Everything You Need to Know About Sneakers in 1500 Words includes a condensed 150 word history of sneakers, an in-depth list of 40 sneaker books/magazines/movies/blogs/forums, biographies of 10 celebrity sneakerheads, mini-histories of 40 classic sneaker models, and 50 cities to buy sneakers throughout the world.

The 150 words of history are below. At The Shoe Buff they also did a great in-depth list of 40 sneaker books/magazines/movies/blogs/forums, biographies of 10 celebrity sneakerheads, mini-histories of 40 classic sneaker models, and 50 cities to buy sneakers throughout the world.

Rubber-soled shoes (plimsolls) are manufactured. Goodyear launches Keds. Converse revolutionizes basketball. ‘Sneakers’ is coined because the soles are quiet. Converse releases the All Star. All Star’s give way to Chuck Taylors. Adidas produces its first tennis shoe. Converse releases the Jack Purcell. Puma is founded. Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman launch Blue Ribbon Sports. Vans Launches. BRS becomes Nike. Puma develops Velcro. The Nike Swoosh trademark is purchased for $35. Nike introduces Air technology. Nike releases the Air Force One. Michael Jordan endorses Nike. Nike releases the Air Jordan. NBA fines Jordan for violating uniform rules with vibrant sneakers. Spike Lee directs and stars in Mars Blockmon commercial. Run-DMC releases “My Adidas”. Reebok introduces the Pump. Nike introduces the Air Max. Bill Bowerman dies. Nelly releases “Air Force Ones”. Bobbito authors “Where’d You Get Those?”. Nike acquires Converse. Converse re-issues the Chuck and the Jack Purcell. Sneaker Freaker and Sole Collector launch. SneakerPimps begins touring the world. Jordan celebrates its 20th anniversary. Adidas acquires Reebok. Just for Kicks DVD released.

My friend Jens Martin Skibsted designed a slew of new beautiful and gorgeous bikes (remember Biomega?) for Puma. He also launched Kibisi with two co-conspirators Lars Holme Larsen and Bjarke Ingels.  Easily some of the most talented people in the world now under one roof. Congrats guys! This is huge!

The PUMA Index is a real stock ticker, with a twist. When the market goes down, our models’ clothes come off, all the way to their PUMA Bodywear. “So when you lose your shirt, so do our models…” Pretty entertaining.  Global markets available for all time zones.

There are plenty in the creative arena who scoff at the idea of sport, likening athletic competition as entertainment for uncivilized mongrels. However, when the chasm between brute force and artistic inspiration is bridged, some wonderful things can occur. The Lawn Series from Recess is a refreshing and original happening aiming to eliminate the gap between endlessly inventive artisans and the arena of athletics. For three glorious days during the sweltering NYC summer on Governor’s Island, playful pastimes will overtake the creatively inclined as they attempt to best one another in exhilarating events such as badminton, table tennis, and bocce. In addition to the flowing of the competitive juices, each event will be met with some pretty kick ass sponsors as the likes of Tretorn and Puma will be putting their stamp on the festivities while Biomega and Kronan will be on hand to offer bike test rides. Count us in and bring it on. The first day of competition is June 20th. We’ll see you there…unless you’re afraid of defeat.

The Wall Street Journal has a nice little story about How Your Favorite Sneakers Got Their Names. Reebok? Adidas? The Puma Clyde? ASICS? Good trivia stuff. Also, I knew the Chuck Taylor has sold a lot over the years– but 600 million pairs? That’s insane. Go on and get your sneaker-nerd on and check out the article. Thanks Brett!

It’s really great to see how far Kozyndan (Husband and Wife team, Kozy/Dan) have come since we covered them nearly 3 years ago. From posters and artwork to designing sneakers for global brands. Congrats, these Puma pieces look great– and one of my favorite slip ons!

More details over at Hypebeast…

Last year, adFunture unveiled its own contribution to the growing genre of platform toys: the Yoka. Available as a large vinyl figure and a smaller mini-figure, the panda bear sports a clever design that allows it to sit or stand. Yokas have been released as part of collaborations with companies like Puma and events including the Beijing Olympics. In celebration of Chinese New Year, which began yesterday, adFunture has produced a limited edition Chinese New Year Yoka. The 2.6-inch bear will bring you good luck in the Year of the Ox, if you’re one of the 200 people lucky enough to get it. You can try your luck at the upcoming New York Comic Con where MyPlasticHeart has the U.S. exclusive allotment of 100 pieces.

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt may hold the title of world’s fastest man, but we think you can take him. Even if your leg muscles have atrophied from all of that time you spend seated in front of your computer, you can still defeat this year’s Olympic gold medalist in both the the 100M and 200M dash. All you need is a pair of limber fingers, a computer and a little bit of heart. It also helps if you go to PumaRunning.com and check out the You Vs. Bolt flash game, which challenges users to outrun the irie island nation’s answer to The Flash as you go head to head, flapping your digits as fast as you can to hopefully best Bolt’s world record of 9.69 seconds. If at first you don’t succeed try, try, again…and let us know how you do. We finished in 9.68 seconds.

