Almost, J Correa. They are left there as breeding pots for the extraterrestrial black oil virus. The life forms hide in the shelter of the shoes and observe traffic, waiting for just the right moment to commence the invasion.

The accident story does have some bit of truth to it. I was hit by a car when I was younger- I was fortunate enough not to lose consciousness, however, one of the paramedics did tell me that in most pedestrian/automobile accidents, if someone is knocked out of their shoes, they do not survive.

Maybe they come out the car the same way I lost my teeth on the turnpike one day...<BR><BR>They were uncomfortable, so I took them off. Fell asleep for a stretch. Hubby pulled over so we can switch drivers. Forgot about teeth and they fell out.<BR><BR>Same deal could apply to shoes...

I think Elvis started it.

There is a little town in Northern Michigan called Mancelona. On the north end of that town on US131, there are hundreds of pairs of shoes caught up in a tree that overhangs the highway.

Ah HAH, their ceremonial funereal grounds!

It doesn't seem like a big mystery to me. Ever since I quit smoking, those long drives can be wearing. Taking off a shoe and tossing it out the window gives me a similar feeling of pleasure. Plus, it is a nice way of showing the locals, and other drivers, that you just don't give a f*ck.

In L.A., shoes over the powerline mean you can but drugs nearby. Sad, but true.

Nina, I live in LA, and something like that is what I thought. Makes complete sense now. Yes, sad but true.

Driving along an hafta GO. Whiz in shoe. Out da window. Lose a lot of singles that way. Then hafta stop at Wal for a new pair.<BR><BR>My wife just butts out the window and shoots. She is from W Va. Being classy, from Charleston, she only do at night. She hates to waste shoes. She has 3 pair!<BR><BR>

My son threw his shoes out the window from his car seat when he was little - never could understand why or how they fit through a 1 inch opening in the window. Now that he is driving on his own, maybe he is responsible for all those shoes.<BR><BR>I was told by some young patients of mine that tied shoes over wires indicate drug buying activity in the area - sort of an advertisement. Others have told me they are specific gamg signs - specific types of shoes in specific locations. The latter seems more reasonable, since why would they advertise to cops where drugs were being sold.

My ex-brother-in-law, an individual never exactly noted for his braininess, was driving with a couple of pals on the New York Thruway in early spring. He was wearing (this was years ago, when they were just out of their teens) those rubbers that fit over the bottom of men's shoes. He found them a bit too warm, so he pulled over to the side of the road, got out of the car, stepped out of the rubbers, got back in the car, and drove off, leaving the rubbers neatly on the shoulder. His companions were too amused and startled to say anything and he didn't seem to realize what he'd done. I always figured all the other shoes I saw belonged to him. Maybe he travels a lot.

To anonoymous:<BR>Not a good idea to leave your rubbers on the side of the road.

I realize I wrote "but drugs". I meant "buy drugs",but it appears it was understood.

Weird that I just saw this post. I recently have notice an abundance of shoes on the road (mostly single shoes, not pairs) and I wondered what was going on? People hanging their feet out the window and one fell off? A hissy fit in the car and someone threw a shoe out the window? Very odd.

Many years ago while working at a hospital, we were forever receiving accident victims w/out shoes. I just came to the conclusion that the impact of the crash just seems to knock people of their feet and out of their shoes. It's amazing where you'll come across some of these shoes. As for the shoes over the power lines. My police officer friend told me that its a sign that drug dealers use to let &quot;customers&quot; know that drugs are sold in that area. Sometimes the shoes are tied to a tree limb. (just backing up what you said,nina).

I don't know about the shoes on the street, but just in case you are the neighbor that lives behind me, I can explain the single shoes in your yard several years back. When my son was young,about 5, he had this thing about going out in the back yard and throwing one of his shoes as far as he could. Usually, this meant the yard behind us. He threw his own shoe over 3 or 4 times, and his friends shoe once or twice. I never did go and get any of them. Now that son is a teen, and he probably is out throwing shoes over phone wires or something.

In our neighborhood, dogs take people's shoes off their porches or from their garages and carry them to other houses and out into the street. You never find a pair. It's always single shoes that show up.<BR><BR>

Shoes don't belong on a porch or in a garage. They belong in a closet.

when I was a kid, a local farmer was walking the street one night (sleepwalking? drunk? dunno..) and right in front of our house he got hit by a car and was killed instantly. I still remember going out there and seeing his shoes on the road. Yes, people hit by cars can literally get thrown out of their shoes.