Talk:Shoe tossing

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Contents 1 Wording 2 Name Change? 3 Is there a reason for tossing shoes? 4 Sabotage removal 4.1 Facts vs. Folklore

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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.

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)

[edit] 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!

[edit] 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)