above: tossed shoes, portland, oregon. photo source.
in case you don't know, the art of 'shoe tossing' involves throwing one's tied footwear up into the air in such a manner as to have them land on an overhead powerline, one shoe hanging on either side. the result, in some areas, can be seen in the picture above, but the reason for this activity starting in the first place is apparently debated.
the reason for this quick post though is that there's another form of alternative shoe disposal that i, possibly just due to a sheltered life, was previously unaware of. until today. and it's fucking brilliant.
shoe trees...
above: an australian shoe tree, arnold west. photo source.
above: shoe tree, ontario, oregon. photo source.
above: shoe tree, nevada. photo source.
above: san diego. photo source.
without doubt the best tree-related thing i've seen this week, wikipedia claims there are 'at least 76 such shoe trees in the united states'. incredible. i'm hoping these kinds of trees are thin on the ground here in the uk as i'd hate to now discover that i've missed out on seeing one of these in the flesh.
so why do they exist? who threw the first shoe? i'm hoping someone has the answer as there's a dubious explanation on wikipedia involving naked teenagers that seems far too weird for my liking.