# What is this childhood game thingy called? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 26, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402 "2011-07-26T17:18:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/1 "2011-07-26T17:18:09Z")
You’d make them out of paper, kind of a mouth thing with four quadrants. You manipulate it from underneath; opening it and closing it a certain number of times, and then do what was written on the open quadrant. Does that make sense? Anyone know what these are called? ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/2 "2011-07-26T17:22:17Z")
It’s a [cootie catcher](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_fortune_teller). I made hundreds of these when I was a kid! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/3 "2011-07-26T17:26:53Z")
We didn’t call them that. It was something about wishes. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/4 "2011-07-26T17:45:18Z")
Fortunetellers, New York. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/5 "2011-07-26T18:06:10Z")
yup, in WI they were cootie catchers. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/6 "2011-07-26T18:08:36Z")
Fortunetellers, Philadelphia. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/7 "2011-07-26T18:10:02Z")
We had them in West Texas, but I can’t for the life of me think what they were called. None of the names in the link sounds familiar. We may not have called them anything. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/8 "2011-07-26T20:24:49Z")
Cootie Catchers, New Jersey. Huh…sounds like a quaint shore town… ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/9 "2011-07-26T20:35:15Z")
South Park had a whole episode about it, actually. [Wikpedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_fortune_teller) calls them Paper Fortune tellers, cootie catcher, salt cellar, chatterbox, or whirlybird. ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/10 "2011-07-26T20:40:59Z")
Cootie catcher, MI. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/11 "2011-07-26T23:29:14Z")
Cootie catcher, Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/12 "2011-07-26T23:37:49Z")
Fortune tellers, when growing up in Boston in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/13 "2011-07-27T02:33:55Z")
Indiana- 80s, we called it a fortune teller. We made them to predict who we were gonna marry. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/14 "2011-07-27T02:38:21Z")
I think we called them fortune tellers–Illinois, 1980s. I never heard the term “cootie catcher” until very recently. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/15 "2011-07-27T02:54:34Z")
Fortune tellers, Chicago north suburbs. They weren’t very accurate. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/16 "2011-07-27T08:05:12Z")
Yip, fortune tellers, northwest Arkansas. In fact, I don’t get the “cootie catcher” name. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/17 "2011-07-27T13:08:13Z")
As seen on the opening of _[Community](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veBokK7K9vE)_. (which I find odd since those remind me more of elementary/middle school than college, but anyway…) I don’t recall ever hearing “cootie catcher” before; Chicago area, late '60s/early '70s. “Fortune tellers” sounds right, but I have trouble remembering last week, so take that for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/18 "2011-07-27T15:00:02Z")
> [@StephenG](#): > > Fortune tellers, when growing up in Boston in the 80s. Cootie Catchers, Boston, 1960’s. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/19 "2011-07-27T15:11:16Z")
Fortune teller, southern England. I was the one who started the craze in my school after finding the plans in my origami book - at least, that’s what it felt like to me. My teachers probably thought, “Oh crap, fortune tellers are back again.” ---
**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:** [July 27, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402/20 "2011-07-27T16:02:19Z")
Fortune tellers, Chicago SW side. Never heard of “cootie catcher” until this thread. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-childhood-game-thingy-called/590402.md?page=2)