This is a game devised by A A Milne in the Winnie The Pooh books. It is very simple and a very cheap way of keeping children amused while on a walk in the countryside but beware of world war III breaking out over whose stick is whose.

A A Milne originally called the game "Poohbridge" but after carrying out some research with Christopher Robin and his friends, he amended it to "Poohsticks" as they found that sticks were easier to mark.

The components of the game are sticks (a selection of) - and if you wish to avoid the aforementioned war I suggest that you make the sticks easy to distinguish. You also need a small bridge over a small flowing river. Still waters might run deep but they are not suitable for this game.

Each person is given a stick and drops them from the upstream side of the bridge at the same time. They then race to the other side (downstream) and wait for the sticks to appear. The stick that is spotted first is the winner!

This game is suitable for all ages and not restricted to minors!

If people would like to play Pooh Sticks but can't be bothered with the hassle of going for a walk, finding sticks, bridges, rivers etc and really feel that their time is far too valuable to be spent waiting for sticks to appear, then they can play at virtual poohsticks.

In August 1999, it was reported that Poohbridge in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex is falling down and needs to be rebuilt. The Disney Corporation, who own the rights to the pooh stories and images, have been asked to contribute. Parts of the old bridge may be sold to raise funds.

Note to the Editor's - Please give Merkin R49185 Joint credit for this