fschultz, is this some new language in your special books too? By Jim Leute
"Trained chefs from other locations will be move to Janesville to run the restaurant."

This isn't new either. Who are they fooling.

bubbavoo- I agree good thing they got it off the youtube site only to explain how to do it in print- RETARDS!

Don't worry. These kids will soon pass through this phase. They will be adults in the not too distant future and then just drink or do drugs until they lose consciousness.

aaahh, bring back the memories of my late 70's sniffing glue, markers, and chest compression passing outs. Those were the days?
Actually, the chest compression/hyperventilating was done on me since I didn't believe it could be done on me since I was bigger than the rest of the kids, but I was wrong. I tried it and must have passed out with 3-5 kids pushing on my chest because I woke up on the ground at recess wondering what happened to me. It was funny at the time for all of us, but sure was a weird feeling when woke up wondering why am I lying on the ground. Now, it is not a joke anymore and parents need to tell their kids about this so they do not get suckered into doing it EVER.

We did this in the 60s nothing new just easier access to finding out about it thru youtube or other web sites that allow this type of postings. I hope they can get a message to the kids but I doubt it, so many think they are immune to anything bad happening to them.

I can't believe fgb_dmk had to point out (complain) that there are step-by-step instructions in the article. I highly suggest he get a clue and realize that's just a part of the story. Furthermore, as it's been said, it wouldn't be hard to get these so-called "instructions" anywhere online. He is ridiculous for mentioning this and obviously a useless poster. People like that should not be allowed to post.

NUTTY...P.s. pot stinks!

I am in absolute shock. I was just talking to my mother about this, and she said that in the early sixties her sister had her do this EXACT same thing to her. My mom was only 10 at the time, and my aunt fell over passed out and fell in a bucket of water that was next to her in the kitchen. My mom thought she died.... I can't believe that this stuff went on way back then. The worst I can ever remember doing when I was a kid was trying to hypnotise eachother, or the Bloody Mary game.

OH NUTTY...your nutty. :o)

Dangerous doesnt clearly give one a clue...what this "game" is about? The words dangers and warn are in the title of the article. A little common sense goes a long way. Do people realise you might have to use your brain and think a little bit when you read things in the newspaper?
Really, if you see a bottle of aerosol, that has a skull on it, dont you assume its some kind of poison? Do you need to know what it can do to you? It is a great thing they put what you do if you get it in your eyes, or mouth...but should they have to? Guess its kinda like McDonalds putting Caution, very hot on their coffee lids now. Because our world has turned so "anal" and people dont use common sense much, we have "caution, may be hot" on the lids of our hot coffee we order.

Frank, with all due respect, if you're going to print the instructions on how to do it, at the very least you should also print the potential dangers of this activity. The most that you mention is "... people being injured from falls. It’s not clear whether anyone has ever died from the chest-pressure method."
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The way you write it does not give any indication of the severity of this "game".
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See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choking_gam...

I'll be serious now. Most kids already know about this stuff. The things that get around in a middle school would floor most parents. My wife is a middle school teacher and I am constantly hearing stories of things that go on in schools. There are many parents that are ignorant to many things that go on at schools. Every parent thinks they have raised their children properly and they won't be the ones doing this sort of thing. The fact is that some of these very parents have the most outgoing/rule breaking kids. I'm not slamming on anyone on this blog just stating reality. It was that way when I was growing up why would it be any different now?

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I agree with what acs said in his/her post. Kids now are learning computers once they start kindergarten, most have had experience before even going to school. By the time these kids hit middle school many are more computer savvy that most of their parents. They get all the info they want off the internet not by reading the Gazette.

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If there was a depressed teen out there that was trying to fit they would not get info from the Gazette on how to do so.

ACS...I can except your argument. You make complete sense. My only fear is that some child who has super low self esteem, and may have never heard about this, or had but was never invited, just found out how to now be "cool". But your point is valid, and I retract my ridicule on the media.

Honestly...does it matter if the "instructions" were printed in the story? You can learn to make a bomb on the internet, you think possibly you can learn to do this on the internet too? Kids know how to use the internet, how many parents do? I think it was a better choice to print the instructions so parents are aware of how it happens. So everyone, including parents with no idea how to look it up on the internet can know too.

