100 Objects #11: Brannock Device
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100 Objects #11: Brannock Device

B2Upper-intermediateJuly 31, 202627 min

In 1925, the world saw the birth of what just might be the greatest gadget in American History: the Brannock Device. The metal contraption transformed the way we measure feet forever, and more than a century after its invention…it has barely changed. Roman Mars and journalist Paul Lukas trace the life of the Brannock Device, from its role outfitting WWII sailors to its surprising endurance into the modern era, even as the entire world changed around it. A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios. Subscribe to...

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He's going to have his shoe size measured in this newfangled metal gadget that measures the length of your foot and the width of your foot.

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B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 33%A2 39%B1 22%B2 5%C1 1%
  • 94% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 163 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
  • 145 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

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0:00

It's 1925 in Syracuse, New York, and a young man is going into the Park Brannock Shoe Store on South Salina Street, and he's about to encounter what I think truly is the greatest gadget in American history. He's going to have his shoe size measured in this newfangled metal gadget that measures the length of your foot and the width of your foot. And most crucially, the arch length of your foot. And that's the length from your heel to the ball of your foot.

0:33

This arch length measurement is a brand new concept in 1925. It might seem unnecessary, but actually, it's really important. Two people can have the same heel to toe measurement, but a different arch measurement. And so they might need different size shoes or have the width adjusted slightly.

0:54

And this measurement is so your shoes are going to fit better and your shoes aren't going to wear out as much because you're going to be walking in them more smoothly. And nothing like that had ever been devised before. And it basically revolutionized shoe size fitting. So this metal thing that measures the length and width and arch of a foot, it has a name.

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