Mary Had A Little Lamb Variation

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Forest Hills, NY
Performance Date: April 21
Primary Language: English

“This was a funny little variation of the Mary Had A Little Lamb rhyme that was ummm… taught to me by ummm…someone…. ummm…when I was a kid… in school…. it went kind of like… Mary had a little lamb/ little lamb/ little lamb/ Mary had a little lamb her fleece was white as snow/ Mary brought the lamb to school/ lamb to school/ lamb to school/ Mary brought the lamb to school her teacher hated it/ School was canceled for a week/ for a week/ for a week/ School was canceled for a week just as Mary had planned.”

This was an interesting one because instead of a change in the lyrics of Mary Had A Little Lamb it was adding more verses to the song already. Almost as if it were adding to the cannon of Mary Had A Little Lamb. From the original song all we know about Mary was that she owned a lamb that had a very white fleece. Now we know that not only does she go to school like most kids, but she hates it and uses her lamb to get out of going to school like most children.

This seems like a modern update on the song especially for young kids beginning to feel the angst against going to school in general. It seems like it’s a part of the many ‘I hate school’ anthems.

Honey and Ginger

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Queens, New York
Performance Date: April 19
Primary Language: English

“So my mom…told me this it was a… I mean she did this whenever I got sick…ummmm…usually I mean…mostly in the throat… where she would get honey and like a spoon dip it in like…get a scoop of honey and also… ummm… like ummm cut a piece of ginger… off… out of the honey and… would put it on the spoon… and I would kind of down the honey and the ginger… and I mean it burned my throat but… maybe the burn was good I’ve never seen any scientific research for this but it usually did make me feel better”

This folk medicine seems to be less based in any kind of magic and more in some sort of fact, my guess for how this came to be is that many people drink tea with honey or ginger when they are sick with anything in the throat. This seems like that taken to an umpteenth level going hard and downing a spoonful of just honey and ginger which, to some, might be the center of the healing powers of the tea. Eating these raw healing ingredients might hurt at first but later—because they are raw—will probably heal you.

Step on a Crack

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Queens, New York
Performance Date: April 20
Primary Language: English

“A lot of people said that if I… stepped on a crack, I would break my mother’s back… it was mainly a lot of people at school though… I ummm…actually believed it though hahaha… I was terrified of cracks throughout most of my childhood and almost started crying once because I actually did step on a crack”

This seems to be a common one throughout many school children throughout the world that if you step on a crack that you will break your mother’s back. There doesn’t seem to be much of that throughout other cultures besides American culture. Also it never permeates adult culture as well. We always see children who always believe in this never adults. Some versions of this myth are only during a game of hopscotch as to create an incentive to win—a pretty large and threatening incentive if you ask me—while some, like that of the informant is used as a way of life.

For more information on this superstition see: http://www.smartalecksguide.com/2011/09/are-there-dark-origins-behind-step-on.html

Buddha Joke

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Queens, New York
Performance Date: April 19
Primary Language: English

“So this guy is terrified of flying…uuuuum really scared of flying and ummm…. one day he’s on a plane coming from ummm…. Beijing back to the United States…. he…ummmm… asks the pilot before he gets on the plane. He’s like ‘what do I do if the plane’s crashing’ and the pilot is like ‘jump off and pray to Buddha’ and the guy is like ‘Alright fine, I’ll jump off and pray to Buddha if it…starts crashing’ so…ummmm… he is on the plane and suddenly the plane starts going haywire. it’s gonna crash and the guy is like ‘oh no, what’s gonna happen’ and he then remembers what the pilot said and he…jumps off the plane and starts praying to Buddha. he starts going ‘oh god Buddha, please save me, please save me’ and then….suddenly a huge hand comes up….out from the sky and grabs the man and he is saved. and he gets safely put down on the ground. everything is fine. and the man is like ‘aw man thank god’ and then buddha’s hand smashes the man…I didn’t tell the joke very well but…”

This joke seems to not be based on any malice towards any religion but rather be about religion in general. The point of the joke is that when we refer to God in our everyday colloquialism we are talking about the Judeo-Christian god and buddha obviously not having the credit for it is angry at the man. The joke is seems to not really reflect any culture in that sense. Also the joke is much funnier to hear in person as the teller of the joke mimes Buddha’s hand saving the innocent man and later crushing him to death.

The Ghost of Queens

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Queens, New York
Performance Date: April 24
Primary Language: English
” There’s this urban legend in my house… It’s a very old house, built in the nineteen fifties or something… That my house is cursed…. because an old Jewish woman who lived in it died and in my room too!”
The informant’s house is very old, he seems to appreciate the urban legend as the house still has its old fashioned furnishings and has a very nineteen fifties design to it in general. The informant was told this legend by his family who were probably told about this through the Realestate agent or the person selling the home. This type of urban legend makes the residence seem quirky. It’s a bit of a gamble to tell a family moving into a home about a terrifying urban legend involving a ghost. Tt could either scare them away if they are scared of ghosts or draw them in more if they actually believe in ghosts.