# Well I ain't Kahooty? (circa 1940) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-aint-kahooty-circa-1940/439692 "2008-03-01T00:31:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hotcoldhot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58f4c7/32.png) [@hotcoldhot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotcoldhot)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-aint-kahooty-circa-1940/439692/1 "2008-03-01T00:31:16Z")
I was listening to the old time radio show “When Radio was,” and they had an old “Burns and Allen Show,” on where Gracie runs for President. They had Dan Butler the Mayor of Omaha on it, and though Gracie claimed to know who Mayor Butler was, she of course got it wrong. So when he shows up neither George nor Gracie recognize him. The dialog goes like this George) You’re Mayor Butler??? Mayor Butler) Well I ain’t kahooty? It got a very big laugh and applause. Who or what is kahooty? I tried to Google it but perhaps I ain’t spelling it right. This was from 1940 could it be a politician? ---
**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:** [March 1, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-aint-kahooty-circa-1940/439692/2 "2008-03-01T00:41:05Z")
Probably “Yehudi.” The comedian Jerry Colonna, a regular on Bob Hope’s radio show, had a catch phrase “Who’s Yehudi?” which he would apparently interject at any opportunity. The character of Yehudi was well known at the time, referenced in old Loony Tunes cartoons, “Who’s Yehudi” became a song, etc. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-aint-kahooty-circa-1940/439692/3 "2008-03-01T03:42:12Z")
Yehudi is the Little Man Who Wasn’t There, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-aint-kahooty-circa-1940/439692/4 "2008-03-01T12:15:27Z")
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath] Yehudi is the Little Man Who Wasn’t There, as I recall. [/QUOTE] Isn’t he the guy that turns out the light in the refrigerator, too? ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-aint-kahooty-circa-1940/439692/5 "2008-03-01T12:40:21Z")
[QUOTE=ASAKMOTSD] Isn’t he the guy that turns out the light in the refrigerator, too? [/QUOTE] Hmm, I think he was the guy that turned **on** the lights for Project Yehudi, in WWII. The project was a US Navy investigation into camouflaging aircraft through the use of bright lights. They were looking for a way to get planes close enough to sink surfaced Nazi subs before the attacking plane was spotted. Lights on the leading edges of attacking planes masked them against a bright-sky background. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-aint-kahooty-circa-1940/439692/6 "2008-03-01T15:09:23Z")
> **[World Wide Words: Yehudi did it](http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-yeh1.htm)** > > Why might one describe an invisible person as 'Yehudi'? Hm. Looks like it does originate about then, and that’s related to unseen things too. ---
**Author:** ![hotcoldhot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58f4c7/32.png) [@hotcoldhot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotcoldhot)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-aint-kahooty-circa-1940/439692/7 "2008-03-01T23:15:44Z")
Thanks, it sounds like a K but since it was the actual Mayor speaking and not an actor maybe he screwed up