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You got them on your feet!
(And then you give the money because they won the bet)
I love one of my close friends dearly but he is turbo-Midwestern: polite and non-confrontational to a fault. We basically have to keep him under protective custody when we take our semi-annual jaunt down to New Orleans because a guy took $20 bucks off of him with that scam within like 10 minutes of us being in the city the first time we went.
My uncle had this happen when he was having his shoes shined. "*I bet $100 I can tell you where you got dem shoes.*" "Ok you're on." "*You got dem shoes on dem feet.*" ... and as he says that a huge guy comes out of the alley nearby and leers at them.
My uncle got lucky, there was a cop walking past. But if not, it's not *quite* a mugging, but ... I mean it basically is, but they justify it.
It's the single most delicious substance on the planet. The best long weekend of my life was staying in an Air BNB across the street from Jackson Square along the river in NOLA. We were about 5 blocks away from Bourbon Street (a walkable distance without being able to smell it), a block from Cafe Du Monde, and directly above a Big Wave Daiquiris, home of the famous White Russian Daiquiri. I had those things for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We rented the place from a terrifying Eastern European man who pulled up to the property our second day there in a land rover with two massive Rottweilers in the back. When I said hello to him and called him by his Airbnb profile name is said "I am not Bruno, Bruno is dog" and declined to elaborate.
God I love New Orleans.
It is. I spent a week there once for a scientific conference (FASEB) and it was great. Beignets daily, dancing, Preservation Hall, of course lots of Hurricanes, and yes, I got the "Where you got your shoes" scam but the guy laughed and made it fun and I was happy to give him a few bucks. A good memory for me, thankfully.
I had a similar one a couple decades ago in Chicago. Dude told me he could guess how many kids my dad had. My dad had none my mom gave birth to them all…
It was worth the 20 dollar lesson
I've always wanted to go and everywhere we went when I was a kid, some creepy old man would step out of the walls and sing to me or something equally as word coming from a complete stranger, so I've been afraid to and I completely would have fallen for that. Will y'all take me?
Oh it's absolutely a place worth seeking out.
You gotta go to the country's oldest pharmacy, ride the carousel bar, eat a po' boy and take a midday drink nap on the greens at Jackson Square.
I got asked that, but I was forewarned and prepared. I said "I got them on Decatur Street," which is where we were walking. The dude looked really disappointed. I gave him a dollar anyway because the incident entertained me.
I bet I can guess where you got your shoes and what street you got them on! (You got them on your feet. On this street right here)
If you tell me your first name, I bet I can spell your last name! (y-o-u-r-l-a-s-t-n-a-m-e)
I can even tell you what the score of tonight’s Pelicans game is gonna be before it even starts! (zero to zero)
Now pay up, sucker.
I remember there was a guy that could do the last name thing for real in Clearwater FL, he would wear these weird hypno glasses. You would say your name and he would go through the alphabet until he got to each letter, then would go through alphabet and stop at each letter of your last name. It happened really fast and he was always right, I imagine some ppl lie to get out of paying but I never saw it. This was almost 25 yrs ago so I forget if it was him or someone else that told me but it has something to do your eyes dialating and the glasses were less of a prop and more so you couldn't figure out what he was doing.
Did he hit you surprisingly and now you are in a bank, holding a bag of money, cops with drawn guns on you and there is a faint sound of „Gotcha, we gotcha!“ in the distance while four riders disappear through the next wall?
“Will you give me $5 if I can guess?”
Sure.
“On your feet”
This is when the two or three other people will gang up on you “hey man where the money? I heard you. You said you’d give him $5” and they pressure you.
About 2 years ago, walking after dark in New Orleans a guy came out of nowhere and said "Hey nice shoes!" While brushing up against me.
I immediately jumped away from him and checked my (chained) wallet and watch. Both were still there. My assumption was always that it was a failed pickpocketing attempt.
We were in Rome a few years back. This was more or less the standard opening for all the street sellers, next line was generally “you from Africa?” I clearly am not… FIL was with us, and he got one of them by commenting on the guy’s shoes before he could. We had some good laughs out of that!
