you say, “everyone’s got an opinion as to why the shoes are there” I’m racking my brain thinking, what other possible reason could there be than they belonged to passengers on Titanic ? 😂
Obviously. But they could have gotten there for different reasons. They were on passengers or got there from passengers luggage
@@OUTTA-TYME88 We’re getting technical here 😂 That’s “how” the shoes got there, not “why” the shoes are there. What other possible opinions could there be as to why the shoes are there ? They belonged to somebody else ? They fell out of the sky ? It’s obvious why they are there. “How” they got there, well yes, that’s what makes stories like this so interesting 🤔
@@DaledugaholeThere aren’t any other logical “ways” OR “whys” that the pairs of shoes ended up down there still together.
4:11 - Classy black ankle boot is well made! Id wear it today in 2024!
Any shoes that are together are most definitely there because that’s where a body was. It’s beyond obvious. It’s kind of a known titanic fact.
... I don't think the class matters. You're literally looking at a dead person's shoes. So what what class they belonged too
Edit:
Is it somehow more sad if they were 1st, 2nd or 3rd class?
I don’t think they’re suggesting that the class mattered. They’re discussing what type of shoes lower class vs first class would wear. It’s history and it’s sad no matter whose shoes they are.
76% of third class died
58% of second class died
39% of first class died
More than likely those shoes on the ocean floor were lower class.
Wow, that guy has the most perfectly round head I've ever seen it's a perfect dome...😮
Most of this is an Infomercial for the shoe website.
Those pairs of shoes down there are not a mysterious accident, they are where bodies of victims came to rest. The entire site is an acknowledged mass grave.
i dont get it. The shoes at @13:00 are CLEARLY a different size. Why am I the only one seeing this?
That clown shoe on the left is the scariest thing down there. 😟
It was a one legged clown 😢@@SteveLomas-k6k
They are not saying its a pair....they even assume it came from a luggage box. Or something...
....two different bodies, one landed on top of the other...
The 2 odd shoes next to each other....I get the feeling that the larger one was the mothers, and the smaller one was her child maybe 9 that they may have drowned together and eventually sank to the bottom and the 2 missing shoes dropped off or were moved by sea creatures out of the picture frame...or buried in the sand. Of course, all the people's bodies desegrated in the depth of the sea..and sea animals devoured any left-over remains...
So on all these pairs of shoes ..is the thinking that right after the ship went down, folks would have been wearing them. And what we see today is where the shoes where resting as the body itself eventually vanished? And if this is the case, is it possible a few bones could still be trapped in the various shoes?
This is so sad, the corps aren't there anymore but the shoes they were wearing are still there, where the body used to rest.
I accidentally spilled battery acid all over my leather backseat. It eventually ruined all my clothes but the seat never had an issue. I did have to get rid of the car because it was all in the way back rug and every time I kneeled on it my jeans disintegrated on the next wash, as well as whatevertouched it. Leather IS tough!
Fantastic
Thank you so much 😀
No expert needed . The shoes belonged to a male passenger that went down with the Titanic . case explained .
First rubber wellington boots were manufactured in 1953. Given that they're highly waterproof and give good traction I imagine they would have been popular for crew aboard ships
$12.00 in the early 1900's is worth $389.00 in today's money
Fascinating.
Either way… seeing those at the bottom of the sea is very eerie…
Those two early shots of the two shoes you can also see a leg shape from ankle to knee
Titanic sank April 15th 1912 and not 14th April
You're absolutely right! The Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15th, 1912. Thanks for pointing that out!
@@HistoryX 🙏
They might also assume that the Twin Towers fell on September the 10th 2001...
@@Defensive_Wounds 😷
Shoes was better made then, than now. Good old leather Ankle boots should brought back in fashion. Better than all these cheaply made asian footwear of today.
This is so sad and horrible to think of what they have gone through.
Sir Brooks Brothers was also around at the time. They carried men's shoes just like the same style of Alden shoes.
The shoes next to the hair combs are likely to have been in a bag or case that has deteriorated, those laying in a slightly separated way may well have been on a body long since gone.
The shoemaker has an expertise in welted construction, but lacking in other shoe knowledge particularly the rubber boot knowledge.
Lobb by the way is just one of many welted shoemakers still manufacturing around Northampton, England such as Loake, Barker · Cheaney · Church's · Crockett & Jones · Edward Green · George Cleverley · Grenson
The hammered in cleats were sometimes called Segs in the UK.
I just want some work boots that will last longer than 6 months!
The last pair I got was a 200$ pair that didn't last 3 months! What a joke.
I've been wearing work boots for 30 years and in the last decade the quality has gone downhill at a rapid pace. They're all garbage now.
"it somehow made it for 5000 years" Possibly because it was kept dry??
By my calculations the 12 dollar shoes in 1912 would cost just under 400 dollars today. Not cheap at all.
When I saw the thumbnail I wondered if they were Stockton Rush's 😂
12 dollars back then was equal to a months pay for the average worker. In today's money, factoring in silver in the coins, about 1,200 dollars. Shoes were not cheap, they were very expensive and many poor could not afford a shoe.
I think that some of these shoes weren’t on people. Things from the cabins surely are there
The boot at 15:01 looks like a Wellington to me.
Does anyone know where the red tile was from? It might be a clue as to what class the shoes came from?
Officer's Quarters and Second Class Staircase ❤
Look what new car prices were in the 70s anybody that bought one new and still has it in good shape could make there money back a few times over
Look what houses cost and what wages were, hard to believe it was just 45 years ago roughly but the difference to today is mind boggling
Those are where the bodies dropped and then they were eaten by sea life. Leaving their shoes and other belongings.
It is without a doubt by actual experts that those shoes are from where the remains came to rest...Your experts are NOT experts ...Geesh, have some respect and respect these people's final resting place and let them rest in peace..Geesh, next yall will be wanting to retrieve the shoes from the ocean floor....smdh...
It's shuddering to think that once there were feet in those at the bottom of the ocean.
The Columbus Dispatch "Charles Goodyear had vulcanized natural rubber in the 1850s to make tires, and he sold the use of the patent to Hiram Hutchinson in 1853 to use for boots. They became a fashion statement for a few years..."
Shoes are scatered but in pairs most laying on side fall like. Those that wore them decayed off ocean life and erosion affected them.
Wouldn't the pressure damage the body before falling into the bottom of the sea?