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And we thought Chubby Bunny was bad...
By AprillBrandon in Pop Goes the Culture
February 18, 2008

 Youthful indiscretions come in many shapes and forms. For example, when I was young, we used to play a game called Chubby Bunny, which involved stuffing as many marshmallows into our mouths as we could while still being able to say the phrase...that's right, you guessed it..."Chubby Bunny."

Stupid? Yes. But innocent.

And although at least two deaths have been attributed to this game, still there are worse things kids could be doing...like experimenting with "Whip-Its."

"Whip-Its," at least back in my day, involved inhaling the nitrous oxide from cans of Redi-Whip for a momentary few second high (not that I know from personal experience or anything if you're reading this Mom).

Stupid? Undoubtedly. But better than crack, right?

Well now the latest fad in non-alcoholic/non-drug methods of finding a "safe" high (and I use that term "safe" very loosely) is bringing this whole genre of youthful games to the next level: Death.

 According to a recent AP article, at least 82 youths have died from a fun, little new activity called "The Choking Game," which succinctly put, involves choking yourself in order to get high. And that's probably an undercount. In fact, according to New Hampshire's chief medical examiner, it's likely that there are about 100 choking deaths each year in the U.S.

Now maybe at 26 I am just too old at this point to understand the appeal of this game, or perhaps I'm just a square, but I cannot for the world of me fathom why kids are doing this. I mean, I've done some stupid stuff back in the day for a thrill (hello too many No-Doz) but outright making myself choke and playing with death?

Are our kids really just that bored that almost choking to death is now fun? Or are they just that desperate to escape from reality, if even for just a few seconds?

 I can only hope that the nature of fads comes through and this one passes on quickly. Although it does make me wonder what they'll think of next. Let's just hope these kids don't hear about the thrill of Russian Roulette.