Why does paper cover rock?
It dates back to an ancient Chinese tradition in which the emperor would indicate his denial of a petition by placing a sheaf of paper over a rock, which came to signify defeat. “Ro-Sham-Bo is incredibly easy to do, and whether they be sober or not sober, which was the case a couple of times, everyone had fun,” Peterson said of the Missoula tourney. National sponsor Bud Lite provided a rule booklet, but in essence it was the same game Locke played with her six brothers growing up in Big Timber. Contestants went face-to-face on a “playing floor” in front of the karaoke stage at Westside Lanes. Each player pumped a fist three times — “to get in sync,” Peterson explained — then “shot” a closed fist (rock), an open palm (paper) or two fingers (scissors). Rock beat scissors, scissors beat paper, paper beat rock. About 40 qualifiers showed up for the single-elimination tournament, which was structured like an NCAA basketball bracket. The first player in a bout to win two best-of-three sets
While not exactly intuitive, the sympolic meaning of paper covering a rock dates back to ancient Chinese culture. When a petition was made to the Emperor, the petition was signified by a rock.Upon making a decision the Emperor would have his servants place a sheaf of paper either over or under the rock. If the sheaf was placed under the rock it would signify acceptance of the petition. If the sheaf was placed on top of the rock it signified denial of the petition. Over time the symbolic image of paper covering a rock became synonomous with defeat.
