# What is this called (horsebite? how does a horse bite an apple? knee squeeze?)? Do many people even know what I'm talking about? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 10, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403 "2025-03-10T19:59:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/21 "2025-03-11T18:07:00Z")
Never experienced or heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/22 "2025-03-12T12:06:50Z")
I’ve never heard of it and can’t imagine anyone in my immediate family (my parents, siblings and niblings) doing it or tolerating it. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/23 "2025-03-12T12:27:55Z")
Wow, I hadn’t thought of this in decades. My older siblings did the above the knee thing to me, but didn’t have a name for it. It didn’t feel exactly painful, more like an industrial-strength tickle. We didn’t do Indian burns, though. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/24 "2025-03-12T12:29:41Z")
Yeah, we called the skin twisting thing “Indian burns” as well. Punch in the thigh wasn’t a thing and/or didn’t have a name that I know of. Noogies are always on the head here. Never heard of a noogie referring to a knuckle rub anywhere else. As boys, we’d punch each other in the side of the shoulder all the time, but I don’t think we called it anything. Reasons for punching would include flinching (you’d yell “two for flinching” and punch someone in the shoulder twice in games that required you not to flinch.) And I think just in general, as boys horsing around, we’d punch each other for any and no reason at all, often with the middle knuckle out for a more concentrated point of contact. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/25 "2025-03-12T15:11:24Z")
In my childhood world: Indian burn: You use both hands around, for example, a lower arm and you move both hands tightly back and forth around the arm to rub the skin to redness. You use both hands so that the skin between them isn’t allowed to move with the hands so the rubbing is more forceful. Noogies: Rubbing knuckles hard into the scalp. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/26 "2025-03-12T15:21:23Z")
I think the first time I heard “noogies” was in a Calvin & Hobbes strip, by which time I’d been an adult for a couple of decades. We called that a “Dutch rub” when I was a kid. Never heard of the knee thing, but I agree on the definition of an “Indian burn”. Grew up in the Great Lakes area – one state as a child, a nearby state as a teenager. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/27 "2025-03-12T15:21:25Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > First question: Do you, the reader of this topic right now, KNOW what I’m talking about? Nope. Can’t recall anyone doing this to anyone else in my family, or on the playground as a kid, or anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/28 "2025-03-12T16:15:56Z")
To add to my nope above, I want to say that my nuclear and extended family didn’t engage in any physical violence, including “jocular” aggression like tickling, picking people up, punch buggy, noogies, and certainly not tackling, wrestling, and the like. Somehow, we survived. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/29 "2025-03-12T16:40:52Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > can’t imagine anyone in my immediate family (my parents, siblings and niblings) doing it or tolerating it And _I_ can’t imagine why you don’t stop hitting yourself. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/30 "2025-03-12T17:00:18Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Do you, the reader of this topic right now, KNOW what I’m talking about? Yes. I’d totally forgotten about it, but I think a peer must have done it to me once or twice as a kid, because when you described it I knew what you were talking about. Never had a name for it, though. > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I thought a noogie was rubbing your knuckles across someone’s head. Yep, that’s my understanding as well. I don’t recall ever knowing a name for the “burn” technique and I don’t remember anyone ever doing it to me, though they must have once or twice because I know what it is and how it feels. > [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Aren’t children delightful? Indeed. On a related, but less obnoxious, note, does anyone remember “thunder, lightning, electric shock”? (Yes, I know that technically lightning is before thunder, but that’s not how the trick works.) For those unfamiliar, this is played out on a friend’s back, and it is interesting and harmless. For “thunder” you hit your friend’s back with your fist (not painfully hard, just so they feel it) three times, once on each shoulder blade and a third time a little lower in the middle. Then you do “lightning” by firmly running your finger from top to bottom on their spine. For “electric shock” you then blow lightly on the nape of the neck. The result, for a young person, is a quick goosebumpy shiver - not unpleasant, and sort of amazing. I don’t think the trick works on older folks, at least not on me. The nervous system is not as sensitive as it once was, alas. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/31 "2025-03-12T17:28:49Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Do you, the reader of this topic right now, KNOW what I’m talking about? Absolutely. This was a rather common thing that boys did to each other in grade school, albeit with not a whole lot of force. More like a quick squeeze as you’re walking by another student who’s seated at his desk. Never knew a name for it. My older brother did it to me to inflict a small amount of pain, which I much preferred to the aforementioned Indian burn or Dutch rub. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/32 "2025-03-12T19:56:22Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > common thing that boys did to each other in grade school Yea, it was one of those dumb things that one classmate learns so all us boys did to each other for 2 weeks in 5th grade and forgot about. The only defense is to be wise to it and avoid leaving yourself open to it. God, kids are dumb Another is sneaking up behind someone and gently pushing the back of their locked knees, causing them to have to jump suddenly. Hilarious! Tying someone’s backpack strap to a desk or bus seat can bring down the house. Ever sat on/caused someone to sit on a caltrop made of twisted staples? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/33 "2025-03-13T06:16:53Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Ever sat on/caused someone to sit on a caltrop made of twisted staples? We just used thumbtacks when I was in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/34 "2025-03-13T07:58:39Z")
I bet you ate chalk too. 😊 We had a whiteboard. Nothing sharp like staples and tacks. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/35 "2025-03-13T08:01:45Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > We just used thumbtacks when I was in high school. A staple gag in the comics of my childhood ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/36 "2025-03-13T08:06:48Z")
Shoulda guessed. Is that a dirty joke, I never heard of? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/37 "2025-03-13T09:24:30Z")
No, just that it was the height of hilarity to put something small, inconspicuous and sharp on someone’s chair (bonus if it was the teacher’s) and watch them sit down… ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/38 "2025-03-13T13:00:06Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > No, just that it was the height of hilarity to put something small, inconspicuous and sharp on someone’s chair (bonus if it was the teacher’s) and watch them sit down… My … lab partner, I guess … and I did this in our ninth-grade biology class, sharing thumbtacks 🙂 with the two guys at a nearby table. On the first day of eleventh grade I discovered that said lab partner was in my English class. On the second day I got to class early, put a thumbtack on the chair she’d claimed the previous day, and went to my own seat. She came in a couple minutes later, sat down, and immediately stood up again – and for some reason turned and glared at me. 😃 Ah, the joys of high school… She was one of the two people I really hoped to see at our fifty-year reunion, but she wasn’t there. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/39 "2025-03-13T13:33:27Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > She was one of the two people I really hoped to see at our fifty-year reunion, but she wasn’t there. ☹ It can’t _still_ have been smarting, surely:;? Your story reminds me that as part of a physics course at school we were doing something to do with optics that involved thick lenses and quite large pins (measuring refraction)?). A class of 14-15 year olds having to bend over to look through the glass, a bunch of pins… What could possibly go wrong? ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403/40 "2025-03-13T17:01:32Z")
This thread dislodged a memory of another middle school prank involving knees. What was it called, a trick knee? Where one would go behind someone standing straight, and knee them in the back of their knee causing it to buckle. And giving flats, where one would step on the back of another’s heel trying to dislodge their shoe. Did anyone ever turn their eyelids inside out? So freaky! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-called-horsebite-how-does-a-horse-bite-an-apple-knee-squeeze-do-many-people-even-know-what-im-talking-about/1015403.md?page=1)