1 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,560 You might not think about it very often, but we are living 2 00:00:06,560 --> 00:00:10,040 through a golden age of technology. 3 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:14,560 Our homes and our pockets are full of inventions and gadgets that, 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,840 20 years ago, would have been the stuff of science fiction. 5 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,960 Alexa, how exactly do you work? 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:22,480 Hmm, I don't know that. 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:24,640 That's what we're going to find out. 8 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,200 These things have become such an integral part of our everyday 9 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:31,160 lives that we've forgotten to remember how clever they are. 10 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:35,280 I'm Professor Hannah Fry, and I want to open your eyes... 11 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:37,040 I'm having a great time. 12 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,360 ..to the secret genius of everyday objects. 13 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:41,760 CARD READER BEEPS 14 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,240 The ones that we take for granted. 15 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,240 Items that owe their existence 16 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,120 to generations of scientific innovation. 17 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:54,240 THE Edison drove an electric car? Yeah, this one. 18 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:56,200 In every episode, 19 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:01,200 I'm going to take one item and tear it apart... 20 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:02,840 bit... Oh! 21 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:04,240 ..by bit... 22 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:06,400 So now there's some stuff you can see. 23 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,080 ..meet the people behind it... 24 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,280 Frankly, I thought many things were impossible. 25 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:15,040 ..and unlock the remarkable... Here is the clandestine listening device. 26 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:19,800 ..and sometimes hilarious stories behind its invention. 27 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:21,440 Hello. Look at you. 28 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:28,160 This time, it's the trainer. 29 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,600 These foot-shaped miracles of engineering are packed full 30 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,560 of some of the most innovative tech on the planet. 31 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:40,640 Every single millimetre of this sole, every stitch and seam 32 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,040 of the upper, these things are designed and made 33 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:45,880 with absolute precision. 34 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,760 So, how did a 1970s American breakfast 35 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:53,640 inspire our soles? 36 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,240 Look, I've got other skills, OK? 37 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,240 Why did a family feud in the 1940s... 38 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,120 They had different ideas, really, how to run the business. 39 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:08,120 ..create two of the world's biggest sports brands? 40 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,880 And how did an 18th-century china tea set influence 41 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,040 today's trainer trends? 42 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:16,480 Anything not perfect is smashed. 43 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,360 We are a nation of trainer lovers. 44 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:32,680 We spent almost £3 billion on them last year. 45 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,440 Maybe you call them sneakers, maybe you call them kicks, 46 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,080 maybe you take great pride in what you're wearing. 47 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:40,960 Maybe, like me, you just wear the same pair over and over again 48 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:42,840 until they fall off your feet. 49 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,640 So, what does it take to make a modern trainer? 50 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:49,360 I'm in Germany, at the headquarters of Europe's biggest 51 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,800 sportswear brand - Adidas. 52 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,440 They use all sorts of sophisticated tech to help design 53 00:02:57,440 --> 00:02:59,400 and test their sneaks. 54 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:07,800 Oh, look at this. 55 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,440 We call this the Runter robot. And it does exactly that. 56 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,600 It takes somebody's running biomechanics and it simulates 57 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:15,920 it in this space here. 58 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:18,680 That is athlete scientist Harry Miles. 59 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:24,720 So you put shoes on there? Exactly. 60 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,160 And we look at the durability and we look at the performance 61 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,760 of the shoe. Can we try it? Of course, yeah. 62 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:35,640 This rather creepy robotic limb can run the equivalent of two 63 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:37,080 marathons a day... 64 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,840 ..allowing them to precisely assess the wear and tear on every 65 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:44,800 millimetre of the shoe. 66 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:46,320 Oh! 67 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,800 And that is very useful for designing one crucial component. 68 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,680 It would be quite easy to just put thick rubber along the whole 69 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,240 outsole, but the shoe would become extremely heavy, so we try 70 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,080 and be as minimal and as precise as possible 71 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:04,880 with where we place the outsole, so that we get durability, we get 72 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,120 protection, and it lasts for a long time. 73 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,840 Wait. Where you place the what? Where we place the outsole. 74 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,360 Turns out, in the sneaker world, the sole has more than one part, 75 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:19,600 and the outsole is the bit that makes contact with the ground. 76 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,200 Let's take a step back and show you properly with a graphic. 77 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,880 To reveal the sneaky sneaker science hidden in our shoes, 78 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,720 I'm going to slice them open and look at four key components, 79 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,880 from the upper to the logo. 80 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:41,160 Kicking things off is the ridged tread at the bottom that gives us 81 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,360 grip and ensures that we don't faceplant in front of 82 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,440 the entire gym. 83 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:48,080 It's the outsole. 84 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,680 Of course, the sole isn't just doing one job, to act as a layer 85 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,240 between your foot and the ground. It's actually got different 86 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,760 components to it that are doing slightly different things. 87 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:06,080 And to show you is going to require some destruction, today, in the form 88 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,200 of a heat gun. 89 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:09,880 This guy! 90 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:11,360 Safety first, everyone. 91 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:14,880 OK. 92 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:16,280 Let's do this. 93 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,600 The outsole is this bit - the rubbery tread glued to the bottom. 94 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:27,640 To reduce the weight of the running shoe, but maintain maximum grip... 95 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:29,160 Oh! 96 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,080 ..they only place the outsole in the areas that need 97 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:36,400 it, and reinforce areas which might wear away faster. 98 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:38,360 Oh, Lord! 99 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:39,960 That is satisfying. 100 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:44,480 The flexible rubber and web design means that it can move and bend 101 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:45,760 with your foot. 102 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:49,840 Woo! Welcome to DIY with Hannah. 103 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:52,040 Oh, ho, ho, ho! 104 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:55,640 Look at that. 105 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,800 Now it's all apart, you can see the different elements of the sole. 106 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:00,960 So, you've got the outer sole here. 107 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,600 What is essentially a mini tyre for your feet. 108 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,440 The sole on your trainer might look a little bit different, 109 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:11,360 and that is because they are each designed to suit the specific uses 110 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,480 of the shoe. 111 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:14,560 Now... 112 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:17,600 Do you reckon they'll take these back? 113 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,440 To find out how we got the extraordinary sole of today, 114 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,760 I have to take you back to a time that will strike fear in the hearts 115 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:28,800 of cool kids everywhere, 116 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:31,240 when trainers didn't exist. 117 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:35,200 It's the 1800s. 118 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:39,920 The Industrial Revolution has transformed society... 119 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,400 ARCHIVE: With the coming of the machine, 120 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:47,440 the productivity of each workman was enormously increased. 121 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:53,760 ..and created a new middle class who play sports for fun. 122 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:57,080 Footballers and cricketers have spiked or studded shoes 123 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:01,480 to play in. But tennis poses a problem. 124 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:05,000 Spikes would damage the fancy grass courts, and flat leather soles 125 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:06,760 are far too slippery. 126 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:14,800 Luckily, a transformative new material was on the horizon, 127 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,800 one that would change our modern world... 128 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:24,480 ..vulcanised rubber. 129 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:28,640 Natural rubber had been used in South America 130 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:30,440 for thousands of years. 