‘Young Sheldon’ Episode Reveals The Moment Sheldon Discovered His Favorite Word

The CBS hit comedy series, The Big Bang Theory, was so well-received by viewers that the network approved a spinoff that offers viewers a deeper look into the life of oddball scientist Dr. Sheldon Cooper, played by actor Jim Parsons. The spinoff was titled Young Sheldon and stars Iain Armitage as a 9-year-old Sheldon.

As the new show progresses, the writers are able to share tidbits that weren’t previously revealed to viewers in the original series. The most recent episode showed viewers the first time Sheldon discovered his favorite word, “bazinga,” according to a report from TV Guide.

On The Big Bang Theory, adult Sheldon yells the word “bazinga” whenever he pulls off a prank or tells a joke. On the last episode of Young Sheldon, the younger version of Sheldon reads a study that showed that children who are too serious often grow up to be maladjusted adults. In an effort to loosen up a bit, he heads to his local comic book store to find several novelty items to prank his family and friends.

While in the store, a sign advertising the “Bazinga Novelty Company” caught his eye and thus, the iconic catchphrase was born.

After procuring his items, the young genius spends the rest of the episode trying to prank his family. He offered his father fake gum, he convinced his brother to open a trick can of peanuts, but ended up just startling himself, and he even got his sister to sit on a perfectly-placed whoopee cushion.

While this episode of Young Sheldon shows when Sheldon first discovered his favorite word, the actual origin of the word is a little different. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the catchphrase was explained in 2015 by Jim Parsons.

The phrase was first used by The Big Bang Theory writer Stephen Engel. Like Sheldon, Engel also used the word after pranking someone. Co-creator of the show Bill Prady shared a story of being pranked by Engel. Prady said Engel offered him a grapefruit, but when he tried to eat it, he realized it was hollowed out and then put back together.

Engel then said, “Bazinga!”

From there, the phrase made it into the hit comedy series. It was first featured in the Season 2 finale, “The Monopolar Expedition.”

“I remember it wasn’t in a script. It was one of those moments where we’d work on a scene and then you’d go and take notes from the producers and writers. If I’m correct, it was inserted right before a taping basically. It was like “That would work in here. What if he said ‘bazinga’ after that?'” Parsons said, according to a report from Huffington Post.