There are as many answers to “why are there shoes in trees” are there are, well, shoes in trees. I spotted this Shoe Tree of Wallingford just yesterday:
(Bagley and 40th)
Maybe it’s all of the caffeinated people from Irwin’s. Perhaps it’s the folks on the way back from Durn Good, celebrating snagging that last block of ice, or that 6-pack of Guinness. Or maybe, as Snopes.com suggests, there isn’t a right answer, just a lot of possible answers!
Are there other shoe trees of Wallingford? Send along a note and we’ll investigate!
I’d heard of some urban myth that it was an indication of crack houses….maybe that’s why Irwin’s is so popular:)
I saw that possibility on Snopes.com, too, along with some other suggestions for what it means. My take is “bored teens” where “teen” means anyone between about 12 and 40!
I bet there is a psychologist somewhere that could turn this into a study!
In St. Louis, the story was that they marked where someone had been killed. Typically, you wouldn’t see them in trees, you’d see them on the overhead lines.
If coffee=crack (and in my world it does), then I believe the urban myth!
You should try crack. Nothing equals crack quite like crack equals crack. In the area where I grew up it was common after a fight for the winning party to remove the losing party’s shoes and toss them onto the powerlines. This forced them to walk home barefoot and in disgrace with the possibility of yet another beating from your parents for losing your shoes. Somehow I don’t think it means the same thing on the mean streets of Seattle. Did you hear there were 3 cars broken into in the area in the last month? This place is SAVAGE. I’m afraid to take my bichon frise out after American Idol these days.
“Crack Tennies”
Don’t know about trees, but I do see a lot of shoes tied around power lines, especially around schools (e.g. Lincoln). I always wondered if it were some marker of adolescent boy sexual conquest. . .
Janey has it right from what I’ve heard. People are getting lucky over on 40th St!!