system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What's the deal with goofy-looking bowling shoes? Why can't they just look like regular shoes?
gpt
IIRC, it's to prevent theft. They are ugly so no one will want to steal them, and readily identifiable so if someone does steal them, everyone will know they are a thief.

And at one point many small towns only had one bowling alley, so if anyone wore those shoes, it was apparent where they had been stolen.