Author Archives: Chanel Yessner

Barbie Movie Riddle

Age: 20

Text:

“What is an instrument that you cannot touch or see?” Answer: “Your Voice”

Context:

My informant says she and her sister learn this riddle from Barbie and the Crystal Castle and that it was her go-to riddle to say as a child. She would use it to her friends at school and on average the girls would know the answer and the boys didn’t because they had not watched the Barbie movie.

Analysis:

I actually knew this riddle from my elementary school but I did not know it was from one of the Barbie cartoon movies I would watch. One point I would like to make on the community surrounding this riddle is that I think that most elementary school riddles are more concentrated to an area, but with this riddle since it was from a movie that was very popular among girls at the time, it would be my educated prediction that this riddle is more widespread.

Lynn Ranch Elementary School Ghost

Age: 21

Text:

There is a ghost that haunts the girl’s bathroom at Lynn Ranch Elementary School.

Context:

My informant told me that she and her friend made up a rumor that the girls bathroom was haunted because the door would open and close due to a draft. This rumor overtook the school to the point that everyone was afraid of the bathroom and would not go in. The teachers intervened and had to address the rumor and that it was not true.

Analysis:

My analysis of this is more a broad question of why is the go-to place of a ghost at school is a door? At my elementary school, we decided that the door that opened and closed with a draft was also a ghost. I decided to ask people if this was a thing at their elementary schools too and 9 out of 10 said yes. Thus, the door ghost is very common in elementary schools.

ICUP

Age: 21

Text:

Person 1: “Hey, spell ICUP!” Person 2: “I. C. U. P” Person 1: “Hahahaha I see you pee!!!”

Context:

My informant says this is a joke that was told in elementary school, and it was very, very common; everyone was doing it until, finally, everyone caught on, and no one wanted to spell ICUP.

Analysis:

I think this joke was very common; my informant and I grew up in the same area, and both our elementary schools were obsessed with this joke; I don’t know the origin of it, but in southern California, ICUP was a very popular joke in elementary schools.

Lemonade Crunchy Ice

Age: 20

Text:

Lemonade, Crunchy Ice, Sip it once (Up Down Clap), Sip it twice (Up Down Clap), Lemonade (Up Down Clap), Crunchy Ice (Up Down Clap), Made it once (Up Down Clap), Made it twice (Up Down Clap), Turn around (Turn Around), Touch the ground (Touch the ground), Kick your boyfriend out of town! Freeze!

Context:

My informant told me she encountered and played this game in elementary school in Irvine on the playground/blacktop. She says this could be a jumprope game or a hand game.

Analysis:

Personally, I also grew up in Southern California but in Westlake Village which is about 3 hours from Irvine and I never heard about this game as a kid. I think that this is an various of the typical songs elementary school kids sing to play jumprope but it might be more common/popular in the Irvine/Orange County area.

Wilderness Therapy Community Initiation

Age: 20

Text:

Saying “I love you guys” to everyone at the top of your voice before bed at night.

Context:

My informant practiced this during his time in a wilderness therapy program during high school; the program is located in Colorado. In this program, you would be with a group of people of the same gender, and you would hike from the camp in Colorado to the camp in Utah over a couple of months. When you first get there, you have to shout “I love you guys!” to your group, and then as the months go on, every night, everyone would yell “I love you” to one another before they all retired to their tents. The reason for this initiation is that you immediately become vulnerable with your group, creating a level of comfort with your peers in the program.

Analysis:

The use of this initiation is by making the participant uncomfortable, as saying I love you to a bunch of strangers your age is not a normal thing to do. But since the group is going to be together for a few months, the vulnerability expressed breaks the tension and makes the group more comfortable with one another. As the group says it every night before going to bed, it creates a good vibe, and even though the program can be taxing, the group is getting through it together with positive energy.