Category Archives: Game

Rhyme/Hand Game

Nationality: Ecuadorian, Columbian, Czechoslovakian, Italian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: California
Performance Date: 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Rhyme and Hand Game

Miss Suzy had a steamboat, the steamboat has a bell TOOT TOOT.  Miss Suzy went to heaven and the steamboat went to HELL-O operator, please give me number nine, and if you disconnect me I will chop off your BEHIND the refrigerator there was a piece of glass.  Miss Suzy sat upon it and it broke her little ASK me no more questions, tell me no more lies.  The boys are in the bathroom zipping up their FLIES are in the meadow, the bees are in their park.  Miss Suzy and her boyfriend are kissing in the D-A-R-K D-A-R-K D-A-R-K DARK is like a movie, a movies like a show, a show is like a television, this is all I know I know my ma, I know i know my pa, I know I know my sister with the 80 meter BRA!!!

Analysis:

Vienna first played this game in the 2nd grade.  “I thought it was so awesome because it was like saying bad words but not really.  I liked that you could sing it in front of the teachers and even though it was sort of “bad,” it really wasn’t. Once you got to the bad part, of course we would scream it”.  She also really liked the hand motions that accompanied it, although she could not remember enough of them to document. Vienna recollects that one would pair up with a friend and sing the song with the hand motions.  She remembered breaking off from large groups and having all the pairs participate.

This is one of my personal favorites in terms of childhood games.  I distinctly remember playing it in Hong Kong.  I know it is found all across the world, but since I attended an international school, I think one of the kids brought it over from the States when they moved.  The version I know is basically the exact same—the variations I came across always happened in the last verse, more specifically the last line.  I used to sing it “I know I know my ma, I know I know my pa, I know I know my sister with a sixty acre bra!”  Most of the time one’s ‘sister’ was described as having large breasts.  Differing versions include, “I know I know my sister with the 49’rs bra. The bra is for the boobies, the boobies for the milk, the milk is for the babies with diapers made of silk” or “Ask me no more questions, tell me no more lies. The cows are in the pasture baking apple pies.”  It was extremely common for children to add verses onto the song.  The context added varied with geographic location as well as time period.  This rhyme was not one of just the nineties—it dates back a few decades before.  Instead of Miss Suzy, I also came across Miss Lucy and Miss Mary.

I think this game was popular because it made children feel rebellious.  Little kids usually want to go against authority and this was a way to do that, for girls at least, without getting in trouble.  Technically, no one is saying any curse words instead continuing the song. Since girls were supposed to be lady-like and play with dolls, I definitely think it was an avenue for them to feel defiant.

Annotation:

Abernethy, Francis Edward. Texas Toys and Games. 1st ed. Dallas, Texas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1989. Pg 177

Folk Game

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: February 29, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk Game- Orangejello and Lemonjello

Ok, this game is really funny. When I was in 7th grade, there was this game named after these two twins in my grade because one liked orange jello and the other like lemon jello. Naturally, it was called Orangejello and Lemonjello.  I don’t know why we played it, but we did it when we were bored in math class.  Everyone would pick a certain character from a movie or show and write it on a piece of paper.  When we did this, we all had to stand up.  People would see all the names on the paper, and if someone correctly identified your character, you would sit down and you were out of the game.  I am not sure why this game was so popular, but it was actually kinda fun I guess.

Joayn described this game to me shortly after one of her boring math classes this year.  Apparently, it brought back memories from middle school.  She said her classmates taught it to her for the first time in 7th grade, and they only played it when they were bored.  She seemed to enjoy the game, but looking back, she thinks it was pointless.  Joayn pointed out that it was just a way to pass time.

This game represents childhood in so many ways.  Most games in middle school like Thumbs Up Seven Up or Murder in the Dark have no real meaning or purpose to them, but the kids enjoy them tremendously.  I think it has something to do with when they are played.  During a boring class, I think any type of break or change from normal class routines will excite the kids no matter what activity is presented to them.  Joayn’s game is a perfect example of this phenomenon.

I think another huge factor to this game and those like it is the interaction the students get with each other.  In a normal classroom environment, the teacher keeps the class structured and there is not much room for fun.  This game brings everyone together and forms a huge stepping stone for socializing.  Lastly, those that know this game feel like a part of a group.  This feeling will create greater interest in the class in the future.  For this reason, teachers are more likely to allow kids to play Orangjello and Lemonjello.

Folk Game

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Orange County, CA
Performance Date: March 10, 2008
Primary Language: English

“It’s called No Nose Goes. And it’s basically if there’s a big group of people and one person doesn’t wanna do something or if nobody wants to do something then…somebody can say ‘No nose goes’ and then you put your finger on your nose and everyone else has to put their finger on their nose and whoever is the last to put their finger on their nose has to do whatever it is. I absolutely think this is an effective strategy for picking the person to do the task because it is awesome and…yeah, it’s awesome. Some friends in high school told me about this. In my group of friends we did it a lot. Um, I thought everyone did it until I came to college and then I found out that a lot of people didn’t know about it…The other good thing about No Nose Goes is that one person can just put their finger on their nose and say it really softly so that nobody else hears and then the last person whose clueless that doesn’t notice everyone else putting their finger on their nose gets stuck with it…and it’s fun.”

