|
This type of question makes us immediately head to the Urban Legends Reference Pages. The trusty reference offers an array of possible traditions behind this curious urban phenomenon. For instance, military officers often pitch their old boots over a fence to celebrate finishing a tour of duty. And some farmers indicate whether they're home or not by the direction of their upturned boot on a fencepost. An article in the Michigan Daily Online suggests that it's a graduation ritual for high school seniors. As one high school junior explains, "You are throwing up shoes and, in the process, leaving something behind." Pat Cashman, a columnist
for Washington state's King County Journal, also offers a number of theories: the pairs of shoes are gang signs; they indicate you can buy drugs at a particular location; they're intended to aggravate police officers. But ultimately, Mr. Cashman has to wearily concur with a young observer plied with pop tarts who said, "People throw the shoes up there because hats and underpants won't stay." One enterprising cub reporter for the Penn State College Newspaper investigated the safety concerns involved. Most power lines can withstand the weight of multiple pairs of ratty Keds, and the shoes shouldn't interfere with
electricity transfer, but "getting into close proximity to power lines is a dangerous thing to do."
|
