No no? On on?

July 11, 2007 9:35 PM

What is the meaning of the bumper sticker that's shaped like a foot and says either "No-No" or "On-On"?

The sticker looks like the UNC Tarheels logo but is usually horizontal and has the words No-No (if applied one way) or On-On (if applied the opposite way). I've seen it outside of NC, so I don't think it's related to the university.

posted by Nathanial Hörnblowér to society & culture (18 comments total)

It appears like it has to do with something called hashing, and I cant for the life of me figure out what the fuck that means. I assume it has to do with pot, but this website makes no sense.

http://th3.org/
posted by Justinian at 9:44 PM on July 11, 2007

(you can see the NO-ON/ON-ON sticker on that page. But, like I said, the website is so crappy they don't even tell you what the hell hashing is.
posted by Justinian at 9:45 PM on July 11, 2007

Justinian, I've heard of "hashing" as a group of runners who have monthly (or so) events where they run a pre-determined route through the city, marked by signs along the way. The run usually ends in a bar somewhere. But I don't know if that's the origination of the sticker, or if the hashing group that created the Web site you linked to simply used the design as their own. But yeah, that's the very sticker I'm talking about, minus the TH3 in front.
posted by Nathanial Hörnblowér at 9:53 PM on July 11, 2007

It's a Hash House Harriers sticker.
posted by zamboni at 9:55 PM on July 11, 2007

Hashing. "On On" is the call that means you've found the trail.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:55 PM on July 11, 2007

According to Urban Dictionary, the Hash House Harriers are known as "The Drinking Club with the Running Problem"...
posted by caaaaaam at 9:57 PM on July 11, 2007

Ahh, the Wiki. I should have looked there first. Does the "no no" have a meaning as well?
posted by Nathanial Hörnblowér at 9:58 PM on July 11, 2007

I'm a hasher. The Hash House Harriers is a drinking club with a running problem. It's a game, a bit like running a maze, a hare-n-hounds game or a paper chase. It was invented in the 1930s by British soldiers in Malaysia. They'd meet to start each run at the base's cafeteria, AKA the "Hash House." The name has nothing to do with weed and everything to do with corned beef.

Anyway, the running trail is basically a maze. You don't know where the end is, and the trail often has intersections, just like in a labyrinth, but only one way is the correct way. The trail is often marked in flour, toilet paper or chalk, and intersections are sometimes marked as big Xs or crosses along the trail. You reward for figuring out the maze is a keg of free beer and sometimes food at the end of the run.

Sometimes people don't do a very good job at figuring out the maze. Sometimes people get lost. A lot of hashers wear whistles around their necks, so that once they pick up trail again after an intersection, they can blow the whistles for the runners at the back of the pack to know "This is the way to go." Hashers that don't carry whistles will yell "ON ON!" to indicate that they have found the trail and are heading the right way. Sometimes "ON ON" will be written in chalk along the trail to indicate that you are going the right way.

The "NO NO" is a joke. It means you are running the trail backwards.

It's good fun and is a great way to get into running. There are hashes in pretty much every major city in the world, and any place with a high population of expats.
posted by Brittanie at 10:36 PM on July 11, 2007 [7 favorites]

I should also add that the footprint itself is a symbol of hashing, often found on t-shirts, patches, silver jewelry, tattoos, stickers on their cars, whatever (with and without the ON ON). The club itself may sound a bit silly, but almost all the hashers I know are serious runners, a few are even serious marathoners and a couple have done the Ironman.
posted by Brittanie at 10:40 PM on July 11, 2007

Huh, so when i see little chalk arrows or HHH on the ground, it is these guys?
Thanks mefi, I now know something that has bugged me ever since I was a kid, walking home from school.
posted by scodger at 4:05 AM on July 12, 2007

That is so cool.
posted by miss tea at 5:00 AM on July 12, 2007

I lived with a Hasher for a couple years. The devotion is nearly religious....
posted by TeamBilly at 6:52 AM on July 12, 2007

That truly is an awesome concept
posted by bilbo baggins at 8:15 AM on July 12, 2007

I ran a couple of Hash Runs when I lived in Guam. I'm not a habiltual Hasher, but it was a blast.

Thanks for reminding me of this, Metafilter!
posted by Pecinpah at 8:46 AM on July 12, 2007

As discussed on MeFi.
posted by absalom at 10:16 AM on July 12, 2007

The Red Dress Run passed through our neighborhood a couple years ago when we had some people over. It was kind of fun - we chatted with a few of them as they ran by with their beers.

I'm glad to see this thread - I see the On-On stickers now and then and wondered what they meant. I figured it was a band.
posted by altcountryman at 12:00 PM on July 12, 2007

hashing is fun but i'm not good at running with a belly full of beer. bburrrrpppp. those hashers are amazing!
posted by hazel at 4:20 PM on July 12, 2007

Pecinpah — my husband first got into hashing in Guam and Saipan. He's the one who got me into hashing. Two months after we started dating he took me to my first hash — I have a feeling it was a test... if I couldn't hang with the hashers I was gonna be too uptight to spend much more time with. Luckily, I loved it and have been active in the group ever since. I always look for a hash no matter where I travel, and it is a great way to see the world and meet new people.

Hazel, most (but not all) of the hashers I know save their beer for the circle (the end). Although I've been known to partake in a few "warm-up exercises."
posted by Brittanie at 5:04 PM on July 12, 2007