As mentioned by
m1a9366b's rather extensive write up, chicken is a
game, if you will, played by
consenting drivers whereby two cars race toward each other at high speed, willing the other to
swerve first. It is
very important to know which way you should turn, otherwise you may both look rather the worse for wear.
Always swerve in the direction that you country's road rules follow. That is, in
Australia and
England you should turn
left and in
America and almost everywhere else you should go
right. Observe by this
ascii art:
_____
_____| | |
___________/ |___|_|
_____ _________ In England/Australia
| | |_/
|_|___|
_____
| | |___
|_|___| \______
_____ _____ Everywhere else
\___| | |
|___|_|
You would look pretty stupid if this happened (you wouldn't however, look pretty)
_____ _____ * _____ ______
\___| | |*| | |____/
|___|_|*|_|___|
*
Excuse my
ascii - It is my first attempt ever.
Chicken is a popular stunt in the movies, such as
Death Race 2000,
Cry Baby and
Mad Max
In
High School High, there is a different kind of chicken played, called a Chickie Run, where two cars race toward a cliff, the first person to jump out being the loser (kind of a cross between car chicken and train chicken).
sid tells me that the same thing happened in
Rebel Without A Cause - the High School High name is probably a reference.