Paul's Thing

Where does “On On” come from? Who knows? The only thing I’m fairly certain of is that it didn’t come from hashing. A few years ago I got into an argument with another hasher. He insisted it was a hasher who first came up with the “Drinking Club with a Running Problem” motto, sometime in […]

Believe it or not, there was a time when newspapers didn’t lead off articles about the Hash House Harriers by describing us as members of a drinking club with a running problem. Back in a kinder & gentler age, you were far more likely to see this instead, a quote attributed to a hasher named […]

Here’s a hash rating scale originally devised by ZiPpY and PlayDoh Penis. Readers, what hash rating should your hash get? G-Rated Hash: Beer and snacks, sodas for non-drinkers, names like “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” songs like “He’s a Hasher, He’s True Blue,” new shoes okay, no one pukes, hash over in two hours. PG-Rated Hash: Cases of beer, names like […]

Note: article updated 8/25/11. Not long ago I mentioned bicycle hashing on Facebook. A hasher from Austin, Texas — a hashing town if ever there was one — read my comment and added one of his own, saying he wished there was a bash in Austin. No bash in Austin? Why the heck not? Does […]

I’ve been thinking about the three basic trail configurations available to hares: A-to-A, A-to-A+, and A-to-B.  If you’re a hasher you know what all that means.  In case you aren’t, here are some short definitions: A-to-A: a trail that starts and ends at the same place. A-to-A+: a trail that ends near the start. A-to-B: a point-to-point […]

The hash, I believe, is unique in that it has no professional core or cadre. Somewhere within the structure of virtually every other “volunteer nonprofit” athletic, social, or charitable group – be it Road Runners USA, the national bike teams participating in the Tour de France, even Girl Scouts International – there’s a CEO, a […]

Some time ago, I visited a hash in Southern California. I knew most of the hashers there, so I was with friends. The weather was perfect. The hares and the pack were stoked. The trail was scenic and challenging, and the hares did an outstanding job of keeping the pack together – the quick and […]

Religion, also called “the circle,” is an important part of hash tradition, and often the most remembered part of the trail. With over 1,300 hashes in the world, there must be at least 1,300 ways to conduct a circle, but the basics are such that most of us would feel right at home in any […]