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