What I've learned from M*A*S*H

I remember (ever so vaguely) when I was a kid hearing the now familiar strains of the wordless version of "Suicide Is Painless." I'd be trotting upstairs to bed or whatever and hear my dad downstairs tuning into a show that I knew was about war, but never realized was a comedy. Until about 10 years ago when they started showing episodes on the Hallmark Channel in threes or fours after 10pm. Then, I'd use it to fall asleep. But wait, it's a comedy?? Heh, it's not so bad.

And so I'm hooked. I spent WAY too much money on the full series collection (plus movie) and occasionally I'll get the hankerin' to watch it...for the bajillionth time.

I was just watching another episode this morning and it occurred to me I've discovered a few things about the show that you might not realize were there, stored in the scary parts of my brain...

• Korea looks strangely like California.
• Now I know what a "merry widow" is.
• Now I know who Adolphe Menjou is.
• Hitler had a pencil box and it was in Korea, CA being hocked by a local indigenous personnel.
• Now I know where "I'm not so drunk as you think I am" came from.
• Same for "Why don't you let that cut under your nose heal?"
• The C.O.'s office had dirty, dirty windows most of the time. In the cold, it changed to frost.
• Colonel Potter got a male horse (gelding, stallion, whatever, I didn't look that close), but after the first episode where Radar gave it to him, "he" was thereafter named "Sophie."
• Henry Blake's wife's name was originally Mildred, later Lorraine.
• Colonel Potter's wife's name was originally Mildred and stayed that way.
• Acting newbs such as John Ritter, Patrick Swayze, Alex Karras, Richard Masur, Teri Garr, Andrew "Dice" Clay, Ron Howard, and Laurence Fishburne have had guest appearances. There are likely more, but I'm only on season four and can't store all the useless info in the world. Loudon Wainwright III appeared in a handful of episodes as well, decidedly new at his gig as guitar-carrying minstrel. I'm not sure if he's gotten any better at it, I haven't heard word of him since the M*A*S*H eps. Honestly, based off his performances in M*A*S*H, I don't care either.
  
• There was a place in Chicago near the Dearborn Street Station called Adam's Ribs. But there probably wasn't.
• Surplus items from World War II were not unheard of. Beans? From 1943? In the 50's? Ish.