131 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,400 But it had some serious drawbacks. 132 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:38,920 There is one problem with natural rubber. 133 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,600 If it gets too cold, it goes really brittle. If it gets too hot, 134 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:42,840 it starts melting. 135 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:47,160 And that means it's not particularly good to wear or do anything 136 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:48,520 useful with, really. 137 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,240 So that meant that the race was on to find a way to make 138 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:52,840 rubber more stable. 139 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,560 The person who gets credited with creating rubber as we know 140 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:58,200 it today is this guy here. 141 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:00,600 This is Charles Goodyear. 142 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,440 American Goodyear was rubber mad. 143 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,200 He'd spent years and, basically, all of his money trying to work out 144 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:11,640 how to make it more useful when, one day, he found the answer. 145 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:14,880 The story goes that he was playing around with some natural rubber, 146 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,320 mixed in with lead and sulphur, and then he dropped 147 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,200 it onto a hot stove. 148 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:24,240 And to his surprise, rather than it melting, it hardened. 149 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:26,520 Stable, useful rubber. 150 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:27,760 Hurrah! 151 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,760 But poor Goodyear's bank balance wasn't safe just yet, 152 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:34,320 because he struggled to reliably repeat the results of his little 153 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:38,760 cooking accident, which meant he couldn't patent his invention. 154 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,240 Enter British rubber rival Thomas Hancock. 155 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:47,600 Thomas Hancock invented and patented almost every process and every 156 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:52,720 machine which was involved in the rubber industry. 157 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,920 This dapper gent is historian Professor Tom James. 158 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:01,120 He has the inside scoop on this raging rubber rivalry. 159 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,920 Now, he claims that he's totally impartial, but... 160 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:09,480 Believe it or not, my father was born in 1886 and his grandmother 161 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,520 was a Hancock. Which makes Hancock your... Let me work it out. 162 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,520 ..great-great-great uncle. That's right. 163 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:16,680 Tell me the story, Tom. 164 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:19,400 Thomas Hancock and Goodyear were both working on it. 165 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,640 Goodyear sent over some samples of his work to this country, 166 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,160 and they were shown to Charles Mackintosh. 167 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:28,600 Yes, that's right. The raincoat guy. 168 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,120 He gave Hancock a sample of Goodyear's stabilised rubber. 169 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:40,880 So, Hancock looked at them and he said, "I can see 170 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,280 "that they probably include sulphur." 171 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:47,000 So he set himself to work in his private laboratory. 172 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:53,600 Eventually, Hancock worked out a way to reliably stabilise rubber. 173 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:55,880 Instead of just adding sulphur into the mix, 174 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:59,360 he would also dip the rubber in molten sulphur. 175 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:04,360 It bonded with the rubber, making it more, well, rubbery. 176 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:09,520 In 1843, he patented vulcanised rubber in the UK, pipping Goodyear 177 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:12,200 to the post by just a few months. 178 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:14,960 Overall, not a good year for Goodyear. 179 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:17,840 Together with Mackintosh, Hancock started producing all sorts 180 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,880 of fancy new and useful rubber products... 181 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:26,520 ..some of which have been lovingly preserved here at Kew. 182 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:33,040 So here we have a shoe that was donated to us in 1853 by your 183 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,480 ancestor, Thomas Hancock, and it's one of our earliest known shoes. 184 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,680 Wow, look at that. Proper rubber stamp on the bottom. 185 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:41,960 Yes. Yes, "Ornamental shoes, 186 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,760 "Mackintosh and Co, 1853." 187 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:47,040 It's beautiful. Wow. 188 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,280 I mean, that is quite an extraordinary foot shape. 189 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:51,560 It's very dainty, isn't it? 190 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:53,760 I mean, look, I wouldn't fit into that, put it that way. 191 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:56,040 No, I wouldn't either. It's absolutely stunning. 192 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,120 And it was Mackintosh that made the rubber for this? Yes. 193 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:01,120 On behalf of your relative, who was obviously 194 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:03,080 a British rubber pioneer. 195 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:11,680 The invention of vulcanised rubber would transform the sports shoe. 196 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:15,520 By the 1870s, companies started producing cheap sports shoes 197 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:18,160 with rubber soles and canvas uppers. 198 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:24,320 In the UK, they were known as sandshoes or plimsolls... 199 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,560 ..while in the US, they became known as sneakers because the rubber sole 200 00:11:29,560 --> 00:11:33,120 meant that you could sneak around without being heard. 201 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,320 Say, why do you kids wear Keds? 202 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,000 So I can run faster and jump farther. 203 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,760 So I can win more often! Right! 204 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:44,160 The next leap forward in rubber soles would revolutionise things 205 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,880 on the running track, and the inspiration proves 206 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:52,120 that breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. 207 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,040 Hello, everyone. 208 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,040 SHE LAUGHS 209 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:59,520 It all starts with a university track coach called Bill Bowerman. 210 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:03,360 Hey. 211 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:05,480 Can I have a coffee? Thank you. 212 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,840 In the 1960s, Bill's athletics team were at the University of Oregon, 213 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,600 and they'd just spent a huge amount of money... 214 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,640 Thank you. ..on a really swanky new athletics track. 215 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,920 The only problem... Cheers. ..was that the synthetic surface 216 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,120 was getting pulled up by the runner's shoes. 217 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:28,240 Back then, running shoes were still heavy things covered 218 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:29,600 in metal spikes. 219 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:33,200 What Bill wanted was a grippy trainer that athletes could use 220 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:35,360 on any surface. 221 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:39,680 So Bill, he decided to go on a mission to create the perfect 222 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:41,840 soles on a running shoe. 223 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:44,840 When it came to grip, he was, well, gripped. 224 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:48,800 He learnt cobbling techniques, experimented with new materials. 225 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:53,560 He even raided his wife Barbara's jewellery box, and used her items 226 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:56,480 to try and make imprints in rubber to see if he could get anything 227 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:57,760 to be grippy. 228 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:02,440 But then he had an epiphany, and it came from the kitchen. 229 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:04,480 For that, I need to go in there. 230 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:11,200 It's 1971, and Bill and Barbara are at home cooking up the Sunday 231 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:12,880 breakfast of champions... 232 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,880 ..waffles. Right, I'm going to be Barbara. 233 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,160 Give me a second while that cooks. 234 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:25,720 Look, I've got other skills, OK? 235 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:27,440 WAFFLE IRON BEEPS 236 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:28,880 It's time. 237 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:36,280 As this delicious waffle was served, Bill was particularly transfixed 238 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:37,680 by the shape of it. 239 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:41,640 See all those little holes there, where your syrup tends to go? 240 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:45,720 He wondered, what if you did the same but in reverse, 241 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:49,600 so that instead of having lots of little holes, you had lots of little 242 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:52,080 ridges that stuck out from the surface, 243 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:54,960 just like you have on the original mould? 244 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,560 So Bill then runs out to his workshop, grabs some liquid 245 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:04,520 urethane, and pours it straight into their precious Art Deco waffle 246 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,720 iron, which was, I should add, a wedding present. 247 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:10,600 Do you know what? I've also realised 248 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:12,560 I actually forgot to put the spray on. 249 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:14,680 So I don't even know if it's going to come out. 250 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:16,880 Which, by the way, is also what happened to Bill. 251 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,680 He forgot to put any spray on, when he put the urethane in, 252 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:21,840 and then the whole thing was slammed shut. 253 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:24,600 Their beautiful wedding present ruined. 