The Vans Challenge

This week we were asked to write about anything we found interesting on social media. I happen to become extremely curious about a viral trend on social media that is making everyone crazy and it is known as the "Vans Challenge."

It has to do with a claim that if you take a Vans sneaker and throw it up in the air it always lands on its sole. At first I thought it was absurd. It seemed as an unbelievable claim to me and when I discussed it with other people, they agreed with me. We watched videos in which everyone is taking the challenge. To our surprise they tried different ways and heights from which to either throw or drop the sneakers. They even took the worlds greatest challenge in which a bunch of shoes are dropped from a crane...and guess what? It seems that they do always land on their sole.
Everyone seems to be fascinated by this outcome and have tried it themselves and tweeted about it. They even tried to find answers about how it works from a Professor of Physics.

I am no expert in the matter but talking with some of my students they suggested some pretty reasonable ideas. They said that it probably had to do with a heavier rubber sole being drawn towards the center of the earth due to gravity. They also added that the shape of the sneaker may also aid its tendency to turn a certain way to land the way it does. Until we know for sure, we are still fascinated and speculate of reasons why this occurs... Can you think of any logical explanation? If you have some ideas...share them with us.