Tag!

This passage is about the origin of the game called "Tag."

Lexile Level: 710L

Categories: History Sports & Health

No matter where you are from, you have probably played tag. On the playground or in your neighborhood you have been "it." You have chased friends around, trying to tag them. After you tag them, they are "it." No one knows for certain where tag comes from. The earliest mention of it is in writings from ancient Egypt. But the game exists in some form in almost every country in the world. In England it's called "tick" or "touch." In France the person who's "it" is called either a wolf or a cat. In many other countries the game is simply called "chase" or "hunt." The most colorful names come from Central and South America. In Chile the game is called "ringworm" to suggest that by being tagged you become infected. Argentinian kids call tag "the stain." In Colombia kids play "the carrying," and in Nicaragua they play "the followed." No matter what the game is called it's always played the same way, tag or be tagged!