Podcast Summary:
“Anyway, I’ll Drink to That” is a Boozn Sam’s production, exploring the fun, quirky, and fascinating tales of drinks (Wisconsin Pull Tabs this week) that define culture, history and the world. Every drink has a story to tell, and I’m going to tell it…as true as I can. Hosted by Sam, from Boozn Sam’s. Saddle up with a good cocktail and give me a few minutes of your time for a mystery surrounding a drink that changed the world.
Episode 32 Notes: Cardboard Crack
How did a 600 year old Japanese game, POGS, and baseball cards create a bar game that’s illegal in most US states?
Transcript of Podcast:
*Note – This is the full episode and containers spoilers. You can always listen to the podcast above.
It was a three PBR day at the bar, so a normal day, and Spencer was getting his usual fix after a long day of work. He went to the bar for the beer, and also for another type of fix that you can’t get many other places. You see, he was in Wisconsin and shelling out ones on a quick fix that doesn’t exist out of state. You’ve probably never heard of this fix either, unless you live in Wisconsin. And even if you do live in Wisconsin there is still a good chance you haven’t heard of what I’m talking about.
Because this fix is uniquely Wisconsin and few other states have such a bar attraction. It’s not legal most other places. But, just because more than 90% of states think something is illegal…is a thing really illegal? Yet I understand. Because when Walter started giving out these fixes he faced the wrath of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin. They seized his property. They took him to court. They said what he was doing was illegal and they weren’t going to stand for it. In reality, the government saw Walter as competition. They wanted their cut and they weren’t going to let him get away with selling his fix. The government always wants their cut.
You see, most bars in most states in the US have to settle for silly ol’ juke boxes, blaring achey breaky heart or Taylor Swift. Now, I’ve got nothing against Taylor Swift and her mad talent, but she’s the last person I want to hear at a dive bar, or most any bar I go to. I’m just not going to the bar to cry into my beer. I’m going to celebrate and have fun, and if I’m feeling lucky, get a quick fix of some cardboard crack.
So, Spencer was having a good day. He was getting his fix that few know about, but one that has been around for hundreds of years. It all started when a Japanese game found its way to Hawaii and then became something Spencer was consuming at a small town bar in Wisconsin. Pfft! And they say small town Wisconsin isn’t cultured…
It all started in Japan during the 1600’s with a simple game. This game was the start of many things, in fact. But, at the beginning this game consisted of rigid, cardboard cards that were similar to what we’d call baseball cards today. Instead of a ball player and his stats, the image side of the card had cultural icons. It could have had a ninja or a samurai. The images evolved through the centuries, but always stayed in touch with the culture of the time. The game was called Menko, and it’s still around today.
Today, it’s a nod to a spiritual part of the past. For centuries, even though it’s hard to imagine now, before there were cellphones that could distract us every second of every day like an electronic drip of dopamine, we had to have fun other ways. So, for the kids in Japan, Menko was that way.
They’d collect Menko cards, trade them, make new friends by asking what others had collected, and do battle against each other. It was a social game. A simple game. A fun game.
I toss down a card to start. Then you toss down a card. If you flip my card with the gust of tossing down your card, you get to keep both cards. Or, if your card lands on my card, you keep my card. Flip or hit. The person with the most cards at the end of the game wins. The game is that simple, and the images on the card have nothing to do with the game itself. The images on the cards make the cards fun to collect, fun to trade, and fun to look at. Simplicity and the game of collecting are why Menko was so popular.
We’re collectors by human nature. Whether it’s spouses, sabertooth tiger teeth, or acorns. We like to collect things and it’s deeply ingrained into who we are as homo sapiens. The things you collect also say a lot about you as a person. Take, for instance, someone who collects used underwear. That type of person is a very different type of person, and one I don’t want to meet, than someone who collects toy cars.
The collectible nature of the images and the simplicity of the game gave people a sense of control over the game, the ability to master the rules and how to play, which felt really good. Plus, they got to look at cool artwork. The design of a thing has been something people still collect today, whether it’s baseball cards, beanie babies, Pokemon cards, magic the gathering cards, or special edition beer cans.
The simplicity and collectibility is why Menko made its way to Hawaii. And, is usually the case, when something travels across cultural lines, the rules stayed the same, but the pieces changed. There was a time in our history when you didn’t go to the store to get your milk. A literal milk man, and he was usually a man, so I’m not gender typing here, would stop by your house and drop off fresh milk on your doorstep. It came in a glass bottle, condensing slightly on the outside, and corked with a thick, flat cardboard cap. These caps had a flat side, the top and an open side, the side latched on to the milk bottle. Kids collect these milk caps and play a game with them.
They would stack them. Then they would drop a heavier object on to the top of the stack. When the debris settled, any face up caps were kept by the player and the face down ones were re-stacked for the next player to try. When all the caps were collected by players, the person with the most caps, won. It was that simple.