254 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:32,000 The waffle iron didn't survive, but remarkably, the marriage did. 255 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,840 Despite this initial setback, he persevered and ended up making 256 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,920 a flexible, lightweight sole with a raised grid pattern. 257 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:45,040 It was super grippy and it didn't tear up the nice new track. 258 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:49,360 The official Waffle trainer was launched in 1974. 259 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:52,400 But Bill Bowerman wasn't content with just keeping these big ideas 260 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:56,440 that he had about running to himself and his elite athletes. No, no. 261 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:58,760 See, he wasn't just a track coach. 262 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,640 Bill was also the co-founder of a small sportswear brand - 263 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:05,600 Blue Ribbon Sports. Which you might not have heard of, 264 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:09,920 but you will have heard of its successor - Nike. 265 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:14,200 And this here is one of their modern versions of that same waffle sole. 266 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,600 And so what started out as a running shoe for athletes became 267 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:19,240 something much bigger. 268 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:23,520 Mm. 269 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:25,800 That is really soggy and cold. 270 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,160 Delicious. 271 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,160 SHE CHUCKLES 272 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,560 New materials and manufacturing methods mean that our outsoles 273 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:36,040 have got more and more specialised, to the precisely engineered options 274 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:37,440 that we have today. 275 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:43,800 Our next component is what gives us a spring in our steps. 276 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,800 Bear with me, because it's still the sole. 277 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:51,120 But this time, it's the soft, spongy layer of cushioning sandwiched 278 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:53,040 between us and the ground. 279 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:54,600 It's the midsole. 280 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:02,640 Remember I said that the sole didn't just have one job? 281 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,480 The sole isn't just doing one job, to act as a layer between your foot 282 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,280 and the ground. It's actually got different components to it that are 283 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:10,720 doing slightly different things. 284 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,560 That's because hidden under our rubber tread is the second, 285 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:16,560 and equally important, part of our sole. 286 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:20,400 So this bit here, sort of a posh, squidgy marshmallow, 287 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,280 this bit here is the midsole, and that is there to provide 288 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,280 you with nice cushioning, so a nice, soft landing 289 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:28,200 as you're running. And there you have it. 290 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,760 Each one of these elements has to be individually designed 291 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:34,880 to perfection and then combined together to give you the best 292 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:36,920 possible running experience. 293 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,200 The teams at Adidas HQ have spent a lot of time working 294 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,240 on this squishy bit. 295 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:46,560 How do we enable the runner to run on clouds? 296 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,080 That was the brief to the team back in the day. 297 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:53,120 That is Stephan Scholten, director of running shoes, and a man 298 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:54,800 who knows his midsoles. 299 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,040 In the past, it was always very clear that you can either 300 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,400 have soft cushioning or responsive cushioning. 301 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,520 According to Stephan, it's now possible to have cushioning 302 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,040 AND extra power in your step... 303 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,400 ..thanks to an innovative midsole material they use in their 304 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:15,120 best-selling Boost range. 305 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:19,560 So these look like, I mean, little glass beads, almost. 306 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:21,640 I'd like to call them diamonds. Yes. OK. 307 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,000 I mean... Yes. You're the marketing guy, so... 308 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,080 Exactly. 309 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:30,120 So this is TPU, or thermal polyurethane, which is the absolute 310 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:33,720 raw material for what we call Boost today. 311 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:39,000 Basically, they put these, um, plastic polyurethane particles, AKA 312 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:44,080 diamonds, into a mould, and then they blow them up, a bit like 313 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:48,160 popcorn, to make a super-light midsole filled with 314 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,280 tiny, squishy pockets of air. 315 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,880 I mean, it kind of looks in a way, it looks like polystyrene, 316 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:55,920 but actually, it's really flexible. 317 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,560 And then is it quite...? Oh! ..quite bouncy? 318 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:01,720 What we initially realised, when you just look at it, 319 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:06,080 like the energy return that you get is unlike any other foam that you 320 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:07,760 get in a running shoe. 321 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:12,360 Energy return? I know what you're thinking - more marketing jargon, 322 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:17,240 but actually, energy return is the Holy Grail of the trainer industry. 323 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:22,000 The energy that gets absorbed through the pellets, gets 324 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:25,440 transitioned through the midsole, and then pops out again 325 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:27,600 when you push off. 326 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:30,640 Normally, when your foot hits the ground, some of your precious 327 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:33,640 energy is absorbed by the midsole, or wasted as heat, 328 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:35,280 noise or vibration. 329 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:39,080 The beauty of this material is that it holds on to the energy 330 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,200 and redirects it back into your step. 331 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,400 Running is hard. I mean... For the most part, right? 332 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,520 So you want running to be as enjoyable as possible. 333 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:51,600 And sort of a bouncy spring in your step. Exactly. 334 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,920 So that is the clever cushioning of today. 335 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:57,440 But how did we get here? 336 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:02,120 In the 1970s, the popularity of running exploded, 337 00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:05,200 and so did everybody's joints. 338 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:09,280 ARCHIVE: The average runner takes about 1,000 steps a mile, and with 339 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,560 every step, the foot absorbs three times the body weight. 340 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:16,600 The industry became obsessed with cushioning, and started 341 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:22,200 to introduce a lovely, spongy layer into the midsole. 342 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:24,600 The midsole, which goes from heel to toe, 343 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,600 supports and cushions the foot from heel strike, 344 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,280 all the way through to toe-off. 345 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:35,040 It was all thanks to a revolutionary new material - foam. 346 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:39,800 EVA, or ethylene-vinyl acetate foam, to be precise. 347 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:41,960 But Nike weren't satisfied. 348 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,000 They wanted to give us a bit more bounce. 349 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:50,600 In 1978, in a secret factory in Maine, they engineered 350 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:55,080 a new breakthrough that promised the springiest midsole ever 351 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,360 for pro athletes and amateur runners alike. 352 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:00,360 Well, hello. 353 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:04,480 And what they came up with would be the iconic Nike Air, 354 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,640 the world's best-selling trainer range. 355 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:12,200 I think I must have packed the box somewhere between 1980 and '82. 356 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:16,880 I don't know if I put shoes in there or sample midsoles or... 357 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:18,680 ..I don't know. 358 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:20,840 This is Dave Stearns. 359 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:22,840 He was responsible for manufacturing 360 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:25,240 the original Airs, 361 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:29,120 and this is his box of midsole memorabilia, 362 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:31,320 which hasn't been opened in 40 years. 363 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:38,880 A1. Do you know what A1 means? 364 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:45,120 This is the first Air sole that was ever welded in Saco. 365 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:48,360 The idea behind the Air sole was revolutionary. 366 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:52,720 You would literally walk on air, or bubbles of it, at least, 367 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:57,120 and it was the brainchild of aerospace engineer Frank Rudy. 368 00:20:57,120 --> 00:21:01,320 And that's me and Frank. He was an amazing guy. 369 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:03,640 Very, very smart - genius. 370 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,680 They had designed a tough, flexible bag of pressurised gas, 371 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:12,120 which they claimed would cushion the blow and act like a spring. 372 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:16,080 It was a great idea, but there was one rather significant oversight. 373 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:22,080 The component that was missing was how to put it into a midsole. 374 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,840 What are we going to do? Are we going to stitch some foam? 375 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,840 They originally thought they would just carve out some EVA 376 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:31,200 foam and cement it in. 377 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:34,320 Their solution for securing the Air sole into the midsole 378 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,920 was to master a process called injection moulding. 