# The penny drops... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-penny-drops/849754 "2020-03-18T20:23:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-penny-drops/849754/1 "2020-03-18T20:23:04Z")
The penny drops, the gum ball rolls out, and you say 'I got it! :smack: ’ This is my latest: Mrs. L.A. is watching _Endeavour_. The music at the end of the episodes sounds like it starts with Morse code. I almost said, ‘That always sounds like Morse code.’ And then it hit me: Inspector Morse! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-penny-drops/849754/2 "2020-03-18T20:33:59Z")
How far did the penny drop? ([It’s spelling out MORSE in code](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49190169)). j ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-penny-drops/849754/3 "2020-03-18T20:40:17Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > How far did the penny drop? ([It’s spelling out MORSE in code](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49190169)). I assumed it did, but I’m working and didn’t look it up. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-penny-drops/849754/4 "2020-03-18T21:01:37Z")
> [@johnny l.a.](#): > > i assumed it did, but i’m working and didn’t look it up. M = dah dah O = dah dah dah R = dit dah dit S = dit dit dit E = dit ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-penny-drops/849754/5 "2020-03-18T23:45:33Z")
I’ve been reliably informed that it actually spells out TTORSE. The gap between the first two dashes is too long, making it two letters. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-penny-drops/849754/6 "2020-03-19T00:15:21Z")
As I remember it, the theme music for the original Inspector Morse series always had Morse code embedded in it, sometimes (usually?) spelling out the name of that particular episode’s killer. I don’t know if they go to quite that much trouble with the Endeavour series. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-penny-drops/849754/7 "2020-03-19T00:17:30Z")
Here you go. From wikipedia’s “Inspector Morse” page: “The theme and incidental music for the series were written by Barrington Pheloung and use a motif based on the Morse code for “M.O.R.S.E.”, starting with the opening notes and recurring all the way through.[7] In the documentary, The Mystery of Morse, Pheloung states that he occasionally spelled out the name of the killer in Morse code in the music, or alternatively spelled out the name of another character as a red herring. The series also included opera and other classical genres as part of its soundtrack, most notably pieces by Richard Wagner and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose Magic Flute is a significant plot device in one episode.” ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-penny-drops/849754/8 "2020-03-19T00:21:30Z")
Love Lewis, enjoy Endeavour, absolutely hate Morse.