Author Archives: Andrew Hornblower

Polish Drinking Game: Nostrovia

Nationality: American/Polish
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: St. Louis
Performance Date: 12/20/11
Primary Language: English
Language: Polish

My best friend from home went on a backpacking trip throughout Poland, and came back with an interesting drinking game. It is called Nostrovia.

When he was visiting for a concert that we went to together in February (Dash Berlin, famous dj played at the Hollywood Palladium),  of course we decided to go get drunk the first night he was in LA.

I thought I would be a good host, and show him some typical fraternity drinking games (beer pong, flip cup, quarters, etc.). When I began explaining the elaborate rules to him, he stared at me and laughed.

Bart explained that the previous summer, he had backpacked around Poland for a month with a program through his school (Washington University in St. Louis).  While Poland, which is in fact his family’s country of origin, he learned a much simpler drinking game called “Nostrovia”.

(While completing this folklore collection, I had to look up how exactly to spell this term, as I had only heard it spoken before.) Bart pronounced it more closely to “Nos Drove-ia”.

Bart went on to explain that “Nostrovia” is a very simple game. Essentially, when two friends get together to drink, periodically throughout the night, one will shout “Nostrovia”, followed by his friend’s response of “Nostrovia”.

This incredibly simple drinking “game” is what he played every time he drank during that month in Poland. When I called him to ask him to sign the release form, he mentioned that it is also customary for others in the vicinity to reply with “Nostrovia” after the two friends have both shouted it.

I think that this drinking game reflects the nature of Polish drinking. It is much more casual that here in the United States. They do not need elaborate games to get drunk, and in fact prefer to simply make conversation. This is a cultural difference between Poland and The United States that naturally goes unstudied due to the fact that it pertains to getting drunk. However, it is still an interesting difference in tradition.

Fart Game – Doorknob

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/29/12
Primary Language: English

While this piece of my folklore collection is slightly off-color, I think it is important to document more than just politically correct pieces of folklore. When my friends and I are in particularly immature moods to this day, we play a game called “doorknob”. The game’s rules are as follows:

When you pass gas, you have to say “safety” before someone else says “doorknob”.

If the offender achieves this, they are safe.

When the offender fails to say “safety” before someone else says “doorknob”, the “doorknob”-sayer is given full license to punch the offender as hard as they can in the shoulder until the offender touches a doorknob.

The origins of this game are unknown, but I have personally witnessed it played by a multitude of people- even recently. The most recent instance of the game being played transpired in the Yardhouse restaurant downtown during a Lakers game. A friend of mine (who is listed as the reference for this collection item) was passed gas while we were all sitting at the bar. Smartly, he blurted out “safety” before anyone was given the opportunity to beat him to the punch.

Russian Sailor Joke

Nationality: Russian
Age: 76
Occupation: Professor
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 2/24/12
Primary Language: English
Language: Russian

In my Russian Short Stories Class, my professor told a traditional Russian joke to the class in February. We were reading a story by Gogol, a particularly depressing author.

There are 2 people in this joke: A Russian Sailor in the Russian Navy, and a Merchant.

The joke is told as follows:

Merchant: Tell me sailor, how did your father die?

Sailor: At sea, of course

Merchant: And his father?

Sailor: Also at sea

Merchant: Are you not also afraid of dying at sea?

Sailor: But, where did your father die?

Merchant: In his bed

Sailor: And his father?

Merchant: In his bed as well

Sailor: Well then, tell me merchant, are you afraid of going to bed?

 

My Russian professor could not recall where he had first heard this joke. However, it exhibits qualities that are consistent with traditional Russian values. This joke could in fact be a product of Soviet propaganda, as it clearly possesses undertones of nationalism and bravery. Also, this joke is clearly at the merchant’s expense. Perhaps this is because the joke’s creators want to discourage economic activity for personal interest. Communist Russia was known for this mentality.