379 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:44,480 The injection head would come in and press foam into a mould. 380 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:49,920 Right? And that mould was shaped like the midsole here 381 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:51,960 of a Nike shoe. Right? 382 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:55,320 The injected foam would surround and encapsulate 383 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:57,480 the precious Air sole. 384 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:01,680 But like all the most fun experiments, or just a night out 385 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,280 in Ibiza, the process required hot foam. 386 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,240 And that wasn't good for the air pockets. 387 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,400 We had to find out what the temperature was that made 388 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,040 the foam react and wouldn't blow out the Air sole. 389 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:17,800 Because the Air sole was very sensitive to heat. 390 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:22,000 There was a lot of trash that went out in those first few months. 391 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,680 Another problem was that the foam was injected with a gun, 392 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,400 but when they pulled the gun away... 393 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:31,320 Foam was running back out the hole 394 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:35,960 that we just ejected. We said, "We can't have that." 395 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:40,120 After weeks of foam explosions, Dave came up with a simple 396 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:42,520 but effective solution. 397 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:44,160 This is gold. 398 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,920 This was what saved the day. 399 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:52,480 This is called the plugger. 400 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:53,840 Dave's creation, 401 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:58,080 the imaginatively named plugger, would, well, you guessed it, plug 402 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,320 the hole with a plastic pin so that the foam could set 403 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:05,000 around the Air sole, creating a single midsole. 404 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,200 Simple, right? 405 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,600 This saved so many headaches. 406 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:15,400 I think the first full production run of the shoes 407 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,200 were, like, 50 pair or something. 408 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,760 We just barely got 50 pair of shoes made. 409 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:27,040 The first Air shoe was officially released to the masses in 1979. 410 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,440 Oh, look. Ladies and gentlemen, 411 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:31,720 this was the reason the whole thing started. 412 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:32,960 This was the tailwind. 413 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,680 This was the very first shoe, Air shoe, that Nike made. 414 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,360 This is, this is... 415 00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:42,400 Man tears could be coming, I don't know. 416 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,440 This is very exciting. 417 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:46,720 I can't believe it. 418 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,600 Let it out, Dave. It's OK. 419 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,480 The cushioning concept was a hit. 420 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,760 One early study showed it could shave five minutes 421 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:56,360 off a marathon time. 422 00:23:56,360 --> 00:24:00,880 And since that first air bubble went into a midsole, Nike have now sold 423 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:04,120 hundreds of millions of pairs. 424 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:06,200 Now we've got to clean it up. 425 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,560 The Nike Air showed what happens when you bring precision engineering 426 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:13,920 to a midsole. 427 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,800 And over the last 40 years, trainer producers have taken that idea 428 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:22,840 and run with it, trying silicon gels, plastic honeycomb structures, 429 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,440 and even some sort of sneaker springs. 430 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:29,760 But back in Germany, they have a futuristic new design, 431 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:33,400 which Stephan believes takes the midsole to another level... 432 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,680 Let me show you something, actually. 433 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:38,880 ..and will put more power in our step. 434 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,360 So, this is actually the latest innovation we're working on. 435 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:45,440 Oh, really? 436 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,400 So you are the first one to unveil 40 Forward to. 437 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:52,760 That is a strange-looking shoe. Talk me through the idea. 438 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,520 What we did realise, talking to consumers, 439 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,240 there is more that we can deliver than just cushioning 440 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,400 and energy return. 441 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:04,640 This shoe has a futuristic 3D-printed midsole that compresses 442 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:08,480 when your foot hits the ground and then propels you forward. 443 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:10,720 If you squeeze it, you will realise, and then you rotate 444 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:15,200 it, that depending on the structure and depending on how we manufacture 445 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,840 it, you get much different properties. Oh, yeah. 446 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,600 Squishes really easily in one direction, but not in the other. 447 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:22,480 Exactly. 448 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:25,960 The key to this shoe's ability to store and release energy 449 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:29,320 is that its midsole is made up of 10,000 individual 450 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,120 3D-printed struts. 451 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,840 You've got a completely different lattice structure at the back 452 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,240 than you do at the front. 453 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,840 So it's like you're kind of... You're doing slightly 454 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:44,880 different things on different parts of the foot. 455 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:46,840 This is really what we what we try to highlight. 456 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:50,200 You can code the running experience from the heel to the toe 457 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,600 all the way. Pressure comes from the top. 458 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,040 The structure is designed and engineered in a way, 459 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,840 so it collapses forward with every step, which then gives the runner 460 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,240 the feeling of just running much smoother than they would 461 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,360 with any other technology. Oh, that is very cool. 462 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:06,600 I mean, that is deliciously mathematical, 463 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,840 that shape. It is, actually. I'm very into it. 464 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:14,240 If you've been paying attention to our sprint through the midsole, 465 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:18,760 you might now be able to tell an Air from a Boost. 466 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,160 But there is one thing that really makes each individual 467 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:23,520 brand stand out. 468 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:31,680 Our next component is the most recognisable part of every trainer. 469 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:36,040 Whether it's a swoosh or three precisely-placed stripes, 470 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:39,160 it has been designed to catch your eye and make you part 471 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,760 with your hard-earned cash. 472 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:43,280 It's the logo. 473 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:50,280 Look, you might not be a sneaker-head, but I am sure 474 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:54,600 you still know some of the big brands just from their logos. 475 00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:00,440 How much of a difference does the logo make? 476 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:02,480 It makes a huge difference. 477 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,200 That is Dr Catherine Jansson-Boyd. 478 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:07,880 She is a consumer psychologist. 479 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:09,600 The brand has representation. 480 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:11,520 The style has representation. 481 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:13,320 And that's what you're going to go with. 482 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:17,120 It's not just that they are looking for the best possible 483 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:18,560 high-performance shoe. 484 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:22,000 It's what this makes them look like and how it makes them feel. 485 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:23,440 Yes, absolutely. 486 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:25,960 Of course, we want something that's good on our feet as well. 487 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:30,160 But they will want the symbolic value. Once someone actually 488 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:31,520 remembers the logo, 489 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:34,800 you will kind of integrate it into your memory bank, but it also 490 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,000 needs to work kind of aesthetically. 491 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,120 And a good example is actually the famous swoosh, 492 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:42,160 because everybody knows it. 493 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,040 So you see it on its own and you just know, 494 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,080 "Right, we know what that represents." 495 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:49,360 It's not just the fact that you've got three triangles 496 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:52,960 and a word, it's what that brand represents, what that brand 497 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:54,520 means to people. Yes. 498 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:56,960 So, of course, it's not just the logo, like you said, 499 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,960 that wouldn't work, because humans are complicated. 500 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:03,480 We want to know who wears it, why do they wear it? 501 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,520 It gives people a representation of what the shoes actually 502 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:11,160 stand for and what it should be associated with. 503 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:14,920 Logos, as we know them, started to appear in the 19th century 504 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,400 when laws came in to protect companies' designs. 