I am sure that each of you has repeatedly observed abandoned shoes on electrical wires. Why would someone need to throw sneakers or sneakers on power lines? There are several versions of this. This is called “shoefiti” (English shoefiti), comes from the words “shoe” + “graffiti” and translates as “shoes” + “graffiti”, i.e. shoe graffiti. Sometimes this phenomenon is called “shoe tossing” or “shoe flinging”. Shoes are also thrown on trees.
There are several versions of the origin of the tradition of throwing boots on wires:
1. In the United States, the military celebrated the end of the service in this way, throwing everything that comes to hand into the air. After the first pairs of shoes hung on wires, it became a tradition.
2. Shoes are thrown onto the wires by students in honor of initiation or graduation.
3. Hazing at the university: freshmen's shoes are thrown onto the wires.
4. Sports teams throw their shoes on wires to celebrate a win or a loss.
5. Shoes are thrown onto wires in memory of a person who died in this place.
6. This is the place where drugs are sold.
7. Marking the territory by gangs.
8. Non-ferrous metal thieves throw shoes on wires to create a short circuit. Dispatchers remove voltage from the wires, and thieves at this time remove the wires. Unsuccessfully thrown boots that did not create a short circuit remain on the wires.
Pure Russian version ;-)
9. A hooligan trick from those who watched the cult film “The Tail Wags the Dog” (Wag the Dog), according to the plot of which people who support a soldier forgotten in Albania after the war with the United States, staged by the presidential candidate and his PR people, threw their boots on the wires.
Also, similar scenes were seen in the films: “Big Fish” (Big Fish), “Site 2″ (The Sandlot 2), “Rebel” (Stick It), “Freedom Writers” (Freedom Writers), “Like Mike” (Like Mike), “Dakari” (The Savages).
10. Just a hooligan trick.
There is an opinion that shoes on power lines can represent a kind of ritual. For example, a student who has graduated from high school or university throws up his shoes to mark the occasion. Others may express their joy at marriage or the birth of a child. Even during the Great Patriotic War, soldiers tossed their boots up on electric wires at the end of their basic training or the end of military service.
On the forums there are very strange interpretations of shoes on power lines around the world. For example, in Colombia they believe that shoes will help a sick child recover, in Venezuela, in this way, they hope to get a new pair of shoes (of course, there is nothing to wear anymore :)). In Spain, during a drought, they ask for rain in this way, and in Guatemala they scare away bats.
Why are the wires in our city hung with all sorts of shoes.
“Several times I noticed on the streets of the city a pair of either sneakers or boots suspended from wires. Does anyone know what the joke is here, why they came up with this and how they climb up to hang them? asks Brief_Chatter.
The Odintsovo-INFO correspondent also asked similar questions, considering another shoe installation at Lyceum No. 2 last summer:
Several pictures taken elsewhere were also published by Marisa:
In the comments on the Brief_Chatter post, user Vika said that she had heard that it was football fans throwing sneakers on the wires after the match. “True, I don’t remember for what reason,” Vika writes.
Meanwhile, SATANIZMO admitted that he has been throwing his boots on wires and trees for a long time, but he does it “purely for fun” so that worn-out sneakers and grinds live on.
And the omniscient dimmik shared a link stating that shoes with wires are nothing more than “Shoofiti” - shoe graffiti. It turns out that this is a whole subculture! True, it has not yet reached Russia on the scale it is raging in the West.
So, there are several versions of the origin of the tradition of throwing shoes on the wires:
1. In the United States, the military celebrated the end of the service in this way, throwing everything that comes to hand into the air. After the first pairs of shoes hung on wires, it became a tradition.
2. Shoes are thrown onto the wires by students in honor of initiation or graduation.
3. Hazing at the university: freshmen's shoes are thrown onto the wires.
4. Sports teams throw their shoes on the wires to celebrate a win or a loss. (in our case, it is rather about the fans, about whom Vika wrote. Try to imagine: immediately after the winning match, Iskra Odintsovo together plunges into the bus, and leaves the Volleyball Center to the second school to throw boots ...)
5. Shoes are thrown on wires in memory of a person who died in this place (a very dubious version of the commemoration).
6. This is the place where drugs are sold.
7. Marking the territory by gangs.
8. Non-ferrous metal thieves throw shoes on wires to create a short circuit. Dispatchers remove voltage from the wires, and thieves at this time remove the wires. Unsuccessfully thrown boots that did not create a short circuit remain on the wires (purely Russian version).
9. A hooligan trick from those who watched the cult film “The Tail Wags the Dog” (Wag the Dog), according to the plot of which people who support a soldier forgotten in Albania after the war with the United States, staged by the presidential candidate and his PR people, threw their boots on the wires.
