The '70's - Episode 1: The Zot

When I was but-a-wee-lad, we spent a lot of time hanging around old hockey arenas while my oldest brother, who was 4 years older, would enjoy the sport.

Often, to pass the time, me and my other brother would gather old cigarette packs (for some reason, not in short supply at local hockey rinks in the ‘70s).

Somehow, we discovered (or were taught by a generation of enthusiastic discoverers before us) that if you took the cigarette paper inside the packs, peeled off the foil part of the paper, and then chewed up the papery section, it became a very sticky ball of goo.

With that, the Zot was created. And you would challenge each other to toss your zot up to the ceiling, intending for it to firmly adhere there.

It was really an exercise in farming, because the whole purpose of the exercise was to plant your zot, and monitor how your zot was doing (if it was still there) each time you returned to the hockey rink. Surprisingly, it was a common activity, as ceilings of hockey arenas in the '70's (as I recall) were plastered with zots.

I can’t say for sure, but it’s highly unlikely this is a practice you’ll ever catch kids participating in nowadays. Where have all the good times gone?