505 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,200 The first UK trademark came about thanks to one of Britain's 506 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,960 favourite pastimes - going to the pub. 507 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,800 Beer brand Bass Brewery registered their distinctive 508 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:33,960 red triangle logo on New Year's Day in 1876. 509 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,640 Medicine, tobacco and alcohol brands took the early logo lead. 510 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:44,400 But by the turn of the century, 511 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,240 recognisable emblems were everywhere. 512 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:53,520 With the rise of the sports shoe, companies like Keds and Converse 513 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:55,800 began to trademark their logos. 514 00:28:57,120 --> 00:28:59,360 Chick-a-boom, chick-a-boom, chick-a-boom-boom! 515 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,520 PF Flyers are the shoes for you. 516 00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:04,280 Look for the letters PF on the shoe! 517 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:10,800 And in 1949, Adidas registered their iconic design. 518 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:18,280 But to understand the life of this logo, we need to delve 519 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:21,920 into the history of the company and find out how a tale of two 520 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:25,640 brothers resulted in a trainer of three stripes. 521 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:31,120 Hidden beneath Adidas HQ are the archives. 522 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:37,800 It's the best feeling you can get in the world. 523 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:39,840 Every time I come here in this archive 524 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:42,000 is really... I feel the goose bumps. 525 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,160 Meet Sandra Trapp, Adidas historian. 526 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:51,000 She and her team are the guardians of this brand museum. 527 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,760 We have around 40,000 products in here. Not that many 528 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:55,360 shoes, around 12,000. 529 00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,960 The oldest one, it's very, very special because it's almost 530 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:02,840 100-years-old. Wait a second. 531 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:11,720 In the 1920s, brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler started a shoe 532 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:15,920 company from their parents' home in southern Germany. 533 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:20,840 Rudolf was the salesman, and Adolf was the amateur cobbler. 534 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:23,760 This is not an Adidas shoe. This is a brother Dassler shoe - 535 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:25,680 Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik. 536 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:29,320 Handmade by him, still in the old laundry room 537 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,720 of his mother. And this shoe's from 1925. 538 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,920 He was not even trained as a shoemaker at that time. 539 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:41,120 Like many other German businesses, the Dasslers joined the Nazi Party 540 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:45,280 in the 1930s, and because of the regime's focus on sport, 541 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,400 the company did well during the early years. 542 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:52,680 But in the 1940s, production halted and the factory was converted 543 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:54,560 for weapons manufacturing. 544 00:30:56,080 --> 00:31:01,040 There wasn't a lot of brotherly love between the Dasslers after the war, 545 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,960 and rumours around their rift are rife. 546 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:07,520 Some claim their split was political. 547 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:12,200 They say Rudolf had been more sympathetic to the Nazi cause, 548 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:15,920 while others say there was a love triangle involved. 549 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:18,600 But what's the official line, Sandra? 550 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:21,560 We don't know it, 551 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:23,880 the story from the brothers themselves. 552 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,000 But what we know is that they had different ideas, 553 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:27,480 really, how to run the business. 554 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:30,600 Both of the brothers had different experience during the war, 555 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:34,760 and that was the main reason why they decided, in 1948, to really 556 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,720 split the companies, and both of the brothers founded 557 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:38,960 their own brand. 558 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:41,920 The elder brother, Rudolf, went off and created a little brand 559 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:43,480 that you might recognise... 560 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:46,520 ..Puma. 561 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,240 His jumping cat logo was to represent agility, 562 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:51,240 athleticism and speed. 563 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:58,040 And younger brother Adolf started his very own new brand. 564 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,600 But first, he needed a name. 565 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:05,680 Our father's name is Adolf Dassler, and he made an abbreviation first 566 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:08,720 of his first name, Adolf, and Dassler. 567 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:11,640 He took his nickname, and his nickname was Adi. 568 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:14,760 So that's why it was called Adidas, then. 569 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,440 Next, he needed a logo, 570 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:20,280 a simple and easy way for people to see 571 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:22,600 and recognise his brand. 572 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:26,720 He was, of course, looking for a trademark, to get the best 573 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:29,520 visibility on the track and field tracks. 574 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:34,200 The brothers had used two stripes on their early shoes, but when Adi 575 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,880 started his new company, he had to do something different. 576 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,080 And what's better than two stripes? 577 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:42,280 This is one of the prototypes we have in the archive. 578 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:43,480 If you have a very close look, 579 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,760 you see that the third stripe was added in the middle. 580 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:53,720 Thus creating the now iconic three stripes mark that graces virtually 581 00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:55,760 every Adidas product made. 582 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:01,480 And it's not just the Adidas logo that has a legendary back story. 583 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:05,240 Take Lacoste. 584 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:09,640 In the 1920s, French tennis star Rene Lacoste's captain promised 585 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:14,760 to buy him a coveted crocodile suitcase if he won his next match. 586 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:19,600 Well, he lost, but the press christened him "The Crocodile". 587 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:25,440 Rene loved the nickname and sewed a croc onto his clothes. 588 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:29,400 And with that, the snappy little logo was born. 589 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:31,680 And that iconic swoosh? 590 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:36,120 Well, that one came about when Nike co-founder Phil Knight asked design 591 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:42,120 student Carolyn Davidson to create something fluid that conveys motion. 592 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:46,360 Knight said of the swoosh, "I don't love it, but it will grow 593 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:51,320 "on me," and paid Carolyn the princely sum of $35, 594 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:54,240 although she did later get some stock options that are probably 595 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:56,480 worth a little bit more. 596 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,240 Today, the top logos are worth billions. 597 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:02,880 They are the instantly recognisable face of our brands. 598 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:07,720 But a logo is nothing without the marketing campaign behind it. 599 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,160 And there is one crucial marketing tool that trainer companies use 600 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:14,600 to get us to love their logo and buy into their brand. 601 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:16,920 And that's celebrity endorsement. 602 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:18,160 PHONE RINGS 603 00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:20,640 Hello. Are these going to sell out? 604 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:22,280 Let's go back to Cathrine. 605 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:24,880 There's different things they can do, but the celebrity aspect 606 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:28,200 is a very, very big aspect, because sales often goes 607 00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:30,720 up somewhere in the region of 4% with the right 608 00:34:30,720 --> 00:34:32,120 kind of celebrity. 609 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:36,920 And if you're thinking about a huge global company, that is, you know, 610 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:39,680 millions and millions and millions of pounds, of dollars. 611 00:34:39,680 --> 00:34:41,840 So it makes a huge difference. 612 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:47,360 But what brings even bigger bucks is when those celebrities bring 613 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,400 out their own limited edition trainers. 614 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:55,720 Almost everyone's got a pair, but some people now collect them 615 00:34:55,720 --> 00:34:56,840 as a hobby. 616 00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:59,720 Probably got between 150 and 200 pairs. 617 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:06,040 These are so sought-after that the resale of sneakers, 618 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:11,800 the buying and selling of second-hand shoes, is big business. 619 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:13,400 But some unlucky people 620 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:17,120 don't end up getting quite what they paid for. 621 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:21,000 This is a fake pair of Adidas Yeezys. 622 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,360 These - a pair of fake Jordans. 623 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,720 And I've been reliably informed that they're quite a convincing 624 00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:27,880 fake as well. 625 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:31,000 That is because there is now an entire industry of people out 626 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:36,840 there making incredibly convincing replicas of the real thing, sticking 627 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:41,080 on all of the logos that we know and love so well and trying to cash 628 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:43,840 in on all of the hype around sneakers. 