10. Just a hooligan trick.
March 30, 2015Ask Stupid Questions, Get Smart Answers Issue 35
Head up! In some areas of Chisinau, trees are covered not only with swollen buds and the first starlings, but also with old shoes. In some places, worn-out "boots" are overgrown with cables stretched between poles. Let's try to figure out where the shoelaces grow from this urban phenomenon.
As if there were not enough strange customs in our wonderful country to adopt even stranger ones from other countries! Unprepared and weak-willed foreigners who happen to get to a wedding or a kumetriya are shocked by the number of godfathers and mothers. Then Masa mare awaits them, which is also a solemn collection of money from guests at the wedding, who, it seems, were invited specifically for these “touching” minutes. And here is another, very timely -. For a foreigner unfamiliar with our history, who arrived in Moldova for the first time in early March, strange red and white trinkets everywhere seem to be symbols of some mysterious cult, and not delicate spring decorations.
No, we are not enough! Our way of life deserves more diversity, incomprehensible traditions, even the origin of which is incomprehensible. We are talking, of course, about shoes that hang in sad bunches from power wires and tree branches.
On the willows along Komsomolskoye Lake, in the courtyard on Zelinsky Street and in many other places, sneakers, boots and sneakers hang on trees, symbolizing who knows what and "infecting" local teenagers who immediately strive to hang their shoes nearby.
Among the well-known and popular theories about hanging shoes, there are boring ones, some sad ones, and some funny ones.
The most common option: shoes hanging on a pole indicate that the inhabitants of the nearest house sell drugs, and the color and style of shoes also matter - they can be used to determine the type of drug.
Many guesses are based on the version that hanging shoes symbolize the end of something.: military service, studying at school or university, single life. By the way, in Moldova, the last option is one of the most popular, and grooms during wedding photo shoots can really stop in order to throw old sneakers prepared in advance on the nearest linden tree. And weddings in our country, oh, how they love!
Of course, this can also be a sophisticated form of mockery of school bores and first-year students.: After all, what could be funnier?
In addition, shoes on wires may mean that somewhere nearby yard football players lost to the nines: the unspoken "kid's" rules require the punishment of a weak team. Is it possible to come up with a more refined punishment and a better incentive not to lose next time than brand new sneakers hanging high above your head?
The most pragmatic of all the versions that we managed to find - boots hanging on wires mean that not too lucky thieves who trade in non-ferrous metals have been here. Shoes on wires can cause a short circuit, so city services turn off the power to quickly remove interference. At this time, unlucky adventurers are filming wires. True, it often happens that the city authorities do not see a threat in a pair of dangling sneakers, the voltage is not turned off, and the thief remains with his nose and barefoot.
Sad, but plausible in Moldovan realities, the version says that shoes on a tree or pole indicate the place where a person died. To some extent, this is in tune with the Moldovan tradition of putting crosses on the roads at the place of the tragic death.
The most romantic and inspired version claims that shoes on trees and wires are a manifestation of social pop culture - an imitation of famous films and an offshoot of the underground style in art. In the advanced world, such "clusters" can be found near places where representatives of subcultures, enlightened youth and graffiti artists gather. Boots on wires and trees, indeed, have become a separate art form - shu-graffiti, which is widely practiced in Europe.
Some particularly mysterious sources say that the tradition goes back to the customs of the American Indians, who sacrificed their worn-out shoes to the sun, or to the European tribes, who believed that shoes could be useful to a person in the afterlife. Therefore, probably, many shoes get on the wires in excellent condition. Maybe earlier this phenomenon had spiritual roots, but now, in the days of American cinema, everything comes from Hollywood. The touching hero of the tragicomedy "Big Fish" had to throw his shoes on the wire to stay forever in a beautiful but impossible city, and the characters of the film "The Tail Wags the Dog" glorified this innocent act of vandalism as a symbol of freedom and protest against capitalist indifference.
Most likely, the motives of everyone who throws their shoes on a tree or wires are different, but the goal is certainly the same - to perpetuate themselves and their shoes in the memory of people who were not lucky enough to live in the neighborhood.
Journalist: Shura Uskova
Curiosity is probably what keeps us children. Since childhood, I liked to walk to school and look at everything around: feed the birds, stick to beautiful shop windows, look at the roofs of houses. Looking up, I saw a lot of wires, they blocked the view of the blue sky in thin strips, which made me a little angry. Later, I began to notice how shoes hang on the wires, or, to be more precise, sneakers. I remember exactly that the last time I saw them was in the center of Bishkek, at the intersection of Toktogul/Manas streets.
After so many years, walking around the city, I passed by that same intersection, but did not find hanging sneakers there. Why were they hanging there? Is there an explanation for this?
Once upon a time, my childish brain made its conclusion: "They are thrown there by happy football players after winning the next game." Is this really the case, we analyze below.
Google produces many articles on this topic, but no one can say exactly where and when the tradition of throwing shoes on wires began. Here are some popular answers:
- In the United States, the military marked the end of the service in this way, throwing everything that comes to hand into the air. After the first pairs of shoes hung on wires, it became a tradition.
