# Up The Butt, Bob **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 14, 2000, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439 "2000-01-14T12:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2000, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/181 "2000-01-18T17:54:00Z")
I’m sorry if I’m bringing up things that may have been mentioned previously, but I find it significant that: a) the first time I _heard_the UL was before the New Newlywed Game; b) (most important) the UL as reported to me that a _female_contestant made the blunder, while apparently now it was a male. What do you say to these people who claim to have seen a husband say it and those who say the wife did? You calmly tell them that they are _both_mistaken. It never happened. * * * I could never sleep my way to the top/'cause my alarm clock always wakes me right up. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/182 "2000-01-19T06:29:00Z")
Libertarian wrote: > [@](#): > > If she [Edlyn’s boss’s sister] _just saw_ it, how do you account for _her_ being deluded by an urban legend. All you can possibly say, if you come from the bias that she must be wrong, is that Edlyn’s boss suffers from a false memory of his sister’s call. Or Edlyn’s boss’s sister was lying. Or Edlyn’s boss’s sister had heard the U.L. previously to that and had jumped to the conclusion that the contestant said “butt” when in fact it was just a bleeped word. Or Edlyn’s boss’s sister was watching the Newlywed Game with a friend, and Bob Eubanks asked where the strangest place the contestant had made whoopee was, and the friend watching with her blurted out “That’d be the butt, Bob”, and Edlyn’s boss’s sister thought the contestant had said it. Or Edlyn’s boss’s sister was watching the Newlywed Game with a friend, and was dozing off or in the other room when her friend exclaimed “He/she just said the strangest place he/she made whoopee was in the butt!”, and since she’d sorta been watching other parts of the show, Edlyn’s boss’s sister thought that this was sufficient to qualify as having “just seen” it when in fact she only “saw” it second-hand. Or Edlyn’s boss’s sister only said that she’d just heard about it, and the story changed a little in Edlyn’s boss’s retelling, and HIS story changed a little again in Edlyn’s retelling, until the story had become one of Edlyn’s boss’s sister having “just seen” it. Or… ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/183 "2000-01-19T06:43:00Z")
Revtim’s message sparked my memory – we had a thread on here about what to do about urban legends. You can find it at [http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000503.html](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000503.html) Anyway, one of the things I said there was that in debunking urban legends, you have to make sure you don’t come off as a knowitall. I should have taken my own advice here. But, considering everything we’ve been through in this thread to date, I have to doubt that any change in my choice of words would have caused a different response. ---
**Author:** ![Cooper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cooper)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2000, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/184 "2000-01-18T19:35:00Z")
Sorry if someone else has mentioned this, but I’m not going to read all 4 pages looking for it. I only read the first page cause I had to get an idea of what these ‘inside’ jokes where that are popping up in other threads. This joke was portrayed in the movie Mall Rats (1994-5?), with the minor change that it was a dating game being filmed in the mall. Maybe people who remember seeing The Newlywed show actually remember watching this movie, and hearing the urban legend. To me, the fact that no one in a TV station with access to the shows hasn’t claimed the $10,000 is pretty convincing, but what the heck. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2000, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/185 "2000-01-18T21:10:00Z")
Actually, the joke is not portrayed that way at ALL in “Mallrats.” A running joke throughout the movie, and which occurs in the “dating game” portion, is Ben Affleck’s character stating that he likes to pick up girls on the rebound, take advantage of them, and “screw them in a very uncomfortable place,” to which various people reply, “What, like the back of a Volkswagen?” Peripherally related, but not really the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2000, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/186 "2000-01-18T21:26:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by pldennison: > **Actually, the joke is not portrayed that way at ALL in “Mallrats…” Peripherally related, but not really the same thing.** Interesting how Cooper **remembered** the same exact thing from a movie **that he saw** , but it turns out he was wrong… Alan “I’ll just duck now…” * * * Next time I want your opinion I’ll beat it out of you. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2000, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/187 "2000-01-18T21:31:00Z")
