response: I'm not sure why the narrow strips of materials are long but they're worn under the foot to glide over snow.
original_response: They are long and narrow strips that allow for gliding over snow
history: I tried to learn snow skiing.  I just never did very well. So I don't like it I see, but skiing has around 5000 years of history. That is a long time.  Was it invented in the Nordic countries? Modern skiing is traced back to Scandinavia.  However, there is evidence it was practiced in China many years before that China-that is interesting.  WHy are modern skis so long?
knowledge: A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow.