Weird Easter Eggs: The Ghostbusters Were Constantly Peeing Themselves

The iconic Ghostbusters jumpsuit is one of the most instantly recognizable and beloved movie costumes of all time. There’s a reason why people all over the world choose to be Ghostbusters for Halloween -- not least of which is because it’s way easier to hold your drink at a party while dressed like Peter Venkman than, say, Vigo the Carpathian. 

Part of what makes the Ghostbusters’ outfits so great are the multitude of details; there’s the proton pack, the combat boots, the elbow pads, the rubber hose, the glov -- wait, what’s the rubber hose for?

It appears to be some kind of yellow tubing that plugs directly into the Ghostbusters’ pants. It’s probably some kind of proton-enhancer, or spectro-reading wire, or Ecto-piping, right? Right?!

Well … no. It turns out that there is an answer to this mystery, but it is surprisingly gross. As pointed out by animator Bruce Wright on Twitter, Ghostbusters star and vodka kingpin Dan Aykroyd briefly addressed this very issue in the book Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Visual History. According to Aykroyd, the hoses are “for incontinence due to fear.” Yeah, apparently, while we were all enjoying their hilarious escapades, the Ghostbusters were secretly relieving themselves in front of our very eyes.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised then that this particular detail doesn’t seem to be included in most off-the-rack Ghostbusters costumes. Hopefully, this gross revelation will at least lead to a touching scene in Ghostbusters: Afterlife where those scrappy kids are awestruck to discover their grandpa Egon’s filthy old catheter. 

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Top Image: Columbia Pictures