Stack the caps. Smack the caps. Keep the up caps. Win the game. Another super simple game and a variation on the original Menko game from Japan.
Seeing an opportunity, and capitalism being what it is, a company decided to increase the value of their product by creating decorative caps specifically for this game. They were putting the collectible aspect back into the game that Menko had. While they never sold their juice with a cardboard cap, they did use the small collectible caps as a marketing promo to create brand exposure. This was the 1970’s and the company in Hawaii was trying to sell their Passion Orange Guava juice. I have no idea if that was a hard sell, or not, but it’s a drink I’d try at least once.
But, I do know putting Passion Orange Guava on the cap of these promo items would be a bit wordy. So, they abbreviated that, put that abbreviation on the small caps, and then gave them away. If you’re a child of the 90’s you might be catching on to where this is head. Passion Orange Guava juice…abbreviated as P.O.G. on the cap. Which gave way to the game of POGs that features colorful and specially designed round discs which game players collected and used to compete with each other. They stacked the POGs, then use a slammer to try flipping the POGs. Then collect the ones that have flipped, just like the game with the milk caps.
Let’s head back over to Spencer, who has just struck it lucky on his usually nightly fix. He’s done with PBR number two at this point and might be staying for more than a third tonight. He’s really feeling it now too. Standing up from his bar stool and high fiving his buddy next to him. Others are looking. Others are excited. Others wished they got his fix.
And we’ve got Walter to thank for this. The fix he created was Wisconsin Milk Caps, of which the majority are sold at bars in Wisconsin for $1 a piece. This game is simple, and like the other games that came before it, it’s a collectible. Think of a scratch off game and you’re close to what this is. But, this isn’t a scratch off game.
This game is a piece of cardboard with one side having five perforated slots you rip open. Some call this game pull tabs… because you literally pull the tabs. Below each tab, when you rip them open, are the shapes that you might find in a slot machine. Pieces of fruit, like cherries or limes or watermelon. Bells. A lucky clover.
If one of the tabs has three matching shapes on it, you win the corresponding dollar prize, which usually ranges from $1 – $250.
On the back side is a circle, with a collectible design inside of it. Yes, similar to a POG, and although users can do anything they want with the game piece they are encouraged to collect the designs, since they frequently change and have a collectible nature about them.
Now, what makes this game so fun is that it’s a great social game. You can be at the bar with a few friends, each throw in ten bucks, divide up the milk caps, and rip them open. The bar will pay you out your winnings and you can keep playing or keep whatever you’ve made. It’s an addicting little game. Low cost to play. Fun with friends. And an easy way to pass the time and get a little fix of adrenaline and excitement along the way.
Of course, the Attorney General and the city of Milwaukee thought differently, which is why they raided Walter’s office and took all his milk caps, with the accusation that this was an illegal lottery game.
Walter, not one to back down from a fight, no matter the cost, and he knew it was going to cost him, went to court over the issue. You see, it’s estimated that Wisconsin milk caps siphon away millions a year from the lottery. That is, of course, assuming that people who play milk caps are also going to go out gambling in other ways. I think that’s a fallacy, because I like milk caps, but I don’t like to gamble. Either way, the Department of Revenue saw someone dipping into their pocket and they were taking action.
Walter, on the other hand, called their bluff. One man, took on the state of Wisconsin. And you know they weren’t going to back down, because the government likes their money, however they can get it. But, Walter, argued that the same statue which allowed McDonalds to promote games like their monopoly game, a game where you collect monopoly pieces on food products you’ve purchased to try winning cash prizes, should also allow him to sell his game. After all, he was selling a collectible that also happened to give the end user a chance at also winning a cash prize.
In the end, Walter won. When the case was appealed, the decision was upheld in court and he won that too. Wisconsin Milk Caps is the only legally sanctioned version of the game in Wisconsin, and, although it seems no one, from the courts to the attorney general of Wisconsin, liked this decision, they all respected it. They respected the statute, even though they didn’t agree with it. Because doing otherwise would infringe upon the rights of Wisconsin residents like Walter who were navigating within the bounds of the law.
In today’s world, where overstep by governmental authorities and public individuals is more common, I respect that. And, in many ways, that makes Wisconsin Milk Caps a game that embraces not only a 600 year old tradition passed to the US from Japan, and then from Hawaii to Wisconsin, but also a representation of conviction and right.
For, had Walter caved under pressure from the state of Wisconsin, or, had he decided to not fight based on what he knew was right, this game wouldn’t be around today or it would have been absorbed by the Wisconsin Lottery.
And while it may be a frustration for the state and the Wisconsin Lottery, because of the money it pulls away from their pockets, it’s also a reminder of the rights of citizens. Because the state upheld those rights, even when they didn’t like it or want to.
And for that reason alone, I’m willing to grab a PBR, stick a few bucks into the machine in support of such a concept, and pull some tabs anytime I find myself in a Wisconsin bar…which is quite often.
Anyway… I’ll drink to that.