why one shoe???

[StevieM]

Just back from another 600 ish mile round trip, can anyone answer this?:-
Why are there so many odd shoes ( usually white trainers) by the side of the road? There's only ever ONE!!!
They're on country lanes, town roads, motorways, everywhere.

How did they get there? Why are they there?? Why only one???
I wonder, if they could all be collected, would there ever be a pair?

Is this only a UK thing, or is it worldwide?

And ORH----If this gives you an idea for a song----I'm already working on it

[Greeny]

I've often wondered that too! Why would someone just throw one shoe away? Why why why? The mind boggles with possibilities of conspiracy, shady goverment departments, alien activity... perhaps they ARE aliens in disguise, lol.

I used a pic of one of these 'orphan' shoes as my soundclick icon for the song 'Lost Property'. There's a whole Flickr group with photos of them... !!!!!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/28411947@N00/pool/

[guitarron]

its a mystery -like the missing sock out of the dryer

[StevieM]

Socks is easy to explain------ it's the sock muncher!!!! It goes around with the Pencil Nibbler and the Verrucca fairy. The expert Terry Pratchet knows all about them, and goes into great detail in his treatise in The Hogfather .

Shoes---- Maybe they start off as pairs, but there's a one legged man going round the country collecting them----but only one?!

[Sprocket]

Why only one shoe on the side of the road?
Its simple!
If there were two shoes, the laces would be tied together and then thrown over powerlines...to hang there for eternity.

[SdC]

dogs me thinks

[StevieM]

Nope, definitely shoes!! Dogs are a different shape

[Ferryman_1957]

It's the doctors. Let me explain. Many years ago, my girlfriend and I were walking late one evening in the West End of London when we saw a couple of middle aged men sprawling around in the gutter. One was extremely drunk and had only one shoe on. The other was attempting to help him up, presumably to get him home. As we passed them, we heard the more sober one say to the drunk one "Come on doctor, let's get you home". Ever since that day, whenever we see a single shoe anywhere we always say "Damned doctors".

Case closed methinks.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Davo]

Ha good question.  Sounds like song material to me.  Also where do those missing socks go?

[Migs]

There's only ever ONE!!!
... Why only one???

I've often wondered that too! Why would someone just throw one shoe away?

You aren't going to throw both away if you have a pair in your car on the road trip.