Starring: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley
Continuity mistake: After Fred secures the chain lock to the front door, with the chain mounted onto the frame of the door, Fred then slides the chain into the door's slide-catch to show Lucy the "burglarproof chain." When Ethel opens the door the chain itself is ripped off the frame, leaving the chain (and the piece that was screwed to the frame) dangling from the slide-catch attached to the door, but in Ethel's closeup the chain is still mounted to the door's frame. (00:01:40)
Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio - S1-E32
Visible crew/equipment: At the start, after Fred and Ethel walk in, when Lucy and Ethel walk away from the kitchen shutters carrying things, the stage microphone and stand can be seen at the right side of the screen. (Later in the episode, when Lucy and Ricky appear in the quiz segment an identical microphone is on stage with them). (00:00:35)
Ethel Mertz: Rome wasn't built in a day.
Fred Mertz: Well, Rome wasn't built like you either.
Trivia: Fred and Ethel's bickering relationship didn't require much acting; in real life Vivian Vance and William Frawley didn't care for each other at all.
Answer: There is no reason. It's a just a silly plot device, typical of the era. Women characters were often portrayed as making uninformed assumptions or decisions.
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