Scarf game is killing one child a month in France

[snopes]

One child is dying every month in France as a result of a "game" which has become popular in school playgrounds across the country.

Unknown to their parents and teachers, hundreds of thousands of French children - some as young as five - have already participated in the potentially lethal activity called the Jeu du Foulard or scarf game.

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=861592007

[bjohn13]

This kind of stuff has been going on at least as long as I've been in school, probably a lot longer. This is one of those common sense but easy to overlook things that all parents should probably tell their young kids at some point.

[Artemis]

"Adults know hardly anything about this game," said Catherine Vince, vice-president of APEAS, whose Teight year-old son was found strangled in his bedroom with a belt two years ago.

Yeah, and when they grow up, the "scarf game" becomes auo erotic asyphixtion.

[joshxrt22]

Basically, it's the "Pass-Out" game; me, my brother, and our friends/cousins used to play it when we were younger (I'm a 24 yr. old guy).

We would stand bent over with our hands on our knees and breath quickly for several breaths, then inhale deeply and stand up against the wall. Someone else would then push up against your neck with both hands to block off the blood vessels and cut off the blood supply, and you'd quickly pass out, and have weird, hallucinatory dreams, then wake up (you were never out for real long). Now that I'm older (and work in healthcare, no less), I can't believe how stupid that was to do.


But some crazy stuff happened...once my best friend put me out and said "Imagine an ocean....of CATERPILLARS!" (we would say or talk about things as people going out, because alot of times it would influence the dream). Apperently, I tried to stick out my hands to choke him (I don't remember that) and then went out. Then, in my hallucination, I hear him laughing at me, so I raised up off the bed and punched him (hard). He yelped and jumped up to run away and I started chasing him around the room punching him, and I remember it being really funny because it's like I could see what was happening through my eyes, but wasn't controlling anything, it was like watching a movie; I'd see him running and looking behind him, and I could see my arms pumping out and hitting him. On the other side of the room, I slipped on the blanket and fell. As I'm waking up, thinking "Man, that was a funny, crazy-ass dream...", I realize I'm on the other side of the room, tangled up in the blanket.....with Eric hiding behind my brother. It really happened, but I just thought I was dreaming it at the time, I didn't have any control over what I was doing (of course, once I said I remembered it, he thought I was faking and did it on purpose, but I didn't). I didn't really hurt him, though... mainly just surprised and scarred the crap outta him.


Then once I was doing my brother while standing on the bed against the wall; he started going out, then got this crazy look on his face, and like karate chopped my clavicles to make me let go, and then KICK ME IN THE CHEST hard enough to knock me into the other wall. I'm talking HARD.

He later said he started going out, and I'd let up a little bit and he briefly caught a breath of air, then I pressed against his neck again, and he started feeling really choked, so his "survival instincts" took over and he hit me to get me off. He actually felt really bad about it afterwards.


Anyways, it's a really stupid and dangerous things to do, but it's a prevalent thing. It's a rush, and the dreams are very vivid...that's what's addictive about it.

[mela681]

My husband and some friends did this one night and video taped it. They did it just like the pp described. They weren't "kids" either, they were all in their early twenties.

[Halfmad]

Good lord! We used to just run around in the sprinkler and then later in life do beer bongs. Obviously we were missing out!

Originally Posted by joshxrt22

Basically, it's the "Pass-Out" game; me, my brother, and our friends/cousins used to play it when we were younger (I'm a 24 yr. old guy).

Anyways, it's a really stupid and dangerous things to do, but it's a prevalent thing. It's a rush, and the dreams are very vivid...that's what's addictive about it.

We did the same thing (I think around 12 or 13) except instead of actual hands on the neck, we would just cross our arms across our chest and the friend would push really hard. We also got into the helium tank in the Agri building...a bunch of 12 year olds with blue lips, high voices, and questionable brain activity. Come to think of it, that's when I started smoking, too

So intelligent.

[Ezri]

I remember kids playing this game when I was in middle school, I was always too scared to try it (and still am) never heard of anyone dying from it but it's obviously possible. Anything that constricts my air flow doesn't jive well with me.

[finkles2000]

When I was in 7th grade we went to a church camp thing in Wichita, and stayed with host families from the church. Some of the girls from our church stayed at a home with a girl who was around our age, and she taught them the "pass-out game." And they taught us. What we did was stand against a wall, take 10 long breaths (in & out), then 20 short breaths (or vice versa, I can't remember), then cross our arms in front of our chests. Someone else would press on our arms/chests, and we'd pass out. It worked pretty well. We did it in school one day, and that week we had to have a nurse come in from the hospital for a special lyceum about the dangers of making ourselves pass out. Turns out, blocking the blood flow to your brain? Not so cool. That was much more involved than a scarf, it sounds like. It was a dumb thing to do.

finkles "but it did get me out of a track meet . . ." 2000

[Beastly Despot]

Originally Posted by EricB

We did the same thing (I think around 12 or 13) except instead of actual hands on the neck, we would just cross our arms across our chest and the friend would push really hard. We also got into the helium tank in the Agri building...a bunch of 12 year olds with blue lips, high voices, and questionable brain activity. Come to think of it, that's when I started smoking, too

So intelligent.

That's how we did it too. I did it in the dorm in college once and had this weird dream about seeing the devil and money was falling all over, then I got hit in the head. When I woke up, everyone was laughing because I had fallen over and hit my head on the leg of a desk chair.

Good times, I guess. I knew a couple guys who did this regularly. How did they do that and not die?

[Ali Infree]

Some of the girls from our church stayed at a home with a girl who was around our age, and she taught them the "pass-out game." And they taught us. What we did was stand against a wall, take 10 long breaths (in & out), then 20 short breaths (or vice versa, I can't remember), then cross our arms in front of our chests. Someone else would press on our arms/chests, and we'd pass out. It worked pretty well.

That's how we did it at scout camp, more or less. And I didn't enjoy it enough to move to auto-erotic asphyixation as a practice .I think the practice of using scarfs and constricting the carotid sound much more dangerous. I rank the pass out game, as we did it, way behind sniffing glue which was easily the stupidest thing I did as a child.

I think it is worth warning kids about the dangers involved, but I wouldn't hold my breath thinking it would stop anyone.


Ali "in and out" Infree

[Xia]

Some kids used to do that in my high school Honors Geography class (this was about 10 years ago). They would put an arm around the person's neck until they started to pass out, then let go. I kept waiting for someone to fall and hit their head on a corner of a desk...

[bjohn13]

Originally Posted by Ali Infree

That's how we did it at scout camp, more or less. And I didn't enjoy it enough to move to auto-erotic asphyixation as a practice .I think the practice of using scarfs and constricting the carotid sound much more dangerous. I rank the pass out game, as we did it, way behind sniffing glue which was easily the stupidest thing I did as a child.

I was taught a very valuable lesson the first time I tried to abuse a an inhalant. The inhalant in question was white out, and I didn't even take a very big puff. It was more like a sniff. I completely lost all control over all bodily functions for about 5 seconds. My buddy said it looked like I had Tourette's. My head involuntarily, and quite violently, shook back and forth while recoiling, and my arms and legs curled up into an almost fetal position.

Oh, and I wet myself.

Yep. I never tried to sniff anything again after that. I can't even stand the nitrous oxide the dentist offers anymore.