Posted on 01/07/2014 3:41:39 AM PST by Maceman
Every man should carry a pocketknife. It’s handy for cutting open packages, severing twine, and, of course, eating an apple like a bad ass.
But it can also be a source of instant, anywhere entertainment. Because it’s all you need to play the game of mumbley peg.
Never heard of the game? Don’t worry. Today we’ll give you the scoop on how to play this knife throwing pastime that was once popular among 19th century schoolboys, Wild West cowboys, and World War II soldiers. All you need to play mumbley peg is a friend, a couple of pocket knives, and a bit of skill. It’s the perfect way to pass the time when hanging outside with your friends, relaxing around the fire on a camping trip, and bonding with your son. The History of Mumbley Peg
Versions of mumbley peg (also known as mumblety-peg, mumblepeg, mumble-the-peg, mumbledepeg or mumble-de-peg) have been around as long as jackknives have been in the pockets of boys and men who had time to kill. The game gets its name from a stick driven into the ground by the winner of the game, which the loser must pull out of the ground with his teeth. Mumbley peg was an insanely popular schoolyard game in the 19th century among boys. It was right up there with marbles and jacks. In fact, Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer, Detective, mentions “mumbletypeg” as being a favorite game with the children at old Tom’s school.
The game continued in popularity well into the first half of the 20th century.
. . .
The game waned in popularity starting in the 1970s as over-protective adults put a kibosh on the game at summer camps and as pocket knife-carrying became less prevalent among the male population.
(Excerpt) Read more at artofmanliness.com ...
Every boy brought their pocket knife everywhere they went, particularly to school. The nanny state would have a stroke. Tops sharpened to split the other kid’s top was fun as well. Can you bring yo yos to school now?
We used to do that in grade school. Every kid had a pocket knife. I guess they don’t allow that anymore. :-)
We played a variation called “stretch.” We’d stand facing each other and take turns throwing a Bowie knife at the ground on either side of the opponent’s feet. If the knife stuck, he had to move his foot where the knife was. Once the knife was stuck in the ground at a point that he couldn’t stretch his foot to, you won.
Dittos. Before school, recess, lunch and after school. All the fellas played. I can remember teachers and staff, on occasion, checking our games out as we played! We used to stone our blade’s tips on our desktops right in class! Today the SWAT teams, crisis counseling, shrinks etc. etc. would be called in. A long, long time ago in a very different America.....I miss that America.
The good old days.Got by first BB gun at 8 and got hit by many a ricochet.
It never even occurred to us that a high school kid with a rifle was a problem we actually had an indoor range in the basement of an elementary school and the little kids used to love the “fireworks” they could hear.
Mumbley peg was an art form from my youth. Long before Jethro Gibbs rule #9 all the boys I knew didn’t leave home without a pocket knife and a bag of marbles. I still have a cigar box full of Aggies, catseyes, toothpaste and Oxbloods. We played marbles and Mumbley peg for “keepsies”.
We also used to carry our shotguns to elementary school on the bus, leave them in the coatroom during class and then walk home after school, locked and loaded for dove hunting.
My son will never know the freedoms or the joys of being a boy I once enjoyed. The kids today play Mario and Pokémon on their tablets. The world has changed.
Sad, innit?
Last I looked, Dad still keeps his Daisy BB on the back porch for stray cats. (Nobody likes fresh pawprints on a newly washed car or strewn baby rabbit guts after watching them grow all Spring.) As for popping the offender while it’s lazing on top of your car - oops, that Daisy shoots left!
Thanks, BTW, as I hadn’t a clue how mumblety-peg was played!
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