# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 137
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2721 "2017-06-18T04:01:27Z")
I’m currently listening to the audiobook of Frederick Forsyth’s **The Day of the Jackal** , a book I’ve read and re-read countless times, but this is the first time I’ve listened to it. As I’ve often observed, you catch different things when you listen to a book, rather than reading it. In this case, it’s a detail, the facts of which I was unaware of when first I read the book, and which I guess I glossed over on more recent readings. It’s in the section where Forsyth gives the backstory of Goosens, “The Armorer”, who provides The Jackal with his stripped-down assassin’s rifle. He operates a “superb” forge on his premises, which the police are naturally suspicious of. But when they searched it, they found nothing, except indications that he used the forge to make medallions and copies of the city statues for the tourist trade. In fact, he gives the officers one of his replicas, “as a token of his esteem for their work”. All well and good, but I hadn’t realized the significance of the statue’s name. It was [spoiler] The **Manneken Pis** , the one of the little boy urinating: > **[Manneken Pis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manneken_Pis)** > > Manneken Pis (Dutch for 'Little Pissing Man'; Dutch: \[ˌmɑnəkə(m) ˈpɪs\] (listen)) is a landmark 55.5 cm (21.9 in)\[a\] bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a puer mingens; a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. Though its existence is attested as early as the mid-15th century, it was designed in its current form by the Brabantine sculptor Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619. Its stone niche in rocaille style dates fro Manneken... [/spoiler] So what I took as an innocent descriptive phrase was actually a sarcastic remark. “A token of his esteem”, indeed! ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2722 "2017-06-18T18:16:27Z")
I’m not sure if this ia a reference or just a coincidence, but I just noticed that the movie Cat in the Hat takes place in the town of Anville. The TV series Preacher takes place in the town of Anneville(Sp?). ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2723 "2017-06-18T18:53:06Z")
I just got the brilliance of the title ‘Forever War’. It’s forever relative to the people on Earth and the reader sort of. It creates this dissonance as the reader identifies with the soldiers for whom only a few months or years pass, but the reader sees the words year: 3,011. And thinks that’s forever. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2724 "2017-06-20T09:28:52Z")
I’m watching _Zootopia_ for the bazillionth time, when something finally struck me. Nick and Judy have been brought before Mr. Big, and he’s telling her why Mr. Big does not like him. " I um… I may have sold him, a very expensive wool rug. That was made from the fur, of a skunk… 's butt." Now, I don’t recall seeing any skunks amongst the citizenry, but there’s certainly no reason that skunks wouldn’t be sentient as well. So Nick brought Mr. Big…the rough equivalent of a humanskin rug. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2725 "2017-06-20T09:47:19Z")
Might have been sheared, rather than skinned. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2726 "2017-06-20T13:13:32Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > In a similar vein, I’ve heard “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and the Papas for well over 40 years now, and was always bugged by the line “You know the Preacher’s like a Cove… (Preacherrrr…like…a…cooooooooove…)” > > And a few days ago, as I’m standing in line at Walgreens and it comes on I hear “You know the Preacher _likes the cold_…(Preacherrrr…likes…the…coooooooooold…”)" > > OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH! Well THAT lyric suddenly made sense. This is a really late reply, and I’m not going to a lyrics site to check - but isn’t it “the preacher _lights the coal_, he knows I’m going to stay”? As in lights the furnace to keep the church warm over night for the narrator? ---
**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:** [June 20, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2727 "2017-06-20T13:34:45Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > This is a really late reply, and I’m not going to a lyrics site to check - but isn’t it “the preacher _lights the coal_, he knows I’m going to stay”? As in lights the furnace to keep the church warm over night for the narrator? Th preacher likes the cold because it forces people to seek shelter inside the church, ensuring him a steady stream of customers. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2728 "2017-06-20T14:16:22Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > I’m watching _Zootopia_ for the bazillionth time, when something finally struck me. Nick and Judy have been brought before Mr. Big, and he’s telling her why Mr. Big does not like him. > " I um… I may have sold him, a very expensive wool rug. That was made from the fur, of a skunk… 's butt." > > Now, I don’t recall seeing any skunks amongst the citizenry, but there’s certainly no reason that skunks wouldn’t be sentient as well. So Nick brought Mr. Big…the rough equivalent of a humanskin rug. > > :eek: I would assume the joke is that he just got him a rug that smelled of a skunk. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2729 "2017-06-20T21:12:03Z")
And I thought it was “The preacher’d like to go” but he can’t, until our guy leaves. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2730 "2017-06-21T15:20:43Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > I’m watching _Zootopia_ for the bazillionth time, when something finally struck me. Nick and Judy have been brought before Mr. Big, and he’s telling her why Mr. Big does not like him. > " I um… I may have sold him, a very expensive wool rug. That was made from the fur, of a skunk… 's butt." > > Now, I don’t recall seeing any skunks amongst the citizenry, but there’s certainly no reason that skunks wouldn’t be sentient as well. So Nick brought Mr. Big…the rough equivalent of a humanskin rug. > > :eek: He said he got him a wool rug, not a sheepskin rug. Wool rugs don’t usually have skins attached, so presumably, the skunk rug also didn’t have skin attached, and was just made of woven skunk fur. So Nick brought Mr. Big… the rough equivalent of a rug woven out of human hair. Still pretty creepy, but at least it’s not “Hannibal Lector” creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2731 "2017-06-21T15:38:22Z")
