The least comfortable shoes Fact 12

Today, most high-heeled shoes are as comfortable as they are fashionable. Experts warn that high heels can be bad for people's feet and posture, but some women continue to wear them to look good. The pain caused by high heels, however, is nothing compared to the pain caused by 'foot binding'.

Foot binding was practiced in China for over a Millennium, until it was made illegal in 1915. It was fashionable for a woman to have tiny feet, and, if she wanted to marry well, her feet should be no longer than 8 centimeters! In order to achieve this, girls between the ages of 3 and 11 had their feet soaked in herbs and water to soften them. Then all their toes, except their big toes, were broken and folded under the soles of their feet. Eventually their feet were broken across the insteps and bound in a folded position.  The pain was excruciating and feet treated in this way often became infected.

Bound feet were known as 'Golden lily feet' because women walked as if they were 'skimming on top golden lilies'. In fact, the 4.5 billion women believed to have been crippled in this way could hardly walk at all.