Peculiar events are commonplace in Bowdoin dining halls, but sightings of a student army crawling across the ground, singing a Miley Cyrus song, or serving as waitstaff does not warrant a second look due to the campus-wide craze of pepper-flipping.
"Getting pepper flipped" is a common experience for Bowdoin students, but one sure to raise eyebrows from outsiders. Pepper flipping is a game that has turned into a unique social phenomenon at Bowdoin. The current version runs as follows: a student makes a challenge or bet to another student, such as "If I land this pepper flip, you have to serve me dessert." If, and only if, the chosen student consents to this task, the first student will pick up the closest pepper shaker and attempt to flip it in the air. If the tossed pepper shaker completes at least a single rotation and lands upright, then the bet must be fulfilled.
There are two golden rules essential to the game. The first is that there must be only one flip per meal. This rule prevents practice flips, letting those with natural pepper-flipping talent shine. The second is that only the pepper shaker, not the salt shaker, may be flipped. To violate either rule is reprehensible.
Apart from these basic rules, there is room for some modification. One variation is that if the pepper shaker lands upside down, the bet is reversed and must be fulfilled by the flipper. This rule inspires a sense of moderation in the creation of bets, as there is always the chance that a bet may turn against its creator.
Those who do not fulfill the bets are often chastised, but generally forgiven, and in reality many pepper flip bets go unfulfilled. Nonetheless, there is a rule that requires that if a student has yet to fulfill a landed bet, he or she is subject to a moratorium from pepper flipping.
Flip strategy is a subject of heated debate. Some use the single finger and thumb flick, others use the arm more, and others go for multiple midair rotations. It is generally accepted that the forgiving wooden tables of Thorne Hall are easier to land flips on than the harder surfaces of Moulton Union. The average percentage success rate for landing pepper flips is probably in the low single digits, so landing a flip is considered a great success to be appreciated with due celebration. In addition, the low chance of landing a flip encourages people to accept more outlandish bets.
"Some people have a natural talent for [flipping]," said Heidi Harrison '13. "Some get it their first time flipping and others get excited when they [land] it for their first time their senior year."
Pepper flipping's presence on campus can be heard in the clunk of pepper shakers hitting dining hall tables and the subsequent shrieks of exclamation or despair that fill the air.
"It gives the school that sense of character and quirkiness that you don't get by reading what's online and the publications that are sent out," said Jessica Horstkotte '08, the Assistant Director for Service and Leadership at the McKeen Center for the Common Good.
"I have no idea how it actually started," she said. "But I think it is such a cool, quirky tradition, and it's almost better not to know because you can make up your own story of how or why it started."
The origins of the tradition are hazy at best. Although several campus organizations are quick to take credit for the trend, the ultimate source is unknown.
Horstkotte mentioned that she first heard about pepper flipping during the fall of 2004. She asked some of her friends about the origins of pepper flipping, and found that graduates from 2002 and 2003 had never heard of the game.
The original tradition, however, did not involve betting.
"It was more for the pride" said Horstkotte. "It was less for the bets, more for that moment of being able to do it...when you get it, it's this weird fulfilling feeling."
Betting only began to become popular on campus sometime around the fall of 2008.
Then, just as the game started to surge in popularity, the Dining Service replaced many of the pepper shakers with a different design. According to a January 30, 2009 Orient column titled "Together We Can Overcome the Pepper Shaker Tragedy," students coming back from the 2008-2009 semester break were dismayed by the change, because it left students unfamiliar with the weight and rotational tendencies of the new shakers. The move was allegedly due to lost and broken shakers, but the change sent ripples through the pepper flipping community.
Pepper flipping is still sometimes a source of friction between students and dining services. While some staff members support the unique tradition, the numerous failed flips dump a noticeable amount of pepper on the tables, creating a mess to clean up. The soft wooden tables at Thorne are also vulnerable to damage from falling pepper shakers.
"I think it would be best if the students could be made aware that Dining staff put[s] much time and effort into maintaining the facilities so that they look great for the students," wrote Director of Dining Services Mary Lou Kennedy in an e-mail to the Orient. "The 'Pepper Flip' game is ruining the dining tables at Thorne. We'd rather spend money on food than on refinishing the tables."
Some students echoed Kennedy's concerns.
"Bowdoin needs to reconsider the pepper flip," said Kyle Dempsey '11. "It creates a really big mess for the people that have to clean it up... It's also just a huge waste of pepper."
While he took issue with the method, Dempsey mentioned that he liked the humorous betting. "The idea is cool...I have no problem with the general idea," he said.
"I think it should stay a lighthearted competition between friends and shouldn't be taken too seriously," said Harrison.
Much of the game's fun comes from thinking up ridiculous tasks for friends, and its lighthearted nature can be seen in bets that have come to fruition.
Notable bets have included a student who was flipped to temporarily dye her hair red, another who had to carry a banana in his left hand during a party, and one who had to ask the pilot on his flight home to see the inside of the airplane's cockpit.