When doing research for papers, and for The Cascade, I often end up down a weird rabbit hole on the internet. The latest one resulted in me ending up on the Wikipedia page for POGS. Now, some of the younger readers may not remember this game. Honestly, I barely do. I just remember collecting and building a tower out of them. My prized one was shiny with a picture of a unicorn on it.
Apparently the name is owned by the World Pog Federation, after a lawsuit between them and The Universal Pogs Association. The game was originally played with juice bottle caps from POG juice, which stood for, you guessed it, passionfruit, orange, and guava. It started in the 1920s or the 1930s, the author of the page isn’t sure, but the game’s resurgence was thanks to a fifth grade teacher from Hawai’i named Blossom, who re-introduced the game to her class.
I’m sure if I dig through my childhood toys, I still have one. Is it worth anything? Or was it another fab fad from the ‘90s like beanie babies? I’ll hold onto it just in case. Everything comes back again right?
Image: Amara Gelaude/The Cascade
