The Origins of this Nuisance Driving Game

Imagine this:

You're sitting in the car, on your way someplace. You could be a child. An adult. Or some age in between. You could be going to the store or a scheduled road trip. You're literally minding your own business bopping to one of your fave tunes, maybe this jawn:

And then out of seemingly nowhere, whoever you're sitting close to-- a parent, a child, sibling or someone random you picked up via Uber-- punches you and screams a color at you like your natural fight or flight reflexes care about colors.

via GIPHY

The game is called "Punch Buggy" and I am positive it is the origins of road rage, "fluke accidents" and friend disappearances.

According to the "reputable" random factoid resource Wikipedia:

Punch buggy (also called slug bug or punch dub) is a car-spotting game where players seek Volkswagen Beetles, calling "Punch buggy!" when they do so, in reference to the Beetle's nickname, the Bug. Once a car has been spotted and called out it cannot be used by another player. The game can be played for points: spotting a Beetle earns the player a point, but making an incorrect call means that they lose a point. (what's missing here is the punch, Thanks Wikipedia)

The color of the Beetle is sometimes stated when it is called.

In some versions, a player must shout "No punch backs!" after each call. If they forget to do so, they may be immediately punched back by the player that they punched.

 

Like, WTF? What kind of meanie makes up a game that starts and ends in violence? But make it about one of cutest, sweetest cars in the world? It turns out, some meanie named Sluggy Patterson is such a meanie. Serious.

So. Now that you know the origins of this ancient car ride game, a word of advice. Just, NO. Sing a song instead.