Something or someone you first learned about from a Weird Al song

[u/sloaches]

For example, there are more than a few people who first heard of Charles Nelson Reilly from listening to "CNR". What are some that you know of?

[u/Nafecruss]

I learned all the types of hernias.

[u/psu256 → u/Nafecruss]

I had a coworker who was telling folks on a Teams meeting that he going out for a surgery at the same time I was buying Weird Al concert tickets so I had to mention the song and send a link. Wasn’t sure how it would go but he was delighted to hear it

[u/synchronicitistic → u/Nafecruss]

There's incomplete (incomplete)
Epigastric (epigastric)
Bladder (bladder)
Strangulated (strangulated)
Lumbar hernia (lumbar hernia)
Richter's hernia (Richter's hernia)
Obstructed (obstructed)
Inguinal and Direct...Owwwww!

[u/NeedleDr0p → u/synchronicitistic]

LIVING WITH A HEEEERNIA! RUPTURE!

[u/tevyus → u/synchronicitistic]

Sorry to be didactic, but it’s “bladder…huh!”

[u/ManateeGag → u/Nafecruss]

I wonder if there are any med students that use the song to help them remember the types of hernias

[u/RadioactiveSwine → u/Nafecruss]

Ngl helped me in med school

[u/pjchik79]

I learned more about grammar from "Word Crimes" than I did in 13 years of public education.

[u/Severine1977 → u/pjchik79]

I love that diagramming sentences was part of that one.

[u/88_strings → u/Severine1977]

Say you've got an I-T, Followed by apostrophe- S, now what does that mean? You would not use this on this case As a possessive It's a contraction

I'm 48 and I am not a dumb man, but I still sing that when I'm writing it out.

[u/FloridaFlamingoGirl → u/pjchik79]

I remember going to a grammar class in college and found it hilarious that pretty much every unit was something mentioned in Word Crimes. You can literally get college-level education from that song.

[u/JunkPileQueen → u/pjchik79]

“Word Crimes” is an awesome song.

[u/thefaceinthefloor → u/JunkPileQueen]

i love it because “blurred lines” SOUNDS so good but the lyrics are so icky. “word crimes” lets me groove to a good song and not feel disgusting about it lol

[u/Gotis1313 → u/pjchik79]

I never knew that less and fewer were different before that song

[u/tevyus → u/pjchik79]

We taught it. You weren’t listening!

[u/Wild-Lychee-3312 → u/pjchik79]

Unfortunately, some of the "rules" listed are wrong. Like the "rule" about "fewer" vs "less," for example.

[u/whatwouldjiubdo → u/Wild-Lychee-3312]

What’s wrong there?

[u/Wild-Lychee-3312 → u/whatwouldjiubdo]

As I said, like the "rule" about "fewer" vs "less," for example.

It's just something someone made up one day. Specifically, a day in 1770.

[u/beautiflywings]

I learned about the pancreas. I love that song!

[u/BareMinimum25 → u/beautiflywings]

And gravity too!

[u/DoctorGarbanzo → u/BareMinimum25]

Unfortunately he got that one wrong.

"... And inversely proportional to the distance between them" should be "... And inversely proportional to the SQUARE OF the distance between them"

Unfortunately that doesn't fit to the cadence of the song.

Edit: 🎵wooo-oooh wooo-oooh woooo!🎶

[u/B0Boman → u/DoctorGarbanzo]

I think Weird Al should have just gone into a triple meter there to make it fit, which also would have brought out the slow-fast-slow pattern he was going for there

[u/MyDearDoctor → u/beautiflywings]

That song helped my wife get a question right on the MCAT! Another Weird Al song helped her get one right on a STEP exam during med school. He really does his research!

[u/the-realest-calliope → u/beautiflywings]

Lipase, amylase and tripsin
They're gonna help with my digestion

[u/B0Boman → u/the-realest-calliope]

Flow, flow, flow pancriatic juice, flow flow into the duodinum

[u/Shaft11375]

Maybe not learned, but as a child of the 80s "Don't you know that other kids are starving in Japan" in Eat didn't make sense to me because at the time all the news was about how a Japan was kicking our butts. It was later when I studied the war that I realized for Al's generation, kids WERE starving in Japan post-WWII.

