|  November
8, 2004:
History of Walking
Interview
with Joseph Amato,
author of On
Foot: A History of Walking
Mike
Carruthers:
Walking, it’s something you do everyday without giving it a
whole lot of thought but…
Joseph
Amato, author of the book, "On
Foot: A History of Walking":
Walking is a treacherous business. It’s kind of an organized
activity around falling. Just as we’re going to fall, we bounce
off yet another step.
Bi-pedal
walking we actually share with the birds. Almost all birds that
I know are two legged walkers. Bi-pedal of our sort is very good
in terms of energy conservation when you compare it with going
on all fours.
The
reasons people walk have changed over the years.
For
the great, great majority of these six million years people
walked, and walking meant to carry. I mean walking was not an
activity of choice. The three miles an hour that is the rough
average of all human walks, humans walked and they carried things.
As we move through history, the wealthy either sit down, get
carried around in chairs or chaises, and then ultimately they
get vehicles.
Walking
is also a form of communication, you can tell a lot about a
person by the way he or she walks. And, interestingly Joe says…
The Army,
U.S. Army intelligence, is sinking in vast amounts of money
to be able to recognize people by their walks, very useful for
hunting down terrorists.
At somethingyoushouldknow.net,
I’m Mike Carruthers and that’s Something You Should Know. |
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