629 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:47,040 Now that is sneaky. 630 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:50,800 So how can you tell if you're buying the real thing? 631 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:53,640 Well, I've been allowed into eBay's secret 632 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:56,880 sneaker authentication centre. 633 00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:00,760 Each day, thousands of trainers sold for £100 or above are brought 634 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:04,440 here to be verified before being sent to the buyer. 635 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:10,080 Some of these shoes will be reaching up to, like, £5,000. 636 00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:12,840 £5,000? Yeah. 637 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:16,400 Meet Tallulah Jones, lead authenticator. 638 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:19,280 Why are they worth so much money? So, like this shoe, for example, 639 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,040 it's actually a collaboration with Travis Scott. 640 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:23,920 In case you aren't down with the kids, 641 00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:27,000 he's a superstar American rapper. 642 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:29,440 The second you're getting a collaboration, you'd expect 643 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:30,720 the value to go way up. 644 00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:33,840 And then this one has, like, the reverse swoosh on it. 645 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:36,160 So it's very unique in that way. 646 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,800 The counterfeit trainer industry is thought to be worth a 647 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:44,200 mind-boggling $450 billion. 648 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:47,960 Are there ones that you still have to authenticate? 649 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:50,800 Yeah. We can live authenticate this right now. Amazing. 650 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:54,520 So, OK, before we open the box, then, I mean, I don't even know 651 00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,120 what brand... This is a Yeezy. 652 00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:01,240 So a Yeezy was the super successful Adidas collaboration 653 00:37:01,240 --> 00:37:03,480 with musician Kanye West. 654 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,080 But... 655 00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:08,480 Now, the clothing giant Adidas has cut its ties with the musician 656 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,680 Ye - you might remember him as Kanye. Kanye West. 657 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:15,160 It comes after the rapper posted anti-Semitic comments. 658 00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:18,040 The ending of this relationship is thought to have cost Adidas 659 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:21,160 at least $250 million. 660 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:24,440 You've got to be careful which celebrity you get into bed with. 661 00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:26,760 Sorry, Tallulah, you were saying. 662 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:28,960 So, even the box itself, there's a lot of things 663 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:30,360 that we're looking for here. 664 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:32,800 We look at, like, fonts, the colour of the packaging. 665 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:34,200 Go on, let's have a look inside. 666 00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:37,320 I'm checking things like the shape, the material used, 667 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:38,560 you know, the stitching. 668 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:41,080 And obviously, we're going to give it a sniff. Like, that's our 669 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:42,840 famous sniff test. 670 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:45,640 So you've got to get your nose in there. 671 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:47,120 It's part of the job. 672 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:50,240 We do sniff any shoe that's new. Like, different glues 673 00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:51,440 have different smells? 674 00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:53,720 Yeah, there's like a smell that fakes will have, a smell 675 00:37:53,720 --> 00:37:54,920 that real ones will have, 676 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:57,120 so you've got to train your nose as well as your eyes. 677 00:37:57,120 --> 00:37:59,440 Wow. A little bit of chemistry involved. Exactly. 678 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:03,560 OK. And how did these do? These passed the authenticity guarantee. 679 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:05,680 They're real? These are authentic, yeah. 680 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:09,320 Are you ever impressed by what the counterfeiters can do in terms 681 00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:11,080 of how good the results are? 682 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:13,440 Oh, it's definitely getting very sophisticated. 683 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:17,120 You know, to a member of the general public, it would look identical. 684 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,680 If the real object is indistinguishable from the object 685 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,840 that you get, does it really matter? 686 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:25,040 I see what you're saying. 687 00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:27,080 But as a sneaker-head, you want the real deal. 688 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:29,440 You know, it's a feeling you get like, "Yeah, I'm wearing 689 00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:30,640 "the real thing." 690 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:37,400 I do think there's something really interesting about the idea 691 00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:41,600 that you can have two objects next to each other that are essentially 692 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:46,520 identical, indistinguishable from one another, and yet one 693 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:49,480 is so much more prized than the other. 694 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:53,760 And I think it demonstrates that sometimes sneakers 695 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,840 have this quality about them that really just transcends the idea 696 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,000 that they're just something you put on your feet. 697 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:01,400 Whatever it is, the swoosh on the side, the colourway, 698 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:06,880 the stripes. The way that the brand makes you feel, all of it is there 699 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:10,920 to have you really buy into this idea 700 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:16,080 and, ultimately, part with quite a lot of money, apparently. 701 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:19,520 Creating an association between your product and a celebrity 702 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:24,640 to sell more stuff might seem like a modern marketing ploy, 703 00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:30,360 but actually, it started over 250 years ago with a man and a tea set. 704 00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:34,760 What do multibillion dollar trainer companies have in common 705 00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:38,000 with 18th-century potter Josiah Wedgwood? 706 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:39,600 Now, I know what you're thinking. 707 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,000 That sounds like the beginning of a bad dad joke. 708 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:43,320 But you'd be wrong. 709 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:47,280 Actually, it's the beginning of a quite intriguing story. 710 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:53,120 Turns out, both know the power of celebrity endorsement. 711 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,400 ARCHIVE: All Wedgwood ware is carefully checked at every stage. 712 00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:01,560 And, as in the days of old Josiah, anything not perfect is smashed. 713 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,800 Wedgwood wanted a way to differentiate his pottery 714 00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:08,960 from the competition. 715 00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:12,920 His solution was to get the attention of the big influencer 716 00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:14,240 of the day. 717 00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:19,600 What Josiah Wedgwood did is spend some time crafting a beautifully 718 00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:25,080 exquisite, delicate cream tea set, just like this one, and then took 719 00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:29,000 it as a gift to the ultimate influencer herself - 720 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:31,040 Queen Charlotte. 721 00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:35,000 Queen Charlotte was so delighted with her gift that she declared 722 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:38,120 Wedgwood as "Her Majesty's potter". 723 00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:44,840 Something which Wedgwood could really dine out on a lot. 724 00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:49,200 He even renamed his tea set as Queen's Ware. 725 00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:53,840 You can even see on the bottom how he made everyone 726 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:56,240 know of the Queen's connection. 727 00:40:56,240 --> 00:40:58,240 "Queen's Ware" - just there. 728 00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:04,920 Wedgwood was the first person to use celebrity endorsement 729 00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:07,960 to sell stuff. A smashing idea, sir! 730 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:11,040 Right, tea break over. 731 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:13,680 Back to trainers. 732 00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:21,040 150 years later, the trainer company started using Josiah's trick, 733 00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:26,080 and it all began with all-star Chuck Taylor in 1917. 734 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:29,440 ARCHIVE: Jesse Owens was the fastest human of his day, and he took both 735 00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:30,960 the 200 and 100m titles... 736 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:34,840 Adi Dassler was hot on endorsements from the get-go, when he convinced 737 00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:39,760 sprinter Jesse Owens to wear his shoes in 1936. 738 00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:44,600 And, of course, Michael Jordan was a slam dunk for the swoosh. 739 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:50,400 But for some of us, we might choose our shoes based not on the celebrity 740 00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:52,880 selling them, but on the fit. 741 00:41:56,240 --> 00:42:00,000 Our next component is the reason our sneakers are comfortable. 742 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:05,240 It's the form-fitting fabric that makes up the top part 743 00:42:05,240 --> 00:42:06,640 of our trainers. 744 00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:09,720 We call it the upper. 745 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:14,760 Our trainer tops might look simple, but when you get 746 00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:18,240 down to it, our uppers are pretty sophisticated. 747 00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:21,360 Ready? 748 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:24,040 Right, time for more sneaker surgery. 