Ballymena Boots Hang From Power Line

Status: Prank
image Power company workers in Ballymena (Northern Ireland) were amazed to discover five pairs of shoes hanging from a power line along the road between Larne and Ballymena. Ballymena Today reports:

Electricity engineers could only look skyward in bemusement at the bizarre sight of the shoes and boots hanging from the line, baffled as to who, why and how this was done. The inspiration for the prank may have come from the fantasy film Big Fish. In the film, the most memorable scene occurs when the young Edward Bloom, played by Ewan McGregor, visits the town of Spector, where it is claimed that all is perfect.

Surprisingly, this sighting has not yet been posted on Shoefiti, the weblog devoted to shoes hanging from power lines. I'd also note that it seems like wishful thinking to believe that the shoes are an allusion to the movie Big Fish, given the more popular (and sinister) theory that shoes on power lines are secret codes meaning that drugs and sex are available nearby.

Places Pranks

Posted on Thu Apr 06, 2006


Comments

I didn't know there was a person alive that wasn't aware of shoes on power lines before Big Fish. Maybe these people live under power lines.
Posted by Lonewatchman  on  Thu Apr 06, 2006  at  09:38 PM
In Turkey we put shoes on rooftops or over powerlines as a sign for good luck..weird but true.
Posted by merve  on  Fri Apr 07, 2006  at  06:06 AM
I've personally seen maybe three movies that have shoes on power lines as a centeral concept. For example, "like Mike" if anyone here was stupid enough to have seen it, like me. The kid finds Micheal Jordan's Basketball shoes on a powerline where (apparently, if I remember it correctly) they were zapped by electricity to make the wearer has amazing basketball skills.
Posted by Dracul  on  Fri Apr 07, 2006  at  08:10 AM
I'm surprised they went right to the "Big Fish" theory...odd.
Posted by Maegan  on  Fri Apr 07, 2006  at  08:33 AM
Wow, it's a weird coincidence that you posted this! Today on the way to the store, I saw a pair of shoes on the powerlines.
Posted by Sakano  on  Fri Apr 07, 2006  at  11:14 AM
When I was a kid, shoes on a powerline were a sign that some weaker kid had his shoes taken away by a bully and tossed up on the power line.
Posted by Gee...  on  Fri Apr 07, 2006  at  12:16 PM
I grew up in a ghetto in Philly, and there were shoes on power lines all over the place. Before I went to college, I put a pair of my old sneakers up there. You tie the laces together, hold one shoe in each hand and while standing under the power line, you throw them straight up, all the while avoiding cars. After several attempts, each shoe straddled the line, the laces caught it, and the shoes flipped around the line. Go out and try! 😊
Posted by CA66  on  Fri Apr 07, 2006  at  12:35 PM
In a neighborhood called Little Five Points in Atlanta, (USA), there is a section with lots of shoes on the powerlines. It's a copy cat syndrome as I have several friends who have added more because they see others there-no real reason to do it other than to show friends...hey look, there are my shoes too!
Posted by Evan  on  Fri Apr 07, 2006  at  03:26 PM
So ...
Are we supposed to believe this is the first time people in Ireland have ever seen shoes hanging from a power line?

Was this story dated April 1?
Posted by Big Gary in Venus, Texas  on  Fri Apr 07, 2006  at  05:54 PM
Mock all you want but i've never seen this in England. Apart from in movies and on TV (the image brings to mind an episode of the Simpsons for me, but I don't remember which one).
Posted by Tom K  on  Sat Apr 08, 2006  at  10:21 AM
Actually, it's the powerlines themselves that are a sign that drugs and sex are nearby...
Posted by Citizen Premier  on  Sat Apr 08, 2006  at  04:42 PM
You're right, Citizen. My mom always told me to stay clear of well-lighted neighborhoods at night!
Posted by CA66  on  Sat Apr 08, 2006  at  05:06 PM
Yeah... around here that's pretty common... and I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with drugs. This is Atlanta.
Posted by Alex K  on  Sun Apr 09, 2006  at  08:34 PM
In our Nabe, we threw a pair of shoes up every time our stickball team won a game against another block's team. The shoes came from the losing team.
Posted by Lenny S  on  Fri Apr 14, 2006  at  05:49 AM
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