Abyssinia, Henry you". In the 1920s and 1930s Abyssinia was the name for the country now called Ethiopia.) It is mistakenly said that this slang was frequently used by the Henry Blake character throughout his years on the show. In fact, whenever Blake would bid farewell, it was usually by saying "goom-bye", though Blake did use this term at least once. The highly controversial ending to the episode, which has since been referenced and parodied many times, prompted more than 1,000 letters to series producers Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart, and drew fire from both CBS and 20th Century Fox. After the
SS Abyssinia December 1891 off the coast of Newfoundland a fire broke out in her cargo hold which quickly overpowered her crew's firefighting efforts. Captain G.S. Murray ordered the ship to be abandoned. Lookouts on board the eastbound Norddeutscher Lloyd liner "Spree" spotted the smoke from "Abyssinia" and removed all passengers and crew by 4:15 pm. "Abyssinia" sank shortly after. "Spree" made port with the survivors in Southampton on 21 December. SS Abyssinia Abyssinia (1870) was a British mail liner originally operated by the Cunard Line on the Liverpool–New York route. She later served the Guion Line on the same route and