# Slightly silly, perhaps unanswerable question from "Gremlins" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552 "2003-02-26T03:27:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/1 "2003-02-26T03:27:32Z")
If Gizmo was fed after midnight, and mutated into the reptilian form, would he become evil? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/2 "2003-02-26T03:32:42Z")
I’ve wondered that myself! One thing I’ve thought is that maybe Gizmo would refuse to eat after midnight, even if offered food. The other furry guys, though they didn’t become really evil until the post-midnight snack, were never as good and innocent as Gizmo. So maybe he was special in some other way? ---
**Author:** ![Tree\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9dc877/32.png) [@Tree\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tree_Boy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/3 "2003-02-26T03:33:17Z")
According to the old Chinese man’s son, yes, he would have. For some reason, Gizmo had more common sense than any of his “offspring.” ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/4 "2003-02-26T03:35:16Z")
It’s probably the well-known problem with cloning - all clones are evil at heart. Especially clones created by dropping water on your head. Those are really quick to turn. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/5 "2003-02-26T04:45:43Z")
I seem to recall the eating scene in the first movie and the clones offered Gizmo food and he refused. I really remember the didainful look on his face. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/6 "2003-02-26T05:37:46Z")
I think the others would have refused if they had been around long enough to wise up. They were only a few days old when they ate and changed, Gizmo could have been the old man’s pet for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/7 "2003-02-26T05:41:31Z")
I think they knew the score. They unplugged the clock so the kid thought it was still early enough to feed them. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/8 "2003-02-26T06:48:11Z")
But did they unplug it out of maliciousness, or out of an innocent desire to keep eating? ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/9 "2003-02-26T06:55:47Z")
Perhaps slightly off-topic, but I always wondered: At what point does “past midnight” become “before midnight” again? Is it just the couple of minutes right after midnight that are dangerous or do mogwais have to skip breakfast, too? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/10 "2003-02-26T06:58:30Z")
Going by other myths and ghost stories, sunrise was probably the reset point. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/11 "2003-02-26T07:07:22Z")
They looked pretty malicious to me, Miller. Snickering and throwing chicken bones at poor Gizmo. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@The\_Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tim)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/12 "2003-02-26T07:31:53Z")
Given that you aren’t supposed to get them wet even before they are gremlins I’d imagine that mogwighs (is that what they were called/spelled?) don’t clone well. If you got a bunch of Gizmo friendly guys getting them wet wouldn’t be that bad really. It seems instead you get a bunch of schmucks intent on becomming gremlins. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/13 "2003-02-26T10:55:12Z")
So what time is it before it’s no longer “after midnight” anyway? Is 4am still “after midnight”? 6am? 9am? These questions are what keep me awake at night. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/14 "2003-02-26T11:02:04Z")
Yes, and as you may recall, they made fun of people like you (and me, incidentally) in _Gremlins 2_, when Billy is explaining Mogwai physiology to a bunch of technicians. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/15 "2003-02-26T14:17:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GuanoLad \* > So what time is it before it’s no longer “after midnight” anyway? Is 4am still “after midnight”? 6am? 9am? > > These questions are what keep me awake at night. \*\* And how do they know it’s midnight and not 11:59? What if they are on an airplane and cross into another time zone? Can they eat again? And how much water does it take to clone one? Is it just a drop or do you need the Gremlin/Mogweis mass in water to reproduce. And is it just water or anything wet? How come the planet isn’t overrun with Gremlins if all it takes is water to reproduce? Or are there no Mogweis in the wild? Or do they only live in the desert? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/16 "2003-02-26T14:32:55Z")
And surely every time of day is after midnight? When does the turning evil thing revert? Is dawn involved? What about at polar regions? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/17 "2003-02-26T14:44:20Z")
Why did Phoebe Cates take off her top like she did in \*Fast times at Ridgemont High ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/18 "2003-02-26T18:07:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > \*\*Why did Phoebe Cates take off her top like she did in \*Fast times at Ridgemont High \*\* For my enjoyment ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/19 "2003-02-26T19:14:21Z")
I very vaguely remember, from reading the _Gremlin_ book that was produced along with the movie, that Gizmo was “not of this earth”. And he was a rare example of his species; only something like one in a thousand Mogwai were good. The other 999 were just born bad. So, yeah, I think they knew exactly what they were doing when they yanked the plug on Billy’s clock. ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552/20 "2003-02-26T19:27:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Tim \* > \*\*Given that you aren’t supposed to get them wet even before they are gremlins I’d imagine that mogwighs (is that what they were called/spelled?) don’t clone well. If you got a bunch of Gizmo friendly guys getting them wet wouldn’t be that bad really. It seems instead you get a bunch of schmucks intent on becomming gremlins. \*\* My point exactly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-silly-perhaps-unanswerable-question-from-gremlins/157552.md?page=2)