Author Archives: Seth Ferraro

The White Lighter (Bic)

Background on Informant:

My informant is a 40-year-old student from California. I know him from Discord, where we often play video games. He explained that he first heard about the superstition in high school, especially among his peer group, who used to smoke weed

Text:

Interviewer: Can you tell me about the white lighter superstition?

Informant: Yeah, so growing up, I was a stoner, and my group always had lighters for smoking weed right? Well, I always remember people freaking out about white lighters, BIC lighters to be exact, some wouldn’t even touch one, like they wouldn’t even smoke weed if that was the only lighter.

Interviewer: Why?

Informant: So the story goes that all these great musicians that passed away, like Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, all had white lighters in their pockets when they were found dead.

Interviewer: Have you heard about this anywhere else?

Informant: A few times, usually at bars, someone asks for a lighter to spark a cigg, and a white one comes out, it’s pretty funny some of the reactions.

Interviewer: interesting so it is believed that if you use a white lighter, you die?

Informant: It’s not that cut and dry; it’s more like IF by chance it does have something to do with a white lighter, there are so many other colors, why tempt fate?

Analysis:

This is a great example of a modern superstition. BIC lighters were not introduced until 1973, which shows that superstitions are still being created and spread in modern culture. The belief is tied to celebrity deaths, like musicians like Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Elvis Presley. These were iconic musicians that were deeply loved and mourned upon their death, that significance is why I believe the superstition holds any validity. The superstition’s transmission is horizontal through friend groups, specifically stoners and smokers (due to the use of BIC lighters),  as my informant explained, he heard it within his group of marijuana smoking friends. Even though there is no factual evidence linking white lighters to these deaths, the belief continues because of the fear and uncertainty, this shows symbolic thinking because this group believes that the lighter could change outcomes. This superstition also functions as a form of group identity, as well as displaying multiplicity and variation as not just stoners follow the white lighter belief but cigarette smokers sometimes do too.

FPS Doug (“Boom Headshot!”)

Main text:
FPS Doug (“Boom Headshot!”)
Background on Informant:
My informant is a friend of mine who I regularly play video games with. He is in his thirties and has been playing video games since he could remember. I asked him about internet videos from back in the day that had a strong following or that is still relevant today. He brought up the FPS Doug video and explained that it was something he and other gamers have seen and quoted over the years. He said it is especially common among people who have played FPS games like Counter-Strike.

Text:
Interviewer: so tell me about the video

Informant: Yeah, FPS DOUG the “boom headshot” guy, just funny and over the top. The way he reacts is crazy, throughout the video it shows him as a little eccentric, but when he plays counterstrike everyt ime he gets a kill he yells BOOM HEADSHOT! The video ends with him freaking out like way too much over him dying in the game, it was pretty funny.

Interviewer: What group would you say this internet folklore originated from?

Informant: Gamers for sure but more specifically Counter-strike gamers, you know CS has a cult like following.

Interviewer: Yes I am aware, do people still say it?

Informant: Yeah, *laughs* and you are one of those people.

Interviewer: Do you know the time frame it may have originated?

Informant: Uhh like the 2000 to 2010 I think?

Interviewer: thank you I appreciate your time.

Analysis:
This is digital folklore, the FPS Doug video became widely shared online and turned into a meme through repetition and quoting. In class, we learned that folklore spreads informally, and this example reflects that because it was not formally taught but shared within the gaming community online. The phrase became popular specifically within the Counter-Strike community before eventually spreading to the first person shooter community. It now functions like verbal folklore within gaming culture, reinforcing group identity and shared humor. This example also demonstrates multiplicity and variation, since people continue to reuse and adapt the phrase in different contexts not just to counterstrike or gaming but it has been used in the same way “knocked it out of the park” is used. Overall, it shows how modern folklore spreads through digital platforms while still serving similar functions as traditional folklore.

“Stop dicking the dog”

Main Text:
Background on Informant:
My informant is my dad, who I have grown up around and learned many sayings from. He often uses informal phrases in everyday conversation, especially when talking about work or getting things done. I asked him about to explain one of the crazy sayings that he used to say when I was a kid, I would cringe every time he would say it. I also asked him where he had heard it first. He explained that he first heard it while working in construction and has continued using it in daily life.
Text:
Interviewer: Dad, what’s that one saying you used to say to me all the time that I hated so much? You remember it.

Informant: Oh yeah, uh, “stop dicking the dog.”

Interviewer: Right, so tell me, what does that mean?

Informant: It just means stop messing around and get to work. Like if you’re wasting time or not doing what you’re supposed to be doing, that’s when you say it.

Interviewer: Okay, so it’s like for when you’re half-assing something then? Like instead of saying don’t half-ass it, you’d say don’t dick the dog, right?

Informant: Correct.