That’s weird; everybody shows up as “unregistered” on this page of the thread. A database problem, or is it just me? ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/188 "2000-01-18T21:32:00Z")
Alright, now it’s fine. Shoulda kept my mouth shut. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2000, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/189 "2000-01-18T21:34:00Z")
Revtim: Your reasoning skills, as well as your clarity in expositing them, are exceptional. Thank you. David: Well, of _course_ I don’t know what evidence is. How could I, lacking as I do, your singular acumen for comprehending such things? 😉 Mjollnir, whc03grady: Before having seen the alleged urban legend at Snopes, my recollection was that it was answered by a fairly large black man with real bushy burns. douglips: You’re right. I should ask EB’s sister. tracer: > [@](#): > > Or Edlyn’s boss’s sister was lying. I concede that she might have been as likely to lie as you, me, or anyone. > [@](#): > > Or Edlyn’s boss’s sister had heard the U.L. previously to that and had jumped to the conclusion that the contestant said “butt” when in fact it was just a bleeped word. So, when she heard the bleep, she ran to the phone to call Shreveport? > [@](#): > > Or Edlyn’s boss’s sister was watching the Newlywed Game with a friend, and Bob Eubanks asked where the strangest place the contestant had made whoopee was, and the friend watching with her blurted out “That’d be the butt, Bob”, and Edlyn’s boss’s sister thought the contestant had said it. Okay, and so EBS’s friend just smacked her gum and twirled her curls while EBS blabbed a known fabrication in the context of a spontaneous long distance phone call? > [@](#): > > Or Edlyn’s boss’s sister was watching the Newlywed Game with a friend, and was dozing off or in the other room when her friend exclaimed “He/she just said the strangest place he/she made whoopee was in the butt!”, and since she’d sorta been watching other parts of the show, Edlyn’s boss’s sister thought that this was sufficient to qualify as having “just seen” it when in fact she only “saw” it second-hand. Boy, that sort of goes up Ockham’s nose and comes out his ass, doesn’t it? > [@](#): > > Or Edlyn’s boss’s sister only said that she’d just heard about it, and the story changed a little in Edlyn’s boss’s retelling, and HIS story changed a little again in Edlyn’s retelling, until the story had become one of Edlyn’s boss’s sister having “just seen” it. Or… Or, she saw the episode and called her brother. Cooper: But why are you assuming that people with access to those archives (assuming those archives even exist) have ever _heard_ about a reward? ---
**Author:** ![Edlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8797f3/32.png) [@Edlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edlyn)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/190 "2000-01-19T04:05:00Z")
Melin & Glitch: Thank you. I appreciate that you are impartial. I can now empathize with some of the 400 witnesses of TWA Flight 800 who’s evidence (if they had it) was confiscated and their testimony tossed aside. They were told by those “more knowledgeable” that they didn’t really see what they saw. Phil: I refuse to subject myself to watching the Newlywed Game reruns night after night until I view the episode that I saw sometime between Sept. 1 and December 5th. I am not a masochist. The $10,000 does not matter to me. It was _uncanny_ that I happened to view the episode, particularily since I rarely view the NG. But I did and (shrug) life can be funny like that. My boss’ reaction to my question was immediate and spontaneous laughter followed with the account of his sister’s phone call, etc. I didn’t even have a chance to explain why I was asking him the question until he had finished talking. In the end, folks, the importance of proving whether or not some guy (yes, he was black, heavier build) said on a game show that he f\*\*ked his wife in the ass, is the \*bottom \*priority on my list of things to accomplish in my life. It certainly is unworthy of the effort David and others have put forth to cast doubt upon my claim that I viewed it. The arguments were interesting and I appreciated that too, but it’s not germane in my case. * * * You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims. -Harriet Woods- ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/191 "2000-01-19T05:37:00Z")
Proof? You want proof it happened? I got it right here! Somebody I never met posted it on a message board online. What the hell other evidence does a court of law _need_? ---
