It’s from that Firefly episode, right?!
Yeah it is.
I just assumed it’s from
American Pie or one of its sequels.
It’s the only board where I’ve seen it used. It’s also the only board where I see people say “Ooh, shiny!”. But I have seen the “distracted by a shiny object” elsewhere.
Yeah, I don’t get around much.
I just assumed it was from:
The Waltons.
Actually, we just say “Shiny,” using it to mean “Kewl” or “OK.” “Ooh, shiny” means something else completely. 
Never heard the phrase or heard of “Firefly” except on this board.
I’m going to share this great image now. (Firefly yes, bunk-related no.)
The “twixt my nethers” line comes from the movie, and IIRC, the captain’s response was, “I can’t know that!”
I don’t know about the “orders of magnitude” thing. I believe the fans of Firefly are approximately 100% of the people who have seen Firefly … aside from a few malcontents whose existence we hardly need to acknowledge.
I’m with AuntiePam – I actually saw the original run of Firefly, but that particular scene never stuck with me. So when I started seeing it on this board, it struck me as something that probably had been around for a long time.
In the early-'80s my friends and I would say, ‘I’m… just going to go to the bathroom for a minute.’
The only reason I’m aware that there was something called Firefly is this board. I’ve never seen, read or heard a reference to it anywhere else. As for the phrase in question, I’m pretty sure I have only seen it here, and didn’t need to know where it came from to enjoy it. It gets over-used, IMO, but there are times when it still makes me laugh.
Believe it or not, but most people haven’t watched Firefly.
That unpossible
Whoops, I mis-read your quote in my last post, so I apologize for my snarkiness. I thought you had said “Seriously, though, has this phrase gotten to the point that people are unaware of its origin?”
I know. That’s my point.
Did you read my post?
I guess you missed my follow-up, just above?
Methinks you are not the only one.
We will continue to use it, because it’s pretty.
My new wallpaper!
I saw Firefly rather later than many folks on this board, such that I was already aware of “I’ll be in my bunk” before I saw it. So when I did see that episode, my reaction was something like “Oh, so that’s where that’s from”.