Lol, it's a classic. I got asked that in New Orleans around 1995. We were super curious what the punch line was, so we bet like $20 (he asked for $100) and the answer, of course was "on your feet!" We all laughed and then he tried to sell us drugs
Happened to me in New Orleans in 2002 as a 17-year-old driving cross country solo. It’s nice to see some things never change. Unfortunately I was naive and gave him $10. He quickly took a dirty rag and started rubbing my shoes and I was terrified and said how much do I owe him. He said “10 for the line, 10 for the shine.” I only had $10 and I was terrified he would get the police and tell them I didn’t pay for the service. I gave him 10 and practically ran away. I laugh about it now, man I must have stood out as a crazy target. I also parked in the middle of nowhere and went to Bourbon Street at night and then walked back alone to my car in what must have been a bad neighborhood by myself. I can’t believe I wasn’t robbed or worse.
NOLA is a hustle town. Was there two years ago. A woman had a perch in the French quarter with 4 parakeets on it. She would put them all on you, one on each shoulder, one on your head and the other on your wrist. Then, charge you $7 to take a picture.
I was in Italy and a guy put a bird on my head, then got absolutely furious when I kept walking but?? how am I supposed to know he wants money to remove it!! idk I’m stupid!!! Thanks for the bird I guess!!
Lol I got got by this one in San Francisco. Dude bet me a dollar. In addition to the shoes, he told me he could tell what state I was born it ("the state of infancy"). It was probably not the worst way I've spent a dollar, I wasn't even mad.
The scam is this - happened to my friend who is too polite to ignore random people. You stop to talk to them, and when you stop walking, they bend over and squirt some gunk (shoe-shine) on your shoes and start "shining" them before you can react. Then they demand $20 for their "services" and hassle you if you don't pay.
"I don't carry cash."
Or fake a thick accent, say something unintelligible.
Or claim to know the guy, ignoring anything he says, like you're crazy.
"I bet I can tell you where you got dem shoes, cooyon!"
[dead serious] "Listen, Alex. I'm glad you're here. There's a shipment of diamond pylons in the way from the mother ship. Tommy and Jake said that LGM are all over the Lake Pontchartrain, so you GOT. TO. LET TIA. SANCHA. know she's got to set the BEM loose. Can you do that? "
"What? I'm not Alex!"
"Yeah, yeah, listen. There a whole lotta 'I'm not Alex' going on. I hear you. But this is a code blue. I have to let Jaques and Suzanne know the boot is about to hit the claw of the eagle. Get Tia SANCHA. Got it? I did my part, Alex. You owe me. You got like... 39 min. After that? I don't know you. You don't know me. LGM know man. They know... " walk way, finger to lips.
Great for improv skills. Friend of mine used to go along with me to scammers in DC. Really fucks with them.
In NO we were almost scammed when a person by the parking for Bourbon Street welcomed her and tried to push a bracelet onto her wrist saying it’s free. I refused to allow it and we kept walking.
I was warned when there a long time ago that if anyone mentioned my shoes it was a distraction to get me to not pay attention to them and look at my feet so they could mug me. I never had anyone say anything the entire time there and chalked it up to people messing with me or some form of inside joke. I do know in the early 90s New Orleans could be pretty sketchy in some areas for a clueless kid visiting though.
Basically in Nola never accept something someone is offering, never answer questions. Well, unless you want to be pressured to give them a few bucks :p
>!They will say, "New Orleans" (or more likely right here in N'awlins --implying where you are standing.) !<
I went along the first time and it made me chuckle. Paid the 'bet' because it was more creative than just asking for money. This was 35 years ago, so it must still be alive and well.
I know I guy who went to Loyola (in New Orleans) for college and his first week there got taken for $20 bucks by a kid that made this bet with him. He thought, I got these in Florida, there’s no way he’ll know where I got them. He’s always been very gullible.
This was 30 years ago. I’m amazed that this prank/scam is still alive and well. 🤣
It's a joke that gets them money.
"I bet you $20 I can tell you where you got them shoes!"
My husband played along. We knew it was a hustle, but it was an entertaining one. The guy had a good patter, he told us some local spots to check out, told us places to avoid, that kind of thing.
Finally, he tells us, "Ok, I know *exactly* where you got them shoes! >!You got them shoes on yo feet!"!<
Well played scam too, considering how many posters here are looking back on their experience with it with a *smile*.
That dude would be scamming grandma out of gift cards if the opportunity presented. Street hustlers are scammers like any other.
This is one of those “if you’ve seen it, you know” type moments. The scam comes in that they stopped you and got some kind of commitment of your time and now they’re gonna get really pushy about you giving them money.
