# 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:** 155
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3082 "2018-08-16T16:40:12Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Here’s one for the Monty Python fans. In The Argument Sketch, Michael Palin purchases an argument and the receptionist looks to see who’s available. She says: > > “Mr. DeBakey’s free, but he’s a little bit conciliatory. Ahh yes, Try Mr. Barnard; room 12.” > > Michael DeBakey and Christiaan Barnard were well-known, pioneering heart surgeons during the late 1960s, just a few years before the sketch was first performed. I don’t get it. What do heart surgeons have to do with purchasing arguments? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3083 "2018-08-16T16:59:12Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I don’t get it. What do heart surgeons have to do with purchasing arguments? Oh, nothing to do with purchasing arguments that I can think of, but they weren’t just random names picked out of a hat, either. It’s just kind of an odd easter egg for people who are paying close attention. As the years pass it’s becoming very obscure, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Santelia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Santelia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santelia)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3084 "2018-08-18T21:25:46Z")
There’s a season 2(I think) episode of **Friends** in which Monica bumps into this guy she used babysit when she was younger. The scene ends with him asking her “are you the one who _fooled around with_ my Dad?” Now, in British English, that particular euphemism doesn’t really exist as far as I’m aware, so later when Monica says to Rachel “I bumped into Stevie Fisher” and Rachel says “Oh. Hey, how’s his Dad?”, my young self didn’t make the connection. I reckon I must have interpreted it as meaning something like _played a mean prank on_, rather than _shagged_. I watched the episode again recently and I’m suddenly all :eek::smack: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Santelia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Santelia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santelia)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3085 "2018-08-18T21:28:21Z")
Maybe there’s a subcategory in there - **Jokes you didn’t get as a kid** ---
**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:** [August 19, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3086 "2018-08-19T18:27:02Z")
> [@Santelia](#): > > Maybe there’s a subcategory in there - **Jokes you didn’t get as a kid** When I was a teenager a friend of mine sang a song called “Stranded” it wasn’t until years later that I found out that the song was a parody of the theme song from _Branded_. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3087 "2018-08-20T04:22:38Z")
In Aliens, Hicks has a bullet hole in his armor that says “born again”. Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk ---
**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:** [August 20, 2018, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3088 "2018-08-20T07:57:40Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > In Aliens, Hicks has a bullet hole in his armor that says “born again”. The actors were allowed to decorate their own armour and lockers, so that’s Michael Biehn’s own joke. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3089 "2018-08-20T11:36:49Z")
In _The Breakfast Club_, once everyone gets high, Brian and Andrew(Anthony Michael Hall and Emilio Estevez respectively) are sitting on a couch, talking. Andrew asks Brian what his middle name is, and Allison(Ally Sheedy) cuts into the conversation by saying “your middle name is Ralph, as in puke.” It never occurred to me until a year or so ago that “ralph” is a slang term for “vomit.” It’s never been a very popular euphemism around here. I just always heard her statement as saying that his middle name is ugly. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3090 "2018-08-20T13:35:54Z")
I just realized that POLIDENT translates into “many teeth.” ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3091 "2018-08-20T14:13:41Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > The actors were allowed to decorate their own armour and lockers, so that’s Michael Biehn’s own joke. That’s awesome! There were a few more little things I noticed on watching Aliens for the upmteenth time last night, but that one really stood out. I really liked it because it was a way to story build, make the people feel real, without exposition. Clearly, at some point, Hicks has been shot through the armor. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2018, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3092 "2018-08-21T04:16:24Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I just realized that POLIDENT translates into “many teeth.” Possibly, but I think “denture polish” is more likely. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3093 "2018-09-09T18:05:48Z")
_Serenity_ is one of my favorite movies and besides owning (a couple) disks, see it at [CSTS](http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/) every year. I was watching last night with earphones on and the first time they call Mr. Universe, behind him are multiple screens showing the puppet show. One of them has a news story about the Reaver raid on the hamlet they’d robbed, which I had noticed before but this time I could hear ever so faintly something like, “…only survivors was a group who took refuge…” ---
**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 9, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3094 "2018-09-09T18:12:41Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I just realized that POLIDENT translates into “many teeth.” I think that would be “Polydent,” with a “y.” 😉 ---
**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:** [September 9, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3095 "2018-09-09T18:24:51Z")
Today was the first time I’ve ever been to Chuck E Cheese. I suddenly realized that the Freddie Fozbear restaurant from Five Nights at Freddies is a parody of that restaurant. Good thing Chuck E Cheese doesn’t hire security guards (anymore:eek:). ---
**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 9, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3096 "2018-09-09T18:25:56Z")
I’ve heard “I’ll Be Seeing You (in All the Old, Familiar Places)” many times, and always understood it to be a “We’ll Meet Again (Don’t Know Where, Don’t Know When)” type of song. Which was why it was so popular back in 1944, or so I thought. It wasn’t until recently that I paid attention to the second half of the song: \*I’ll be seeing you In every lovely summer’s day, In everything that’s light and gay, I’ll always think of you that way. I’ll find you in the morning sun, And when the night is new, I’ll be looking at the moon But I’ll be seeing you.\* Just the opposite: The singer is assuming they’ll _never_ meet again! Which during WWII would have been kind of a downer, I’d think. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3097 "2018-09-10T23:24:25Z")
More of a “I’ll be thinking of you constantly while we’re apart” than a “I’m never going to see you again” vibe, I think. ---
**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 10, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3098 "2018-09-10T23:31:59Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > More of a “I’ll be thinking of you constantly while we’re apart” than a “I’m never going to see you again” vibe, I think. I might agree with you if it weren’t for the “always.” Whether they never see each other again, it’s clear they’re going to be apart for a long, LONG time! ---
**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 10, 2018, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3099 "2018-09-10T23:40:51Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I might agree with you if it weren’t for the “always.” Whether they never see each other again, it’s clear they’re going to be apart for a long, LONG time! It’s also clear the singer is talking about seeing him/her in his/her _imagination_, and not in person. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3100 "2018-09-11T05:28:59Z")
I was watching clips from _Blazing Saddles_ and it caused me to wonder who was still alive from the cast (my mind works that way). It’s surprisingly few; Brooks himself, Burton Gilliam (Lyle), Carol Arthur (Harriet Johnson), Rodney Allen Rippy (Bart as a child), and maybe Robyn Hilton (Miss Stein) but she has dropped out of the public eye so thoroughly I can’t find whether she’s alive or dead. Anyway, that’s not related to the thread topic. What I hadn’t realized, despite watching this movie several times was how young Jack Starrett (who played Gabby Johnson) was. He was only 37 when he made this movie. I also didn’t recognize him in his other best-known role - as Deputy Galt, the cop who harassed John Rambo in _First Blood_. ---
**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 11, 2018, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3101 "2018-09-11T06:32:39Z")
Since I was living abroad for most of the '90s, I saw very few episodes of _ **Murphy Brown** _. So I didn’t know one of its running gags was Murphy constantly firing her secretaries. I found out this evening watching _ **Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?** _, and finally got 100% of the _ **Seinfeld** _ joke about Kramer being Murphy’s secretary (and subsequently getting axed from the series) when he was in California. [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=154) [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=156)