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Shoe tossing

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

Shoe tossing, the act of using shoes as projectiles or improvised weapons, is a constituent of a number of folk sports and practices. Today, it is commonly the act of throwing a pair of shoes onto telephone wires, powerlines, or other raised wires. A related practice is shoe tossing onto trees or fences.

Dangling shoes

Because of the Shoefiti the Norderstraße (Northern Street) in Flensburg, Germany, is named by the New Yorker travel magazine Travel + Leisure to one of the "World's Strangest Streets".

Shoe dangling, or shoe flinging, is the practice of throwing shoes whose shoelaces have been tied together so that they hang from overhead wires such as power lines or telephone cables. Once the shoes are tied together, the pair is then thrown at the wires as a sort of bolas.

Shoe flinging occurs throughout the northern America and Europe, in rural as well as in urban areas. Usually, the shoes flung at the wires are sneakers; many different varieties of shoes, including leather shoes and boots, also are thrown.[1] There are many cultural variations as well, with differences between socio-economic areas and even age groups.

A Boy Scout throws his boots over the Philmont entrance sign at Base Camp, a longstanding tradition

It means to ooo on someone ha ha

Shoe tree

The Shoe Tree in Morley Field, San Diego.[2]

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.[3] Shoe trees are generally located alongside a major local thoroughfare, and may have a theme (such as high-heeled shoes). There are currently at least seventy-six such shoe trees in the United States,[4] and an undetermined number elsewhere.

Competitive boot throwing

Boot throwing in Finland.
See also: Wellie wanging

Boot throwing, or welly wanging, has been a competitive sport in New Zealand and Britain for many years, although not one that is taken very seriously. Wellington boots are the heavy rubber boots worn by most farm workers and many other outdoor workers. A competition to see who can throw a boot, or "welly", the furthest is a feature of many Agricultural Field Days in the rural communities. The town of Taihape in the central North Island is particularly identified with this sport; they claim to be the Gum Boot Throwing Capital of New Zealand. They hold an annual competition (Gumboot Day) in the main street and award a Golden Gumboot as the trophy. See also Wellie wanging in Yorkshire, England.

Since 2003 the sport has been practiced competitively in Eastern Europe. The 2004 World Championship Competition was won by Germany who is hosting the 2005 Competition at Döbeln. Teams were also expected from Australia and Russia. Boot throwing has been a popular sport in Finland since 1976 when the first Finnish Championships of boot throwing has been organized.

The Scottish Championships were held in Oban in July 2009 where Shoe-Throwing pioneers RD Miller & David Gaffney created an impromptu event on the waterfront. This inspired such Shoe-Throwing legends as Phil Reid (who always favoured the lighter trainer)to pick up the baton - or the sneaker in this case - and take it to a wider audience. A more amateur watered-down version is still evident today in certain parts of Oban in July.

Insult

See also: List of shoe throwing incidents

In many Arab cultures, it is considered an extreme insult to throw a shoe at someone. It is also considered rude even to display the sole of one's foot to someone. In 2008, Iraqi cameraman Muntadar al-Zaidi threw two shoes at United States President George W. Bush while the president was visiting Baghdad, and was arrested and incarcerated. President Bush ducked and was not struck by the shoes.[5] Shoe throwing as an insult is not just limited to the Muslim world, as there are also other notable incidents that have occurred involving other celebrities and world leaders. Some of these have involved Steve McCarthy, David Beckham, Harry Styles, Lily Allen, Hillary Clinton, and Wen Jiabao.[6]

Flipper tossing

Pair of flippers (water footwear) hanging from a wire at 4th Ave. and E 10th St, New York, NY

"Flippering" has occurred in the Stoke Croft area of Bristol; a pair of flippers can be seen on Jamaica Street in Bristol.[citation needed] Flippers have also been seen over a wire in the East Village section of New York City (pictured).

See also

References

  1. ^ "Shoes on a Wire: Untangling an Urban Myth". WBEZ. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  2. ^ The Shoe Tree in Frisbee Playground, Morley Field, San Diego fell down (allegedly on January 7, 2008, confirmed the following day), caused by a long period of rain.
  3. ^ Shoe Trees. Roadside America.
  4. ^ Roadside America. Search results for "shoe tree."
  5. ^ Asser, Martin (December 15, 2008). "Bush shoe-ing worst Arab insult". BBC News. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  6. ^ "Top 5 famous shoe throwing incidents". Metro.
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