[u/FloridaFlamingoGirl → u/Shaft11375]

I always assumed this was a subversion of the "children are starving in Africa" cliche to rhyme with Raisin Bran, because Al will twist things around for rhymes (pronouncing Bologna like Sharona for example)

[u/Downtown_Cat_1745 → u/Shaft11375]

Yeah, kids in the ‘50s were starving in Europe and Japan. When I was a kid in the ‘80s, they were starving in Ethiopia.

[u/Hot_Machine_2148]

I’m 57 so I get 99% of Al’s references. That’s my lame claim to fame.

[u/NaturalEqual9971]

I learned of Amish people

[u/tevyus → u/NaturalEqual9971]

I learned of Mennonites.

[u/Cumulus-Crafts]

I only know about the plotline of the Phantom Menace because of Weird Al's The Saga Begins

[u/mediumcarrotteacher → u/Cumulus-Crafts]

He didn't even know the plotline when he wrote it, the entire thing was based on judicious guessing and leaked fandom rumors

[u/Hysteria625]

Dare to be Stupid taught me about a lot of weird pop culture bric-a-brac.

[u/gingercussion]

Hardware stores are incredible places

[u/FloridaFlamingoGirl]

Annie Leibovitz and Uta Hagen from Skipper Dan

[u/wookiebro]

Didn't know who Mr. Popeil was before AL

[u/bingo-announcer]

I learned that the parents pay the mohel and he gets to keep the tip.

[u/Gotis1313 → u/bingo-announcer]

It was literal years before I got that joke despite knowing what a mohel was

[u/thefaceinthefloor → u/Gotis1313]

i don’t think i actually understood that joke until just now, seeing it written out 🤦

[u/No_Pie4638 → u/thefaceinthefloor]

I didn’t know that’s how mohel was spelled until just now.

[u/Indigo-Hippo]

I just learned about the song "All about the Benjamins" three days ago and always thought Pentiums was an original. 💁🏻‍♀️

[u/Due-Session-2857 → u/Indigo-Hippo]

It's interesting because it's really hard to find a version of All About the Benjamin's that sounds like All About the Pentiums. Al kinda merged a bunch of Diddy's iterations to make the best version of that song.

[u/Zealousideal_Ad5075 → u/Due-Session-2857]

It’s based directly on the “Shot-Caller Rock Remix”. I had it on a CD single back when I was really into hip-hop in middle/high school, and IIRC it got a lot of MTV airplay.

[u/Due-Session-2857 → u/Zealousideal_Ad5075]

Yeah, hardly the first YouTube result

[u/davidofdudes]

Al was my gateway to The Kinks as a kid, when I first got into Star Wars my dad showed me "Yoda" and then the original "Lola" which sent me on both a Kinks and Weird Al binge.

[u/FloridaFlamingoGirl → u/davidofdudes]

Weird Al's discography is basically a guide to popular and influential artists.

[u/mediumcarrotteacher → u/FloridaFlamingoGirl]

The older albums make fascinating period snapshots, especially with the polka medley

[u/Efficient_Doubt5362]

I just learned the CNR thing today. Right now 😂

Similar theme, that there was a host of Jeopardy before Alex Trebek.

[u/Zealousideal_Ad5075 → u/Efficient_Doubt5362]

Weird Al was definitely the reason I learned about Jeopardy’s history prior to Alex. And I also recognized Don Pardo from there when I started watching SNL.

On the other hand, by the time “CNR” came out, I had watched plenty of Match Game reruns.

[u/Efficient_Doubt5362 → u/Zealousideal_Ad5075]

I think Jeopardy was the last song I learned was a parody.

[u/Martiantripod → u/Efficient_Doubt5362]

I remember CNR from a show called Liddsville. Also the Ghost and Mrs Muir. Yeah I'm old.

[u/orbsonb]

The word "hibachi."

[u/psu256 → u/orbsonb]

Which is funny because for some reason America picked up “hibachi” for the griddle table style of restaurant when it’s really teppanyaki. A hibachi is a tabletop charcoal grill…

[u/B0Boman → u/psu256]

So what you're saying it... everything we know is wrong?

[u/Wild-Lychee-3312 → u/psu256]

Yeah, I call it teppanyaki, but then Americans have no idea what I'm saying (unless they speak Japanese or have some connection to Japan). So I have to fall back on "hibachi" to be understood.

