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Humans have been ice skating for about 3000 years, judging from animal bones found in gravesites in what is now Scandinavia. These skates would have been very crude, and they might have allowed for movement over the ice, but not much control over that movement. It was the Dutch who invented skate blades made of steel in the 1200s and 1300s, and their shape, function and material has not changed very much at all over the past 800 years. The Dutch probably originally used skating as a form of transportation. Much of Holland is at or below sea level, and much of that is frozen for long periods during the year. Skating provided a rudimentary way of getting around.

The earliest skates were not very stable, and skaters needed to use poles, similar to ski poles, to maintain their balance. Further refinements to the blade ended the need for poles, and ice skating became a pastime for children as early as the 1400s. Ice skating was considered a proper form of entertainment for everyone in Holland, but in other countries, it was seen for generations as appropriate only for the upper classes. For a long time, it was acceptable in polite society for women to skate, but that changed in the late 1800s when the first figure skating clubs opened up -- to men only. Over the next 100 years, ice skating went from being a stiff and formal means of exercise to a more aesthetically pleasing, artistic pursuit. It also became a competitive sport, although the ladies would have to wait years to compete in some of the major championships.

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Q: Why did people invent figure skating?
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