# 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:** 188
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3743 "2020-09-30T12:07:13Z")
i[quote=“Fiendish\_Astronaut, post:3476, topic:504117, full:true”] In Back To The Future the Flux Capacitor activated when the Delorean reached 88mph. I just realised that the 8s represent infinity. [/quote] This morning, while setting up coffee, the Jimi Hendrix song, _If Six Was Nine_ drifted into my mind, and I realized that 9 is an upside down 6. But who knows — maybe I’ve realized that many times before, and just don’t remember. (But, my belief is that I’ve just thought the song was about the arbitrary nature of reality, without considering the upside down angle.) ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3744 "2020-10-02T16:45:51Z")
Bit distasteful this one but Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Welcome to the Pleasure Dome” was a big song when I was growing up in the eighties. Now I come to think about it I don’t think the “pleasure dome” was some sort of fantastical circus tent but rather Holly Johnson’s, er, johnson. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3745 "2020-10-02T18:46:49Z")
And previews of upcoming movies are called trailers because they used to shown after the main movie. Of course the powers that be quickly realized that this was a bad idea (because people would leave the theater without watching them) and started showing them before the movie, but the name stuck. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3746 "2020-10-02T18:59:11Z")
For the longest time I though “I’ve Been Everywhere” was the truck driver telling his passenger about all the places he’s been (I guess I didn’t pay attention to the intro). That seems quite plausible since truck driving is the sort of job that will take you to lots of different places, but mostly to places that aren’t particularly exotic or glamorous. And most of the places listed in the song fit that bill. I only relatively recently realized it’s the other way around; it’s actually the hitchhiker telling the truck driver the places he’s been to. It’s more obvious when you listen to the [original Australian version](https://youtu.be/-UAh7ogwAYQ). In that one the trucker gets a bit more dialogue. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3747 "2020-10-02T20:30:55Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > I just realised that the 8s represent infinity. Back at the height of the Scouting Must Protect Your Children From The Gay, our scout troop wrote letters protesting. And I found shirts that matched official uniforms, except that they were bright purple. I found rainbow embroidered patches (and made up a Diversity Merit Badge), and where the troop number was supposed to be on the sleeve, we took the official Troop 8 patch and turned it sideways, to make a perfect Troop Infinity “…and beyond”. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3748 "2020-10-04T00:42:47Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Bit distasteful this one but Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Welcome to the Pleasure Dome” was a big song when I was growing up in the eighties. Now I come to think about it I don’t think the “pleasure dome” was some sort of fantastical circus tent but rather Holly Johnson’s, er, johnson. Uhm…The song literally (sort of) quotes Kubla Khan Samuel Taylor Coleridge > **[Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge | Poetry Foundation](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43991/kubla-khan)** > > In Xanadu did Kubla Khan In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. ---
**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:** [October 4, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3749 "2020-10-04T00:53:01Z")
This wasn’t one I figured out on my own. I was reading about the song “Woke Up This Morning” by Alabama 3 (which is best known for being the theme song for _The Sopranos_) and I found out it’s about a woman shooting her abusive husband. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3750 "2020-10-06T03:51:18Z")
In my entire life, I do not think anyone has ever commented re: the rather obvious testicles on the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours: [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fXKEdbxDr1KSGv6whIypmecneEARuxOjpIY1XITm0deweMgj4VhIzrNy-S087aZE9jM4j6AkuBCbSBqfJeoc3OmOH1l3VHWxU2K7El7vrXp0_jzqQFDB73ogDelfg4vucvCm_3nLlQ=w600-h315-p-k "New item by John Thornton") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/B6Vnt357PixTGaDBA) And, no, it wasn’t an accident: [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/L_is41zQ-IEO2Zz-A3UesZdPGva2VuJxPZRU7_KxFRAO2cPf4B-uk6wvOU0y9IaEuVh7PwZVaYRhTxyIQyGUebPWGDKpZWmhzO5JD6d-NWUeKR7gRXHbl-7vhejQ2rNY71Ieo9Mgbg=w600-h315-p-k "New item by John Thornton") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/KC6GWCVJCjeD5EWf9) [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MH2iAxsAlUD-dpSs_gghWoEr2imrnhKZNXV3bUGE0Jd2ppIczqTasBiWtab2MOSgxaLNOS9BYkPVyF7Uye69FCqlMRKQOIaVTtbXLF3DE0Nez64hnLkjFUz_R4ssu_JnnzOD-Nhu8Q=w600-h315-p-k "New item by John Thornton") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/gVtPrw9EfsYs4PaE7) ---
