# Did anyone else catch this in ROTK? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 24, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891 "2003-12-24T19:18:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Poetgrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@Poetgrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poetgrrl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/1 "2003-12-24T19:18:12Z")
During the scene where the men of Gondor and Rohan go to the Black Gate to distract Sauron, there is a breif pan shot of some of the soldiers. I could have sworn I saw a guy in there wearing glasses. Some other people in the theater noticed this too. Anybody else catch this? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/2 "2003-12-24T20:06:29Z")
That’s not as bad as all those orcs wearing wristwatches. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/3 "2003-12-24T20:55:15Z")
Or rapping Arwen. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/4 "2003-12-24T21:01:41Z")
“Arwen, daughter of Arrowsmith.” ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/5 "2003-12-24T21:09:17Z")
A lot of fantasy settings have glasses. They can build towers that withstand the test of time for thousands of years… I can buy that the men of Gondor can craft some spectacles. Or maybe the Dwarves did it. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/6 "2003-12-24T23:44:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > **They can build towers that withstand the test of time for thousands of years…** and yet crumble into rubble when a tiny little boulder hits them. :rolleyes: I think I saw one of the Mumakil riders holding a GameBoy. What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/7 "2003-12-24T23:57:03Z")
One of the trolls was on a Segeway! Top that. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/8 "2003-12-25T00:01:59Z")
hey if you ever see anything that looks out of the ordinary, a wizard did it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/9 "2003-12-25T00:16:34Z")
The glasses thing was actually light refracting from swamp gas due to Venus’ proximity to… ah forget it. ---
**Author:** ![A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/10 "2003-12-25T00:31:31Z")
Wow, I thought I was the only one who noticed anachronisms in those movies… Amazing, though, innit, how Gandalf’s long white hair hid the earbuds from his iPod in most scenes… I heard on one of those behind-the-scenes shows that he was listening to Jay-Z’s newest album, but that part might have been a joke… ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/11 "2003-12-25T00:51:08Z")
Elves wear Nikes? They just stopped caring… ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/12 "2003-12-26T23:25:37Z")
and when those Rohirrim showed up in a minivan? Talk about literary license… ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/13 "2003-12-26T23:35:45Z")
I thought that the Nazgul in F-22 Raptors was _way_ over the top. ---
**Author:** ![Never\_to\_be\_Queen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Never\_to\_be\_Queen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_to_be_Queen)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/14 "2003-12-27T00:19:22Z")
Hey, I saw it this afternoon. I thought, " What! That man is wearing glasses!" “No, he can’t be wearing glasses, it was just the way the helmet is fitting on his face.” Didn’t the helmets have eye holes, or something? Maybe he was wearing glasses! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/15 "2003-12-27T02:37:54Z")
Hey, in early drafts of the story, JRRT had the Numenoreans piloting airships around Middle-Earth. (Ref: HOMES volume 5, The Lost Road) ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/16 "2003-12-27T03:52:07Z")
Assuming the guy’s glasses were intended to be there (I’ll look for him when I go see it again) wouldn’t it be dangerous to wear glasses into combat? I mean, if they get smashed or knocked off…whammo, he can’t see a damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/17 "2003-12-27T04:27:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whiterabbit \* > \*\*Assuming the guy’s glasses were intended to be there (I’ll look for him when I go see it again) wouldn’t it be dangerous to wear glasses into combat? I mean, if they get smashed or knocked off…whammo, he can’t see a damn thing. \*\* Well, yea, but would you rather he go INTO combat not being able to see a damn thing? At least let him have a decent chance of hitting the bad guys. “The Numenorians sponsored by Lenscrafters.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Batman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/18 "2003-12-27T05:10:39Z")
What about Pippin’s tattoos on his knuckles that spell out “scot 4evr” or Eowyn’s Tongue piercing? Another tattoo: one of the Haradrim Mumakil tamers had “Cholo Chicano” written on his abdomen. As for the glasses: some of the helmets used by the Rohirrim had loops around the eyes as part of the design. Eowyn was wearing one of these helmets. I guess if you see one of these helmets from afar and just for a second it would look like the guy is wearing thick rimmed glasses ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/19 "2003-12-27T05:57:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monstre \* > \*\*and when those Rohirrim showed up in a minivan? Talk about literary license… \*\* But isn’t there a line in TTT to the effect of “Aragorn and Legolas went with Eomer in the van”? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bluecrayola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@bluecrayola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecrayola)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891/20 "2003-12-27T12:02:53Z")
Wow! I can’t believe you noticed that too. I did a double take…but I figured it was too obvious to be glasses. Glad to know I wasn’t imagining things. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-catch-this-in-rotk/220891.md?page=2)