Here's a little known history fact for you. The African Dodger was a game played at local fairs and carnivals during the late 19th and early 20th century. The goal of the game was to hit the target with a ball in three tries or less to win a prize.
The target in the game was the exposed head of a black person called "the dodger" because they would attempt to dodge the balls by moving their exposed head. The rest of their body was hidden behind a large sheet of canvas. An alternate named of the game was "Hit the Nigger Baby" or "Hit the Coon."
The racist and brutal game was famous across the country. Despite the dangerous nature of the game the dodger’s injuries went unreported unless they were critical or resulted in death. Some of the reported injuries were an incident when the dodger was struck in the face by a professional baseball player damaging his nose so badly it had to be amputated to save his life.
Another reported injury was when the ball struck a dodger in the mouth with so much force it knocked his teeth out and was lodged so firmly it had to be cut into pieces to be removed.
Although deaths occurred from head traumas more blacks were actively recruited under the guise of earning a wage. Eventually the brutal game was banned but not without public outcry.
Throughout the years the game would evolve into the dunking booth game where balls are thrown at a mechanical target and a person sitting in the tank only falls into a tank of water and no one gets injured. My how the times have changed. The next time you see a dunk tank at a carnival remember it's racist beginnings.
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