CharlieCharlie Challenge
The devil goes by many names and one of them happens to be "Charlie".
Forget Satan, Beelzebub or Asmodeus. It seems kids in the United States can't wait to try out the new "demonic" fad called the "#CharlieCharlieChallenge".
According to this game, Charlie is a Mexican demon. Mexicans, however, scoff at this idea of an indigenous Mexican demon with the very Yanqui name of Charlie.
They point out their Aztec gods have unpronounceable names like Huitzilpochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Chalchiuhtlicue and Xiuhtecuhtli.
In this game now popular among U.S. teens, players call out to Charlie (aka the devil) to answer a question by forming a cross with two pencils on a sheet of paper. Two "Yes" and two "No" answers are written on opposite corners of the diagonal.
The players shout "Charlie, Charlie, are you here?"
If the pencil moves, it means Charlie is in the building.
The game is spreading like wildfire on social sites such as Instagram and YouTube. And the shrieks are ear-piercing when a pencil moves.
It's a lot scarier if you try it at midnight. Some teens refer to this game as "The Pencil Game".
A compilation of CharlieCharlie stunts can be viewed here.
And is the devil in the guise of Charlie making pencils move to remind us he's alive and malevolent? Not a chance.
A lot of learned persons said this movement is caused by a combination of gravity, friction and the unstable position of the balanced pencil, according to a story in The Independent.
The story said the slightest vibration or movement moves the pencil because the unbalanced position of the top pencil and the lack of friction between the pencils makes the top pencil more prone to spin, according to Cnet.
