Tag Archives: car

Calling “shotgun” for a car

The informant describes a game his friends and he would play at home throughout high school and still today in college.  He recounts many times fighting over spots in the car by playing the game, “shotgun.”

Shotgun is a game involving a group of people about to drive somewhere and get into the car.  The game involves deciding who gets to sit where in the car.  The driver takes the driving seat, but the second best seat is generally accepted as the “shotgun” or the passenger seat in the front.  The goal of the game is to get the “shotgun” seat by calling “shotgun” out while the car is visible.  Another individual can steal the “shotgun” seat if they yell out, “blitz” after “shotgun” is yelled.  This indicates that the other person is blitzing the “shotgun” call and getting the front seat.

Interestingly enough the phrase “riding shotgun” originated in 1919 and was later used in print and especially film depictions of wagons and stagecoaches in Wild West movies.  The game is commonly played among teenagers who have recently acquired their licenses.  This shows an interesting liminal stage teenagers enter when they first gain the ability to drive in high school and it makes sense that there are traditions or games that are popular among this transition.

Pig Legend

Informant Background: This individual was born and grew up in Hawaii. His family is of Japanese and Chinese descent. He speaks Japanese and English. His family still practice many Japanese traditions, also many Chinese traditions. They celebrate some of the Japanese holidays. Many of the folk-beliefs and superstitious are still practiced. His relatives who are Japanese lives in Hawaii as well. He currently lives in Los Angeles to attend college.

 

In Hawaii, there is a tunnel that runs through the mountain. It was a site of battle in ancient Hawaii. It is to be believed that it is full of spirits of the warriors and the chiefs who died in that battle. The one thing you cannot do is bring pork…You can bring anything you want, but not pork. Pork is a big part of a lot of beliefs in Hawaii. Pig in ancient Hawaiian culture is depicted as a pig-god so to bring a dead pig is then to bring the god in dead form to the ghost of the people.  If you bring pork over that tunnel, your car will stop. The way to make it start again is to get rid of the pork somehow like throw the pig out the window. 

The informant stated that this is a knowledge passed to him through his grandparents as he was growing up in Hawaii. He said he never had direct experience with his car stopping but heard from others who forgot to follow the rule and had their engine stopped working.

 

 

This legend also shows different beliefs and perspective on how different cultures and places values different animals and objects to be sacred. In this case pig is considered sacred while for Hindus cow is sacred. Though these beliefs seem strange when looking in as an outsider, it plays a large role in the culture.

This legend also shows how the belief transcends generations and technological development through overlapping ancient warrior battle with sacred god-like animal figure with automobile engines. The legend also shows how the believability of the tale can be carried on through a memorate. If one car engine stopped over that tunnel while there is pork in the car, then the legend can continue.

The pig can also be considered as contagious magic. The pig/pork is an object that will be automatically cursed once put into the area. The pig/pork curse can be lifted once the item is discarded; the item is cursed, not the person or car.

Car Game – Zitch Dog

Basically, the point of the game is if you see a dog, you have to be the first person to say, “Zitch Dog!” and then you get a point. Person with the highest score by the end of the car ride gets free dinner.

My informant brought up this game during a long car ride with me and a couple other friends.  He told me that he learned of this game when he was taking a road trip with some of his other friends.  Although, the last time he played, the person with the lowest score would have to pay for everybody’s dinner.

I decided to research the origins of Zitch Dog and found that it came from an episode of “How I Met Your Mother.”  As an avid fan of the television show “How I Met Your Mother,” I had seen the episode before but had assumed that it was already an established game.  I was surprised to find that the writers of the show had invented it.  The one main difference between the TV show version and my informant’s version is that in the show, there is no real prize for the winner, only bragging rights.  When I asked my friend if he was aware that it came from the show, his response was that he had never even heard of the show before.  While folklore has had a big influence over published media, this case is an excellent example of media creating and affecting folklore.

Annotations:
Harris, Chris. “Arrivederci, Fiero.” How I Met Your Mother. Dir. Pamela Fryman. CBS. 26 Feb. 20007. Television.

Car Game – Jello

To play Jello, all you need to do is to let your body naturally sway with the movements of the car.

My informant told me about this game while we were sitting in a car full of people.  She told me she had learned about it from her best friend while they were riding the bus.  After talking about it, we started to play Jello.  I noticed while we were playing that there is a competitive nature to the game; the people in the car would also use the force of the car movements to powerfully shove people really hard to one side of the car.

This game was probably developed as a way to make a car ride more interesting and fun as it gave passengers something to do.  At the same time, a typical car ride is filled with a lot of movement.  From my experience, whenever I sat in a full car, I would be constantly leaning and bumping into the people sitting next to me every time the car turned.  Either, I or the other passengers would be constantly apologizing for invading each others personal spaces.  By playing Jello, this awkwardness is eliminated as it is completely okay to lean on other people in order to participate.

Punch Buggy

Whenever you see a Volkswagen Beetle car, you have to yell “Punch Buggy” and punch another person.

I found out about this game when I saw my informant’s girlfriend yell out, “Punch Buggy,” and proceeded to punch him. I asked them what this punching business was, my informant informed me of this game.  I asked him where he had learned this game, and he told me that his cousins had taught him.  On the other hand, his girlfriend told me that he had learned of this game from the recent commercials made by Volkswagen that featured this game.

Currently, the true origins of this game are unknown.  However, they have been able to determine that it probably started around the 1960s.  My theory on how this game began is that it might have started as a marketing ploy from Volkswagen to popularize their Beetle car.  Eventually, the game became so widespread that the original origins became obsolete.  In 2009, Volkswagen utilized this game into their commercials which only helped to further popularize the game.