# Silly, weird, perhaps unanswerable questions about movies and TV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401 "2013-03-31T03:09:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/121 "2013-10-09T05:01:36Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > With the Clampetts, Granny said that she was originally from Tennessee, though the location where Jed found his oil was said to be in the Ozarks, probably southwestern Missouri. They said they were from the town of Bugtussle. There’s a real Bugtussle in Oklahoma, but they also frequently mentioned Taney County, Springfield, Joplin, Branson and Silver Dollar City which are all in SW Missouri and Eureka Springs, right over the border in NW Arkansas. In at least one episode (I think it was the one where they believed California was being invaded by “the Smelts”), Jethro was wearing the Confederate uniform of the Tennessee Volunteers. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/122 "2014-04-27T14:53:21Z")
In the movie **WALL-E** , successive generations of humans aboard the _Axiom_ grew fatter and fatter until they became dependent on mobility couches… … so why didn’t they _turn down the artificial gravity?_ (yeah, I know, IRL the writers were making a point about couch-potato consumerism; but in-story?) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/123 "2014-04-27T15:05:41Z")
The Librarian from Discworld’s Unseen University: we know he can read, can’t he write out messages instead of having to say “Ook” for everything? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/124 "2014-04-27T16:05:38Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > The Librarian from Discworld’s Unseen University: we know he can read, can’t he write out messages instead of having to say “Ook” for everything? Given what we know of the Librarian, I think it’s likely that he _prefers_ to communicate just by saying “Ook”. He usually manages to get his point across. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/125 "2014-04-27T18:25:04Z")
Would Spider-man apologists please explain to me how he is able to propel a thread of thin webbing hundreds of yards through swirling skyscraper air currents? And how said webbing sticks to the side of dirty buildings? Also, how is it that his wall climbing ability is not compromised by the wearing of gloves and boots? These are important questions. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/126 "2014-04-27T19:05:34Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Would Spider-man apologists please explain to me how he is able to propel a thread of thin webbing hundreds of yards through swirling skyscraper air currents? And how said webbing sticks to the side of dirty buildings? Also, how is it that his wall climbing ability is not compromised by the wearing of gloves and boots? These are important questions. And how would he do in places like rural Kansas or Oklahoma with no tall building’s to swing from? ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/127 "2014-04-28T14:41:08Z")
Whose job is it to clean the spider gunk off the sides of buildings once Spider-man passes by? Once it’s cleaned off, how much does a jar of it go for on e-bay? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/128 "2014-04-28T14:48:41Z")
The comics do depict that if Peter Parker has to do some wall climbing while in his civilian clothes, he has to take off his shoes. Other than that I don’t know how the clinging works. As for being stuck in a flat area: I believe there was one story where Spidey found himself out in the suburbs somewhere and had to walk, in full daylight, in plain view and in costume, until he could get back into the city. As for leftover webbing, it’s canon that it’s self-dissolving after a short time. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/129 "2014-04-28T15:12:19Z")
Is Dennis Finch of Just Shoot Me the son of Jeremy “Jem” Finich, making him the grandson of Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird? Are Arthur Spooner of King of Queens and Frank Constanza of Seinfeld the same person, juggling two families with the alibi that he is a travelling salesman (and wouldn’t that make a great TV series? Lead played of course by Ben Stiller)? ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/130 "2014-04-28T16:17:42Z")
> [@Yumblie](#): > > Whose job is it to clean the spider gunk off the sides of buildings once Spider-man passes by? > > Once it’s cleaned off, how much does a jar of it go for on e-bay? It’s biodegradable. It lasts for about an hour and then disappears. No, seriously. It’s canon. Look it up. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/131 "2014-04-28T16:55:37Z")
In the film Ted, Ted is a teddy bear magically brought to life by a child’s wish. The main premise is that Ted is the same mental age as his human buddy, and that by the time they are adults nobody (except the creepy kid and his dad) gives a shit that this guy has a magically sentient teddy bear companion. A few questions arise: -Wouldn’t Ted need a valid SSN to get a job at the grocery store? If they were going to just hire him to work ‘under the table’ why interview him? -How exactly does Ted drink, snort cocaine, and have sex? The sex I assume is just dry humping and that trashy women find his personality irresistable. But what about Ted getting drunk and coked out? His insides are still stuffing when he’s “alive” so it doesn’t appear he has organs. