Shoe's wrapped around a telephone line high in the air?

I've been noticing this more and more. I've heard all sorts of claims. Anybody know what it really means in Fairfax county? Does the color of the shoes mean something?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2009 03:16PM by Lurker..

Pedestrian fatality occured nearby

I have always wondered about this as well. There has to be more than one reason to do this; they are on the lines in a park near my house, nowhere near a road or street.

When I was a kid, that was the act of a bully. He'd take your shoes, tie the laces together and toss them up on the wire. I'm guessing it is no different today.

it means that a place to score drugs is nearby.

A pair of shoes was tossed over the power lines at the intersetion of Glade and Colts Neck in Reston.

When I googled this, the explanations ranged from kids having fun to "marking gang turf."

In Reston, this is something that we haven't seen before, so I presume it is not bored kids having fun. However, there is a growing presence of "immigrants" on Colts Neck, and there have been reports of gang activity, with a fatality several months ago.

Perhaps its Delta house messing with thier pledges?

I would not buy shoes unless I could try them on first so would say don't buy shoes over the telephone.

It's in honor of Sergeant Schumann who was capture by the enemy in Albania.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://bible.cc/1_corinthians/13-11.htm

It's a silent tribute to all of the apostrophes which have needlessly given their lives for the sake of bizarre punctuation.

its a mexican thing to mark territory

A tribute to Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Iraq's living nearby displeased with Bush policies?

If you throw a pair of shoes up to a power line and they stay, they were meant to be there. If they return, you were meant to wear them.

it means they have good weed in the area

RestonLass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A pair of shoes was tossed over the power lines at
> the intersetion of Glade and Colts Neck in Reston.
>
>
> When I googled this, the explanations ranged from
> kids having fun to "marking gang turf."
>
> In Reston, this is something that we haven't seen
> before, so I presume it is not bored kids having
> fun. However, there is a growing presence of
> "immigrants" on Colts Neck, and there have been
> reports of gang activity, with a fatality several
> months ago.


i've always heard of it being gang related. although i have thrown my fair share of shoes on a line back in the day and im not in a gang, i think.

Maybe there is no meaning behind it. Just kids pulling pranks.

When I was stationed in Germany there was a tree next to Alpha Battery where a soldier leaving the unit would throw a pair of boots into a tree; similar to hanging on a telepone line. It was a tradition.

RestonLass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A pair of shoes was tossed over the power lines at
> the intersetion of Glade and Colts Neck in Reston.
>
>
> When I googled this, the explanations ranged from
> kids having fun to "marking gang turf."
>
> In Reston, this is something that we haven't seen
> before, so I presume it is not bored kids having
> fun. However, there is a growing presence of
> "immigrants" on Colts Neck, and there have been
> reports of gang activity, with a fatality several
> months ago.


Shoes over the line means one less pair for someone.

My old neighborhood on Glade is now completely beanerfied. Things have most certainly changed.

Alpha 2/62 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When I was stationed in Germany there was a tree
> next to Alpha Battery where a soldier leaving the
> unit would throw a pair of boots into a tree;
> similar to hanging on a telepone line. It was a
> tradition.


It's an adolescent/teen thing, a cool/funny thing to do - like "Kilroy was here" graffiti. But more urban than suburban. City kids learn it by osmosis; they grow up with it. Suburban kids learned it from the movies (like the opening shot of Friday), or are transplants from the city.

speaking of things on telephone lines, I've always wondered what those big, orange basketball-looking things are that you see in certain places. Are they for decoration?

They are to indicate wires for low-flying planes/helicopters

Does anyone know what ski resort it is that has a tree along one of the lifts that is covered in bras?

Is that snowshoe?

I can't remember which resort it was. Maybe it was in Colorado.

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The function of conservatives is not to meet every liberal program or scheme with a denunciation or a destructive counterscheme, but rather to weigh its advantages and defects, supporting the first and challenging the second. A declaration of ideological warfare against liberalism is by its nature profoundly unconservative. It meets perceived radicalism with a counterradicalism of its own.

Thurston Moore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anyone know what ski resort it is that has a
> tree along one of the lifts that is covered in
> bras?
>
> Is that snowshoe?
>
> I can't remember which resort it was. Maybe it
> was in Colorado.


WOW! I'd really like to check out THAT resort.

there might be more than one. but i distinctly remember always seeing the 'underwear tree' by the chairlift at timberline

Thurston Moore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anyone know what ski resort it is that has a
> tree along one of the lifts that is covered in
> bras?
>
> Is that snowshoe?
>
> I can't remember which resort it was. Maybe it
> was in Colorado.


any ski resort will have a tree full of bras, if not bras at least those mardi gras beads. shit gets out of hand at those places.

