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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 == Shoe dangling, 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. The shoes are tied together by their laces, and the pair is then thrown at the wires as a sort of bolas. The practice, despite its widespread use throughout the United States has been one of curiosity over the years as a number of possible explanations for the act have cropped up without any general consensus on its origins. Shoe flinging has also been reported in many other countries. Shoe flinging occurs throughout the United States and Canada, in rural as well as in urban areas. Usually, the shoes flung at the wires are sneakers; elsewhere, especially in rural areas, many different varieties of shoes, including leather shoes and boots, also are thrown. There are many cultural variations as well, with differences between socio-economic areas and even age groups. For example, in Legends Ranch Subdivision, in Spring, Texas, the shoes on the wire delineate the starting line for the walking path for an over-50 group known as the "Legends." A number of criminal explanations have been proposed as to why this is done. The foremost is bullying in which a bully steals a pair of shoes and puts them in a place where they are unlikely to be retrieved. A newsletter from the mayor of Los Angeles, California cites fears of many Los Angeles 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. Other less criminal explanations have been ventured for the practice. In some cultures, shoes are flung to commemorate the end of a school year, or a forthcoming marriage as part of a rite of passage. It has been suggested that the custom may have 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 upon completing basic training or on leaving the service.〔Adams Cecil (August 2, 1996). (Why do you see pairs of shoes hanging by the laces from power lines? ) ''The Straight Dope''.〕 In the 1997 film, ''Wag the Dog'', shoe tossing features as an allegedly spontaneous cultural manifestation of tribute to Sgt. William Schumann, played by Woody Harrelson, who has purportedly been “shot down behind enemy lines” in Albania. Others claim that the shoes are stolen from other people and tossed over the wires as a sort of bullying tactic, or as a practical joke played on drunkards.〔 Others simply say that shoe flinging is a way to get rid of shoes that are no longer wanted, are uncomfortable, or do not fit.〔Wordscribe41. "Shoefiti: Unique Urban Street Art". Hubpages.〕 It may also be another manifestation of the human instinct to leave their mark on, and decorate, their surroundings.〔 It has been reported that workmen often throw shoes if they are not paid for waxing floors. In some neighborhoods, shoes tied together and hanging from power lines or tree branches signify that someone has died. The shoes belong to the dead person. The reason they are hanging, legend has it, is that when the dead person's spirit returns, it will walk that high above the ground, that much closer to heaven.〔 Another superstition holds that the tossing of shoes over the power lines outside of a house is a way to keep the property safe from ghosts. Yet another legend involves that shoes hanging from telephone wires signals someone leaving the neighborhood onto bigger and better things.〔Whitley, Peggy, Becky Bradley, Bettye Sutton, and Sue Goodwin. "1990-1999." American Cultural History. Lone Star College-Kingwood Library. Last modified February 2011. http://wwwappskc.lonestar.edu/ popculture/decade90.html.〕〔Alarcão, Jorge de (1988). Roman Portugal. Volume I: Introduction (p. 93). Warminster: Aris and Phillips〕 (For example, in Charles Dickens' ''Great Expectations'', Biddy and Joe throw shoes at Pip as he sets off for London.) Of course, only each individual shoe-thrower knows why his/her pair of shoes now hangs from a wire. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shoe tossing」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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