I'm trying to solve a mystery.

A friend has a phrase he remembers from childhood that we're guessing was probably a line from a sitcom, or perhaps a commercial. Many people have told us that this phrase jogs a vague memory with them, but no one seems to be able to pinpoint it.

Can you identify it? If not, does it at least ring a bell?

The phrase:

"Hurricane Ethel hit the laundry."

Thanks!

I'd say it was Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy.

Could be.

People who have a vague memory of this phrase tend to associate it with one of three possibilities, in roughly equal proportions:

1. It was from an "I Love Lucy" episode.
2. It was from a "Brady Bunch" episode, or perhaps spoken by Ann B. Davis in her commercial role as "Schultzie" for Miracle White Laundry Spray.
3. It was from a "Father Knows Best" episode.

Yet, the definitive answer continues to elude....