# Fictional references that became true **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656 "2009-10-21T19:33:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/61 "2009-10-23T11:59:16Z")
> [@](#): > > It shows up in other places, too. Not to be snarky, but “cite”? It was after someone raised this issue that i realized that the only times I’d seen “waldoes” used was in the works of science fiction writers. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/62 "2009-10-23T12:01:14Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > It shows up in other places, too. Well, THAT’ is an excellent username/post combo! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/63 "2009-10-23T12:29:33Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Not to be snarky, but “cite”? It was after someone raised this issue that i realized that the only times I’d seen “waldoes” used was in the works of science fiction writers. So in other words… Where’s Waldo? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/64 "2009-10-23T12:34:25Z")
AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/65 "2009-10-23T12:38:32Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > On SEinfeld, Elaine mentioning that a guy having the same name as a murderer change his name to [OJ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masseuse_(Seinfeld)). Also Seinfeld related: John O’Hurley (the chap who plays Elaine’s boss, Mr. Peterman, in the show) is a major investor and part owner of the real-life J. Peterman Company, which relaunched in 2001. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/66 "2009-10-23T13:29:11Z")
The Simpsons had an episode where Barney ran over a pile of rags, thinking it was Princess Diana. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/67 "2009-10-23T13:41:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Another one – Robert Heinlein’s \*\*Stranger in a Stranger land has Valentine Michael Smith founding “The Church of All Worlds” (which later "re-incarnates under other names). A group of admirers in California really did start up a “Church of All Worlds”. After Flip Wilson created a character named Reverend Leroy of The Church of What’s Happening Now for his TV variety show, a charlatan preacher in Ohio named Leroy Jenkins did you-know-what. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/68 "2009-10-23T14:59:16Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Not to be snarky, but “cite”? It was after someone raised this issue that i realized that the only times I’d seen “waldoes” used was in the works of science fiction writers. My post is my cite. > [@Polycarp](#): > > Well, THAT’ is an excellent username/post combo! Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/69 "2009-10-23T15:26:03Z")
It takes **69** posts to mention Stephen King’s _Misery_? It’s one thing to write things that come true. It’s quite another to pre-write your autobiography. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/70 "2009-10-23T15:38:49Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Two drummers so far have died in bizarre gardening accidents. Abba’s died in a fall from a conservatory, and… was it Kansas’ that had an allergic reaction to pesticide? No, that was Toto’s drummer, [Jeff Porcaro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Porcaro). The reference to cows earlier in the thread reminded me of “there is no cow level” in Diablo I and the Secret Cow Level in Diablo II, but I don’t think that really counts. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/71 "2009-10-23T15:52:47Z")
Nestle came out with a line of Wonka candies in the 70s. I think they were just capitalizing on the success of the Gene Wilder movie. In San Francisco there is a Hotel California on Geary Street. It looks like there’s another one in Santa Monica. Not sure if either is related to the song. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/72 "2009-10-23T15:57:37Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > No, that was Toto’s drummer, [Jeff Porcaro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Porcaro). Kansas, Toto. I was close! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/73 "2009-10-23T16:18:08Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Kansas, Toto. I was close! Not even close. “Toto, I have the feeling we’re NOT in Kansas anymore.” ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/74 "2009-10-23T17:48:14Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > It takes **69** posts to mention Stephen King’s _Misery_? When did Stephen King get kidnapped by an obsessive fan? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/75 "2009-10-23T20:19:42Z")
Kickapoo Joy Juice, originally a joke in Al Capp’s _Li’l Abner_ comic strip, now a soft drink produced by the Monarch Beverage Company in Atlanta. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/76 "2009-10-23T21:18:35Z")
It’s quite good too. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/77 "2009-10-23T22:44:16Z")
Lester del Rey wrote a novel _Rocket Jockey_ in 1953 and used the name Armstrong for a character who was the first man on the moon. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/78 "2009-10-23T23:32:25Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Not to be snarky, but “cite”? It was after someone raised this issue that i realized that the only times I’d seen “waldoes” used was in the works of science fiction writers. In movie special effects, when they have a gimbal, the controls are usually a smaller version of the gimbal they can manipulate. They call those a “Waldo”. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/79 "2009-10-24T23:50:12Z")
I just found one today. I was reading Walter James Miller’s Afterword to Mendor Brunetti’s translation of **20,000 Leaugues Under the Sea** and found this: > [@](#): > > 1898: Some 200 vessels are smashed onto the Florida coast by a fierce hurricane. Simon Lake, inventor of the first submarine to operate efficiently in open seas, is caught in the tempest. He recalls Nemo’s maneuver [riding out a storm at sea by submerginf his submarine _under_ it. – Cal] and repeats it. Storm over, he surfaces, heads for port, and cables the news to Verne (70 but still writing). This is more impressive than most in this thread because Lake was actually employing an extrapolation from science fiction, and one that may have saved his life. He wasn’t simply naming something after the creation in a book. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656/80 "2009-10-25T00:59:08Z")
Reading _Das Boot_ right now, and they had a doozy of a storm (one full month long)-they often dived to get away from the tempest above-but the boat would still move around a bit even at 150 feet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-references-that-became-true/514656.md?page=5)