# The Big Bang Theory, May 15, 2014 -- "The Status Quo Combustion" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533 "2014-05-15T16:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/61 "2014-05-17T08:25:22Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Non-tenured research faculty don’t get sabbaticals. He’s either burning vacation time, or he’s quit his job. …irl. In this case, the last thing Leonard said before Amy started whaling on him was that Sheldon was able to get the university to call it a sabbatical. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/62 "2014-05-17T09:13:30Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > ^ Especially since it was Sheldon’s apartment first. Not to mention Sheldon’s apt. is a 2 bedroom while Penny’s is a single. Why do Penny and Leonard need two bedrooms, unless they plan on spitting out little Hoffstaders right away? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/63 "2014-05-17T13:57:26Z")
> [@Gr8Kat](#): > > Not to mention Sheldon’s apt. is a 2 bedroom while Penny’s is a single. Why do Penny and Leonard need two bedrooms, unless they plan on spitting out little Hoffstaders right away? They have stuff, and the larger the apartment the better. E.g., Leonard has comic books, collectibles, etc. Penny has stuffed animals and shoes. The second bedroom means more closet space as well. Another plus of the bigger place is that the bathroom is off the hallway rather than thru the bedroom. (I would never rent a place laid out like Penny’s.) There’s also an actual window over the kitchen sink. (Not a view, but still it lets in light.) Etc. The way Howard reacted to Stuart calling Mrs. Wolowitz, Sr. “Debbie” suggested to me that no one calls her “Debbie”. That her first name is something like “[Deborah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah)”. So while it would seem that the Stuart/Debbie thing was mainly played for one-off laughs, the use of the diminutive might mean more is planned. What did Stuart say to Sheldon? “I only have hundreds.” Nice deadpan joke. As to grants and research areas: It depends on the grantor, the proposal, etc. But some times they just don’t care about the details of the area as long as papers are published. E.g., NSF individual grants in my area weren’t contracts in practice. We’d file a grant for certain topics, end up publishing papers on something else. It was acknowledged that new areas of research would open up during the lifetime of the grant and so it was impossible to know where something would lead. OTOH, big grants were usually tied to a particular issue. If you were going to study autonomous vehicles for the DoD, that’s what you were going to spend the money on. The more engineering/lab/experimental the work, the narrower the focus. Sheldon’s area was theoretical enough that an NSF-type agency wouldn’t care if he shifted fields as small as he was planning. CalTech would also be reasonably flexible. I don’t see it being a problem in this particular case. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/64 "2014-05-17T15:34:28Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Another plus of the bigger place is that the bathroom is off the hallway rather than thru the bedroom. (I would never rent a place laid out like Penny’s.) I’ve got the same layout and the noise buffer of another room can come in handy… ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/65 "2014-05-17T20:56:29Z")
The folks at TBBT [wiki](http://bigbangtheory.wikia.com/wiki/Debbie_Wolowitz) say Mrs. Wolowitz’s first name is “Debra”. They cite this [episode](http://bigbangtheory.wikia.com/wiki/The_Status_Quo_Combustion) as the source of “Debbie”, but not sure where they got “Debra”. My credits got cut off (as usual, despite extended time added). (Note the links at the bottom of the episode page there. Links to reports from the taping in the forums. Complete with extensive dialog quotes. True fans.) ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/66 "2014-05-18T01:08:10Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > I’ve got the same layout and the noise buffer of another room can come in handy… Singing in the shower? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/67 "2014-05-18T02:00:03Z")
Not to hijack, but I had a really bizarre dream about BBT last night. As soon as finale finished the camera pulled back to show the studio audience. Except the studio was the Tropicana set from **I Love Lucy** , and it was empty save the Ricardos & the Mertzes. Or maybe it was their actors, but in any event they were clearly undead. Fred made a crack about Ethel’s weight after she started eating the waiter. And the whole think was in colour. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/68 "2014-05-18T02:38:51Z")
Alpha, might wanna lay off the Thai food. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2014, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/69 "2014-05-18T07:59:40Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The folks at TBBT [wiki](http://bigbangtheory.wikia.com/wiki/Debbie_Wolowitz) say Mrs. Wolowitz’s first name is “Debra”. They cite this [episode](http://bigbangtheory.wikia.com/wiki/The_Status_Quo_Combustion) as the source of “Debbie”, but not sure where they got “Debra”. My credits got cut off (as usual, despite extended time added). “Debbie” is an informal version of the name “Debra” or “Deborah”. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/70 "2014-05-19T12:30:28Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > Sheldon was able to get the university to call it a sabbatical. President Siebert made it clear that Caltech would be just as happy if Sheldon never came back at all. I’ll say he doesn’t - that Sheldon will come to think he’ll never be a great physicist and will go into some other line of work - perhaps partnering with Stuart in Comic Book Store Part 2? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/71 "2014-05-19T13:39:17Z")
Science is Sheldon’s reason for existence. He’ll never give it up. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/72 "2014-05-19T13:41:19Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Another plus of the bigger place is that the bathroom is off the hallway rather than thru the bedroom. (I would never rent a place laid out like Penny’s.) I think there’s some benefit of your guests not having to travel through your bedroom in order to access your bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/73 "2014-05-19T13:56:19Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Now that Penny has committed to marriage she’s going to get that big part she’s been looking for, then she’s going to have second thoughts about getting married. > > That’s my prediction anyway. If the group can work a wedding around Wolowitz going to the ISS, they can work one around the shooting schedule for _The Ape-ist 3: In 3D_. 🙂 > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > President Siebert made it clear that Caltech would be just as happy if Sheldon never came back at all. > > I’ll say he doesn’t - that Sheldon will come to think he’ll never be a great physicist and will go into some other line of work - perhaps partnering with Stuart in Comic Book Store Part 2? I think this ‘sabbatical’ is just the thing that gives Sheldon the breakthrough he needs to win a Nobel. Kind of like how ‘working’ at the Cheesecake Factory gave him insight into how he was going wrong in his old research. "Waves! They’re waves!“I’ve been looking at them as particles, but I should be looking at them as waves! \ Now is the time you should be appaulding!” ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/74 "2014-05-19T14:19:13Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Not to hijack, but I had a really bizarre dream about BBT last night. As soon as finale finished the camera pulled back to show the studio audience. Except the studio was the Tropicana set from **I Love Lucy** , and it was empty save the Ricardos & the Mertzes. Or maybe it was their actors, but in any event they were clearly undead. Fred made a crack about Ethel’s weight after she started eating the waiter. And the whole think was in colour. Now I know how the show’s final episode is going to end. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533/75 "2014-05-20T00:18:45Z")
The show stays close to real time, so 3 months hence. By then mama Horowitz will have recovered, and any insurance would have paid out. I don’t see Stuart rebuilding the store… Also should penny move in with Leonard, that would leave her apt open to sublet to Stuart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-may-15-2014-the-status-quo-combustion/688533.md?page=3)