The Great Outdoors' Labubu: Why Gen Z Love Discovering Horse Chestnuts?

Name: Horse chestnuts.

History: Introduced to the UK over four centuries back.

Appearance: The outdoor world's Labubu.

No, I don’t think that’s right. Absolutely. Check out a social media video of someone revealing a conker, and you’ll probably hear them refer to it as “nature's Labubu”.

Unboxing conkers? What on earth are you talking about? Goodness, you are definitely not up to date, aren’t you? Gen Zers are using social platforms to record videos unpeeling conkers from their prickly shells.

But why? Due to the feeling of amazement! When you unbox a conker, you never know what you’re going to get. Could it be large? Might it be flattened? What will its shine level be? It is like a mystery box every time!

Are Labubus big and flat and shiny? No, they’re vaguely hellish-looking dolls that have become collectible because they are sold in mystery boxes.

Would someone inform the younger crowd that they’re doing conkers wrong? Are they? How do you do conkers, then?

You put a shoelace through the middle of them, and try to destroy everyone else’s conkers. Wow, really? That’s bizarre.

Yeah. You’ll have a much better chance of winning if you soak the conker in vinegar overnight and then heat it in the oven. You're not joking?

Truly. And if you end up collecting too many conkers, you can toss them in the schoolyard and all the other kids will compete to grab them. A beautiful, natural thing like a conker, and you use it as a tool for battle? A weapon that comes with a long set of arcane and bewildering rules?

It’s traditional! The King recently awarded the World Conker Championships with three hundred horse chestnuts! At least young people are just recording videos.

How are you unaware of this? At a guess, because certain schools prohibited the game twenty years back, due to concerns over well-being.

The modern world never fails to amaze me. Maybe unboxing conkers just doesn't appeal to you. In which case, perhaps you would be better suited to some other popular youth fads.

Oh really? Like what? Well, there’s this thing called knitting, and something else called clay crafting that I can explain to you.

Those hobbies are ancient! Let me guess, you heat tools in apple drink and then use them to jab one another?

No! OK, relax. I thought all older generation's pastimes involved violence in some form, after that conker thing.

This is overwhelming. Take a breath. If you need me, I’ll be unboxing seeds for clicks.

Do say: “Social media loves showcasing nut discoveries.”

Don’t say: “That's crazy.”