The Bumps

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This was a curious tradition when I was a kid. People got thrown up in the air repeatedly by their "friends" on their birthday, once for every year and then once for luck. Does it still go on? And is it purely a UK tradition?

― MarkH, Friday, 17 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

at my school if you got the bumps you knew you were liked. As for the alternatives.....

― MarkH, Friday, 17 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I still get the bumps.

― N., Friday, 17 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Doesn't it threaten your sterility?

― Jonnie, Friday, 17 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

At my school we had the birthday beats (punches in the stomach). Fortunately, I only ever went to school once on my birthday (it was always in the Easter holiday). Actually, I can't really recall if anyone ever did get the birthday beats, but there was always the ph34r.

― jel --, Friday, 17 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I remember getting the bumps a few times. I remember getting beaten a few times too, but it was a give take thing, you let yourself take a mild beating on your birthday and thus got to give one on someone elses.

― Ronan, Friday, 17 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The one good thing about having a birthday between Christmas and New Year is that I've never had the bumps.
Very grateful for this, as at my school broken limbs were not uncommon.

― Simeon, Friday, 17 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It's very popular in Ireland.

apparently there was this one guy who got the bumps and they dropped him and broke his back and now he is wheelchairbound for life. Or maybe it was a girl.

― DV, Friday, 17 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

of course, as well as being dropped there was also the added hazard of being kicked, which was almost inevitable if there was more than one "bumper" per limb of "bumpee". Apart from birthday beats, there was also the risk of being "binned" on one's birthday, ie thrown into one of those large, cylindrical metal bins on wheels in the school yard. If you're birthday was just before bin-day it was quite easy to climb out, but if your birthday followed bin-day there was little option other than tip the thing on its side from within.

― MarkH, Friday, 17 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

nooo.. aside from the risk of injury it sounds pretty fun.

― Menelaus Darcy, Friday, 17 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Dont you get the eggs in there? Eggs are classic, running around and taking off the egg bits on the body and rubbing in whoever trhowed the eggs. I never had it bur strangely i think it should be very fun

― Chupa-Cabras, Saturday, 18 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

If anyone's wondering, MarkH went to school in prison.

― Graham, Saturday, 18 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

We had the birthday dead-arms when we were @ sk3wl. IE yr 13? THIRTEEN DEAD ARMS FOR YOU THEN! I got caught *once*. It was very very painful.

― Norman Phay, Saturday, 18 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

We had birthday spankings. Does that make me a hillbilly?

― felicity, Saturday, 18 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

birthday wedgies just *can't* be exclusive to my old school.. or are they so commonplace that it's not even worth mentioning?

― Mitch Lastnamewithheld, Saturday, 18 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Maybe i have been living on another planet or something but whatever happened to birthday cakes? Ive never had that happen to me on a birthday. Is it just something that boys do to each other?

This "bumps" tradition sounds very erm . . .interesting (?). Does anybody have any pictures or anything of this taking place. I wouldnt like to find out about it by mentioning it on my actual birthday.

Thanks,

Lauren :s

― Lauren, Sunday, 19 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Where I come from the bumps was just the dead-arm thing. Hitting is much more efficient and less tiring than throwing.

― Ally C, Monday, 20 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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