sources for collage: 1, 2

In Psychology there is something called Memory Bias, here is what Wikipedia says about it:

In psychology and cognitive science, a memory bias is a cognitive bias that either enhances or impairs the recall of a memory (either the chances that the memory will be recalled at all, or the amount of time it takes for it to be recalled, or both), or that alters the content of a reported memory.

Simply put, memory bias is recalling something but forgetting some parts of it like where you saw it, etc. There is a type of memory bias called cryptomnesia, here is how Wiki explains this one:

Cryptomnesia occurs when a forgotten memory returns without its being recognized as such by the subject, who believes it is something new and original. It is a memory bias whereby a person may falsely recall generating a thought, an idea, a tune, a name, or a joke, not deliberately engaging in plagiarism but rather experiencing a memory as if it were a new inspiration.

This is a really interesting one, because here, a person recalls someone else's idea or something but forgets that it is someone else's own and feels like they thought it up themselves.

Recently I've been watching Lethal Weapon, and I am convinced that the names Rick and Morty were inspired by the names of the two cops who are the main characters in the movie whose names were Riggs and Murtaugh.

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I've never heard or read anywhere that the creators of the series Rick and Morty said they got the inspiration from those two cops, but I'm convinced they got it there and probably don't even know that was were they got it from.

Why?

Lethal Weapon was first released in 1987 starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, it became a huge success, racking in 120.2 million dollars at the box office with a budget of 15 million dollars! It gave rise to three sequels and a television series.

This success shows it was a really popular movie that must have been watched far and wide, the chances that the creators of Rick and Morty also watched it in part or in full is also really high, about certain.

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Now, what goes on with writers/story creators is this: they usually give things names that kind of rings a bell in their heads, usually names that feel kinda familiar, names that have taken a standing somewhere in their heart/heads due to familiarity. As a writer, I have found myself doing that a lot if times.

I named the villain of the first book 'Otagburuagu', a name that really made an impression on me the first time I heard it. This guy @doziekash named a story he posted on his Hive blog 'Jack and Jill'. The story was about two boys and he could have given them any name but he chose 'Jack and Jill'. Me being a Nigerian like @doziekash I immediately recalled that 'Jack and Jill' were the names of the characters of a nursery rhyme most children in Nigeria had to recite in elementary school. You may know the rhyme:

This guy gave the same names to his characters because those names ring a bell in his head, the names have carved a place in his heart/head due to the number of times he heard and recited that rhyme as a child. I asked him in the comment section and he affirmed:

So, this is something writers do.

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The name Riggs and Murtaugh sound too similar to Rick and Morty to be a coincidence. The creator(s) of Rick and Morty must have thought about what name to give his characters and his memory bias provided him with the names Riggs and Murtaugh due to the fact those names have carved a place in their hearts/heads, a little tweak here and there and they changed it to 'Rick and Morty', and they were satisfied with the name because it still retained the feel/flavour of names they already knew, names that had already carved a place in their being: Riggs and Murtaugh.

Roll with @nevies, I run a Humor, deeper thoughts and sex talk blog here on Hive🌚