Howdy:After attending a cultural exhibit, “Cowabunga: California...

Howdy:

After attending a cultural exhibit, “Cowabunga: California Beach Culture,” we decided to have some innocent fun by asking readers to tell us which TV show first used the term “cowabunga.”

And to make our contest irresistible, we offered a tape of the documentary, “Angelyne,” for the first correct respondents (phone and fax divisions).

So what happens? One reader said the answer was so simple that he suspected it was a trick question. Two others said if our memory was failing, we shouldn’t worry. We throw a contest, we get insults.

Well, many younger viewers guessed wrong. And so did some older ones, including the fellow who said it was Milton Berle. No, Uncle Miltie’s claim to TV fame is that the dress he wore on his show is now enshrined at Frederick’s of Hollywood.

LIST OF THE DAY: Some other shows and their vote totals:

* “F-Troop” (1965 debut), 1

* “Teen-Age Mutant Ninja Turtles” (1987), 7

* “The Simpsons” (1989), 7

* “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” (1959), 8

* “Soupy Sales,” (1955), 11

* “Gidget,” (1965), 17

And the correct answer is:

* “Howdy Doody” (1947), 99. You bet your sweet Buffalo Bob.

And the character who uttered the exclamation was one Chief Thunderdud. Reader Richard Sherer points out that “a lot of historians--most of whom never saw the show--have falsely attributed it to Clarabell the Clown.” But let’s not get into that.

DOODY HISTORIANS: We heard from several authorities on the subject, including Rick Shaw, who said, “My father and his partner [Mel Shaw and Bob Allen] created and built the Howdy Doody puppet.” And there were three former spectators in the show’s distinguished Peanut Gallery: Steve Cvinar, Gerri Garner and Charles Ecker.

Ecker said that if he won, we could send the Angelyne video to Angelyne herself so she’d “have yet another opportunity to look at herself.”

THE UNREAL THING: Alas, we’re still trying to determine the winners, having inadvertently erased the times of some early callers.

Meanwhile, to our horror, Troxey Kemper of L.A. cast doubt on our explanation about another expression, “the real McCoy.” We credited it to boxing champ Kid McCoy (or, rather, a fellow he punched in the early 1900s).

Kemper points out that one dictionary traces it back to the 1880s. And another found the variant phrase, “the real Mackay,” in 1903.

We’re glad we don’t have to be the one to tell Kid McCoy.

BUT WILL IT SAVE DOUGH FOR THE INSURED? You might not believe this story, either, so we supplied proof (see excerpt). Eileen Gelon of Beverly Hills notes that one insurance company also is in the doughnut business, at least according to Pacific Bell.

miscelLAny We’d like to wish a Happy Halloween to the residents of such scary communities as Beverly Chills, Bell Goblins, West Munster, Hacienda Frights, Hellflower, Aghoula, Elvira Monte and, of course, Rancho Cowabunga.