Congratulations Klee.

It was a tough decision … so many sweet rides to choose from. So we deferred to our benefactor: Puma USA. We realize there were a few of you who brought us wooden bikes, but Klee got there first by finding this uniquely intricate and amazing cycle. Our man over at the Puma says, “I would have taken a wood-burning pen and drawn some cool #@&$ on it.” Agreed. Congrats Klee, you’re going to be one bad-ass riding through town on this new bike.

You’re watching the Olympics in China. The Chinese ride a lot of bicycles. You think to yourself, “I need a new bike.” Then some other things happen and you find yourself on this website, just in time for a stupendous Big Ticket Tuesday prize. You may have read our previous post about the Puma-branded Biomega bicycle — well, it can now be yours for the low, low price of free.

THE PRIZE: The Puma Glow Rider urban mobility device. (It’s a bike. Est. retail – $1200, courtesy of Puma.)

THIS WEEK’S RULES: We have another Interweb scavenger hunt for you. This velocipede is the cat’s pajamas, but there are probably hundreds of bikes out there that have been tricked (we’re trying real hard not to use pimped) out for people’s riding pleasure. Find us the most inspired two-wheeler (and it has to be a bicycle — no mopeds, scooters, motorcycles … anything with an engine). Just paste the link in the comment field. The best entry will get our biggest prize yet. And remember: One entry per reader.

I was hopping around the LES with my pal from Zoomdoggle and we happened upon the space at 139 Norfolk called Grand Opening. Formerly famous for the DRV-IN project they did (Manhattan’s only drive-in theater), they’re now hosting Pong 2.0 sponsored by Puma. The new space has 35% more spectator seating (by the looks of it we’re guessing that means it seats 8), 12,500 BTU’s of AC (yeah, it was cool in there) and a beverage bar (Gatorade anyone?).

It’s open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Sat Sunday 12 p.m. – 10 p.m. It’s $10 for 20 minutes of play, and a summer membership costs $80. I could be wrong, but I thought you could buy a table for about that much? Question is, where would you put it? Head to Grand Opening so you can play with the onsite pro all day long.

Disclaimer: no polar bears or snow leopards were harmed during the creation of these shoes… National Geographic imagery meets sneaker design in this collaboration between PUMA, Atmos NYC, and Japanese photographer Mitsuaki Iwago. Through two releases– the Polar Pack and the Asia Pack, sneaker buffs will be treated to a series of kicks inspired by Mitsuaki Iwago’s famed wildlife photos. The outsides of the shoes capture the unique characteristics of various animals, and each (removable) insole sports Iwago’s actual photos on them. The final touch is that both the name and habitat of each animal is printed on the reverse tongue and on the outsole in both English and – you guessed it – Japanese.

The Polar Pack will be on sale only at Atmos NYC and Ubiq in Philadelphia beginning on June 28th, and you can expect the Asia Pack to drop later this summer.

David Carvalho is up to more good. The Portugese artist and designer, also known as Karpa, wowed us back in December with his astonishing portfolio boasting works for clients such as Nike, Puma, and IdN magazine. We’re pleased to report that he’s come back with a bang thanks to a recent site update that gives us even more graphic wonders to swoon over. Visitors to Hello Karpa will be greeted with ten new works, including a billboard for Diesel and a spread for Japanese clothiers, Evisu. As if that weren’t enough, Carvalho is also offering up his ‘Divad’ typeface for download, allowing all of us to satisfy our need for sweet graphic design and typography in one fell swoop.

The biggest problem with commuting by bike in a city is probably getting hit repeatedly by cabs. That, and when you come out of the store only to find your nice new Kryptonite lock hanging around the bike rack sans bike. PUMA’s Glow Rider, manufactured by Biomega, is the third incarnation of their branded bike (and you immediately thought sneakers) and solves most of these problems. First, the stylish single-gear solves the visibility issue of riding at night by adding a coat of glow-in-the-dark paint. Available in green or orange glow, just let your bike soak up some solar rays and it should radiate an alien aura for the duration of your ride. Twin disc brakes can literally stop you in your tracks. And, with its wire lock system, the only way somebody is stealing this bike is if they take that entire rack with them. (Note to thieves: don’t reread that last statement.)

Related: Jens Martin Skibsted From Biomega Bikes

David Carvalho, also knows as Karpa, is a young Portugese artist and designer with a very pretty portfolio. Having worked for several design studios, including one of his own founding, David has used his diverse experience to develop a beautiful set of work for clients like Nike, Puma, and IdN Magazine. I really like the identity work he’s done for URB; head here to check it out.