- Shoes are thrown onto wires by students in honor of initiation or graduation.
- Hazing at the university: freshmen's shoes are thrown onto the wires.
- Sports teams throw their shoes on wires to celebrate a win or a loss.
- Shoes are thrown on the wires in memory of the person who died in this place.
- This is the place where drugs are sold.
- Marking the territory by gangs.
- A hooligan trick from those who watched the cult film “The Tail Wags the Dog” (Wag the Dog), according to the plot of which people who support a soldier forgotten in Albania after the war with the United States, staged by the presidential candidate and his PR people, threw their boots on the wires. Also, similar scenes were seen in the films: “Big Fish” (Big Fish), “Site 2″ (The Sandlot 2), “Rebel” (Stick It), “Freedom Writers” (Freedom Writers), “Like Mike” (Like Mike), “Dakari” (The Savages).
- Electricians throw shoes (or some other weight) to keep the wires from overlapping each other in strong winds.
All this resulted in its own kind of subculture, a direction in street art - shufiti(English) shoefiti), from the words “shoe” + “graffiti”, “shoes” + “graffiti”. Now sneakers on wires are already part of urban culture. And if in the West this is more common in some disadvantaged areas, then in the cities of the CIS it is more a tribute to aesthetics.
In recent years, shufiti has become less and less common in our country. If you see or have already seen something like this, be sure to send us photos. We will be glad to read your opinions and attitude to this kind of street art.
Imagine you are walking down the street, and suddenly a crowd of old shoes begins to hang above you. What is it, why is it, how is it - there are more questions than answers. Maybe someone dropped humanitarian aid from a plane, and it crumbled in the air? Second hand giveaway? Or maybe something based on Magritte's "Golconda"?
Already at home, I was not too lazy and found out that abandoned shoes are a whole worldwide movement and subculture! Yes, and if it were in the US, then the shoes hanging from the wires could mark the place where a gang member died, or a place where you can buy drugs. Hmm ... But with so many shoes, this is not even Amsterdam - just the German Flensburg, which I will talk about next time.
It's called "shuffiti"(English shoefiti), comes from the words "shoe" + "graffiti" and translates as "shoes" + "graffiti", i.e. shoe graffiti. Sometimes this phenomenon is called "shoe tossing" or "shoe flinging". Shoe throwing is prevalent primarily in the US and Canada, but also occurs in Latin America, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, France and most other European countries and many other countries.
IN THE USA
In the USA, several dozen trees are even known for throwing shoes. The tree with the largest number of shoes hanging on it was considered to be a 23-meter pyramidal poplar that grew near the town of Middlegate, Nevada. He was pelted with shoes from the mid-1980s until the end of 2010. On December 30, 2010, the poplar was cut down by unknown vandals. A criminal case was initiated, since this tree was not just a local landmark, but served as the only shady place for several kilometers around (which is important in the climate of Nevada), many birds and other animals lived on it. It went down in history as shoe tree(The Old Shoe Tree).
from here
Throwing shoes on wires and trees as a phenomenon has even become the subject of some scientific articles: for example, one of them attempts to draw a parallel between the modern phenomenon of throwing shoes and the Holocaust, when the shoes of exterminated Jews were piled up by the Nazis.
Despite the fact that the act of throwing shoes is not now recognized as a crime in any country, at least in the United States there are discussions about classifying this act as illegal. In Los Angeles, a special program was adopted to combat shoe-throwing, including because of the possible connection of this activity, according to some analysts, with secret signs to each other by members of local criminal communities.
In Russia
There is a student tradition in the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok, when those who finally leave the dormitory throw their shoes tied with laces on the branches of trees growing between the dormitories on the campus. Thus say goodbye to alma mater.
But Voronezh bloggers once even complained about shoes hanging in the city center.
But in Moscow, the largest accumulation of shoes on wires was found near the Kashirskaya metro station.
And what for?
The motives for this hobby are most likely the same as for other similar hobbies, such as planking. That's not counting a dozen other shoe-throwing traditions:
1. Some street gangs mark their territories this way.
2. Students' shoes: first-year students' shoes are thrown by "grandfathers" in military universities, senior students mark the end of their studies in this way.
3. In the United States, the military celebrated the end of the service in this way, throwing everything that comes to hand into the air. After the first pairs of shoes hung on wires, it became a tradition.
4. Some sports teams throw their shoes on wires to celebrate a win or loss.
5. The memory of the person who died in this place.
6. I already mentioned drugs.
7. From hooligan motives.
It turns out that in Flensburg, Germany, an entire street was officially assigned to this hobby!
And this is how it's done :)
Well, now you know why shoes sometimes hang on trees and wires :)
More posts about our ferry and car trip organized by unis and ilyavaliev :
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