English Topics Things Every American Child Knows
Alisha: Hi, everybody! my name is Alisha and
I’m here in the studio today with …
Michael: Michael. Hello.
Alisha: Today, we’re going to be talking about
things that every American kid knows.
So, let’s get right into it.
These are going to be things that we think
that, maybe, now, I imagine most or all American
kids are aware of or have done to some degree.
So, let’s compare, why don’t you start us
off.
Michael: Ah!
Here’s a good one.
I think everybody knows this, everybody still
should know this is the “the magic word.”
So, usually when you want to like get someone
to say, “Please,” you’re trying to teach
little kids how to be polite, teach them proper
manners and so you say, “What’s the magic
word?”
And they say, “Please.”
Fr example, “Hey, Mom, can I have a cookie?”
“What’s the magic word?”
“Can I have a cookie, please?”
And then, you give him the cookie.
Alisha: Yep.
It’s better than saying, “Say, ‘please.’”
I feel like saying, “What’s the magic word
is…?”
It’s kind of like a more fun way to tell kids,
“Be polite.”
Say, “please” and “thank you.”
Michael: Kind of hypocritical to be like,
“Say, ‘please.’”
Alisha: Yeah.
Michael: “Well, that’s not very polite,
Mom.”
Alisha: Yeah, yeah.
That’s true.
Nice one.
Okay good.
Alright.
I’ll go to my first one.
I picked–okay you’ll see in a second what
I picked…Let’s start with…
Oh, let’s start with this one.
I think kids probably all over the world are
aware of this one or some variation.
I know it’s called many different languages
but hide-and-seek.
Hide-and-seek is a very, very basic game.
I mean that the game is explained pretty much
here, “hide” and “seek.”
A bunch of kids hides and then one person
usually seeks or looks for all the other kids.
This was one of those games that you’d play
with a group of friends or even just with
one of your siblings if you don’t have a whole
lot of people.
But, the basic concept of the game is one
or more people hide and then a few seconds
later, you go look for those people.
I assume that you played this game.
I assume that every child played this game.
Michael: Hours and hours and hours spent playing
this game.
I mean, there’s different variations of the
game like you have a home base, usually, and
so, that’s where the person starts and you
usually you count to like what?
Thirty, a hundred, something?
Alisha: Yeah, something like that.
Michael: So, you close your eyes, the person
who’s it and they say, “1, 2, 3.”
And then, when you are finished you say, “Ready
or not, here I come!”
And, you try to find them and then if you
are hiding and you make it to the home base
and you touch it, you’re free, you made it,
you win.
Alisha: Yeah.
Michael: Or like, I don’t know, multiple people
can win.
It’s really like a young, young kid game.
I don’t think I played it after 9 years old
Alisha: Yeah, I think maybe around junior
high school was probably the last time that
I played it, yeah.
Okay.
Yeah, play hide-and-seek if you haven’t.
I don’t know, I bet it’d be fun as an adult
too in the right situation
Michael: Make it a drinking game, something
like that
Alisha: You said so, I didn’t have to.
Okay, let’s go to your next one.
What’s your next one?
Michael: I guess, talking about games, “thumb
war.”
Alisha: Oh.
Michael: Thumb war.
So, I think most people do this around the
world.
They know the thumb war which is like this
and you try to catch them.
But, the thing that not everyone knows is,
and I think every American kid knows, is you
say, “1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a thumb war.
Ready?
Go!”
Alisha: Did you not have a “Ready?
Go!”
Michael: I don’t remember that last part already
Alisha: Oh, I had a “Ready?
Go!”
Okay.
Michael: And then, you try to get him.
Alisha: You try to fight and keep the other
person’s thumb down.
Michael: Hmm.
Alisha: In retrospect, that’s not a very good
game, is it?
Michael: Nah.
Yeah, these are all…
Alisha: Terrible games.
Yeah, I did it too, though.
Michael: Tic-tac-toe or something.
Alisha: People would always be kind of like
get a little bit too into it and then they’d
sort of kind of try and rip their hands out
of it.
Michael: Or, you use this finger, you cheat.
What is that called?
“The hook?”
Like, “No hooks!”
Alisha: I’m not aware of that.
Michael: Like this.
You do that and then you use this finger.
So, you’re trying to do it, it’s hard and
then you—ha!
You just cheat, basically.
So, yeah, stupid game for little kids, basically.
It’s like tic-tac-toe.
You can play it like a million times and usually
you get a tie it’s just something to do when
the teachers talking and it’s just easy you
don’t need a ball.
You’re just kind of like, “Okay, let’s play
thumb.”
Alisha: You’re a terrible child, weren’t
you?
Michael: Yeah, I was pretty bad.
I never listen.
Alisha: Alright, I’m going to go to my next
one.
Another game I picked, “duck-duck-goose.”
