Ants in the Pants 4557727 204860562 2008-04-11T05:17:37Z Power Slave 1774228 /* Pop culture references */ '''Ants in the Pants''' is a [[game]] designed by insect-theme game designer William H. (Herb) Schaper. The game was originally produced in [[1969]] by Schaper's company [[Schaper Toys]]; it is currently produced by [[Hasbro]]. The name derives from an [[idiom]]atic [[English language|English]] [[metaphor]] which asserts that nervous, fidgety people must have "[[ants]] in their [[underpants|pants]]." The English word "[[wikt: antsy|antsy]]" (meaning nervous) also derives from this [[metaphor]]. The fundamental pieces involved in Ants in the Pants are a free-standing pair of miniature, usually plastic, pants; and several plastic ants. The ants are [[color code]]d - each [[player (game)|player]] uses one color of ants - and designed so that pressing the tail stores [[elastic potential energy]]. When the tail is pressed and released, the ants spring into the air. The [[object (task)|object]] of Ants in the Pants is to spring as many of your ants as possible into the pants. Some versions of Ants in the Pants include [[Fictional character|characters]] which "wear" the pants. These (usually [[cardboard]]) cutouts depict the character, and also serve as [[backboard]]s to deflect the ants into the pants. [[Plastic]] [[suspenders]] (or [[Braces (clothing)|braces]]) are another common element, which serve as obstacles. ==Pop culture references== *In the South Park episode [[Damien (South Park episode)|Damien]], Kyle gives Cartman this game as a birthday present, much to Cartman's chagrin. == References == * [http://www.retroland.com/pages/retropedia/toys/item/2296/ Ants in the Pants] Retroland * [http://www.hasbro.com/default.cfm?page=browse&product_id=8633 Ants in the Pants] Hasbro [[Category:Children's games]] [[Category:Milton Bradley games]]