34 Reasons "How I Met Your Mother" Was The Cleverest Show On TV
It was funny, but it was cunning as hell too.
1. Because of things like this.

CBS / Via imgur.com
2. Because of how Marshall totally stole the show, even when he was in the background.
CBS / reddit.com / Via tumblr.com
3. Because of how they cover up the "holes" in Ted's memory.

CBS
4. Because of this callback.

CBS / Via imgur.com
5. Because The Mother's name was actually revealed way back in Episode 9 in the first season.

CBS
6. Because of this cunning use of colour theory.

7. Because of how precisely clothes were matched.

CBS / Via imgur.com
8. Because there's no situation when a high five isn't relevant.
9. Because Dr X's website actually exists.

10. Because "before a man meets the woman he'll marry, he'll make one final, horrible mistake."

CBS / Via imgur.com
11. Because Robin Sparkles' spaceship was also a curling stone, because Canada.

CBS / Via imgur.com
12. Because even in the first shots of the Hoser Hut, there's Paul Shaffer.

CBS / Via imgur.com
13. Because of this perfect background joke.

CBS / Via imgur.com
14. Because Marshall's jacket actually reappears.

CBS / Via imgur.com
15. Because this Rastafarian is eating a "sandwich".

CBS / Via imgur.com
16. Because whenever Marshall went on a trip, he brought back beer – even in Marvin's stroller.

CBS / Via imgur.com
17. Because the red car case that Robin's locket is in has been there the whole damn time.

CBS
18. Because this motorcycles sign was in an episode way before Barney actually did something that caused it to exist.

CBS
No word on the llamas, though.
19. Because they eventually found all the doppelgangers.
20. Because of how the Van Smoot dynasty was so carefully worked into the show.

CBS
21. Because Robin kept her promise.

CBS / Via imgur.com
22. Because Barney really, really does use 83 whenever he's making up a statistic.
23. Because of how Barney's advice was truer than he ever expected.

CBS / Via imgur.com
24. Because of this symmetry between the start and the end of the show.

CBS / Via imgur.com
25. Because there really are a lot of similarities between the mother and the daughter.

CBS / Via imgur.com
26. Because Ted and Tracey both love coins, so they named their daughter Penny.

CBS
27. Because of this bit of foreshadowing.

CBS / Via imgur.com
28. And how this more or less came to pass.

CBS / Via imgur.com
29. And maybe even this foreshadowing too.

CBS / Via imgur.com
(On the left.)
30. Because of this countdown.
31. Because the importance of a great joke was never underestimated.
32. Because of the symbolism of these clouds turning to blue skies.

CBS / Via imgur.com
33. Because of how well the show made you feel for Ted.

CBS / Via imgur.com
34. Because of how this saying came so very true. Twice.

CBS