Underneath the chestnut tree

摘要

"Obli, obli onker, my first conker." The traditional children's game of conkers is of surprisingly recent origin: the first record of the nuts of the horse chestnut tree being used is in 1848. Almost identical games had been played with objects on strings, exchanging strikes with an opponent, for centuries. Hazelnut fights are recorded from the 17th Century and in the 18th Century, boys played a game called 'conquerors' (or 'conkers') with snail shells ('conch' in French) - and sometimes with the unfortunate snails still inside.