749 00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:29,000 When it comes to the upper of a trainer, unsurprisingly enough, 750 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:32,120 it's anything that is in the upper part of it. 751 00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:35,640 This has to work with the shape of your foot, but it's a lot to ask 752 00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:38,920 because the foot itself is incredibly complex. 753 00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:41,400 You have got 26 different bones in there. 754 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:45,000 You've got 33 different joints, you've got ligaments, you've got 755 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:47,440 muscles, you've got all sorts going on. 756 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:51,360 And I think... Can I borrow it for Halloween? 757 00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:56,320 Oh! There's typically around 20 individual parts to an upper. 758 00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:57,680 Oh, my gosh. 759 00:42:57,680 --> 00:43:00,600 There's a lot going on here. Oh! 760 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:02,560 SHE GROANS 761 00:43:02,560 --> 00:43:06,520 So, the first thing to look at is around the heel. 762 00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:09,520 You want something that grips 763 00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:12,760 your heel bone and yet something 764 00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:15,720 that is loose enough that your Achilles tendon, which 765 00:43:15,720 --> 00:43:19,640 sits here, has enough room to bend and stretch as you're running. 766 00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:23,000 So, if I show you the inside of this heel, this is the thing 767 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:24,920 that I was struggling to cut so much. 768 00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:29,600 This is the heel counter. 769 00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:32,680 So, it sits around the back and to the side. 770 00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:34,480 And this is pretty rigid. 771 00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:36,360 Right? It's kind of like a hard bit of plastic. 772 00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:39,640 That's the thing that gives the heel a nice structure. 773 00:43:39,640 --> 00:43:42,720 Then there's a softer bit where your Achilles sits. 774 00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:46,840 All of these different layers inside it, cushioning your tendons 775 00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:51,800 and making sure that you have got enough room for your heel to operate 776 00:43:51,800 --> 00:43:54,200 as effectively as it can. 777 00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:56,440 Round the sides and over the top of the shoe, 778 00:43:56,440 --> 00:43:58,240 it's all about the materials. 779 00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:01,880 And this is where the breathability of the shoe comes in. 780 00:44:01,880 --> 00:44:06,480 So it's covered with a very flexible material that has lots of holes 781 00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:08,480 in it, just to make it as breathable as possible. 782 00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:10,080 I don't know if you can see that. 783 00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:13,120 That's because we have around 125,000 784 00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:16,440 sweat glands in each foot, which is more than your armpits. 785 00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:18,400 Seriously. 786 00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:20,520 And finally... 787 00:44:20,520 --> 00:44:23,160 ..this is the bit that's known as the toe box. 788 00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:28,040 And the idea behind this is that you want to give your toes 789 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:32,840 structure, but enough room to be able to splay. 790 00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:35,520 I think once you see it laid out, actually, you realise 791 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:38,240 just how complex this upper is. 792 00:44:38,240 --> 00:44:44,440 It has to really, beautifully hug the foot 793 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:47,880 so that the sole can do all of its magic. 794 00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:52,120 And that there concludes my surgical dissection of the trainer. 795 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:55,040 But how did we get into this highly engineered, lightweight 796 00:44:55,040 --> 00:44:56,440 upper of today? 797 00:44:59,680 --> 00:45:02,160 For most of sneaker history, there have been two choices 798 00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:05,120 for our trainer tops - leather or canvas. 799 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:11,280 But in the 1950s, companies started to look for new synthetic fabrics, 800 00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:14,280 which could offer the best of both materials, something 801 00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:16,640 that was lightweight but durable. 802 00:45:18,720 --> 00:45:22,520 The surprising solution would come from a brand-new wonder material 803 00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,720 that was transforming everything from military parachutes 804 00:45:25,720 --> 00:45:27,760 to ladies' stockings - 805 00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:29,120 nylon. 806 00:45:30,160 --> 00:45:32,440 Could you tell us just how it's made? 807 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:35,080 Well, it's quite a story. 808 00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:38,320 I guess our story starts in 1935. 809 00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:41,440 A guy called Wallace Carothers, he was a researcher at a company 810 00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:43,640 called DuPont in America. 811 00:45:43,640 --> 00:45:46,960 This is material scientist Dr Anna Ploszajski. 812 00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:49,880 So, what were DuPont doing? 813 00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:54,200 DuPont had been trying to make plastic, basically, so man-made 814 00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:57,320 materials that would mimic materials' properties 815 00:45:57,320 --> 00:46:01,840 that we currently could only find in the natural world. 816 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:03,720 Chemistry lesson coming up. 817 00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:07,640 So, natural materials like cotton or silk, they're made of long chains 818 00:46:07,640 --> 00:46:10,120 of atoms known as polymer chains. 819 00:46:10,120 --> 00:46:12,920 It's a little bit like the links on a bracelet. 820 00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:15,760 Carothers discovered that by combining different chemicals, 821 00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:21,400 they could recreate this structure and make new synthetic materials. 822 00:46:21,400 --> 00:46:26,680 This is adipic acid, and this is hexamethylenediamine. 823 00:46:26,680 --> 00:46:28,800 Now, these chemicals make nylon. 824 00:46:28,800 --> 00:46:33,360 They're derived from fossil fuels, and can be pretty nasty. 825 00:46:33,360 --> 00:46:36,160 Hence the rather dashing get-up. 826 00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:43,400 This is the second chemical - you'll see it floating on top. 827 00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:45,160 A bit like oil on water. 828 00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:50,560 Look at that. Smoking as well. Yeah. 829 00:46:50,560 --> 00:46:51,680 Do you know what? 830 00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:54,160 I feel like I've just stepped into a posh cocktail bar in Soho. 831 00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:56,040 Probably don't drink this cocktail. 832 00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:57,800 THEY LAUGH 833 00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:01,080 Where the chemicals meet, the molecules bond together 834 00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:03,720 and form polymer chains. 835 00:47:03,720 --> 00:47:06,560 Get down and have a little look. What can you see between...? 836 00:47:06,560 --> 00:47:09,320 Oh, yeah. It's almost like a film. 837 00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:13,000 And that is our nylon. Is it?! Mm-hm. 838 00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:14,200 Oh, wow. Look at that. 839 00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:17,200 As we pull it up, you're reacting more and more of the liquids 840 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:18,840 together. 841 00:47:18,840 --> 00:47:21,240 Oh, my gosh. It keeps going. 842 00:47:21,240 --> 00:47:23,680 Extraordinary. 843 00:47:23,680 --> 00:47:25,600 Yeah. 844 00:47:25,600 --> 00:47:27,560 It's quite disgusting, actually, isn't it? 845 00:47:27,560 --> 00:47:29,240 It's quite slimy. 846 00:47:29,240 --> 00:47:30,960 But look, it just keeps going. 847 00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:33,920 So that is freshly-made nylon. 848 00:47:33,920 --> 00:47:37,240 And this is what the scientists did back in 1935 to make 849 00:47:37,240 --> 00:47:38,600 this new chemical. 850 00:47:38,600 --> 00:47:42,840 It could be easily drawn out into very thin fibres, which is why 851 00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:45,560 one of its first uses was in tights. 852 00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:47,640 ARCHIVE: By a miracle of modern science, 853 00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:53,920 such commonplace things as coal, water and air have been transformed 854 00:47:53,920 --> 00:47:56,520 into threads more elastic than silk. 855 00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:01,920 And by the 1970s, our trainer tops were nylon-tastic. 856 00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:05,760 Nike uppers are made with nylon 857 00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:09,280 and nylon mesh, and they've done so for three reasons. 858 00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:11,400 Number one, it's very lightweight. 859 00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:14,040 Number two, there's no break-in time. 860 00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:17,760 And number three, it's ideal for all-weather running. 861 00:48:17,760 --> 00:48:20,120 Since the introduction of nylon, 862 00:48:20,120 --> 00:48:23,880 synthetic fibres have taken over our uppers. 863 00:48:23,880 --> 00:48:27,280 But they are not the most sustainable choice. 864 00:48:27,280 --> 00:48:28,920 They're created from fossil fuels 865 00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:34,480 and the strong polymer chains don't break down easily. 866 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:36,880 I guess there's always recycling? 867 00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:39,480 One key problem with recycling materials is that 868 00:48:39,480 --> 00:48:41,520 objects like trainers contain ten, 869 00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:43,720 20, 30 different materials. 870 00:48:43,720 --> 00:48:47,880 Nylon can be recycled, if it is removed from the trainer, 871 00:48:47,880 --> 00:48:50,720 but, you know, how often do you sit down when you're going to throw your 872 00:48:50,720 --> 00:48:53,200 trainers in the bin and cut all the different materials out 873 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:55,440 and put them in the recycling? You're not going to do that. 874 00:48:58,600 --> 00:49:01,840 Trainer companies are starting to use more sustainable 875 00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:05,640 and recycled materials, but there is no doubt that they need to do more. 876 00:49:09,200 --> 00:49:12,000 And maybe we will need to buy fewer pairs. 877 00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:19,960 Back in Germany, 878 00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:23,800 they've got a futuristic new elite running shoe upper that they 879 00:49:23,800 --> 00:49:28,400 hope will perfectly support the complexities of a runner's foot. 880 00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:30,920 So, tell me what you do in here, then? 881 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:34,120 This is basically the foot assessment room. 882 00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:36,560 Meet Athlete Services Director 883 00:49:36,560 --> 00:49:38,840 Fabian Schweizer. 884 00:49:38,840 --> 00:49:40,640 He has the unenviable job 885 00:49:40,640 --> 00:49:45,080 of examining a lot of feet. Luckily, it's not hands-on. 886 00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:48,120 We look at different things, pressure mapping, 3D foot scans, 887 00:49:48,120 --> 00:49:49,680 functional tests, sometimes, 888 00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,640 just really understanding the foot inside out. 889 00:49:52,640 --> 00:49:57,160 Those of a squeamish disposition, you can turn away now. 890 00:49:57,160 --> 00:49:59,360 But foot fans, hey, you can stay tuned! 