In some circle , the decisive game ofRock , Paper , Scissorsgoes by another name : roshambo . In the U.S. , the term is more normally used on the West Coast , especially in northerly California . In 2016 , the Slate podcastLexicon ValleyinvitedWall Street Journallanguage columnist Ben Zimmer to plunk into the origins of the monikerroshambo .
accord to sure legends , the full term dates back to theComte de Rochambeau , a Gallic Lord who fought against the British during the Revolutionary War ( and get a shoutout in hit musicalHamilton ) . His name serve as a codeword at the battle of Yorktown , where he command the Gallic troops .
However , “ there ’s no historical evidence of it move back to revolutionary times , ” Zimmer toldLexicon Valley . The earliest make love use ofroshamboas a synonym for the game of Rock , Paper , Scissors is found in a 1936 book calledThe Handbook for Recreation Leaders , bring out in Oakland , California . That mention spelled it “ ro - imposter - beau . ”
Zimmer says that the Comte de Rochambeau had no involvement with the game of Rock , Paper , Scissors . edition of the game originate in China as far back as 1600 before spreading to Japan , where it was called “ Jon Ken Pon . ” The Nipponese game finally spread to Europe in the former 20th hundred , and made it to the U.S. in the 1930s .
Because the San Francisco area has long been home to a large population of East Asian immigrant , it ’s potential that kids play the other variant of Rock , Paper , Scissors became conversant with the Japanese nameJon Ken Pon . While there ’s picayune historic grounds to draw the variety , Zimmer frame hypothesizes that Bay Area kid in the ‘ 30s ended up Americanizing the name ( perhaps with the help of the Revolutionary War noesis they beak up in history form ) and transforming it into a word with standardised cadence : “ roshambo . ”
Listen to the whole episode onSlate .
