Fascinating! We have horsechestnuts here in Ohio (but not the word "conkers") and also a close native relative, called a "buckeye" - the nuts are identical, tho slightly smaller. It is the state tree, and so anyone from Ohio is called a "Buckeye", it is the name of the University's football team, and people wear necklaces of buckeyes during football season. There's also a horribly sweet confection called "buckeyes" which is a glob of peanut butter, sweetened, partly covered with chocolate.
I like to pick up new buckeyes (the nut, not the ghastly candy nor the footballers) in the fall because they're nice 'n shiny and feel so smooth... John Dr. John M. Bennett Curator, Avant Writing Collection Rare Books & Manuscripts Library The Ohio State University Libraries 1858 Neil Av Mall Columbus, OH 43210 USA (614) 292-3029 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.johnmbennett.net ----- Original Message ----- From: michael leigh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Friday, May 7, 2004 12:58 pm Subject: Re: FLUXLIST: RUBBER BISCUIT > --- "John M. Bennett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Oh Lord, what have I wrought?! > > > > Michael: what are "conkers"? > > > >Hello John, > Well, conkers are the seeds or nut of the horse > chestnut tree. They are found the the spikey pods that > spill out their conkers in september if small boys > havent thrown sticks into the trees first to knock > them down. > The game of "conkers" started in 1845 or thereabouts > and the two players must drill a hole through their > conker and thread a peice of stout string through and > tie a knot at the end so that it doesnt fall off. The > players or combatents must take it in turns to swing > their conker and knock it against the apponants conker > to try and damage it and ultimately smash it into two > pieces. Victorous conkers of two games are called > "twoers" and five games "fivers" and so on. > Conkers fresh from their casings are a beautiful > polished russet colour but soon dull and wrinkle, > especially after a few battles! One can improve the > look and strength by boiling in vinegar and baking in > ovens but this is cheating as far as I'm concerned! > Lots of websites about conker championships. Put in a > search and see some photos of conkering in action! > All the best, michael > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________ > Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" > your friends today! Download Messenger Now > http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html > >