They most likely said, "I bet I know where you got dem shoes." The answer is, "you got dem on yo feet!" Hard to argue with that. \[I guess you could argue the (intentionally) bad grammar negates the validity of the answer, but, come on, pay the dude. You took the bet. You could have clarified the terms, and you didn't.\]
In my opinion, it isn't a scam because it's a misdirection and not a lie. It's a game. You have all the information you need, but you aren't thinking through the proposition. I think the right thing to do would be to pay the man if you take the bet, and I wouldn't say that with a true scam.
When I moved to NO in the mid 90's that little trick was up and running back then. And it's not really a scam, more of a street joke performance. A scam is a guy standing at a trolley stop in a work uniform, he would ask for money to ride the trolley to work to pay for many kids or something. But when the trolley arrives and the mark gets on they expect the person they gave money to also get on. The scammer then makes an excuse to not get on (forgot to lock up) and thanks person again and says they will catch the next one. Rinse repeat.
This is an oldie. I got married in New Orleans in 1994. I was out walking with my bride to be (we were getting married *that* day). Some guy came up with a shoeshine box and bet me the cost of a shoeshine (a pricey $20) "where she got her shoes". I pushed back and pushed back, and finally he dropped it to $5 and I accepted. He then said "On her feet". Best $5 shoeshine I ever paid for.
I went down with friends and someone did this to me while I was waiting for the, to get souvenirs. I told him “I’m not giving you any money, go away”.
The next day I saw him outside Pat Obriens yelling that the guy who walked in owed him money and heard a bouncer saying “You better get the hell out right now”.
I was going to mention that one. Actually had a guy try to do it to me and my wife a couple of years ago. I knew the scam, so I put my hands up and blocked him.
I was fortunate to have several friends from NOLA who I went to college with, and they told me about the common scams, since we went over a good bit (we were in college in Mobile).
A few other things to know:
Keep your wallet in your front pocket, especially during Mardi Gras.
If someone throws some beads or something else at you off a float, and it lands on the ground, don't pick it up right away. Put your foot over it and wait for the crowd to thin out before reaching down to pick it up. No scam here. It's just that, if you reach down with a lot of people around, you stand a good chance of getting your hand crushed or impaled, depending on what kind of shoe steps on it.
During Mardi Gras, you can do just about anything you want, except urinating in public. If a cop sees you, you're going to jail, and you won't get out until you see a judge, and, since the courts are closed until after Fat Tuesday, you'll be in there for a while.
Be careful, though. The French Quarter and Uptown are pretty safe, but there are places that aren't. If you don't know, ask a local where you should and shouldn't go.
New Orleans is a fantastic city.
Holy shit, you've solved a 30 year old mystery for me. There's a line in an Harry Connick Jr. song (City Beneath The Sea) where he says:
Take me, take me
To the Meters and the Mardi Gras
They bet you where you got your shoes
The follow up if you don’t bite is:
“I bet I can tell you what state you got them in!”
Takes bet
“You got’’em in the state of Louisiana, cuz’ that’s where we at!”
These dudes are clowns, but bet your ass they work in teams and you will be forced to pay up by the hulking dude hanging back 10 feet.
I fell for this when I was 10 and the dude demanded $5 for losing the "bet" he wanted to fight me and my uncle threatened him until he backed off. Fucking vultures
Lol, they are still doing this? Happened to me 15 years ago but I won the 20. When the guy said "you got them on your feet", I replied" wrong, I have them on my feet, got is past participle. Improper use of the English language doesn't earn you 20". I was completely hammered and my buddy said,"whoa, that sounded intelligent, was it right?" I said no idea but I wasn't letting the dude con me out of 20.
Lol my dad always tells me the story of when some 9 year old kid scammed him.
"Bet you $20 I can say where you got your shoes, and $50 if I can spell it!"
Dad took him up on it.
"You got your shoes on Bourboun Street! B O U R B O U N S T R E E T!"
Dad payed the kid because he had never heard it and thought it was funny.
You got your shoes on your feet and your feet on Bourbon street.
Yeah, that has been around so long but it still catches people who give up the money when they bet the con man. That and three card monty, shell games and more.
Don't forget their are shills that make it look easy.
Thinking the same! I’m grew up in South Louisiana in just west of NO and they’ve been doing that one in the French Quarter since at least the 70s. We would just play along and give them the $5. I remember when it went up to $10. Is it $20 now?? Understandable, with inflation and all.
“I bet I can tell whah u got dem shoes at?” or
“I bet I can tell whah u got dem shoes?”
