whats the real name for conkers

Full Answer

What is a conker?

A conker is the name given to the fruit of the horse chestnut tree. The horse chestnut is not to be confused with other types of chestnut, as conkers are inedible and toxic.

Where did the game of conkers get its name?

The first recorded game of Conkers using horse chestnuts was on the Isle of Wight in 1848. There is uncertainty of the origins of the name.

Can you eat conkers?

Conkers are unfit for human consumption, but are eaten by cattle, deer and horses. In the past they were ground up and given to horses, to treat cough and to give them a shiny coat. This, along with the leaf scars in the shape of horseshoes (even with ‘nail holes’!) lent the tree its name: the horse chestnut.

Who is the Queen of conkers?

Selma Becker, originally from Austria, took the title. The title of Queen of Conkers has remained in the UK, except in 2001 when Frenchwoman Celine Parachou won. 2001 Eamonn Dooley from Freshford in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland broke the world record by smashing 306 conkers in one hour.

How did conkers get their name?

Conkers are hard brown nuts found in a prickly case that fall from the tree when ripe. The origin of the name 'conker' is unclear but it's believed that it comes from the French word 'cogner' meaning to hit. In years past, there has been an abundance of conkers littering the ground underneath horse chestnut trees.

Is a chestnut called a conker?

A conker is the name given to the fruit of the horse chestnut tree. The horse chestnut is not to be confused with other types of chestnut, as conkers are inedible and toxic. Horse chestnut trees are native to Europe but are now grown throughout the world. They can grow as much as 100 feet tall.

What is British conker?

Conkers is the name of a British children's game involving chestnuts (also called conkers) threaded to strings. Holding their strings, players thwack each other's nuts until one of them breaks or is knocked to the ground.

Why do conkers keep spiders away?

Answer. Answer: Conkers contain a naturally-occurring substance called saponin, which repels spiders, lice, fleas and ticks.

Can horses eat conkers?

There are some animals that can safely eat conkers. These include wild boars and deer. However, they are too toxic for humans to eat and will make people unwell. Strangely, despite the name horse chestnuts, they are also poisonous for horses.

Can u eat conkers?

No. Conkers contain a poisonous chemical called aesculin. Eating a conker is unlikely to be fatal, but it may make you ill. They are poisonous to most animals too, including dogs, but some species such as deer and wild boar can eat them.

Are conkers poisonous to dogs?

Dogs who have eaten or swallowed conkers, allowing the toxins to enter their body, can be very sick. They can vomit, collapse, have diarrhoea, get very restless with the discomfort and pain, become severely dehydrated and go into toxic shock.

Are conkers poisonous to cats?

Conkers: Conkers from the Horse Chestnut tree can be poisonous to pets but they are not very palatable so animals rarely eat large quantities of them. As well as being poisonous, they may also become stuck in the intestines, causing a blockage.

How do you tell the difference between a conker and a chestnut?

Both come in green shells, but horse chestnut cases have short, stumpy spikes all over. Inside, the conkers are round and glossy. Sweet chestnut cases have lots of fine spikes, giving them the appearance of small green hedgehogs. Each case contains two or three nuts and, unlike conkers, sweet chestnuts are edible.

What is the difference between horse chestnuts and chestnuts?

The toxic, inedible horse chestnuts have a fleshy, bumpy husk with a wart-covered appearance. Both horse chestnut and edible chestnuts produce a brown nut, but edible chestnuts always have a tassel or point on the nut. The toxic horse chestnut is rounded and smooth with no point or tassel.

Can I eat chestnuts from my tree?

Although the shell is very difficult to remove, chestnuts are edible. However, it is rare to eat them raw and can even be dangerous for certain people. Chestnuts are more traditionally eaten when roasted, especially around the holidays.

Can I eat horse chestnuts?

While cultivated or wild sweet chestnuts are edible, horse chestnuts are toxic, and can cause digestive disorders such as abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, or throat irritation.

How to play Conker?

It is important to have the hardest conker! A basic idea of the game is to strike the opponent’s conker and try to break it – your conker is then the victor and can count up its victories. Initially the conker is a ‘none-er’ , and it’s first win makes it a ‘one-er’ – if it wins again, it takes a score of one for itself , as it won, and also takes its opponents score to add to it’s own. For example, if a ‘six-er’ beats a ‘three-er’, it scores one for the win, and takes the three from the beaten opponent – so the victorious conker is now a ‘ten-er’. Cheating can be rife! Conkers can be baked, steeped in vinegar or painted with nail varnish – all to harden the fruit, but this is frowned upon.

How many players are in the Conker game?

The game has 2 players, each with his/her own carefully selected conker, with a hole bored through it, on a string. It is important to have the hardest conker! A basic idea of the game is to strike the opponent’s conker and try to break it – your conker is then the victor and can count up its victories.

What fruits were used in the game of conkers?

