# Everyone gets this wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, movies\ **Created:** [June 3, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166 "2025-06-03T15:48:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/61 "2025-06-05T05:09:28Z")
Indy knows that _one_ of the supernatural claims in the Bible is true. That doesn’t mean _all_ of the supernatural claims in the Bible are true. He’s also seen first hand evidence that the _Hindu_ faith is true, and there’s a lot of incompatible claims between those two faiths. He doesn’t know for certain that his father has lived a “virtuous life”, at least not by the standards of whatever deity is possibly judging him. He certainly knows his dad was neither Hindi nor Jewish, so that’s already a strike against him getting into the good afterlife. It’s also doubtful that the Grail would help Hitler conquer much of anything, other than his own chronically obstructed bowels. _He_ might be immortal, but that’s not going to stop the landings in Normandy, or keep the Soviets out of Berlin. And, anyway, the Grail’s probably not going to Hitler - Donovan, the corrupt American industrialist, is in charge by that point, after the commanding Nazi drove his tank off a cliff. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/62 "2025-06-05T05:27:39Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I had a different problem with Last Crusade. The Nazis shoot Doctor Jones Sr and say ‘If you bring back the Grail, you can save him. Otherwise, he will die.’ Having already witnessed proof of God’s existence and the power of a Biblical relic in the first film, why doesn’t Indy just let his father die? Indy has again seen proof. If his father dies, he will be rewarded for a virtuous life. Doesn’t every single solitary Christian in the real world who attempts to save the lives of other Christians or themselves have this same “problem”? Every moment of every day people believe they or their relative dying is moving from a corrupt world to a perfect paradise, and yet they fight against dying. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/63 "2025-06-05T05:37:05Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > You’d be surprised how many people think Indiana Jones became immortal at the end of Last Crusade when he drank from the Holy Grail. Nope, though he could have stayed in that room drinking from it a few times a day…then he would have lived nearly forever. Even Jesus drank from that grail a couple of times, and it did not make him immortal. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/64 "2025-06-05T06:39:34Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Probably 80% of people think that when Hooper was investigating the hole in the demolished boat, Ben Gardner’s severed head came bobbing out of it. Except it wasn’t severed, it was clearly still attached to his shoulders and torso. Ok, that’s me watching _Jaws_ yet again. I’ve never noticed that. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/65 "2025-06-05T06:47:27Z")
The Grail seems to basically “fix” your health to 100% condition, but you lose any additional benefits once you pass the seal, so it’s basically like getting everything replaced internally in your car with brand new parts and leaving the mechanics, as seen by the other two grail knights leaving the temple and eventually dying of “extreme old age”. Of course since you’re no longer within the seal even with the grails “immortality” you can still get killed in every other normal way, like Jesus did and like how Henry Jones eventually did. I’ve heard people claim the permanent immortality idea is all “proved” by Crystal Skull where Indiana Jones survived the atomic blast in the fridge because of this, but then if this was the case why doesn’t Indiana Jones just let everybody shoot his ass then knowing it won’t kill him? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/66 "2025-06-05T06:55:01Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > He doesn’t know for certain that his father has lived a “virtuous life”, at least not by the standards of whatever deity is possibly judging him. He certainly knows his dad was neither Hindi nor Jewish, so that’s already a strike against him getting into the good afterlife. Henry Jones also slept with a Nazi: > Indiana Jones: “How did you know she was a Nazi?” > Henry Jones: “She talks in her sleep.” As an archeologist, Jones knows that cultural and religions traditions are interpretations of phenomena (natural or otherwise) that ‘primitive’ peoples do not understand. He presumably interprets the Judeo-Christian ‘God’ through the same lens; a supernatural being with inexplicable powers and motivations for which the Bible and other religious traditions surrounding it are mere sophistry. Stranger ---
**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:** [June 5, 2025, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/67 "2025-06-05T06:59:07Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > And everyone in the galaxy speaks English. Or maybe no one does. Everything we hear is filtered through the universal translator, so there’s no reliable in-universe way to determine how common English actually is among Federation members. Unless and until Picard wants to use a Klingon word with Worf to make a point. Then somehow the universal translator is smart enough to leave that word alone. Or maybe not. Maybe Worf hears Picard say _Qapla’!_ whether Picard actually says _qapla’_ or just says “Success!” in English. Or French, considering, you know, the whole “Jean-Luc” thing. Which means Picard saying _Qapla’!_ in Klingon is a waste of effort because Worf will hear it the same either way. Or maybe it’s just a TV show and I should really just relax. Edit to add, because my little nerd heart won’t let me ignore it: Regarding the “in-universe” identification of actual versus automatically-translated speakers, there’s that bit in _Undiscovered Country_ where the crew is hunting through English-to-Klingon books because, as Chekov says, “We must respond personally! The universal translator will be recognized!” So there must be, _in-universe,_ a way to distinguish native from machine-brokered speech. Maybe everyone has a little heads-up display implanted in their cornea with a live indicator to help them differentiate when the translator is and isn’t active. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/68 "2025-06-05T07:00:43Z")
I think you can hand wave that Indiana Jones is still able to survive adventures when he is in his 80s as a side effect of drinking from the Holy Grail. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/69 "2025-06-05T08:28:27Z")
