Author Archives: Tyler Jutting

“Last one there is a rotten egg”

Background:

The informant is a 28-year-old who was raised in the Midwest and has very distinct memories of the game. He stated that this game was something he loved doing as a kid and brought back fond memories of his childhood. He claims that this habit and belief is something that helped him out in life. The game itself is just a fun thing he did as a kid, but not allowing himself to be last or late in anything in life is something he takes seriously now as an adult, and he views it as a great life lesson.

Context:

The Folklore was collected through a scheduled zoom meeting with the informant where we discussed his childhood years and different games he would play growing up. He learned this specific tradition from his older brother and whenever he heard it, he would immediately start running to wherever they were going he would end up as the rotten egg.

Main Piece:

The game is one where a group of people are going to a certain location such as getting on a bus, going to play on the playground, etc. The informant recalls that when he would walk with a group of friends as kids, one of them would shout out ‘Last one there is a rotten egg!’ and everyone would race towards their destination. Whoever got their last would then be the “Rotten Egg” and would be teased by the other kids as the “Rotten Egg” until the next round. The informant stated that usually after someone got labeled as the “Rotten Egg”, they would look for some other destination to race to and then keep repeating the phrase “Last one there is a rotten egg” until they no longer lost the race.

Interpretation:

Children’s lore is always unique yet seems to bear a common theme throughout. Many of the folklore games that children play seem to have a sort of life lesson or teaching embedded within them. The ‘Last one there is a rotten egg’ game of racing to a location while trying not to be last makes me think of a few examples where this type of lore may have been an important lesson to learn for youth. In older societies that experienced famine, being the last to something might mean not having enough food to survive — Therefore this type of folklore practice would have helped children learn early on to never be last. Another example would be societies that were more nomadic or that had natural predators. In these types of societies, a child that fell too far behind the group would be at risk of getting lost and or attacked by a predator. In today’s world, these same lessons have real-world applications albeit not as extreme. For example, being last in something might cause you to lose out on opportunities in life such as getting into a good college, making a sports team, getting a good job, a promotion, etc. The informant discussed this aspect of the lore in detail and how he viewed this game as a major life lesson that has helped him develop a strong work ethic and desire to succeed in life.

Knock on Wood

Background:

The informant is a 27-year-old that grew up in Madison Wisconsin and currently lives in Southern California. He has followed this superstition for as long as he can remember and believes he learned it from his older brother when he was young. He takes it very seriously and anytime he catches himself boasting about something prematurely, he will make sure to knock on wood.

Main Piece:

The Superstition involves a person knocking on wood in order to prevent something that had recently been said from not coming true. The practice is typically seen when someone says something boastful or implies that something good will happen to them with certainty. They will then knock on a piece of hardwood nearby as a way to ward off any jinxing that may have occurred by them stating this out loud.

Interpretation:

This folk belief is one of superstition. While superstition tends to have a negative connotation and be viewed as a pejorative term among many people, I think superstitions are usually a positive thing that people partake in. This ‘knock-on wood’ superstition that the informant discussed with me is particularly positive. The practice of doing something to sort of acknowledge an overzealous statement that one has made is a good thing for people to partake in. While it may or may not have any impact on the outcome of a certain event, it forces people to address hubris and maintain a humbler balance of how they speak about things. The literal ‘knock-on wood’ superstition reminds me of another common trope that I have heard many times throughout my life that goes “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”. This tope relates to overzealous farmers that assumed that were going to have as many chickens as they had eggs.

For another version, see Evan Andrews, Aug 22. 2018, Why do people knock on wood for luck?

Onions in Your Socks to Cure Your Cold

Background:

The folk tradition is one of ancient Chinese reflexology. It was present before the germ theory of illness which is widely accepted today by scientists. The informant is a 79-year-old woman of Chinese and Latin descent who recalled hearing and practicing this by the instruction of her grandmother when she was young. She said that she used to believe that it worked very well when she was younger, but now feels that it was most likely a placebo effect from confirmation bias by those around her.

Main Piece:

This medicinal folk practice states that if a person develops a cold, they should stuff their socks with onions. It is believed that the onions will help cure the illness and the person that is suffering from the cold will regain health very quickly after the treatment.

Context:

Onions have been known today to have numerous health benefits that are backed by science. However, curing a cold is not one of them. Chinese reflexology believed that disease spread through “noxious air”. Based on this, putting a powerful smelling agent such as onions next to someone’s feet, it was believed that since the onions removed the bad smell from the feet that it was curing the person of the cold or illness that they were suffering from.

Interpretation:

This folk tradition is a great example of correlation versus causation. Chinese reflexology noticed that people with illness tended to have poorly smelling feet. They also noticed that onions had a strong scent and the ability to remove this foul smell from a person’s feet who was suffering from illness. Therefore, they believed that the onions removing the smell meant that they were curing the subject of their illness. As a passive bearer with an etic perspective on this medicinal folk tradition, it was interesting to hear the informant discuss how common this practice was among her family when she was growing up. This practice was something that her grandmother learned from her mother and had been passed down in their family as a cold remedy for generations.