My son was on youtube last night looking up more instances of this idiotic pastime. There are quite a few on there. He's 13 and he can't understnad what the fun is in it. Like I said in an earlier post, he knows the kids that were at this party. So far he hasn't witnessed it firsthand but he knows that it is not something he will ever be interested in trying. These kids are starting to enter that age where they think they are invincible and nothing bad could ever happen to them. That's usually the time that something bad does happen to one of their peers. It scares them straight for awhile but then they go back to doing the same dumb stuff all over again. Maybe these kids will figure out how stupid it is before losing one of their friends. I lost a friend in high school by "accidental hanging". He was a smart kid. Should have known better. It's been 25 years and I still remember every second of his funeral. I don't really want my son to have to attend one of those for one of his friends.

Or magic markers? Awwww the memories of walking down the school hall and that wonderful smell of markers coming from the art room.......I actually only sniffed new books.....I loved it when I got one of the new ones in school, I would just sit and smell it.

dont kids just sniff glue anymore??

Frank--I have two dictionaries here, neither of which lists "ahold," but I'm willing to concede that yours do, and I apologize for the smarmy tenor of my first comment. I should not have questioned your learning, and I am sorry. Certainly, language is fluid, and usage very often determines acceptability, but certain words and phrases just grate on some of us who, as nc points out, had the incorrectness of certain usages drilled into us every day for years at yesterday's schools. My criticism, though, would have been better aimed elsewhere, and, again, I apologize.

Oops, ncpanfan. I don't mean to disrespect the Panthers, either.

It is SO easy to be misunderstood. I want to be clear that I wasn't trying to make any jokes. It's just that sometimes it's convenient to have a "you" plural that is distinguishable from "you" singular. I guess instead of "y'all," I could have used one from my own hometown, Green Bay: "Youz guys." But thanks for the kind thoughts, ncpanman

I also apologize for going off topic....

BTW Before I get slammed for being a dumb hick, I would like to say I was on the honor roll all throughout school and in advanced classes which were of course taught in "proper" English. Just trying to lighten up the mood with some hillbilly humor...

LOL You go Frank! "Ya'll" might want to travel down home where I grew up and get "ahold of" some of their language. "Reckon" you might change your mind when you go down "yonder" and see they "ain't" so formal in the hills. I could give lots more examples of words we used that some might find improper but enough chuckles for the day.... We all have slang words that get used or different ways of pronouncing words, I don't think that makes us bad people. I learned to talk faster when we moved here because I had that slow, southern drawl and if I wanted in on a conversation I had to speed it up. Now when I go home for visits they discuss my yankee accent. Ha ha

Remember kids, don't end up like Michael Hutchence!

See, this is the sort of thing that happens when kids can't break into abandoned liquor stores.

makr, "ahold" is listed on Page 28 of my office dictionary, Webster's New World College Dictionary, copyright 2005 by Wiley Publishing. Admittedly, the entry lists "ahold" as an informal usage. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, a hefty volume in our newsroom library, published in 1968, also includes "ahold," without saying anything about it being informal

After 25 years of professional writing, I have come to terms with the fact that the language changes and that what was once forbidden later becomes perfectly fine. I also have found that different organizations and experts have differing standards for grammar and spelling. The Associated Press, for example, in 2005 changed its spelling for what used to be the noun "fund-raiser" to "fundraiser." I still struggle to remember that one, after spending years spelling it with the hyphen.

Different organizations actually will differ on such questions. There's Modern Language Association style guidelines, American Psychological Association style and the Chicago Manual of Style, to name a few. We at the Gazette use the Associated Press Stylebook for answers to some of these questions. When the Stylebook doesn't have the answer, we go with whatever Webster's has to say.

I am not immune to mistakes. Y'all can feel free to criticize anytime.
-- reporter Frank Schultz

"got ahold of"???!! If you can find "ahold" in a dictionary, please let me know. "Ahold of"!!!! Out thoughts are framed in words. If our words are nonsensical and without substance, so will our thoughts be. RIGHT, FRANK?? Before you pen another story, please go to school, get an education this time around, and then start over, thinking, speaking, and writing in REAL words.

M191A1: Good points in your comment. However, I still say talk with your kids about this dangerous "game" and other potential problems. Neither of my parents drank alcohol or used substances (except my mom did smoke cigarettes for a lot of my childhood and later quit successfully). Anyway, my point here is that I never smoked cigarettes but began drinking alcohol to intoxication every weekend at age 17. Kids will do what their peers do in order to remain in their group or to eliminate boredom. At least that is what led me to my first drinking exposure. After that, it was the euphoria and thrill of doing something illegal that led me to continue drinking. Thank goodness those days are long gone. Much of the thrill ended once I was of legal age.

