# Another Looney Toon Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [November 14, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590 "2020-11-14T21:39:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/1 "2020-11-14T21:39:03Z")
Another “Joke that needs explaining nowadays”: further on in the video that I posted previously, [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pvGFo-B68D0/maxresdefault.jpg "Looney Tunes 1932-1960 | 5 Hours Compilation | Bugs Bunny | Daffy Duck | Porky Pig | Chuck Jones") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvGFo-B68D0) There’s a Bugs Bunny cartoon called “Falling Hair” (at 23:30), Bugs fights a gremlin on a military plane. The plane ends up in a nose dive and stops just before it crashes into the ground. The gremlin looks at the audience and says 'Sorry folks, we ran out of gas" then Bugs looks at the audience and says “You know what it’s like with these ‘A Carts’” (I’m pretty sure he says “A Carts”). He then points at the side of the plane where there is a white capital A on a black background painted inside a square white box I tried googling “A cart” and all that seems to come up is “ammo cart” which obviously isn’t applicable to the plane. Since it’s the punchline of the entire cartoon, I’d think that it should be a pretty obvious and funny joke to the audience. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/2 "2020-11-14T21:44:36Z")
Its “A Card”, a gas rationing card used in WW2. [Rationing in the United States - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationing_in_the_United_States#:~:text=To%20receive%20a%20gasoline%20ration,government%2C%20because%20of%20rubber%20shortages). ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/3 "2020-11-14T21:51:09Z")
[![](https://letterslostthenfound.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Gas_rations.jpg) ](https://letterslostthenfound.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Gas_rations.jpg) Car stickers. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/4 "2020-11-14T22:03:35Z")
Yep, cards as others pointed out. Bugs however does point to a sticker that had to be added to your car so the gas station would know the limits you had too, your card had to be then marked or punched to show how much you had left for the week. > **[What is Gas Rationing? The History of Gas Rationing Stickers](https://carcoachreports.com/gas-rationing-gas-ration-stickers/)** > > Car expert Lauren Fix explains different gas rationing stickers from WWII. Have you seen these stickers on classic cars? Read the history of gas rationing. > **The “A” sticker** is the most common of the WW2 gas ration stickers, and was issued to the general public and entitled the holder to four gallons a week. And for the joke reference, regular cars in those days could do less than 15 miles per gallon. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2020, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/5 "2020-11-14T22:09:25Z")
That was is a classic. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/6 "2020-11-15T13:54:56Z")
Nailed it. Thanks again everyone for your help. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/7 "2020-11-15T15:07:34Z")
If you didn’t know what an “A card” was you might not know that the purpose of gas rationing was not to save gas, there was plenty of gasoline; it was to save tires, because rubber was in short supply following the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/8 "2020-11-15T15:10:33Z")
Which is to say, the absurdities of that cartoon were layered deep. Genius. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/9 "2020-11-15T16:22:45Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Yep, cards as others pointed out. Bugs however does point to a sticker that had to be added to your car so the gas station would know the limits you had too, your card had to be then marked or punched to show how much you had left for the week. > > [What is Gas Rationing? The History of Gas Rationing Stickers](https://laurenfix.com/gas-rationing-gas-ration-stickers/) > > > **The “A” sticker** is the most common of the WW2 gas ration stickers, and was issued to the general public and entitled the holder to four gallons a week. > > And for the joke reference, regular cars in those days could do less than 15 miles per gallon. That’s also relevant to [“Was this trip really necessary?”](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6dxbjk) in _Baseball Bugs_ (recontextualized). ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/10 "2020-11-15T19:17:06Z")
The “4-F” joke in that cartoon also may require explanation for some. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/11 "2020-11-15T20:08:23Z")
How about Mr. Potter in _It’s a Wonderful Life_ as the draft board head muttering “1-A, 1-A”? ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/12 "2020-11-16T02:38:58Z")
When I watched these cartoons as a kid, I knew it had something to do with rationing for the war, but I didn’t know the details. Wasn’t there another similarly themed cartoon, but instead of running out if gas, Bugs points to a lever and say “air brakes”? ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/13 "2020-11-16T02:40:14Z")
And another joke that would require explaining now is when the gremlin says something like “It ain’t Vendel Vilke”. I had to Google that one. Wendell Wilke was the losing candidate against FDR. I’m not quite sure of the joke itself except that maybe Wilke was fading into obscurity then? ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/14 "2020-11-16T03:08:55Z")
In the late '30s, Wendell Wilkie was a well-known lawyer and corporate executive who was one of the leading public opponents of the Tennessee Valley Authority. He made the cover of Time magazine in 1939, which at the time was a pretty big deal. He was a moderate Democrat who became a moderate Republican, and the compromise candidate to run against FDR in 1940. After that, he was a leading voice for Lend-Lease aid to the UK and for repeal of the Neutrality Act, and served as a personal envoy for FDR. He was, in short, a very well-known public figure who was in the news a lot and turned up in a lot different places and contexts. He also had kind of a funny, alliterative name. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/15 "2020-11-16T03:14:47Z")
I doubt Wilke faded into obscurity that quickly. From what I’ve read, the election of 1940 was very nasty, since Roosevelt was running for an unprecedented third term because of the national emergency (the impending war with the Axis powers). I believe one of Wilke’s campaign slogans was “No Crown for Franklin!” I think “It ain’t Vendell Vilke!” just means “Yeah, I’m here, and you’d better believe it’s me!” I get the feeling the line was pinched from some other movie or act, but I couldn’t say which one. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/16 "2020-11-16T06:03:01Z")
Ironically, both Wilkie and his running mate were dead by 1944. So Sam Rayburn would have been in line to be President had Wilke won. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/17 "2020-11-16T08:42:30Z")
[_Devil’s Feud Cake_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Feud_Cake) from 1963. It uses a lot of footage recycled from earlier toons including _Falling Hare_. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/18 "2020-11-16T15:21:51Z")
Nitpick: It’s Looney Tunes (as in songs), not Toons (as in cartoons). In their original form they each had at least one song (Merrie Melodies too, tho usually all of the musical shorts of later years were put into this latter category, such as Rabbit of Seville or One Froggy Evening) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/19 "2020-11-16T15:36:57Z")
> **[What’s the difference between a Looney Tune and a Merrie Melody?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342205/what-s-the-difference-between-a-looney-tune-and-a-merrie-melody)** ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590/20 "2020-11-16T22:07:02Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I think “It ain’t Vendell Vilke!” just means “Yeah, I’m here, and you’d better believe it’s me!” > > I get the feeling the line was pinched from some other movie or act, but I couldn’t say which one. I was wondering about that. Between replacing the Ws with Vs and the fact that the actor also seemed to be using a very different voice for that line than he did for the gremlin’s other dialogue, it made me think he was referencing a specific character or bit that would have been well known at the time but is now obscure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-looney-toon-question/925590.md?page=2)