As a cast member of the zany British sketch troupe the Goons, which produced shows for radio and television in the 1950s and 1960s, Spike Milligan was an architect of modern comedy. Like his more famous Goon cohort, Peter Sellers, Milligan was asked to host an episode of The Muppet Show. During one bit in the '79 installment, Milligan appears in a blue T-shirt bearing writing in Arabic letters. No translation was offered, nor any mind at all paid to the shirt, which created the opportunity for an urban legend to spread.
Supposedly, the rumor held, the Arabic word on Milligan's chest translated to "hashish," and he'd worn the shirt as a subtle, very-pro drug reference (as hashish is a form of marijuana). The story goes that nobody on The Muppet Show noticed or cared about the controversial T-shirt until after Milligan's episode wrapped production, and it hit the airwaves around the world.
In truth, the T-shirt wasn't about encouraging drug use. Instead, it was a subtle bit of advertising. From 1969 to 1980, Milligan starred on a sketch comedy show called Q... Each season, the title would change slightly, adding a number to the "Q." By 1979, Milligan was up to Q8, which kind of sounds like the name of the country "Kuwait," which is what the word on the actor's T-shirt actually said.
