cool things about heels. 18SX

did u know...

1. high heels are good for your sex life.

Experts found that wearing a 3-inch heel strengthened pelvic muscles, also increasing their ability to contract--it's an effortless, on-the-go version of Kegels.

2. The average American woman owns 19 pair of shoes.

But it's likely one of those pairs will never see the outside of a closet. 60 percent of women regret at least one shoe purchase and on average women have worn a quarter of their shoes only once.

3. Almost all women routinely wear shoes that are one to two sizes too small.

88% of women are wearing shoes that are too small for their feet. The majority of women haven't been measured for the correct shoe size in the past five years, and since shoe size often increases with weight gain and age, many women stick with a size they've outgrown.

4. Who invented the contemporary stiletto?

The contemporary stiletto was invented in the 1950s by Italian shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo, who made his first pair for Marilyn Monroe in alligator skin. The models back then were tame by today's standards, with heels no higher than about 3 inches.

5. How many hours per year does the average women spend shopping for shoes?

Women spend 40 hours and 30 minutes shopping for shoes every year, over the course of 15 shoe shopping trips.

6. What percentage of women said they were willing to give up sex in exchange for a really great pair of shoes?

22 percent would be willing to give up sex, 36 percent would give up chocolate, and 37 percent would take the shoes over a nice dinner out.

7. Historians believe the modern-day high heel originates from the chopine, a platform shoe, worn by women in Florence in the 16th century. The platform was often two feet high.

Venetian prostitutes often wore chopines. The platform shoes elevated the prostitutes, who often lingered in dark doorways waiting for potential customers, to a height which would make them noticeable.

8. Shoe fiend Darlene Flynn earned her title as Guinness World Record holder for the largest collection of shoe-related items. Over the course of 6 years, how many pieces of shoe memorabilia did she amass?

Darlene Flynn owns 7,765 shoe-related items, including a replica of the Disney Cinderella glass slipper, wooden shoes, leather moccasins, cloth shoes, cast iron boots, a red-stiletto shoe phone, and even a shoe made from the ash collected at Mount St. Helen's eruption.