Peter and Bobby Farrelly were complete unknowns in 1994 when they stormed the multiplexes with the huge comedy hit Dumb and Dumber. It was Jim Carrey's third film that year, and by far the funniest. With its unbridled gross-out gags (Jeff Daniels' explosive diarrhea sequence is a classic of very low form) and aggressively silly jokes, the film ushered in a new era of buffoonish humor that made Jerry Lewis's work look like living room farce. (/The film ranks "Dumb and Dumber" as Farrelly's best effort to date.) The Farrellys then doubled down on their sickening blow with the 1996 box office disappointment The Kingpin, only to ascend to the rot of prominence two years later with the gritty blockbuster There's Something About Mary.

While people in the industry were semi-acquainted with the Farrellys as comedy pitch sellers, mainstream moviegoers were struck by, well, mute with their rapid ascent. So those hungry for more Farrelly comedy while waiting for the brothers' fourth feature, "Me, Me and Irina," hit IMDb in search of earlier credits. What they found was a writing credit for Peter in Paul Reiser's 1987 comedy special and, most intriguingly, a credit for the Peter and Bobby storyline on "Seinfeld." But while no one was surprised to learn that these two comedic dynamos wrote the funniest sitcom of the 1990s, their understated style felt a bit over the top for the acerbic series.

So, what was the seinfeld episode.and why didn't they write more?

Peter and Bobby Farrelly share a "story after" credit with longtime "Seinfeld" writer and producer Peter Mehlman in the Season 4 episode "The Virgin." The series has many classic episodes, but if you're a fan of the show, this one should jump out for a few reasons. After all, it's the one where a) George fires Susan from NBC for kissing her in front of her co-worker, b) Jerry starts dating virgin Marla, played by future Frasier star Jane Leeves, and c) Elaine creates tension. between Jerry and Marla from the side smears a story about her diaphragm.

Nothing in the episode would be considered off-limits for a network sitcom today, but in 1992, Elaine's repeated, overtly emphatic pronunciations of the word "diaphragm" likely caused some red-faced parents to abruptly flip the channel to PBS. That bit of rapidly escalating business that elicited crescendoing laughs feels like early, vintage Farrelly. Was that it? Maybe not.

In a 2014 Reddit AMAthe brothers explained that their involvement in the episode ended with their pitch. In your own words:

PETE: Well, we hate to burst your bubble. But we sold the idea ... and we were given story credit for it. But the actual screenplay was written by Peter Mehlman. We sold the idea in a room where we pitched to Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry Charles. By the way, those guys don't laugh when you give them ideas; it was very scary. At least they weren't with us.

BOBBY: So it was very scary.

PETE: But we were very happy that they bought at least one of our ideas, which was The Virgin.

I can't imagine pitching a comedy to two geniuses like Seinfeld and David and getting a stony response. It's like a nuclear version of bombing the stage at a comedy club (really, "Seinfeld" writers room. was not typical). But they survived and sold the episode, and "Dumb and Dumber" made money in theaters two years later. So ends the story of Farrelly's showbiz origins.