As for how the final winner was tallied-- when I was in elementary school (currently am 22), the final two would hold onto one another's forearms and stand over some line or crack in the ground. They'd move their arms back and forth until the final word at which point it would become a tug-of-war. Whoever stepped over the crack or line lost.


The version I remember best is:

Down by the banks (and/where) the hanky-panky
And the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an eeps ops soda-pop
Land on a lily and go ker-plop.


But I do know there was a longer version. It just became unpopular after the first couple days. The bits above about Coca-Cola and 7-Up sound familiar, but not the parts about Michael Jackson.