The best kind of jokes point at something we know but haven't said yet. We laugh harder with the realization of an unspoken truth that we're all privy to. Sure, comedians make up loads of stories. But when they're at their best, those tall tales point out some nugget of universal relatability. Apparently, laughter is an evolutionary development, wherein the first roving humans might've approached what they thought was danger and laughed in recognition that they were safe. Our ancestors would learn they weren't at risk, and that truth supplanted their earlier fear. And then, they'd laugh. Discovering that a monstrous roar was actually a babbling river was the first "Take my wife, please."

Anyhow, what people responded to most on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond was how credibly and closely the show represented viewers' families. Peter Boyle wasn't just Ray's dad; he was our dad, and he acted in ways we identify as true. It's hilariously specific in a way that rang true with millions.

Part of that was the show's world-class writing. But really, it was because Raymond's creative team took inspiration from their own families.

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Take the title, please. In a 2019 interview with NPR's Terry Gross, the star of the show, Ray Romano, revealed who came up with the name of his long-running, critically-acclaimed sitcom.

"[...] My brother is a New York police officer— or was then at that time. And he actually coined the phrase— I don't know how many people know this. But the title Everybody Loves Raymond, it's— I mean, I guess most people do, but some still don't. It's said sarcastically in the pilot— in the pilot episode."

The quote, naturally, comes from fictional Ray Barone's onscreen brother Robert, played, memorably, by Brad Garrett.

"And this is a quote from my brother, my real-life brother, who was a police officer. And he would come in and - in real life, he would come over. And he'd see - what? - I got an award, or I got something for stand-up comedy. And he would jokingly, kind of tongue-in-cheek he'd say, well, look at Raymond. Raymond gets awards when he goes to work. You know, when I go to work, people shoot at me. People spit at me. When Raymond goes, everybody loves Raymond.

To paraphrase another comedy great, Romano's brother seemingly got "no respect."

So I told this story to [series creator] Phil [Rosenthal]. And Phil said, "Oh, that's— we have to use that. We have to use that as the title." And I said, "Well, please don't." And he said, "Well, let's just use it as the working title. And then we'll change it when— you know, when it comes time to go to pilot."

The record shows, however, that Ray didn't get his wish, and the show stayed titled Everybody Loves Raymond for re-run years to come!