# How did the Flying Nun fly?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913>\
**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:** 4\
**Page:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**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, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/41 "2026-05-09T13:35:14Z")

</div>

> [@Spoons](#):
>
> Okay, I have to state “Well done!” for this one. Wish I had thought of it. 👏

Thank you. I think we’ve had this same question on the board before, and I made the same joke then.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\
**Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/42 "2026-05-09T13:53:55Z")

</div>

The show was based on the novel _The Fifteenth Pelican_ by Tere Rios, which I have. The author says she got the idea in Paris, when she saw a nun wearing a cornette “caught up by a gust of wind which wafted her a short way down the street.”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/43 "2026-05-09T15:50:21Z")

</div>

> [@GuanoLad](#):
>
> 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.

I knew about making composite shots via masks and superimposure, but I didn’t know technology was that advanced.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913/44 "2026-05-09T16:15:51Z")

</div>

> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> I think we’ve had this same question on the board before, and I made the same joke then.

I have often said IRL that the key to being witty isn’t being quick-witted.

It’s having a good memory so the awesome comeback you first think of a day later 🤦‍♂️ is available 6 months from now when the same situation arises again.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-flying-nun-fly/1029913.md?page=2)