C'mon, everyone's doing it. We just don't know why.

I always love to see sneakers dangling from power lines. For a long time I wondered why they were there. I don't particularly care anymore, I just appreciate the fact that people are still offering them to the urban gods of disorder.

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Comments

regularjoe says:

the why no longer matters. I think it is now done "just because." Maybe it has always been "just because"
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

My Daily Struggle says:

I like this theory best: Some believe that teenage boys who've just "scored" for the first time (i.e., lost their virginity) heave an old pair of sneakers over a power line to proclaim their conquest to the world. (Who says teenage boys aren't romantic?)

I like how they explain what "scored" means.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

extraspecial says:

nice! I love the vignetting :)
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

alphadesigner says:

I was thinking these were airplanes when I saw the thumbnails. :)
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Veronique Moisan Photography says:

This is great.
You should post it here
flickr.com/groups/shoesonpowerlines/
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

brien applegate says:

great shot. and your theory is pretty much right ; )

i've seen them in trees though too, since there aren't very many powerlines downtown.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

K S [deleted] says:

this is a fantastic image! love the story line behind this as I've seen this several times and always wondered... silly me thought it was some bully stealing someone's shoes so now maybe I'll smile a little more when I see this instead of seathing about the bullies...
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

annsorrellswicke says:

I see this all over LA too.
Angela I like that virgin theory too, very romantic.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

harpy says:

i did not know such a good photo could be taken of this subject.
angela, you totalled got this shot and then some.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

James Thorpe Photography says:

What Harpy just said. I like your theory too - I bet the girl would be so proud that her 'man' sacrificed his mankiest pair of trainers to the gods of the power lines, just to celebrate their union!
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

sadalit says:

What I've always heard is that these signify a place where you can buy drugs. I've never heard the lost-virginity thing. I wonder if the kids who do this even know why they're doing it.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

harpy says:

i always thought it was a gang sign

i really like that it could mean so many things, and no one knows for sure.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

100% says:

I like your theory of it, I saw a pair recently and thought why... Now I can enjoy it more:)

Great shot by the way!!
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Girlabroad says:

Huh.... thought-provoking. I like the conquest theory.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

mightymis says:

haven't seen that in ages.... kinda nostalgic...
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

misterg8s says:

Although I'd imagine that the reasons probably differ from region to region, and that by now those reasons are irrelevant, the sneakers over the power lines used to signify (at least in Coney Island & Detroit) gang territories. Different gangs would throw different brands or colors, marking the blocks & intersections where they had authority -- sort of a miniature version of organized crime.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

lightx says:

its all about the gangs... usually someone shoes that shouldnt have been walking in that part of the hood

;-)
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

psycho röy says:

Here is Buenos Aires its said, like sedalita commented, that when you see that in a corner, there lives someone you can buys drugs from, that is, the neighbourhood dealer...
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

ilmungo says:

Well, whatever the origin was (I also had heard the drug-dealer theory), now they're seen as just another form of tagging. In fact, more and more I see people actually write tags on the soles of the shoes before tossing them up. I've always wondered when do they come down, if ever. Is there a "taking shoes down from power lines" day once a year?
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

daverice says:

Watch the movie "Wag the Dog"
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Grundlepuck says:

Congratulations! This cool image is currently (or was recently) one of Flickr's Top 10 most interesting photos. (It is/was on page one of the calendar view.) Would you please add it to the Top 10 Interestingness pool? It would be a great addition!
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Dimaci says:

Yeah, I've heard the gang theory too, at least here in Huelva (Spain) you can find the same signal when you are going to enter in a dangerous area of the city.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

scienceduck says:

from what i've heard it means you can buy drugs nearby (often gang related). must be a good variety where you got this shot ;)
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

smalldogs says:

ha! the "urban gods of disorder." that is fucking brilliant!
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Melissa {M&M Photography} says:

My knowledge on this is that a pair of shoes are hung everytime someone is killed...gang related. Its a show of respect.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

kristin alaina says:

sweet shot :)
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

pstarr says:

looked like little toy sailboats
in the thumbnail to me...

i'd heard the drug theory, but i'm
believing the romantic one instead.
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

BlueGoaॐ☮ says:

It's just so beautiful. As a picture and as an idea :)
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Gustavo Muleey says:

muy buena, ya he visto esto por algun que otro sitio....
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

muccarolina says:

In the movie "Big Fish" there's something similar with shoes..
: )
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

Bfostter says:

Los Angeles Times - January 30, 1997
''ANSWER TO SHOE MYSTERY IS UP IN THE AIR'' By: Mike Clary

