# 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:** 54
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1061 "2011-05-12T22:48:46Z")
I only noticed [this](http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2011/5/11/19538c63-8269-4995-a5e5-69b310b55f20.jpg) yesterday and it startled me. ---
**Author:** ![Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ee7513/32.png) [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kim_o_the_Concrete_Jungle)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1062 "2011-05-13T04:03:25Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I only noticed [this](http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2011/5/11/19538c63-8269-4995-a5e5-69b310b55f20.jpg) yesterday and it startled me. Errm. That’s a windmill. “Exterminate! And grind me some flour while your at it.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1063 "2011-05-21T04:09:22Z")
Okay, I just popped in a DVD of MST3K ( **Manos** , to be precise). So you know the opening sequence, where they show what’s supposed to be Gizmonics Institute? And it’s not even well-made miniatures; more like model-railroad trees and houses? And the rocket taking off is so ridiculously fake? Kind of like the not-even-F/X in so many of the films MST spoofs. ---
**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 21, 2011, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1064 "2011-05-21T07:22:33Z")
I’ve read the Harry Potter books several times, but it wasn’t until I was flipping channels the other night when _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_ was on that I realized that Harry’s aunt, Petunia, and mother, Lilly, are both named after flowers. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1065 "2011-05-23T22:49:53Z")
I’m watching Michael Jackson’s Beat It music video and just realized that some gang members came out from the sewers. Were there ever instances of gangs living in the sewers of LA? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1066 "2011-05-24T00:19:20Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I’ve read the Harry Potter books several times, but it wasn’t until I was flipping channels the other night when _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_ was on that I realized that Harry’s aunt, Petunia, and mother, Lilly, are both named after flowers. That motif is used in the Britcom _Keeping Up Appearances_, also. Hyacinth, Rose, Daisy and Violet are sisters. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1067 "2011-05-24T16:09:59Z")
One of the guys pointed this out to me this weekend, and I couldn’t believe I’d missed it: In _Galaxy Quest_, whenever the show’s announcer introduces (Tony Shaloub playing) Fred Kwan as “Tech Sergeant Chen”, Shaloub squints so he’ll look more Asian. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1068 "2011-05-24T18:20:03Z")
Isn’t Tony Shaloub’s character supposed to be high throughout the whole movie? ---
**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:** [May 24, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1069 "2011-05-24T18:25:02Z")
That’s my understanding, but they had to delete the scenes that make it overt. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1070 "2011-05-24T18:58:26Z")
Watching Ghostbusters 2 at the weekend, there is a scene where Dana (Sigourney Weaver) comes to Egons lab to ask him for help with the whole Gozer eating her baby thing. Egon has been carrying out experiments measuring the effects of strong emotions on the physical world (or something like that), such as putting sensors in a room with a married couple arguing loudly. Anyway, they are speaking, and Dana casually asks Egon about Peter (Bill Murrays character) and whether he ever spoke about her. Dana is facing away from Egon at this point, and straight away he answers “no”, and behind her back lifts his sensor/sciencey thing to measure her. It may be that I am the only person that never caught onto this before, but then I never expected Ghostbusters 2 to be so subtle. Its this scene. [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKO42KT1pqo), from 35seconds in. (I know its in German, its the only one I could find) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1071 "2011-06-12T20:56:39Z")
TV commercial for some cell phone service, and 4G being faster. Train station depot, bunch of people milling about, 12 noon hits and suddenly a guy rips off his trenchcoat, he’s wearing black, and begins some fancy choreographed dance moves and chant. Suddenly realizes he’s the only one, and his phone buzzes to tell him “the flash mob is moved to 12:30”. People are giving him dirty looks. I just realized that there are a number of other people milling about in trench coats, and the people giving him dirty looks are the ones who sent him the text. They’re all part of the flash mob. :smack: ---
**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:** [June 12, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1072 "2011-06-12T21:04:09Z")
Yeah, that took me a few times to notice, also. They’re all like “way to ruin it, jerk.” ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1073 "2011-06-13T05:41:35Z")
