Tag Archives: college

Druzzles

Nationality: English
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: April 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: None

“Okay, so one of the games that we play in college is called Druzzles. And, uh, it’s this thing where a bunch of us drink heavily. We have a bunch of shots, get really drunk… and once we are sufficiently inebriated, then you pair up into teams of two and um, everyone busts out a small, one hundred piece puzzle, fifty piece puzzle, something like that, and then you, uh, someone starts, uh, like, a timer or something like that and all of the teams race to see who can finish the puzzle first, which is always an interesting game to see because everyone’s really drunk.”

 

This drinking game is particularly interesting because, unlike many other drinking games, it requires a lot of forethought. Most other drinking games require little more than some cups, ping-pong balls, or a stack of cards. On the other hand, for Druzzles, you have to go out and buy multiple small puzzles and prepare for the game (unless you’ve played the game several times and already have enough small puzzles.)

Druzzles represents an interesting perversion of a childhood game, but also, in some ways, a reversion to childhood. The informant mentioned that the puzzles they use for the game are very small (50-100 pieces). These types of puzzles tend to be made for children (he also told me that the puzzles they use often have cartoon characters from popular children’s television shows.) On the one hand, Druzzles takes a childhood game and perverts or sullies it by incorporating the aspect of underage drinking. On the other hand, the game sort of represents a method for one to revert to a child-like state of mind. When you are a kid, a 50-100 piece puzzle can be quite challenging and might occupy an hour of playtime with a friend. When you are an adult, such a simple puzzle can be put together in mere minutes, especially with the help of a friend. However, all of the drinking that is involved in this game can make it very difficult for the participants to put together the puzzles.

It’s fitting that the informant learned this game in college. After all, college is a liminal period in one’s life; you’re no longer a kid but you’re not quite a fully formed adult. The game of Druzzles conflates these phases of life by incorporating elements from childhood (the puzzles) and elements of adulthood (drinking.)

“Thunderstruck” Drinking Game

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/23/12
Primary Language: English

The informant (21) is a Junior at USC. She transferred to USC for her sophomore year, and before that, spent her freshman year at Bennington College in Vermont.

The informant is my roommate and she wanted to contribute a drinking game to my folklore collection. This particular game is called Thunderstruck. Here’s what she told me about playing the game:

“It’s called Thunderstruck and you play Thunderstruck by AC/DC. Every time the song says thunder, start drinking and then it’s a waterfall, in that you start then the next person continues until everyone is doing it. You end when it says thunder the next time. I learned it in a hippie commune on top of a hill in Vermont freshman year (Bennington College). It gets the job done quickly and I also enjoy AC/DC, so it’s the ultimate combination!”

I’ve never played this particular game, but I do know the AC/DC song and I agree that this game would definitely get people drunk fast. I found it interesting that my informant learned this game in Vermont, at her small liberal arts college that she so affectionately calls “a hippie commune on top of a hill.” This location makes sense because if the school is as dedicated to hipster lifestyle as she claims, then the song choice would probably be appropriate. I don’t think it would be as popular at USC because I don’t know how many people here actually listen to AC/DC.

 

Annotation:

The “Thunderstruck” drinking game also shows up on the website eHow.com. The entry provides people with instructions on how to play the game. This description of the game differs from my informant’s in the fact that if someone fails to take a drink when they hear the word “thunder,” then they are out, and the game keeps going until there’s a winner.

Mccoy, Holly. “How to Play the Drinking Game Thunder.” eHow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/how_2365140_play-drinking-game-thunder.html>.

Finally…the Blonde Joke to End All Blonde Jokes

Performance Date: April 2007

A blonde calls her boyfriend and says, “Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can’t figure out how to get it started.” Her boyfriend asks, “What is it supposed to be when it’s finished?” The blonde says, “According to the picture on the box, it’s a tiger.”

Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle. She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.

He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says, “First of all, no matter what we do, we’re not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a tiger.”

He takes her hand and says, “Second, I want you to relax. Let’s have a nice cup of tea, and then …” He sighed……..
“Let’s put all the Frosted Flakes back in the box…….”

