Just like first aid kits, gloves have a fascinating history and offer several surprising facts.
Scroll below to learn how these common hand coverings have played an important place throughout history and other fun facts about gloves!
1) We’ve been wearing gloves since as far back as in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Explorers discovered linen gloves in King Tutankhamen’s tomb dating from 14th century B.C.
2) In 2018, archaeologists uncovered a pair of leather boxing gloves under the floor of an ancient Roman fort in England.
These gloves date back at least to 120 A.D.
3) In Europe in the Middle Ages, many workers wore gloves for protection and warmth.
Gloves served as a staple clothing type for workers like blacksmiths, woodcutters, and masons and were made of different materials including sheepskin and wool.
4) Gloves became fashionable for women starting in 16th century Europe.
Queen Catherine de Medici of France started this fad.
5) English gentlemen used to declare their love by sending gloves to their intended brides.
They would know if the recipients had accepted their marriage proposal if she donned their pair of gloves in church that Sunday.
6) In the court of King Louis VX of France (1710-1774), gloves didn’t just look good: They smelled good, too.
With the increasing popularity of perfume, gloves, like other everyday items like clothing and furniture, were perfumed.
7) In 1834, Xavier Jouvin (Grenoble, France) invented a cutting die that gave us the first perfectly fit gloves.
His invention introduced the concept of precise fits for the first time.
8) During Victorian times, American and British women donned gloves for every kind of activity and had different kinds of gloves for each activity.
In fact, being caught not wearing gloves was considered a major social faux pas. You could also often find catalogs containing a minimum of 21 different kinds of gloves.
9) Before World War II, most gloves were made of silk.
After WWII, manufacturers shifted to using man-made materials instead, as well as cotton.
10) Neil Armstrong’s original extravehicular gloves from Apollo 11 still contain lunar dust from when he landed on the moon.
Scientists determined this after they examined dark spots found on the gloves under a microscope.
11) The FDA and all glove manufacturers use the Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) quality specification to specify the pinhole rate in surgical and examination gloves.
The FDA specifies an AQL of 1.5 for surgical gloves and 2.5 for examination gloves. An AQL of 2.5 means the defect level from a large sampling of gloves will not be more than 2.5%.
12) The way companies determine glove size is by measuring the circumference of the hand around the palm area with a tape measure.
For example, if your hand circumference is 9”, your closest glove size is a 9. Glove sizing varies, depending on manufacturer, origin, and style. Typically, examination gloves are sized as X-Small through X-Large and surgical gloves are sized from sizes 5.5 through 9.0.
These are just some of many facts there are about gloves.
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