Doorknob is a game in which participants are supposed to say "safety" after they flatuate before other participants say "doorknob". This is known as "calling doorknob". If other participants call doorknob before the flatulater calls safety, then the non-flatuting participants are encouraged to physically assault the flatulater until he or she touches a doorknob. The game is generally assumed to be continuously active, and participants are frequently forced into the game unexpectedly, even against their will. The game is often invoked when participants are somewhere such as on a bus or out camping and will not encounter a doorknob for some time.

Rules

1. When an individual flatulates, he or she must say the word "safety" in a clear tone so as to be heard by those around him.
2. If the individual fails to say "safety", participants may say the word "doorknob".
3. At that time, participants may physically punish the individual who flatulated.
4. The individual must immediately seek a doorknob In strict canon, only a true doorknob is eligible for play. However, in many social circles, house rules have been developed to allow the use of latches, handles, and other devices depending on the general availability of true knobs. and touch it. Once the individual touches said doorknob, the beating must cease.

Variations

Many variations exist when doorknobs are either not accessible, or too accessible. A common variation is to replace the doorknob with something that the participants consider undesirable to touch, or something that is impossible, or nearly so, to touch.

In some circles, the person who has flatulated says "doorknob" rather than "safety" in order to prohibit the others from beating upon him or her. This tends to happen more commonly when the game has not previously been enacted in a certain circle of individuals and the reason the person is saying "safety" might not be readily recognized while "doorknob" is more likely to be recognized and associated with the game.

A known variant is "deerknob", in which the flatuater is required to grab a deer by the antlers, while the other participents deerfight him or her. This is usually only called in jest.

A final variation is that if the flatulator is caught lying about flatuating, then participants may still physically punish the person and may have up to ten punches after the person has touched a doorknob.

Footnotes