# 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:** 180
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3582 "2020-05-06T22:04:07Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > When he says _“I finally made a tricky French connection/You winked and gave me your O.K.”_ what does that mean? He had just made a drug deal with the girl and asked her out on a date? I see it as two separate actions, the second following the first fortuitously. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3583 "2020-05-07T12:25:10Z")
I don’t know if this would count as a “creative work”, buit the name “Dew Drop Inn” is a common one for neighborhood bar & grill type places or motels. There used to be a bar in my general area with this name, but I think it’s gone now. Anyway, I was well into my forties before I realized “oohhh, it’s a pun on the phrase ‘do drop in’”. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2020, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3584 "2020-05-07T12:31:50Z")
Yeah, we used to have a Dew Drop Inn in the Louisville, KY area, too. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3585 "2020-05-07T17:06:31Z")
There’s a restaurant/bar in the Lake of the Ozarks called “Big Dick’s Halfway Inn” which as far as humor and subtlety go is fairly on-brand for the area. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3586 "2020-05-07T18:12:28Z")
There’s a bar here called The Office (been here long before the TV show), supposedly so that harried husbands can call home and say they have to stay a bit longer at… well, you know. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3587 "2020-05-07T18:57:54Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Or maybe even an alien named Ford Prefect. And that name went over 99% of American heads because the Ford Motor Company never offered the Prefect model in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3588 "2020-05-07T20:44:21Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > And that name went over 99% of American heads because the Ford Motor Company never offered the Prefect model in the US. And that’s another one I didn’t fully get until I read a bio of Douglas Adams. I’d known Ford Prefect was a car model, **but** , I didn’t catch that the alien chose that name because he’d initially thought **cars** , not humans, were the dominant species on Earth. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3589 "2020-05-07T21:22:40Z")
I watched the original Total Recall again the other day. It doesn’t generate the same level of debate as Inception, but I’m a lot more convinced now that the whole thing might have been part of Douglas Quaid’s Recall trip. > [@Nobody](#): > > That’s what I always thought. So if it’s them on the horses, what does their discussion at the beginning mean then? I never interpreted the song that way. I looked at the lyrics again. I get the impression that the Joker and the Thief are inside the watchtower (some sort of medieval keep) at some sort of celebration. Maybe just the routine nightly debauchery of some lord, his court and various hangers-on. And for whatever reason, they shouldn’t be there. There is definitely a sense of menace (even apocalyptic) of the two riders approaching out of the wilderness as the “hour gets late” and things are winding down. I did some more Googling and apparently there are a lot of biblical references in the song. There is also a lot of debate on who the characters are and how they relate to each other. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3590 "2020-05-07T23:55:04Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I don’t know if this would count as a “creative work”, buit the name “Dew Drop Inn” is a common one for neighborhood bar & grill type places or motels. There used to be a bar in my general area with this name, but I think it’s gone now. Anyway, I was well into my forties before I realized “oohhh, it’s a pun on the phrase ‘do drop in’”. > [@Superdude](#): > > Yeah, we used to have a Dew Drop Inn in the Louisville, KY area, too. Yeah, those seem to be pretty common. There’s one in Honolulu too. It was the name of a place on _The Waltons_ too, wasn’t it? Toward the end of the series. One or two of the grown Walton kids had opened it. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3591 "2020-05-07T23:57:56Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Yeah, those seem to be pretty common. There’s one in Honolulu too. It was the name of a place on _The Waltons_ too, wasn’t it? Toward the end of the series. One or two of the grown Walton kids had opened it. I think the younger boy played music there (which was an issue because his mother didn’t think it was a decent place). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3592 "2020-05-08T00:03:41Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > I think the younger boy played music there (which was an issue because his mother didn’t think it was a decent place). Yes, but didn’t one of the brothers own it too? Relying on an almost 50-year-old memory here, so maybe not. I guess that would not make sense if the mother did not like the place; that part I don’t recall. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3593 "2020-05-08T00:10:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Yes, but didn’t one of the brothers own it too? Relying on an almost 50-year-old memory here, so maybe not. I guess that would not make sense if the mother did not like the place; that part I don’t recall. Could be - there were only two brothers, though, right - Jim-Bob and John-Boy? I can’t stand it - I have to check. * * * Clearly, I forgot some of the boys in the family - Jason and Ben ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3594 "2020-05-08T00:16:46Z")
Looks like in one episode an old girlfriend of the father (John) bought the Dew Drop Inn - another reason for Ma to hate it [The Waltons s7-ep21 - The Torch](http://www.allaboutthewaltons.com/ep-s7/s07-21.php) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3595 "2020-05-08T00:17:52Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Could be - there were only two brothers, though, right - Jim-Bob and John-Boy? > > I can’t stand it - I have to check. > > * * * > > Clearly, I forgot some of the boys in the family - Jason and Ben Plus a fifth one if you count Joseph, twin to Jim-Bob but who died at birth. Referenced in at least one episode. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3596 "2020-05-08T03:10:48Z")
And nobody ever remembers Chuck Cunningham Walton. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3597 "2020-05-08T05:56:02Z")
Ah, Chuck. We hardly knew ye. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3598 "2020-05-08T18:18:25Z")
It only took me 69.5 years to notice that “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” and “The Bear Went Over The Mountain” are the same tune. Discuss amongst yourselves. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3599 "2020-05-08T19:00:39Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > It only took me 69.5 years to notice that “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” and “The Bear Went Over The Mountain” are the same tune. > > Discuss amongst yourselves. The Alphabet Song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star are the same tune (as each other, not as For He’s Jolly Good Fellow). ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3600 "2020-05-08T19:29:51Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The Alphabet Song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star are the same tune (as each other, not as For He’s Jolly Good Fellow). Not a lot of people may remember the old “Dick Dastardly and Muttley Show” but it was decades before I realized that the melody used for the theme song was “The Tiger Rag”. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3601 "2020-05-08T20:56:06Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The Alphabet Song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star are the same tune (as each other, not as For He’s Jolly Good Fellow). You’ve barely scratched the surface > [@](#): > > What do the following nursery rhymes have in common: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, and The Alphabet Song? They all share the same tune! The famous melody is also used in many other songs including German, Hungarian, Spanish, and Turkish Christmas carols. So who composed this famous tune? Many people think it was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but that’s not true. The tune is actually an old French melody titled “Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman” (“Shall I tell you, Mother?”) that first appeared without words in Les Amusements d’une Heure et Demy by M. Bouin in Paris in 1761. Twenty years later, when Mozart was 25 or 26, he composed a set of 12 improvisations based on “Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman.” [The Origin of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star](https://www.liveabout.com/mozart-origin-twinkle-twinkle-little-star-723916) [And here are Mozart’s 12 variations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bK9h12Qdvs) [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=179) [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=181)