Eeny, meeny, miny, mo

This is just one of literally thousands of children’s counting-out or selection rhymes that exist in almost every language throughout the world. This particular one has been popular in both America and Britain since the early 19th century, although the word nigger in the second line has been replaced by the more politically correct tiger. These children’s rhymes derive from the ancient practice, prevalent in many different cultures, of casting or drawing lots as an impartial method of selecting an individual from a group. Lot in this sense means fate, destiny or chance, an Old English word from the 12th century, from which we get the word lottery.