• What to do with an old pair of sneakers? Just toss them out ... or tie the laces together and toss them over the nearest telephone wire? As the millennium approaches and many Americans remain preoccupied with world peace, the integrity of political leaders and the high cost of education, others are looking skyward, into the worn soles of high-tops, low-cuts and cross-trainers that have been hung out to die. And they are wondering why. In small towns and cities all across the United States, used shoes dangle over highways, streets and country roads like footnotes to personal histories, both testament and tribute to the wear and tear of life. In some areas, a phone or power line that has not been festooned with at least one pair of old sneakers is an open invitation. "We only respond if the shoes cause an outage," says Dale Thomas, a spokesman for Florida Power & Light in Miami. "We rarely get a call. It's not a problem. We just let them rot." So the shoes are not a problem. But they are a puzzle. The practice of stringing shoes from overhead utility wires is a pop culture phenomenon that has been noted for years in various sections of the country but remains little understood. Sure, theories have been advanced. According to references in various newspapers and magazines, draping overhead wires with worn sneakers is a way gangs mark territory, memorialize a fallen comrade or simply torment or punish someone who can be bullied. Maybe. And maybe shoe-tossing has deep social significance across all social strata. And maybe the practitioners of shoe-tossing obey an informal code that governs whose shoes get tossed, where they are strung up, even how one shoe is knotted to its mate.And there may be preferred slinging techniques, attendant rituals and even a sub-cultural vernacular associated with the activity. Stringing the soles? Kiting the Keds? Airing out the Air Jordans? Dennis Morales, a Metro-Dade police officer who has worked gang detail in greater Miami, says: "It's not a gang thing here. There is no marking territory, no signal, no power thing. Mostly, it's just childhood pranks and horseplay. I even did it myself when I was a kid." The fact is, when it comes to slinging shoes over wires, no one seems to know how the practice started, what it means or where it is headed. Try to explore shoe-tossing, by informally surveying some of the nation's leading cultural anthropologists and folklorists by telephone and e-mail, and the mystery only deepens. Solomon Davidoff, an instructor with the ethnic studies department of Ohio's Bowling Green State University: "I think it's a school-leaving ritual. Everyone likes to make their mark. So they take something that's been a part of their lives in that location, and instead of tossing it out, leave it as a monument to themselves." Doug Noverr, professor of American thought and language at Michigan State University: "We see it here in East Lansing, especially in student neighborhoods. I think it reflects our throw-away culture. The shoes are always well-worn, never expensive, not worth keeping. "A physical challenge could be involved. That's why you rarely see just one pair. It may be a competition. You have a few beers, and say, 'Let's go toss some shoes over the wire.'" Peter Rollins, professor at Oklahoma State University: "Our big thing here recently in the Southwest is displaying boots on fence posts along the highways. This sneaker thing may be an extension of that practice." Jan Brunvand, professor emeritus at the University of Utah and author of five books on urban myths: "I've seen these shoes and wondered about them. Why do people do it? I have no idea. I think it must be juvenile hijinks." If so, highwire hijinks occur everywhere. Reports have shoes hanging in Fresno, Calif., Austin, Texas and Tijuana, Mexico. Finally, Moira Smith, a folklorist at the University of Miami: "I remember asking students in a folklore course once what they knew about it, and some told me that the sneakers went up whenever someone lost their virginity or had a sexual conquest. "But it could be an invented tradition, which is basically a mystery. People do it because they see other people do it. And then people like us start thinking there has to be a reason for it. "Folklore abhors a vacuum. We're not satisfied with the idea that people could do something just because." But has Smith, or any of the other experts, ever seen anyone throwing sneakers toward an toward an overhead wire? No. "So maybe it's aliens."
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

˙ʞ ʎlǝ says:

I heard that in the 'hood, that's where drugs are sold. [X
haha
I don't care.
I love this shot. (:
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

mean_dee says:

lol your photo description makes this a GREAT ONE! Made me laugh!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

megwills says:

my mom used to tell me when she lived in new york the bullies would throw their shoes over the lines so they had to walk home without them. :P this is fantastic, I love it.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Adam Marčan says:

Yeah! Its funny... ;o)

We are doing it too - Prague, Czech republic :o)

Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

atomicjeep says:

has no one seen wag the dog? - it's got the answer
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

zak_ben says:

LOL
I saw it once and I checked it out. It's not actually a gang sign but a sign to a drug station.
You better should be far away from this place at night.. :P
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Josean Prado says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Blue Skies/Cielos Azules (UNLIMITED POSTS/COMMENT 3), and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

jasonserrres says:

I see this all over the Portland area.....I always thought that it meant that is was out of a matter of respect for a loss of an individual......
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

kerwin groot says:

It's not much of a mystery:
If you see skateshoes hanging on a power/telephone line, you are at a skatespot.
Just our way to mark it so other skateboarders know there is something to check out...
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

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C'mon, everyone's doing it. We just don't know why.

Comments

regularjoe says:

My Daily Struggle says:

extraspecial says:

alphadesigner says:

Veronique Moisan Photography says:

brien applegate says:

K S [deleted] says:

annsorrellswicke says:

harpy says:

James Thorpe Photography says:

sadalit says:

harpy says:

100% says:

Girlabroad says:

mightymis says:

misterg8s says:

lightx says:

psycho röy says:

ilmungo says:

daverice says:

Grundlepuck says:

Dimaci says:

scienceduck says:

smalldogs says:

Melissa {M&M Photography} says:

kristin alaina says:

pstarr says:

BlueGoaॐ☮ says:

Gustavo Muleey says:

muccarolina says:

Bfostter says:

˙ʞ ʎlǝ says:

mean_dee says:

megwills says:

Adam Marčan says:

atomicjeep says:

zak_ben says:

Josean Prado says:

jasonserrres says:

kerwin groot says:

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