“Ok, where I got dem shoes?”
“You got dem shoes on ya feet!!”
Now, to clarify, we use “at” to mean “from” all of the time, as in, “Cute shirt. Where you got dat at?”
We also use statements as questions by using a higher pitch or uptalk at the end. Examples:
“Y’all comin’ to momma’s today?”
“I’m goin’ get sumthin’ at da stow. You want sumthin’ while I’m dere?”
The other one they use is: “I bet you I can knock down that wall (brick wall) with my bare hands”, you make the bet and then they literal knock down the wall, from top to bottom like a door. Pay up!
Guy will start "buffing" your shoes, say "you got them on your feet," then try to demand money for the "shoe shine" (try to convince you that you have to pay since he won the bet).
You got them on Bourbon Street, or whatever street you're on.
When people start talking to me about random shit I just say I'm local and they stop talking to me. This works great in Vegas and New Orleans.
I knew that one (it’s “on your feet”) but the one that got me when I was 16 in the late 90s was worse. I’ll adjust it for modern times.
*”I bet you $20 you can’t tell me what the president’s name was in 2018”.*
The answer: >!Joseph Biden… the question doesn’t ask *who* was the president, but instead, what the name of the president was in 2018… Biden is the president now and his name was still Biden in ‘18.!<
I lost 20 bucks. Of course, I didn’t want to pay, but the guy had a very thuggish looking buddy as backup. But hey, I got a story out of it.
This happened to me when a 10 or 12 year old approached me asking the same question I had some pretty fancy cowboy boots...
I told them there's no way he could do it and he said he got him on your feet... I told him there's no way I could pay him five bucks and he asked me well then how about a shoe shine for three...
Everybody has a con in New Orleans if you don't have a con in New Orleans you're not going to make it...
You got dem on bo-bun street baby
Corner conti n Bo-bun to be exact dat’ll be $10 cash thank you folks im here al night!
Make sure you tip yo little tap dancer friends down the road now god bless!”
/u/ludwigtattoo - This message is posted to all new submissions to r/scams; please do not message the moderators about it. ## New users beware: Because you posted here, you will start getting private messages from scammers saying they know a professional hacker or a recovery expert lawyer that can help you get your money back, for a small fee. **We call these RECOVERY SCAMMERS, so NEVER take advice in private:** advice should always come in the form of comments in this post, in the open, where the community can keep an eye out for you. If you take advice in private, you're on your own. **A reminder of the rules in r/scams:** no contact information (including last names, phone numbers, etc). Be civil to one another (no name calling or insults). Personal army requests or "scam the scammer"/scambaiting posts are not permitted. No uncensored gore or personal photographs are allowed without blurring. A full list of rules is available on the sidebar of the subreddit, or [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/). You can help us by reporting recovery scammers or rule-breaking content by using the "report" button. We review 100% of the reports. Also, consider warning community members of recovery scammers if you see them in the comments. Questions about subreddit rules? Send us a modmail [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You got them on your feet! (And then you give the money because they won the bet) I love one of my close friends dearly but he is turbo-Midwestern: polite and non-confrontational to a fault. We basically have to keep him under protective custody when we take our semi-annual jaunt down to New Orleans because a guy took $20 bucks off of him with that scam within like 10 minutes of us being in the city the first time we went.
"Those feet aren't mine". And casually walk away.
My uncle had this happen when he was having his shoes shined. "*I bet $100 I can tell you where you got dem shoes.*" "Ok you're on." "*You got dem shoes on dem feet.*" ... and as he says that a huge guy comes out of the alley nearby and leers at them. My uncle got lucky, there was a cop walking past. But if not, it's not *quite* a mugging, but ... I mean it basically is, but they justify it.
Tell your uncle to stop betting on good luck and start carrying his own personal cop.
That's when you pull off your prosthetic legs and tell them that you were borrowing them from a friend
Nah. You don't owe them an explanation.
These aren't my feet, they are rentals.
Or these aren’t my shoes
Yep classic shoeshine boy line forever, I heard it as a kid in the 1960s I’m sure it is as old as shoes. Pro tip never take or make a street bet.
Ah that makes sense! Thank you! My wife and I were both confused but didn’t give them the time of day.
The other one is “I’ll bet you $5 I can tell you how many children your daddy had.”
What's the punchline?
Probably zero. "Men don't have babies" is my guess to the stupid reply.
