The word "verticality" is a challenge, much like calling
bastard rules for "
shotgun". It's along the lines of
not it and
earlobe touching. The process is simple--the
loser is determined by verticality when a difficult task is to be handed out, e.g. "Who's going to wash grandma's
corns?"
A person who feels that their reflexes are fast enough can, instead of touching their earlobe or calling "
not it" can holler "verticality" and drop to the floor as quickly as possible. The goal is to be completely
horizontal first (and no, it shouldn't be called "horizontality"--that's just silly). Despite the
chaos that this breeds, it's usually very clear who the
loser is. In a small room, they're the one on top of the
pile. Not to be confused with
last man standing. Originally associated with
a cappella and
theatre groups at
JHU, most notably the
Mental Notes.