An answer to the mystery of abandoned shoes

An answer to the mystery of abandoned shoes

Finally we know where they come from!

 Have you ever spotted a single shoe lying by the side of the road and wondered where it came from? You're not alone - in fact, there's a name for it: the One Shoe Phenomenon. The topic even has its own Wikipedia article!

(Note: This is in regards to shoes left on the side of the road. It is separate from the phenomenon of shoes with dead people's feet inside, washing up on the beaches of British Columbia.

Some of you might have wondered if the shoe was left behind at a horrific car accident. It is true that if a person gets hit by a car hard enough, the impact can knock them out of their shoes. It is also true that first responders may have to remove a person's shoe for medical reasons, and it's entirely possible that the removed shoe ends up discarded and forgotten at the side of the road.

However, someone on Reddit recently polled the community, and the answers turned out to be much less gruesome. There are two main ways that single shoes end up on the road:

1. Someone sets the shoe(s) on the roof or bumper of their car, forgets about them, and drives off. Eventually the shoe falls off. 
2. Someone inside the car throws the shoe out the window. This happens for two reported reasons: adults fighting and throwing a shoe out the window in a fit of pique, and little kids throwing a shoe out the window because they're little kids and they think it's funny.

So there you have it - mystery solved!