A rug woven out of human _ass_ hair. From someone with known questionable hygiene. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2732 "2017-06-21T19:09:17Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > :eek: > > It’s _not_? > > I always wondered why they would expect someone to walk out on them for singing out a tune. They were the Beatles, after all. > > Oh, speaking of. Ask me how long I was fan before I realized they were the _Beat_les. I’d heard the story of Paul’s weird dream, ‘‘We’re the Beatles, with an A!’’ but I thought it was just them being nonsensical as usual. I didn’t get it was a music-related pun until a few months ago. Paul’s dream? I thought the spelling was an obvious musical pun as well as an homage to Buddy Holly’s Crickets; and it was John who told the press that “a man in a flaming pie” appeared to them at the window and declared "Beatles with an “A”. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2733 "2017-06-21T20:57:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Th preacher likes the cold because it forces people to seek shelter inside the church, ensuring him a steady stream of customers. That makes some sense and the lyrics sites agree with you. I listened to it again, and it’s probably because my version is ingrained in my memory, but I still hear ‘lights the coal’ - of course, nobody is enunciating, so it’s possible I’m wrong (I can almost hear the ‘k’ and the ‘d’ on the main line, but neither is there at all on the echo, to my hearing). ---
**Author:** ![Annoying\_Buzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Annoying\_Buzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoying_Buzz)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2734 "2017-06-22T00:44:11Z")
In Pink Floyd’s _Welcome to the Machine_, I’d always interpreted the line “scouting for boys” as unsavory, but it didn’t quite fit the tone of the lines around it. Until just recently (about 30 years after first hearing the song) I realized they were referring to the Boy Scout’s manual, “Scouting for Boys”. The meaning was just that the song’s subject had been raised in a conventional, affluent, wholesome family environment. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2735 "2017-06-22T11:20:49Z")
Not sure how much Italian you got to know for that to be obvious, but _pin-occhio_ means “wooden eye”. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2736 "2017-06-22T11:58:22Z")
> [@kk\_fusion](#): > > Not sure how much Italian you got to know for that to be obvious, but _pin-occhio_ means “wooden eye”. “Would I?!!!” “Harelip!” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2737 "2017-06-22T12:42:54Z")
> [@Annoying\_Buzz](#): > > In Pink Floyd’s _Welcome to the Machine_, I’d always interpreted the line “scouting for boys” as unsavory, but it didn’t quite fit the tone of the lines around it. > > Until just recently (about 30 years after first hearing the song) I realized they were referring to the Boy Scout’s manual, “Scouting for Boys”. The meaning was just that the song’s subject had been raised in a conventional, affluent, wholesome family environment. Whoa. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2738 "2017-06-22T13:30:36Z")
> [@Annoying\_Buzz](#): > > In Pink Floyd’s _Welcome to the Machine_, I’d always interpreted the line “scouting for boys” as unsavory, but it didn’t quite fit the tone of the lines around it. > > Until just recently (about 30 years after first hearing the song) I realized they were referring to the Boy Scout’s manual, “Scouting for Boys”. The meaning was just that the song’s subject had been raised in a conventional, affluent, wholesome family environment. Well, that’s eye-opening! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2739 "2017-06-22T13:34:10Z")
> [@Annoying\_Buzz](#): > > In Pink Floyd’s _Welcome to the Machine_, I’d always interpreted the line “scouting for boys” as unsavory, but it didn’t quite fit the tone of the lines around it. > > Until just recently (about 30 years after first hearing the song) I realized they were referring to the Boy Scout’s manual, “Scouting for Boys”. The meaning was just that the song’s subject had been raised in a conventional, affluent, wholesome family environment. Yes, that’s how I took it, with an emphasis on “conventional” or “vanilla”, with a “Pleasant Valley Sunday” vibe. Not necessarily affluent. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2740 "2017-06-22T15:02:08Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > That makes some sense and the lyrics sites agree with you. I listened to it again, and it’s probably because my version is ingrained in my memory, but I still hear ‘lights the coal’ - of course, nobody is enunciating, so it’s possible I’m wrong (I can almost hear the ‘k’ and the ‘d’ on the main line, but neither is there at all on the echo, to my hearing). I always thought the line went: “The preacher, like the cold, knows I’m going to stay”. Sentient weather. Eh, it’s a song, 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=136) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=138)