So two years later, there's a knock on the door.
Guy opens it, and there is the snail...
who says, "What the heck was all that about?"
I don't really get it.
Well, see, it took two years for the snail to...
Not important.
- Can I ask you a question? - Sure.
Where do you think this is going?
To be honest, I was hoping at least second base.
You're so funny.
You're like a standup comedian.
A Jewish standup comedian, that would be new.
Actually, I think a lot of them are Jewish.
No, I was just... Because... Never mind.
Look, Howard, this is our third date, and we both know what that means.
- We do? - Sex.
You're kidding.
But I need to know whether you're looking for a relationship...
or a one-night stand.
Okay, just to be clear, there's only one correct answer, right?
I mean, it's not like "Chicken or fish?" on an airplane?
Maybe you need to think about it a little.
Well, you know, it's not unheard of...
for a one-night stand to turn into a relationship.
Call me when you figure it out.
Three dates means sex?
Who knew?
Greetings, homeys.
Homette.
Why are you back from your date so early?
Well, in romance, as in show business, always leave them wanting more.
- What exactly does that mean? - He struck out.
Hey, did you know that three dates with the same woman...
is the threshold for sex?
Actually, I've never had three dates with the same woman.
With Penny and me, it took two years.
But now that I think about it, that was three dates.
Okay, well, before you and Penny hooked up...
did she ask for any kind of commitment?
No, she was pretty clear about wanting to keep her options open.
I have something to announce, but out of respect for convention...
I will wait for you to finish your conversation.
What are you talking about?
The cultural paradigm in which people have sex after three dates.
I see.
Now, are we talking "date" the social interaction...
or "date" the dried fruit?
Never mind. What's your announcement?
Oh, good, my turn.
Well, this is very exciting, and I wanted you to be among the first to know...
I hear you're gonna be on the radio...
with Ira Flatow from Science Friday next week.
Thank you, Kripke...
for depriving me of the opportunity to share my news with my friends.
My pleasure.
- My thank-you was not sincere. - But my pleasure is.
Let me ask you a question.
At what point did National Public Radio...
have to start scraping the bottom of the barrel for its guests?
Eeh-eeh. Don't answer. It's rhetorical.
Well, why are you such a stupidhead?
That is also rhetorical.
I'm sorry you had to hear that.
Are you really gonna be on NPR?
Yes, they're interviewing me by phone from my office...
regarding the recent so-called discovery of magnetic monopoles in spin ices.
It's pledge week, and they're trying to goose the ratings with controversy.
- Very cool. Congratulations. - Thank you. My mother is very excited.
She's convening her Bible study group to listen in...
and then pray for my soul.
I was on the radio once.
I called into Fever 104 FM New Delhi...
and was the fourth person to say the phrase that pays:
"Fever 104:"
That means "Fever 104: Home of the really good current music."
It's much catchier in Hindi.
All right, these are the talking points for my NPR interview tomorrow.
I need to make sure they're simple enough...
for the less educated in the audience to understand.
Howard, look this over and tell me what's unclear to you.
I have a Master's in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
It required the completion of 144 units of grad work and an original thesis.
Yes.
Look this over and tell me what's unclear to you.
You know, when Sheldon gives you homework, you don't have to do it.
In fact, it's better if you don't. Otherwise, the rest of us look bad.
- Hi, guys. - Hello.
Yo, Raj, talk to me.
I'm sorry, just screwing with you.
Hey, Howard, why haven't you called Bernadette?
Did she say something?
Said she hasn't heard from you. I thought you liked her.
I do, you know, but she wants a commitment...
and I'm not sure she's my type.
She agreed to go out with you for free. What more do you need?
Look, Bernadette is really nice.
I just always thought when I finally settled down into a relationship...
it would be with someone, you know, different.
Different how?
Well, you know, more like Megan Fox from Transformers...
or Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica.
Are you high?
You'd have a better shot with the three-breasted Martian from Total Recall.
Okay, now you're just being unrealistic. Anyway, that movie was 20 years ago.
