# Newlywed game myth is actually true! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786 "2003-03-07T20:01:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/1 "2003-03-07T20:01:46Z")
Did anyone see that show about game show monents last night? They actually showed the part from the Newlywed game that som many people insisted didn’t happen. Bob Eubanks(sp:confused: ) asked the contestants where the strangest place was they got the urge to have sex and a woman actually said in the a\*\*hole. It’s real! it actually happened. Eubanks himself was on the show and even admited that he’s been denying it all these years. ---
**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 7, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/2 "2003-03-07T20:22:02Z")
Pssst. . . Search the archives. It’s come up before in various forums. But, glad you got to see it, too. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/3 "2003-03-07T20:25:56Z")
Wha…? that show was a repeat? ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/4 "2003-03-07T20:27:41Z")
And this excited you enough to create a thread about it _why_ exactly? I mean really, who cares . . . ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/5 "2003-03-07T20:40:40Z")
Because there had been some debates about it in the past whether it happened or not or whether it was an urban legend. Even Eubanks used the term Urban Legend to describe it, then admits that it actually happened. I didn’t know the debate on this had been settled. Geez. sorry if I’m late getting on the train. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/6 "2003-03-07T20:41:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pkbites \* > \*\*Wha…? that show was a repeat? \*\* Oh, sure. We’ve all seen it. Didn’t you get the memo? ---
**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 7, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/7 "2003-03-07T20:46:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fibber McGee \* > \*\*And this excited you enough to create a thread about it _why_ exactly? > > I mean really, who cares . . . \*\* Well, that’s a neighborly attitude. Several years ago, this question was the subject of a **loooooonnnnng** debate in **Gread Debates** , if you’re interested in finding why that particular question has relevance on this board. \*Although still falling short of some of the lunacy of “The Earth Is Flat. . .” and the ongoing “debate” on psychics that should have run its course over 1000 posts ago. ---
**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 7, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/8 "2003-03-07T20:48:05Z")
Make that: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mjollnir \* > \*\*. . . Several years ago, this question was the subject of a \*_loooooonnnnng_ debate in **Great Debates**. . . . \*\* ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/9 "2003-03-07T20:52:16Z")
The same video clip was used in passing in _Confessions of a Dangerous Mind_, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/10 "2003-03-07T21:05:16Z")
So was the clip we saw in **Confessions of a Dangerous Mind** the real thing or a reconstruction? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/11 "2003-03-07T21:09:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vibrotronica \* > \*\*So was the clip we saw in **Confessions of a Dangerous Mind** the real thing or a reconstruction? \*\* According to our good friends(?) Chuck Barris and Roger Ebert, the real thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/12 "2003-03-07T21:45:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pkbites \* > \*\*Wha…? that show was a repeat? \*\* Ooh, it’s an old repeat. It played originally about a year ago and that is the fourth time I’ve seen it one(it plays on VH1 a lot now even). I believe that is the third time it has aired on network TV. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/13 "2003-03-07T21:50:09Z")
It’s the same clip as on Snopes, right? [http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/newlywed.htm](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/newlywed.htm) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/14 "2003-03-07T22:05:31Z")
**pkbites** said > [@](#): > > Eubanks(sp ) asked the contestants where the strangest place was they got the urge to have sex and a woman actually said in the a\*\*hole. And, the obligatory question is: _Are you saying that you heard a contestant actually say “ASSHOLE” on tv last night? You heard that word?_ ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/15 "2003-03-08T01:01:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pkbites \* > \*\* > Even Eubanks used the term Urban Legend to describe it, then admits that it actually happened. > \*\* There’s an understandable reason why he’d believe that it was fake. “The Newlywed Game” ran off-and-on in 5 days a week production from the mid-'60’s to the late-'90’s, which means that Eubanks has doen thousands of broadcasts. Add to that the fact that he’s aging, the fact that there were other gaffes at previous times, the fact that he never was given a clue who was in it or when it was produced, and the fact that the only person who claimed it to be real in any position of authority (Chuck Barris) is known for stretching the truth (his first biography comes to mind), didn’t say when it happened, didn’t say if he was there, almost certainly didn’t watch every episode, and shows signs even in the trustable autobiography that he makes mistakes (he never once mentions his daughter), and we should not only be unsuprised that Eubanks didn’t remember it, but we should more impressed if he had. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/16 "2003-03-08T02:14:07Z")
The first airing of the show was apparently in July '02. Here’s the thread about it: [“Up the butt, Bob” on NBC tonight](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=126123) Here’s the previously mentioned GD thread: [Up The Butt, Bob](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22386) ---
**Author:** ![HoldenCaulfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@HoldenCaulfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldenCaulfield)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/17 "2003-03-08T04:03:19Z")
I don’t have a cite for this, but the exact same clip aired on The Man Show in their first or second season in one of the “Great Moments in Television” segments. I saw that NBC special when it first aired and said, “That’s no big deal. I’ve seen this before.” ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/18 "2003-03-08T10:41:08Z")
My father has told me several times that he and my mother were watching, back in '73 or whenever it was, and saw the episode in question with the offending word bleeped out. Dad drinks a lot though, and I don’t believe him for a moment. But I’m curious: Now that the rumor has been confirmed, does anyone know what happened to the woman who said it? Does she travel in public with a black veil over her face? Has she appealed to the Witness Protection Program for help? Or does she go about her life and answer the occasional question with, “Yeah, I like it in the back door. Get lost.”? (If this is answered in one of the linked threads, I apologize for being too lazy to read them in their entirety.) ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/19 "2003-03-08T11:17:17Z")
Since this apparently happened 30 years ago and tape of the exchange has only recently surfaced and begun appearing in various game show related specials (and on Game Show Network as well, apparently) I doubt the woman in question ever gets recognized today, and if she ever did it was probably only in the weeks/months after the actual episode in question aired. ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786/20 "2003-03-08T11:26:24Z")
Of course, this false memory thing mentioned in the original debate on this topic appears to have plenty of credence when applied to events of this type. My father once told me of several moments he distictly remembered from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson that I later learned never happened. He also mentioned having seen the notorious “Cram it, clown!” moment from Bozo, the existence of which I believe has never been proven either way but which many people to this day still claim to have seen, despite the fact that the way the Bozo franchise was set up meant that many of those making the claim couldn’t possibly have seen it, even if it did happen. Oh, and I’d like to apologize to pkbited for my earlier comment, sorry for being an ass. I guess it just took me by surprise that the veracity of this particular tv moment is even still in question, though its obvious the way some people remember (which probably proves they never saw it) is a bit skewed. “In the a\*\*hole” is a bit different from “Up the butt” after all. I think in this case, both explanations are true. The incident really happened, but far more people remember seeing it than actually saw it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newlywed-game-myth-is-actually-true/159786.md?page=2)