891 00:49:59,360 --> 00:50:01,760 What we do here is basically take a 3D scan of your foot. 892 00:50:01,760 --> 00:50:03,240 We'll start with your left foot. 893 00:50:03,240 --> 00:50:06,560 So, this is like a fancier version of when you were a kid 894 00:50:06,560 --> 00:50:10,000 and you went into a shoe shop. Exactly. Just relax. 895 00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:12,520 The idea then is that you have this really accurate 896 00:50:12,520 --> 00:50:15,760 picture of what the foot looks like, from which to build a shoe. 897 00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:18,120 Yes. So, this basically is your foot. 898 00:50:18,120 --> 00:50:22,400 You see veins, you see all your toes, obviously, everything normal. 899 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:26,920 So, my very normal feet will now be added to their database. 900 00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:29,440 Just imagine we have hundreds of thousands of foot scans. 901 00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:32,120 We look at all the different feet geometries 902 00:50:32,120 --> 00:50:34,520 and also we look at certain maps, for example, 903 00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:37,520 where you have stress and strain, how is the skin moving, 904 00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:40,880 and from that, we create specific uppers for different sports. 905 00:50:42,320 --> 00:50:46,360 This time, all that fabulous foot data is being used to create 906 00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:49,800 a totally new type of trainer top for elite runners. 907 00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:54,880 I thought I'd seen the last of those horrifying scans! 908 00:50:54,880 --> 00:50:58,080 Does anyone's feet look pretty on that? No, never. 909 00:50:58,080 --> 00:51:02,080 That's Clemens Dyckmans, Technology Creation Manager. 910 00:51:02,080 --> 00:51:04,960 This is what we call strung. 911 00:51:04,960 --> 00:51:08,360 It's an entirely new process, more seamless, 912 00:51:08,360 --> 00:51:12,000 so it doesn't consist of several individual elements any more. 913 00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:14,560 It's more like a cocoon for your foot, ultimately. 914 00:51:16,240 --> 00:51:17,720 Using their athlete data, 915 00:51:17,720 --> 00:51:20,520 they plot out precisely where they need to place each 916 00:51:20,520 --> 00:51:24,440 piece of yarn around the foot, giving some areas more support, 917 00:51:24,440 --> 00:51:26,560 while making some areas more breathable. 918 00:51:28,040 --> 00:51:29,520 A robot takes this design 919 00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:33,960 and knits it together to create a single piece of material, 920 00:51:33,960 --> 00:51:37,680 which they say also produces less waste than traditional 921 00:51:37,680 --> 00:51:39,400 manufacturing methods. 922 00:51:39,400 --> 00:51:41,560 Lots and lots of structure around the back, 923 00:51:41,560 --> 00:51:44,480 presumably thinking about the direction it will be pulled in. 924 00:51:44,480 --> 00:51:47,600 To the side of the foot, there's many more holes, 925 00:51:47,600 --> 00:51:50,600 air breathing, same with the front. 926 00:51:50,600 --> 00:51:53,480 The cross-section, when you look on the side, is quite revealing, 927 00:51:53,480 --> 00:51:57,360 where you're going from areas that are a bit thinner to areas 928 00:51:57,360 --> 00:52:01,800 that are a bit thicker, where you have this sling, and you 929 00:52:01,800 --> 00:52:06,240 taper in a very, very organic way, similar to how your foot is. 930 00:52:06,240 --> 00:52:09,400 I know the seamless nature and the lightweight might give you 931 00:52:09,400 --> 00:52:14,960 a wrong judgment, but it is complicated because it is so simple. 932 00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:18,000 After more than five years of R&D, 933 00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:21,960 the team have just launched their new trainer top. 934 00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:24,360 I can see how 935 00:52:24,360 --> 00:52:28,440 incredibly useful this would be if you were a high-performance 936 00:52:28,440 --> 00:52:32,160 athlete, but, um, it may surprise you to learn I'm not one. 937 00:52:32,160 --> 00:52:36,400 Nevertheless, it's still a product that you and me can run in and 938 00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:42,800 enjoy and probably break personal records, rather than world records. 939 00:52:42,800 --> 00:52:44,400 I hear ya! 940 00:52:48,840 --> 00:52:54,080 In just over 100 years, our sports shoes have completely transformed. 941 00:52:54,080 --> 00:52:57,760 But as we pack them with evermore clever technology in the 942 00:52:57,760 --> 00:53:02,720 pursuit of speed, are they becoming too smart for their own good? 943 00:53:04,080 --> 00:53:06,600 The future is controversial. 944 00:53:09,760 --> 00:53:11,240 Some people have criticised. 945 00:53:11,240 --> 00:53:14,960 Technology, they say, is giving competitors an unfair advantage. 946 00:53:14,960 --> 00:53:16,320 No human is limited. 947 00:53:17,720 --> 00:53:19,280 Over the last few years, 948 00:53:19,280 --> 00:53:24,040 a new generation of super techy super shoes, like the Nike Alphafly 949 00:53:24,040 --> 00:53:26,520 NEXT and the Hoka Carbon X, 950 00:53:26,520 --> 00:53:29,120 have been helping athletes to smash world records. 951 00:53:30,840 --> 00:53:34,080 So, this is a normal shoe, which you could bend like that. 952 00:53:34,080 --> 00:53:35,800 You could bend very easily, yeah. 953 00:53:35,800 --> 00:53:39,240 And this is... Considerably stiffer. Yeah. Yeah. 954 00:53:39,240 --> 00:53:43,000 They contain materials you might expect to find in Formula One 955 00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:45,200 cars or in the aerospace industry. 956 00:53:47,080 --> 00:53:50,560 Dissecting this super shoe reveals the black carbon plate, 957 00:53:50,560 --> 00:53:53,640 which helps runners feel like they are springing off the tarmac, 958 00:53:53,640 --> 00:53:58,160 and has helped shave seconds and minutes off race times. 959 00:53:58,160 --> 00:54:02,960 While some argue that they are just the next inevitable innovation, 960 00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:05,520 others say it's like technical doping. 961 00:54:05,520 --> 00:54:09,480 It's going to be a race between the manufacturers, 962 00:54:09,480 --> 00:54:11,840 rather than a race between the athletes. 963 00:54:14,360 --> 00:54:18,600 Back at Adidas HQ, Athlete Science Manager Mel Knopp 964 00:54:18,600 --> 00:54:21,520 and the team are putting their latest super shoe 965 00:54:21,520 --> 00:54:24,520 through its paces. And then you can just minimise it. Yeah. 966 00:54:28,320 --> 00:54:33,800 In 2021, their Adizero range helped athletes to break seven world 967 00:54:33,800 --> 00:54:37,360 records. What's so special about this that means that it can 968 00:54:37,360 --> 00:54:40,680 help break records? Yeah, so, essentially, the things that's 969 00:54:40,680 --> 00:54:44,240 different between this and the previous non-technology shoes, 970 00:54:44,240 --> 00:54:46,440 as we call them, is so here we have a higher stack height, 971 00:54:46,440 --> 00:54:48,760 so this is the 39mm, 972 00:54:48,760 --> 00:54:53,040 which as you can see is higher than, like a normal running shoe. 973 00:54:53,040 --> 00:54:56,280 The other part is the super soft foam, which, as you can feel, 974 00:54:56,280 --> 00:54:59,040 it's very soft and has high cushioning. Oh, yeah! 975 00:54:59,040 --> 00:55:01,280 And also very high energy returns. 976 00:55:01,280 --> 00:55:04,760 But hidden in the midsole is their secret tech weapon. 977 00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:07,040 Those are the energy rods, so essentially, 978 00:55:07,040 --> 00:55:11,400 there's five of them, which would mimic the five bones in your foot. 979 00:55:13,520 --> 00:55:19,280 These carbon-infused spines also make their super shoe super stiff. 980 00:55:19,280 --> 00:55:22,520 They act like a propulsion system, 981 00:55:22,520 --> 00:55:24,680 rocking your foot forwards. 982 00:55:28,680 --> 00:55:31,560 And so, essentially, you can't bend the front of the shoe, 983 00:55:31,560 --> 00:55:34,360 which means you kind of glide from one step into the next. 984 00:55:34,360 --> 00:55:36,520 In previous shoes, you would bend the shoe 985 00:55:36,520 --> 00:55:40,880 and that would use up energy, to bend the shoe and then spring back. 986 00:55:40,880 --> 00:55:43,720 And all of that is kind of saved with this new technology, 987 00:55:43,720 --> 00:55:45,640 that's the stuff element. 988 00:55:45,640 --> 00:55:47,920 I see what you mean about it rolling forwards. 989 00:55:47,920 --> 00:55:50,480 It does look a bit different to normal shoes. Yeah. 990 00:55:50,480 --> 00:55:53,000 There's no sort of bend in form of it. 991 00:55:53,000 --> 00:55:57,280 Does it make you feel faster? A lot faster. Does it really? Yeah. 992 00:55:57,280 --> 00:56:01,200 Amazing. Does there not come a stage where this is kind of cheating? 993 00:56:01,200 --> 00:56:05,680 I mean, are you sort of, in a way, just doing non-chemical doping here? 994 00:56:05,680 --> 00:56:08,080 Yeah, so this is the one that's within the rules, 995 00:56:08,080 --> 00:56:13,520 so this is the 38mm stack height, with the regulations as under 40. 996 00:56:13,520 --> 00:56:17,480 But we also do have a shoe, which is our Prime X, which is 997 00:56:17,480 --> 00:56:20,200 like the pinnacle of all Adidas innovation. 998 00:56:20,200 --> 00:56:23,240 That is over 50mm, as you can see it's higher. 999 00:56:23,240 --> 00:56:24,640 That's insane! That's massive! 1000 00:56:24,640 --> 00:56:26,800 What you're doing here then is you're just saying, 1001 00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:28,600 "Right, sod the rules." Yeah. 1002 00:56:28,600 --> 00:56:32,440 What would happen if we just made a shoe that will make you 1003 00:56:32,440 --> 00:56:35,160 go as fast as possible? Exactly and that's our goal, 1004 00:56:35,160 --> 00:56:39,320 is to let whatever athlete they want to run as fast a possible. 1005 00:56:39,320 --> 00:56:40,720 Have you run in these? 1006 00:56:40,720 --> 00:56:43,880 I have, yes. Are they fun? Yes! Are they? Yeah. 1007 00:56:43,880 --> 00:56:47,440 You're actually even like smiling. A beam just appeared across your face. 1008 00:56:47,440 --> 00:56:50,160 They're very soft and you can definitely even still feel 1009 00:56:50,160 --> 00:56:51,800 a difference between these two. 1010 00:56:51,800 --> 00:56:54,560 Suddenly, everyone becomes an athlete. Yeah! 1011 00:56:54,560 --> 00:56:57,920 So, what's the future, then? If this is where we are at now, 1012 00:56:57,920 --> 00:56:59,760 with cheating shoes... Yeah. 1013 00:56:59,760 --> 00:57:01,720 ..do we ever get to a stage where you've got little 1014 00:57:01,720 --> 00:57:04,880 rockets in the back of them? Let's see! Let's see! 1015 00:57:04,880 --> 00:57:06,360 But essentially, for us, 1016 00:57:06,360 --> 00:57:09,360 we're working towards the individualisation and customisation 1017 00:57:09,360 --> 00:57:12,640 of shoes, so that we can give every athlete what they need to get 1018 00:57:12,640 --> 00:57:16,240 to the best performance, or whatever goals they're striving for. 1019 00:57:16,240 --> 00:57:18,840 Which, for me, is just to run 5K without stopping. 1020 00:57:18,840 --> 00:57:20,200 And we have shoes for that! 1021 00:57:22,440 --> 00:57:26,400 This generation of super shoes might split the crowd, 1022 00:57:26,400 --> 00:57:31,240 but they are the culmination of 100 years of sneaker ingenuity. 1023 00:57:31,240 --> 00:57:35,320 Revolutions in material science and engineering have given us 1024 00:57:35,320 --> 00:57:37,760 the springiest midsoles. 1025 00:57:37,760 --> 00:57:41,760 Advancements in data capture have led to better grip 1026 00:57:41,760 --> 00:57:43,280 and more comfortable uppers. 1027 00:57:45,200 --> 00:57:48,880 And maybe one day, I'll get my rocket-powered sneaks. 1028 00:57:48,880 --> 00:57:52,080 You know? I think my attitude towards trainers has actually 1029 00:57:52,080 --> 00:57:54,920 changed during the course of making this programme. 1030 00:57:54,920 --> 00:57:59,040 Now that I understand the kind of tricks that go into making those 1031 00:57:59,040 --> 00:58:02,440 shoes seem as appealing as possible, I think 1032 00:58:02,440 --> 00:58:05,640 I'm a little bit less likely to get sucked in by it. 1033 00:58:05,640 --> 00:58:11,120 But on the other hand, now that I've seen just how much science 1034 00:58:11,120 --> 00:58:14,520 and thought and design goes in to making these shoes 1035 00:58:14,520 --> 00:58:18,520 perform as best they possibly can, I mean, 1036 00:58:18,520 --> 00:58:22,360 I'm just never going to wear uncomfortable shoes again. 1037 00:58:22,360 --> 00:58:25,280 To explore the interesting dilemmas behind some familiar 1038 00:58:25,280 --> 00:58:29,600 pieces of technology, and hear some of my own thoughts, go to... 1039 00:58:32,080 --> 00:58:34,800 ..and follow the links to the Open University.