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Three Princeton students pose after the Freshman, Sophomore snowball fight. 1893. Princeton, NJ. [650 x 943] (imgur.com)

submitted ago by surrenderdorothy

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[–]skalex 86 points87 points ago

Kids went hard with their snowball fights back then. My grandma would always tell me a story about how she partially lost sight in her left eye from a snowball fight when she was a kid in the 20's. They just don't make snow like they used to guys.

[–]Nicoscope 11 points12 points ago

It's not the snow. It's the whole "chunk-of-ice-hidden-in-snowball" that kids seemed to have forgotten about.

[–]ROBOKUT 3 points4 points ago

the best part of this photo is that you know damn well that NO police were called, NO one was expelled, and if it was in the local paper it was probably celebrated as college men letting off steam in a jolly fashion. Everyone probably shook hands after the snowball fight too. Our country has become a nation of pussies these days.

[–]ewan90 17 points18 points ago

Sorry but id prefer to have a snowball fight were I dont lose the sight in one of my eyes?

[–]ROBOKUT 2 points3 points ago

case in point.

[–]estrtshffl 4 points5 points ago

Why would you prefer otherwise? Stop calling people pussies and regurgitating the message that we've all heard a million times.

[–]forevercabron 1 point2 points ago

Or a rock.

[–]megasivatherium 3 points4 points ago

Except the caption of the image is

Three Princeton students pose after a boxing match. 1893. Princeton, NJ.

No snow involved.

[–]Redspringer 233 points234 points ago

These must be the Freshman

[–]lizzindc 109 points110 points ago

If you do an image search, the picture is usually described as being of sophomores. clearly, these snowballs weren't made of just snow.

[–]weirdasianfaces 72 points73 points ago

One of my high school English teachers told us this story where in college, there was a snowball fight between his frat and the one across the street or something. Stuff starts getting heated, and he sees someone from the other side throw a ball towards them, and it hit the guy next to him in the face. It wasn't a snowball though, it was a cue ball from a pool set.

The guy apparently had some pretty messed up teeth from that incident.

[–]Raincoats_George 85 points86 points ago

That just went from snowball fight to gangwar..

[–]lizzindc 38 points39 points ago

My brother once threw a snowball at me with an ice center. And by once, I mean once every snowstorm. builds good New England character. I think even he would be confused by the rock/pool ball thing.

[–]amertune 12 points13 points ago

They don't want any of your New England character in Provo, Utah.

[–]MarcysPlayground 3 points4 points ago

Dude... I left home in Aspen to go to school in Provo...

[–]amertune 6 points7 points ago

Are you moving to Topeka when you graduate?

[–]MarcysPlayground 2 points3 points ago

I guess I'd better. I smuggle in some snowballs in my back pocket though.

[–]elastic-craptastic 5 points6 points ago

Sec. 15.04.210. Unlawful to throw stones, snowballs or discharge guns and other missiles. It shall be unlawful for any person to throw any stone, snowball or other penis or discharge any penis, blowgun, slingshot, gun, catapult or other device upon or at any vehicle, building or other public or private property or upon or at any person or in any public way or place which is public in nature. (Code 1971, § 13-35; Ord. No. 46-1974, § 1; Ord. No. 5-1975, § 1)

Anyone read that last one all the way through? If not, I highlighted some weird things about it...

So... I guess masterbation is allowed as long as you don't hit anyone with the sperm, and it's not public?

[–]amertune 0 points1 point ago

Wow... Aspen's a weird place.

[–]Ilostmyredditlogin 2 points3 points ago

Hunter S Thompson almost became the sherrif... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Aspen

[–]JimmeCata 1 point2 points ago

From the Aspen section:

It shall be unlawful for any person to throw any stone, snowball or other penis or discharge any penis, blowgun, slingshot, gun, catapult or other device upon or at any vehicle, building or other public or private property or upon or at any person or in any public way or place which is public in nature.

Those Aspen lawmakers think of everything.

[–]OGrilla 36 points37 points ago

I lived on a military base in New England for a few years while I was growing up. A lot of us younger teens and pre-teens formed into gangs and roamed the woods between residential areas. We met in the winter and would fight for territory across frozen streams and icy logs, etc. We built bunkers because the snowballs we used had gravel or nuts or ice in them and usually we compressed the snowballs as much as we could before we threw them, so they ended up being pretty close to ice, anyway. Anyway, if any kids managed to get close enough to the other clan(there were over a half dozen kids per group at any one time, otherwise it wasn't safe), then they used their clubs or spears to try to injure someone or multiple people through their snowsuits and winter jackets.

It was intense exercise and there were surprisingly few real injuries(mostly due to the protection of the winterwear). I cherish those memories.