I agree with Ben that this No Nose Goes “game” is an effective strategy to pick a person in the group to do an undesirable task because it’s very simple (there aren’t a lot of complicated rules), it doesn’t take too long, doesn’t involve use of props (all you need is your finger and your nose) and it’s easy to spot the “loser” because the people in the group just have to look for the last member without a finger on his nose. In a way, the game is meant to punish the oblivious one in the group for not paying attention or actively participating in the group’s discussion or plan. No Nose Goes is commonly played in groups because it’s a form of group identity and inclusion. The outsider who has no knowledge of the game is naturally the one who is forced to do an undesirable task so the game is like a rite of passage that brings a new member into the group.

Folk Game

Nationality: Armenian. Italian, German
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Van Nuys, CA
Performance Date: March 10, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Armenian

“Shotgun is this rule that applies to…um, basically, to ensure that you get to ride shotgun in a car, meaning the passenger seat right next to the driver uh you have to yell ‘Shotgun’ but there are some rules I think. Me and my brother, we usually, um, we agree that the car has to be in sight before you can yell ‘Shotgun’ and uh…also I think there are other things you can call out depending on where you want to sit in the car. I’m not sure what the other ones are but I think there’s ones for if you wanna sit behind the driver, behind the passenger, or if you wanna sit in the middle…um, I don’t know, I think it’s just the extension of the Shotgun Rule. I know each of them has a specific name but it’s not as common as yelling Shotgun. Although, now that my brother’s gotten way more stronger than I am, the rules no longer seem to apply. Even if I call Shotgun he will push me out of the way and steal the seat. As to how this rule got started…I think maybe, maybe, back to the olden days… when um, as people, as frontiers were moving west, the person who would sit in the carriage next to the driver would literally have a shotgun in his hand to defend the driver. I think it’s a pretty fair way to decide who gets the best seat in the car. It’s the best seat in the car ‘cause you get to control the A/C, and the radio, you’re not crammed in the back…you get your space up in the front there. I think it’s a good basic rule…I know me and my brother we tried to implement new rules but it never really stuck and I can’t remember what they were.”

This Shotgun Rule is effective and fair because it’s simple enough for people to remember the rules (you just need to be the first person to call “Shotgun”). The passenger seat next to the driver is the privileged seat because, as Shushan mentioned, you gain the same access and privileges to the A/C and audio controls as the driver and you get your seat and your own personal space whereas the people in the back seats have to share their space. Additionally, you get the same front view as the driver as well as the side view from the window so you can see more of what’s outside.

Folk Belief

Nationality: African-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Hillsborough, NJ
Primary Language: English

“We were in the park, this was in New Jersey…um like I think it was in Junior year of high school I’m not positive. Um, we had to go play outside because Serena, my friend who I was playing with, her mom didn’t like the idea of us playing Ouija board in the house and she thought it was kinda eerie just because…I guess it’s ‘cause she believe that it works, that you could recall spirits and she didn’t like the idea of having it in the house or of us playing it in the house so she made us go outside. So went to a park that was right by her house…me, her and my friend Christine… and we started playing with the Ouija board. We started asking “Is there anyone there? Is there anyone there?” and the pointer started moving. I don’t remember who we talked to or what they said or anything but pretty soon I got stung by…I don’t know what I got stung by. I just assumed it was a hornet or something but it could have been a little bit from a bug and it hurt really badly and I still have a scar from it actually but um…anyway, it was just really weird and it kinda freaked me out just ‘cause… I guess, of her mother making us leave and everything… so I already had it in my head that it was, you know, could be a bad thing that we were playing Ouija boards but….prior to that, um…we had played in her basement and it was just me and Serena I think when we played then. And we asked “Is there anyone there? Is there anyone there?” And it started moving and somehow or other, I think she asked “What year did you die?” And it had said the same year that her uncle just died…and she started asking it some more questions and she figured out that it was her uncle. And um, I think she asked for his initials…the initials of whoever we were speaking to and it was her uncle’s. And then she was asking a couple of questions like how her cousin was – her uncle’s daughter – and uh…whether or not he had seen or spoken to her grandmother who had died and she was just asking a couple of questions like that and…I didn’t really ask any questions because I didn’t really know him. I think it was that experience that made me believe it a little more because I don’t think that she would, you know, pretend…you know how they say people can push it but I don’t think she would have done that which is why it made me believe that it might be real. Plus with that whole sting thing. It was really scary, it wasn’t like he was freaking us out or anything…it was just kinda eerie, just kinda the thought that her uncle’s spirit could be like in the room with us. And the other time, it was just really strange…’cause I’ve never been stung by a bee or anything before and it would itch a lot afterward and I didn’t know what it was. It was just really weird and it left a mark.”

I think the Ouija board is a good example of folk belief because to some people it may be just a game but to others, it really is a way of communicating with the dead. Zakiya’s friend’s mother refused to let them play in her house because she believed strongly in the Ouija board and was afraid to “invite” the dead into her house. Perhaps this is out of fear that they may accidentally welcome evil spirits to their home. People who don’t believe in the Ouija board, however, may be skeptical about it and think people are just pushing the pointer themselves. Zakiya trusts her friend and doesn’t think she’s the type who would play such a prank but it could also very well be that her friend believes in the Oiuja board so much that she is subconsciously pushing it without intending to.

More information about the Ouija board as it relates to adolescents’ search of self-identity can be found in:

Tucker, Elizabeth. “Ghosts in Mirrors: A Reflection of the Self”. Journal of American Folklore: 2005.