**Author:** ![Cooper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cooper)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/192 "2000-01-19T06:02:00Z")
Phil, Thanks for helping to provide this illuminating example of false memory. Of course, after you tell me the ‘correct’ memory from Mall Rats, I remember it. This wasn’t even all that long ago, I saw this movie not more than 2 years ago, and got the gag totally wrong. I’m pretty sure I’d not have gotten in wrong in this way had I not started reading this thread first though…very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Cooper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cooper)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/193 "2000-01-19T06:04:00Z")
Oh, but I don’t think that it was not ‘at ALL’ wrong. It is exactly backwards. ---
**Author:** ![Cooper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cooper)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/194 "2000-01-19T06:05:00Z")
Oh, but I don’t think that it was not ‘at ALL’ right, it was exactly backwards. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/195 "2000-01-19T06:17:00Z")
Lib, 2 small points. 1. They _would_ have censored such an exchange. Even today such a conversation on a gameshow would be bleeped. In the 60’s, 70’s, or 80’s, I could guarantee censorship of such an exchange. 2. After this much interest, the repeated showings of all versions of the show, the proliferation of video recorders throughout the world, and the reward offered, the fact that the supposed episode hasn’t yet been found should be profound evidence that it doesn’t exist. If you throw in the factor of people searching just to verify their own memories and prove us skeptics wrong, and still not coming up with the evidence, I would have to say that the said episode _does not exist!_ You could play the game of trying to separate each part of the argument above, and pick each apart, but if you look at all the evidence as a whole, it’s pretty much an open and shut case. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/196 "2000-01-19T11:03:00Z")
_What_ effort? Lordy mercy, if people think the episode we saw is an urban legend, just wait till they examine the exhaustive twenty year search that the skeptics believe has totally consumed the lives of everyone in America. Now, _that/s_ an urban legend. ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/197 "2000-01-19T13:13:00Z")
Edlyn said: > [@](#): > > I can now empathize with some of the 400 witnesses of TWA Flight 800 who’s evidence (if they had it) was confiscated and their testimony tossed aside. They were told by those “more knowledgeable” that they didn’t really see what they saw. Oh, goody! A conpsiracy theorist! So tell us, Edlyn, just what _did_ all these people see that is being suppressed by the government? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/198 "2000-01-19T13:14:00Z")
Thanks for the non-answer that you posted, Libertarian. BTW, to all of you who cite the many people who claim to have seen this episode, try to remember that there is no concensus as to when it happened, on which version of the show it happened, or even who it happened to! Lib, if you could come up with a bunch of people who could relate the story the same way you do, it might be more believable, but right now I would rank it as being akin to a u.f.o. sighting. Everybody “knows” that they saw something, but if questioned seperately, give different versions of what they saw. Totally inadmissable as evidence. When _you_ first posed this question, you said that you know this happened, except possibly for irrelevant details. The details of a claim are NEVER irrelevant, and to dismiss all challanges because they deal with the details of what is an incredible claim is the height of perfidy. If we are not to discuss the details, what in the _hell_ are we supposed to debate here? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/199 "2000-01-19T13:36:00Z")
Slythe: At issue is whether the episode aired. No one, excepting perhaps the hyperskeptics, doubts that Lucy and Ethel in the Candy Factory aired. You can even get hold of the tape relatively easily. But if you ask 100 people exactly what happened, you will get 100 different versions. How many candies did Ethel stuff into her mouth? Did Lucy really stuff some in her blouse despite the anal retentive censors of the time? Was Lucy on the left or right? Did Ethel’s hair net fall down over her eyes? Was the supervisor taller than Lucy? ---
**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:** [January 19, 2000, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439/200 "2000-01-19T14:11:00Z")
OK, here’s some more evidence that it _didn’t_ happen: Chuck Barris in an interview on one of the news programs said that it did. That should pretty much cinch it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/up-the-butt-bob/17439.md?page=11)