Do shoes on a telephone wire really mean "drug deals done here"?

Search: shoes on telephone wire drugs

Why: Amy and Kateloh are dealing some drugs, and they want to let the neighbors know.

Answer: A sampling of what shoes on a telephone wire could mean:

• I heard tennis shoes hanging over a power line meant you could buy crack there.
• It's a time-honored tradition to throw your sneakers over the power lines on the last day of school.
• In Nashua, New Hampshire, we used to steal pairs of shoes that had been carelessly left on the sidewalk by kids who had popped open a fireplug. At this point we would play "over the wire keep away" until (a) the kid's mother, brother, father, or a passing police officer put a stop to the game, or (b) shoes went up but didn't come down.
• When I was in the military and guys were getting ready to get out and go back to a "regular" life they would take their combat boots and paint them up all funky before tying the laces together and throwing them over a wire.
• Either they're meant to increase visibility for low-flying aircraft, frighten rattlesnakes away, or just for the hell of it.
• I read in the newspaper that shoes would be thrown over the power lines to serve as a reminder/warning of a murder that occurred nearby.
• Used to be a gang sign — sneakers hanging over telephone or electrical wires were to designate gang turf.
• After getting a new pair of sneakers, it was a common ritual in my neighborhood to tie the shoelaces of your old pair together and throw them up on the telephone wires. What else are you going to do with your old pair of sneakers?
• The kids did this to be mean and make a difficult time of life even more difficult.
• There is no solid cause-effect going on here. Just your everyday kid hijinks.

Source: The Straight Dope

The More You Know: In Scotland, boys throw their shoes over wires when they lose their virginity.