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..there is a FREE LUNCH.

From what I've found out about this quote, it's origin is an 1897 newspaper editorial column. An 8 year old Virgnia wrote to the editor, asking "is there a Santa Claus?"
The editor wrote a response I understand is quite famous in the US, is that so? It includes the sentence"Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!" Is "yes Virginia" in use as a proverb in the US?

WHAT?

Frank wrote this in the "Say Cheese" article printed in the "You Are What You Is" sleeve. The article ends like this:
"Yes Virginia...there is a FREE LUNCH. We are eating t now. Can I get you a napkin?"

I'm just curious about how well known the "Yes Virginia" phrase is. I also wonder if Frank knew about its origin.

When I google it i get as much as 18 000 000 results. So it must be frequently in use. What's weird is that I cannot recall having heard the phrase one single time in films, tv and so forth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes%2C_Vir ... anta_Claus

EDIT: In my school, one of our math teachers loves making this joke around Christmas. So it's apparently used-- though I don't think any of us got it. I only get it now, thanks to this post. Possibly it's going out of style.

And THAT'S what I call a cool moustache!