# 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:** 182
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3622 "2020-05-12T17:34:48Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > This may not be quite what the OP intended, but I recently noticed just how many damn helicopters there are in the James Bond movies. I did a search a while ago (using the IMDb trivia listings) and I think there were only two of the Bond films that didn’t have a helicopter in them somewhere. One was _Dr. No_, which could have been for budgetary reasons. That is because helicopters are so cool. U S Army Huey pilot 80-85 😃 ---
**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:** [May 13, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3623 "2020-05-13T00:47:55Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > That is because helicopters are so cool. U S Army Huey pilot 80-85 😃 Helicopters are perfect for the Bond films; They’re fast, expensive, elite, etc. When a Russian general has to get a secret decoding machine from a mountaintop monastery, or a billionaire has to attack on off-shore oil platform, a helicopter is the way to go. I’m just surprised at how many of them there are in the Bond films. I just saw _You Only Live Twice_ a couple days ago. Osato arrived to his office in a helicopter. The car that follows Bond and Aki is picked up by a helicopter. Bond is flying around in an autogyro and gets attacked by helicopters. Someone travels to the volcano lair in a helicopter. And I think it’s a helicopter that attacks Kissy as she’s swimming away from the island. Once you start looking for helicopters in the Bond films, it’s almost ridiculous how many there are. ---
**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 16, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3624 "2020-05-16T18:54:41Z")
Just watched _Fellowship of the Ring_ for the umpteenth time (now introducing my youngest son to it - he loved it!), and noticed for the first time that, as Aragorn jumps down from the Emyn Muil stone structure onto the orcs chasing Frodo, he cries, “Elendil!” Don’t know how I missed that before. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3625 "2020-05-18T03:55:19Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Just watched _Fellowship of the Ring_ for the umpteenth time (now introducing my youngest son to it - he loved it!), and noticed for the first time that, as Aragorn jumps down from the Emyn Muil stone structure onto the orcs chasing Frodo, he cries, “Elendil!” Don’t know how I missed that before. How is that pronounced, BTW? Is it e-LEN-dil or is it ELLEN-dil? ---
**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 18, 2020, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3626 "2020-05-18T05:24:14Z")
In Men At Work’s _Down Under_, there are two things I didn’t get until I was older: The first line is “Traveling in a fried-out combie,” which me, as a kid, didn’t realize that he was talking about an old, beat-up VW van. In the third verse, which starts, “lying in a den in Bombay,” it took me until my 20s to realize that he’s talking about being bombed out of his mind in an opium den. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2020, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3627 "2020-05-18T05:46:35Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > In the third verse, which starts, “lying in a den in Bombay,” it took me until my 20s to realize that he’s talking about being bombed out of his mind in an opium den. Okay. Now can you explain to me what _“I laid traps for troubadours/Who get killed before they reached Bombay”_ means? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3628 "2020-05-18T08:28:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Okay. Now can you explain to me what _“I laid traps for troubadours/Who get killed before they reached Bombay”_ means? From my perspective, it was a reference to the [Thugee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee) but I seem to be alone on that. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3629 "2020-05-18T10:05:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Okay. Now can you explain to me what _“I laid traps for troubadours/Who get killed before they reached Bombay”_ means? Circa 1969, a friend of my mother got in her VW van and essentially drove all the way from London to India; this route was known at the time as the “[Hippie Trail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie_trail)”. The song is probably referencing the various dangers travelers faced along the way. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3631 "2020-05-19T19:07:44Z")
I was watching the train thriller Unstoppable again. When the train roars through the “Stanton Curve” in the fictional rural town of Stanton, PA, the footage shows the population at over 700,000. That would place it as having twice the population of Pittsburgh. Also that the initial disastrous plan of using a second locomotive to tie onto the front of 777 to slow it enough for someone to helicopter onto the cab was needlessly complex and stupid. Why not put a second engineer in the other locomotive and just have him transfer to 777? Basically just do from the front what Denzell and Chris Pine did from the back? > [@Superdude](#): > > In Men At Work’s _Down Under_, there are two things I didn’t get until I was older: > > The first line is “Traveling in a fried-out combie,” which me, as a kid, didn’t realize that he was talking about an old, beat-up VW van. > > In the third verse, which starts, “lying in a den in Bombay,” it took me until my 20s to realize that he’s talking about being bombed out of his mind in an opium den. I used to think he was singing “He just smiled and took a bite of my sandwich” in an Aussie accent (not having heard of Vegamite at the time). ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3632 "2020-05-19T19:44:57Z")
