Many of us might have seen sneakers or boots hanging over the street on wires. This phenomenon can be called international – it is found in many cities and villages, in Asia and Africa, and in the USA it even got its own name shoefiti- from the words “shoe” and “graffiti”). There are many theories about why they make such “installations”, And we want to tell you about the most popular ones.
Symbol of street gangs or drug dealers
In the West, many believe that shoes suspended from wires are used by criminal groups as a sign of demarcation of territories of influence. And there is also an opinion that in this way drug sellers give a signal to their clients or colleagues. This version is supported by the fact that shoefiti is found mainly in disadvantaged areas of large cities. On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine a Wall Street clerk throwing his shoes on the wires in front of his own office.
An old youth custom
Mostly young people are throwing sneakers on wires, so the version that this is a good old custom of students has a right to exist. Someone believes that in this way the cheerful student brethren celebrate the passing of the session and the beginning of the holidays. Other “youthful” hypotheses, among which it is worth noting the creation of shoefiti in honor of the loss of virginity, the victory of your favorite sports team, or at the place of death of a person, as a tribute to his memory from his closest friends.
Basketball tradition
In the United States, they believe that wired sports shoes are the tricks of street basketball teams. It is known that do not feed basketball players with bread, just let them throw something, preferably further and higher. They say this is how they get rid of old gaming sneakers so that they attract good luck to the former owner.
Monument to yourself
If you were lucky enough to live or regularly visit areas with shufi, then you probably noticed that shoes can hang like that for a very long time, sometimes up to 10 years. From here came the belief that the people who do such compositions are just pretentious eccentrics who decided in this way to leave a memory of themselves.
Electrical theory
In strong winds, nearby wires can touch, causing short circuits. Where there is no way to put the overhead lines in order, they are trying to separate them with improved means. Sometimes a brick is used for this, tied to a rope with a hook, but it is much easier to tie two old shoes with laces and throw them over the problem wire.
