Let us ask you a serious question: How many socks have you lost over the past year? How about over the past 10 years? Have you ever wondered where all those socks have gone? If you’re anything like us, you have. It’s something that humankind has tried to solve ever since socks were first invented.

We may never find out where they go or why they leave us, but we can mourn their loss. We can do so by observing National Lost Sock Memorial Day—a holiday that falls on May 9th and gives us all a few moments to honor the memory of the socks that we used to have.

A History of Socks

We wondered just how many socks have disappeared over the past few years, so we decided to research the history of socks to see if we could find out. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to determine how many socks have been lost over the years, but we have discovered the interesting history behind socks.

Socks were first invented during the 8th century B.C. These early socks were made out of matted animal hair and helped to keep people’s feet warm. This practice continued with the Romans, who made socks out of animal skins and tied them to their ankles.

In the 2nd Century, Roman socks began to change a bit, however. The animal hides were on the way out, and knitted fabrics were on the way in. Over the next couple of hundred years, socks would spread across Europe, in part due to Roman conquests.

They not only became something to keep people’s feet warm but were also used for fashion purposes. During the Middle Ages, brightly colored socks became all the craze as nobles had their socks dyed in shades of yellow, green, and red.

As their color became brighter and brighter, they also climbed higher on the leg. They basically went from ankle socks to knee socks as pants evolved in the opposite direction and became much shorter. Socks weren’t always called socks, however.

At first, they were called stockings—a word that came from the Old English word “socc,” which just so happens to mean light slipper. Eventually, the word stockings evolved, and they were simply called socks. Nowadays, they are still called socks—it doesn’t matter if they only come up to the ankle or if they come all the way up to the knee.

Nowadays, socks are used for more than just comfort or fashion. They’re also used for health. This is particularly true in the case of compression socks. Compression socks apply pressure to the muscles and surface veins of the legs to increase blood flow. They help people who have low blood pressure, diabetes, and athletes.

Observing Lost Sock Memorial Day

To observe Lost Sock Memorial Day, you don’t have to set the flag to half-mast or have a parade on behalf of your socks. You don’t have to go to those extremes. However, you can still celebrate the day by taking the mismatched pairs of socks that you’ve collected over the years and doing something with them.

Something that will allow those socks to honor the one that has been lost. What can you do with your mismatched socks? You can make sock puppets, use them to cover golf clubs, fill them with dry beans, and use them in your cornhole game, or turn them into some other creative project.

You can also place googly eyes on them and post a picture of them on your social media accounts using the hashtag #LostSockMemorialDay.