Shoelaces are popular for fundraising and general promotion. They are economical to purchase and popular with recipients.
This myth relates to the early days of shoelaces and states that soldiers crawled along the ground, feeling the laces of the soldiers they encountered. Some soldiers employed straight- or bar-lacing, while other troops employed a criss-cross pattern. Criss-cross laces could therefore mean the difference between life and death. The importance of correct lacing was thus emphasized to troops. Whether true or not, there is an account of soldiers checking the boots and laces of soldiers they encountered in the dark to find if they are friend or foe. Believe it or not!