Imagine how saggy those things would be.
You're gonna throw away a great girl like Bernadette...
because you're holding out for some fantasy?
Hey, just because you settled doesn't mean I have to.
Excuse me, I'm sitting here.
Hey, I did not settle for Leonard.
I mean, obviously, he isn't the kind of guy I usually go out with.
You know, physically.
Again, I'm right here.
I do not judge a book by its cover. I am interested in the person underneath.
I am here, right? You see me?
Hey, I'm interested in what's inside people too.
But, you know, why is it wrong to want those insides wrapped up...
in, say, the delicious caramel that is Halle Berry?
Yes, you're delicious caramel too.
I will tell you why it's wrong...
- Excuse me, may I interject? - What?
Biologically speaking, Howard is perfectly justified...
in seeking out the optimum mate for the propagation of his genetic line.
Thank you, Sheldon.
Whether that propagation is in the interest of humanity...
is an entirely different question.
This is Ira Flatow and you're listening to NPR's Science Friday.
Joining us today by phone from his office In Pasadena, California...
Is Dr. Sheldon Cooper.
Oh, this is gonna be a riot.
Thanks for being with us today, Dr. Cooper.
My pleasure, Ira.
Now, let's talk about magnetic monopoles.
Can you explain to our audience just what a monopole Is?
Of course.
First, consider an ordinary magnet, which has, as even the most uneducated...
in your audience must know, two poles...
a north and south pole.
If you cut that in half, you have two smaller magnets...
each with its own north and south pole.
Dr. Cooper, I think there might be something wrong with our connection.
No, I hear you fine.
As I was saying, an ordinary magnet has two poles.
The primary characteristic of a monopole...
is that it has only one pole, hence, "monopole."
A requirement for string theory, or M-theory, If you will...
is the existence of such monopoles.
I myself led an expedition to the Arctic Circle In search of said particles.
Kripke, I found the nozzle. I'm going to kill you.
So nice you could join me this evening. You're looking lovely as always.
Thanks, Howard.
Always nice to be part of your masturbatory fantasies.
Come on, Katee, don't make it sound so cheap.
I'm sorry. Fiddling with yourself in the bathtub is a real class act.
Thank you.
So, ahem, shall we get started?
Sure, but can I ask you a question first?
You wanna play Cylon and colonist?
No, I wanna know why you're playing make-believe with me...
when you could be out with a real woman tonight.
- You mean Bernadette? - No, I mean Princess Leia.
Of course I mean Bernadette.
She's a wonderful girl and she really likes you.
- I know, but she's not you. - I'm not me.
The real me is in Beverly Hills with a tall, handsome rich guy.
- Really? Tall? - Six-four.
Ouch.
You've got a wonderful girl in your life, and you're ignoring her...
to spend your nights in the bathtub with a mental image and a washcloth.
Howard!
What are you doing in there?
I'm taking a bath!
I hope that's all you're doing! We share that tub!
Don't remind me!
Oh, man.
All soaped up and no place to go.
How you doing, buddy?
I was humiliated on national radio. How do you think I'm doing?
Come on, it wasn't that bad.
What do you want?
We represent the Lollipop Guild, and we want you.
- Okay, so Kripke played a joke on you. - It wasn't funny.
I thought it was funny.
- Raj. - You laughed.
Did you laugh?
I fell on the floor.
All right, he got you. You can get him back.
- I refuse to sink to his level. - You can't sink.
With all that helium in you, you're lucky you don't float away.
Are you really admitting defeat?
- I never admit defeat. - Good.
However, on an unrelated topic, I'm never getting out of this bed again.
What if you could make Kripke look even sillier than he made you look?
- I don't think that's possible. - You're not helping.
I didn't come to help. I came to mock.
Sheldon, what you need to do...
is figure out a way to exact vengeance on Kripke, like...
Like how the Joker got back at Batman...
for putting him in the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
He didn't stay and talk about his feelings with the other villains.
He broke out and poisoned Gotham's water supply.