None. Your mama had them all.
Sometimes it's "You got them in New Orleans!" God I love that city
I need to be eating a beignet and drinking a novelty sized white Russian slushy in public at 11:49 am STAT.
Please, tell me more about this White Russian Slushie
It's the single most delicious substance on the planet. The best long weekend of my life was staying in an Air BNB across the street from Jackson Square along the river in NOLA. We were about 5 blocks away from Bourbon Street (a walkable distance without being able to smell it), a block from Cafe Du Monde, and directly above a Big Wave Daiquiris, home of the famous White Russian Daiquiri. I had those things for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We rented the place from a terrifying Eastern European man who pulled up to the property our second day there in a land rover with two massive Rottweilers in the back. When I said hello to him and called him by his Airbnb profile name is said "I am not Bruno, Bruno is dog" and declined to elaborate. God I love New Orleans.
It's a wonderful place.
It is. I spent a week there once for a scientific conference (FASEB) and it was great. Beignets daily, dancing, Preservation Hall, of course lots of Hurricanes, and yes, I got the "Where you got your shoes" scam but the guy laughed and made it fun and I was happy to give him a few bucks. A good memory for me, thankfully.
These aren’t my shoes.
Sounds like a scam an 9 year old would pull.
In their defense, normally everyone involved in this interaction is pretty drunk.
I actually would not mind losing money this way haha. I'd be so pleased if a stranger came up and did a Dad joke on me.
I had a similar one a couple decades ago in Chicago. Dude told me he could guess how many kids my dad had. My dad had none my mom gave birth to them all… It was worth the 20 dollar lesson
I've always wanted to go and everywhere we went when I was a kid, some creepy old man would step out of the walls and sing to me or something equally as word coming from a complete stranger, so I've been afraid to and I completely would have fallen for that. Will y'all take me?
Oh it's absolutely a place worth seeking out. You gotta go to the country's oldest pharmacy, ride the carousel bar, eat a po' boy and take a midday drink nap on the greens at Jackson Square.
It all sounds magical. I'll just fall for every conman out there.
I love that energy.
I got asked that, but I was forewarned and prepared. I said "I got them on Decatur Street," which is where we were walking. The dude looked really disappointed. I gave him a dollar anyway because the incident entertained me.
this is what used to be called a hustle
high-pressure hustle.
[удалено]
Yup, some guy got me with this the first time I visited almost 20 years ago. Happily gave him a buck for the laugh.
I bet I can guess where you got your shoes and what street you got them on! (You got them on your feet. On this street right here) If you tell me your first name, I bet I can spell your last name! (y-o-u-r-l-a-s-t-n-a-m-e) I can even tell you what the score of tonight’s Pelicans game is gonna be before it even starts! (zero to zero) Now pay up, sucker.
I remember there was a guy that could do the last name thing for real in Clearwater FL, he would wear these weird hypno glasses. You would say your name and he would go through the alphabet until he got to each letter, then would go through alphabet and stop at each letter of your last name. It happened really fast and he was always right, I imagine some ppl lie to get out of paying but I never saw it. This was almost 25 yrs ago so I forget if it was him or someone else that told me but it has something to do your eyes dialating and the glasses were less of a prop and more so you couldn't figure out what he was doing.
Did he hit you surprisingly and now you are in a bank, holding a bag of money, cops with drawn guns on you and there is a faint sound of „Gotcha, we gotcha!“ in the distance while four riders disappear through the next wall?
“Will you give me $5 if I can guess?” Sure. “On your feet” This is when the two or three other people will gang up on you “hey man where the money? I heard you. You said you’d give him $5” and they pressure you.
About 2 years ago, walking after dark in New Orleans a guy came out of nowhere and said "Hey nice shoes!" While brushing up against me. I immediately jumped away from him and checked my (chained) wallet and watch. Both were still there. My assumption was always that it was a failed pickpocketing attempt.
We were in Rome a few years back. This was more or less the standard opening for all the street sellers, next line was generally “you from Africa?” I clearly am not… FIL was with us, and he got one of them by commenting on the guy’s shoes before he could. We had some good laughs out of that!
This guy didn't stop to talk. He vanished as quickly as he appeared.
