Title: Ice Cream Mystery
General Information:
- Place of collection: Hanover Fire Department – Hanover, NH
- Date of Collection: November 6, 2019
- Genre: Customary Folklore – Jokes/Pranks
Informant Information:
Joe Amato is a firefighter for the Hanover, New Hampshire fire department. He is currently 27 years old and lives in Hanover. However, Joe was born and raised in Amherst, Massachusetts. He currently holds the title of firefighter at the Hanover Fire Department. Also, at age 27, Joe is the youngest firefighter currently a part of the Hanover Fire Department.
Context:
Periodically, the Hanover, FD does joint training with other fire departments. During these joint training endeavors, the firefighters like to play pranks on each other, especially on the firefighters in other departments. One particular prank is that if someone leaves ice cream in the freezer, then they eat the ice cream and fill it back up with water, without ever telling them who ate it. Joe Amato described one time that he did this to one of the ice cream containers at the Harvard Fire Department.
Item:
If a firefighter from another department leaves ice cream in the freezer, they eat the ice cream and then fill the container with water.
Informant’s Comments:
Joe said that he was unsure as to how this prank began, but he enjoys taking part in it, and it provides him a source of comedy when they are doing joint training exercises with other departments.
Collector’s Comments:
The use of jokes seems like a way for the firefighters to break the tension and stress of the otherwise very serious and dangerous job. Through these practical pranks and jokes, they are able to provide some levity and relief from the everyday stresses of their dangerous and unpredictable lives.