Do Sneakers Hanging From Power Lines in EHT Signify Gang Activity?

You might have seen it in Egg Harbor Township or another community.

Someone has gotten a pair of sneakers to hang on a power line.

Once it happens the sneakers seem to stay there for weeks, months, even longer.

What does it mean?

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Sneakers hanging from a power line in Egg Harbor Township

I noticed a pair of sneakers on a power line recently, just outside of the entrance of the Wawa on the Black Horse Pike at Fire Road in Egg Harbor Township.

If you exit the Wawa parking lot out the "back entrance" onto Old Egg Harbor Road, you'll see the shoes hanging there.

This photo from Google Maps is the exact area - but it was taken in August of 2023, just before the shoes made their appearance:

So, what do the hanging sneakers mean?

Snopes has the answer

We went to the old reliable, Snopes.com for answers.

Snopes has deduced that the legend of the shoes signifying gang activity is just that - legend. In other words, it has not been proven.

Snopes says possible explanations of the practice include:

• Gangs were marking their territory.
• Gangs signifying a loss of life.
• An example of bullies who pulled the shoes off a victim and threw them up there.
• The shoes signify crack or other drugs are sold nearby.
• The shoes mark the power lines for very low flying aircraft. (That's my favorite.)

In the end, Snopes says there's no definitive answer.

So we ask: have you thrown shoes up on a power line? If so, why did you do it?

SOURCE: Snopes.com