For another version, see Rose Wilson Ph.D., November 28. 2017, Does an onion in the sock work for a cold?

The Jargon of Hockey

Background:

The informant is a 25-year-old who grew up playing hockey his entire life. He began playing hockey when he was only three years old and played until age 24. We were teammates for two years in the BCHL, a junior hockey league in British Columbia, Canada. The informant has used jargon from the hockey community for most of his life.

Context:

The Folklore was collected through a scheduled zoom meeting with the informant where we discussed memories of playing hockey together, and common jargon used by the hockey community. He learned most of it through other hockey players. There is not really an origin point that can be located for any of the specific parole, but it is all widely circulated and known jargon. I experienced and partook in some of this jargon as well throughout my 19 years of playing hockey, and we discussed some very strange, almost humorous jargon that somehow was universally known and used among the hockey community.

Main Piece:

‘Huge Tilt’: A major fight in a hockey game. “Mike and Kleysen had a huge tilt last night”

‘Chirp’: To trash talk another player. “Mike has been chirping me all game”

‘Dangle’: To deke or outmaneuver another player. “Did you see me dangle that defenseman?”

‘Muffin’: A shot on goal that was very poor or weak. “Mike was throwing muffins on the net all night”

‘Lettuce’: Nice hair of another player. “Mike has the best lettuce on the team”

‘Gong show’: A game that gets out of control from big hits. “Our game against Penticton last week was a gong show”

‘Grocery Stick’: A player that doesn’t get much playing time. “Mike chirps way to much for a grocery stick”

‘Apple’: An Assist. “Mike had an unreal apple last period”

‘Bingo’: A goal. “Mike had three bingos last night”

‘Biscuit’: The puck. “Hey Mike, you got to get me the biscuit more often in the offensive zone”

‘Cheese’: Scoring in the top portion of the hockey net. “Mike went cheese on their goalie”

‘Barnburner’: A high-scoring game. “We had a barnburner last week… everybody was putting up points”

Interpretation:

The Jargon of hockey players is something that many people find humorous. Some comedy tv shows such as “Letterkenny” have even been created making fun of the parole used. Personally, I did not find any of this language funny when I played hockey growing up. It was just the way we communicated with each other. However, being a few years removed from the sport, it seems almost ridiculous that the informant and I spoke this way for most of our lives. What is very interesting to me is that this specific parole is widely known and used among the hockey community, and almost all the jargon is comprised of real English words, yet none of them mean their literal English definitions. If someone were to use this jargon with anyone outside of the hockey community, they would not understand what you are saying and most likely view it as very abnormal speech. Although within the hockey community, nobody would bat an eye at the obscure phrasing of these words and perfectly understand what you are communicating to them. Many of the words are typically used together as tropes among the hockey community, and these tropes would surely confuse a person unfamiliar with this hockey jargon.

For another version, see Jacob Tierney, February 7, 2016, “Letterkenny”.

Don’t Mis Step

Main Piece:

Informant: “Whenever I was walking as a kid I would always say ‘Don’t step on a crack, or you’ll break your mother’s back’. I remember I would always look down at my feet whenever I would walk around because I was so paranoid that I would accidentally step on a crack and didn’t want my mom to get hurt… *laughs* It was something that I learned from my older sister and her friends, and I would always do it with my friends at school. Whenever we would walk on an old sidewalk with tons of cracks and even normal ones, we would be walking in very abnormal strides to avoid stepping on them.”

Collector: “Did you really think it would break your mom’s back if you stepped on a crack?”

Informant: “Honestly not really… I figured it out after my first time stepping on a crack on accident. I remember being in such a bad mood all day at school because I thought my mom was hurt and it was all my fault *laughing* But after the initial experience we all kind of knew that our mothers wouldn’t be hurt if we stepped on one, but it was fun to play along with… Also, it was kind of fun when someone else did step on one, cause we would all make a big deal about it and tease each other if one of us misstepped.”

Background:

The informant is a 28-year-old who was raised in the Midwest and has very distinct memories of the game. He stated that he sometimes still finds himself avoiding cracks on the ground to this day even though he is in his late twenties. He claims that this habit and belief are so ingrained in him from his childhood that he still just tries to avoid them.

Interpretation:

The games children play are interesting. I feel as though many of these games may have a deeper meaning and may stem from some sort of natural survival instinct or practice. The game of not stepping on a crack or else their mother will get hurt makes me think of watching where you step in general. In older civilizations and societies there were many more dangers to youth than there are today. For example, kids could be waking near dangerous areas where venomous snakes or animals might be lying nearby to strike them, so it was much more important to teach children to be cautious of where they were stepping. I feel like this tradition of do not step on a crack or it will break your mother’s back may have evolved terminus post quem from an older version where the lesson was the same, watch where you are walking.