# 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:** 6
**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:** [June 1, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/101 "2005-06-01T04:19:35Z")
> [@CC](#): > > 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. _Twilight Zone?_ Or maybe an SF story. Early Heinlein, or Clarke’s _Tales from the White Hart._ ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/102 "2005-06-01T04:56:00Z")
> [@pessimisticgrace](#): > > “What does it do?” > “That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t \do\ anything.” This sounded familiar to me as well. I checked my copy of _The Borderland of Sol_ in Tales of Known Space by Larry Niven and came up with this exchange between Beowulf Shaffer and Carlos Wu: > [@](#): > > I asked, “What does it do?” > Carlos laughed. “It’s beautiful! Why does it have to do anything?” which is as close as anything I’ve seen to the quote in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/103 "2005-06-01T05:13:24Z")
Oh, somebody said this, I’m sure of it. Anybody checked Terry Thomas’s oeuvre? (I think we can rule out _How to Murder Your Wife_ but how about those old b&w Brit comedies?) ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/104 "2005-06-01T05:20:45Z")
I would suggest Vonnegut, Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett. Those are three guys with the nerve to write something like that. However, after checking out the blog of all the refuted items, I’m beginning to believe the quote doesn’t exist. Someone would have figured it out by now. Now it’s just a matter of time before someone famous uses the line and makes loads of money. Some nerd/genius made it up and started a blog. Wish I’d thought of it. ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/105 "2005-06-01T05:26:14Z")
**edwino** , if you wanna help me out, please go to my post in Cafe, which I linked to in Post 93 above, and contribute to my list of tech companies to mail a letter to asking them about this quote. Here, [I’ll link to it again.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=318230) **2nd Law** , yours is obv. not it, but is such a nice close one that you should contribute it at [this blog](http://kcor1953beauty.tripod.com/blog/), which enjoys keeping track of the close ones for fun. I’ll repeat that I’m asking if anyone feels like rewatching these movies soon: The Mask Peggy Sue Got Married What Dreams May Come Yellow Submarine Jumanji b/c I don’t really want to and they are part of a short list of movies I have ever seen that I think could contain the quote. Thanks, it’s not a big deal, but think of it as doing your part? Just a small thing? You could watch a few with the fam…? ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/106 "2005-06-01T05:29:29Z")
Btw, **edwino** , IBM is out. A guy at the beginning of this quest a couple years back mailed them as I plan to mail many others. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/107 "2005-06-01T05:39:24Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > I’ll repeat that I’m asking if anyone feels like rewatching these movies soon: > The Mask > Peggy Sue Got Married > What Dreams May Come > Yellow Submarine > Jumanji > > b/c I don’t really want to… Okay, I’ll take Yellow Submarine for 50, Alex… …er, I mean, it’s up next on my netflix list, I will try to stay attuned. Anything to help. ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/108 "2005-06-01T05:41:40Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > **2nd Law** , yours is obv. not it, but is such a nice close one that you should contribute it at [this blog](http://kcor1953beauty.tripod.com/blog/), which enjoys keeping track of the close ones for fun. Done. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/109 "2005-06-01T17:19:56Z")
I can’t help wondering if it isn’t a misquote similar to “Play it again, Sam”. The quote I mentioned earlier from Airplane 2 is close enough that people might be misremembering it. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/110 "2005-06-01T17:41:43Z")
> [@Hilarity N. Suze](#): > > Okay, I’ll take Yellow Submarine for 50, Alex… I’m 100% sure you won’t find the quote there. But _Yellow Submarine_ is always worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/111 "2005-06-01T17:42:53Z")
Crap. Thanks a lot, folks. So far, this is one of the most viral memes that I have run across. **Time Bandits** is what came to my mind. Checking that blog, I can’t tell whether it has been discounted yet, but it would certainly be inclusive of the British accent that many of us remember. Regrettably, I do not own a copy, an omission that I am questioning even as I type. best to all, plynck ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/112 "2005-06-02T00:13:14Z")
Mrs. Evil Captor, aka Terrorcotta, has a suggestion, and I think she is probably right. You’re all on the wrong track. It’s from the movie “Lover Come Back” with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, and the “it” is Vip! the product Hudson’s character creates that … doesn’t do anything. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/113 "2005-06-07T15:03:56Z")
I don’t have any suggestions, but I am skeptical of the guesses that place it in novel form or anything written. I, and I think many others, have a pretty vivid memory of hearing this line spoken with a specific cadence. Also, I’m doubtful that it’s from anything too old, though I admit that mainly becuase you can count me as one who’s heard this and I don’t watch many old movies. Anyways, back to the hunt… I’m trending toward TV shows, I can picture it as a line from Seinfeld (which I imagine is debunked by now) or maybe from X-Files or something 90’s pop culturish. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/114 "2005-06-07T17:14:33Z")
ARRRRGGGH!!! Now my brian hurts. It sounds so familiar and I keep picturing the second speaker as a grey haired old man. A Doc Brown type I can even see a mischeivious smile when he responds. One of those 60’s retro victorian films like “The First men in the moon” or something like it… ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/115 "2005-06-09T05:43:51Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > I’m unable to get to the IMDB board currently, but it’s the single longest thread ever over there. > > So, no, it has not been answered–and those people (the experts at IMDB) know _everything_. I refute both those statements. There’s an even longer thread, in a board about a _cancelled Tarantino film_ that’s 30 posts longer: [How much will he steal this time?](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/board/flat/8700460) And I’m pretty sure that’s not the largest thread there either. Of course, I just bumped the “do anything” thread at the IMDB, so it might retake its record. And 95% of IMDBers are asshat teenagers. At least it seems that way. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/116 "2005-06-09T05:46:26Z")
If this goes on a few more pages we’re going to run out of possible movies. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/117 "2005-06-09T07:27:34Z")
Count me as one who “knows” he’s heard this, but can’t even begin to guess about where it came from. I think it’s just an exchange that sounds so “right” somehow that we all think we’ve heard it. Someone must’ve realized this and put it out there to screw with us. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in a future movie. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2005, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/118 "2005-06-09T10:45:00Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I refute both those statements. > > There’s an even longer thread, in a board about a _cancelled Tarantino film_ that’s 30 posts longer: [How much will he steal this time?](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/board/flat/8700460) > And 95% of IMDBers are asshat teenagers. At least it seems that way. :eek: OK, left out a term. It’s the longest thread ever on the IMDB “I Need to Know Board.” I don’t know how to determine percentages of asshat teens, but that does not seem to be the case on “I Need to Know.” ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/119 "2005-06-09T17:27:36Z")
> [@](#): > > And 95% of IMDBers are asshat teenagers. At least it seems that way Ever looked at the talkback on Ain’t It Cool News? That’s 98.7% asshat teens and the rest are autistic homophobes. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608/120 "2005-06-27T04:49:26Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > Btw, **edwino** , IBM is out. A guy at the beginning of this quest a couple years back mailed them as I plan to mail many others. Aww. IBM was spoofin’ ya. It is clearly a reference to the IEFBR14 utility. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mind-boggling-movie-quote/304608.md?page=7)