This thread has gone into different areas a few times, so I’ll give my most embarrassing moment of realization. I have been a sports fan in general my entire life. One of my favorite pastimes as a kid and as an adult is to try to figure out what logos are meant to represent. I love uniforms, emblems, and all that kind of stuff. Because once you figure out the reason a logo was created the way it was, all of a sudden the meaning of it is clear and you can appreciate the effort used to create it. For example, two of the most clever emblems I’ve encountered (and my all time favorite logos) are [The Hartford Whalers](http://www.sportsmemorabiliaandmore.com/NHL/hartford_whalers.html) emblem, which depending on who looked at it and when, a person could see a number of different things. However, the emblem incorporates both the “H” (for Hartford) and “W” (for Whalers), which I like. But even better is that the “whale tale” that helps outline the top of the “H” also represents the top part of an anchor, the bottom of which is created by the “W” in the logo. A very cool logo. Too bad the team isn’t there any longer. The other logo I loved was the [Milwaukee Brewers logo](http://www.wallpaperpimper.com/wallpaper/download-wallpaper-Milwaukee_Brewers_Classic_Logo-size-1280x1024-id-112595.htm), which is a baseball glove made out of the “m” for Milwaukee for the fingers of the glove, and the “b” for Brewers while incorporating a baseball in the logo. So imagine my surprise to learn within the last year that a logo that completely escaped my comprehension since I was 6 was actually a cool logo. Someone on the dope pointed it out to me, and if they hadn’t, I would still have never noticed it. I’m speaking of the [Vancouver Canucks logo](http://4photos.net/en/image:46-201450-canucks_logo_pictures_images), which I used to think was a stupid hockey stick laying sideways on their jersey. Whoopee. Then, someone pointed out that the stick made the hockey rink it was laying in into a C, for Canucks. I don’t know how many times I’ve looked over that logo for decades, but I felt like a complete moron. I still do when I look at it now. How could I possibly miss that one? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1074 "2011-06-13T06:03:12Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > So imagine my surprise to learn within the last year that a logo that completely escaped my comprehension since I was 6 was actually a cool logo. Someone on the dope pointed it out to me, and if they hadn’t, I would still have never noticed it. I’m speaking of the [Vancouver Canucks logo](http://4photos.net/en/image:46-201450-canucks_logo_pictures_images), which I used to think was a stupid hockey stick laying sideways on their jersey. Whoopee. Then, someone pointed out that the stick made the hockey rink it was laying in into a C, for Canucks. I don’t know how many times I’ve looked over that logo for decades, but I felt like a complete moron. I still do when I look at it now. How could I possibly miss that one? Because it’s really reaching? The other two logos are top-notch, though. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1075 "2011-06-13T06:21:27Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > So imagine my surprise to learn within the last year that a logo that completely escaped my comprehension since I was 6 was actually a cool logo. Someone on the dope pointed it out to me, and if they hadn’t, I would still have never noticed it. I’m speaking of the [Vancouver Canucks logo](http://4photos.net/en/image:46-201450-canucks_logo_pictures_images), which I used to think was a stupid hockey stick laying sideways on their jersey. Whoopee. Then, someone pointed out that the stick made the hockey rink it was laying in into a C, for Canucks. I don’t know how many times I’ve looked over that logo for decades, but I felt like a complete moron. I still do when I look at it now. How could I possibly miss that one? I see the “C” more in the green than I do the blue. I don’t know if that’s intentional, or if it’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1076 "2011-06-13T07:01:27Z")
As I mentioned in another thread, in [this scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmyRzoEgwDg) I’d always assumed that Forrest Gump was just hyperventilating. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1077 "2011-06-13T12:33:09Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > [The Hartford Whalers](http://www.sportsmemorabiliaandmore.com/NHL/hartford_whalers.html) emblem, which depending on who looked at it and when, a person could see a number of different things. However, the emblem incorporates both the “H” (for Hartford) and “W” (for Whalers), which I like. But even better is that the “whale tale” that helps outline the top of the “H” also represents the top part of an anchor, the bottom of which is created by the “W” in the logo. This is a semi-hijack, but one on my hot buttons is design that places more importance on a concept than on the visual. Famous case in point: The arrow in the FedEx logo. It’s a boring arrow shape and too small to be a significant part of the logo, but people make a big deal out of it. The logo would be better if they’d chose a typeface that didn’t form an arrow. Same thing with the Hartford Whalers logo. The fluke is fine, the “H” is fine, but that’s a butt-ugly “W.” It’s just there because an “idea” man thought it was groovy that a H and W could almost interlock. It looks confusingly like a cat’s head or the face of Satan. Not pretty. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1078 "2011-06-13T12:51:30Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > It looks confusingly like a cat’s head or the face of Satan. Not pretty. Nah. Miroslav Satan never played for the Whalers. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1079 "2011-06-13T13:09:12Z")
While we’re on sports logos, the one that always got me was the [old Expos logo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Montreal_Expos_logo.png). To me, it looked like “elb” but I guess it’s supposed to just be “eb” for Expos Baseball. I always just figured “elb” must be French for something important. The thing I never noticed until it was pointed out is that the complete logo forms an ‘M’ for Montreal. ---
**Author:** ![Xylo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@Xylo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xylo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1080 "2011-06-14T19:46:51Z")
This one occured to me on my way home this morning. Tom & Jerry --\> Tommies & Jerries --\> Britain vs Germany in WW1. That’s not a stretch, right? Right? [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=53) [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=55)