CHINESE WHISPERS

Chinese whispersThe expression 'Chinese

 whispers' is commonly used in the UK

 and many other parts of the English-speaking

world, although less so in the USA. It

derives from the party game in which one

 person whispers a message to the person

 next to them and the story is then passed

 progressively to several others, with

inaccuracies accumulating as the game

 goes on. The point of the game is the

amusement obtained from the last player's

announcement of the story they heard,

 that typically being nothing like the original.

The game is played in all parts of the world

 and each country has its own names for it,

 notably, in the USA it is usually called

 'Telephone' or 'Gossip'.

The name 'Chinese Whispers' was adopted

for the game in the UK in the mid 20th

century, prior to that it was known as 'Russian

Scandal' or 'Russian Gossip'. The reason

for the change isn't clear. It is sometimes

 suggested that the phrase is a racial slur and

 is intended to convey the idea that the

 Chinese talk nonsense. I see no reason to

assume that. The English aren't especially

badly disposed towards the Chinese - there

 are many other races on the UK hit list

 above the Chinese. I think the decision by

 whoever coined the phrase had more to do

 with the Chinese language being more

 incomprehensible to English ears than

Russian. If there is any racial stereotyping

 inherent in the phrase it may be by an

 association with the idea that the Chinese

 are inscrutable.
The first citation of the name in print is

 found in the English newspaper The

 Guardian, March 1964:

The children's game of 'Chinese whispers'...

 in which whispered messages were passed

 around the room and the version which

 came back to the starting point bore no

 relation to the original message.
The use in a more general sense, to describe

 everyday misstelling of stories, began as

 recently as the 1980s. It first started appearing

 in print and in online postings in Usenet

newsgroups in 1989. This was probably a

consequence of the use of 'Chinese Whispers'

as the name of a track on the 1985 album

Stereotomy by The English rock group

The Alan Parsons Project.

How to Play Chinese Whispers

Steps
1.Get at least five people, preferable 10 plus people. They need to be ages 6 upward to be able to participate properly. The more people involved, the better, because the message being passed around is likely to become very distorted and even funnier.

2.Prepare. Write a few messages down on

paper that consist of at least ten words.

 The message can be serious

 or downright silly. Be sure it is legible.

3.Sit the players down on the floor in a circle or a line.

4.Give the first player the message note.

 Have that person explain the message to

 the next person by whispering it in their ear.

 They cannot pass on or show the message;

 that must go back to the person organizing

or monitoring the game.
Have them repeat the message very quickly

 in a whisper to the person sitting next to them.

 No one else must hear.

5.Request that the next person say

whatever they heard, also fast in the same

 manner, to the next person.

6.Continue on around the circle or down

 the line. The game goes on until the last

person says whatever they heard aloud

and the first person reveals the real message.

 Compare them and have a great laugh!