Shoe polish is a consumer product chiefly used to shine, waterproof, and restore the appearance of leather shoes, thereby extending the garment's life. It is usually a waxy paste or a cream. Various substances have been used as shoe polish for many hundreds of years, starting with natural substances such as wax and tallow. The first modern shoe polish, Kiwi, was invented in 1906 and is still the most widely used today. Since World War II, shoe polish usage has increased significantly. Today, shoe polish is usually made from a mix of natural and synthetic materials, including naphtha, turpentine, dyes, and gum arabic, using fairly straightforward chemical engineering processes. If misused, shoe polish can be toxic.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_polish

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

533: Forces led by Belisarius defeated Gelimer and the Vandals at the Battle of Ticameron, completing the "Reconquest of North Africa" under Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belisarius)

1256: The Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran was captured and destroyed by Hulagu Khan and the Mongols. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashshashin)

1791: The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, collectively known as the United States Bill of Rights, were ratified. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights)

1891: James Naismith invented basketball. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Naismith)

1914: World War I: The Battle of Å?ódź between Russia and Germany ended. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_%C5%3F%C3%B3d%C5%BA_%281914%29)

1994: Netscape Navigator 1.0 was first released. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Trouble arises when either science or religion claims universal jurisdiction, when either religious dogma or scientific dogma claims to be infallible. Religious creationists and scientific materialists are equally dogmatic and insensitive. By their arrogance they bring both science and religion into disrepute." -- Freeman Dyson (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson)