# 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:** 21
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/401 "2009-08-14T15:15:09Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > The Electric Company sketch Fargo, North Decoder is a spoof of Fargo, North Dakota. Punctuation nitpick: it was “Fargo North, Decoder.” ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/402 "2009-08-14T16:40:51Z")
I just realized an embarrassing one: despite Nightmare Before Christmas being one of my favorite films and having seen it a million times, I never realized Jack Skellington was supposed to be a skeleton and that his head was a skull. I always thought he was just a gangly, creepy Halloween spirit and his head was a white jack o’ lantern. I don’t think I realized the truth until I saw some piece of Nightmare merchandise and made the connection. I think they might have been Christmas lights in the shape of Jack’s head. The label said “Skull Lights.” I went, “Hey, those aren’t skulls, they’re…oh. OHHHHHH! Oh.” ---
**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:** [August 14, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/403 "2009-08-14T16:47:10Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > There’s also a line about, “Wait, you guys have coke here?” “Well, sure, this is America.” This is the line I was talking about. Although I TOTALLY forgot about the line that **Small Hen** wrote. Another one I didn’t notice until pretty much just now. Man…Clueless is _layered_ ---
**Author:** ![coffinjumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@coffinjumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffinjumper)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/404 "2009-08-14T16:52:44Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > I just realized an embarrassing one: despite Nightmare Before Christmas being one of my favorite films and having seen it a million times, I never realized Jack Skellington was supposed to be a skeleton and that his head was a skull. I always thought he was just a gangly, creepy Halloween spirit and his head was a white jack o’ lantern. > > I don’t think I realized the truth until I saw some piece of Nightmare merchandise and made the connection. I think they might have been Christmas lights in the shape of Jack’s head. The label said “Skull Lights.” I went, “Hey, those aren’t skulls, they’re…oh. OHHHHHH! Oh.” I just saw the movie on the big screen for the first time last year. It was also the first time I saw that Zero’s nose was a Jack-O-Lantern. I thought it was awesome and very appropriate. One of my faves growing up and I somehow missed that. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/405 "2009-08-14T22:05:34Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Man…Clueless is _layered_ Well, it is an adaptation of a Jane Austen novel. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/406 "2009-08-14T22:07:23Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > This is the line I was talking about. > > Although I TOTALLY forgot about the line that **Small Hen** wrote. Another one I didn’t notice until pretty much just now. > > Man…Clueless is _layered_ It may not be as layered but I was always partial to, “My plastic surgeon doesn’t want me participating in any activity where balls fly at my nose!” ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/407 "2009-08-15T07:56:13Z")
I just had an ah-ha moment. Thinking about how Craig Ferguson is being pre-empted for golf the last couple of nights made me think about time slots and made me think how Jay leno is getting a slot in prime time where he’ll have more viewers than before. Now I’ve heard the term prime time all my life, but only now did I realize they call it that because that’s when the most people are usually watching TV. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/408 "2009-08-15T11:05:10Z")
I had a dumb epiphany just last night. I must have read this book four or five times, but it only dawned on me when I started on reading it aloud to my son: which popular children’s fantasy novel begins when a young girl who hides in a wardrobe goes on to a series of extraordinary adventures in a frozen land? Yup, it’s Philip Pullman’s _The Northern Lights_. Why, what were you thinking? God, I’m dense. ---
**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 17, 2009, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/409 "2009-08-17T13:16:23Z")
I’d heard Tom Paxton’s “Introduction to the Marvelous Toy” about twenty times: How he wrote it whle taking a typing class at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Since he already knew how to type and “you can’t learn how to type twice. Your brain won’t stand for it,” he wrote the song on the typewriter. When I played this intro for a friend, she remarked “The sounds of the marvelous toy are the sounds you hear when you press the TAB key on an electric typewriter.” Zip when it moved and bop when it stopped and whirr when it stood still…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/410 "2009-08-17T14:25:22Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Well, it is an adaptation of a Jane Austen novel. Which is another thing I wouldn’t have picked up on if I hadn’t heard about it. ---