For example, in ‘Sons and Lovers’ by D H Lawrence, the game is referred to as ‘cobblers’. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the horse chestnut fruits – the conkers – were recorded as being used for the game of conkers, on the Isle of Wight in 1848. After the 1850’s, the use of horse chestnuts to play the game was referred to in various regions ...

Where are the World Conker Championships held?

Even though the game is said to be dying out, and may not be around after the next couple of decades as less and less children are playing the game nowadays, the World Conker Championships are gaining in popularity! They have been held since 1965, originally in Ashton, Northamptonshire. Having had to cancel a fishing expedition, and there being a lot of horse chestnut trees nearby, a group in the local pub decided to have a game of conkers instead, with a prize for the winner and a collection for a blind charity. This has continued as a yearly event, where the organisers still donate each year to visually impaired charities. Their increasing number of participants, classes and spectators each year has led to them relocating since 2013 to Southwick, Northamptonshire. The organisers select the conkers to be used in the championships themselves, and these have to conform to the strict criteria. This year, because of the drought, the conkers available may be smaller and shrivelled, so the organisers may have to import conkers from Germany. It has become an international event, with competitors from all over the world. The first overseas winner was a Mexican, in 1976.

When did the game of conkers start?

It wasn’t until the 19th century that the horse chestnut fruits – the conkers – were recorded as being used for the game of conkers, on the Isle of Wight in 1848 . After the 1850’s, the use of horse chestnuts to play the game was referred to in various regions of the country. From that time on, the game’s popularity grew and spread throughout Britain.

When do conkers fall?

In September and October, the fruits of the horse chestnut tree, known as conkers, begin to fall from the trees. Inside the prickly green casings lie the fruits – brown, shiny, and hard – still favourites to be collected by children all over Britain. They used to be collected for the game of conkers – it was a favourite playground game in Britain ...

Can conkers keep spiders out of a house?

It has also been said that plac ing conkers in the corners of rooms, can keep spiders out of a house – though this is thought to be an old wives’ tale with no scientific evidence for the claim. World War One even managed to interrupt this children’s game.

Why is it called a conker?

Another possible reason for the name is that it was once thought (mistakenly) that horse chestnuts helped cure horses of chest complaints and made their coats shiny. The name conker may have come from the sound that's made as two conkers hit each other.

When were conkers first played?

The first recorded game of conkers played with horse chestnut seeds took place in 1848 on the Isle of Wight.

What causes a tree to have a canker?

Scientists say that the threat of a bacterium that causes bleeding canker disease is much more serious than the threat created by the leaf miner moth. The dangerous bacterium is called Pseudomonas syringae. It creates an infection in the tree bark (a canker). The damaged area releases a sticky, reddish brown liquid. The infection may be minor. However, in severe cases the infection travels deeper into the tree trunk and kills the inner bark, the cambium (which produces new plant tissue) and the outer wood. Water and nutrient transport may be disrupted. If the infection spreads all around the tree trunk, the tree will die.

What is the game of conkers?

Conkers is a game involving putting horse chestnuts (the proper name for conkers) on strings, and hitting two of them together, with the aim of smashing the opponents conker. The winner is the person whose conker doesn’t smash.

When is Conkers played?

The game is usually played in Autumn in Britain (late September to mid October), and has historically been popular with school children - with children collecting ‘conkers’ from horse chestnut trees and using their shoe laces as strings.

How to score in a game of conkers?

The tradition way to score in a game of conkers is based on how many times a player wins / smashes an opponents conker. The score is usually attributed to the conker itself, rather than the player. So for example, a conker that has smashed just one other conker is called a ‘one-er’; a conker that has smashed two conkers is called a ‘two-er’. An added complication involved in scoring is that if your conker is a ‘two-er’ and you beat another conker that is a ‘two-er’ your conker turns into a ‘four-er’ (i.e. you add the two values of the conkers together - with the victorious conker taking the combiner value e.g. 2 + 2 = ‘four-er’.)

How are conker scores accrued?

There are alternative conker game scoring systems where scores are accrued according to how many times players hit the opponents conker, as well as bonus points for smashing the opponent’s conker.

What does "stampsies" mean in a conker?

Stampsies (or stamps) is where if a conker ends up on the floor, a player shouts ‘stampsies’ and then races to try to stamp and crush their opponents conker.

How to tell if a horse chestnut tree has conkers?

The best indication of whether a Horse Chestnut tree is going to grow lots of conkers is whether the tree in Spring has lots of white ‘conker blossom’ covering it - as the more blossom, the more and bigger the conkers will be by Autumn-time.

When was the game of conkers invented?

The earliest records of mentions of the game of conkers was in the early 19th century, with the first mention appearing in Robert Southey’s memoirs published in 1821. The game grew in popularity in the 1800’s across England.

Overview

Game

Origins

Championships

North America

Safety concerns

See also

External links