[X-Newbies] empty folders

[cy]

Hello Listers,

I recently upgraded to 10.3.9 and found that it runs about a half-step 
slower than Puma. Looking for some blot, I ran Spring Cleaning and 
found over 4oo empty folders, mostly in my Users.  Where in the whorld 
did these come from?  How were they created? As they are empty, I 
presume that it's safe to delete them.
Observations?

iMac DV+  450
768 MB
OS X 10.3.9

cy