I was watching old cartoons on YouTube last night because, you know, too much isolation. I ended up reading the Wikipedia article on H.R. Pufnstuf. Where I learned the Cling and Clang were supposed to be bells. Bells? [These guys do not look like bells.](https://metvcdn.metv.com/NUvG5-1453758826-1359-list_items-cling_and_clang_2.jpg) And considering that the main thing bells are known for is making noise and Cling and Clang were totally mute, they didn’t act like bells either. They look like hairy turtles. ---
**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 19, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3633 "2020-05-19T21:20:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I was watching old cartoons on YouTube last night because, you know, too much isolation. I ended up reading the Wikipedia article on H.R. Pufnstuf. Where I learned the Cling and Clang were supposed to be bells. > > Bells? [These guys do not look like bells.](https://metvcdn.metv.com/NUvG5-1453758826-1359-list_items-cling_and_clang_2.jpg) And considering that the main thing bells are known for is making noise and Cling and Clang were totally mute, they didn’t act like bells either. They look like hairy turtles. On the contrary, I detect a decidedly bell-like shape. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3634 "2020-05-20T00:00:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I was watching old cartoons on YouTube last night because, you know, too much isolation. I ended up reading the Wikipedia article on H.R. Pufnstuf. Where I learned the Cling and Clang were supposed to be bells. > > Bells? [These guys do not look like bells.](https://metvcdn.metv.com/NUvG5-1453758826-1359-list_items-cling_and_clang_2.jpg) And considering that the main thing bells are known for is making noise and Cling and Clang were totally mute, they didn’t act like bells either. They look like hairy turtles. Always assumed they were cops, English bobbies specifically. Did they decide to back off from that, and call them bells? ---
**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 20, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3635 "2020-05-20T00:09:53Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Always assumed they were cops, English bobbies specifically. Did they decide to back off from that, and call them bells? British watchmen (precursors to police) carried bells - maybe that’s what the reference is to? ---
**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:** [May 20, 2020, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3636 "2020-05-20T02:17:00Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Always assumed they were cops, English bobbies specifically. Did they decide to back off from that, and call them bells? They acted like cops (within the context of it being a child’s show where the mayor was a dragon). And I figured the hats, which are bell-shaped, were supposed to be [a bobby’s helmet](https://www.villagehatshop.com/photos/product/standard/4511390S55462/novelty-hats-view-all/british-bobby-helmet.jpg). Which fit in with the way they were wearing uniforms. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3637 "2020-05-20T05:05:47Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Always assumed they were cops, English bobbies specifically. [Could be old fashioned American uniforms](http://candysroom.freeservers.com/policeweb401.html). ---
**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 20, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3638 "2020-05-20T16:36:51Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > How is that pronounced, BTW? > > Is it e-LEN-dil or is it ELLEN-dil? I believe it’s closer to uh-LEN-deel. That’s how it’s said in the movie, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3639 "2020-05-20T17:36:31Z")
Back in college, late '80s, my roommate had a couple of **Ink-sis** CDs. At least that’s what I assumed the band was called. Some catchy tunes, but I didn’t pay a lot of attention b/c I only listened to country music at the time. FFW to about a year ago. The local classic rock radio station unfortunately opened the floodgates to a lot of late '80s and '90s music (a topic for another day). I actually recognized a few of the songs! **Ink-sis**! Yeah, I remember them! Oh, **INXS**? You mean “in excess”? Who’d have thunk it? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3640 "2020-05-20T17:59:19Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I believe it’s closer to uh-LEN-deel. That’s how it’s said in the movie, anyway. Seeing as how they had Sir Christopher Lee on set, I would be more than willing to trust the movies’ pronunciations. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3641 "2020-05-20T18:33:27Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Seeing as how they had Sir Christopher Lee on set, I would be more than willing to trust the movies’ pronunciations. Why would he know more about Elvish?😕 ---
**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:** [May 20, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3642 "2020-05-20T20:06:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Why would he know more about Elvish?😕 Lee was a huge Tolkien fan. [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=181) [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=183)