Historical lateral thinking puzzles

King George IV was born in 1763 and ruled England from 1820 to 1830 when he died. He wasn’t an outstanding ruler but is known as a footwear trendsetter. His shoes were fundamentally different from those worn by his contemporaries. Everyone liked this innovation so much that today it’s a common practice, which can’t be said about those times. What kind of innovation is it?

Landlords used to delay payment to people who built and repaired houses or even booted them out without money. But the builders came up with an uncommon move, which immediately made the landlords pay them in full. What did they do?

Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?

There were many reasons why John enjoyed coming here. But his wife Mary hated this place, as did other women in the city. Why?

George was late for a math class and misunderstood the teacher. This brought him a reward and recognition! What happened?

An artist took an order to paint a portrait of a very ugly and arrogant woman. Everyone tried to dissuade him, claiming that she wouldn’t pay a penny, because the portrait would be bad. And so it happened. But two days later, the woman returned and begged the artist to sell her the portrait. Why?

Bill always wore a silk scarf to work, whatever the weather. What’s his job, and why does he need this scarf?

In the 1940s, a real football game in Brazil ended with an unusual score of 0.5 - 0. What happened?