Don’t touch my moustache

Don’t touch my moustache.

I don’t know anymore who created that phrase, but almost every visitor to Japan will recognize it as the “you’re welcome” phrase. That is, if you speak little or no Japanese, you could say “Don’t touch my moustache”, and if you say it reasonably fast enough without articulating, it sounds reasonably similar to どういたしまして (doh itashee mashteh).

Meet 10-year-old Alfie. He’s really saying Don’t touch my moustache. You’ll notice he’s not saying please or thank you.