Yeah, maybe it happens at more than one ski resort, but I've only ever seen it at one resort. I just can't remember which one.

I've never been to timberline, so that isn't the one.

If it's east coast, it would have to be Snowshoe or its sister resort, Silver Creek. But I just can't recall to be 100% certain.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
The function of conservatives is not to meet every liberal program or scheme with a denunciation or a destructive counterscheme, but rather to weigh its advantages and defects, supporting the first and challenging the second. A declaration of ideological warfare against liberalism is by its nature profoundly unconservative. It meets perceived radicalism with a counterradicalism of its own.

marking gang turf, whatever moron. this was done in my parents day in europe as a student prank.

gangstrer Wrote:
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> marking gang turf, whatever moron. this was done
> in my parents day in europe as a student prank.


those silly euro's and their clever pranks!! I tell ya!!
some real knee slappers

around here it doesnt mean shit. probably some kid who just got new shoes and is like "hmmmmmm what should i do with the old ones?I Know! ill throw them on the telephone wire."

now if you were in a place like detroit or chicago it might be territory kind of stuff but those are urban areas. i dont see gangs here having much trouble finding enough space.

gangstrer Wrote:
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> marking gang turf, whatever moron. this was done
> in my parents day in europe as a student prank.


Maybe your parents were gang members...

Whoever does this should make sure the cops don't vust them.

Speaking of shoes, I want to know why there are so many SINGLE shoes laying around near our roads. I passed three different shoes on my way to work this morning. I see others all the time when driving around the metro area. They all appeared to be in good shape, no need to throw them out. Who loses a shoe while driving? I can understand losing a hat due to wind but a shoe? I've never lost a shoe in my life. What gives?

Thurston Moore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anyone know what ski resort it is that has a
> tree along one of the lifts that is covered in
> bras?
>
> Is that snowshoe?
>
> I can't remember which resort it was. Maybe it
> was in Colorado.

Telluride CO Lift #9

dono Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thurston Moore Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Does anyone know what ski resort it is that has
> a
> > tree along one of the lifts that is covered in
> > bras?
> >
> > Is that snowshoe?
> >
> > I can't remember which resort it was. Maybe it
> > was in Colorado.
>
> Telluride CO Lift #9

it's a sign skanks are nearby.

ola
miz zapatos hango en la telefono cable porque yo quiero taco bell.

....silly crackers..its a gang thing. keep ur mouths shut and nobody gets hurt....keep asking questions and...well, look wat we did to silver spring MD and culmore.

STOP snitchin

As far as the color goes, that just distinguishes the gangs. What color was it? Ill tell you if you need to be worried or not.

The great Cecil Adams attempted to answer this question YEARS ago

Been getting this question a lot lately. Lacking a proper way to investigate it, I figured I might as well cast aside the pretense of science and post it to the Net, specifically, the on-line Straight Dope area on AOL and alt.fan.cecil-adams. A sampling of the answers I could read (with a lot of stuff on AOL, you can't tell if what you're seeing is bad spelling or Esperanto):