 

In Tennis, Love Means Nothing

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Bassist
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/21/12
Primary Language: English

Dan Scheuler, my Estonian tennis coach growing up, used to always say this to me in several different contexts. Before I describe them, I will give the reader a little background on tennis scoring in case they are not familiar with the sport.

First of all, scoring in tennis makes NO SENSE. The first person to win 4 points wins the game. However, instead of counting by 0s, 1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s (like almost every other sport), tennis is scored in increments of Love, 15, 30, 40, and deuce. As you can infer, “Love” is equivalent to zero in tennis terms.

This fact has given rise to many jokes, puns, and proverbs in the sport of tennis. I happened to first hear this one from my childhood coach Dan Scheuler. As you can imagine, this proverb can be used in a number of fashions.

My coach’s most common implementation of this proverb was to mock me when I would have to miss practices. He would scold me the next day in a thick Estonian accent, “Andrew, why do you keep going on dates during our training? Haven’t I told you that in tennis love means nothing?!

I had not heard this saying for several years until this March, when I was out on the court with a friend of mine who is from Northern California. I lamented to him that I had once dreamed of playing professional tennis, truly loved the sport, but was never skilled enough to make it. He joked back, “Andrew, don’t you know? In tennis love means nothing”. In this case, the proverb was used to describe a deficiency in physical ability, which is quite different from my old coach’s preferred use.

These two examples of the proverb “In Tennis, Love means nothing” illustrate that variability of use that proverbs often possess. In addition to changing in physical form throughout time, proverbs’ meanings permutate with time and location.

This proverb is also notable because it is an excellent example of a “tailored proverb”. These proverb are not applicable to everyone. Only a select group of individuals comprehends and is inherently tied to its meaning. There is a place for both these and widely relatable proverbs in modern culture.

 

 

USC Fountain Run

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Agent
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/12
Primary Language: English

I was slightly disappointed to hear professor Thompson being today’s lecture with a discussion of this USC tradition, as I was hoping to surprise him with a little bit of USC folklore. I think my insight into the tradition is still valuable regardless, as there are permutations from what we discussed in class.

First, I would like to share my first experience with the fountain run. Two years ago, as I was finishing up my Freshman year at USC, I was sitting in Leavey studying for an exam. As evening fell, I had the sole goal of finishing my work so I could party later that evening. 7, 8, and 9 P.M. passed slowly, then before I knew it, I heard cheering out on the McCarthy quad side of the building. I blew it off initially, but after a few minutes of its persistence had to join the several other kids standing at the window observing. When I got to the window, I was met with quite the sight to behold. Literally hundreds of students, all wearing bating suits, bikinis, and water-wings etc. were splashing around in the shallow pool out front.

I later learned that every year, the seniors all get intoxicated and run through all of USC’s many fountains the last Thursday of classes. What’s interesting is that every group of friends has its own sub-tradition of this larger USC tradition. For example, my friend’s fraternity typically puts a foam pit in their courtyard that night, and throws all of their seniors in it during their party. Another friend of mine’s sorority has all of the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors push the senior girls in shopping carts from fountain to fountain. In this sense, the tradition has evolved in complexity from its inception as a direct result of more and more people becoming involved.

Professor Thompson mentioned the final portion of this analysis in class today. To elaborate, this college tradition in fact serves as a valuable case study on the clash between institutions and folklore. When USC knows that its seniors will be running through fountains regardless of the school’s disapproval, the question appears: do we fight them, or do we join them? USC has elected the more diplomatic option of the two, and has taken great strides to make this treasured night as safe as possible. The school has drained, cleaned, and refilled all of the major fountains on campus, making tonight safer for everyone. This is a tactic that might be applied to other similar dynamics. Take the debate over legalization of narcotics in America, for example. Instead of trying to seek out all users and dealers of drugs in the country, might it be more effective to simply subsidize their safe production and distribution? This is an argument for a different time, but we can at least use this instance of folklore’s clash with an institution as a reference point for ways to constructively approach similar problems.