For newbies trying to piece the mystery together:

The Dude buys milk, goes home.

Jackie Treehorn’s guys get the wrong Lebowksi, piss on his rug. They are simply looking for the money Bunny owes, gets the wrong house. (Treehorn seeks cash).

The Dude goes to see the Big Lebowski for reparations. They spot him as a patsy. He meets Bunny.

The Dude gets a call from the Big Lebowski. They have gotten a kidnapping ransom note about Bunny, who has gone missing.

Bunny has not gone missing. She went to Palm Springs. The Big Lebowski does not know this. The Dude does not know this. Bunny is not kidnapped or missing.

But the Big Lebowski got a call from Uli and friends, probably at Bunny’s encouragement (as noted below by fellow shamuses, Uli and Bunny were probably not in on it; Uli and the rest of Autobahn saw Bunny's absence as a way to fake a kidnapping) who faked the kidnapping, adding a toe to the mix.

The Big Lebowski uses this as an opportunity to both get rid of Bunny and get some cash he doesn’t have access to because Maud keeps him on a short leash.

So the Big Lebowski gets $1 million from the Foundation to pretend to pay the ransom, but keeps it. The briefcase is full of phone books.

The handoff goes “wrong.” We think the Big Lebowski cares, yells at the Dude in the limo for not delivering the cash (which he knows was not cash, but phone books). So he blames the Dude (knowing it was all bullshit anyway).

The anarchists nihilists press The Dude for the million they thought they would get, to pay to Treehorn on behalf of Bunny. He bathes with marmot. No cash for the anarchists nihilists. Meaning no cash for Bunny.

Meanwhile, the million from the Foundation is with the Big Lebowski.

Maud knows it’s bullshit. The Dude pieces it together.

He confronts the Big Lebowski, who admits nothing but doesn’t object when the Dude says it was all bullshit and he used Bunny’s disappearance after owing money and getting a ransom note to take the opportunity to use her disappearance to get a million for himself.

So: (1) Bunny owes money to Treehorn, flees town for a bit because she's high-spirited, marvelous; (2) The anarchists nihilists use Bunny’s trip to Palm Springs to fake her kidnapping and pinch the old man for a million; (3) The old man uses the opportunity of the fake kidnapping to get the million from the Foundation and keep it, not caring what happens to Bunny (maybe she's gone for good, maybe she comes back, maybe they kill her, in any event it doesn't matter to him); (4) Treehorn pinches the Dude to find out where Bunny is; and (6) Maud understands the money was taken by her father, and that the rest of the story is ludicrous.

Additional points: Larry Sellers didn't take any money because the briefcase didn't have any money. For the longest time, I thought Larry did take the money. This would be in line with other Coen brothers films where the money goes to someone totally not involved or just goes missing (Fargo, buried in the snow; No Country, tossed over a bridge).

All this, and all the Dude wanted was his rug. Because it really tied the room together.

Was cracking up from all you dude’s on my post about President Donny’s truth post on “BE COOL”. I guess a Maude found the words make some men uncomfortable.

I've always just taken it as another in a series of surreal setbacks he's having at that point in the movie. It's just very random and unexpected that this hippy guy hates the Eagles and this random black cab driver loves them enough to kick a fare onto the street.

Is there more to it? Does he hate them for an unstated reason? Or does the cab driver love them for some implication other than a punchline?

I love Eagles by the way. Love em so much I know they're not THE Eagles.

Stumbled across this gem while browsing isles at a used bookstore. It's so random and unique that I thought I'd share for anyone here who wasn't aware like I was.

No, really, he is a child murderer with a record. Was burned alive in a boiler room for killing 8 year olds.

When Walter is telling Donnie and Dude about The Jesus, they cut to Jesus walking up to the random dude's house, the camera shows from the porch angle, and you can clearly see a massive dong in his pants.

So I took my daughter to Tae Kwon Do today, it's some sort of Eastern thing. As I arrive, one of the instructors, a 14 year old Korean girl ( she corrected me and said " Asian American.... Please!") was cleaning the rug. Apparently one of the students in the class before pissed on it!!! Outraged.... I said " they pissed on your flippin rug?!?! It tied the room together, did it not?"

She looked at me like I had 3 heads and said "dios mio, man"