# Pop culture flotsam: things that long outlive the work they came from **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161 "2007-09-05T20:47:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/21 "2007-09-06T12:13:23Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] “Rio,” a song by some obscure '80s group with a double name. Gimme a minute, I’ll think of it… [/QUOTE] The name of that group having been the name of a villianous character from a certain Jane Fonda film. Btw, there have been rumors of a re-make or sequel & I always hoped they’d offer that role to Simon LeBon. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/22 "2007-09-06T12:37:31Z")
[QUOTE=Sir Rhosis] “It was a dark and stormy night” is a cue to discuss horrible novels, but I can’t remember the book, think the author was Bulwer-Lytton, but most people wouldn’t remember that much. Sir Rhosis [/QUOTE] _A Wrinkle In Time_ starts with the sentence “It was a dark and stormy night.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/23 "2007-09-06T12:45:02Z")
[QUOTE=Saltire] A good example that isn’t a quote would be the classic _Perils of Pauline_ “man with long waxed mustache ties girl to the train tracks” bit. Everyone would recognise it, most would think it came from a cartoon. Almost none could refer to the original. [In fact, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to hear that _Pauline_ wasn’t the first to use it. I think there may have been a melodramatic play that did it before film came about.] [/quote] It wasn’t. The first use of the trope in the US was in the 1867 melodrama “[Under the Gaslight](http://www.josephhaworth.com/images/Producers%20&%20Managers/Augustin%20Daly/Under_the_Gaslight-Poster-cepia-Resized.jpg)” (though it was a man tied to the railroad tracks and rescued by a woman, with a play using the scene as a plea for giving women the vote). The play was written by Augustin Daly, who also originated the “victim tied to a saw in the sawmill” scene. The Warsaw Concerto, still a popular concert piece, comes from the very forgotten film **Dangerous Moonlight**. Everyone knows who Popeye is. Few remember the name of the comic strip where he originated: Thimble Theater, which had been published for a decade before Popeye first appeared. Similarly, Porky Pig is known to everyone, but only cartoon experts have seen “I Haven’t Got a Hat,” his first appearance (and it was a bit part). And no American **Red Dwarf** fan gets the reference in the name of the robot, Kryten. It’s the phonetic spelling of the title character in James M. (Peter Pan) Barrie’s **The Admirable Crichton** , where Crichton is the perfect butler. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/24 "2007-09-06T15:51:19Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] The Warsaw Concerto, still a popular concert piece, comes from the very forgotten film **Dangerous Moonlight**. [/QUOTE] In a similar vein, one could perhaps cite classical pieces originally written for plays or operas which have faded away–the Turkish March from the _Ruins of Athens_ and the _William Tell_ overture come to mind. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/25 "2007-09-06T16:00:38Z")
[That’s some Bad Hat Harry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Singer) is associated with the production company more than with “Jaws” ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/26 "2007-09-06T16:31:08Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] “Rio,” a song by some obscure '80s group with a double name. Gimme a minute, I’ll think of it… [/QUOTE] It’s not hard to outlive Mister Mister. Or Duran Duran ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/27 "2007-09-06T16:32:07Z")
[QUOTE=Interrobang!?] Other examples? [/QUOTE] Well, that’s the $64,000 question. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/28 "2007-09-06T16:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=Sir Rhosis] “It was a dark and stormy night” is a cue to discuss horrible novels, but I can’t remember the book, think the author was Bulwer-Lytton, but most people wouldn’t remember that much. Sir Rhosis [/QUOTE] [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_was_a_dark_and_stormy_night) article. And I cannot hear that sentence without thinking about Snoopy. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/29 "2007-09-06T16:42:54Z")
This is a fascinating thread, but could I ask one simple favor: don’t just drop the flotsam-- explain where it’s originally from. (and maybe even include some other works that many people credit with being the source). thanks ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/30 "2007-09-06T16:49:28Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] I did not know that. [/Johnny Carson] [/QUOTE] Huh. And here I am, thinking that was from Wayne’s World. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/31 "2007-09-06T17:07:04Z")
[QUOTE=Interrobang!?] The 1997 version of **Island of Dr. Moreau** is basically remembered for being a [fiasco](http://www.avclub.com/content/blog/my_year_of_flops_case_file_64_the). But it also had a wee little sidekick for Marlon Brando, which in turn inspired long-running gags on _South Park_ and the _Austin Powers_ films. [/QUOTE] Yet another “I did not know that.” I just thought SP and AP were being goofy. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/32 "2007-09-06T17:08:42Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] In a similar vein, one could perhaps cite classical pieces originally written for plays or operas which have faded away–the Turkish March from the _Ruins of Athens_ and the _William Tell_ overture come to mind. [/QUOTE] Ooh, good one. Which brings to mind the Bridal Chorus from _Lohengrin_ – the opera certainly hasn’t disappeared, but I expect most people don’t associate the omnipresent wedding tune with a particular Wagner piece. ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/33 "2007-09-06T17:14:22Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Malapropism [/QUOTE] I was just watching (on DVD) a production of Sheridan’s _The Rivals_ the other day. I know I’ve heard before that ‘malapropism’ comes from a character (Mrs. Malaprop) in the play, but pretty much forgotten it (it doesn’t come up every day) until I watched it. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/34 "2007-09-06T17:26:36Z")
