July 10: You're It!

My son and daughter were debating whose side to take on some issue that my wife and I were discussing this evening. To be honest, I can't even remember the issue, but, like most things, we made a game out of it and the kids turned to the old "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe" process of selection. This got me thinking about where the phrase originally came from, and what other similar rhymes are commonly used to choose who is "it" when playing games. Growing up, I can remember doing "Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum in a Dish" and "Engine, Engine, Number Nine". I've already taught those to my kids, but I have to think there are more out there.

What I discovered is there are many more. But, first the history behind "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe. I found tracing the origins of this rhyme was not an easy process, as there doesn't seem to be any concrete historical evidence suggesting how the phrase began. The most common theory is that it descended from Celtic (or Old English) counting, as evidenced in the East Anglian Shepherd's count, "Ina, mina, tehra, methera" or the Cornish "Eena, mea, mona, mite". The first American record is from about 1815 in New York, and around 1880 in England. Another theory subscribes that the British occupiers of India brought a doggerel version of an Indian children's rhyme used in the game of carom billiards, and that is how the phrase came about. I also learned that there is a controversial version that has been used in the past that involves swapping the word "tiger" for a racial slur that rhymes with "Tigger". Don't think I'll be sharing that version with my kids, though, or anyone else for that matter. Whatever the history, I think we can agree that the phrase has been around for a long time, and used, in some form, by children all over the world.

I also found that beyond "Eeny", "Bubble Gum" and "Engine", there are numerous other phrases just like them. Among them, the brief "Sky Blue" (One, two, sky blue, all out except you) and the more lengthy "Inka Binka Bottle of Ink". Some also group "Rock, Paper, Scissors" into this same category, minus the catchy rhyme, of course. I found a pretty good list here, and some additional ones here, if you're interested...