Knock knock ginger

The original term Knock Knock Ginger, now also known as Ding Dong Dash, Ding Dong Ditch, Knock Door Run, Dolly Knock, Chappy (Scotland), Chap Door Run, Knock Down Ginger, Ring and Run, Knick Knock Nanny, Nicky Nicky Nine Door, Buzz Buzz Book-it, Bombknocking, Knock off ginger or Ring Bang Scoot is a naughty children's game played in many cultures. It has many variations, one of which involves knocking on the door of or pressing the doorbell of the victim, and then running away before they get to the door.

This game goes by many names; a common one in northern areas of England appears to be 'Knock a'door Run,' sometimes shortened to 'Knock. Door. Run.' In the United States, it goes by 'Ding Dong Ditch' or ' Doorbell Ditch.' Others are Ding Dong Dash, Postman's Knock, Knick Knacking/Knocking, Knock and Run or Knock a Dolly in parts of the Republic of Ireland, Knicky Knocky Nine Doors. In Canada, Nicky Nicky Nine Doors, Knock Knock Ginger and 'Ding, Dong,Ditch' are the most popular variants. Also known in the north east of England as Knocky Nine Doors (as the aim of the game was to knock on every ninth door and try to get to the end of the street before anyone answered and caught you). In Ulverston, the game is known as Knock and Bomb ("bomb" meaning "run very fast").

A deterrent to this practice has been to place a thumb tack on the doorbell button using clear adhesive tape. This is especially useful when the game is repeated several times in the same night. It is also easier to perform this act if the lights are turned out and the person applying the tape acts as though they are merely testing the doorbell thus avoiding the suspicion of any onlookers.

"Knock down ginger" was also the name of the game show segment in the short-lived 1989 television comedy chat show "One hour with Jonathan Ross". The segment was notable for introducing comedians Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Charlie Higson and others to television. The comedians would be behind a number of doors and the contestants would knock on the doors and then face some questions from them.

Variations

There are several variants of Knock Knock Ginger:

"Sour Puss" A person presses the doorbell of the victim and then says, "sour puss" (or any previously determined phrase) several times when they open the door.

"Run By" Running down a street knocking on as many doors as possible and waiting to see all the neighbors come out at one time.

"All Doors." A group rings and bangs on the front door, back door, garage door, and any other doors on the victims house.

"Ding Dong Drive" A group rings a door bell, then gets into a car and waits for the victim to come outside then proceed to drive away

"Knock and "don't" run". In which one, or a group, rings a doorbell, and stays there. The longer they keep the door open, the more "points" they get.Another variation of this is popular in Britain and it is called "Gnoming or Clay-gnoming" which is the knocking at a door or pressing of the doorbell of a house and waiting on the doorstep for the house-owner. When the door is opened the "Gnomer" stands very still. If the house-owner speaks to the Gnomer, they are to fall over. Only once the house-owner has gone back inside their house may the Gnomer leave. Both these circumstances are usually seen at Halloween as the practicer usually wears a mask to hide their identity

"Dance Dance Doormat" When they answer the door you start dancing until they get mad at you.

"The Phantom" A friendly variation similar in concept to a chain letter. Around Halloween, a bag of candy, a sign, and a letter are left on the doorstep of the recipient. The letter asks the recipient to make three copies of both the letter and sign, post the sign on their front door to announce that they have been "hit," and give three bags of candy (with letter and sign) to friends or neighbors. This is also known as "Booing".

"Sardines" A group knocks on the door and either lays down on the driveway or front lawn/step. The last person to leave wins the game.

"Note" A person rings the doorbell and then leaves a note saying, "Hi" or "Hello" then when they answer the door the person reads the note and goes back inside. Then the Ding Dong Ditcher comes back and leaves a note saying, "What's up?" or "How are you?" and rings the bell then they carry on with an entire conversation.

"Ding Dong Flash" A person rings the doorbell and then flashes a bright light into the eyes of the person who answers the door and then runs. Best done at night.

"Knock Door ABC" A person rings the door bell and while they are waiting for the door to open they go through the alphabet until the door is opened and whatever letter they are on they ask if a certain person is home and the name of the person they ask for must be beginning with the letter they land on.

"Rock The Doorbell" A person keeps ringing the doorbell until the victim opens the door and the persons say something and runs.