I heard this joke from my roommate, who in turn received it from his girlfriend in Texas via the Internet.  While I would hesitate to call it the “blond joke to end all blond jokes,” it does exhibit the paradoxical structure that is the backbone of any “good joke.”  Incongruity is created by the girl’s inability to solve her “killer jigsaw puzzle,” and the punchline delivers appropriateness: the puzzle is unsolvable because it is nothing but sugary cereal.  Clearly the implication is that blond females are intellectually under par.
So why is blond hair the butt of so many jokes?  When I asked this of my informant, he offered the possible explanation that the jokes descend from the stereotypical blond girl as portrayed on television.  I would certainly agree that films and TV shows often portray the role of attractive female characters on a superficial level.  Perhaps this depiction came to be associated with blonds in particular during a past trend in fashion that valued blondness.  Thus, blond jokes may represent a societal response toward the entertainment industry’s preoccupation with appearance.  In essence, Hollywood gives society their version of an ideal female, and society rebels by telling jokes that belittle her wits or point out her shallowness.
It is perhaps for this reason that blond jokes seem more “politically correct” than racial and gender jokes.  As they are more of a reaction to a stereotype than to a biological group, they are less likely to be offensive.  I have even heard blonds tell blond jokes (neither my informant nor his girlfriend are blond, however).  Fortunately, the format of such jokes also allows for manipulation of the looney character’s traits, so the jokes can be adapted to various audiences.

BrownBo Formal – Allegheny College

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Meadeville, Pennsylvania
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English

I thought it would be interesting to ask students who went to school in very rural settings what they did for fun or any college festivals and parties they would have. My informant, who is on a sports team that forms a very tight knit community and serves as her primary group of friends, described to me a usual party held around Christmas time. It was started by the boys soccer team living in a particular house near campus eight years ago. Since then it has become a tradition.

The boys from the soccer teams and basketball teams traditionally ask the girls from the girls’ soccer team to the formal, which is really just a college drinking party. The reason why the boys from the soccer team asks the girls’ soccer team is because those are the people who come out to support their games and share the field with them, which in turn almost makes all of the lore surrounding their sport the very thing that draws them together.

Those who attend the formal wear cocktail attire, which is unique to this event. The reason why it is unique is because, as my informant told me, most of their parties are in very casual and warm clothing because of the small town atmosphere on campus. You have to be comfortable because everyone walks on the icy sidewalks during the winter, and the sports teams in general usually dress more casually than the rest of the student body at Allegheny College.

Contemporary Legend – Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

Age: 50
Residence: Malibu, CA
Performance Date: March 17, 2007

My mother went to Purdue University for her Bachelors degree.  My father went to Notre Dame and I am attending the University of Southern California.  There is a lot of fighting in my family about who is the best team.  One day we got into the discussion of our mascots.  By far my mom, a boilermaker, has the most unique mascot.  She began to explain the legend behind how they got their name.  She described it as the “Purdue lore” that everyone knew.

A long time ago when Purdue was just getting started, they did not have a name to call themselves.  When Purdue was playing a game against Wabash collage in 1889 in Crawfordsville all the local newspapers were there reporting.  She said there were so many reporters there that they made up for the lack of turnout of fans.  Purdue won the game by an astounding 18 to 4, “Of course we won” my mom added.  The papers started to write about the game.  They called the players of Purdue big burly brutes, and hulking men.

But then two years later Purdue played Wabash Collage again.  This time they won 44 to 0.  Even more reporters were there this time.  Even more fuss was made about how big Purdue’s men were.  They called the Purdue players “a burly gang of haymakers, cornhuskers, log haulers” and finally boilermakers.  The school decided they liked being called the boilermakers, and the name has stuck until present time.

My mother is still very proud of her school and her team the boilermakers.  The first time she told me they were called the boilermakers, she laughed.  The name is not very scary, not very intimidating, and kind of embarrassing, but she will always be a boilermaker.

http://www2.itap.purdue.edu/periodicals/Boilermakers.leg.html

March 2007