Analysis:
This is a clear example of folk speech or specifically slang/ proverb like sayings. While functioning as a form of indirect advice, reflecting how this saying can convey guidance without hostility or criticizing someone. Instead of giving a long explanation, the phrase quickly conveys that someone needs to stop wasting time and be productive. In class, we discussed how folklore helps reinforce group identity. This example shows that clearly, as the phrase was originally learned in a construction setting and is now used in everyday family conversation. It reflects values such as productivity, discipline, and responsibility. This also demonstrates the idea of multiplicity and variation, since the phrase moves across different contexts while keeping a similar meaning.

The Donkey and the Tiger


Fable: The donkey and the tiger

Background on Informant:
My informant is my dad; he is in his 50’s he is a longshoreman who grew up in Torrance. He has shared many stories and sayings with me over the years. I asked him if he remembered any good fables that he used to tell me maybe. He said he heard this fable from his grandma, his mother drank heavily and would argue nonsense with my dad and my grandma told him this story so he wouldn’t mind her. He doesn’t know where she heard it.

Text:
Interviewer: So, do you have any fables that you may have heard or told over the years?

Informant: Sure, don’t you remember the one I would always tell you when you used to argue with your little brother. No, refresh my memory about the donkey and the tiger?

Interviewer: yes I do but please tell it to me again in you own words

Informant: So a donkey and a tiger are arguing. The donkey says the sky is green, and the tiger says the sky is not green it is clearly blue. The donkey says no you’re wrong its green, the tiger says fine lets go ask the king. They go to the lion king to settle the argument once and for all. Before anyone says a thing the lion says, if you waste my time you will be punished eager to prove the donkey wrong the Tiger agrees to the terms. The Tiger explains the argument to the lion, the tiger says anyone with eyes can see the sky is blue the donkey says, nooo its not blue, the sky is green, right my king? The lion says, “Yes, the sky is indeed green. The donkey walks away happy and triumphant. The confused tiger asks, my king surely you know the sky is blue why would you tell the donkey it is green. The lion says, You’re not being punished because you’re wrong. You’re being punished because you are a mighty and majestic tiger why are you wasting time arguing with a donkey, you should know better than to argue with a fool.

Interviewer: So why did you tell me that?

Informant: Because you were arguing with your little brother about something, and your little brother thinks he knows everything. Sometimes it’s not worth arguing, especially if the other person is stubborn and isn’t going to listen.

Analysis:
This fable functions to teach a moral lesson, which reflects what we learned in class about how folklore can provide guidance through storytelling. My dad used the story in a real-life situation while I was arguing with my little brother, showing how folklore can be used in a progressive way in everyday life. The lesson is that it is pointless to argue with someone who is unwilling to accept reason. Instead of directly telling me to stop arguing, he used a story to give indirect advice in a more memorable way and later he didn’t need to repeat the story he would just say “you are a tiger.” This example also reflects how folklore is passed down informally across generations, from his grandmother to him and then to me, reinforcing shared values and beliefs. This also shows how some fables travel all over the world. It also demonstrates multiplicity, as similar fables appear in different cultures, and the animals suggest its origin isn’t the U.S.

Beer Pong

Main Text:
Folk Game: Beer Pong

Background on Informant:

My informant is my younger brother, who graduated from UC Davis. While in college, he was part of a fraternity where he regularly participated in social events that included different drinking games. I asked him about beer pong, since it is one of the most common games played in those settings. He explained that he learned it from other members and continued to play it throughout college, often with slight variations in rules depending on the group.

Text:

Interviewer: Can you explain how beer pong works?

Informant: Yeah, it’s a game where you set up 10 cups filled halfway with beer in a triangle on both sides of a table. Each team  made up of two players takes turns throwing  2 ping pong balls, (1 for each player) trying to land it in the other team’s cups.

Interviewer: What happens if the ball goes in a cup?

Informant: If it goes in, that cup gets taken away, and the other team has to drink it. The goal is to make the other team drink all their cups first if you can do that you win.

Interviewer: Are the rules always the same?

Informant: Not really. Different houses play with different rules. Some have an airball rule where if you miss the table completely you got to drink a cup, some have same-cup equals 3 cups and you get balls back.

Informant: you mean if both players on one team make each of their balls into the same cup?

Informant: Yeah, and they get balls back and can re shoot, actually anytime they both make it they get balls back, but if its same cup its three cups not two. Also, if you bounce it into a cup, the other guy has to drink two cups so if you both bounce it into the same cup its 5 cups balls back.

Interviewer: So I take it bouncing it in a cup is hard?

Informant: Yeah, because they can block bounces.

Interviewer: Where do people usually play it?

Informant: Mostly at parties, especially in college, sometimes you will see it at bars.

Interviewer: Where did you first play it?

Informant: Davis.

Analysis:
This is a folk game because although there is a structure, there are no set rules it is learned informally, through social interaction and passed between groups through horizontal transmission, and can change from place to place displaying multiplicity and variation among different social demographics. The game also functions as a way to create social cohesion when people are agreeing on specific rules across different groups, especially in party settings. It also reflects the shared practices of a specific folk group, such as college students, but still remain different enough to create its own niche within the folk community, where different colleges have different stories rules and legends devoted to the game.