Cowabunga is a slang word in 1960s surfer culture, used as an expression of exhilaration when riding the waves.

Origin

The word evolved from "kawabonga," a word used by the character Chief Thunderthud on the United States children's television program Howdy Doody in the 1950s. "Kawagoopa" meant good, and "kawabonga" meant bad. By the 1960s, surfers who had grown up watching Howdy Doody adopted it for surfing use, turning it to "Cowabunga."

1970s through 1990s

Another U.S. children's television character, Cookie Monster of Sesame Street, began to exclaim "cowabunga!" in the 1970s. The character Snoopy from the Peanuts comic strip also made popular use of the word. The word reached greater popularity in the 1980s when used by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Michaelangelo and in the 1990s when used by Simpson family member Bart.

Recent Use

The term has become more common in its usage in the general media in the United States. A press release for The National Human Genome Research Institute read "Cowabunga! Scientists To Start Bovine Genome Project", and a MSNBC article has been titled Cowabunga: Manure becomes electricity.