15 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’

13. You Know That Foot?

In the show’s opening credits, a giant foot would slam onto the earth. The disembodied foot became a symbol of the troop’s wackiness. It actually came from Agnolo Bronzino’s “Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time”. It’s in the lower, left corner.

14. Appropriate Humor

Okay, so there may not have always been a solely democratic approach to the comedy. John Cleese was a firm believer that scatological humor wasn’t the kind of comedy he wanted to be associated with. As a result, he occasionally backed up the censors when they wanted to pull a sketch. Take, for example, the lost, “Wee-Wee Wine Tasting” sketch … use your imagination.

15. The Inspiration

Thanks to the troop’s innovative look at sketch comedy, they influenced generations of comedians. This includes Douglas Adams, the man who wrote Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Lorne Michaels who created a little show called Saturday Night Live.