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Nike’s first pair of running shoes was inspired by waffles.
Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman was having breakfast with his wife one morning in 1971 when it dawned on him that the grooves in the waffle iron she was using would be an excellent mould for a running shoe.
As one of the waffles came out of the waffle iron, he said, “You know, by turning it upside down — where the waffle part would come in contact with the track — I think that might work. So I got up from the table, got two cans of whatever it is you pour together to make the urethane, and poured them into the waffle iron.”
The rubber mould inspired Nike’s first shoe, the Waffle Trainer, which debuted in 1974.
Credit: © Nike, Inc
