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A skateboard is a narrow wheeled platform used for recreation and transportation. Though the exact date of invention of skateboards is unknown, it was in the 1940s and 1950s that children participated in 'soap-box derbys', where they would race soap-boxes attached to wooden planks on rollerskate wheels. During events like this, some of the soap-boxes became detached from the planks, leaving the rider with what was a skateboard.
The first skateboards were made by taking a roller skate apart and attaching it to a two-by-four. These early skateboards were often used by surfers as a substitute when the waves were low.The skateboard has evolved a lot since the first mass produced models in the 1960s. Boards in the past were often in the shape of a surfboard, with no concave and constructed of solid wood or plastic. The wheels were usually made of a 'clay' composite or steel and the trucks (axles) were less sturdy and initially of a 'single action' design compared to today's 'double action'.
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