OCTOBER 17 2019 – INTERNATIONAL ROLLERSKATING DAY! PART 1!! with Deidre Emerson

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL ROLLERSKATING DAY! Join us as we celebrate putting wheels on our feet, traveling on a surface and then falling down! Today we're partying with roller skating aficionado and cool sis Deidre Emerson!! LET'S PARTY!!

Find Holiday Party online – Patreon: patreon,com/HOLIDAYPARTY Twitter: @HOLIDAYPARTYPOD / Instagram: HOLIDAYPARTYPODCAST / Facebook: @HOLIDAYPARTYPODCAST / HOLIDAYPARTYPODCAST.COM

Find Alyssa – Twitter: @alyssapants / Instagram: lettertalkpodcast / alyssapants.com

Find Disa – Twitter: @cinnamonenemy / Spotify: open.spotify.com/user/1243777842

PART 1 SHOW NOTES

• History/Fun facts about the holiday
  • Definition/history of roller skating/roller skates
    • From Wikipedia: Roller skates are shoes, or bindings that fit onto shoes, that are worn to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. The first roller skate was effectively an ice skate with wheels replacing the blade. Later the “quad” style of roller skate became more popular consisting of four wheels arranged in the same configuration as a typical car
      • Skates generally come in three basic varieties: quad roller skates, inline skates or blades, and tri-skates, though some have experimented with a single-wheeled “quintessence skate” as well as other variations on the basic skate design
    • Roller skating is the traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a form of recreational activity as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation.
      • In America, roller skating was most popular between 1935 and the 1960s and then in the 1970s, when polyurethane wheels were created and disco music oriented roller rinks were the rage, and then AGAIN in the 1990s when in-line outdoor roller skating took hold, thanks to the improvement made to inline roller skates in 1981 by Scott Olson
    • The first reported use of roller skates was on a London stage in 1743. The first patented roller skate was introduced in 1760 by Belgian inventor John Joseph Merlin, which was essentially a version of what we would call an inline skate today, with wheels where the blade on ice skates would go. They were hard to steer and to stop because they didn’t have brakes. The initial “test piloting” of the first prototype was in the city of Huy, which had a party with Merlin playing the violin.
      • According to a 2013 mentalfloss.com article, Merlin’s plan was to “suavely skate into [the] salon [of a fancy masquerade party] while simultaneously playing the violin. Unfortunately, Merlin hadn’t practiced skating much prior to the soiree, nor were his skates engineered for turning. Merlin ended up crashing into a large mirror and suffering serious physical injuries, though his pride might have been the part of him most severely bruised.”
    • It was until the 1860s that “trucks” were employed. James Plimpton created a four-wheeled skate that made use of springy carriages called trucks that allowed the skater to turn by leaning in the direction of travel. This was a vast improvement on the Merlin design due to its ease of use, and ended up driving the huge popularity of roller skating, dubbed “rinkomania” in the 1860s and 1870s. The Plimpton skate is still in use today
    • According to a 2014 article from The Atlantic, it was greatly due to the advent of the disco age that roller skating took off in the latter part of the 20th century, since songs with an up beat and a down beat really help the sport. However, as with all things in the 70s, roller skating took a hit when the economy started to tank. Many rinks were forced to closed, and some of those that survived weren’t adequately prepared for the inevitable wane of the disco era and ended up closing as well
      • The popularity of rollerblading in the 90s offered an option for the remaining rinks to adjust and even continue to thrive
      • The article goes on to detail an experience at the Roller Skating Association Convention and Trade Show for that year, where it appeared that attendees were optimistic for renewed interest in the sport. The Top 40 songs at the time appeared to be compatible with skating culture, with 80s nuwave vibes in abundance. One such example is Avicii’s “You Make Me.” The video is set in a roller rink, and has a Scott Pilgrim kind of vibe, but with synchronized roller skating and only one ex
      • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GADx4Hy-Gg&feature=kp
    • Eventually, roller skating evolved to become a competitive sport, including speed skating, racing on skates, inline figure skating, jam skating, and roller derby. In the mid 1990s, roller hockey, which is played with a ball instead of a puck, became so popular that it even made an appearance in the 1992 Olympics. 
      • While roller skating was considered for the 2012 Summer Olympics, it has never become an Olympic event
      • Roller skating popularity exploded during the disco era but tapered off in the 80s and 90s
      • Jam skating! Is a combination of dance, gymnastics, and roller skating. The style has its roots in traditional roller disco, but has been greatly influenced by breakdancing, artistic skating, gymnastics, and modern dance. Successful jam skaters are well practiced in these different forms and must have the ability to translate these movements while on skates.
        • Jam skating first became popular in the early 1990s and is still going strong throughout the nation
        • Example of jam skating in pop culture can be found in the music videos:
          • 1, 2 Step by Ciara ft. Missy Elliott
          • Disease by Matchbox 20
          • My Shoes by Murphy Lee
          • I Heart You by Toni Braxton
          • Ladies of the World by Flight of the Conchords
          • Blow by Beyonce
          • Cool Patrol by Ninja Sex Party
          • Gold by Chet Faker
        • As well as an Apple iPod commercial featuring the song “Feel Good, Inc.” by Gorillaz

SOURCES

• http://listofnationaldays.com/international-roller-skating-day/
• https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-roller-skating-month-october/
• https://www.checkiday.com/40e04d7b10d7177c74dd96ed93e2b7f8/national-roller-skating-month
• https://www.rollerskating.com/pages/national+roller+skating+month+tool+kit/169
• https://www.rollerskating.com/pages/convention/50
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_skating
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_skates
• https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/whatever-happened-to-roller-skating/362100/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/nyregion/the-history-of-roller-skates.html
• http://mentalfloss.com/article/52168/11-things-you-might-not-know-about-roller-skates
• https://isccherryhill.com/fun-facts-about-roller-skating/
• https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/prince-roller-skating-story-questlove
• https://www.fastcompany.com/1672183/the-legend-of-princes-rainbow-roller-skates
• https://uproxx.com/tv/a-few-quick-thoughts-about-questloves-story-about-roller-skating-with-prince/
• https://www.yelp.com/biz/national-museum-of-roller-skating-lincoln
• https://skagitskate.com/other/healthy-skating-facts/https://stories.inspirebrands.com/2019-sonic-drive-in-skate-off-recap/