# When time and history change the meaning of a joke in pop culture. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463 "2007-09-08T14:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/61 "2007-09-10T13:27:43Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] Yes, I pointed that out. Meaning the impracticality of Max’s having to remove his shoe to make a call. If he had simply carried the phone in his pocket, or even had one built into his wristwatch, there would have been no humor in it. And as I said, today you can stick your cell phone in your sock if you choose, so that dates the joke. [/QUOTE] But it was also intended as a take-off of the “spy gadget” bit in the James Bond films that had already become a cliche, e.g. the cigarette pack that’s really a camera, the ink pen that shoots poison darts, the auto headlights that turn into rocket launchers, etc. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/62 "2007-09-10T15:41:11Z")
[QUOTE=SurrenderDorothy] Anyway, I go over to her house and pop Animaniacs in and one of the first cartoons was The Warner Brothers (& sister Dot) visiting Saddam Hussein and annoying him. [/QUOTE] Sister Slappy. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/63 "2007-09-10T15:57:08Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Post Sept. 11, I’d say if a passenger tries to break into the cockpit during a flight I’m on, I will _gladly_ beat him to death and not regret it for an instant, with a hearty “fuck you” for anyone questioning my decision. [/QUOTE] Ah. in the UK I _did_ see that after 9/11 and Grissom just seemed even more smug and sanctimonious than usual giving them their dressing down. Also, the Family Guy joke that sublight noted. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/64 "2007-09-10T17:40:17Z")
[QUOTE=middleman] …If Hillary wins (big if, natch) history will have made that whole bit obsolete. President Clinton WILL have a husband named Bill. What is so funny about that?.. [/QUOTE] There’s a similar joke in _Die Hard 3_, released in 1996, about how Hillary will be the 43rd President. Might be - might be! - only one digit off. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/65 "2007-09-10T17:57:23Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s a big deal in most of these movies because the bed the two men are sharing would barely be fit to hold two small children, let alone two adult men. It’s the size and the uncomfortable close quarters, not fear of catching “teh ghey.” [/QUOTE] Except more often than not, they’ll wake up the next morning in an Awkward Embrace ™. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/66 "2007-09-10T17:59:48Z")
In Woody Allen’s **Sleeper** , Woody is shown a picture of Richard Nixon, with the man from the future saying to Allen’s character, “We think that this man was once president of the US, but did something so terrible that all records of his presidency have been erased.” The film came out in 1973; Watergate had begun, but no one realized it would end in Nixon’s impeachment, and it moved from Nixon-bashing to a reference to his resignation. In **Bringing Up Baby,** Cary Grant was the first to use “gay” meaning “homosexual” in mainstream media because he’s wearing Kathering Hepburn’s robe. Later, however, Grant, when asked about the robe says, “I’m just waiting for a bus on 42nd Street.” At the time, 42nd Street was a known hangout for gays, who, when challenged by the police, would say they were waiting for a bus. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/67 "2007-09-10T18:23:40Z")
There’s a Rock Hudson movie from the early 60s with this set-up: His love interest (I don’t think it was Doris Day) has snuck into the all-men’s club to visit him. Now she must be smuggled out, so Rock helps her dress up as a man, complete with a fake beard. In the lobby, an overbearing bully mother is having her very henpecked son join the club so that he’ll have a 'respectable, upright, morally-sound" place to stay in the heathen NYC. Rock & his g.f. walk through the lobby, the g.f. catches sight of herself in the mirror and gasps at how she looks with a beard. Rock assures her that’s she beautiful, and kisses her on the lips! The bully mother sees all of this and recoils in horror. She immediately grabs her son by the arm and yanks him out of the club. I don’t know the name of this flick, but I remember that it was shown as part of a Rock Hudson marathon the day after the actor died from AIDS in RL. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/68 "2007-09-10T18:31:15Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Speaking of _Back to the Future_, when he orders a “Pepsi Free” from the soda clerk, and is told, “If you want a Pepsi, you’ll have to pay for it.” Pepsi has a caffeine free drink now, but the Pepsi Free slogan (don’t know if it was ever a trademark) is a thing of the past. [/QUOTE] That was a terrible joke, too. **Marty:** Give me a Tab. **Shop Owner:** How can I give you a tab if you haven’t ordered anything? **Marty:** Well, give me a Pepsi Free. **Shop Owner:** Hey buddy, if you want a Pepsi, you’re gonna pay for it! **Marty:** Just give me something without any sugar. **Shop Owner** plunks a cup of black coffee in front of Marty. The only problem is, Pepsi Free was free of _caffeine_, not sugar. That gag grated on me even at the time, and I was like 12. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/69 "2007-09-10T18:31:31Z")
