Roller skating has been around since the 18th century, but it took quite a while before its popularity took off. Once it did, however, it enjoyed a brief period of popularity during the 1970s and 1980s before losing its appeal to the general public.

Sure, inline skating started to become popular during the 1990s, but quad skating didn’t enjoy the same increase in popularity. Fortunately, things have changed over the past few years, and now more people than ever are enjoying inline and quad skating in the U.S.

That’s probably why October was turned into National Roller Skating Month. It’s a great opportunity for people to enjoy this recreational activity once again.

The History of National Roller Skating Month

Unfortunately, we were unable to uncover the history of National Roller Skating Month. We researched the entire history of roller skating but were unable to find out who invented the month or when it was invented. We’ll continue to try to find out the history of this month, but at this time, it doesn’t appear that we’re going to uncover it.

Fun Facts About Roller Skates

Anyone who has come to this section of our National Roller Skating Month articles looking for facts about roller skates has come to the right place. We’ve rounded up some fun roller skating facts that we feel all of us can enjoy.

• John Joseph Merlin invented shoes with wheels in 1735.
• John Joseph Merlin debuted the skates by crashing into a large mirror at a masquerade party in London in 1760.
• In 1819, Monsieur Petitbled patented the roller skate. It was an inline skate with just three wheels.
• The first time a couple married while wearing roller skates was in 1912.
• It’s been estimated that roller skating uses approximately 80% of the body’s muscles.
• The National Museum of Roller Skating can be found in Lincoln, Nebraska.
• During the 1950s and early 1960s, the roller skating carhop could be seen at many drive-in restaurants.
• The chain restaurant Sonic hosts the annual Sonic Skate-Off to find the most skilled carhop from its chain of restaurants.

Observing National Roller Skating Month

This month can be observed simply by strapping on a pair of roller skates and trying them out. These can be inline or quad skates; it really doesn’t matter. They can be worn on the sidewalk outside of the person’s house or at a roller rink.

All that matters is that the person skates safely and enjoys themselves. Once they’ve reintroduced themselves to skating, they can then use the hashtag #RollerSkatingMonth to spread the word about it online.