# Mystery quote: ''It doesn't do anything. That's the beauty of it.'' **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487 "2007-03-26T01:19:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/1 "2007-03-26T01:19:36Z")
This question has come up a number of times. I happened upon this little gem today: > **[Photo Storage](https://s98.photobucket.com/albums/l269/hosmackah/beauty/)** > > Store your photos and videos online with secure storage from Photobucket. Available on iOS, Android and desktop. Securely backup your memories and sign up today! Pretty dog-gone close, huh? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/2 "2007-03-26T01:28:02Z")
I can only ask “How did you ever come up with that?” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/3 "2007-03-26T01:55:04Z")
So, is that Burgess Meredith? Seems like the Twilight Zone, \*\*Earl Snake-Hips Tucker \*\* what is the name of that episode? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/4 "2007-03-26T02:00:21Z")
[QUOTE=GIGObuster] So, is that Burgess Meredith? Seems like the Twilight Zone, \*\*Earl Snake-Hips Tucker \*\* what is the name of that episode? [/QUOTE] My thoughts, exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/5 "2007-03-26T02:05:41Z")
[Burke’s Law: Who Killed 711?](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0533831/) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/6 "2007-03-26T02:16:16Z")
[Here is a list of some of the places it’s _not_ from](http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1702332) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/7 "2007-03-26T02:16:20Z")
Well, I understood when you posted that question about Froggy in the Our Gang short. But, what in the world are you watching reruns of “Burke’s Law” for? Don’t tell me it’s out on DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/8 "2007-03-26T02:21:01Z")
[QUOTE=Earl Snake-Hips Tucker] [Burke’s Law: Who Killed 711?](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0533831/) [/QUOTE] Can you provide us with a cite from that episode? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/9 "2007-03-26T02:24:23Z")
… and I think you should contact the media to announce that you’ve discovered the source. Seriously.+ ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/10 "2007-03-26T02:26:18Z")
[QUOTE=Earl Snake-Hips Tucker] [Burke’s Law: Who Killed 711?](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0533831/) [/QUOTE] No, that’s where the phrase “The whole nine yards” comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/11 "2007-03-26T02:30:18Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] But, what in the world are you watching reruns of “Burke’s Law” for? Don’t tell me it’s out on DVD. [/QUOTE] No, but TVLand ran the series several years ago. Some of us _taped_ it to preserve it for posterity. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/12 "2007-03-26T02:36:41Z")
[http://www.tv.com/burkes-law/who-killed-711/episode/49740/recap.html](http://www.tv.com/burkes-law/who-killed-711/episode/49740/recap.html) A summary of the episode. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/13 "2007-03-26T02:37:42Z")
[QUOTE=Earl Snake-Hips Tucker] No, but TVLand ran the series several years ago. Some of us _taped_ it to preserve it for posterity. 🆒 [/QUOTE] …and I thought that _I_ had no life… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/14 "2007-03-26T02:39:16Z")
Call me wonky, but I always thought that it came from “Yellow Submarine.” I’ve got it on dvd. I guess I’ve got some watching to do. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/15 "2007-03-26T02:46:58Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] [http://www.tv.com/burkes-law/who-killed-711/episode/49740/recap.html](http://www.tv.com/burkes-law/who-killed-711/episode/49740/recap.html) A summary of the episode. [/QUOTE] I see that line in the synopsis, but not as a quote. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/16 "2007-03-26T03:29:36Z")
**Czarcasm** , were you unable to watch (or did you miss) the clip linked in the OP? Here’s a partial transcript in case : Man: What does it do? HH: Do? Man: Yeah, what’s it for? HH \*(stuttering)\*Nothing, nothing, I mean, that’s the beauty of it! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/17 "2007-03-26T03:46:34Z")
[QUOTE=panamajack] **Czarcasm** , were you unable to watch (or did you miss) the clip linked in the OP? Here’s a partial transcript in case : Man: What does it do? HH: Do? Man: Yeah, what’s it for? HH \*(stuttering)\*Nothing, nothing, I mean, that’s the beauty of it! [/QUOTE] Sorry, it wouldn’t play for me. I trust your transcript, though, and it does sound _pretty_ close. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/18 "2007-03-26T04:05:00Z")
[QUOTE=Earl Snake-Hips Tucker] Pretty dog-gone close, huh? [/QUOTE] Well done! I think you’ve solved it. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/19 "2007-03-26T04:30:05Z")
Yeah, I think that meshes. Good job. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487/20 "2007-03-26T04:50:51Z")
It’s close, to be sure, but the version I remember clearly says “It doesn’t _do_ anything,” with a good bit of stress on the word “do.” It would also seem to be too dated and obscure to register in the heads of the staggering number of people who know that quote. I mean, I wasn’t born until 14 years after that episode aired, and I’ve never even heard of the show, let alone seen it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-quote-it-doesnt-do-anything-thats-the-beauty-of-it/397487.md?page=2)