As a young boy, I'd listen to stories of my dad and his friends and their hot-rod cars, their nights out chasing girls and life in the 1960's in general. The thrill they got listening to music they knew their parents hated was tangible even twenty years later. I'd also hear about their shared, albeit, unique experiences in Vietnam. There were also tales of drinking and debauchery in the north woods deer camps every November in the 1970's after those same friends returned from their tours of duty. Lets not forget the tales of mischief from their time as young boys in the 1950's: Summer days spent fishing and fighting with friends, playing stick ball and throwing rocks at the kids from the other side of town.
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Is it any wonder then, that as a teenage boy in the early 1990's that I wanted my piece of the action? You see, my dad had learned his life lessons from a misspent youth. As a teen, I'd only hear the glory in his stories. Even though many of his stories were cautionary tales, I couldn't absorb the wisdom within. My teenage brain simply didn't have the capacity. Sure my dad did all he could to keep me from making the same mistakes he did. That's what parents should do. But he knew well enough that there were plenty of times he learned best by falling and having to get back up. He just made sure I didn't fall too far or too hard. He also made sure to let me get back up on my own. Some things you need to learn for yourself.
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Despite my many failings as teen, I turned out OK. Went to college and got a degree. I'm married now, with a daughter of my own. I don't make much money, but I'm happy in my little life. Sure I have a couple scars, but they add character.
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One of those scars is on the back of my head. I got it in the halls of Franklin Middle School when I was in 6th grade. I was playing the pass out game before my 1st hour class. My methods were different, but the results the same. I stood up, blacked out and collapsed into the handle of the locker behind me. I was bleeding like a stuck pig. I came to pretty quickly and made my nurses office. Why was I causing myself to black out? Because some of the "cool" kids said I was too chicken to do it and I desperately wanted to be "cool" too.
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Kids today aren't really any different than kids from my generation or even my dads. They're doing what kids have always done, learning about the world by testing every limit they can. Sure, the methods, tools and even the lessons may be different. If kids seem different or strange today it's because the world is strange and different. If you're honest with yourself, look back at your own time as kid. I bet you can find a dozen or more times where you did something so stupid boggles your now adult mind.

"A dangerous party game has found its way to Janesville." Sorry to say it's been here for quite a while. The kids are just looking for a cheap high, following the example of all you parents who drink alcohol. Forget what you "discuss" with your kids. Take a close look at the example you're setting. If you've ever been even just a little "drunk" "tipsy" or "goofy" in front of your kids, maybe you need to reassess, because your kids have certainly picked up on it.

aparentwhocares~If you read the entire thought that I wrote it says....when I was 11-14 the only reason I read the paper was to find puppies! Read before you type. I also am a parent who cares. But my daughter is two. I have cousins in middle/high school. And if one of my cousins was still at Marshall I would think she was one of the ones at the party doing this. Her parents don't have a clue what is going on in that girls head. I'm not trying to attack you in anyway. If that's how it came out I'm sorry. I'm just saying, if a kid really wants to know how to do this then they will find a way. And your monitoring on your computer will only help (in this case) if you are on the computer the second he gets off. Example~Your son googles pass out game. Finds out what to do. Gets off computer.....when you get home from work or when you find a min. You go check what he was on. But he is already passed out on the floor have seizures.
Now I'm not saying he would or he will. It was an example. And even if he didn't do it that day he could do it any other time.

Nope, still don't believe that the WHOLE DESCRIPTION of what was done needed to be put into print. It is our job as parents TO RESEARCH things if we have a need to talk to our children about them. And as you say, it would be easy enough to look for the information on a "needed basis". It is a proven fact that adolesence have no concept of long term consequences. Therefore, most don't see these stunts as detrimental. There was no consequences listed in this article (i.e. hospitalization, arrests, death....) other than a stern talking to. Well, most kids aren't going to be put off too much from a stern talking to. As a matter of fact, I can see them all laughing about it now. Some things are definately better left unsaid. I don't blame the gazette, all media outlets would have done the same thing, I am sure. I just don't think they should.

