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
==============================================================================
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.
 Hey! FReepers! Help Fill The Tank! How About It? Huh? It Ain't Askin' Too Much Ya Know.... Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
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.
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.................
Many utilities are now underground. I have not seen shoes over wires in decades
Rape trees are the worst.
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.
Lawyer Dies After Shot By His Own Concealed Gun Triggered By MRI Scanner
I’ll admit, I’ve never seen this, but now I will start to look to see if they’re hanging around.
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................
Ocean Beach San Diego
Meth
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.
Brilliant!
Depending on how the shoes are hung also can tell you what direction to go.
Yes here in Los Angeles the gun shots and bodies prove it.
According to Better Call Saul.
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.
Bkmrk
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.