Talk:Shoe tossing/Archive 1

Wording
"common sight in populated areas": are you sure? I've lived in populated areas for decades and never seen such a thing.


 * agreed. Article should only refer to areas were the practice has been seen. Eclipsed 10:41, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

With everyone having a camera phone you would think if it's such a common thing we would have pictures. I personally have seen this practice done in the 90's. I came to this article because of the Better call Saul episode. FIBER0PTIC (talk) 08:15, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

Name Change?
Interesting topic. It does have a history, especially in American Society. However maybe it should be moved to a more generic name? For example, people also throw old shoes onto telephone lines, and other raised wires. Eclipsed 10:39, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

If no objections are placed, I will rename this to "Shoe tossing" Eclipsed 14:43, 30 July 2005 (UTC)

Is there a reason for tossing shoes?
Why has shoe tossing been especially observed in American Socienty. Is there a specific meaning or reason for doing this? In another forum I have read that sometimes it will be done when military service is over.

It was definitely done in the army throughout the 90's. I can't speak for other branches of service but I saw it on every army base I visited. It was common for a soldier reaching his ETS date to hang a pair of his boots on power lines in a conspicuous place (In front of the barracks, by the chow hall, motor pool, ...) where members of his unit would see them daily. Some guys spit-shined their boots before hanging them up, others left them caked in mud from the last field problem. I saw a lot that were spray painted white, yellow, or orange. I personally hung a pair that I had painted American flags on the bottom when I ETS'd from Camp Howze Korea in 97. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.234.122.28 (talk) 13:03, 24 March 2016 (UTC)

In my suburb and in one neighbouring suburb, I counted 8 pairs of shoes suspended from power lines — and I have only explored a small part of it.


 * I'm not sure about other areas, but I rarely see shoes hanging from power lines in Southern California where I am, except that I did notice them abundantly in a neighborhood I lived in about a year ago. I would jokingly explain to people that in order to get to my place all they needed to do was look around them and if it was more ghetto in one direction and less ghetto in another, than they should go in the direction that became more ghetto as that would assuredly be the direction to our neighborhood. In any case, I expect that occasionally a bully, prankster, or some other juvenile may throw a shoe onto a telephone line, but having never done so myself, and having never known anyone who has done so, I am inclined to think this is a relatively uncommon occurrence. At least, in my neck of the woods. Also, considering the context in which I did observe the results of shoe tossing, I'm inclined to think that gang related explanations may have some merit in Southern California. --Seanmcox 00:27, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, where I have lived and live now (Urban area to the Suburbs) people will toss shoes on power lines in front of homes where drugs are sold or as a path to follow where drugs may be sold. This might just be an urban legend, but it appears to hold water through my investigations.


 * In Baltimore, in urban areas the tossing of shoes is definitely a sign for the sale of drugs and demarcation of gang areas. 24.126.98.245 19:11, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

It does have the connotation of leaving the military and it involves what is known as "combat boots." 30 years ago at Fort Dix NJ, the lines were full of boots. Returning service men from Germany would outprocess at Fort Dix and would throw their boots over the wires just prior to leaving the post. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.143.196.57 (talk) 21:17, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

Sabotage removal
The story of workers throwing their wooden shoes into machines is not supported by etymology. According the Oxford English Dictionary (OED.com, subscription required, or check etymonline.com or any number of online dictionaries) sabotage comes from the French verb saboter, which literally means to clamber about noisily in wooden shoes (sabots) and have several connotations along the lines of, "bungling, clumsy, inept, or to destroy, as in a piece of music.

What's more, I fail to see how the section on sabotage relates at all to the odd cultural phenomenon of hanging shoes on power lines at all.

I will be removing the whole section. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 132.178.202.144 (talk) 17:54, 7 March 2007 (UTC).

132.178.202.144 17:56, 7 March 2007 (UTC) Naz!

Facts vs. Folklore
We should separate out the urban legend and folkloric reasonings for shoe tossing from the facts. So where this is practiced, what this is, and the potential risks should be under one heading.. and the "sinister explanations" and the 'less sinister' explanations should appear under a heading that signifies it is folkloric explanations of the phenomena. Centerone (talk) 06:40, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Shoe Tree Story
Totally anecdotal, not verified or cited, and generally not encyclopedic. I have removed it but I suppose it should be open for discussion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.94.5.233 (talk) 02:04, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

difficulty of this article
This article is difficult to make encyclopedic because the practice of shoe tossing is folklore. The usual types of references are difficult to find. Chergles (talk) 20:42, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm glad the article is here...
I've used "shoes on a power line" as an inspiration for methods to grapple on to an oscillating space elevator cable. I've linked to this article in writing about space elevators. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.7.160.254 (talk) 20:23, 24 May 2010 (UTC)

Worthless
Why not add that this practice portends the second coming of Christ? This article posits so many theories that it is patently evident that it is nothing more than a conglomeration of misguided guesses. Worst. Article. Ever.


 * I agree. It seems written intentionally to sound mysterious. --IronMaidenRocks (talk) 17:26, 5 June 2012 (UTC)


 * This is going to be difficult to clean up. I think a lot of the things mentioned in this article have gotten into the popular media, which appear to be citing this article somewhat. Such as this. It is therefore difficult to use such sources as reliable due to the circular reference issue. WTF? (talk) 19:37, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

Other references to shoe tossing
The movie "Sex Drive (2008)" features shoe tossing in a tree by two of the main characters. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.224.170.139 (talk) 04:20, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I thought that shoe tossing was grass-root political statement by students following and/or creating a storyline in Wag the Dog. --ilgiz (talk) 01:48, 24 May 2018 (UTC)