# Speaking into the clown's mouth **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 28, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-into-the-clowns-mouth/659510 "2013-05-28T02:13:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-into-the-clowns-mouth/659510/1 "2013-05-28T02:13:04Z")
> **[How many people get hit each year by contract killers?](https://www.straightdope.com/21344199/how-many-people-get-hit-each-year-by-contract-killers)** The Master speaks: > [@](#): > > However, I can see where a person might get tired of asking, “Please speak clearly into the clown’s mouth.” Which got me a-thinkin’. I’ve never seen a fast food drive-through that used a clown as a motif, let alone one that uses the clown’s mouth as a microphone. Do such things exist, or is this just an old cartoon/comic strip trope that has suffused itself into the public consciousness? Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-into-the-clowns-mouth/659510/2 "2013-05-28T02:15:54Z")
They don’t have Jack in the Box where you live? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-into-the-clowns-mouth/659510/3 "2013-05-28T02:21:39Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > They don’t have Jack in the Box where you live? Looks like [“No”](http://www.jackinthebox.com/locations?q=rochester%2C+ny): > [@](#): > > IT’S A HUGE BUMMER, BUT THERE ARE NO JACK IN THE BOX RESTAURANTS WITHIN 30 MILES OF YOUR SEARCHED LOCATION. > > THE CLOSEST LOCATION IS 438.50 MILES AWAY IN WEST CHESTER, OH. ETA: None within 200 miles of me, either. ETA2: We used to, maybe 40 years ago. I think they were crappy then, though. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-into-the-clowns-mouth/659510/4 "2013-05-28T02:37:31Z")
Jack-In-The-Box [commercial from 1972](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR4I7-7TmHs&list=PLEE63769581864AA7&index=15) showing the old clown drive-thru. ---
**Author:** ![runningdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@runningdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runningdude)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-into-the-clowns-mouth/659510/5 "2013-06-02T17:16:06Z")
Don’t forget [This Guy](http://www.myselfanand.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Ronald-McDonald.jpg)… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-into-the-clowns-mouth/659510/6 "2013-06-02T17:29:55Z")
164 miles for me. Jesus, I’d be sober by then, so what’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-into-the-clowns-mouth/659510/7 "2013-06-03T16:58:46Z")
> [@runningdude](#): > > Don’t forget [This Guy](http://www.myselfanand.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Ronald-McDonald.jpg)… What about him? Are there any McDonald’s drive-thrus where you speak into Ronald’s mouth? Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-into-the-clowns-mouth/659510/8 "2013-06-03T19:38:59Z")
> [@Powers](#): > > What about him? Are there any McDonald’s drive-thrus where you speak into Ronald’s mouth? Probably a reply to this: > [@Powers](#): > > … I’ve never seen a fast food drive-through that used a clown as a motif, … It depends on what you mean by “motif”. R McD is a motif in the decoration, though not the architecture. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-into-the-clowns-mouth/659510/9 "2013-06-03T21:15:46Z")
I am quite surprised that someone hasn’t quipped ‘need answer fast?’, but I realized that the question was actually about the semi-obscure reference to Jack-in-the-Box in the article by The Master (pbuh).