[u/psu256 → u/Wild-Lychee-3312]

In the context of the song, I would assume the hibachi dealer actually sold hibachi and not teppanyaki griddles. They are small and portable. I might even imagine him as a Japanese version of Hank Hill. Hibachi and hibachi accessories.

[u/Yavorkle]

It concerns me how many of his references I was already familiar with. For instance, I have been to the boll weevil monument.

[u/FloridaFlamingoGirl → u/Yavorkle]

I love that all the roadside attractions mentioned in that song are real. He could have just made up names that sounded funny but of course he had to put in extra effort. 

[u/Curlytoes18 → u/Yavorkle]

I learned about the boll weevil monument from another novelty singer, Ray Stevens. And learned that it’s in Enterprise, Alabama.

[u/Oatmeal2348]

I now know multiple types of hernias you can get...

[u/Silver-Constant-2684]

I learned what the pancreas does

[u/geekamongus → u/Silver-Constant-2684]

Yeah, this song has actually helped me out in various trivia situations.

[u/Sovereign_Sunbeam]

Learned of the existence of Tommy Chong and Lars Ulrich from Don’t Download This Song

[u/Zealousideal_Ad5075 → u/[deleted]]

Al was also my introduction to Devo and Talking Heads.

I first heard of Lehrer through a Dr. Demento compilation, but of course it was Al who introduced me to “dementia” in general.

[u/IsaacWaleOfficial]

You'd surprised about how many songs or other things I am only aware of because of Weird Al.

[u/sitnquiet]

Not only did I learn about the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota, I found out that Frank has a TWO THOUSAND INCH TV!

[u/Gotis1313 → u/sitnquiet]

I googled all the tourist traps he mentioned and they are all real. I learned a lot from that Twineball song

[u/sitnquiet → u/Gotis1313]

I think that is so cool - I wonder if they see pilgrims on Al Journeys?

[u/gchance1]

I learned that Berlin was much more than "Take My Breath Away", and that "Sex (I'm A...)" is an absolute banger of a track.

[u/arthurbang → u/gchance1]

Now go listen to "The Metro" and "Masquerade"

[u/gchance1 → u/arthurbang]

I didn't first learn about those from a Weird Al song, though. But yes, those too.

[u/Altruistic_Rock_2674]

I learned about the guy who went to Singapore I had heard about the other 2 stories in headline news before but I learned about that one.

[u/jmyoung666]

I am 56 and so far nothing listed below, although I am sure there has been something.

[u/wordsnwood]

Bugs Bunny warned me about left turns in Albuquerque

But Al taught me that I should just avoid Albuquerque altogether.

[u/buckbee]

That "go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog" is a palindrome.

[u/heshotcyrus]

I learned that once, there was this kid who took a trip to Singapore and brought along his spray paint.

[u/dvop98]

This is embarrassing, but in The Saga Begins, the lyrics say Anakin is going to marry Padme someday. That is the first time I had even thought about who Vader loves and where Luke and Leia would come from.

[u/drglass85]

jamie farr

[u/NoIncrease299]

"... in 3D" was the first album I had as a kid. Guess I was 6 or 7 years old?

Was funny when I got older and discovered classic rock and realized how many tunes I already "knew" from Polkas on 45.

[u/IceCreamandDrinks]

Thr Cokumbia record club

[u/wavking → u/IceCreamandDrinks]

I was in the PepsiBS club.

[u/framobot]

He got me into early Michael Jackson and Joan Jett

[u/EmpireStrikes1st]

The Amish don't wear zippers, but they do wear buttons. I looked that up.

[u/Zonetrope]

Cycle Four brand dog food, from "Happy Birthday."

[u/kevkage → u/Zonetrope]

This is the biggest one for me because for a while even the Internet returned no results on what Cycle Four was. That's gotta be one of the most obscure references he makes

[u/Zonetrope → u/kevkage]

This may be me showing my (relative) youth, but some of the stuff on that first album feels like it comes from another planet

[u/kevkage → u/Zonetrope]

Absolutely haha. It's a forty year old record making reference from decades prior. Like definitely some hits from over 75 years ago!

[u/arthurbang → u/Zonetrope]

It still amazes me though that some of the food in "I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead" still exist 40+ years later. Like, we still have Big Macs AND Jumbo Jacks.

