# "I shoulda turned left at Albuquerque" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [September 16, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796 "2020-09-16T22:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/41 "2020-09-17T02:23:38Z")
Of course I knew it. Bonus. Meet where Northeast Circle SW meets Southeast Circle NW. You guessed it, it’s in Albuquerque https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=35.1015525,-106.6726014&z=19&output=embed&dg=ntvb&q=35%C2%B006%2705.6%22N%2B106%C2%B040%2721.6%22W ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/42 "2020-09-17T02:24:28Z")
Born in '75, in the U.S.; yes, I know the reference. My kids, age 9 & 11, don’t. They’ve watched a little of the Looney Tunes, but apparently not enough to know this reference. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/43 "2020-09-17T02:37:55Z")
1. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/44 "2020-09-17T02:47:07Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Born mid-50s and not only do I know the reference, I have in fact turned left at Albuquerque, Born in 57, and one time I missed that toin at Albuqoikee. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/45 "2020-09-17T02:56:54Z")
I looked it up. Definitely never saw it. But we did not have TV when I was growing up. I have seen very few cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/46 "2020-09-17T03:28:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > of course I know the reference, and am surprised that any adult wouldn’t. Be surprised. 1951, and at best it sounds very vaguely familiar. – having read some of the blurred stuff: we didn’t have a TV most of the time when I was a child. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2020, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/47 "2020-09-17T04:09:09Z")
I knew this quote before I knew what Albuquerque even was. I also didn’t know the places he was actually trying to get to. 50, NZer in Aus. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/48 "2020-09-17T04:17:07Z")
Last of the boomer gen, and I get it. More than Bugs Bunny, is that I’ve driven from Denver to Phoenix and back again. You literally drive for hours and hours and finally make a turn at Alburquerque. IIRC, no need for a map or now GPS for Denver to Phoenix and a 12+ hour drive. It is drive south, turn right at Alburquerque, turn left at Flagstaff and stop in Phoenix. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/49 "2020-09-17T04:17:22Z")
1. Took me a moment until the accent kicked in. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2020, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/50 "2020-09-17T04:22:13Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > OK guys. What song does this lyric come from? > > “I know a chef in Albuquerque > Who excels at baking turkey…” National Anthem. Nobody ever plays anything but the first verse. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2020, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/51 "2020-09-17T06:13:40Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Yep Given your handle, I should hope so! ---
**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:** [September 17, 2020, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/52 "2020-09-17T07:32:54Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I knew this quote before I knew what Albuquerque even was. I also didn’t know the places he was actually trying to get to. > > 50, NZer in Aus. Piano Beach, Coachella Valley, and Rancho Cucamonga are all real places. Apparently the writers on Jack Benny’s radio and television programs (which featured Mel Blanc in the ensemble) liked funny-sounding California place-names, and the Warner Brothers writers evidently thought they sounded even funnier when Mel spoke them. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2020, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/53 "2020-09-17T07:43:52Z")
Born 1955, and yes, I know the reference. I believe you turn left at Albuquerque to get to Pizmo Beach. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/54 "2020-09-17T08:09:50Z")
For those unfamiliar with the quote, here are some of Bugs Bunny’s greatest moments: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QBcK63h3Avw/maxresdefault.jpg "Looney Tunes | Bugs Bunny's Top 10 Moments | HBO Max") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBcK63h3Avw) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/55 "2020-09-17T08:10:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Born 1955, and yes, I know the reference. I believe you turn left at Albuquerque to get to Pizmo Beach. 😃 … and all the clams you can eat! (Peak Gen-X - born in 1974). ---
**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:** [September 17, 2020, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/56 "2020-09-17T08:33:05Z")
The phone book would sound funny if Mel read it aloud! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/57 "2020-09-17T08:55:23Z")
I’m 64 and I did not recognize it, but there’s at least a chance I’ve just forgotten it instead of never hearing it. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/58 "2020-09-17T09:51:59Z")
Born 1960 - Australia. Definitely knew it before I started high school. I remember trying to look it up in an atlas at school, but couldn’t find any place called Albakerky. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2020, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/59 "2020-09-17T10:06:11Z")
That’s right next to Dunkirk. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796/60 "2020-09-17T11:29:25Z")
Pismo Beach is a real place. (So is Calabasas.) Most famous for the phrase “I wouldn’t \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ for a free weekend in Pismo Beach!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shoulda-turned-left-at-albuquerque/920796.md?page=4)