Oh my gosh! Let's keep our children locked in our houses so they are never exposed to things like this. We don't want them to learn about all the nasty stuff the paper prints!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Give me a break. If your kid reads the paper and attempts this they deserve what happens to them. "Deserve" might be a harsh word but you get my point. As a parent it is your/our responsibility to be on top of what our children are doing. We need to talk to them frequently and we need to know what they are into. I'm absolutely positive that had this story not broke in the gazette that many parents would never have heard about this. The details are necessary so that parents can carry on an intelligent/informed conversation with their children. Don't blame the media for detailing what can be found on internets sites around the world.

Nice article Gazette!

Just because a child might read this story does not mean he/she will attempt such a stupid act. It would help if all parents now take the time to sit down with their children (and have the newspaper with them) to discuss this dangerous, idiotic act. My guess is that many kids already know all about it from talk at school. It makes me wonder if this game would lead kids into trying huffing (sniffing chemicals) because of a similar high that is achieved whenever the brain is deprived of oxygen. Straight out ask your child what he or she would do if the victim did not regain consciousness. The brain is dying after four minutes without oxygen. Also, if one child did this action to another child not consenting to it, it could likely lead to very serious criminal charges. This game was never played in my youth that I know of ... but it reminds me to ask parents to also warn their children against doing one equally stupid game boys played when I was a young teen: punching each other in the chest as hard as possible. More than one youth has died that way. Until I read this article, I thought Janesville children were smarter than this. I am no longer impressed.

And I do have to agree that the steps taken didn't need to be published. Kids grow up and find things out they don't need to fast enough, the gazette didn't need to help them find out how to do this type of thing. I understand that was not the intention, and that most kids, generally speaking, don't read newspaper, I think more do than people think. Sometime the media can really be portrayed as tattle talers. And sometimes, some information just need to kept to themselves.

Seriously, if the kids of today have no respect for themselves, how can we expect them to respect their communities, peers and elders? This is very bothersome. I can't believe that children have such little value of the human life. Like I've said before, this whole generation of teens are not who I want in charge of my economy in a few years. I am afraid things are only going to get worse with them in charge of our countries well being. Sad, truly sad. And what makes it even sadder is the fact that some will die and most won't care.

gabby06 if you dont read the paper "other then to look at puppies" why have you posted on the blogs here one hundred and eleven times(111) you sound like you just like people to think you know it all

also I watch what my son( who is in middle school )does on the computer As I have keystroke entry and picture monitoring on all of are computers and my son knows that I do. And yes he had known this was going on at school becouse he told me about it and said he couldn't beleave kids would be that stupid. I asked him if he knew How it was done and he said NO , We talked about why they shoudn't do it ,and what could happen not only death but also what not getting oxygen for to long period of time could do to you. But I'll be dambed if I'm going to give him instructions on how to do it...And yes my son reads the paper daily and as far as I know the school gives them papers to read for classes they take at school. So yes I would call my self a parent who cares.......what are you?

ya I do think there are kids out here whom allready know how to do this and that do do it ,but this artical is going to spark intrest in the kids who didnt have a clue about it.and it's like giving them a loaded gun with giving them the instructions and telling them where to go find a video on it..(not all kids are tainted and I would like mine to stay that way) and no I'm not a parent who just thinks I have a good kid .I know I do!!

aparentwhocares~ If the gazette hadn't made this article then you wouldn't have known about this, unless your child goes to Marshall. And I will say this again, how many 11-14 yr olds read the paper????? I know I sure didn't. And if I did it was to see what puppy I could talk my mom into buying. They posted how they do it so that parents know exactly what is going on. And I bet you would be one of the parents (since you care so much) that would have asked how they do it or what its about. And even if the gazette hadn't put the "directions" on how to do it, IF a kid read the article all they have to do is google pass out game and they will get 19,200,000 results and almost everyone of them tells you how to do it. Or at least the ones I looked at. So parentwhocares if you are so ashamed to read the gazette then STOP READING IT!

This has been going on since at least the 60's, and kids back then didn't need to read the instructions in the paper to know how to do it.
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Your kids are not as naive as many of you parents. They know more than a lot of you care to admit.

shame on anyone who would go into such detail ..now more kids will be doing this because the gazette is giving them step by step instructions on how to do this .Yes, talk about it...worn parents about ...teach kids not to do it and why...But to go ahead a teach them how too do it. You will be the ones that will have this on your shoulders when a kid goes to far and realy hurts or god forbid dies from doing this....I'm ashamed to say I read this paper

Do parents really allow their children to go to parties? Kids alone in the basement? Even if they are "checked on" the mischief they can get into is tremendous. And these are middle schoolers as well. They aren't known for making wise decisions no matter how responsible we think they might be. Most are easily influenced by their friends. I can't believe that knowing what happens when a bunch of kids gather together for a party that parents are so gullible to allow their children to go. When will we learn? When one of them dies?