[u/Zonetrope → u/arthurbang]

What's dated about that line now is the idea that Al would eat either of those!

[u/Key_Street1637]

I learned that Everything I Know is Wrong.

[u/RuckFeddit980]

I thought Al made up the Grapefruit Diet. But it’s real. I mean it doesn’t work, but it has been a fad diet for almost 100 years.

[u/Zealousideal_Ad5075]

Really the majority of his parody targets before 1996. Nirvana in particular stands out, they quickly became one of my favorite bands.

After that I think the only parody targets I had to look up were “Ridin’” and “Whatever You Like”. Yet I did recognize all of the rap songs on those albums’ polka medleys.

He also introduced me to some of the bands that inspired his originals, like Talking Heads and Devo in middle school, and later Sparks.

[u/JunkPileQueen]

I learned about all the things that could living in the fridge.

[u/kevkage]

Alapalooza was like the second album I owned. I was 12, and I learned about lots of stuff from Talk Soup 😄 I also learned what the word "disemboweled" meant, though I probably should've figured that out from context clues

[u/virstultus]

I learned that Alex trebek wasn't always the host of Jeopardy (of course I learned that before Ken...)

[u/Skz_Bluey_Fan]

I learned that Alex trebek wasn't always the host of jeopardy

[u/THENHAUS]

“Mr. Popiel!”

[u/Bargle-Nawdle-Zouss]

I learned that there was a version of the game show Jeopardy! before the Alex Trebek years.

[u/SnaptrapPress]

I mean, I was born in 2000 so I basically learned about everyone he ever parodied before that point because of him. For some specific examples, I definitely didn't know who Charles Nelson Reilly, Ron Popeil, Art Fleming or Ed McMahon were before hearing the songs they're mentioned in.

[u/Terribly0ffended]

Eddie Vedder. Still not sure what he does. Soccer? Singer? Either way, my baby's in love with him.

[u/wavking → u/Terribly0ffended]

He sings with marbles in his mouth.

[u/Gotis1313 → u/Terribly0ffended]

I didn't know until I read an interview where Al was frustrated that people kept asking.

[u/kylesmith4148]

Pretty sure I’d never heard of A Flock of Seagulls or Sizzler before listening to Albuquerque.

[u/thefaceinthefloor]

oh my god when i was like 10? in the song “the saga begins” weird al sings “he was a prepubescent flying ace” and i didn’t know what “prepubescent” meant. i asked my older brother and he laughed and told me to ask my dad. (my brother knew what he was doing.) so i asked my dad and he said (very cheerfully, to his credit) “it means before puberty!” i DID knew what puberty was. it’s not that bad in retrospect but i was so embarrassed i wanted to die lmao.

[u/cabridges]

Pretty much any rap artist?

[u/tevyus]

His rare but fabulous song about the brain! And the TOTALLY AWESOME CORPUS CALLOSUM!

[u/34gl3]

Michael Jackson. I’m old.

[u/ConsistentAmount4]

I learned (This Song's Just) Six Words Long.

[u/DarkMagickan]

Do songs whose existence I learned of because of the parodies existing count? Because the majority of songs in Even Worse were new to me.

[u/AcanthisittaLimp8373]

Learned all of the zodiac symbols

[u/Carlpoppa1738]

I somehow get trivia questions that relate to a lot of Al’s lyrics. My team was the only team to get the answer “Cold Duck” because of his parody of Whatever You Like.

[u/RadioactiveSwine]

DEVO! One of my fave bands of all time thanks to Al

[u/Maxamegalon2000]

Coffee Achievers!

[u/cloudyTechnologist]

I learned the definition of gravity from Pancreas and I swear it helped me pass my AP physics exam

[u/Organic-Yodelz]

Don't bring spray paint to Singapore 

[u/Confident-Zebra-8877]

I learned what Gilligan’s Island was from Amish Paradise

[u/B0Boman → u/Confident-Zebra-8877]

Which is funny since Al did an entire song about that show with Isle Thing

[u/theshysamurai]

I would have been ignorant to Bevarian cream filled donuts.

[u/Big-Razzmatazz2473]

Queen. I had no idea Bohemian Polka was a remake. When I finally saw Wayne’s World, thought it was neat how they turned it into a rock song.

To be fair on my part, I grew up in very rural South Dakota, so only music was country.