Children and adults alike have always enjoyed roller skating as a pleasant pastime. It’s amazing to think that the first roller skates were used in a play in London in 1743!
Invented in London in 1760, the first skates are ascribed to John Joseph Merlin. Since then, a lot has changed with roller skates!
In 1935, roller skating gained popularity as a pastime in the United States. Before the 1970s, disco music was played in roller skating rinks, but that’s when it truly took off. Everyone seems to be eager to skate and move to the music!

Let’s travel back in time to our roller skating past. Do you recall those durable metal skates you could wear on your shoes? They had a significant influence on fashion back then. Should you have been a skater prior to the 1970s, you could perhaps recall the well-known skate key.
For everyone, this copper-colored component was an essential component of roller skates. At first sight, it could appear to be a bottle opener or some other kind of tool, but it’s actually a skate key. You may adjust the size of your skates by inserting the skate key into the back of the pair. To ensure they didn’t lose the key, the majority of skaters wore it around their necks. It accomplished a little but significant task for roller skating.

Skate keys were so essential to roller skating that some individuals have even created songs about them. These artifacts take us back to a period when roller skating was a popular activity that bonded people and created memories.
Are your skate keys still with you? Share your skating experiences with us on our Facebook page. Let’s share this enjoyable throwback to those who may have fond recollections of roller skating and skate keys.