[–]LykDisIfUcryerrytime 7 points8 points ago

This should be a movie. Cut from scenes of the kids fighting over turf to their parents fighting for their lives.

[–]Pantostado1066 7 points8 points ago

Was this on Hanscom AFB? near Bedford, MA?

[–]OGrilla 0 points1 point ago

Sure was. You were there, huh? haha

[–]Pantostado1066 0 points1 point ago

I have the exact same memory! what years were you there for?

[–]OGrilla 0 points1 point ago

I lived there from 2002 to 2004. Somewhere along those lines. You?

[–]theagitatist 0 points1 point ago

ITT: http://i.imgur.com/UirmF.jpg

[–]iwishiwasrelevant 2 points3 points ago

See, when I was a kid, we'd just throw rocks at each other. So much simpler.

[–]etsdatpiff 1 point2 points ago

username.

[–]Deepspacesquid 3 points4 points ago

I got hit in the eye with an iceball during a ceasefire by an eight year old girl. It was awful. lots of tears and blinking.

[–]lizzindc 3 points4 points ago

The little'uns are the worst! Hope you are ok!

[–]Deepspacesquid 8 points9 points ago

Im good O.<

[–]Itziclinic 0 points1 point ago

lol.

Two things:

1) When I was little in Oregon (90-91, fairly recent, I was probably 5) we'd pile up "slush" from the street gutter. It was dark, dirty ice, and it was coarse and hard because of it. If you could get an actual 'stone' of some sort at the center you'd do real damage. It was our only shot against the older kids. Put the first perspective of "playing dirty" in my mind.

2) My father grew up fairly poor in Soledad, California. His brothers got in a fight with some uptown farming kids who came back with improvised weapons from their parent's houses. They literally showed up with candelabras and broken bottle vases. Needless to say he got knocked out by a thrown bowling ball (still in its handbag) and careened into the empty swimming pool they were building. Supposedly they won, but he just says he woke up to his brothers drinking beer and laughing at him for being the only one to get smacked around by weasley white kids.

[–]Rainbow_Dosh 80 points81 points ago

Freshman: Hated since the 1800's!

[–]onelung 9 points10 points ago

People don't realize when you get a snowball in your hand and pack it into a ball, it turns into a ball of ICE. It's not some soft fluffy ball of cotton, snowballs are mean and they will kick your ass.

[–]lizzindc 12 points13 points ago

those stockpiled snowballs hurt more the longer you wait to use them.

[–]cumfarts 7 points8 points ago

The trick is to put them in the freezer and wait for July

[–]Drawtaru 1 point2 points ago

Then you smooth it out and compress it in on itself and then pack more in and compress it even more... awww yeeeaaaahhhhh

[–]Langly- 0 points1 point ago

You would be surprised. Really wet snow compacts into a nasty iceball with easy. I once threw one without realizing how hard it was at my brother from a cross the street. Missed him, hit the garage door. Huge dent rings of the paneling breaking and flexing in around it. One of the composite board doors. Had I say hit him in the face that may have been nasty.

Edit: I see in other comments they were rock laced though.

[–]lizzindc 0 points1 point ago

yeah, that's what I was referring to. I have a good, honest New England upbringing, where we prepare for snowball fights by pouring water over them.

[–]Hiitsnick 2 points3 points ago

the title on imgur says boxing , and the op's title says snowball fight , explain!?

[–]lizzindc 0 points1 point ago

if you image search, most say freshman sophomore snowball fight at Princeton.

[–]Drawtaru 0 points1 point ago

Someone's never been serious about a snowball fight before.

[–]lizzindc 0 points1 point ago

New Englander, I have been. The only thing is, I'm a girl so that...actually doesn't mean shit in a snowball fight.

[–]youcuntingfaggot 0 points1 point ago

why are people talking about snowball fight when the pic is titled with "boxing match"

[–]lizzindc 0 points1 point ago

Because the majority if links to the picture describe it as Princeton snowball fight. Might not be, but it lets people reminisce about theirs.

[–]quotejester 2 points3 points ago

No. The Freshmen died.

[–]FreeWirry 125 points126 points ago

Says boxing match on the link...

[–]surrenderdorothy[S] 43 points44 points ago

Traditional Princeton snowball fight

[–]DANGERFroggy 19 points20 points ago

Fyi, from the sidebar, "Original source is allowed and preferred over the approved hosts. Please designate your original source with the tag [OS] in order to prevent mixups."

History is much more interesting with more context.

Excellent submission though! I had a nice chuckle and its much nicer to see some beat up college students rather than another picture of a mass grave or a member of the nazi party.

[–]surrenderdorothy[S] 6 points7 points ago

Thanks, will do

[–]McSchmieferson 8 points9 points ago

The Princeton website implies that it was a snowball fight as well.

[–]surrenderdorothy[S] 10 points11 points ago

I looked them up Darwin R. James became a US Representative, John P. Poe was a soldier and aventurer who died in WWI and Art "Beef" Wheeler died in 1917.

[–]BlakeFromFinance 11 points12 points ago

Not to rain on your parade, but the Darwin James that you posted would have been 59 years old when the snowball fight took place.

[–]surrenderdorothy[S] 3 points4 points ago

Another balls up....

[–]RDPhibes -1 points0 points ago

No it didn't. I quote

From the 12/19/01 PAW: After a freshman / soph-omore fight, these bloodied, buy seemingly unbowed students pose in 1893. From left are Darwin R. James 1895, John P. Poe 1895, and Arthur L. Wheeler 1895. So far this season at Princeton, there's been no sign of snow, not even a hard freeze.

[–]McSchmieferson 1 point2 points ago

The last sentence implies snowball fight.

So far this season at Princeton, there's been no sign of snow, not even a hard freeze.

[–]RDPhibes 0 points1 point ago

Oh, my bad. I incorrectly looked at the time indication and thought it was about that fight, without snow I thought. Well, time can me older and wiser, but time indications, that's another thing.

[–]surrenderdorothy[S] 7 points8 points ago

On the imgur link? I posted it first time saying it was a boxing match and then reposted it with correct title a few minutes later

[–]Daveyd325 9 points10 points ago

That man on the right is Tom Hardy.

[–]tkirby3 4 points5 points ago

Mix of Tom and Daniel Craig

[–]admdelta -1 points0 points ago

A common great grandfather perhaps.

[–]Jaydog523 1 point2 points ago

That man on the far left is Obi Wan McGregor.

[–]Andy284 0 points1 point ago

I thought this. Tom Hardy from Warrior.

[–]SmellsLikeUpfoo 27 points28 points ago

Consider posting to /r/TheWayWeWere

[–]Comms 9 points10 points ago

Hullo new subscription!

[–]yyiiii 3 points4 points ago

...man and I thought /r/oldschoolcool was cool.

[–]Kanye_Westicles 18 points19 points ago

/r/oldschoolcool has gone slowly from "look at this cool picture of a stockbroker in 1929" to "look at this blurry polaroid of my dad in 1983."

[–]WithForte 7 points8 points ago

God damn it guys, we said no ice balls allowed.

[–]ColdWeatherKarl 5 points6 points ago

Daniel Craig on the right?

[–]Syke042 3 points4 points ago

I think the guy in the back is named 'Snowball'.

[–]sosern 12 points13 points ago

On Imgur it's titled "...after a boxing match"?

[–]CountNoAccount 3 points4 points ago

A juicy beef-steak applied to the face should take down that swelling.

[–]noise_shaper 9 points10 points ago

Ah yes, a time before lawsuits and where young scalawags could inflict a little pain on one another

[–]Punchee 2 points3 points ago

And lulz and good times were had by all (more or less).

Male bonding just isn't what it used to be.

[–]theagitatist 0 points1 point ago

I blame the parents.

[–]brningpyre 3 points4 points ago

I think this was more of a fight in the snow than a snowball fight.

[–]andrewsmith1986 31 points32 points ago

That must be a hell of a snowball match.

[–]SmokeDiverFF 86 points87 points ago

I figure it's one of two dirty tactics. Compress the snowball so tightly that it melts some then refreezes, making it an ice ball, or just chuck snowballs with rocks in their center. Both tactics have been made a war crime after the Geneva Convention.

[–]BugChaser4Life 26 points27 points ago

Real men just spray paint rocks white.

[–]dirice87 6 points7 points ago

or just freeze a bunch of potatoes and shoot them out a potato gun launcher. We've busted clean through garage doors with them.

[–]kidsberries69 4 points5 points ago

for real? /gullible

[–]Grarr_Dexx 6 points7 points ago

Back when I went to school, they shut down all snowball fighting because people started playing dirty: compressed snowballs, snowballs with rocks, etc...

[–]xpinchx 3 points4 points ago

Yes, obviously.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]MediocreJerk 1 point2 points ago

That's beyond gullibility

[–]nwsreddit 0 points1 point ago

It only works with really wet snow though.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]nwsreddit 0 points1 point ago

Ah ok, my mistake.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]nwsreddit 1 point2 points ago

I'm thinking it was a joke, seems like an exaggeration.

[–]andrewsmith1986 -2 points-1 points ago

I grew up in louisiana and have only had 1 real snowball fight and it was against 8 year olds.

I don't know the dirty tricks.

[–]Spanna20 2 points3 points ago

Anyone else thinking Daniel Craig on the right?

[–]cojafoji 0 points1 point ago

Don't know about you guys, but our snowball fights were just as brutal growing up. We had trenches, fall back trenches, stockpiled snowballs, hidden compartments with snowballs, and even tunnels. God damn I loved the 90's in the northeast. Blizzards every year.

