# why didn't the Flinstones live in caves? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 5, 2000, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790 "2000-11-05T06:14:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![curwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/1 "2000-11-05T06:14:44Z")
If the show was about prehistoric humans, wouldn’t the most natural setting be for them to be living in caves? I don’t recall that aspect at all. ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/2 "2000-11-05T06:34:38Z")
Because a cave would have no windows for the cat to jump through to throw Fred out at the end of the show. And I wouldn’t sweat the natural setting of prehistoric humans. I doubt they had 326 duplicate TVs, rugs, and easy chairs to run past. This was show about the suburbs, not the Solutrian. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/3 "2000-11-05T06:49:57Z")
And the parking is normally lousy near caves ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/4 "2000-11-05T06:56:40Z")
[pedant] Most prehistoric people didn’t live in caves anyway. [/pedant] Of course, they also didn’t live in boxes made of slabs of stone, either. ---
**Author:** ![bwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@bwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bwk)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/5 "2000-11-05T07:55:33Z")
Well duh… They couldn’t be in a cave. Have you ever tried to film in a cave? There are lighting problems, it’s damp, they were all barefoot, and NObody wore pants… Wilma threatened to walk off the set if they filmed in a cave… Yeh, I know, that was so stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/6 "2000-11-05T12:35:09Z")
If you listen to the lyrics of the opening song, they are clearly described as the **modern** stone-age family. Would a modern family live in a cave? Of course not! They are far too technologically advanced. Just look at theit perpetual motion cars! Caves indeed! ---
**Author:** ![smartt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@smartt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/7 "2000-11-05T18:45:45Z")
I have a more intriguing question. The Flintstones lived in a age Before Christ, roit? Well, then how the heck they could celebrate CHRISTMAS? And here’s another one: Donald Duck never wore pants, but why the heck did he rolled a towel on his waist when he left the shower? Toons are strange. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/8 "2000-11-05T18:59:43Z")
It’s been a while since I’ve watched the Flintstones, but I don’t remember seeing any caves in Bedrock. Maybe they had to give up caves if they wanted to move to the city? Kind of like my friends who gave up yards to live downtown? ---
**Author:** ![smartt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@smartt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/9 "2000-11-05T19:24:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SuperNelson \* > **It’s been a while since I’ve watched the Flintstones, but I don’t remember seeing any caves in Bedrock. Maybe they had to give up caves if they wanted to move to the city?** Mmmmm… now here’s a question: did the primitives REALLY lived in caves all the time? Cuz caves aren’t exactly commonplace, and there were primitive tribes everywhere. So, I guess the term “caveman” is more like a generality than a cientific fact. ---
**Author:** ![Doubleclick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Doubleclick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubleclick)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/10 "2000-11-05T19:28:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by curwin \* > \*\*If the show was about prehistoric humans, wouldn’t the most natural setting be for them to be living in caves? I don’t recall that aspect at all. \*\* But you completely accept the fact that they drive around in cars? Just kidding. =) I figure it adds to the humor of the show and the viewers can relate to it a bit easier. ---
**Author:** ![smartt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@smartt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/11 "2000-11-05T19:43:28Z")
One of the best things about the Flinstones cartoon was the creative use of prehystoric animals as household appliances. But, seriously, I remember seeing pics of prehistoric houses similar to the piles of rock-blocks that Bedrock homes are made of (minus the chimneys, curtains and TV antennaes, of course). And somewhere else, I read about some prehistoric neck ornament made of leather and very similar to a clip-on tie. Not that I think that Hanna and Barbera did some deep research for the show, but those findings are curious at best. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/12 "2000-11-05T23:22:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by smartt \* > Mmmmm… now here’s a question: did the primitives REALLY lived in caves all the time? Cuz caves aren’t exactly commonplace, and there were primitive tribes everywhere. So, I guess the term “caveman” is more like a generality than a cientific fact. As I said above, most of them didn’t live in caves. The thing is that caves are good at preserving stuff, so many of the best, and therefore best-known, prehistoric finds were in caves. I believe the first Neandertal skelton was found in a cave, and then there’s the Lascaux cave art. My question is: now that it’s the twenty-first century (or will be in a couple months for the hyper-anal-retentive), why are we still driving in ground cars rather than flying around in bubble-topped cars as in the Jetsons? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/13 "2000-11-06T02:52:16Z")
Here’s a page about the [ConvAIRCAR Flying Car](http://retrofuture.web.aol.com/flyingcar.html) of the late '40’s And here’s the homepage of [Moller International](http://www.moller.com/), the hopeful manufacturers of the Skycar. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/14 "2000-11-06T03:07:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dtilque \* > \*\*My question is: now that it’s the twenty-first century (or will be in a couple months for the hyper-anal-retentive), why are we still driving in ground cars rather than flying around in bubble-topped cars as in the Jetsons? \*\* Don’t you mean those of us with at least a third grade level of math skills? :D:D ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-flinstones-live-in-caves/39790/15 "2000-11-06T03:36:43Z")
BTW, my assessment of the math skills necessary is matched by Fred Espenak (NASA/GSFC) [here](http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/extra/PSE2000Dec25.html).