Shoe tossing

Shoe-tossing is the act of using footwear as a projectile as part of a number of folk sports and practices. Shoe-throwing is often associated with tossing a pair of shoes with the laces tied together onto raised wires such as telephone wires and power lines, as well as trees.

Shoe-tossing in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain (2013).

Shoe-tossing occurs throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, South Africa, in both rural and urban areas. Often, the shoes are sneakers; other times, they are leather shoes and boots.[1] Many cultural variations exist; differences abound between socioeconomic areas and age groups.

Purpose

Several theories have been put forth to explain the phenomenon. One posits that it's a form of bullying: a bully steals a pair of shoes and tosses them where they are unlikely to be retrieved.[1] Another views shoe tossing as a practical joke played on drunks, who wake up to find their shoes missing. More ominously,[2] a 2003 newsletter from former Los Angeles, California mayor James Hahn cited fears of many L.A. 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.[3] A 2015 study of shoe-tossing data in Chicago found that the rumor and relationship between dangling shoes and drug dealing was correlational, not causal.[4]

In some cultures, shoes are flung as part of a rite of passage, for example, to commemorate the end of a school year, or a forthcoming marriage. Some theories suggest the custom originated with members of the military, who are said to have thrown military boots, often painted orange or some other conspicuous color, at overhead wires as a part of a rite of passage after completing basic training or when leaving the service.[2] In the 1997 film Wag the Dog, shoe tossing is an allegedly spontaneous tribute to Sgt. William Schumann, played by Woody Harrelson, who has purportedly been shot down behind enemy lines in Albania.

Shoe-throwing as a wedding custom
See also: Wedding superstitions

Shoe-throwing at weddings has been observed in several cultures.[5][6] In Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield (1850), the custom is recorded by the narrator following his marriage to Dora Spenlow:[7]

When we were all in a bustle outside the door, I found that Mr. Peggotty was prepared with an old shoe, which was to be thrown after us for luck, and which he offered to Mrs. Gummidge for that purpose.

In 1887, an article in The New York Times observed that: "[The] custom of throwing one or more old shoes after the bride and groom either when they go to church to be married or when they start on their wedding journey, is so old that the memory of man stretches not back to its beginning."[8] Peter Ditchfield, writing in Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time (1896), expands: "We also throw old shoes after young married folk in order to express our wishes for their good fortune. Probably this was not the original meaning of the custom. The throwing of a shoe after a bride was a symbol of renunciation of dominion and authority over her by her father or guardian, and this receipt of the shoe by the bridegroom was an omen that the authority was transferred to him. In Kent the shoe is thrown by the principal bridesmaid, and the others run after it. It is supposed that she who gets it will be married first. It is then thrown amongst the men, and he who is hit will be first wedded."[9]

Shoe-throwing as a form of protest
Main article: List of shoe-throwing incidents

In many Arab cultures, throwing a shoe at someone is considered an insult. In 2008, Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi was arrested for throwing two shoes at United States President George W. Bush, in protest against the American military invasion and subsequent occupation, while the president was visiting Baghdad. Al-Zaidi shouted in Arabic: "This is from the widows, the orphans and those killed in Iraq!"[10] President Bush ducked and was not struck by the shoes.[11] Shoe throwing as an insult is not limited to the Arab world; other notable incidents have involved other celebrities and world leaders, including Steve McCarthy, David Beckham, Lily Allen, and Wen Jiabao.[12]

Shoe-throwing as a competitive sport
Main article: Wellie wanging

Wellie wanging, or boot throwing, is a sport in which competitors are required to throw a Wellington boot as far as possible.[13][14] The sport appears to have originated in the West Country of England in the 1970s, and rapidly became a popular activity at village fêtes and fundraising events across Britain.[15][16][17][18][19] The sport is now played in many different countries, including Australia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and Russia.

Shoe-throwing as a display
Main article: Shoe tree (decorated plant)

A shoe tree, not to be confused with the shoe-preservation device of the same name, is a tree (or, occasionally, a powerline pole or other wooden object) that has been festooned with old shoes.[20] Shoe trees are generally located alongside major local thoroughfares, and they may have a theme (such as high-heeled shoes).

See also

References
  1. "Shoes on a Wire: Untangling an Urban Myth". WBEZ. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  2. Adams Cecil (August 2, 1996). Why do you see pairs of shoes hanging by the laces from power lines? The Straight Dope.
  3. TeamWork LA (c. 2003). "East Los Angeles NSC Combats Problem of Overhead Shoes on Wires" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-10-07. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  4. "Shoes on a Wire: Untangling an Urban Myth". WBEZ. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  5. Crombie, James E. (September 1895). "Shoe-Throwing at Weddings". Folklore. 6 (3): 258–281. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1895.9720312. JSTOR 1252997.
  6. Lansing, G. (December 1884). "Throwing the Slipper". The Old Testament Student. University of Chicago Press. 4 (4): 182–184. doi:10.1086/469556. JSTOR 3156346.
  7. Tromp, Marlene (2013). ""Throwing the Wedding-Shoe": Foundational Violence, Unhappy Couples, and Murderous Women". Victorian Review. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 39 (2): 39–43. doi:10.1353/vcr.2013.0042. JSTOR 24497062. S2CID 161522499.
  8. "THROWING THE WEDDING SHOE". The New York Times. New York. 11 February 1887. p. 3.
  9. Ditchfield, P.H. (1896). Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time. p. 110.
  10. Ibrahim, Yasmin (2009). "The Art of Shoe-Throwing: Shoes as a Symbol of Protest and Popular Imagination". Media, War & Conflict. 2 (2): 213–226. doi:10.1177/1750635209104655. JSTOR 26000139. S2CID 143803542.
  11. Asser, Martin (December 15, 2008). "Bush shoe-ing worst Arab insult". BBC News. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  12. "Top 5 famous shoe throwing incidents". Metro.
  13. Ziegler, Philip (1978). Crown and People. Harper Collins. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-002-11373-1.
  14. White, Roland (29 April 2001). "Bizarre sporting moments". The Sunday Times. London. p. 5.
  15. Matthews, Rupert (1990). Record Breakers of The Air. Troll Associates. p. 31. ISBN 0816719217.
  16. Phillips, Pearson (14 May 1987). "Pulling the wool with a shade". The Times. London.
  17. White, Roland (4 April 1999). "Country strife". The Sunday Times. London. p. 10.
  18. Prowse, Dave (2011). Straight From the Force's Mouth. Apex Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-907-79299-1.
  19. Evans, Roger (2005). Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee!. Countryside Books. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-853-06916-1.
  20. Shoe Trees. Roadside America.
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