This photo says the object is a popular UK playground game. What is it?
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-603765.html
It’s conkers. A horse chestnut threaded onto a piece of string and the object of the game is for your opponent similarly equipped to smash your “Conker” before you smash his. Swings at each others conkers are taken in turn.
However I do believe the game is banned in many school playgrounds for fear the players may be injured/blinded by bits of low flying conker.
Other schools have made the wearing of protective goggles compulsory when playing the game.
Effing stupid if you ask me :smack:
Interestingly, it has experienced revival this year at my childrens’ school, with the full consent and support of the staff and parents. There may be hope yet for humanity.
We played conkers at school, too, around halloween.
Isn’t it sort of a natural game, anywhere you’ve got horse chestnut trees?
I believe there’s a similar game played with hard boiled eggs where horse chestnuts are not available - it’s probably played with other things elsewhere too; I suspect if we ever discover intelligent life in another solar system, it will turn out that something very similar is played by their offspring.
Hard boiled eggs? shirley you jest :dubious:
One swing and splatter, egg shrapnel all over the place :eek:
Maybe you season 'em with epoxy instead of vinegar or saltwater. 
Lethal egg shrapnel even 
No joke - it’s an easter thing; from here
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Egg Jarping (Egg Tapping)
Another activity that takes place on Easter Day is the playing of a game with the eggs known as “jarping”, It’s a bit like playing conkers, with players tapping their opponents’ eggs until one breaks. The victor goes through to the next round and it’s a process of elimination until there’s only one good egg, the winner’s, left. "In Cumbria, it is traditional to have ‘jarping’, except we call it ’ egg dumping’. There are strict rules surrounding the competitions, which take place in houses and pubs. Some larger egg dumps can take all day or evening, and quite a bit of money can change hands.
In our family, our extended family gather on Easter Sunday to have an egg dumping competition. It gets very competitive, with friendly rivalry between different families."
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So it’s not really like conkers in that (as far as I can tell) there are no strings involved; but in any game where the durability of the two objects being banged together is fairly evenly matched, there is no point in using force sufficient to smash both.
Conkers was a lot of fun despite the red-raw knuckles you got from playing, you still can’t beat Bulldog’s Charge for all out mayhem though 
Egg Jarping (Egg Tapping)
Another activity that takes place on Easter Day is the playing of a game with the eggs known as “jarping”, It’s a bit like playing conkers, with players tapping their opponents’ eggs until one breaks. The victor goes through to the next round and it’s a process of elimination until there’s only one good egg, the winner’s, left. "In Cumbria, it is traditional to have ‘jarping’, except we call it ’ egg dumping’. There are strict rules surrounding the competitions, which take place in houses and pubs. Some larger egg dumps can take all day or evening, and quite a bit of money can change hands.
In our family, our extended family gather on Easter Sunday to have an egg dumping competition. It gets very competitive, with friendly rivalry between different families."
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So it’s not really like conkers in that (as far as I can tell) there are no strings involved; but in any game where the durability of the two objects being banged together is fairly evenly matched, there is no point in using force sufficient to smash both.
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Egg Dumping?..Larger Egg Dumps…Ye Gods!!!
Thank God I don’t live in Cumbria, I’ll stick to Cheshire 'cos it’s much posher and less wet
Money? On Easter, you’re supposed to gamble for a Jewish fella’s clothes.
Sheesh.
Heh heh. BritishBulldogs1-2-3NoBreaks! <lets go of mittu’s torn jumper>
<slight hijack> Check out this advert from Adidas, I wouldn’t have wanted to be last man standing in this game!
Conkers on the radio, which was rather bizarre.