# Question for Dopers of all ages: **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 25, 2015, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578 "2015-02-25T12:07:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/21 "2015-02-25T14:29:35Z")
Never heard of it. New Zealander living in the UK, 41. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/22 "2015-02-25T14:33:54Z")
So it’s from some kind of radio show? It’s things like this that really remind me I am an immigrant and a furriner! Not only did I never hear of it, my parents never listened to American radio shows, and their parents weren’t even in this country. A lot of basic pop culture passes you by - anything from the 60s and before, pretty much, unless you pick it up on your own. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/23 "2015-02-25T14:42:16Z")
I had heard of it. I was born in 1951. I’m not sure if I ever heard the actual radio show but I’m sure I heard clips of the stuff crashing out of the closet. And my parents often used the phrase “'T’aint funny, McGee!” when scolding us kids for some mischief. [Here’s a clip of the closet from a movie version.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9FGC68YcwM) ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/24 "2015-02-25T14:46:51Z")
And here’s [the _Calvin and Hobbes_ version](http://assets.amuniversal.com/c68b2ec0deca013171a6005056a9545d). ---
**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:** [February 25, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/25 "2015-02-25T14:57:48Z")
Never heard of it either and I’m an almost-30 'Murican ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/26 "2015-02-25T15:05:03Z")
Yes, I know what it is and the origin. (I was born in 1968.)[SPOILER]It’s from the old “Fibber McGee and Molly” radio show. One of the show’s running gags was that the title character had a closet stuffed so full of miscellaneous junk that, when the door was opened, stuff would fall out, as demonstrated by the sound effects guys making a complicated clatter. This may be the best example of an “imagined sight gag”: something that the audience doesn’t actually see but laughs at because of how they imagine it looks.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![elvenflow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@elvenflow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elvenflow)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/27 "2015-02-25T15:05:59Z")
Was born after the show went off the air. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/28 "2015-02-25T15:15:53Z")
Born in the 1970s. I figured it out because the show was rebroadcast on AM radio when I was a kid (and there are a limited number of famous McGees associated with closets), but I’ve never heard anyone use that particular expression. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/29 "2015-02-25T15:20:44Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Just out of curiosity, how many of you know what a “McGee’s closet” is without having to look it up? :dubious: > > I remember explaining it to a foreigner a while back, and having to tell her “It was before my time.” But I still knew what it was from a book I read in sixth grade (_ **The Mad Scientists’ Club** _). > > If you do know the meaning of the term, how many of you can tell me its origin (in spoiler boxes, of course)? I haven’t read any replies yet. My memory has Fibber McGee’s closet on old time radio (might be older than the 1950’s but that’s when I would have first heard it) was jam-packed with all sorts of stuff that would make a big noise if anybody opened the closet door and all the stuff came tumbling out. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/30 "2015-02-25T15:54:03Z")
Haven’t read other responses. American born in 1961. I recognized the term although it was before my time. It’s from a radio show, Fibber McGee and Molly. A running joke on the show was the McGee had a closet that was stuffed full of items. Every once in a while, he’d open the door and there would be sound effects of a huge pile of junk falling out. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/31 "2015-02-25T16:20:03Z")
Born in 1959, but [SPOILER]I listened to a lot of old radio reruns on a local station in the '70s. Even today, I love to download mp3 files of old radio programs to listen to in the car. There’s a fine archive of the program under discussion [here](https://archive.org/details/FibberMcGeeandMolly1942). BTW, I’ve often heard the expression as “Fibber McGee’s closet,” but never just “McGee’s closet.”[/SPOILER] ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/32 "2015-02-25T16:30:32Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > When I read “McGee’s closet” in the OP, I knew what it was referring to, but it took me a few seconds. If you’d said “Fibber McGee’s closet” I’d have known it right away. > > I never heard the show (I’m 49), but I remember my mother explaining the meaning of the phrase once when I was young. Exactly… I’ve never heard it referred to as “McGee’s closet” but I made the assumption that it must be the same as “Fibber McGee’s closet.” I knew what it was due to my Dad, but I never heard the actual show (I’m 53). ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/33 "2015-02-25T17:00:45Z")
Like many others have said, I’m vaguely familiar with the idea, and knew where it came from, without ever having actually heard the show in question. Somehow I picked it up through osmosis. I also don’t believe that I’ve ever heard “McGee’s closet” as an expression. I am much more familiar with the idea from the 60s cartoon [Tennessee Tuxedo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Tuxedo_and_His_Tales), which used the same running gag in regard to Mr. Whoopee’s closet. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/34 "2015-02-25T17:16:19Z")
i can’t answer this. i am not all ages, only one at the moment. listen regularly now so know. my parents and contemporaries did refer to it. we did have a kitchen drawer that got referred to as a McGee drawer. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/35 "2015-02-25T17:38:03Z")
American, 57, born in 1957, and know what it is and where it is from, though ALWAYS as Fibber McGee’s closet. My parents used the term with us a lot. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/36 "2015-02-25T18:33:00Z")
Yes, I know what it refers to. Slightly before my time, but my generation (b. 1948) tended to know things from our parents’ time, because our parents sat around and talked about things in front of us. At the dinnertable every day, before 24-hour/500-channel TV, and on long drives. I’m not sure that goes on all that much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/37 "2015-02-25T18:41:30Z")
I knew. I usually mash it up as Pandora McGee’s purse or Pandora McGee’s garage. Sometimes people get it. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/38 "2015-02-25T18:43:28Z")
I’d heard the term, and understood its connotation, but didn’t know the origin. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/39 "2015-02-25T19:17:11Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578/40 "2015-02-26T01:18:44Z")
I had to think about it for a minute because I’ve never heard it referred to exactly that way, but when I realized it was referring to Fibber McGee’s closet then I got it. I just turned 50, and I had a high-school friend who liked old radio shows. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-dopers-of-all-ages/713578.md?page=3)