# Where did this joke \[about Sears in TV shows\] come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919 "2017-10-26T20:14:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [October 26, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/21 "2017-10-26T21:33:49Z")
Sears also used to have a fantastic toy department. I ordered a lot of my GI Joe collection from their catalog, which had all kinds of accessories from companies other than Hasbro (up to and including an appropriately scaled armored car and F9F), along with full sets of figures and equipment. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/22 "2017-10-26T21:40:10Z")
> [@Tom\_Terrific](#): > > At one time you could buy almost anything at Sears. Their catalog was 3 to 4 inches thick and back in the 50’s and 60’s they had rifles and shotguns, their own brand of car, and I seem to remember a couple of house plans. It was the Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Amazon of its day. The construction was farmed out, but the cars sold under the Allstate Brand. [http://cartype.com/pics/6776/full/sears\_allstate\_ad\_53.jpg](http://cartype.com/pics/6776/full/sears_allstate_ad_53.jpg) Link goes to a pic of an Allstate 53. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/23 "2017-10-26T21:42:13Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Sears also used to have a fantastic toy department. Yep. They even had their own version of the Atari 2600 for awhile. IMO, their decline really started when the toy department ceased being year-round. I still remember being shocked the first time I saw gardening supplies where the toy department was supposed to be. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/24 "2017-10-26T21:47:00Z")
Remember Major Matt Mason, from Mattel? I would love to have one of those complete Moon base sets you could order from the catalog, the ones with the battery-powered crawler. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/25 "2017-10-26T21:52:01Z")
Saying something came from Sears back when was the similar to saying you bought something off the internet now. There were plenty of Sears stores but they couldn’t carry everything in their catalog. You could order by mail, later phone, or go to the Sears store to order anything in their catalog. You could probably replace ‘Sears’ with ‘the internet’ for many things used in the jokes referred to by the OP. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/26 "2017-10-26T21:54:29Z")
In the world of TV, this was probably most notable in a M_A_S\*H episode where the episode spans a year and various items the cast orders from the Sears catalog act as plot devices throughout the episode. They ordered the components for a dialysis machine from there, except for sausage casings, which they instead ordered from Klinger’s favorite hot dog place in Toledo. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/27 "2017-10-26T21:59:18Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Remember Major Matt Mason, from Mattel? I would love to have one of those complete Moon base sets you could order from the catalog, the ones with the battery-powered crawler. Ebay. You can own one. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/28 "2017-10-26T21:59:21Z")
Many guitarists “of a certain age” learned on Sears Silvertone guitars. The coolest one, an electric, had the amplifier built into the case! ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/29 "2017-10-26T22:16:29Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Could that have come from the _ **Twilight Zone** _ episode with Jackie Cooper? > > ["The Twilight Zone" Caesar and Me (TV Episode 1964) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734558/) The bit I’m thinking of is more recent. Maybe 80s or 90s. The way I remember it being delivered made it seem like the joke was old, so it’s possible. It’s also possible that I’m conflating bits. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/30 "2017-10-26T22:27:35Z")
On the pilot of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_, Cordelia tells Willow (referring to her outfit), “I’m so glad you’ve seen the softer side of Sears.” (That was a Sears advertising slogan years ago, and was a slam at Willow for not wearing designer clothes.) ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/31 "2017-10-26T22:55:10Z")
There’s a scene in Mean Girls where a snotty saleswoman says that her store doesn’t sell anything above a certain size, and then adds “You could try Sears”, before marching off. I’m pretty sure that line was used as a GIF. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/32 "2017-10-26T22:57:35Z")
[This](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/2f/d4/ca/2fd4caa86919510cdea511b92d609102--baby-things-calvin-and-hobbes-comics.jpg) Calvin and Hobbes strip was the first thing I thought of. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/33 "2017-10-26T23:36:54Z")
The story I heard was that a Seersucker suit was names so because it came from Sears and looked really spiffy (gadzooks!) until the first time it was cleaned and it pretty much fell apart. The Sears/Cox was played up in “Sophies Choice”. Fresh-Off-Boat Polish immigrant Sophie sees her upstairs neighbour all dressed up and says “I see you are vearing ze coxucker suit.” Her boyfriend who has obviously been teaching her some English words, has to correct her, “No, that’s seersucker”. > [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > There’s a scene in Mean Girls where a snotty saleswoman says that her store doesn’t sell anything above a certain size, and then adds “You could try Sears”, before marching off. I’m pretty sure that line was used as a GIF. This was I’m sure because the snotty brand-conscious types associated Sears back then, like Walmart, with cheap and hence lower class clothing compared to upscale stores and brands. ---
**Author:** ![DaneClark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@DaneClark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaneClark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/34 "2017-10-26T23:53:45Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I think the joke is that something unexpected appears or is noticed. So a character says “Where did that come from??” out of surprise or expecting a genuine explanation for why it’s there. > > Instead they get a literal answer as to where the object was originally purchased. Kinda. I’m rembering an old Muppet Babies episode where a door appeared out nowhere and Piggy asked where it came from and Rowlf replied Sears. Then I saw the EXACT SAME joke in a Power Rangers parody fanfic I read (exactly the same right down to it being about a door appearing out of nowhere) And there is also an old Simpsons episode where Homer is looking for Lisa’s stolen saxophone and sees a guy playing a saxophone on the street and asks him where he got it (thinking he might be the guy who stole it) and the guy says Sears ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/35 "2017-10-27T00:22:40Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Twice! [1908 to '12](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Motor_Car_Works) and ['52 to '54](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allstate_(automobile)). Also [scooters & motorcycles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allstate_(vehicle_brand)). Hey, I had that motorcycle. Bought at Sears in St. Ann Missouri in 1967. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/36 "2017-10-27T00:36:57Z")
But where did you get your SAMSUNG-SM-G930A? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/37 "2017-10-27T00:50:22Z")
> [@Tom\_Terrific](#): > > At one time you could buy almost anything at Sears. Their catalog was 3 to 4 inches thick and back in the 50’s and 60’s they had rifles and shotguns, their own brand of car, and I seem to remember a couple of house plans. It was the Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Amazon of its day. There were also specialty catalogs. I think it was their farm catalog that we got the bees from. We found out that if two pounds of bees in a screen-sided box comes into a suburban post office on a Sunday, the postmaster will drive it to its destination personally to get it out of the post office. Now I’m thinking: “Aargh! Where did those bees come from?” “Sears.” ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/38 "2017-10-27T00:59:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Not just house plans, [entire do-it-yourself houses.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Catalog_Home) Time was you could buy a house from Sears, all the tools to put it together, and then everything to put in it. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/39 "2017-10-27T01:14:15Z")
Back in the day, you could actually buy live animals from Sears. There always these little burros for sale. I think they were $49.99, I wanted one of those burros so bad, I put it on my Christmas list every year. Never got that cute little thing. I didn’t care we lived in the suburbs, or our mean old neighbor lady complained if I dropped a gum wrapper on the street, I just didn’t care. The heart wants what the heart wants! I think I’ll ask for one this year, hmmmm! ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919/40 "2017-10-27T02:25:42Z")
Don’t know if it originated with him, but it was a recurring motif in Tim Allen’s stand-up comedy, on which he built his character for Tool Time. He would be doing a story about some handyman project or another and then he’s work to the point where he needed a tool. Then he’d say, something like, “So you know where I went?” And the audience would yell “Sears”. And he would say “Damn right! Sears!” or something like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-joke-about-sears-in-tv-shows-come-from/799919.md?page=3)