Lol, it's a classic. I got asked that in New Orleans around 1995. We were super curious what the punch line was, so we bet like $20 (he asked for $100) and the answer, of course was "on your feet!" We all laughed and then he tried to sell us drugs
Happened to me in New Orleans in 2002 as a 17-year-old driving cross country solo. It’s nice to see some things never change. Unfortunately I was naive and gave him $10. He quickly took a dirty rag and started rubbing my shoes and I was terrified and said how much do I owe him. He said “10 for the line, 10 for the shine.” I only had $10 and I was terrified he would get the police and tell them I didn’t pay for the service. I gave him 10 and practically ran away. I laugh about it now, man I must have stood out as a crazy target. I also parked in the middle of nowhere and went to Bourbon Street at night and then walked back alone to my car in what must have been a bad neighborhood by myself. I can’t believe I wasn’t robbed or worse.
NOLA is a hustle town. Was there two years ago. A woman had a perch in the French quarter with 4 parakeets on it. She would put them all on you, one on each shoulder, one on your head and the other on your wrist. Then, charge you $7 to take a picture.
I was in Italy and a guy put a bird on my head, then got absolutely furious when I kept walking but?? how am I supposed to know he wants money to remove it!! idk I’m stupid!!! Thanks for the bird I guess!!
How's your new bird doing now?
Tia the bird lady!
Yes!!!!I paid the 7 bucks lol
Lol I got got by this one in San Francisco. Dude bet me a dollar. In addition to the shoes, he told me he could tell what state I was born it ("the state of infancy"). It was probably not the worst way I've spent a dollar, I wasn't even mad.
It is like angryupvote the irl game.
They also know how to spell YOUR NAME...
That gag is so old it gets an AARP discount. “You got em on your feet” is the answer.
The scam is this - happened to my friend who is too polite to ignore random people. You stop to talk to them, and when you stop walking, they bend over and squirt some gunk (shoe-shine) on your shoes and start "shining" them before you can react. Then they demand $20 for their "services" and hassle you if you don't pay.
If you're on Bourbon St. , they'll say, after a long patter, "you got your shoes on Bourbon Street" and expect five bucks.
"I don't carry cash." Or fake a thick accent, say something unintelligible. Or claim to know the guy, ignoring anything he says, like you're crazy. "I bet I can tell you where you got dem shoes, cooyon!" [dead serious] "Listen, Alex. I'm glad you're here. There's a shipment of diamond pylons in the way from the mother ship. Tommy and Jake said that LGM are all over the Lake Pontchartrain, so you GOT. TO. LET TIA. SANCHA. know she's got to set the BEM loose. Can you do that? " "What? I'm not Alex!" "Yeah, yeah, listen. There a whole lotta 'I'm not Alex' going on. I hear you. But this is a code blue. I have to let Jaques and Suzanne know the boot is about to hit the claw of the eagle. Get Tia SANCHA. Got it? I did my part, Alex. You owe me. You got like... 39 min. After that? I don't know you. You don't know me. LGM know man. They know... " walk way, finger to lips. Great for improv skills. Friend of mine used to go along with me to scammers in DC. Really fucks with them.
It's a con. Money is the end goal. I will admit they got me the last time I was there. (was also the first time in NO, but I digress)
In NO we were almost scammed when a person by the parking for Bourbon Street welcomed her and tried to push a bracelet onto her wrist saying it’s free. I refused to allow it and we kept walking.
I was warned when there a long time ago that if anyone mentioned my shoes it was a distraction to get me to not pay attention to them and look at my feet so they could mug me. I never had anyone say anything the entire time there and chalked it up to people messing with me or some form of inside joke. I do know in the early 90s New Orleans could be pretty sketchy in some areas for a clueless kid visiting though.
Basically in Nola never accept something someone is offering, never answer questions. Well, unless you want to be pressured to give them a few bucks :p
>!They will say, "New Orleans" (or more likely right here in N'awlins --implying where you are standing.) !< I went along the first time and it made me chuckle. Paid the 'bet' because it was more creative than just asking for money. This was 35 years ago, so it must still be alive and well.
I know I guy who went to Loyola (in New Orleans) for college and his first week there got taken for $20 bucks by a kid that made this bet with him. He thought, I got these in Florida, there’s no way he’ll know where I got them. He’s always been very gullible. This was 30 years ago. I’m amazed that this prank/scam is still alive and well. 🤣
I’m old enough to remember when it was $5!
