 This custom is known in North America since the early 19th century.The New York newspaper "Long Island Telegraph" reported on 20 May 1830 "when two churlish boys were determined to fight, a chip would be placed on the shoulder of one, and the other demanded to knock it off at his peril".A similar notion is mentioned in the issue of the "Onondaga Standard" of Syracuse, New York on 8 December 1830