**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:** [October 6, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3751 "2020-10-06T16:33:17Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > testicles on the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours: Putting those words in [Google](https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk00VnD2hSXh5ojuNvK5AIgwdsFe0YQ%3A1602001605266&ei=xZp8X_7RD4br_Qbg4IbwBA&q=testicles+on+the+cover+of+Fleetwood+Mac%E2%80%99s+Rumours%3A&oq=testicles+on+the+cover+of+Fleetwood+Mac%E2%80%99s+Rumours%3A&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzIICCEQFhAdEB4yCAghEBYQHRAeMggIIRAWEB0QHjIICCEQFhAdEB4yCAghEBYQHRAeOgQIABBHUP_dCVj_3QlgtOAJaABwAngAgAFliAFlkgEDMC4xmAEAoAECoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpesgBCMABAQ&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwi-yPGEsaDsAhWGdd8KHWCwAU4Q4dUDCAw&uact=5) gets 1,100,000 hits. And there is an explanation. > **[MICK FLEETWOOD (FLEETWOOD MAC) TALKING BALLS](https://www.fleetwoodmacnews.com/2009/09/mick-fleetwood-fleetwood-mac-talking.html)** > > Stevie Nicks Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie John McVie Mick Fleetwood Fleetwood Mac News Tour Dates Nickslive ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3752 "2020-10-06T23:06:32Z")
My own Scottish ancestors squirm in their graves a bit, I expect. I thought that the Scone of Stone that Pratchett used in _The Fifth Elephant_ was a silly-enough plot device, and thought no more about it. I only recently learned that the Stone of Scone is a very real thing, absolutely necessary for the proper coronation of kings and queens of Scotland. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3753 "2020-10-07T01:14:53Z")
Meant for my previous post to be stand-alone, not a reply to **Kobal2**. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3754 "2020-10-07T21:12:16Z")
Since someone counted words as a creative work earlier, I’m going to call naming cars a creative work, too. A while ago on another site someone pointed out that for a while Ford had kind of an equestrian theme going with their car model names – Mustang, Bronco, Pinto (too bad Chrysler got the name Colt). And it just hit me today that Mercury model names had a cat theme – Cougar, Bobcat, Lynx. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3755 "2020-10-08T11:53:13Z")
They Live: Donald Trump’s mother: ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3756 "2020-10-08T14:04:33Z")
**Mod Note** : @JohnT This post has no place in Cafe Society. Do not repeat. I’m going to remove the offending pictures. Please keep political jabs where they belong. This is not a warning, but I am adding a note about this to your profile. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3757 "2020-10-14T18:19:23Z")
I knew _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_ started in 2010, but I didn’t realize that it premiered on October 10th. 10/10/10. Also the final episode also was also shown on October 10th. ---
**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:** [November 5, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3758 "2020-11-05T19:55:13Z")
This almost certainly a coincidence, and therefore not completely appropriate for the thread, but I’m posting it anyway. Sue me. I have read and re-read all 40+ of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, and all 40+ of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe novels many times over. I’m alternating between the series now as a distraction from all the horrors of 2020. A week or two ago I noticed that Stout has a character named Purley Stebbins (a sergeant on the NYC homicide squad) and Pratchett has a character named Ponder Stibbons (a Discworld equivalent of a computer nerd). Both have unusual two-syllable first names starting with P, and last names that are nearly identical. There are undoubtedly bigger Discworld geeks than me here at the Dope, but I can see no sign that Pratchett was intentionally echoing the Nero Wolfe character. As characters, they have virtually nothing in common, other than being in the mid-level of recurring characters in their respective series. AFAIK, there are zero references to anything approximating Wolfe in the DW canon. So as I said, merely a coincidence, but mildly interesting, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3759 "2020-11-06T01:16:12Z")
I’m going to vote “Pure Speculation.” As was agreed, the two characters have nothing in common. Further, the name “Ponder” is no coincidence of itself, since Ponder was by far the most intellectual and introspective of the bunch of UU faculty. I don’t know what inspiration Stout had for naming his characters, but “Purley” doesn’t suggest much, except maybe that of a kid who was 'way too tired of people making fun of his given name (nickname?). ---
**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:** [November 6, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3760 "2020-11-06T18:09:38Z")
In the movie _Edge of Tomorrow_ the main female’s nickname is “The Angel of Verdun” due to the battle she fought there There’s also an urban legend about angels appearing over the Battle of Mons. There was a song written about it called “The Angels of Mons”. Coincidence or reference? ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3761 "2020-11-06T18:52:46Z")
I re-watched an old episode of _Monk_ last night, specifically “Mr. Monk and the Airplane”, where Tim Daly guest stars as himself. In this exchange (paraphrased) Sharona: “Hey, that’s Tim Daly!” Monk: “What, is he some sort of actor or something?” Sharona: “He was on that show _Wings_.” Monk: “Never saw it.” Of course the obvious joke there is that Tony Shalhoub himself was on _Wings_. I’ve seen that episode many times before, and I can’t believe I never got that before. I mean, I didn’t really watch _Wings_ regularly when it was on, but I’ve seen at least a few episodes and am aware Tony Shalhoub was in it. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3762 "2020-11-06T21:04:28Z")
It took a surprisingly long time to realize that, “The Boys in the Band” wasn’t really about musicians. [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=187) [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=189)