# How did the Flying Nun fly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913 "2026-05-08T19:51:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/21 "2026-05-08T22:52:55Z")
I thought it was a diet with too many beans. 😃 Gaseous Thrust I vaguely remember.seeing episodes in syndication. The Flying Nun wasn’t a show I watched regularly. Sally’s show _Gidget_ ran one season. _The Flying Nun_ did better with three seasons. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/22 "2026-05-08T22:56:51Z")
Hang onto your habits — Sister Sixto, who was just a tad older than Bertrille, left the convent and went to work for Karen Walker! ---
**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 8, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/23 "2026-05-08T23:28:36Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The retro channels also carry Fields’ The Girl With Something Extra, which is a lot creepier than I remember. I think they remade that as “True Blood.” ---
**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:** [May 8, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/24 "2026-05-08T23:33:58Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > > [@Skywatcher](#): > > > > ETA: maybe it was just divine intervention? > > More like trick photography. I meant in-universe. 😉 ---
**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:** [May 9, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/25 "2026-05-09T00:12:45Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The worst part of the Flying Nun was…that it killed a season 2 of Gidget. As I recall, it was offered to her some time after _ **Gidget** _ was cancelled. ABC executives realized they had made a mistake when there was an upsurge of fan support in the summer of 1966. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/26 "2026-05-09T00:16:40Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The worst part of the Flying Nun was…that it killed a season 2 of Gidget. Gidget’s one season had 32 episodes at least ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/27 "2026-05-09T00:23:49Z")
That and the screams of children. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2026, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/28 "2026-05-09T00:28:41Z")
Huh, and I had always just assumed it was miraculous. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/29 "2026-05-09T01:33:56Z")
Several times when asked, the Flying Nun “explained” her flight this way: “When lift plus thrust is greater than load plus drag, anything can fly.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/30 "2026-05-09T02:07:45Z")
You put a big enough engine on it, and a washing machine can fly. Despite what Sister B said, I think a wizard I mean God did it. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/31 "2026-05-09T02:23:10Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I do seem to recall a scene where she explains to her boyfriend (or whoever that guy was) about if lift + thrust is greater than load + drag then you can fly. I think there was also something about the specific kinds of wind found in that part of Puerto Rico. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/32 "2026-05-09T02:28:25Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I think there was also something about the specific kinds of wind found in that part of Puerto Rico. That was how I remember it, and Wikipedia agrees: > [@](#): > > Sister Bertrille could be relied upon to solve any problem that came her way by her ability to catch a passing breeze and fly. This was generally attributed to her weighing under 90 pounds (41 kg), high winds at the Convent high on the ocean bluffs, and the large, heavily starched [cornette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornette) that was the headpiece for her [habit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_habit). ---
**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:** [May 9, 2026, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/33 "2026-05-09T05:52:32Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Did they have green screens back in the '60s? 🤔 Back then it was called Chroma Key. You will still hear people talking about “keying out” the background. Though blue was more common than green, as blue is not present in fleshtones. > **[Chroma key](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroma_key)** > > Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two or more images or video streams together based on colour hues (chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to remove a background from the subject of a photo or video — particularly the newscasting, motion picture, and video game industries. A colour range in the foreground footage is made transparent, allowing separately filmed background footage or a static... ---
**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:** [May 9, 2026, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/34 "2026-05-09T06:44:45Z")
How did the Flying Nun fly? Not with a bang, but with a wimple. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2026, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/35 "2026-05-09T06:55:03Z")
Force of habit. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/36 "2026-05-09T06:56:58Z")
She was Nun of the Above. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/37 "2026-05-09T07:05:01Z")
Nuns were sitting on starches that can make common linen stronger that modern carbon fiber! This was a conspiracy by Big Starch ™ to showcase their goods, but not invest in the good works of their most successful (and unpaid) publicity creator! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/38 "2026-05-09T07:26:16Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > How did the Flying Nun fly? > > Not with a bang, but with a wimple. Okay, I have to state “Well done!” for this one. Wish I had thought of it. 👏 ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/39 "2026-05-09T07:33:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The show handwaved all that relying on audience willing suspension of disbelief to make it work. _[My Mother the Car](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Mother_the_Car)_ was apparently a suspension too far. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/40 "2026-05-09T13:15:11Z")
It’s all nunsense to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913.md?page=3)