In late 18th century, people wore rubber soled shoes called plimsolls, but they weren't the best sneakers. Around 1892, a US company named Keds started sneakers with a canvas top and rubber soles. By 1917, these were mass produced.
The original results have not been replicated consistently and reliably.
The branch of chemistry that the chemist might use will be the branch of <em>organic chemistry</em>. This is because gasoline is an organic compound. We can say that a compound is organic if it contains a carbon atom. Gasoline is composed of long chains of alkanes (hydrocarbons with single bonds) ranging from 4 carbon atoms to 12 carbon atoms.