Shoelaces As Seen In The News
Shoelaces occasionally make an appearance in the news, where they have been involved in good and bad, happy and sad events. Here's some excerpts from various news stories involving shoelaces.
News Story Excerpts – 2017
LCSO: Man uses shoe laces to stop bathroom arsonist
– Fox 4 Now (USA), 21-Nov-2017
The report says a cleaning man showed up, found Azcarretazabal in the rafters, and told him to come down. When he did, the report says Azcarretazabal grabbed the cleaning man by the waist. That’s when the cleaning man reportedly took the shoe laces from his own shoes and used them to tie Azcarretazabal’s hands and feet until deputies arrived on scene.
“I wanna meet him!” Lauri Page of Bonita Springs said. “He’s a hero. A Bonita Springs hero.”
“it's like MacGuyver,” Higbee said.
Schoolboy who gets mowed down by a car and dragged under the wheels is saved by his BACKPACK ...
– Daily Mail (UK), 15-Nov-2017
A schoolboy was luckily saved by his backpack after being mowed down by a car in east China.
CCTV footage shows the boy tying his shoelaces when the white car, reported to be a Mercedes, hit him from the back and dragged him along for about a metre.
Man: Dispute Over Untied Shoelace Led to Wal-Mart Gunfire
– U.S. News & World Report (USA), 08-Nov-2017
A violent struggle inside a Maine Wal-Mart started with a comment over an untied shoelace and ended with gunfire, according to one of the men involved, but police say a death outside the store was unrelated.
Zverev cheekily unties umpire's shoelaces
– Baseline (USA), 02-Nov-2017
Fans have seen a lot of strange exchanges between players and umps over the years, but here's a new one: untied shoelaces. Alexander Zverev, after an argument over whether he could wear his watch, untied umpire Carlos Bernardes' laces.
With Dad's Shoelaces, Tsitsipas Upsets Goffin
– ATP World Tour (USA), 20-Oct-2017
Tsitsipas’ shoelaces on his left sneaker broke from sliding, and by the end of the second set his replacement set did as well. It was no problem for the 19 year old, who had never been in an ATP World Tour quarter-final, and has qualified at his past five tour-level events. He borrowed his father’s laces and went on to defeat Goffin, 2-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(4) in two hours, 33 minutes at the European Open on Friday.
Police: “Noose” found in Michigan State dorm was a shoelace
– Lansing State Journal (USA), 04-Oct-2017
The student who lost the shoelaces lives on the same floor as the student who reported the incident. It was not directed at any individual, Cody said, adding that police believe someone found the shoelace and put it on a stairwell door handle after picking it up off the floor.
Telangana: Minor held for insulting national flag
– Deccan Chronicle (India), 27-Sep-2017
A few days ago, one of the villagers while browsing Facebook, noticed the boy's profile and found an image,
in which he was seen tying [his] shoelace by placing his foot on the National Flag.
...
Based on a complaint from the villager, police registered a case under Section 153 (b) of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act and after inquiry, apprehended the boy. He was produced before the juvenile justice board and sent to a juvenile home.
Police: Couple restrained twins with shoelaces, taped them to wall
– WLWT Channel 5 (USA), 11-Sep-2017
“Duct tape was used, also a sock was put in the children’s mouths to keep them from making any noises.” Investigators say the children were bound with a belt and shoe laces, gagged with socks and duct-taped to a wall.
Vossy’s Verdict: The logic ref bashers don’t want to hear
– Fox Sport (Australia), 10-Sep-2017
There is another hooker called Cameron who warrants a mention this week after undoing the shoelaces of an opponent in a scrum against Melbourne. Bravo!
Guess what, your head won’t fit through there
– Nevada Daily Mail (USA), 02-Sep-2017
With the alarm going off he only had a few minutes to fix his mistake so he got the bright idea of fishing the bag out with a hook made from a paperclip and shoestrings from his shoes. This was a great idea; it works in the movies, right? Nope. He could not get it to hook on his bag and then he dropped the shoelace, which also landed on the floor right by his bag.
Franck Ribery cheekily unties female referee's bootlace moments before slotting free-kick for Bayern Munich
– Daily Mail (UK), 13-Aug-2017
The Frenchman bent down to place the ball on the turf 25 yards from goal, before subtly reaching over and pulling a lace from female referee Bibiana Steinhaus' boot.
Fortunately for the 34-year-old, Steinhaus saw the funny side, pretending to reprimand him with a slap on the back.
Woman, son avoid Arena blast after stopping to tie shoelace
– Yahoo! 7 News (Australia), 24-May-2017
“I noticed my shoelace was undone at the end of the concert,” Ms Cook told the UK paper.
