When he heard Charles Van Doren, on a morning talk show (the son of Mark Van Doren and notoriously involved in a television quiz show scandal that decade) refer to a phrase from Mark Twain’s journal, Kerouac had his answer.
When Kerouac encountered Charles Van Doren, who was the son of Mark Van Doren and notorious for his involvement in a television quiz show scandal from that decade, mentioning a phrase from Mark Twain’s journal, he had his answer.