Lost & Found: How to Throw Pies the Three Stooges Way

We pick at people occasionally, and it's all in good fun. But sometimes we like to take a moment to recognize those figures who influenced us in deeply effective ways. When people speak of public figures who've had a positive influence on us, many often turn to heroes: Neil Armstrong, Steve Jobs, Barack Obama and Mahatma Gandhi to name a few. But when we discuss our heroes, one name is spoken more than any other: Moe Howard.

Moe, of course, was the heavy-handed leader of the best comedic trio in the history of the world: the Three Stooges. When it comes to the Three Stooges, people often get tied up in arguing over who's better between Curly, Shemp or Joe. (No one says Joe; if someone says Joe, that person has never actually watched the Three Stooges and is lying to fit in.) This ages-old debate overlooks the comedic genius possessed by Moe.

Moe was a regular guest on 'The Mike Douglas Show.' He showed up every once in a while to tell old stories about the other guys, giving an invaluable glimpse behind the scenes of everyone's favorite Stooges bits. In one segment, he claimed the classic eye-poking gag came about as the result of an argument between Shemp and Curly over a game of Bridge.

In this segment, he attempts to show the host and the audience the different techniques for throwing a pie in someone's face. We say attempt because before he could get too far into his demonstration, the whole segment devolved into a furious pie fight. It may have been a planned pie fight, but we don't care. A pie in the face is a pie in the face, and that's how we like it.