# "Rock, Paper, Scissors" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [October 1, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-paper-scissors/374891 "2006-10-01T22:17:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aline](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Aline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aline)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-paper-scissors/374891/1 "2006-10-01T22:17:42Z")
you guys said: “One of the most humorous variations comes from Indonesia and involves an elephant, a person, and an ant. The elephant can crush the person, the person can crush the ant, but how can the ant win against the elephant? It crawls in the elephant’s ear and drives it crazy. I’d just like to know what the hand signals are for those three.” on this page [What’s the origin of “Rock, Paper, Scissors”?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrockpaper.html) well, Thumb for Elephant, Index finger for Person and Pinkie for Ant There are also many folktales here in Indonesia with an elephant went crazy because an ant crawling into its ear, though I don’t have any idea which comes first, the folktales or the RPS variation. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-paper-scissors/374891/2 "2006-10-04T14:46:24Z")
Heh, heh. I imagine it’d be hard to resist a little wiggle playing ant when elephant showed. Welcome to the Boards, **Aline**. And Selamat Pagi (good morning), if you are Indonesian. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-paper-scissors/374891/3 "2006-10-04T21:34:43Z")
\I’ll rochambeau you for it!\ That, I think, is the best version of the game, just so long as I go first. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-paper-scissors/374891/4 "2006-10-05T15:25:58Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] \I’ll rochambeau you for it!\ That, I think, is the best version of the game, just so long as I go first. [/QUOTE] 😕😕 ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-paper-scissors/374891/5 "2006-10-05T17:15:26Z")
It’s a pop culture reference to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecha-Streisand), and is so commonly known that I didn’t think it required elucidation. But since it does, here’s the relevant part: > [@](#): > > The word “Roshambo” (Rochambeau) is another way of saying rock, paper, scissors. However, Cartman’s concept of Roshambo is for opponents to take turns kicking each other in the balls until one of them falls over. He kicks Pip in the nuts and then he gets kicked later by Robert Smith of The Cure. Go to [this](http://www.southparkstudios.com/show/display_episode.php?season=1&id1=112&id2=12&tab=10) page and click on the yellow arrow to the right of where it says “Roshambo” (one of the alternative spellings) if you want to see the explanation for yourself. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-paper-scissors/374891/6 "2006-10-08T16:11:22Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] It’s a pop culture reference to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecha-Streisand), and is so commonly known that I didn’t think it required elucidation. But since it does, here’s the relevant part: [/QUOTE] Commonly known? I beg to differ. I’m almost 50, have played Rock-Paper-Scissors for probably 45 years, and have never heard the term. I also have never seen an episode of Southpark, and can’t figure out how you can derive roshambo from Rock paper scissors. I can get as far as the Ro for rock, but that’s it. For future reference, it’s not a common term unless **I** know it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-paper-scissors/374891/7 "2006-10-08T21:24:09Z")
I’ve heard roshambo for the name of that game for at least 20 years. I always thought that ro, sham and bo was translation of rock, paper and scissors in another language.