Well...
I suppose I could poison Kripke.
- No, no. - It's a simple matter.
There are several toxic chemicals that would be untraceable in an autopsy.
Okay, that's the spirit...
but let's dial it back to a nonlethal form of vengeance.
Oh.
How about we put a whoopee cushion on his office chair?
He'll sit down and it'll sound like he's flatulent even though he's not.
Let's keep thinking.
Oh, gee, you're too late.
Scarlett Johansson and Wonder Woman were here...
trolling around for neurotic little weasels.
I came to talk to Bernadette. She's working today, right?
- I don't think she wants to see you. - Why not?
Come on. You hurt her feelings by not calling her all week.
Plus, I've been kind of talking some smack about you.
- Hello, Howard. - Wait, Bernadette, I need to talk to you.
- I can't. I'm working. - This will only take a second.
You asked me to think about where our relationship was going...
and I did.
Bernadette...
will you marry me?
Is this more comedy that I don't understand?
No, I'm serious.
I'm never gonna find another girl like you...
who likes me and is, you know, real.
- So this isn't a joke? - No.
Then you're insane.
I prefer to think of myself as quirky.
Howard, we've only been on three dates. We haven't even had sex yet.
Fair enough. When's your break?
Wow.
Don't you just hate when this happens?
Wow.
All right, how's this for revenge?
A solution of hydrogen peroxide and one of saturated potassium iodide.
- What's this? - Mountain Dew.
Ah. Refreshing.
Now, we're going to combine these chemicals with ordinary dish soap...
creating a little exothermic release of oxygen.
- Foamy vengeance. - Yes, exactly.
This is brilliant, Sheldon.
How are we gonna deploy it in Kripke's office?
Already taken care of. Observe.
This is a live shot of Kripke's lab via a mini webcam I was able to install...
thanks to a dollar bill discreetly placed in the night janitor's shirt pocket.
At the same time, I also secured large quantities of these chemicals...
above the tiles in the drop ceiling.
Sheldon, you remind me of a young Lex Luthor.
You flatter me, sir.
- Let me guess, motion sensors? - Yes.
The reaction will be triggered when Kripke reaches the center of the room.
Mwa, ha, ha.
I gotta say, I am really impressed.
This is truly the Sheldon Cooper way to get even.
It may be low-tech...
but I still maintain the whoopee cushion has comic validity.
Here comes Kripke.
Who's that with him?
I believe that's the president of the university.
- The board of directors. Abort! Abort! - There is no abort.
- How could you not put in an abort? - I made a boo-boo, all right?
I think the board will really appreciate how well we're using that NSA grant.
Right here we have a micro-controlled plasma...
Wow. Looks like the Ganges on laundry day.
At least they don't know it was you.
Hello, Kripke.
This classic prank comes to you...
from the malevolent mind of Sheldon Cooper.
If you'd like to see the look on your stupid face...
this video is being Instantly uploaded to YouTube.
Oh, and a hat tip to Leonard Hofstadter and Raj Koothrappali...
for their support and encouragement In this enterprise.
Well, I'm going back to India. What's your plan?
- Hey, here's your tip from Table 7. - Oh, thanks.
- Mm-hm. - Testing. Check. Check two.
Oh, now what?
- You want me to throw him out? - No, that's okay.
Are you sure? He's small.
Bet I could get a nice tight spiral on him.
I wanna dedicate this number to a great gal who I've done wrong.
Bernadette
I am so sorry For trying to propose to you
Bernadette
You found It creepy But that's just the kind of thing I do
Ahhh
I know now It was too soon To talk of love
It was just a crazy idea That came to me In my tub
But, Bernadette Give me one more chance
Sweet Bernadette
I'll get the hang of this thing They call romance
Sweet Bernadette
I dream to once again Kiss your lips
Sweet Bernadette
Sincerely yours, Howard Wolowitz
Bernadette
Oh, I am so sorry.
Are you kidding?
That's the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me.
Bernadette
Thank you, Cheesecake Factory.