Indian burn

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An Indian burn Indian burn.png
An Indian burn

An Indian burn, also known as Chinese burn in British and Australian English, is a pain-inducing prank in which the prankster grabs onto the victim's forearm or wrist, and starts turning the skin away from themself with one hand while turning it toward themself with the other, resembling the wringing of a damp cloth, and causing an unpleasant burning sensation on the skin. [1] It is popular in school settings, the usual environments of its occurrences. [2]

Contents

Terminology

The prank is known by way of several names in English, depending on the region: in the United States, it may be referred to as Indian sunburn [3] or Indian rug burn, [4] as well as Chinese wrist-burn, [5] and as the snake bite; [6] in countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, it is known as a Chinese burn. [2]

Some examples of names used in other languages are: in Mexican Spanish, it is known as an enchilada, which is related to chili and means "affected by hot chili"; in Swedish, it is called tusen nålar ("a thousand needles"); and in Afrikaans, they say "donkie byt", which translates to "donkey bite".

Some Native Americans resent the usage of Indian burn, preferring the other aforementioned English terms. [7]

Variation

In a variation of the prank, a yarn is rubbed against the skin to create friction, in a manner similar to starting a fire with a stick. [6]

Statistics

According to a poll carried out in the United Kingdom, with a sample size of 1,844 adults, 27% recalled receiving Indian burns during secondary school years. [2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tréguer, Pascal (23 October 2020). "'Indian Burn': Meaning and Origin". Wordhistories.net. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Adults recall 'nasty playground pranks'". BBC.com. British Broadcasting Corporation. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "Framing & Building Basics - Torsion" (PDF). BBRSD.org. Berlin-Boylston Regional School District. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Hornblower, Andrew (27 April 2012). "Bullying Technique – Indian Rug Burn". USC.edu. University of Southern California. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Bryant, Adey (12 August 2003). "Indian Burn cartoons and comics". CartoonStock.com. CartoonStock Ltd. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  6. 1 2 Selzer, Adam (27 February 2011). "Snake Bites and Indian Burns". PlaygroundJungle.com. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  7. ↑ Safire, William (10 November 1996). "Take the DARE". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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