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Why Do You See So Many Shoes Wrapped Around Power Lines?
IFL Science ^ | JULY 19, 2024 | Rachael Funnel

Posted on 07/25/2024 11:40:31 AM PDT by Red Badger

Top tip: don’t yeet your sneakers over a power line if you want to wear them again.

Image credit: Alex Farias / Shutterstock.com

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Ever been out walking and spotted a pair of sneakers slung over a power line? It’s not an uncommon sight, and with good reason.

Shoe tossing – or shoefiti – is done all over the globe and for all sorts of reasons, so let’s dive into some of the most common theories behind this seemingly counterintuitive behavior.

Memorial

Humans have been memorializing the dead for millennia, with graves and burial sites dating back as far as the Neanderthals (though some of that may have been the work of bees). Since then, we’ve come up with all sorts of ways to remember lost loved ones, from Memento Mori to hanging shoes on powerlines.

The practice has the potential to backfire, however, particularly in the case of a TikTokker who angered people after posting a now-deleted video where they cut down hanging shoes to sell. The stunt was criticized online for being “insensitive” after the user said, “When you see shoes on power lines, you might think of gang territory, but what I think of is profits,” tapping into a common legend about shoe tossing.

Territory

One of the more dramatic theories behind shoe tossing is that it’s a marker of “gang activity”, marking territory or communicating messages, such as where people can buy drugs. Our old debunking pals at Snopes have labeled this theory a Legend, because, simply, there’s no one answer as to why people toss shoes over power lines.

However, just because something isn’t a universal sign of gang activity doesn’t mean that’s never the case. As WBEZ Chicago found out when they spoke to Missouri state prison inmate Patrick Starr, once a high-ranking member of the Bloods gang. “To us in Kansas City it was about your crew and y’all marking your neighborhood.” According to Starr, other inmates from Chicago and St Louis “said that represented guys who were killed from each neighborhood.”

It seems unless you’re there in the moment, it's unlikely you'll ever know the true motivation behind shoefiti. There is, however, one explanation that most of us can relate to.

Taunting

If you’re old enough to have endured high school, this one likely won’t be surprising. In the United States, the standard utility pole is around 10 meters (35 feet) tall, making them a great place to toss someone’s sneakers if you really want to piss them off, being both too high to reach, as well as really dangerous.

Wearing rubber gloves or rubber-soled shoes can’t protect you from electrocution from powerlines, according to Austin Energy. So, if some dumbass tosses your shoes over a power line, do not try to get them back.

Wayward sneakers can hold all kinds of meaning and information, and in the case of marine forensics, those found sailing with human feet still inside can have a lot to say...

All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current.


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: shoes
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Here, it IS a sign of DRUG DEALING nearby....................
1 posted on 07/25/2024 11:40:31 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Good Ol’ Shoe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v4ZLwevXAI


2 posted on 07/25/2024 11:43:08 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Red Badger

You fill them with drugs, throw them up there, and then shoot a hole when a truck passes underneath. Then, when it goes through customs, the dogs alert on the truck and the driver is arrested, jeopardizing a criminal enterprise.

I got it off TV.


3 posted on 07/25/2024 11:47:11 AM PDT by Rastus
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To: dfwgator

In 2013 a large new park opened across the street from my home. Within a week there were shoes across the power lines on two sides of the park.................


4 posted on 07/25/2024 11:47:38 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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Usually trees around here.


5 posted on 07/25/2024 11:50:29 AM PDT by Rio
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To: Red Badger

Many utilities are now underground. I have not seen shoes over wires in decades


6 posted on 07/25/2024 11:51:17 AM PDT by OldHarbor (strained statutory arguments, appeals to inconsistent history, reliance on out-of-circuit authority)
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To: Red Badger

Rape trees are the worst.


7 posted on 07/25/2024 11:51:21 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: Red Badger

On army military posts, back in the day, it was common tradition for troopies leaving the service (ETS) to yeet one of their pairs of boots over the power line in front of their company.


8 posted on 07/25/2024 11:51:41 AM PDT by larrytown (A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. Then they graduate...)
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To: Red Badger
Ridiculous theories! It's an established fact that the electromagnetic radiation emitted from power lines attracts athletic shoes from long distances. Here's the proof from an MRI scanner:

Lawyer Dies After Shot By His Own Concealed Gun Triggered By MRI Scanner

9 posted on 07/25/2024 11:53:06 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“When exposing a crime is treated like a crime, you are being ruled by criminals” – Edward Snowden)
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To: Red Badger

I’ll admit, I’ve never seen this, but now I will start to look to see if they’re hanging around.


10 posted on 07/25/2024 11:55:11 AM PDT by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TPetty)
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To: OldHarbor

Here the water table is so high at times the use of underground utilities is difficult. Our TV Cable and Telephone are underground (barely) but electricity is not.

New subdivisions get underground everything but they have to haul in truckloads of clay first................


11 posted on 07/25/2024 11:55:15 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

Ocean Beach San Diego

Meth


12 posted on 07/25/2024 11:57:55 AM PDT by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh (there will come a day when FR rejects articles from the NYT, et. al. as "Commie trash, no thank you")
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To: Red Badger

Urban legend attributes them to markers for drug sales but in reality they are probably mostly due to idiots with too much time on their hands.


13 posted on 07/25/2024 11:59:14 AM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: Rastus

Brilliant!


14 posted on 07/25/2024 12:00:59 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (TANSTAAFL)
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To: Red Badger
What, nobody here has watched Wag the Dog?
15 posted on 07/25/2024 12:05:51 PM PDT by Flatus I. Maximus (JD VANCE IN 2028!)
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To: Red Badger

Depending on how the shoes are hung also can tell you what direction to go.


16 posted on 07/25/2024 12:06:49 PM PDT by GOPJ ("Kamala is the classic “kiss up punch down” boss: -- Freeper cgbg)
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To: Red Badger

Yes here in Los Angeles the gun shots and bodies prove it.


17 posted on 07/25/2024 12:08:03 PM PDT by Vaduz
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To: Red Badger

According to Better Call Saul.


18 posted on 07/25/2024 12:09:41 PM PDT by Eli Kopter
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To: Red Badger

sweet lord .... used to be a custom on the last day of school to throw your old gym shoes over the wires. that’s all. nothing more, nothing less.


19 posted on 07/25/2024 12:10:41 PM PDT by CaptainPhilFan
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To: Red Badger

Bkmrk


20 posted on 07/25/2024 12:14:49 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear (Nessun Dorma.)
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