I heard tennis shoes hanging over a power line meant you could buy crack there.
It's a time-honored tradition to throw your sneakers over the power lines on the last day of school.
When I was a lad of 13 in Nashua, New Hampshire, we used to steal pairs of shoes that had been carelessly left on the sidewalk by kids who had popped open a fireplug. At this point we would play "over the wire keep away" until (a) the kid's mother, brother, father, or a passing police officer put a stop to the game, or (b) shoes went up but didn't come down.
When I was in the military and guys were getting ready to get out and go back to a "regular" life they would take their combat boots and paint them up all funky before tying the laces together and throwing them over a wire.
I agree with the drug theory. I saw a news brief on Amsterdam, and there was a pair of shoes hanging in the ghetto where everyone does drugs. So I assume it means "stop here."
Either they're meant to increase visibility for low-flying aircraft, frighten rattlesnakes away, or just for the hell of it.
I read in the newspaper that shoes would be thrown over the power lines to serve as a reminder/warning of a murder that occurred nearby. This seems proven to me: as I was traveling past a home in which a drug-related murder had occurred about three months prior … a pair of shoes were hanging from the power lines in front of the home.
Depending on what part of the country you are from, one shoe from a light post or sign represents the death of a gang member. Usually seen in the inner city.
When I was a kid (late 60s, early 70s) the boys would tie together (1) their own sneakers that they hated or (2) sneakers of the weak and/or overweight kids and toss them over the telephone wires for fun. It usually took a number of tosses to get them up there, so the boys took this as a challenge.
The fact about the shoes hanging across the overhead wire is: my wife won't let me bring them into the house after I walked across the barnyard. This is a certified true fact.
Used to be a gang sign — sneakers hanging over telephone or electrical wires were to designate gang turf.
I'll admit to being a former shoe thrower. After getting a new pair of sneakers, it was a common ritual in my neighborhood to tie the shoelaces of your old pair together and throw them up on the telephone wires. What else are you going to do with your old pair of sneakers?
I used to teach inner-city youths in Washington, D.C., and witnessed older children throwing the shoes of younger children over tree branches and telephone lines, or a gang of children would take a single child's shoes and toss them. This was, as far as I could tell, an exclusively male pastime. The kids did this to be mean and make a difficult time of life even more difficult. One fun part about this type of kid is that if an adult tells them to stop, the adult is "disrespecting" their right to do whatever they want. The other fun part about some of these kids is that they are armed. I am not restricting my criticisms to children in inner-city Washington either.
There is no solid cause-effect going on here. Just your everyday kid hijinks. I suppose you could say it's a way of marking territory. Shoes can be seen hanging all over the beach area here in San Diego, over lampposts, power lines, trees, etc. It's as pointless as jamming gum in water fountains or throwing water balloons at cars. Just one of the things kids do.
So there you have it. It's either a harmless prank, a rite of passage, or a sign of the end of civilization. You figure it out.

— Cecil Adams



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2009 04:12PM by Radiophile.

Tony Habadasher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Speaking of shoes, I want to know why there are so
> many SINGLE shoes laying around near our roads. I
> passed three different shoes on my way to work
> this morning. I see others all the time when
> driving around the metro area. They all appeared
> to be in good shape, no need to throw them out.
> Who loses a shoe while driving? I can understand
> losing a hat due to wind but a shoe? I've never
> lost a shoe in my life. What gives?



you obv dont drive fast and furious enough
Brah

dates to atleast the early 70's. had them on my street and had nothing to do with Latino gangs since there weren't any Latinos around in my hood.

FUck you and the 70's ese
watcha...deez vato steel thinks heez in the 70's. Hey disco-fever!, poke your head out the door and tell me if things still look like a starsky and hutch episode. 'TA LOCO LOS '70s!!!!!


Sincerely, George Lopez

skiiiiier Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Telluride CO Lift #9
>
> it's a sign skanks are nearby.

In Telluride? Skanks are always nearby, there.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
The function of conservatives is not to meet every liberal program or scheme with a denunciation or a destructive counterscheme, but rather to weigh its advantages and defects, supporting the first and challenging the second. A declaration of ideological warfare against liberalism is by its nature profoundly unconservative. It meets perceived radicalism with a counterradicalism of its own.

dono Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thurston Moore Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Does anyone know what ski resort it is that has
> a
> > tree along one of the lifts that is covered in
> > bras?
> >
> > Is that snowshoe?
> >
> > I can't remember which resort it was. Maybe it
> > was in Colorado.
>
> Telluride CO Lift #9


Okay, this is obviously not limited to just one ski resort. I've never been to telluride. I think it was Aspen, on a lift on Ajax. And I still have this vague idea that I saw it at Snowshoe or Silver Creek, too.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
The function of conservatives is not to meet every liberal program or scheme with a denunciation or a destructive counterscheme, but rather to weigh its advantages and defects, supporting the first and challenging the second. A declaration of ideological warfare against liberalism is by its nature profoundly unconservative. It meets perceived radicalism with a counterradicalism of its own.

Thurston Moore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yeah, maybe it happens at more than one ski
> resort, but I've only ever seen it at one resort.
> I just can't remember which one.
>
> I've never been to timberline, so that isn't the
> one.
>
> If it's east coast, it would have to be Snowshoe
> or its sister resort, Silver Creek. But I just
> can't recall to be 100% certain.


I usually go to Whitetail up in PA, more often Ski Liberty (PA), and sometimes Massanutten (VA), and I haven't seen any "Bra Trees" at any of those locations, so you can rule them out, unless someone has seen one at those slopes.

Here's one out in Colorado:

http://www.coloradowinterinfo.com/the-bra-tree.html
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COX CABLE PUTS THEM UP THERE TO HELP MARK THEIR SYSTEM FOR REPAIR.
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