I agree with not printing the instructions on how to do this, but as you see from the article all these kids have to do is go to YouTube or anywhere else on the web and find it. Sad, but true. I also think it is a really stupid and dangerous thing to do. Kids, realize there are other things to do at parties besides this. How about "spin the bottle", sounds safer to me!!

Moore said it appeared the first party—the only one he knew about—was well supervised. The youths were in the basement, but the parents frequently descended to check on them.
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WELL supervised? If injuries had occurred Moore's view would have been very different.

If I remember correctly I saw a story about this on Oprah a year or so ago. She had a mom on the show who had lost a child to this dangerous game. I had never heard of it until that show. From what I heard, there is some type of euphoric high that is felt as the person regains consciousness. It is a "drug-free", "cost-free" "high" until someone dies and then the price is huge. Whats even more scary is that kids have been known to play the solitaire version.

fgb...I understand your concern, but how many middle schoolers do you know read the newspaper? I think it's much more likely that they'll find the directions on how to play this "game" by merely walking down the halls of their respective schools or hopping online and looking at youtube.
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I think Spikesmom's entry illustrates what will most likely happen because of this article: Parents will read it and talk to their children. While you may think that printing the directions wasn't necessary, I argue that it was for the simple fact that now parents know exactly what sort of effort these kids are willing to put into "playing" this "game". Reading about the specifics here, and finding out what your child may possibly be doing this to themselves, or maybe even to another child definitley will catch a parent's attention more than just reading about a "pass-out game". I had no idea what that meant until I read this article. I honestly assumed it had something to do with underage drinking.
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I'd also like point out that in this case, it may be a good thing that these kids are so willing to post their lives on the internet. I'm usually baffled by the amount of revealing information kids will post on the internet without so much as a second thought. After reading this article, I think a lot of parents will realize what a revealing tool the internet may be when it comes to their kids and how they're spending their free time.

Unfortunately, people would play this game back when I was like 8(I'm now 25). I did it once and it freaked me out! I actually got made fun of by kids because I didn't continue to do it. Sadly enough, this is a OLD "game", if that's what you want to call it.

My son goes to Marshall and I just had a talk with him about this stupid "game". In the last 15 minutes he just found out the names of 4 of the kids at this party. I've known them all a long time and I always thought they were a lot snmarter than that. Hopefully they've learned something from this. I know that Marshall will be addressing this in the coming weeks but I hope they do more than just put something in their newsletter. How long before some kid dies because of an undiscovered medical problem or because another kid decides to let it go on just a minute too long. This is really what kids think is fun?????

svrwthr~I'm only 22. I went to Marshall, never heard of it. Maybe I'm not old enough to have heard of it. It's still crazy and dangerous.
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timsmom69~If you were really someone's mom (ur screen name) I don't think you would say this. And if you are someones mom I'm sorry that you could say that about someone else's child. That is the most inconsiderate thing I have heard.
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I don't think the gazette printed this thinking a 11-14 yr old kid was going to read it. It's informational for the parents. Because you know if they hadn't put that in there then everyone would be asking what they do and how they do it. So someone else would have posted it at least on here.

I can't believe Mr. Schultz was careless enough to print step by step instructions. I highly suggest he remove the instructions from this article. He is passing on useless and dangerous knowledge.

Way to go Gazette. Now more of them will know how to go about doing that because you decided to let them know by printing it. Geez already.

gabby06, how old are you? We did this back in the early 80's. I don't condone it and will keep an eye on my daughter more with it beginning to come back. Like we parents haven't got enough to worry about other than having to watch our children closer with the different experimentation they do now plus the crap that went on 20 years ago. Just be more vigilant people.

Are you kidding me??????? This is nuts! I never ever heard of this "game" before. That really scares me. Why would you want yourself to pass out????? Is it me or are kids doing stupider stuff now days????? I know we weren't too bright in middle school but c'mon! This is insane!!!! I hope these kids get some help cuz to me it sounds like they are screaming for attention!