# The mind-boggling movie quote? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608 "2005-05-19T17:51:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pessimisticgrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@pessimisticgrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pessimisticgrace)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/1 "2005-05-19T17:51:34Z")
I don’t know if SDMB’s ever had a post about where the darned thing came from, but I’ve seen it brought up on about 10 different message boards without a definitive answer. If it _has_ been brought up, please link me because I didn’t find it when I did a search. So, I pose it to you: “What does it do?” “That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t \do\ anything.” ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/2 "2005-05-19T17:56:46Z")
It’s reminding me of a similar quote in …Titan A.E., I think? Maybe Treasure Planet. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/3 "2005-05-19T18:13:30Z")
I’m unable to get to the IMDB board currently, but it’s the single longest thread ever over there. It has never been answered–or even verified that it exists. Another thread on the IMDB board lists movies that have been posited, but refuted. So, no, it has not been answered–and those people (the experts at IMDB) know _everything_. ---
**Author:** ![pessimisticgrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@pessimisticgrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pessimisticgrace)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/4 "2005-05-19T18:18:22Z")
But how could so many people recognize it without it ever being said? I know, I know, it happens. But the first time I saw a thread on it, the title of the message was the quote, and it immediately clicked in my head as something I’d heard somewhere, even before I clicked on the post and started reading the debate. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/5 "2005-05-19T18:18:40Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > -and those people (the experts at IMDB) know _everything_. Maybe. I saw one thread on _Sin Ciuty_ where one guy swore up and down that Benicio Del Toro is not a real human, but rather a totally CGI character that is inserted into all of his movies. ---
**Author:** ![La\_Llorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/6 "2005-05-19T18:25:36Z")
Folks \over here\ seem to think it originated as some sort of Ultimate Meme-y Mindgame, for what it’s worth. It _does_ sound so familiar, too… ---
**Author:** ![La\_Llorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/7 "2005-05-19T18:26:44Z")
Agh, okay, so that didn’t work. Here: [http://msgboard.snopes.com/message/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get\_topic/f/32/t/000374/p/1.html](http://msgboard.snopes.com/message/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/32/t/000374/p/1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/8 "2005-05-19T18:28:35Z")
> [@pessimisticgrace](#): > > I"What does it do?" > “That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t \do\ anything.” " _do_ anything." where do is pronounced dooo rings bells with me as well, and used in a situation similar to the OP’s whole quote. Maybe though it was “I didn’t _do_ anything.” or “can’t _do_ anything.” are the real quotes that are ringing so many peoples bells? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/9 "2005-05-19T18:29:39Z")
IMDB is back up. Here ya go: > **[I Need To Know | IMDb Community Forums](https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/topics/i-need-to-know/5f4951c762e5fc53cfeb955c)** > > This is the place to post those film/TV/video/etc trivia questions you DON'T know the answers to - perhaps one of your fellow community members can help. Included in the first post is a link to movies that have been refuted. ---
**Author:** ![pessimisticgrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@pessimisticgrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pessimisticgrace)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/10 "2005-05-19T18:34:18Z")
The bizarre thing about this is how many people think it sounds familiar. It would have to be a hugely popular movie for so many people to recognize it, and it seems to transverse different movie-watching habits. I’ve mentioned it to a couple of friends who are action/blockbuster-oriented and they immediately thought it sounded familiar. My girlfriend is an artsy/independant type and she couldn’t place it either. But if it IS such a well-known movie (assuming it isn’t some weird meme-y thing), why would it somehow evade all of us? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/11 "2005-05-19T18:36:53Z")
There’s a similar quote in Airplane 2. William Shatner is staring at some blinking light doodad and says something like. “Keep working on it, it must do something!” ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/12 "2005-05-19T19:13:06Z")
Could it have appeared, not in a movie, but on a television program? It feels like something said by a kid who invents something. Maybe a teenaged kid. I know I’ve heard it, too. Curiouser and curiouser. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/13 "2005-05-19T19:22:09Z")
[http://kcor1953beauty.tripod.com/blog/](http://kcor1953beauty.tripod.com/blog/) - appears to be a resource dedicated to the research of this question. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/14 "2005-05-19T19:22:17Z")
My first thought when reading the OP was “ooh ooh! I’ve heard that but where?” It’s truly maddening that we all seem so share a memory of it but can’t recall from where. The Universe can be so cruel at times. I’m thinking it may have been from a commercial. I’m going to go bang my head on the wall for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/15 "2005-05-19T19:30:28Z")
Here’s another vote for “it has to have been said _somewhere_” and I’d be willing to accept that it might have been some comedian like, say, Jonathan Winters, during one of those ad lib sessions where somebody tossed him a stick and he went off with it. Johnny Carson had a similar “Dicky the Stick” bit where it might have popped up as a punch line. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/16 "2005-05-19T19:31:47Z")
What if we think about it this way? Could the quote be something like this: “What do/does you/she/he do?” “I/she/he don’t/doesn’t DO anything?” Something just popped into my head. Maybe it was in a Seinfeld episode? Kind of describes George Costanza don’t ya think? ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/17 "2005-05-19T19:34:00Z")
My new purpose in life is to find the origin of this quote. BTW, rather than waste my valuable time on it, has anyone asked The Master? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/18 "2005-05-19T19:59:51Z")
There’s a somewhat similar line in the play _Shear Madness_: Detective Rosetti asks socialite Eleanor Corcran Shubert her husband’s occupation… MRS. SHUBERT: Adam works for the government. DET. ROSETTI: Yes, but what does he _do_? MRS. SHUBERT: He’s a diplomat. He doesn’t _do_ anything. ---
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/19 "2005-05-19T20:19:27Z")
According to [this site](http://www.ubersite.com/m/60477), it’s from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Here’s the except of dialogue about this from that page: 1. December 2003 @ 18:15 It is most definitely from “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”. I’ve been watching it and it came up when someone was using a machine. The alien fella says (after being asked ‘What does it do’) “It doesnt do anything, thats the beauty of it”. * * * 1. December 2003 @ 03:23 Wow is this confirmed or just a strong feeling? * * * 1. December 2003 @ 06:49 Hitchhiker’s Guide…great series. ## anyone read the 5th book in the trilogy of 4? 1. December 2003 @ 07:28 Its confirmed. Rewinded the DVD and played it again. A straight quote from that film. * * * I’ve got the book, but there’s no way I’m fishing through 1000+ pages to find the quote. Somebody download the pdf version from kazaa and ctrl-F the bitch. Until further notice, my work here is done. ---
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/20 "2005-05-19T20:41:06Z")
> [@Cagey Drifter](#): > > Until further notice, my work here is done. For clarification, that’s part of the quoted material, not my sentiment. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608.md?page=2)