“Everybody wants to go to heaven. Nobody wants to die.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/70 "2025-06-05T09:40:09Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > And yet…it’s a movie, people. You cannot debate the poor astrophysics involved in Supe’s _widdershins_ Earthly spin. You can’t. Sure, but you can discuss what it is that the movie appears to be showing us on screen - and in this case, it does appear to be showing that either: The flow of time is subject to its own inertia, or The flow of time is dependent on the direction the Earth rotates. There was a guy here on the board years ago who, apparently having taken the movie as a science documentary, was arguing one (possibly both) of the above. > [@Question about the Space Shuttle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-space-shuttle/133577): > > How fast would the Space Shuttle have to reverse-orbit the Earth to turn back time like Superman did? Does NASA plan to try this in the future? When? ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/71 "2025-06-05T10:14:14Z")
I remember even at the time when it came out everyone described that scene as the “head popping out of the boat”. I will have to rewatch! That’s a great example. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/72 "2025-06-05T11:20:45Z")
In cartoons, everybody seems to refer to the Roadrunner’s nemesis as Wile E. Coyote. I don’t think that’s correct. In cartoons with the Roadrunner, he’s only referred to as the Coyote, and is mute. There are other cartoons with Bugs Bunny where a character is quite talkative, and introduces himself as “Wile E. Coyote, super genius”. They’re drawn identically (which probably saved some time for the animators), and use a variety of contraptions to try to catch their prey, so it’s understandable to think of them as the same character. I should watch the cartoons again to see if there’s any reference to “Wile E.” in the Roadrunner cartoons. I vaguely remember him receiving packages from Acme, but I don’t recall what name is on them. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2025, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/73 "2025-06-05T12:23:43Z")
In general, as I recall, the Acme packages didn’t really have a shipping label with the recipient specified. Given the fast pace and need to economize information, it makes sense why that would be omitted. The crates and packaging typically just identified the products, like this: [![](https://madrigal.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/221126_acme_products_lr.jpg) ](https://madrigal.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/221126_acme_products_lr.jpg) [![](https://thehundreds.com/cdn/shop/articles/looney20toons_69070d2e-b893-40ab-9e80-ccaff2e7cb2b.jpg?v=1537383100&width=1000) ](https://thehundreds.com/cdn/shop/articles/looney20toons_69070d2e-b893-40ab-9e80-ccaff2e7cb2b.jpg?v=1537383100&width=1000) There were, however, times when the character was (sort of) identified in writing, in the genus-species gags. Like this: [![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3hMUTcFWGwc/VlCsP5CjwFI/AAAAAAAAGzg/Tr0qpkiKGWM/s1600/FirstVersions_Wile-E-Coyote_1.png) ](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3hMUTcFWGwc/VlCsP5CjwFI/AAAAAAAAGzg/Tr0qpkiKGWM/s1600/FirstVersions_Wile-E-Coyote_1.png) That could be what you’re remembering. However, it might be argued that those don’t count, because the gag is about identifying not the specific individual (with a personal name) but the _type_ of individual. So the jury’s still out, in terms of on-screen evidence. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/74 "2025-06-05T12:27:02Z")
It’s been said that the Coyote of the Road Runner cartoons, and Wile E. Coyote of the Bugs Bunny cartoons, are two different characters played by the same actor. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/75 "2025-06-05T12:30:21Z")
There’s also a wolf who appeared in some clips with a sheepdog, who appears almost identical to Wile E. Same actor with a little bit of makeup? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/76 "2025-06-05T12:39:36Z")
“Morning, Frank.” “Morning, Ralph.” _Aside_: I once had two co-workers, one named Ralph and one named Frank. I heard this exact exchange one morning as we came into the office. They didn’t understand why I started laughing. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/77 "2025-06-05T12:43:27Z")
Very likely. If I remember right, isn’t the wolf’s nose a different color? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/78 "2025-06-05T13:10:37Z")
In the definitive book on the Road Runner and Coyote, Dan Sendker’s massive **Dance of the Comedians** , he unapologetically refers to the coyote as “Wile E. Coyote” throughout, despite the lack of corroborating evidence in the cartoons. He views the coyote in the coyote vs. Bugs cartoons as the same character in the Road Runner cartoons, despite his speaking in one set and not the other, but views the red-nosed Ralph Wolf as different. Sendker’s book is impressively researched and runs some 600 pages, and if anyone has shown that they really understand the characters these days, it’s him. I’ll go along with calling “Coyote” in the Road Runner cartoons “Wile E.” > **[Amazon.com: Dance of the Comedians - 75 Years of the Road Runner and Wile E....](https://www.amazon.com/Dance-Comedians-Runner-Unauthorized-History-ebook/dp/B0DJBX5K9Z)** > > Amazon.com: Dance of the Comedians - 75 Years of the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote - An Unauthorized History eBook : Sendker, Dan , Singer, Bob : Kindle Store ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/79 "2025-06-05T13:21:02Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Even Jesus drank from that grail a couple of times, and it did not make him immortal. …or did it? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166/80 "2025-06-05T13:24:25Z")
> [@digs](#): > > > [@DrDeth](#): > > > > Time travel never makes sense. > > I just love the scene where the Avengers are debating the effects of them going back in time, and someone (Bruce Banner?) says “Just so we’re clear, everyone realizes that we’re basing our theory of time travel on Back To The Future, right?” > (paraphrased) Just try getting the verb tenses right! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tSA4PY9Tikw/maxresdefault.jpg "The Big Bang Theory Back To The Future Grammar") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSA4PY9Tikw) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-gets-this-wrong/1019166.md?page=5)