Well, it’s hard to say that Shakespeare quotes have “outlived” his work. . .but I bet there are people who make “to be or not to be” jokes with no idea it came from Hamlet. Not to mention. . .shit. . .name it. . . “all the world’s a stage”. “what’s in a name?” “all that glistens/glitters/glisters is not gold” “winter of our discontent” etc. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/35 "2007-09-06T17:32:13Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] And no American **Red Dwarf** fan gets the reference in the name of the robot, Kryten. It’s the phonetic spelling of the title character in James M. (Peter Pan) Barrie’s **The Admirable Crichton** , where Crichton is the perfect butler. [/QUOTE] In a similar vein, there’s Arthur Dent’s alien pal, Ford Prefect, in _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy._ Most American’s probably think that “Prefect” is a humorous misspelling of “perfect” and don’t realize the Ford Prefect was a car (not sold in the States, of course)- Ford originally believed cars, not humans, were the dominant species on Earth and named himself to fit in. Nowadays, if he were American, he’d probably call himself “Honda Accord” or something like that. Going onto **RealityChuck** ’s tangent: practically everyone knows that Mickey Mouse’s first appearance was in _Steamboat Willie_, and that cartoon opens with a scene in which Mickey is seen captaining a boat happily whistling a tune. But how many people know what happens _after_ that? It’s surprising considering how tame Mickey became in later years: most of the cartoon consists of Mickey torturing animals in time with the tune of _Turkey in the Straw_. And how many people know what tune he’s whistling in that famous first scene? It’s _Steamboat Bill_, a popular song of the time, which also inspired Buster Keaton’s film _Steamboat Bill Jr._ And that brings us to yet another thing…that Keaton film featured a very famous scene which has been parodied many times: Keaton stands in front of a house, the side of which falls over, but Keaton remains unharmed since he’s standing where the open window is. While we’re on silents, not many people have seen Harold Lloyd’s _Safety Last_, but they’ve probably seen the scene (or a parody of it) where Lloyd is hanging from a hand of a clock on the side of a building. And going back to cartoons, _Steamboat Willie_ is probably the only first cartoon of a famous character most people know. (In fact, it wasn’t even Mickey’s first: he first appeared in a silent cartoon called _Plane Crazy_, which was rereleased with sound after the success of _Steamboat Willie_.) But how many people know the first cartoon of other big stars? How about Donald Duck’s first cartoon? Bugs Bunny’s? Woody Woodpecker’s? Tom and Jerry’s? etc. (Respectively, they were _The Wise Little Hen,_ _A Wild Hare_, _Woody Woodpecker_, and _Puss Gets the Boot_. A proto-Bugs first appeared in _Hare-um Scare-um_, but Warner Bros. considers _A Wild Hare_ to be the first official Bugs Bunny cartoon- it is the first cartoon in which he appears as his normal, trickster self rather than the wacky Woody Woodpecker-like Bugs which appeared in a few earlier cartoons, and it’s also the first in which he asks Elmer Fudd “what’s up, doc?” Similarly, Woody Woodpecker’s eponymous cartoon is his first solo outing: he was introduced in a Andy Panda cartoon called _Knock Knock_.) And while we’re on Disney: although Disney hasn’t rereleased _Song of the South_ in any form since 1986, the characters are still familiar to those who ride Splash Mountain at the theme parks, as is its Oscar-winning theme, _Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah_. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/36 "2007-09-06T18:28:33Z")
Another one that springs to mind: I bet most people who know “One Night in Bangkok” don’t know the musical _Chess_. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/37 "2007-09-06T18:57:19Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] It was only recently that I discovered “Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!” didn’t originate with _Blazing Saddles_ but came from _Treasure of the Sierra Madre_. [/QUOTE] I grew up thinking that the original was the “…badgers…” version from UHF, and I never fully understood why so many people were paying tribute to Weird Al (even great as he is). I didn’t discover the truth until a couple of years ago when Sierra Madre came on AMC one dark and stormy night… 🙂 ---
**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:** [September 6, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/38 "2007-09-06T19:01:21Z")
There are probably millions of people who use the adjective “Stepford” and wouldn’t know where it originiated if you flapped them upside the head with the Ira Levin book. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/39 "2007-09-06T19:03:47Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] Well, it’s hard to say that Shakespeare quotes have “outlived” his work. . .but I bet there are people who make “to be or not to be” jokes with no idea it came from Hamlet. [/QUOTE] “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” “Good night, sweet prince.” NO ONE seems to know those come from _Hamlet_. (Well, I’m sure some Dopers do, but go ask your office mates!) ---
**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:** [September 6, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161/40 "2007-09-06T19:04:48Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] The name of that group having been the name of a villianous character from a certain Jane Fonda film. Btw, there have been rumors of a re-make or sequel & I always hoped they’d offer that role to Simon LeBon. [/QUOTE] The character originally appeared in the comic strip. Barbarella [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-flotsam-things-that-long-outlive-the-work-they-came-from/418161.md?page=3)