It is one thing to average one or two reused 3 minute scenes every few years, but quite another to reuse one or more scenes in virtually every "new" short, as was the case in 3 Stooges shorts released after 1953. Moreover, I think there were instances in which the reused scene had been originally shot not many years earlier, making it somewhat more likely for them to be remembered by Theater audiences.
CHEERS!
Not having lived back then, I'm not sure how one would go about making sure you catch every new Stooges short at the theaters, given that you had to buy a ticket to see an "A" feature, a "B" feature, and at least one short. Did one of the features need to be produced by Columbia in order to see a Stooges short? I have no idea how it worked.
I'm still trying to figure out why Columbia released HOT STUFF and CREEPS on Super 8 sound back in the 70s rather than releasing the originals!
Anyway, Columbia was cheap back then. I've read that they constantly tried to pull the wool over Moe's eyes at every contract renewal, telling him shorts were on the way out. I'm guessing it was hard for even someone like Moe to find out just how much the Stooges shorts were making at the box office, but I've heard that "B" pictures and shorts were usually rented to theaters at fixed rates, so whether one person saw it or a million didn't matter at the end of the day.
So if Columbia could save a few dimes and nickels by re-using old footage, they did. More money in Harry Cohn's pocket.