Do you remember “dogpiling”?

Artifacts of “dogpiling”

Matt Brown, whose work I noted here the other day, has an interesting piece up at his site, in which he recalls “dogpiling,” and its various material artifacts, notably Waxy Fire Rods. He writes:

Sitting here in my cubicle I’m reminded somehow of one of the most memorable eras of my life, and I’m amazed to this day that it hasn’t been documented in any way.  In 1985 I was a teenager living in Saginaw, Michigan and like most others in the area I was bored.  I remember hearing rumors of a dogpiling movement going on in Flint and I knew at that moment that I wanted in. Dogpiling- it’s when a group of people spontaneously decide to form a pile of human bodies.  The “winner” is the one on top of the pile.  The kids over in Flint wanted to celebrate once they were on top of the pile, and they started doing that by lighting candles when they were on top.  Every teen in flint was carrying candles by the end of 1986.  During those two years there was a whole scene built around it- different candle makers, bands, posters, and by the end of it even the biggest corporation in the tri-cities, Dow Chemical, got into it.

This is the story of how it started and where it went…

Read the rest here.

What do you think?

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