Apple bobbing, also known as bobbing for apples, is a game often played on Halloween. The game is played by filling a tub or a large basin with water and putting apples in the water. Because apples are less dense than water, they will float at the surface. Players (usually children) then try to catch one with their teeth. Use of arms is not allowed, and often are tied behind the back to prevent cheating.
 

In Scotland, this may be called "dooking"^[1] (i.e., ducking). In northern England, the game is often called apple ducking or duck-apple.
 

In Ireland, mainly County Kerry, it is known as "Snap Apple", and in Newfoundland and Labrador, "Snap Apple Night" is a synonym for Halloween.^[2]

 

 

The current game dates back to when the Romans conquered Britain, bringing with them the apple tree, a representation of the goddess of fruit trees, Pomona. The combination of Pomona, a fertility goddess, and the Celts' belief that the pentagram was a fertility symbol began the origins of bobbing for apples.^{[citation needed][3]} When an apple is sliced in half, the seeds form a pentagram-like shape, and it is thought that the manifestation of such a symbol meant that the apple could be used to determine marriages during this time of year. From this belief comes the game bobbing for apples.^{[citation needed]} During the annual celebration, young unmarried people try to bite into an apple floating in water or hanging from a string; the first person to bite into the apple would be the next one to be allowed to marry.
 

The custom is mentioned (along with apples suspended on a string) in 18th century Ireland by Charles Vallancey in his book Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis.
 

Girls who place the apple they bobbed under their pillows are said to dream of their future lover.^[4]

 

HEALTH RISKS


Due to the nature of the game, whereupon a number of individuals each place their entire head into a bowl of water, it is thought to be a somewhat unsanitary game to play. A potentially more sanitary variation of the game exists, with the apples hung on string on a line, rather than in a bowl of water


IN POPULAR CULTURE

 

Agatha Christie's mystery novel Hallowe'en Party, is about a girl who is drowned in an apple-bobbing tub.

In a SpongeBob SquarePants episode called Scaredy Pants, Mr. Krabs manages to catch an apple while he was apple bobbing, but accidentally swallows

it and chokes on it.

 

{"smallUrl":"http://pad3.whstatic.com/images/thumb/9/92/Bob-for-Apples-Step-1.jpg/360px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"http://pad2.whstatic.com/images/thumb/9/92/Bob-for-Apples-Step-1.jpg/760px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":360,"smallHeight":270.26865671642,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570.5671641791}

• 

  {"smallUrl":"http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/c/c7/Bob-for-Apples-Step-2.jpg/360px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-2.jpg","bigUrl":"http://pad2.whstatic.com/images/thumb/c/c7/Bob-for-Apples-Step-2.jpg/760px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-2.jpg","smallWidth":360,"smallHeight":270.26865671642,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570.5671641791}
  
  
  2
  Fill tub with cool (not cold) water. Fill it about 3/4 full. Take care not to overfill so that water won't be sloshing and splashing out—much. Make sure that the water is not cold or hot.
   
  • If you're playing inside, place some towels at base of the tub so that the floor won't get wet
  •  
  • 
     
• 

  {"smallUrl":"http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/c/c0/Bob-for-Apples-Step-3.jpg/360px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-3.jpg","bigUrl":"http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/c/c0/Bob-for-Apples-Step-3.jpg/760px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-3.jpg","smallWidth":360,"smallHeight":270.26865671642,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570.5671641791}
  
  
  
  3
  Float several apples in water. Put as many as will fit in your tub, but not so many that the apples don't move: you want a challenge, right?

• 
  
   
• 

  {"smallUrl":"http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/d/db/Bob-for-Apples-Step-4.jpg/360px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-4.jpg","bigUrl":"http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/d/db/Bob-for-Apples-Step-4.jpg/760px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-4.jpg","smallWidth":360,"smallHeight":270.26865671642,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570.5671641791}
  
  
  
  4
  Select the first player. You are not allowed to use your hands for bobbing, so each player must put their hands behind their backs at all times.
   
  
  
   
• 

  {"smallUrl":"http://pad2.whstatic.com/images/thumb/d/df/Bob-for-Apples-Step-5.jpg/360px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-5.jpg","bigUrl":"http://pad3.whstatic.com/images/thumb/d/df/Bob-for-Apples-Step-5.jpg/760px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-5.jpg","smallWidth":360,"smallHeight":270.26865671642,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570.5671641791}
  
  
  
  
  5
  Say "Go". Each player must try to grab an apple in their teeth. Give them 20 seconds to do this and have the other players count "1000 one, 1000 two" while the player is dunking.
• 
  
   
• 
  
  

  {"smallUrl":"http://pad3.whstatic.com/images/thumb/6/64/Bob-for-Apples-Step-6.jpg/360px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-6.jpg","bigUrl":"http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/6/64/Bob-for-Apples-Step-6.jpg/760px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-6.jpg","smallWidth":360,"smallHeight":270.26865671642,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570.5671641791}
  6
  Select the winner. The person who catches an apple in the quickest time is the winner.
• 
  
   
• 

  {"smallUrl":"http://pad2.whstatic.com/images/thumb/9/98/Bob-for-Apples-Step-7.jpg/360px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-7.jpg","bigUrl":"http://pad3.whstatic.com/images/thumb/9/98/Bob-for-Apples-Step-7.jpg/760px-Bob-for-Apples-Step-7.jpg","smallWidth":360,"smallHeight":270.26865671642,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570.5671641791}
  
  
  7
  Clean up. Take a towel and dry off, and have fun!

• If you really want to win, and you just don't care about getting super wet, here is what you need to do: hold your breath and push the apple all the way down to the bottom of the tub before attempting to bite it. The side can work too, but it is trickier!

   
   
• To make the game harder, take the stems off the apples.

   
• If you want to play a similar game but don't want to get wet, you can also hang apples from the ceiling with string and have players try to catch them without hands.

   
   
• A tub filled with water is extremely heavy. Make sure you have some provision for transporting it back and forth.

   
   
• If you want to vary the fruit, try other floating fruits, such as oranges, pears or peaches.

   
   
• Provide towels for all players. Even the losers will be wet.

   
   
• Consider variations to the game: The game can be made more challenging by putting fewer and larger apples in the tub that won't fit in your mouth easily. Use smaller and softer apples to make it easier for little children to have a go.

   
   
• With small children, you can put a tub on the floor and let them bob while on their knees.

   
   
• Between players, remove bitten apples from the tub and replace them with fresh ones. Or ask each player to take out his or her bitten apple at the end of each round

• Never bob for apples with braces, the front brackets could be torn off.

   
   
• Bear in mind that many germs can be passed from person to person through the water. Therefore, the tub of water that is full of apples is also full of germs! Keep in mind, also, that bobbing for apples is a centuries-old pastime, so the likelihood of you catching a horrible, face-eating disease and dropping over dead is about as likely as Michael Meyers in knocking on your door.

   
   
• If you can't stand the thought of dunking your head into dirty water, than bobbing for apples isn't for you.

   
   
• Do not allow sick people to play.

   
   
• Always supervise children playing this. Do not let a child stick his or her head under the water for a long period of time.

  
  
  THINGS  YOU'LL NEED
  
  Towels

  •  
    Water
  •  
    Apples (one per player)
  •  
    Container such as a bucket, metallic tub, washing up bowl, large pot etc. - size needed will depend on whether the game is for children or for adults
  •  
    Prizes