# Apparently post credit scenes in movies have a name: stinger. Who knew? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752 "2009-05-08T15:24:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/1 "2009-05-08T15:24:53Z")
[Stingers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-credits_scene) and [moviestinger.com](http://moviestinger.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/2 "2009-05-08T15:33:20Z")
I thought they were called “credit cookies.” Or is that something else? ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/3 "2009-05-08T15:46:59Z")
I always called 'em “Wait til the end of the credits, lets see if there’s anything.” But, I do like credit cookies 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/4 "2009-05-08T16:52:10Z")
I knew that from Mystery Science Theater, which made a tradition of it. But at this point, I think of post-credit scenes as “obligatory 5-second wastes of my time that weren’t important enough to be in the movie in the first place, and are not worth my sitting through 12 minutes of credits when I could already be out the door and halfway to dinner.” Stinger’s shorter, though. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/5 "2009-05-08T17:19:38Z")
I don’t know if I’ve ever heard the term, but that what I assumed they were called. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/6 "2009-05-08T18:12:12Z")
Didn’t know that. Thanks - ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/7 "2009-05-08T20:12:06Z")
Sometimes “Monk’s reward.” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/8 "2009-05-08T20:18:09Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Sometimes “Monk’s reward.” That’s what Roger Ebert calls them. I don’t know if he coined the term or not. By the by, do we have a thread to list them? I have a collection in my personal memoirs that I’d love to share (and to augment)…TRM ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/9 "2009-05-09T01:03:54Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I knew that from Mystery Science Theater, which made a tradition of it. But at this point, I think of post-credit scenes as “obligatory 5-second wastes of my time that weren’t important enough to be in the movie in the first place, and are not worth my sitting through 12 minutes of credits when I could already be out the door and halfway to dinner.” > > Stinger’s shorter, though. I disagree. I, for one, feel it was vitally important to learn that Skeletor was still alive at the end of Masters of the Universe. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/10 "2009-05-09T02:10:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I knew that from Mystery Science Theater, which made a tradition of it. But at this point, I think of post-credit scenes as “obligatory 5-second wastes of my time that weren’t important enough to be in the movie in the first place, and are not worth my sitting through 12 minutes of credits when I could already be out the door and halfway to dinner.” > > Stinger’s shorter, though. Oh, I don’t know, the bloopers at the end of _A Bug’s Life_ and _Monsters Inc_ were very worth the wait. However, I did hang around through the credits of _Finding Nemo_ hoping there would be bloopers…and there weren’t. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/11 "2009-05-09T03:00:21Z")
I also learned they were called “stingers” from MST3K also, if you’re watching a movie in theaters, keep an eye out for a small oval dot to appear in the upper right corner of the screen (black dot with a white border) for a fraction of a second, count to five, and you’ll see the dot again, those are called “Cigarette Burns” (Cue Marks) and they’re there to tell the projectionist that he has five seconds before that reel of film runs out, the first cigarette burn is on the old reel, the second one is on the new reel I learned that from “Fight Club”, only problem is now whenever I go to the movies, I see the Cigarette Burns every time and start mentally counting off that 5 second delay and looking for any visible sign of a projector changeover, they’re no longer invisible to me ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/12 "2009-05-09T03:47:25Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > …By the by, do we have a thread to list them? I have a collection in my personal memoirs that I’d love to share (and to augment)…TRM [IMDB.com](http://IMDB.com) lists them for each movie under the heading “Crazy Credits.” Look down the options on the left-hand side of the page. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/13 "2009-05-09T12:18:17Z")
I’ve heard “stinger” used on CBC Radio to refer to a short piece of music played after an interview as a bridge to the next interview. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/14 "2009-05-09T13:42:21Z")
Why does Ebert call them Monk’s Reward? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/15 "2009-05-09T15:43:45Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Why does Ebert call them Monk’s Reward? Because it takes the patience of a Monk to sit through all the boring, useless credits until you get to them. By the way, I \*always \*sit through the credits, even if there is no “reward,” because I like to see filming locations, what kinds of watches were worn, who supplied the silverware, and all that kind of trivia. Yes, I’m a geek…TRM ---
**Author:** ![Alistair\_McCello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Alistair\_McCello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alistair_McCello)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/16 "2009-05-09T15:54:27Z")
I like to sit through the credits just to look for odd and interesting names. How else would I know that there were people in the world with names like [Geefwee Boedoe](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0091161/), [Greg Killmaster](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0453228/), and Elfie Shlegel (unfortunately I don’t recall how to actually spell that last name so I can’t look the person up on IMDB). ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/17 "2009-05-10T01:04:04Z")
Count me in as one who stays through credits and has for years, so I appreciate pirate monkeys. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/18 "2009-05-10T01:11:47Z")
Ever since I found out what I missed by walking out of _Young Sherlock Holmes_ before the end of the credits, I’ve always stayed. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/19 "2009-05-10T01:45:11Z")
One memorable stinger for me is at the end of the independent British vampire film “Razor Blade Smile”, the lead character, Lilith Silver, an assassin who happens to be a vampire, has been eliminating people who are on her trail, it looks like one of her witnesses has escaped with her life, after the credits roll, we see her preparing to take a bath, the camera is at a low angle behind the faucet and spigot, she turns her back to the tub, starts to disrobe, Lilith rises from the tub, grabs the woman in a headlock, and prepares to bite the survivor’s neck, the camera freezes, and we hear Lilith’s voice say… “I don’t know about you, but I hate leaving loose ends” …and the film fades to black ---
**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:** [May 10, 2009, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752/20 "2009-05-10T09:59:21Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Count me in as one who stays through credits and has for years, so I appreciate pirate monkeys. I presume that you mean _zombie_ pirate monkeys. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-post-credit-scenes-in-movies-have-a-name-stinger-who-knew/495752.md?page=2)