[QUOTE=SurrenderDorothy] Anyway, I go over to her house and pop Animaniacs in and one of the first cartoons was The Warner Brothers (& sister Dot) visiting Saddam Hussein and annoying him. It must have been made in the nineties. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=mobo85] Sister Slappy. [/QUOTE] “And their Warner Sister Dot.” Slappy was the cranky old squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/70 "2007-09-10T18:34:18Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] In non-fiction, I have a book on German nationalism published in 1989 that ends with speculation on the possibility of re-unification, which the author quickly dismisses as ridiculous since it would require the collapse of the Soviet Union. The dude was right, he just didn’t believe it. [/QUOTE] Wow, really? Was it really that precipitous a fall? Did people not see the writing on the wall by 1989? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/71 "2007-09-10T18:55:00Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] Wow, really? Was it really that precipitous a fall? Did people not see the writing on the wall by 1989? [/QUOTE] Definitely. Even the hardcore Reaganite conservatives who believed communism was destined to be consigned to the “dustbin of history” thought the whole process would take about 20 years. And _nobody_ thought the USSR would collapse as quickly as it did in 1991 (complete with other socialist republics becoming independent). ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/72 "2007-09-10T20:32:37Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] “And their Warner Sister Dot.” Slappy was the cranky old squirrel. [/QUOTE] Yes, and the episode you’re referring to was the crazy mixed up episode where the characters were switched around. Remember? Pinky and the cat (Rita)? Pesto and Runt? The Warner Brothers and their sister Slappy? I don’t think you’re geeky enough for the internet… ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/73 "2007-09-10T20:37:32Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] Definitely. Even the hardcore Reaganite conservatives who believed communism was destined to be consigned to the “dustbin of history” thought the whole process would take about 20 years. And _nobody_ thought the USSR would collapse as quickly as it did in 1991 (complete with other socialist republics becoming independent). [/QUOTE] Wow, my own memory seems to have revised history on me. Hell, I graduated high school in 1991; it isn’t ancient history or anything! ☹ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/74 "2007-09-10T20:52:26Z")
Not merely a joke, but an entire career: Vaughn Meader’s \*The First Family, \*released in 1962. It satirized JFK, his administration and his family. It broke all sorts of records in sales and won the “best album” Grammy. Everyone, including JFK himself, loved the album, and Vaughn Meader was an instant superstar. Then came November 22, 1963. The album was pulled off the shelves, Meader’s career was effectively over, and he basically never performed again, with a few rare exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/75 "2007-09-10T21:03:44Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] Not merely a joke, but an entire career: Vaughn Meader’s \*The First Family, \*released in 1962. It satirized JFK, his administration and his family. It broke all sorts of records in sales and won the “best album” Grammy. Everyone, including JFK himself, loved the album, and Vaughn Meader was an instant superstar. [/QUOTE] I think I have that album. I really ought to listen to it. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/76 "2007-09-10T21:18:55Z")
[QUOTE=Rilchiam] And IIRC, that episode aired about the time that Monicagate was gearing up! So that gag took on an unintended irony. [/QUOTE] Actually, I thought that was why they did the mug over the mouth thing–because they knew what might happen. And there was a joke about Al Gore measuring the curtains towards the end of the episode, too, right? ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/77 "2007-09-11T00:45:53Z")
This one’s ancient: A man goes into a coma in 1954, comes out of it in 1972. His first question upon waking is, “How’s President Eisenhower doing?” The nurse tells him, “Eisenhower’s dead.” The man is horrified. “Oh my god! That bastard Nixon is President!” Well, the meaning of the joke hasn’t changed, really, except that few would really appreciate now just how slippery Nixon might have seemed as early as 1954. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/78 "2007-09-11T00:52:07Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] Then came November 22, 1963. The album was pulled off the shelves, Meader’s career was effectively over, and he basically never performed again, with a few rare exceptions. [/QUOTE] Lenny Bruce started his first show after the assassination with a long sigh … then … “Poor Vaughn Meader … .” ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/79 "2007-09-11T01:12:11Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] Wow, really? Was it really that precipitous a fall? Did people not see the writing on the wall by 1989? [/QUOTE] The phrase ‘the writing on the wall’ took on a new meaning for a while after the Berlin wall came down. (or was that a woosh?) Also, Pink Floyd used the Berlin Wall as a backdrop for a live performance of one of their albums (what was the name again…) because of the extra meaning the location imparted. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463/80 "2007-09-11T09:03:02Z")
Thinking again, when I’m watching my VHS tapes of Star Trek, any time Spock mentions information held on “tapes”, I think to myself that he and I must be the only ones left using them 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-and-history-change-the-meaning-of-a-joke-in-pop-culture/418463.md?page=5)