The Blackout is here and Black Friday fever is in full swing at Footasylum. Packed full of daily deals and hot drops, we’ve gone all out to give you some seriously huge offers on kicks and clothing from the biggest brands.

But where did Black Friday come from? How did it start? Originally starting in America, Black Friday came over to the UK in 2010. Since then, it’s taken off massively, becoming one of the biggest events in the global shopping calendar.

There’s a surprisingly simple story behind the name ‘Black Friday’ (which we’ll reveal later!) but some crazy origins stories have cropped up over the years and some people actually believe them. We’ve gathered a few of them for you to check out. And if you believed any of these, then you should probably have a word with yourself.

1. Retailers get back ‘in the black’ on Black Friday
 

via GIPHY

Probably the most believable of all of the made up Black Friday stories, this is all based on the idea that companies are in debt throughout the year (‘in the red’ with their banks). The theory is that Black Friday was created so that they could sell off everything cheaply, making enough to get out of debt so that their bank accounts were back ‘in the black’.
This isn’t true!

2. Black Friday is the worst day for employers because everyone calls in sick
 

via GIPHY

Everyone’s been tempted to pull a sickie at some point. Whether you want to day off school so you can play the new Call Of Duty or just because your bed seems a lot more appealing than your desk, this origin is a story of staff all over the world not turning up for work because they want to get their Christmas shopping in. A dark day for employers, it earned the name ‘Black Friday’.

This isn’t true either!

3. Rebecca Black came up with Black Friday
 

via GIPHY

Don’t pretend you don’t know who Rebecca Black is. Stop acting like you don’t know all of the words to ‘Friday’. You’re not fooling anyone.

There’s a rumour going around that Black Friday is all thanks to Rebecca Black. We don’t know who made this one up, but if you believe it, then you’ll believe anything.

The real story behind the name:

The true, real, 100% legit story behind the name ‘Black Friday’ goes back to 1950s America.
In Philadelphia, the day after Thanksgiving, people would flood into the city to watch the big Army-Navy football game that happened every year on the Saturday.

On that Friday, things would get pretty crazy, and the Philadelphia police would have to pull long shifts to deal with the traffic and crowds.

The cops started to call the day ‘Black Friday’ because it was the worst day of the year for them when it came to work, and was one of the few days they weren’t allowed to book off under any circumstances!

Now that’s all cleared up, make sure you shop The Blackout at Footasylum and get your hands on some of this year’s biggest offers before they’re gone!