Power Hour + Cornhole

Title: Power Hour + Cornhole

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

This anonymous informant from the Art History department learned these games while they were in their twenties. They would hang around with friends, playing games and drinking. The informant was born and raised in Southern California.

Contextual Data:

These games were played at backyard grills and cookouts. They didn’t necessarily develop in institutionalized fraternities, but rather seem to be played and passed down during casual social events of young adults.

Item:

Power Hour: “Find a good playlist and play each song for one minute. At each minute mark, change the song, then take shots of beer. Do this for a full hour.”
Cornhole: “Throw beanbags at a hole in a wooden stand. You get points every time you get the beanbag in the hole. Whoever gets the fewest points each round has to take a shot”

Informant’s Comments:

“Even a game such as cornhole can become a drinking game if you add stakes to it (loser takes shots, buys next time, etc).”
These games are “played for validation [of drinking habits], but also mostly for the social aspect – Drinking games are just one part of the ritual of being around friends with food and games, having a good time.”

Collector’s Comments:

It was interesting that the informant listed cornhole, which is not typically a drinking game, as one. It exemplifies this informant’s view that a drinking game is primarily a way to have a good time with friends, and only secondarily a method for getting intoxicated.
Power Hour also seems to be a non-standard drinking game. It doesn’t really have an element of competition – it seems to be more just about having a good time enjoying the music (and drinks) with your friends. Although, because Power Hour doesn’t have much of a competitive aspect, it could potentially fall into the category of games that exist as an excuse just to get drunk. I don’t necessarily think so though, because the emphasis really seemed to be on socializing, rather than the drinking aspect.

Collector’s Name: Michael Steel

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive