Kick the can

The game is played with a kickable object, usually a discarded empty can, sometimes with rocks inserted for noise.

The origin is unknown, but during the Great Depression in the 1930s the game was a popular pastime because it did not require a playing field, nor any designated equipment other than a discarded can or other kickable object.

[2] One person or a team of people is designated as “it” and a can or similar object—paint can or metal pail or bucket—is placed in an open space: the middle of a backyard, a green, a cove or cul-de-sac, parking lot or street.

The other players run off and hide while “it” covers their eyes and counts to a previously decided number.

Alternatively, the start of the game begins when a designated kicker literally “kicks the can” as far as possible.

Another variation was to have two teams at either end of the road with an upright can in a chalk circle in the middle.

In turn each team would roll a soft rubber or tennis ball and attempt to knock over the can.

The seeker had to retrieve the tin and count loudly so that the hiders knew they were ready to start searching.

The game is mentioned in Francisco Jiménez's book The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child.

Past generations remember this game fondly, and it was enough of a cultural phenomenon that it was a central player in a 1962 episode of The Twilight Zone and was incorporated later in the 1983 film of the same name.