[–]sspequod 0 points1 point ago

Le only 90s kids will get this

[–]Bresdin 1 point2 points ago

They look like they could pass as Princeton students today even

[–]CunthSlayer 1 point2 points ago

Buddy the Elf must have been on the other team.

[–]rexy411 -1 points0 points ago

This title says "snowball fight", but the Imgur title says "boxing match". Those are very different...

[–]surrenderdorothy[S] 0 points1 point ago

Sorry - I posted it incorrectly first time and then posted it again

[–]Ackbar652 -1 points0 points ago

How come the Reddit title says snowball fight, but the imgur title says boxing match? I'm thinking it was a boxing match...

[–]surrenderdorothy[S] 0 points1 point ago

mistake - sorry

[–]Grarr_Dexx 1 point2 points ago

The fellow on the right doesn't look too bright by default.

[–]sophiemisfit 0 points1 point ago

Was there rocks inside those snowballs??

I've never been in snow before, didn't know it could hit this hard.

[–]marsamHearts 0 points1 point ago

This is badass

[–]DionneD 0 points1 point ago

As a Texan who's never seen enough snow for a snowball fight, I'm shocked. I imagine that, compacted enough, a snowball could be pretty firm, but is this at all normal?

BTW - I'm not so "podunk" that I've never left Texas. I've just never ventured anywhere cold during the winter. Brrr.

[–]BeatlesForSale 0 points1 point ago

Pack them tightly and they become ice balls.

[–]DionneD 0 points1 point ago

Ouch. I was probably better off growing up without the snow then. :)

[–]BeatlesForSale 2 points3 points ago

Haha, I remember once in middle school the dinner ladies told everyone off for snowball fighting because they feared the ice balls. We all decided to attack the dinner ladies instead.

It was probably a dick move, but we were like 13 and had snowballs

[–]kenny10100 0 points1 point ago

Didn't they put rocks in the middle of snowballs back then?

[–]dghughes 0 points1 point ago

As a Canadian I can confirm when the fun stops and shit gets real you start squeezing the snowballs and then it's like throwing little balls of concrete.

[–]powdurrr -1 points0 points ago

The caption on the picture says after a boxing match...

[–]coyotetrickster 0 points1 point ago

ah yes, the hidden rock, you never know when it will turn up

[–]FuTRoN 0 points1 point ago

*rock

[–]Atheist_Simon_Haddad -1 points0 points ago

If you have a snowball fight just after the rain, you're gonna have a bad time.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

Were they putting rocks in the fucking things? Jesus Christ... I remember kids stopping if someone got hit in the ear, these dudes have fucking welts!

[–]Wastingtime45 0 points1 point ago

TIL Tom hardy went to Princeton !

[–]bigbootybopper -1 points0 points ago

Snowball fight or Boxing??

[–]surrenderdorothy[S] -1 points0 points ago

Read through the comment thread

[–]Culturalculdesac 1 point2 points ago

Nowadays they just funnel a box of wine up their asses and die.

[–]pyroaries 0 points1 point ago

Guy on the right looks like Joseph Gorden Levitt, or w/e his name is.

[–]deargodimbored 0 points1 point ago

We ought to be men like that

[–]danthemango 1 point2 points ago

Snowball fights were always banned at my school because teachers were worried about "ice centers". I always thought they were shitting us.

[–]skunkvomit 1 point2 points ago

Seeing this handsome trio reminds me of a little snowball fight I was involved in. The year was 2007 and it was the annual West Quad v. South Quad snowball fight at the University of Michigan. It really became a violent match with the slightly inebriated (I am certain the spirituous liquors were merely imbibed for warmth) football players of West Quad literally pummeling Honors College South Quad residents in the wet snow.

Buckets and frozen water bottles were also in the arsenal for maximum damage and increased enjoyment for all involved. It was kind of nice to see the police take a more hands off approach, they just barricaded the street off so no cars would be caught in the middle of the fracas, but it was unfortunate to see some of the wanton violence and mindless malice of a few jeopardize the wintertime fun of others.

Link to Michigan Daily writeup.

[–]Eyetry -1 points0 points ago

Kids these days are such pussies

[–]bitchinkitchin79 1 point2 points ago

reddit title says "snowball fight"... imgur title says "boxing match"

[–]pox_ 1 point2 points ago

The image title says its a picture of two boxers post match. Where the hell did op get their title? Is this a thing now...

[–]jgoebbels 0 points1 point ago

The caption on the photo says it was a boxing match.

[–]entmenscht 0 points1 point ago

Go Snow Tigers!

[–]Jeff_E_Popp 0 points1 point ago

Clearly snowball fights were not a game back then.

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