Viking minute

From USAFA Folklore

A Viking minute was a one-minute period allowed by the table commandant, where fourth class cadets could forgo table decorum and basically eat or drink whatever they wanted. Viking minutes were rare, but most often were allowed after a meal where the smacks had been screwing up royally, and had therefore gotten little or nothing to eat during the entire meal. The Viking minute would be allowed to make sure the fourthclassmen got something to eat, even if it all had to be shoved down the gullet in sixty seconds.

[edit] Variations

• Sometimes, during the Viking minute, nobody's head was allowed to be higher than the ketchup bottle placed on top of the peanut butter. This meant that every cadet's face will be buried in his food.
• The Viking minute has also been known as the "Snake Pit", and the upperclassmen turn their backs for a minute so that the smacks can bolt down what food they can as fast as possible.