Ringo: Hey, I wonder what’ll happen if I pull this lever?
Old Fred: Oh, you mustn’t do that, now.
Ringo: Can’t help it, I’m a born lever-puller.
This quote comes near the beginning of Yellow Submarine, which I have seen dozens of times since age eight or so. I’ve been a Beatles fan for about as long.
Ringo pronounces lever with a long “e” (rhymes with Tom Seaver). It only just now occurred to me that this is a pun: Ringo is a born Liverpool-er.
This breaks my previous record of not realizing for about twenty years (mid-70’s to mid-90’s) that Gnip Gnop was Ping Pong spelled backwards — which in turn displaced ten or so years of not getting the gag behind Fargo North, Decoder.
Can’t help wondering what long-overdue realization is next…
More like the middle than the beginning (they are in the Sea of Monsters).
I’ve actually watched Yellow Submarine about 3 times in the past two weeks, as N has fallen in love with it, and goes around singing Nowhere Man and Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds now… If only the DVD weren’t out of print…
I just caught another one last night I never noticed before.
(from memory)
Ringo: What day is it today?
Old Fred: Saturday.
Ringo: Good, then George will be here.
(opens door and beginning of “Love You To” is heard and various India imagery is seen)
The way Old Fred pronounces “Saturday” it sounds like “Sitarday”…
It took me many years to realize that the three flags in the Round Table Pizza logo spelled out “F U N”. I thought it was a unique and covert example of a subliminal message, but when I mentioned it to my sister-in-law, she shrugged it off with an “of course” and an odd look.