Why sneakers on telephone wires

In fact, it is said that Philadelphia is where this interesting behavior first occurred in America. The simplest explanation for dangling sneakers—a custom which, indeed, hit a peak in the s—is that this is simply what you do in Philly with a pair of outgrown or worn-out sneaks.

There are plenty of theories on the meaning of dangling sneakers, most of them urban myths. Do they identify gang territories or drug corners? Are they memorials?

The firm was the first full-service global advertising agency, as well as the largest advertising agency in the United States before decamping to New York City in and ultimately falling on hard times.

Ayer agent Henry McKinney came up with the name for an advertising campaign on behalf of the U. Rubber Company, which mass-marketed the first sneakers in Shoe flinging has also been reported in many other countries. Shoe flinging occurs throughout the United States, in rural as well as in urban areas. Usually, the shoes flung at the wires are sneakers; elsewhere, especially in rural areas, many different varieties of shoes, including leather shoes and boots, also are thrown.

Soldiers leaving the military often paint a pair of combat boots yellow or orange and toss them over a power line or telephone wire near the barracks or unit to which they were assigned.

A number of sinister explanations have been proposed as to why this is done. The foremost is bullying in which a bully steals a pair of shoes and puts in a position where the victim cannot reach it.

Some also say that shoes hanging from the wires advertise a local crack house where crack cocaine is used and sold in which case the shoes are sometimes referred to as "Crack Tennies". It can also relate to a place where heroin is sold to symbolize the fact that once you take heroin you can never 'leave': a reference to the addictive nature of the drug. Others claim that the shoes so thrown commemorate a gang-related murder, or the death of a gang member, or as a way of marking gang turf.

A newsletter from the mayor of Los Angeles, California cites fears of many Los Angeles residents that "these shoes indicate sites at which drugs are sold or worse yet, gang turf," and that city and utility employees had launched a program to remove the shoes.

However, the practice also occurs along relatively remote stretches of rural highways that are unlikely scenes for gang murders, and have no structures at all to be crack houses. When we pulled similar data from all the calls requesting to have shoes removed, it showed the same trend, with the concentration of the requests coming from the South and West sides with a pocket in the far northeast of the city, around Rogers Park. I also spoke with ComEd, who maintains power lines in Chicago alleys.

The city maintains the streets. Maybe Aspholm is right. Maybe the reason behind shoe-tossing is just this simple: a coming of age story of inner city youth, colored by its own regional quirks and mixed up in the larger urban milieu of gangs, drugs and violence.

And so, we may keep trying to explain sneakers hanging from power lines. But if the data proves anything, this looming question, the mystery of why and how sneakers arrive on power lines, is becoming a mystery of the past. Matt Latourette, 43, was shocked when we read him the raw numbers of shoe removals: more than 6, over the past seven years. Today, Matt lives in Aurora, and rarely sees shoes hanging anywhere since their power lines are underground. He, too, had heard all rumors about what the shoes meant: drug dealing, bullying, kids being bored.

Follow her at meribahknight. Skip to main content. On his message, Molina gave us another reason: spite. Theory 3: Gang or Crew Territory. He was a high-ranking member of the Bloods gang back in the s in Kansas City, Missouri. Today, he coaches other inmates on cutting ties with their gang. I figured he might be able to help me get to the bottom of whether shoe-tossing was associated with gangs or urban violence.

The next day I got a call.