Here’s What It Means
- Drugs And Gang Territory. One of the most commonly believed reasons shoes are thrown over power lines is to signal the location of a crack house or prime drug dealing ...
- Commemorating The Death Of A Loved One. ...
- Celebrating Life Milestones Such As Graduation Or Completing Basic Military Training. ...
- For Bullying Or Just Because. ...
Why are there shoes hanging from an electric wire?
Mar 28, 2020 · Shoe flinging or “shoefiti” is the practice of throwing shoes whose shoelaces have been tied together so that they hang from overhead wires such as power lines or telephone cables. The shoes are tied together by their laces, and the …
Why do people throw shoes on wires?
Apr 20, 2008 · Shoes on a wire A pair of shoes tied together and hanging from power lines or tree branches signifies that someone beloved is on drugs (specially marijuana) and there is no way back from there for that person. The shoes belong to said person.
What's the meaning of shoes thrown over telephone lines?
Feb 04, 2016 · According to this theory, bullies steal the shoes off their victims and toss them on the wires, where they cannot be retrieved. The shoes can also be …
What does shoes on the telephone pole mean?
Aug 14, 2021 · Shoe flinging or “shoefiti” is the practice of throwing shoes whose shoelaces have been tied together so that they hang from overhead wires such as power lines or telephone cables. The shoes are tied together by their laces, and the …
What does it mean when a bully steals your shoes?
According to this theory, bullies steal the shoes off their victims and toss them on the wires, where they cannot be retrieved. The shoes can also be used to identify gang turf, signify that a person has passed away or to commemorate an event, like the end of a school year or a wedding.
When was Hoodline published?
By Hoodline - Published on February 04, 2016. If you live an urban area, you've probably come across a pair of shoes dangling from telephone wire at some point or another.
Is shoe tossing a negative connotation?
However, one thing is for certain: as a whole, the practice of shoe tossing seems to hold a negative connotation, usually associated with more downtrodden neighborhoods. New York.
What does a pair of shoes hanging on a wire mean?
One of the most commonly believed reasons shoes are thrown over power lines is to signal the location of a crack house or prime drug dealing spot. Dangling shoes can also be the symbol of gang members claiming territory, especially when the shoes are hanging from power lines or telephone wires in an intersection.
What do shoes on power lines mean Reddit?
Depending on where you live, that is a symbol for a drug dealer lives on that street, in the building closest to the power lines, or if there is a house immediately below the power lines, a drug dealer lives there. So if you need drugs and you live in a large city, look for some shoes.
Are shoes on power lines dangerous?
Another dangerous activity in retrieving thrown shoes is the potential for falling. Often, power lines are too high up for most people to reach. You’ll have to stand on a ladder or on the top of a car to get within reach of the shoes — even with a lightsaber in hand.
How do you throw shoes on a powerline?
Shoe flinging or “shoefiti” is the practice of throwing shoes whose shoelaces have been tied together so that they hang from overhead wires such as power lines or telephone cables. The shoes are tied together by their laces, and the pair is then thrown at the wires as a sort of bolas.
Who is responsible for power line to house?
The customer/owner is responsible for installing, maintaining and repairing all equipment beyond theservice connection point except for the electric meter. If you receive overhead electric service, your electric system con- sists of the following: 1. Electric Lines that run from the utility pole to your residence.
How do shoes end up on the side of the road?
Abandoned footwear, such as a lone boot or shoe, has often been noted in out-of-the-way places like ponds or by the side of roads. Some shoe abandonment is intentional, as in shoe tossing, in which shoes are tied together by their laces and thrown in great numbers into trees, over power lines, or over fences.
Can telephone wire shock you?
While telephone lines do have 48 volts of electricity running through them, it’s usually not enough to cause a shock, though it may affect a pacemaker. The electricity in a phone line does spike to around 90 volts when the phone rings, which can give a mild shock.
Why are shoes tossed?
Among those theories: Shoes are tossed on account of losing a bet or taunting a victim or, from kids just being silly. In a more serious vein, people said the shoes signify where to buy drugs; they memorialize victims of gun violence; or they represent a crew marking their block. WBEZ RECOMMENDS.
Why was Randol Contreras skeptical of the drug theory?
