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Abandoned footwear, such as a lone boot or shoe, has often been noted in out-of-the-way places like ponds or by the side of roads. Sometimes the shoes may even be new and fashionable.

There are many hypotheses about why this phenomenon seems to more often involve footwear than other types of clothing. Shoes, being more sturdily constructed than most other types of clothing, will last longer after being abandoned outdoors. Leather shoes, for instance, are estimated to last for 25–40 years outside. Some shoe abandonment is intentional, as in shoe tossing, in which shoes are tied together by their laces and thrown in great numbers into trees, over power lines, or over fences.

Artistic use

Abandoned footwear is a feature in a number of artistic works, including:

• Some artists derive insight and inspiration from abandoned footwear - a form of art known as objet trouvé.

• The lost slipper in the Cinderella folktale is a classic example of the literary device of the "lost object".

• A fisherman hauling up an old boot, rather than a fish, is a comic-strip cliché.

• The theme of abandoned footwear and their untold story is explored in detail in Julie Ann Shapiro's novel, Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries. The titular character describes the phenomenon, “The forgotten shoes are everywhere: littering the side of the highway, floating in the tide, going upstream with the salmon, or occupying a field like a dead body, discarded and left to rot.”

In sport

Leaving behind shoes can be a symbol of retirement in sport. For example, as ESPN's Sherry Skalko describes about Rulon Gardner's last wrestling bout in Athens, Greece:

An emotional Rulon Gardner prepares to leave his shoes on the mat -- a symbol of retirement.

After the referee raised Gardner's hand in victory -- first to one side of the arena, then to the other -- Gardner grabbed an American flag, wiped away tears and parked himself in the middle of Mat B like "a 33-year-old kid" and took off his size 13 shoes. First the right one, the one that contains the constant reminder of the snowmobiling accident that almost took his life two years ago, then the left.

Then the super heavyweight bronze medalist stood up, bowed his head at each side of the mat and walked off, leaving his shoes behind, a wrestler's signal that he had fought his final bout.

Incidents

An unusual abundance of abandoned shoes was found on Miami's Palmetto Expressway on Friday, 2 January 2009. Thousands of assorted shoes of all kinds and conditions were scattered across the highway, disrupting traffic for many hours. The shoes were collected for the charity Soles4Souls which redistributes shoes to needy people. This unusually large batch of shoes was expected to go to Haiti.

See also

• Shoe tossing – Various acts of throwing shoes at targets, people or raised wires
• Ghost shoes (traffic fatality memorial) – Memorial to pedestrian traffic fatalityPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Salish Sea human foot discoveries – Detached human feet found on the Canadian coast

References

1. Shoe-icide - and other mysteries, Wichita Eagle, August 7, 2005, pp. 1E
2. Dave Barnett (13 August 2007), Shoewatch update, Bradford Telegraph & Argus
3. Steve Harvey (Dec 14, 1995), "The Case of the Sidewalk with Two Red Shoes", Los Angeles Times, p. 4, archived from the original on October 21, 2012, retrieved July 5, 2017
4. Sole Survivor So That's Why Those Shoes Lie Alongside the Road, Rocky Mountain News, April 9, 1992
5. "That's Shoe-Biz", San Jose Mercury News, p. 1E, January 29, 1993
6. Litter Reduction Program, archived from the original on 2007-07-14
7. Mervyn Rothstein (November 9, 1990), "Seeing New York With a Poet's Eye", New York Times
8. ^ Paul Gifford (2005). Love, desire and transcendence in French literature. Ashgate Publishing. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-7546-5269-4.
9. Gary Warth (January 29, 2008), One shoe at a time, North County Times
10. Skalko, Sherry (August 25, 2004). "Gardner leaves shoes, legacy behind". ESPN.
11. "Thousands of Shoes Appear on Miami Freeway", The Washington Post, January 3, 2009
12. Brantley Hargrove (Jan 6, 2009), "Nashville Charity Corrals Thousands of Abandoned Shoes on South Florida Highway", Nashville Scene, archived from the original on April 4, 2012, retrieved September 28, 2010

External links

• The Secret Language of Sneakers, Snopes.com

v t e Footwear
Abandoned footwear Shoe Shoemaking Shoe size
Dress shoes	Blucher Brogues Brothel creepers Derby Monks Oxfords Spectator shoes (Co-respondent shoes) Winklepickers Wholecuts Slip-on shoes Court shoes Prince Albert slippers Loafers Venetian-style shoes Women's Ballet flats High-heeled footwear Mary Janes Mojari Mules Peep-toe shoes Saddle shoes Slingbacks
Other shoes	Driving moccasins Flip-flops Galoshes Platform shoes Sandals Self-tying shoes Slides Slippers (Uwabaki) Tiger-head shoes Veldskoens Zōri
Wooden footwear	Bakya British clogs Cantabrian albarcas Clogs Geta Klompen Namaksin Okobo Padukas Pattens Sabot Träskor
Boots	Military Ammunition boots Bunny boots Combat boots Jackboots Jump boots Jungle boots Tanker boots Trench boots Munson Last Work Australian work boots Cowboy boots Engineer boots Hip boots Jika-tabi Rigger boots Steel-toe boots Waders Fashion boots Chelsea boots (Beatle boots) Chukka boots Go-go boots Knee-high boots Over-the-knee boots Platform boots Thigh-high boots Ugg boots Other Jodhpur boots Wellington boots Ballet boots
Sport-related footwear	Athletic shoes Ballet shoes Boat shoes Climbing shoes Cross country running shoes Cycling shoes Football boots Ghillies Hiking boots Ice skates Inline skates Kung fu shoes Minimalist shoes Motorcycle boots Mountaineering boots Plimsolls Racing flats Racing shoes Riding boots Roller shoes Roller skates Sabatons Safari boots Skate shoes Ski boots Sneakers Swimfins Water shoes Wrestling shoes
Folk footwear	Abacas Abarkas Alpargatas Avarcas Balghas Bast shoes Ciocie Clogs Espadrilles Furlane Galesh Geta Giveh Haferlschuh Hnyat-phanats Huarache Hwa Jipsin Jorabs Kamiks Kolhapuri chappals Moccasins Mojaris Mukluks Nalins Okobo Opanci Peshawari chappals Snowshoes Tsarouchi Takunya Upanah Valenkis Waraji Zōri
Historical footwear	Areni-1 shoes Buskins Calcei Caligae Carbatina Cavalier boots Chinese styles Chopines Duckbill shoes Flowerpot shoes Hessians Lotus shoes Pampooties Pigaches Poulaines Socci Turnshoes
Shoe construction	Bespoke shoes Blake construction Goodyear welt Shoe buckle Shoelaces Toe box High heels Clear heels Kitten heels Spool heels Stiletto heels Wedges
Hosiery	Anklets Bobby socks Dress socks Footwraps Knee highs Pantyhose Sock Stocking Tights Toe socks Tabi
List of shoe styles

• Footwear
• Waste
• Clothing and the environment