Subnostr

When I was a kid in the early 90s there was this game the me and all of my buddies played.

Well I guess it really wasn’t a game with any clear objective, but the rules were very simple. If you farted you had to say safety before someone else said doorknob. If you failed to say safety before your opponent yelled doorknob you (the faster) had to quickly run and find a doorknob and touch it. During the time between when you (the farter) were searching for a doorknob to touch, your opponent was allowed to freely punch you.

Personally, I never cared for this game because I usually failed to say safety which would leave my arms bruised and stiff for weeks. But a lot of my buddies really liked it, albeit the dumber ones, and still play to this day. The thing is, no one knew where the Safety game came from.

Rumors were that this older kid Dillon had made it up, but then again Jeremy claimed his cousins from California played when he was out there for spring break one year, and there is no way that Dillon could have even met these kids. When asked, Dillon said he had learned it from some kid from Denver. Matt J. said his Dad told him he played a similar version (doorbell) when he was a kid in Florida.

Kids still play it today. My son and his buddy were playing Xbox the other day and my kid farted and the other kid said safety and punched my kid in the arm.

How has this tradition survived?

Was this the first viral meme?

Where did this game originate?

Is this an American thing?

Why is this on my mind?

#reasonsIdidntsleeplastnight