He was highly skeptical of the drug theory because, as he put it, “No one is going to put what they’re doing out there in that type of way to set themselves up to be arrested.”. Another sociologist I corresponded with, Randol Contreras, grew up in the South Bronx and had his own fun tossing his shoes up on power lines.
Where is Patrick Starr?
For that I asked my friend Patrick Starr, a guy I’ve known for years who is serving a life sentence in a Missouri state prison. He was a high-ranking member of the Bloods gang back in the 1990s in Kansas City, Missouri. Today, he coaches other inmates on cutting ties with their gang.
Who is Meribah Knight?
It was always a looming question, he said, shrouded in urban legends. Meribah Knight is a freelance journalist in Chicago and reports for WBEZ’s Curious City.
Who is Cobe Williams?
So we asked some more people — kids around the neighborhoods, sociologists, a South Side priest and Cobe Williams, a community outreach worker who has spent years working in troubled neighborhoods in Chicago. When they did have a theory, it was that the shoes were a memorial to someone who died.
Where did Matt Latourette grow up?
Our questioner, Matt Latourette, saw them all the time growing up in the ‘70s and ‘80s in Chicago’s Belmont Central neighborhood . And even though he doesn’t see as many dangling shoes around neighborhoods today, that didn’t stop him from tapping into a sort of collective curious-consciousness and asking about one of the biggest urban mysteries ...
Why are shoes thrown over power lines?
One of the most commonly believed reasons shoes are thrown over power lines is to signal the location of a crack house or prime drug dealing spot. Dangling shoes can also be the symbol of gang members claiming territory, especially when the shoes are hanging from power lines or telephone wires in an intersection. In fact, the city of Los Angeles underwent a massive shoe removal process in 2003 when residents expressed their concern that the shoes indicated “sites at which drugs are sold or worse yet, gang turf.” Mayor James Hahn addressed the community, stating that overhead shoes would no longer be tolerated.
Is there a problem with shoes clogging power lines in Chicago?
Mayor James Hahn addressed the community, stating that overhead shoes would no longer be tolerated. Chicago has also experienced quite an issue with shoes clogging up power lines. In fact, the city receives thousands of calls each year from residents complaining about the hanging shoes.
Why do people hang shoes on power lines?
To see a pair of shoes dangling on a power line is generally meant to promote a street gang, pinpoint a drug-dealing zone or to commemorate a life or death event. The precise meaning of a pair of shoes hanging in a particular location depends in every case. In some instances, students throw shoes on nearby power lines to celebrate a graduation ...
What is it called when shoes swing on power lines?
In many communities, one can see a pair of shoes swinging on power lines. This practice is called shoe tossing, and it is often spotted in urban areas or college neighborhoods throughout the world. There is no universal meaning for shoes hanging on power lines, but one is able to interpret the message depending on the location of the shoes.
Why do people toss shoes?
Some youth perform shoe tossing simply because they have witnessed others do it. For others, it is a symbol of a prime drug-dealing location, gang representation or death. When shoes are hanging from telephone wires in an intersection, it is sometimes a sign that gang members are claiming the premises for themselves.
What does the shoe toss symbol mean?
It is also a symbol used to indicate hot spots for addicts to purchase the drugs they are looking for. The sudden death of a popular youth in the community often causes friends or family members to perform shoe tossing in a loved one’s honor. ADVERTISEMENT.
Why are boots painted orange?
The boots are often painted yellow or orange prior to being festooned over a wire. There’s no one definitive answer as to why those shoes hang from telephone wires. Perhaps the answer lies within each of us, shoe-slinger and non-shoe-slinger alike. We are a determinedly decorative society.
Who was the old shoe in Wag the Dog?
Sightings: In the 1997 film Wag the Dog, Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman conspire to festoon tree after tree with shoes as a “spontaneous” show of homegrown support for their manufactured war hero Sgt. William Schumann (the “old shoe”).
When do soldiers throw their boots?
According to some, army boot pitching is a ritual performed upon completing basic training, according to others, the boots are tossed when a soldier leaves one post for another , and a final school of thought holds that boot pitching is properly done only when the service itself is being left.
Is it a boot on a fencepost?
Others say it’s just a boot-on-a-fencepost thing with no more rhyme or reason to it than there is to those sneakers hanging over telephone wires. Members of the military have pointed to the practice of pitching an old pair of army boots over the wires when leaving a post as a possible origin for sneaker slinging.
