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Semi-Normal · 10-14-2003, 03:52 AM

I was just talking with some friends about fads that we had at our respective schools, and wondered what kinds of fads you guys had, and whether you participated in them.

4-Square was very popular at my first primary school, when I was about 8, and for a few weeks in 7th form (final year) at my high school, when I was 17-18. If any of you are unfamiliar with this game, there is a 2x2 grid of squares numbered 1-4 painted on the ground. (Sometimes improvised by drawing with a piece of bark.) One person stands in each of the four squares, and a soccer ball, basketball, or other similar ball is bounced between them. If the ball bounces in your square, and you fail to hit it into another square, you have to go to the square numbered 4, or to the back of a line of people if there are more than 4 players, while everyone in the squares numbered lower than the one you were in moves up one. The object was to get to square 1 and stay there as long as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and spent many a lunch time/study period playing it.

At my second primary school, we had a hockey fad when I was about 10. This was unusual, as hockey was generally regarded as a "girl's sport". (It was field hockey - ice hockey is not very widely played here.) Ours was the only school in the area to have this fad as far as I know, and as a result, we completely thrashed three other schools at an interschool sports day - IIRC we won our first game 9-0, our second 17-0, and our third 21-0. I didn't often participate as I didn't really enjoy sports much at that age.

When I was about 11-12, we had a huge marbles fad. We didn't play the traditional marbles game, with a circle you had to knock other marbles out of. Instead, each of the two players in a game would play one of their marbles against the other's. Each player took turns at flicking, bumping, or throwing their marble, in an attempt to hit the other player's marble. Whoever hit their opponent's marble first won, and kept both marbles. Different types of marble were seen as "better" than others, depending on their rarity and how cool they looked. I resisted this fad at first, but eventually joined in, as the alternative was to watch these games, or spend my lunchtimes staring at a wall, as damn near everyone else in the small school (100 students or so) played. After a few fights and a couple of cracked windows (it was amazing how much force you could flick a marble with) the teachers banned the game.

Card games, especially one called Arsehole, were very popular in 7th form. Hackeysack and Arsehole probably accounted for about 90% of my lunchtimes and study periods that year. For some reason our dean didn't like us playing cards and would continuously confiscate our decks, but someone always had another pack, and 5 minutes after she left we would be playing again.

10-14-2003, 03:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
Semi-Normal Insane Location: Christchurch, New Zealand	School fads I was just talking with some friends about fads that we had at our respective schools, and wondered what kinds of fads you guys had, and whether you participated in them. 4-Square was very popular at my first primary school, when I was about 8, and for a few weeks in 7th form (final year) at my high school, when I was 17-18. If any of you are unfamiliar with this game, there is a 2x2 grid of squares numbered 1-4 painted on the ground. (Sometimes improvised by drawing with a piece of bark.) One person stands in each of the four squares, and a soccer ball, basketball, or other similar ball is bounced between them. If the ball bounces in your square, and you fail to hit it into another square, you have to go to the square numbered 4, or to the back of a line of people if there are more than 4 players, while everyone in the squares numbered lower than the one you were in moves up one. The object was to get to square 1 and stay there as long as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and spent many a lunch time/study period playing it. At my second primary school, we had a hockey fad when I was about 10. This was unusual, as hockey was generally regarded as a "girl's sport". (It was field hockey - ice hockey is not very widely played here.) Ours was the only school in the area to have this fad as far as I know, and as a result, we completely thrashed three other schools at an interschool sports day - IIRC we won our first game 9-0, our second 17-0, and our third 21-0. I didn't often participate as I didn't really enjoy sports much at that age. When I was about 11-12, we had a huge marbles fad. We didn't play the traditional marbles game, with a circle you had to knock other marbles out of. Instead, each of the two players in a game would play one of their marbles against the other's. Each player took turns at flicking, bumping, or throwing their marble, in an attempt to hit the other player's marble. Whoever hit their opponent's marble first won, and kept both marbles. Different types of marble were seen as "better" than others, depending on their rarity and how cool they looked. I resisted this fad at first, but eventually joined in, as the alternative was to watch these games, or spend my lunchtimes staring at a wall, as damn near everyone else in the small school (100 students or so) played. After a few fights and a couple of cracked windows (it was amazing how much force you could flick a marble with) the teachers banned the game. Card games, especially one called Arsehole, were very popular in 7th form. Hackeysack and Arsehole probably accounted for about 90% of my lunchtimes and study periods that year. For some reason our dean didn't like us playing cards and would continuously confiscate our decks, but someone always had another pack, and 5 minutes after she left we would be playing again. __________________ I'm not lazy, I'm "motivationally challenged."