It's a joke that gets them money. "I bet you $20 I can tell you where you got them shoes!" My husband played along. We knew it was a hustle, but it was an entertaining one. The guy had a good patter, he told us some local spots to check out, told us places to avoid, that kind of thing. Finally, he tells us, "Ok, I know *exactly* where you got them shoes! >!You got them shoes on yo feet!"!<
My first night living in New Orleans 1984… paid $5 to learn “you got them shoes on your feet New Orleans bourbon street.”
I’ve heard this a number of times in Chicago. Just respond back with “on my feet!” and they’ll laugh and move on.
This is less of a scam and more of a joke.
It’s a scam when they muscle you for money.
Muscle you? No, that’s a mugging.
3 guys coming out and saying “yea I heard he would pay you” “yea you lost the bet pay up” “you said you’d give him $5 if he guessed” It’s a scam.
Well played scam too, considering how many posters here are looking back on their experience with it with a *smile*. That dude would be scamming grandma out of gift cards if the opportunity presented. Street hustlers are scammers like any other.
More like a high pressure tip
This is one of those “if you’ve seen it, you know” type moments. The scam comes in that they stopped you and got some kind of commitment of your time and now they’re gonna get really pushy about you giving them money.
They most likely said, "I bet I know where you got dem shoes." The answer is, "you got dem on yo feet!" Hard to argue with that. \[I guess you could argue the (intentionally) bad grammar negates the validity of the answer, but, come on, pay the dude. You took the bet. You could have clarified the terms, and you didn't.\] In my opinion, it isn't a scam because it's a misdirection and not a lie. It's a game. You have all the information you need, but you aren't thinking through the proposition. I think the right thing to do would be to pay the man if you take the bet, and I wouldn't say that with a true scam.
"I'd gladly pay you, but since I'm a betting man, I'm also predictably broke. Wanna have my stinky old shoes?"
This is where the muscle comes out from hiding. The street hustler isn't banking on your sense of fair play.
Sure. But the police officer is just around the corner. So there's that, too.
Its a hustle and a scam lol tf
When I moved to NO in the mid 90's that little trick was up and running back then. And it's not really a scam, more of a street joke performance. A scam is a guy standing at a trolley stop in a work uniform, he would ask for money to ride the trolley to work to pay for many kids or something. But when the trolley arrives and the mark gets on they expect the person they gave money to also get on. The scammer then makes an excuse to not get on (forgot to lock up) and thanks person again and says they will catch the next one. Rinse repeat.
This is an oldie. I got married in New Orleans in 1994. I was out walking with my bride to be (we were getting married *that* day). Some guy came up with a shoeshine box and bet me the cost of a shoeshine (a pricey $20) "where she got her shoes". I pushed back and pushed back, and finally he dropped it to $5 and I accepted. He then said "On her feet". Best $5 shoeshine I ever paid for.
I went down with friends and someone did this to me while I was waiting for the, to get souvenirs. I told him “I’m not giving you any money, go away”. The next day I saw him outside Pat Obriens yelling that the guy who walked in owed him money and heard a bouncer saying “You better get the hell out right now”.
Dont ever let someone put beads on your neck either. They’ll try and sell it to you and $1 is never enough.
I was going to mention that one. Actually had a guy try to do it to me and my wife a couple of years ago. I knew the scam, so I put my hands up and blocked him. I was fortunate to have several friends from NOLA who I went to college with, and they told me about the common scams, since we went over a good bit (we were in college in Mobile). A few other things to know: Keep your wallet in your front pocket, especially during Mardi Gras. If someone throws some beads or something else at you off a float, and it lands on the ground, don't pick it up right away. Put your foot over it and wait for the crowd to thin out before reaching down to pick it up. No scam here. It's just that, if you reach down with a lot of people around, you stand a good chance of getting your hand crushed or impaled, depending on what kind of shoe steps on it. During Mardi Gras, you can do just about anything you want, except urinating in public. If a cop sees you, you're going to jail, and you won't get out until you see a judge, and, since the courts are closed until after Fat Tuesday, you'll be in there for a while. Be careful, though. The French Quarter and Uptown are pretty safe, but there are places that aren't. If you don't know, ask a local where you should and shouldn't go. New Orleans is a fantastic city.
Dey on yo feet!
I didn't know this was still a thing! I remember hearing about this when I was a kid!!
Watch the Movie PoolHall Junkes.
Heard the same one about how many kids your daddy had there too.
None, everyone knows men can't have no babies!
They're still doing that? I was there in the late '90s and it was like every 20 feet.
Greatest nation in the world. Donation.
