The other day I was chatting with a friend of mine. My friend joked
that he was going to be dying soon. Reflexively, I responded, "can I
have your stereo?" I immediately recognized this as some sort of pop
culture-related joke, but I can't for the life of me remember where or
when it originated. So far my own searches have only yielded the
information that it was used in an episode of Stargate SG-1 entitled
"The Enemy Within."

I'm sure that the "can I have your stereo" joke (usually said to
someone who jokingly proclaims s/he is dying) originated long before
Stargate. Could you please find for me when and where exactly it did
originate?

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 16 Jan 2006 06:57 PST

I can't pin point an exact start for this, but it definitely owes its
popularity to bungee-jumping in the early 1990s.

Before making a jump, it became de riguer to ask the jumper, "Can I
have your car?" or "Can I have your stereo?"


For some reason, the stereo version stuck.


I'd be glad to post some excerpts of its usage from early-1990's, if
that would suit you as an answer.

Let me know,

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by isarpsd-ga on 16 Jan 2006 12:42 PST

I guess it's always pretty tough to pinpoint the specific source of a
phenomenon like this one. If you could find as early examples of its
usage as possible, that would make a suitable answer. Pinkfreud's
comment suggests that the joke of asking for a person's things when
they've died or when they're going to die predates the 90's by far, so
if you can find any information on the use of such jokes further in
the past, and maybe the possible connection that led to the specific
usage of "stereo" in the joke, that would be greatly appreciated.

I thought it had to do with the fact that people who are contemplating
suicide often give away personal items.

This reminds me of a joke that was popular in the late 1950s:

LITTLE BOY (knocking on door): Can Johnny come out to play?
WOMAN (opening door): Sweetie, Johnny died last week.
LITTLE BOY: OK, if he can't come out to play, can I have his toys?

I know it was in use way before the 1990's. When I used to work in
Combat Rescue (early 80's), it was very common for us to use the
phrase when one of our crews were going out on a particularly
dangerous mission. Not necessarily "Can I have your stereo", but we
would throw in things like car, wife, dog, etc.

Unfortunately, I can't get you any closer to where/when the phrase was first used.