Yes?
Michael: Mhm.
Of course.
Everybody, everybody.
Alisha: Yeah!
Duck-duck-goose.
As I was writing this card, I was thinking
to myself, “Why is it called duck-duck-goose
of all things?”
Okay, so, the game is very, very simple, I
think.
You need a group of people for this one, though.
You form a ring, a ring of children, usually.
And then, there’s one person who walks around
the outside of the ring and they touch each
person on the head as they walk by and say,
“Duck, duck, duck.”
And then, randomly, this one person will select
one child and say, “Goose!
You’re the goose.”
And so, if you are chosen as the goose, you
have to get up and chase the other person
around the circle and try to get back to your
the place where you were sitting down before
them, no, you have to tag them, right?
The person who was going, “duck, duck, duck,”
and then, “goose,” they try to run around
the circle and steal your spot.
Alisha: Right.
Michael: And, you, if you’re fast enough,
you can run around and if you tag them, then
they keep going and you get your spot still.
Alisha: Right, right.
It’s like a seated version of tag, almost.
But I don’t know why we call it duck, duck,
goose.
Michael: Yeah, no clue.
Alisha: I don’t know.
Michael: Okay.
This one is actually, I think it’s from Scotland
or something.
I don’t know, I forgot.
I looked it up.
“Eenie meenie miney mo.”
So, usually when you’re trying to decide who–let’s
say, you want to play hide-and-seek and you
don’t know who’s going to be the one who’s
it.
So, then, you’ll go, “Eenie meenie miney
moe, catch a tiger by his toe.
If he hollers, make him pay a thousand dollars
every day.
Okay, you’re it.”
And there’s a few variations of that.
Alisha: Uh-hm.
Michael: Pretty much everyone knows that.
I still use it to this day, honestly.
Alisha: Eenie meenie miney mo?
Michael: Eenie meenie miney mo.
Alisha: I think that most people shorten it,
though.
Because, the tiger, the whole tiger thing
is quite long.
So, I think, “Eenie meenie miney mo.”
It’s just a rhyme to choose someone.
I mean, you could flip a coin or do like rock-paper-scissors
or something like that.
But, for whatever reason, we do this, “Eenie
meenie miney mo” thing.
Michael: Did you ever do nose goes?
Alisha: Um, as a child no.
As an adult, for a drinking game, yes.
See, this is the thing.
All the things that were like children’s games
become adult drinking games when you grow up.
Michael: Slowly get promoted.
Alisha: We are very, very mature.
Okay, my last one is “truth or dare.”
Perhaps, this is more for junior high school
and high school age when you start getting
a little bit more like curious is maybe the
right word.
So, the game is you have–there are two choices
that you can make this game.
“Truth” where your friends will ask you
a question and you have to reply with the
truth to that question.
So, usually, truth is like, “Who’s the person
that you like?” or “Do you want a boyfriend?”
or “Do you want a girlfriend?”
Usually, it’s something like that.
If you don’t choose truth, then you have to
choose dare.
So, “dare” is the choice where your friends
get to tell you to do something and it’s usually
something crazy.
You either have the option of being in other
words humiliated by sharing something secret
or humiliated by doing something embarrassing.
It’s a fun game of humiliation to play with
your friends.
I actually have some good memories playing
this game.
Nothing bad really just really, really silly
stuff actually like singing weird songs in
front of my friend’s parents, that kind of
thing.
Michael: Right.
Put underwear on your head or something.
Alisha: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Michael: The one I remember that just came
to mind is they told me, I was like, “Okay,
dare.”
And then, they said, “Go outside, act like
a cow, get on all fours and take a big mouthful
of the grass and chew it.”
So, that was kind of—
Alisha: That’s a creative dare.
Michael: Yeah, yeah.
That’s why I still remember.
Because it’s usually they’re just kind of
like, “I dare you to drink too much ketchup.”
I don’t know.
Just something kind of—
Alisha: Uh-huh.
Drink too much ketchup?
Michael: Maybe.
I’ve never heard that either.
Alisha: Who gets to decide what too much ketchup
is?
“That’s too much ketchup.
I decided two tablespoons is adequate.
Michael: It’s like the—
Alisha: Anyway.
Alright.
I’m out.
I think, maybe you’re out.
Okay, great.
So, those are a few things that perhaps, I
think most, if not all American kids know
or are aware of, a lot of them were games.
Maybe you have similar games in your country.
So, if you have some interesting experiences
playing these games or if you have a game
that’s similar to one of the games or one
of the ideas that we’ve talked about here,
please let us know in a comment and it’d
be interesting to compare.
Any other ideas?
Michael: That’s about it.
Alisha: That’s about it? Okay.
Well, thanks very much for joining us for
this episode of English Topic.
We will see you again soon.
Take care. Bye!