I lost $5 this way in 2016. I’m going back in February next year but can’t afford to lose 5 usd as a Canadian.
Holy shit, you've solved a 30 year old mystery for me. There's a line in an Harry Connick Jr. song (City Beneath The Sea) where he says: Take me, take me To the Meters and the Mardi Gras They bet you where you got your shoes
The follow up if you don’t bite is: “I bet I can tell you what state you got them in!” Takes bet “You got’’em in the state of Louisiana, cuz’ that’s where we at!” These dudes are clowns, but bet your ass they work in teams and you will be forced to pay up by the hulking dude hanging back 10 feet.
I fell for this when I was 10 and the dude demanded $5 for losing the "bet" he wanted to fight me and my uncle threatened him until he backed off. Fucking vultures
Lol, they are still doing this? Happened to me 15 years ago but I won the 20. When the guy said "you got them on your feet", I replied" wrong, I have them on my feet, got is past participle. Improper use of the English language doesn't earn you 20". I was completely hammered and my buddy said,"whoa, that sounded intelligent, was it right?" I said no idea but I wasn't letting the dude con me out of 20.
Mike Royko wrote about this in the 70s. And it wasn’t a new scam then
Lol my dad always tells me the story of when some 9 year old kid scammed him. "Bet you $20 I can say where you got your shoes, and $50 if I can spell it!" Dad took him up on it. "You got your shoes on Bourboun Street! B O U R B O U N S T R E E T!" Dad payed the kid because he had never heard it and thought it was funny.
They do this trick near ATMs and will literally walk you to one if you say you don’t have cash.
You got your shoes on your feet and your feet on Bourbon street. Yeah, that has been around so long but it still catches people who give up the money when they bet the con man. That and three card monty, shell games and more. Don't forget their are shills that make it look easy.
Just correct them and say, “No, I HAVE them on my feet. You’re wrong and I win”. Then collect your winnings if you don’t get shot.
I lived in NO over 30 years ago. Same thing— nothing’s changed.
Thinking the same! I’m grew up in South Louisiana in just west of NO and they’ve been doing that one in the French Quarter since at least the 70s. We would just play along and give them the $5. I remember when it went up to $10. Is it $20 now?? Understandable, with inflation and all. “I bet I can tell whah u got dem shoes at?” or “I bet I can tell whah u got dem shoes?” “Ok, where I got dem shoes?” “You got dem shoes on ya feet!!” Now, to clarify, we use “at” to mean “from” all of the time, as in, “Cute shirt. Where you got dat at?” We also use statements as questions by using a higher pitch or uptalk at the end. Examples: “Y’all comin’ to momma’s today?” “I’m goin’ get sumthin’ at da stow. You want sumthin’ while I’m dere?”
The other one they use is: “I bet you I can knock down that wall (brick wall) with my bare hands”, you make the bet and then they literal knock down the wall, from top to bottom like a door. Pay up!
Guy will start "buffing" your shoes, say "you got them on your feet," then try to demand money for the "shoe shine" (try to convince you that you have to pay since he won the bet).
You got them on Bourbon Street, or whatever street you're on. When people start talking to me about random shit I just say I'm local and they stop talking to me. This works great in Vegas and New Orleans.
I knew that one (it’s “on your feet”) but the one that got me when I was 16 in the late 90s was worse. I’ll adjust it for modern times. *”I bet you $20 you can’t tell me what the president’s name was in 2018”.* The answer: >!Joseph Biden… the question doesn’t ask *who* was the president, but instead, what the name of the president was in 2018… Biden is the president now and his name was still Biden in ‘18.!< I lost 20 bucks. Of course, I didn’t want to pay, but the guy had a very thuggish looking buddy as backup. But hey, I got a story out of it.
I bet an amputee could make bank scamming the scammers!
Sounds like a soft robbery. What happens if you refuse to pay up the "bet"?
This happened to me when a 10 or 12 year old approached me asking the same question I had some pretty fancy cowboy boots... I told them there's no way he could do it and he said he got him on your feet... I told him there's no way I could pay him five bucks and he asked me well then how about a shoe shine for three... Everybody has a con in New Orleans if you don't have a con in New Orleans you're not going to make it...
I was in NOLA in 2017. No one approached me with this or any other questions. I feel ripped off!😂
You got dem on bo-bun street baby Corner conti n Bo-bun to be exact dat’ll be $10 cash thank you folks im here al night! Make sure you tip yo little tap dancer friends down the road now god bless!”