# Banging crockery and cutlery at the table

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-crockery-and-cutlery-at-the-table/477885>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 19, 2008, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-crockery-and-cutlery-at-the-table/477885 "2008-12-19T09:18:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![HumanMonkeyGod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c67d28/32.png) [@HumanMonkeyGod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HumanMonkeyGod)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-crockery-and-cutlery-at-the-table/477885/1 "2008-12-19T09:18:05Z")

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I remember a few years ago I was sitting in a large cafeteria with a lot of tourists, mostly young Americans, and somebody started banging their cup and plate around on their table and next thing everyone was doing it, in unison, and after a few moments as abruptly as it all started it stopped and everyone carried on as if nothing had happened.  
Is there a name for this? Is it a college thing? Where did it arise?

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**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-crockery-and-cutlery-at-the-table/477885/2 "2008-12-19T13:52:07Z")

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Prison?

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**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-crockery-and-cutlery-at-the-table/477885/3 "2008-12-19T15:28:33Z")

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I’ve never heard of that. Is there any chance they were all a group, like from one college, or a volleyball team or some team? My best guess would be that it was some kind of tradition among memebers of some group. It’s not a standard geneneralized thing.

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**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-crockery-and-cutlery-at-the-table/477885/4 "2008-12-19T16:52:57Z")

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I remember that it used to happen occasionally in the prison^h^h^h^h^h^h public school cafeteria when I was a child, probably inspired by one of those old Hollywood prison movies.

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-crockery-and-cutlery-at-the-table/477885/5 "2008-12-19T18:40:13Z")

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This is usually accompanied by demands for something - Speech! or Chug! or something.

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**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-crockery-and-cutlery-at-the-table/477885/6 "2008-12-19T19:05:38Z")

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Attica!!! Attica!!!

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**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-crockery-and-cutlery-at-the-table/477885/7 "2008-12-20T04:40:26Z")

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Perhaps a pair in that group were recently married, and it was being done in order to compel the happy couple to kiss?