Abbott and Costello's Math Humor in the Movies
by Ivars Peterson in his Math Trek column for MAA

   Abbott and Costello made arithmetic shenanigans the basis 
of a number of their comic dialogs.

Here is a dialog from their movie titled Buck Privates:

Abbott: You're 40 years old, and you're in love with a little girl, 
        say 10 years old. You're four times as old as that girl. 
        You couldn't marry that girl, could you?
Costello: No. ?

Abbott: So you wait 5 years. Now the little girl is 15, and you're 45. 
        You're only three times as old as that girl. 
        So you wait 15 years more. 
        Now the little girl is 30, and you're 60. 
        You're only twice as old as that little girl. ?

Costello: She's catching up. ?

Abbott: Here's the question. How long do you have to wait before you 
        and that little girl are the same age? 

Costello: What kind of question is that? That's ridiculous.   
          If I keep waiting for that girl, she'll pass me up. 
          She'll wind up older than I am. 
          Then she'll have to wait for me! 

Here's another encounter from Buck Privates, one echoed in
   several later movies.

Abbott: Do me a favor. Loan me $50.
Costello: I can't lend you $50. All I've got is $40.
Abbott: That's okay. Give me the $40, and you'll owe me $10.
Costello: How come I owe you $10?
Abbott: What did I ask you for?
Costello: $50.
Abbott: What did you give me?
Costello; $40.
Abbott: So you owe me $10.
Costello: That's right. But you owe me $40. Give me my $40 back.
Abbott: There's your $40. Now give me the $10 you owe me. 
        That's the last time I'll ever ask you for the loan of $50.
Costello: How can I loan you $50 now? All I have is $30.
Abbott: Give me the $30, and you’ll owe me $20.
Costello: This is getting worse all the time. 
          First I owe you $10, and now I owe you $20!
Abbott: So you owe me $20. Twenty and 30 is 50.
Costello; Nope! Twenty-five and 25 is 50.
Abbott: Here's your $30. Give me back my $20.
Costello: All I've got now is $10!

Abbott then entices Costello into a silly, double-or-nothing
   number game.

Abbott: Take a number, any number at all from 1 to 10, and don't tell me.
Costello: I got it.
Abbott: Is the number odd or even?
Costello: Even.
Abbott: Is the number between 1 and 3?
Costello: No.
Abbott: Between 3 and 5?
Costello: No. I think I got him.
Abbott: Between 5 and 7?
Costello: Yes.
Abbott: Number six?
Costello: Right. . . . How did he do that? 

Toward the end of the movie, during a boxing match, Costello is 
knocked to the canvas, and the biased referee gives a quick 
count: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.

Costello: What's this? 2, 4, 6, 8, 10? What happened 
          to 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9? 
Ref: I don't like them numbers. They're odd. 

The 1941 film In the Navy features a hilarious episode in creative counting.
Costello comes up with three different ways to prove that 7 times 13 equals 28.

Click here to see why 7 x 13 = 28



Links:

Handley Math Humor Page

Handley Math Home Page