The origins of the troupe called Cheap Sox have long been a mystery to humanity.

Some American anthropologists claim that the troupe dates back to a native pre-Columbian bowling league that was offered inexpensive socks by pilgrims in the Boston area. The pilgrims tainted the footwear with mercury in an attempt to kill the league and rid the New World of the vulgar game of candlepin bowling. However, the mercury-ridden socks only made the bowlers stark mad, so they established the comedy troupe thereafter known as Cheap Sox.

Others say that the comedy troupe is simply a front for a lucrative illegal footwear ring. However, the rise of Wal-Mart and influx of Chinese textiles rendered the underground trade less than profitable, causing the troupe to focus more on the comedy and less on the black market.

A notable Tufts' psychologist claims that the troupe is actually the remaining victims a of scientific experiment conducted in the early 1950's. The doctor claims that the founding members of Cheap Sox were subject to intense psychedelic testing in their Intro to Psychology class in the 1950's. The then Tufts president, Leonard Carmichael, allowed the CIA to carry out a secret project called MKULTRA, during which the unwitting students were dosed with massive amounts of Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). The operation, while meant to study drug-induced mind-control, resulted in many unforeseen consequences. Some students simply developed an affinity for flowers, strange clothing, drugs, long hair, and promiscuity. A small group however, developed an acute sense of humor and an insatiable appetite to bring joy to their fellow man. These poor souls became Cheap Sox.

However, Tufts' historians believe the troupe's origins date back to the year 1985 A.D. of the Gregorian calendar. This leads some to say that the troupe was created by the Reagan administration as an integral yet lesser-known agent of the Iran-Contra Affair. The secret troupe was ordered to "distract the American citizenry by spreading hysteria and calamity." A poor cell phone signal (cell phones were in their earliest stages of creation) resulted in a miscommunication causing the troupe leader to take the message as "hilarity and comedy." The leader was a fool, and the troupe lost government funding the following year.

A less exciting but more probable account suggests that Cheap Sox was established on the Tufts campus in 1985 with the sole purpose of bringing laughter and joy to the community. Its etymology stems from the troupes' first performance in the Wessel Library (now called the Tisch Library). The troupe called themselves the Nils Yngve Wessell Players. The first show's poster read: "The Nils Yngve Wessell Players Present: Cheap Sox and Violins." The founding troupe members took a liking to the glorious candlestick lanes of Davis Square and decided to purchase matching bowling shirts. The shirts stuck, and the troupe name was shortened to Cheap Sox.