“I thought, ‘I’ll stop and tie it and we’ll wait.’ ”
“But as I stood up there was this explosion. You could feel the movement of it, a blast through the door.”
Man escapes custody while police officer ties his shoe lace
– Fiji Village (Fiji), 27-Apr-2017
33-year-old Deshwar Kishore Dutt whose aggravated robbery case was listed for judgement today escaped from the Suva High Court this morning.
The escorting officer Sepeti Tabaiwalu told High Court Judge Justice Salesi Temo that he was tying his shoe lace when Dutt ran away.
Shoe-string theory: Science shows why shoelaces come untied
– UC Berkeley (USA), 11-Apr-2017
A new study by mechanical engineers at UC Berkeley finally shows why your shoelaces may keep coming untied. It’s a question that everyone asks, often after stopping to retie their shoes, yet one that nobody had investigated until now. The answer, the study suggests, is that a double whammy of stomping and whipping forces acts like an invisible hand, loosening the knot and then tugging on the free ends of your laces until the whole thing unravels.
Full story on UC Berkeley website
Ian's Comment: See also my own detailed critique of this study – including some startling revelations.
Neymar shown bizarre yellow card for tying laces...
– Daily Mail (UK), 09-Apr-2017
Neymar has been dealt one of the more bizarre dismissals of the season after being shown his marching orders against Malaga.
...
The Brazilian bent down and took an age to tie his laces, subsequently being punished by the official for delaying the taking of a free-kick.
Full story on Daily Mail website
Ian's Comment: Looking closely at Neymar's shoes (see closeups here), it appears that they may have come untied due to Granny Knots.
MLS players Alex and Xavier Kouassi get laces stuck together
– Sky Sports (USA), 08-Apr-2017
There were hilariously unusual scenes in the MLS as Houston Dynamo’s Alex and New England’s Xavier Kouassi got their laces tangled together.
In the 81st minute, Kouassai attempted to nick the ball from the Dynamo man, but rather than continue past Alex, the two were literally stuck together as their laces tangled.
Full story on Sky Sports website
Ian's Comment: See also similar incidents in 2019, 2016, 2013 and 2010.
Double hand transplant recipient can now write – and aims to tie his shoelaces
– Daily Mail (UK), 06-Apr-2017
He said he is improving every week and his next aims are to tie his own shoelaces and button up his shirt. He said he has already cracked undoing them.
...
“I think that will be the icing on the cake when I can do my laces, and I don’t think that’s far off.”
Bus driver pulls over to help tie pensioner’s shoelaces
– Metro (UK), 04-Apr-2017
A bus driver pulled over and jumped out of his vehicle to tie the shoelaces of an elderly man he spotted walking by the side of the road.
...
The man had been walking along the pavement, clutching onto a walking stick with his shoelace untied.
Fearing he could fall and trip, the driver, known only as Jackie, was photographed bending down and tightening up the laces as a bus load of passengers watched on.
Car held together with a SHOELACE travels 100 miles from Manchester to Hull
– The Daily Mirror (UK), 25-Mar-2017
Police have busted a motorist who drove 100 miles with their car held together by a shoe lace.
Amazingly, the red Ford Ka had managed to travel from Manchester to Hull after a day of shopping – despite the bonnet and bumper hanging off.
...
The photo shows the surroundings above the passenger-side wheel being held on with what appears to be a shoelace.
Police: Woman found dangling from shoelaces after botched WH breach
– CNN (USA), 22-Mar-2017
Secret Service officers observed the woman, identified as Marci Wahl, 38, walking and staring at the White House complex before discovering she had jumped a fence on the south side but had gotten stuck.
Officers found Wahl hanging from the inside of the fence by her shoelaces which were “caught on top of the fence,” according to a police report obtained by CNN.
WATCH: Mario Balotelli Stopped In His Tracks By Tight Shoelaces
– Paste Magazine (USA), 20-Mar-2017
On Saturday, as kickoff approached for Nice’s clash at Nantes, Balotelli came to a distressing realization: his shoelaces were too tight. So tight, in fact, that he couldn’t continue. The Italian target man sauntered over to the touchline and had a member of Nice’s technical staff help him untie and re-tie his laces. This took longer than perhaps anyone expected, and Balotelli missed the first few minutes of the match while the player and a team of trained experts worked to resolve the problem. Finally, knots were untangled and laces were reunited, and Balotelli rushed back out to put his mark on the game.
Serial petrol thief caught because of his fluorescent green shoe laces
– The Chronicle (UK), 11-Jan-2017
A serial petrol thief, who targeted nine garages in five days,
proved he wasn’t as bright as his footwear when he was caught because of his fluorescent green shoe laces.
...
“It was the fluorescent green shoe laces on the CCTV, which the defendant was wearing, which linked him to it.”
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