"Ding Dong Sack-Whack" Someone rings the doorbell and once the owner answers the door they punch them in the groin and then flee the area."

Popular culture

* In the movie "Monster House", one of the kids ding dong ditches the house to see if it was really alive.
* In the movie "The Benchwarmers", Reggie Jackson teaches the guys to ding dong ditch to improve their motor skills.
* The comedian Ross Noble tells of an experience when during a visit to 11 Downing Street he knocked on the door of 10 Downing Street then ran away, only then realising there is a security fence with armed police at the end of the street.

* On the Fieldy's Dreams album Rock'n Roll Gangster on the song Child Vigilante, Fieldy mentions Ding Dong Ditch

* Also known in Angus, Scotland as Chicky Melly. Chicky ( as in chicken if you don't do it) Melly (from the French melee meaning the ensuing fracas if you were caught ). In the tenements of the city of Dundee a full dust bin was taken one floor up from the victims front door and tied with a washing line (sometimes the victims own) to the door handle, when the victim tried to open their door they thought someone was holding the other side, giving an almighty heave they brought the dustbin tumbling down to their door strewing rubbish everywhere.

* Also known as Ratatat Ginger

*In Maniac Mansion this is used as a means to distract Nurse Edna while a second member of your party accesses a hidden vault.

*In a segment of the Australian TV show Rove '99 called 'Pranking Australia' they did a session on knick-knocking which ends in Pete getting arrested

*In the movie "Billy Madison", Billy and his friends leave a flaming bag of feces on a doorstep of an elderly man.

*This prank was shown in the music video for Hoppipolla, by the Icelandic pop band Sigur Rós.

*Ding Dong Ditch is also used in a Windex commercial where one of the crows plays the prank on a man sitting on his patio. While he is answering the door, another crow closes the sliding glass door leading to the patio. The man walks back to the patio, and he walks into the door, because Windex "leaves a streak-free shine."

*In the cartoon "Rocko's Modern Life", the characters Heffer Wolfe and Filbert repeatedly pull this prank in one episode until they finally send a victim into a rage and pay the price for their actions.

*In the "Pingu" episode "Pingu's Lavatory Story", Pingu plays ding dong ditch at his house in order to get his father out of the bathroom so he can use the toilet.

*In the "Ed, Edd n Eddy" episode "The Ed Touchables", Eddy plays ding dong ditch with Edd. When Edd answers the door the first time, no one is there. The second time, Edd pushes the doorbell button to make sure he is not hearing things. The third time, Edd gets hit with a bucket of water. The fourth time, Edd gets a fish thrown in his face. Finally, Eddy appears at the door the fifth time. Edd asks Eddy if he was the one ringing his doorbell, to which Eddy replies, "Who, me? Nah!"
*In the "Beavis and Butt-head" episode Ding Dong Ditch, Beavis and Butt-head attempt this prank with various results. They run away after the person answers the door and even run and hide when not ringing the doorbell.

*Another example of this prank can also be seen in the movie Dennis The Menace. The movie also showed a method of retaliation to deter pranksters (taping a thumbtack to the doorbell).

*In the video game "", the character Axel holds the world-record for ding dong ditches.

*The English rock group Arctic Monkeys recorded a song on their 2005 demo entitled "Knock a Door Run". It appears on the compilation "Beneath the Boardwalk"

*There are two Canadian indie-pop bands whose names involve this game. Knock-Down-Ginger out of Vancouver, BC who first formed in 1995 had released a couple indie albums and subsequently broke up 2 years after their formation and all members went on to form other bands. Knock Knock Ginger, a pop quintet out of Waterloo, Ontario have been together since 2004 and have two self-produced EPs in their discography that have reached the top 10 on campus radio. KKG's music is also played frequently on CBC Radio 3. They currently perform in local venues across Southern Ontario and have also performed at Waterloo's Canada Day celebration hosted by the University of Waterloo and have also played the Halifax Pop Explosion. Upcoming projects as of Sept 2007 include a full length LP.

*In 2006, the American Pop music band Matt & Figgy released a song entitled "Ding Dong Ditch" on their debut album, "Hey Man, How's it Goin'?".

*In 2004, The Scottish band J. Vorhees Goes to the Post Office released a song entitled "knock a door ninja". It charted poorly, but remains a fan favourite, being performed regularly live.

*In the British TV Series "Balls of Steel", Knock and don't run is played by Neg on one occasion.