Real reasons you see shoes wrapped around power lines and why people claim you shouldn’t take them down

A Reddit thread has revealed the potential reasons you might see shoes hanging off a power line and some are slightly more alarming than others.

Many of us spend far too much of our lives with our heads down, neck craned and focus in our phones rather than looking around or even up at the world around us.

And should you dare lift your head upwards and gaze around you what your eyes may come to rest on with a tilt of your head in puzzlement is a pair of shoes dangling over a power line, suspended in the sky - and several questions may spring to mind.

How did they get there? Why are they there? What on earth could've happened to see shoes soar so high up? Well, it turns out there are a few potential explanations.

If you have one of these near your house, you may want to figure out the reason why (Roberto Machado Noa/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

A Reddit user took to the thread r/NoStupidQuestions to ask: "Why do people throw shoes on power lines?"

And it didn't take long for people to weigh in.

One social media user explained: "This is a cultural practice in impoverished neighborhoods and is done for various reasons some no longer practiced today but the shoes still hang from some powerlines."

And they then revealed four reasons behind the practice, first up shoes being 'used as a memorial for someone who died on that street'.

"Their shoes are hung up so their neighborhood may pay respect when they pass," they explained.

Have you ever wondered why people throw shoes on power lines? (Eric Kruszewski/Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Another reason is allegedly shoes being used in the 70s through to 90s as a way to 'mark gang territory where high drug activity was being ran'.

The user claimed: "It was a message to rival gangs that particular area was already claimed by another gang."

And the final reasons relate to pesky children - with one theory slightly more heartbreaking.

Let's just hope they're not a nice pair, eh? (Getty Stock Image)

The post continued: "Unsuspecting uninformed kids would sometimes imitate the first two reason for fun not knowing the true meaning behind it. Tying old shoes together and seeing who could get them to stay up there."

Or a final reason is 'teenagers who were bullied also got their shoes taken and thrown onto wires as proof of losing a fight'.

Indeed, when it comes to the former, another user confirmed: "Whenever I wore out a pair of sneakers as a kid, I did this just to mark the occasion on my block. I think it’s mostly just bored kids doing hood rat s**t."

Well, learn something new every day eh?