cooties
Geoff Nathan
geoffnathan at WAYNE.EDU
Mon Jul 6 15:45:33 UTC 2009
And, of course, everything in the universe is now available at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_fortune_teller
(and it's just as I also remember it, growing up in the fifties/sixties in Toronto--a fortune-telling device).
Geoff
Geoffrey S. Nathan
Faculty Liaison, C&IT
and Associate Professor, Linguistics Program
+1 (313) 577-1259 (C&IT)
+1 (313) 577-8621 (English/Linguistics)
----- "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
> From: "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Sent: Monday, July 6, 2009 11:33:36 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: Re: cooties
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject: Re: cooties
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 10:45 AM -0400 7/6/09, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >I can picture the "device," but IIRC in my Manhattan elementary
> school it
> >was used to offer advice and tell fortunes, not to catch "cooties" in
> any
> >sense of the word. Possibly it was called a "Chinese fortune
> cookie," which
> >it resembled in shape. But that may simply be my imagination playing
> cruel
> >tricks on all of us.
> >
> >The seven-year old spirit medium would inscribe a pair of messages on
> the
> >inside, which would appear alternately as his (usually her)
> fingertips
> >opened and closed the folded
> >paper.
> >
> >The supplicant would call an odd or even number and the medium would
> open
> >and close the mystical folds accordingly, then reveal the visible
> message.
> >
> >"Yes" or "No" questions worked best. In theory the device could
> direct all
> >of your future actions, so it was important to use a medium you could
> trust.
> >
> >
> >JL
>
> Yes, that sounds right to me as well, and there was a chant that
> accompanied the manipulation of the device. It would also tell you
> your (or whoever's) favorite color and other such information.
> Fortunes were part of it, but not cooties. If they were (sometimes?)
> called "cootie catchers" (Jon's "fortune cookies" does ring a distant
> bell) I probably processed it as an opaque label, and certainly
> didn't make any connection with lice. As I mentioned earlier, I
> never thought of a cootie in the singular; cooties in the plural were
> as abstract as the willies or the creeps. IIRC.
>
> LH
>
> >
> >On Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 9:45 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net>
> wrote:
> >
> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >> -----------------------
> >> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> >> Subject: Re: cooties
> >>
> >>
> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> The term too -- IIRC, "cootie catcher" was the name in the West
> Bronx also.
> >>
> >> Joel
> >>
> >> At 7/5/2009 09:28 AM, Bill Palmer wrote:
> >> >Joel describes what we in elementary school in east Texas called
> a "cootie
> >> >catcher". Sounds like the concept is widespread, if not the
> term.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >Bill Palmer
> >> >
> >> >----- Original Message -----
> >> >From: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> >> >To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> >Sent: Sunday, July 05, 2009 9:03 AM
> >> >Subject: Re: cooties
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >>---------------------- Information from the mail
> >> >>header -----------------------
> >> >>Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> >>Poster: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> >> >>Subject: Re: cooties
> >>
> >>
> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >>
> >> >>At 7/4/2009 10:08 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> >> >>>Seems like most dictionaries, at least the online ones, do
> gloss it
> >> >>>as 'body louse'. When I was growing up, cooties were always in
> the
> >> >>>plural, they were invisible, and they were things one accused
> another
> >> >>>of having or giving. I think I assumed they were distinct from
> lice,
> >> >>>which were real, and from other actual critters. Hard to
> recall,
> >> >>>though.
> >> >>
> >> >>In my elementary school (or was it junior high school) days,
> there
> >> >>was a prank. One (that is, others) constructed a square piece
> of
> >> >>paper so that the face had four triangular flaps (imagine an X
> >> >>inscribed in a square). These flaps were operated from the
> reverse
> >> >>side by four fingers such that a pair of flaps on opposite
> sides
> >> >>could be opened simultaneously, displaying the surface of paper
> >> >>beneath them. The surface of the paper below one pair of flaps
> was
> >> >>left blank; on the other pair of surfaces were drawn small,
> repulsive
> >> >>mites. The Other said to one, "I need to check for cooties",
> >> >>displayed the two unmarked surfaces, put the device against
> one's
> >> >>head with a grasping motion, took it off, and displayed the
> other two
> >> >>surfaces.
> >> >>
> >> >> From that moment forth (or perhaps even earlier), I always
> >> >>associated cooties with the head. (Although ringworm was the
> > > >>condition for which schoolchildren were sent home in my day.)
> >> >>
> >> >>Joel
> >> >>
> >> >>------------------------------------------------------------
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> >> >
> >> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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