# Fictional things/products that became real **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 22, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108 "2026-06-22T18:10:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/41 "2026-06-23T00:07:46Z")
Correction: the Mexican government now officially recognizes a Dia de los Muertos parade. They were always a thing; they just used to be more ad-hoc. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/42 "2026-06-23T00:14:50Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Has “Springtime for Hitler” ever been actually performed…? Many times, it appears, Broadway, Berlin(!) etc. > [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Has nobody mentioned a leg lamp yet? IRL, not lamps, but there were Nehi ads featuring a pair of legs (up to the knee, of course0 and a bottle of soad, some were lit. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/43 "2026-06-23T00:20:30Z")
In the category of “things” - a lot of mobsters were inspired by the movie The Godfather and adopted some of its themes. > [@](#): > > People were talking about the Mafia in a way they hadn’t for years, and a lot of gangsters liked the attention. Some started dressing in throwback, 1950s fashion, while others tailored their speech and mannerisms to match Marlon Brando’s. Its most iconic phrases—“going to the mattresses,” “an offer he can’t refuse,” and “sleeping with the fishes”—entered international crime culture and lexicon in a lasting way. In more specific actions drawn from the movie, Italian Mafia enforcers left the severed head of a donkey as a warning to a baker who refused to pay protection money in 2008. > **[How The Godfather Changed Organized Crime](https://vocal.media/geeks/how-the-godfather-changed-organized-crime)** > > The Mafia tried to stop The Godfather, but at the end of the day the mob owes a lot to media portrayals. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/44 "2026-06-23T06:41:18Z")
Much like the leg lamp, you can buy Marty Moose glass eggnog mugs like Clark and cousin Eddie use in (National Lampoon’s) Christmas Vacation. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/45 "2026-06-23T07:48:58Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Has “Springtime for Hitler” ever been actually performed…? > [@DrDeth](#): > > Many times, it appears, Broadway, Berlin(!) etc. I believe xtenkfarpl was talking about the actual musical Springtime for Hitler, not The Producers which it’s a part of. That is indeed one of the most successful musicals of the 21st century, and the Springtime for Hitler part in it is quite a bit longer than in the original 1970s movie. I hope that a whole evening of Springtime for Hitler would not attract a very large audience. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/46 "2026-06-23T08:40:04Z")
Star Trek communicators. Leonard Nimoy mentioned once opening his new “flip phone”, and some random passerby did a double take and started laughing because _right there_ was “Spock”, using his “communicator”. The experimental weapon [MAHEM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAHEM) which fires an electromagnetically accelerated jet of molten metal is a real life version of a [weapon Arthur C. Clarke called The Stilletto in his novel _Earthlight_](https://web.archive.org/web/20100920025218/http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2008/04/science-fiction-inspires-darpa-weapon.html). Interestingly he never thought it was possible. He just wanted a scene where a spacecraft got blasted by an “impossible weapon”, namely a glowing beam in a vacuum (since lasers are not actually visible in one), which shocked the person watching it in the story because they knew perfectly well lasers don’t do that. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/47 "2026-06-23T10:26:17Z")
Puzo got “going to the mattresses” from The Valachi Paper. Joe never said whether the term was mob-wide, or just from his Family. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/48 "2026-06-23T11:32:22Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Much like the leg lamp, you can buy Marty Moose glass eggnog mugs like Clark and cousin Eddie use in (National Lampoon’s) Christmas Vacation. We have a set. Hubby saw them and couldn’t resist. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2026, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/49 "2026-06-23T11:39:49Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Has “Springtime for Hitler” ever been actually performed…? They didn’t put of the actual show, but when the Lecture Series Committee at MIT had a showing of the original **The Producers** they handed out fake Playbills for the show, complete with character biographies and some hilarious dining reviews making fun of the MIT dining halls. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/50 "2026-06-23T13:36:35Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > they handed out fake Playbills for the show, complete with character biographies That’s also a common sight at “play within a play” productions like **Noises Off** and **The Play That Goes Wrong**. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/51 "2026-06-23T13:39:03Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > That’s also a common sight at “play within a play” productions like **Noises Off** and **The Play That Goes Wrong**. The Playblll for Anthony Shaffer’s **Sleuth** is particularly interesting for the actor biographies it includes. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/52 "2026-06-23T14:27:34Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > In Gene Shepherd’s stories Nitpick: Jean, not Gene. IIRC, he was named after his father, whose heritage was French. In _A Christmas Story_, the bit about Randy getting a bunny suit from an aunt who believes he’s a girl is a call back to Jean’s actual experience of relatives confused by his name. I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan, but I know that one can now buy magic wands. And didn’t real-world Quidditch become a thing, presumably with real-world equipment? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/53 "2026-06-23T14:30:56Z")
Magic wands were a thing long before Harry Potter! Being able to buy plastic ones might be new. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/54 "2026-06-23T14:33:11Z")
Well, yes, of course, but fancy ones (not always plastic) resembling those from the movies became immensely more popular and common after the books and movies. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/55 "2026-06-23T14:45:02Z")
Were muffin tops a thing before _Seinfeld_? Not the body shape - I mean the tops of muffins. I don’t know if they were ever sold in bakeries (probably were) but you can buy [muffin top pans](https://www.cuisinart.com/6-cup-muffin-top-pan/AMB-6MTPCH.html). ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/56 "2026-06-23T14:56:43Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > Puppers Beer, the fictional brew from the hit comedy series _Letterkenny_, is an actual, officially licensed product now. I don’t know if it’s still available, but the Trailer Park Boys did something similar: [Trailer Park Boys’ Liquormen’s Ol’ Dirty Canadian Whisky](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/trailer-park-boys-liquormen-s-ol-dirty-canadian-whisky-bottled-sold-by-nlc-1.3262842) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/57 "2026-06-23T14:59:48Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > I hope that a whole evening of Springtime for Hitler would not attract a very large audience. But imagine the potential for meta-entertainment. You could have an actual audience walking out in disgust! And then finding it alluringing hilarious… ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/58 "2026-06-23T17:09:47Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Nehi’s logo was a leg and stocking and the stocking was knee high. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/59 "2026-06-23T17:14:03Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Several products have attempted to bring the Back to the Future hover board to life. The self-tieing shoes became real. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108/60 "2026-06-23T17:23:56Z")
There used to be an Adam’s Ribs in Chicago, cira 2011. On Washington Boulevard rather than [Dearborn Street.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam%27s_Ribs) https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211sj41lDo7K60Bp9fZrnttleg%212m2%211d41.8817218%212d-87.7257296%213f292.46%214f7.848%215f0.75 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-things-products-that-became-real/1031108.md?page=4)