**Author:** ![ajdebosco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@ajdebosco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ajdebosco)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/411 "2009-08-18T16:39:55Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’d heard Tom Paxton’s “Introduction to the Marvelous Toy” about twenty times: How he wrote it whle taking a typing class at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Since he already knew how to type and “you can’t learn how to type twice. Your brain won’t stand for it,” he wrote the song on the typewriter. > > When I played this intro for a friend, she remarked “The sounds of the marvelous toy are the sounds you hear when you press the TAB key on an electric typewriter.” > > Zip when it moved and bop when it stopped and whirr when it stood still…:smack: Boy do I feel oblivious to the obvious. I heard that song during an elementary school talent show over forty years ago, and didn’t make the connection until just now. _I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will_ :smack: duh, now I do! ---
**Author:** ![joazito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@joazito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joazito)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/412 "2009-09-15T00:44:17Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Not to mention the fact that one’s veins tend to look blue. I tought blood was blue because my Dr. Strange comic had it drawn that way. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/413 "2009-09-15T13:49:40Z")
Is Sam Vimes named after Sam Spade? This just occured to me the other day when I mixed them up. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/414 "2009-09-15T14:27:00Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This reminds me of one of my favorite lines from the Spider-Man movies: J. Jonah Jameson watches Dr. Octopus climb up a building, and says “Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs. […] What are the odds?” Or what are the odds that Hannibal Lecter would have a first name that just happened to rhyme with ‘cannibal?’ ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/415 "2009-09-15T15:26:59Z")
One might say his parents drove him to it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![maniondl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@maniondl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maniondl)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/416 "2009-09-15T20:05:04Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I don’t know how obvious it is to everyone else but in Aliens, it seems very clear to me now that Bishop sold Ripley and co. out. He lies right to her face and no one catches him on it. He tells Ripley and the surviving marines that flight time for the second drop ship will be 40 minutes. Now hold on a minute there Mr. Bishop. That’s the express elevator to hell you’re talking about. We watched the flight in real time when it was done with a load of squishy marines and a human pilot and from start to finish it took FOUR minutes, not forty. So Bishop had control of that drop ship for a lot longer than he let on. Check his expression when the survivors show up at the landing field early because of Newt’s shortcut. “Oops, you’re not supposed to be here yet!” So that’s how the eggs got on board in Alien 3. Bishop ferried them there. That’s probably also why the Queen ripped him in half- she recognized him as the egg thief! It’s an interesting theory, but I don’t think it works out. As far as we know, the Sulacco is not in geostationary orbit. At least some of the time could be a delay while the ship comes back around. If you’re landing in potentially hostile territory, wouldn’t want to leave your nuclear-armed trip home floating right above the hot spot. Some of the time (though I’m less sure of this) could be a delay while the second drop ship is fitted for launch. Given that one of the big themes of Aliens is “Are humans actually worse than the xenomorphs?” I don’t think it’s in keeping with the theme. After all, you don’t see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage. 🙂 I took his shock to be more like “WTF?! I left you alone for half an hour and now most of you are dead and the survivors look like hell.” ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/417 "2009-09-15T20:56:46Z")
I didn’t read this whole thread, so forgive me if this was already mentioned, but my kids watch “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” on the Disney channel all the time. I don’t watch it, but I hear it in the background and get the gist. It’s about two brothers who live at a fictional hotel, the Tipton. One of the characters is a spoiled hotel heiress named London. I always thought it was an interesting name for a girl, and nothing more. Recently, I heard her referred to by her full name: London Tipton. European City for a first name, hotel for a last name. Paris Hilton, duh. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/418 "2009-09-15T21:16:24Z")
For quite a long time, I’d been puzzled by why, during WW2, the British called the Germans “Jerry”. Krauts I could understand, Boche goes back to WW1, Fritz is a common German name… but why Jerry ?! German. GERman. The worst thing is, I didn’t even figure it out by myself : somebody had to spell it out for me… ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/419 "2009-09-15T21:54:30Z")
For that matter, why “the Hun”? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/420 "2009-09-15T22:17:59Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Re the blue blood. It’s depicted that way in diagrams as a way to differentiate it from the oxygenated blood (the red stuff); it helps people see the difference between the arterial “system” and the venous one. Of course, it’s not really blue… but there is that phrase, “blue-blood” meaning someone of high stature and lineage etc. > > Language is confusing! 😉 Royals and nobles were called “blue bloods” because their skin was paler than that of their peasants, who worked in the sun all year long. Thus, people could see their veins - which appear to be blue (just look at your inner wrist). It’s kind of ironic how nowadays, tans are considered sexy and rich idle people get fake ones in tanning booths : for most of Western history, it was the other way 'round : the paler you were, the more high class. @\*\*Koxinga \*\*: I assume it has to do with the fact that they invaded people a lot 😉 [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=20) [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=22)