why Terre Haute, Indiana?

It's Terre Haute INDIA that they got in the film, not Indiana. And the joke was they managed to get a remote location that wasn't going to make any major power sit up and take notice. The joke is furthered when Rigby muses, "they were about to get a public library."

"Nothing is inexplicable; merely unexplained."

I recall reading or hearing that Carl Reiner had a bad experience in Terre Haute, Indiana and that's why the joke was made at its expense. If I remember right, it had something to do with the airport losing or damaging his luggage...or something like that.
Whatever, Mr. Reiner has no love lost for Terre Haute.

Why not?

Being that I am from Terre Haute, Indiana, let me set the record straight. Steve Martin, as a stand-up performer, once held a concert in Terre Haute, at Hulman Center (ISU's arena - where Larry Bird played college basketball). The weather was awful and the crowd was in an exceptionally iritable mood. As the event wore-on, the crowd began heckling Martin, and that in turn ruined his mood as well.

Some months later he appeared on the Tonight Show and during the interview Carson asked him of all the places he'd been what stuck out in his mind as "the most no-where place in America". (Presumably playing on Martin's "I come from Nowhere") Martin answered, "Terre Haute Indiana".

The mayor of Terre Haute - at that time - caught wind of Martin's answer and eventually invited Martin back to Terre Haute to prove to Martin that Terre Haute was not as he remembered. Naturally this was a gag being purpentrated on Martin by the mayor.

When Martin arrived in Terre Haute he was greated by the streets lined with people holding up banners and signs and wearing tee-shirts proclaiming "Welcome to nowhere", "Steve who?" and "Welcome to Terre Haute, Dean Martin", etc. He then was chauffered around in an car (early 1950s) with no windows or muffler - basically an unimaginable piece of junk. He was taken places like a fertilizer plant and the sewage treatment facility, and other places where no one would likely want to go. It was all in fun, and Martin was a very good sport about it.

As a result, as Martin was leaving, he grinned and announced he would "Get even with Terre Haute some day." The ending of this movie was his way of doing so. I'd assume it was added to the production at Martin's request.

The "public library" line referred to the fact that Terre Haute (techically Vigo County) was in the process of building a new library to replace the one that was currently in use at the time; during Martin's visit.

S. Freeland

I know someone from there

You think up a witty signature.

Quite funny these stories... as a European, I just figured it was a way of mentioning some town, as we say "at the ass part of the world" (although I'm sure it's a nice town with nice people). Having read the explanations though, it doubles the pleasure...

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