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/132 "2014-04-28T22:49:51Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > It’s biodegradable. It lasts for about an hour and then disappears. > > No, seriously. It’s canon. Look it up. I recall an early Spider-Man comic in which Peter decided to cash in on his web-fluid discovery by selling it to a glue manufacturer. The executives were impressed by the adhesive’s strength, but when they found out that it dissolves after an hour, they declared it useless and kicked him out. Personally, I can think of several useful applications for a super-strong adhesive that completely disappears after an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/133 "2014-04-29T00:51:51Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > In the film Ted, Ted is a teddy bear **magic** ally brought to life by a child’s wish. The main premise is that Ted is the same mental age as his human buddy, and that by the time they are adults nobody (except the creepy kid and his dad) gives a shit that this guy has a **magic** ally sentient teddy bear companion. A few questions arise: > > -Wouldn’t Ted need a valid SSN to get a job at the grocery store? If they were going to just hire him to work ‘under the table’ why interview him? > > -How exactly does Ted drink, snort cocaine, and have sex? The sex I assume is just dry humping and that trashy women find his personality irresistable. But what about Ted getting drunk and coked out? His insides are still stuffing when he’s “alive” so it doesn’t appear he has organs. Hint. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/134 "2014-04-29T02:57:49Z")
Here’s a few: [ol] [li] **Die Hard** - Who was the inside man/woman who gavce Hans and his crew the information on what was in the vault? They had some exceptionally detailed information about the building and its layout also about the contents of the vault. Who told them?[/li][li] **Where are all of the Black people in Mayberry**? - The ANdy Griffith Show is set in a Southern town in North Carolina which apaprently ahs NO African Americans. Was there some ethnic cleansing going on before the start of the series?[/li][li] **Miami Vice** - How weren’t the crooks that Crockett and Tubbs arrested able to spread the word that they were cops? After all, they worked in their office in their undercover clothes, they drove around in louad and obvious cars and everybody who dealt with them either got shot or got busted. How were they able to maintain their covers?[/li][li]Why did an architect with enough money to have a maid (Mike Brady) buy a house with apparently only two bathrooms for six kids? Also, if they had six kids and Carol didn’t have a job, why did they even NEED a maid? For that matter Mike wasn’t shown to be an owner or even a partner in his architectural firm. How could he afford a maid?[/li][li] **Why was Darren Stephens so opposed to Sam using her magic on _Bewitched_?** - After all, she seemingly had enough power to make them wealthy and able to live to old age with few, if any, health problems. What was his deal?[/li][li] **Why wouldn’t Major Nelson let Jeanie do things for Roger Healy on I Dream of Jeanie?** - If he wasn’t going to use her powers for himself why didn’t he let her occasionally hook up his pal? [/li][li]**Why did the Stargate Program have to form the IOC ( International Oversight Committee) in Season 3?** - The Stargate ensured US military dominance over teh planet FOREVER. What possible reason would the US have any interest in sharing any aspect of the program?[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/135 "2014-04-29T06:46:56Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Jerry’s girlfriend, why…: > > -did she have man hands? The designation of “man hands” leaves one with sort of notion that maybe the hands are the tell, or at least they can’t shake that idea, but the more likely reason is just genetics. > [@Lamia](#): > > They were a bunch of Americans in German vehicles, so even if they succeeded in evading the Germans for their return trip they would have been shot or blown up by the Americans as soon as they saw them coming. Surely they could have kept their eyes peeled and had white surrender flags handy, or otherwise signaled their intentions. > [@Cartoonacy](#): > > Third question: In the third season opener, the Machine has freed itself from government control, but is still sending Finch numbers. Since nobody is monitoring it anymore, and it’s supposed to be intelligent and self-aware, can’t it start sending him more useful data? Already answered on screen. Root stated that Finch spent years training the Machine on how to treat him, so the Machine “respects his wishes”, but takes a more active connection with Root. > [@nevadaexile](#): > > Here’s a few: > > [ol] > [li] **Why was Darren Stephens so opposed to Sam using her magic on _Bewitched_?** - After all, she seemingly had enough power to make them wealthy and able to live to old age with few, if any, health problems. What was his deal?[/li][li] **Why wouldn’t Major Nelson let Jeanie do things for Roger Healy on I Dream of Jeanie?** - If he wasn’t going to use her powers for himself why didn’t he let her occasionally hook up his pal? [/li][/ol] The principle of the thing. Both Darren and Major Nelson are overly concerned with fitting in and seeming normal, and just don’t want those kinds of things occurring to draw attention. “No, we’re normal, we don’t do that kind of thing.” ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/136 "2014-04-29T07:17:55Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > In the first episode _Person of Interest_, we learned that the Machine warns Mr. Finch of impending violent crimes without being detected by sending the smallest piece of useful information possible: the Social Security number of one of the people involved. > > First question: If the Machine can send a nine-digit number (4 bytes) without being detected, can’t it use just one bit to flag whether the person is the victim or the perpetrator? > > Second question: In the opening episode of the second season, we learn that the Machine doesn’t just send Finch a 4-byte number, it contacts him by pay phone and gives him the encoded number using a speech synthesizer. If it can send that much data without creating a noticeable blip, why can’t it just e-mail him the POI’s whole resume? It would take a lot less bandwidth. > > Third question: In the third season opener, the Machine has freed itself from government control, but is still sending Finch numbers. Since nobody is monitoring it anymore, and it’s supposed to be intelligent and self-aware, can’t it start sending him more useful data? In one episode Root taunts Finch by saying he’s jealous of her relationship with the Machine, but I’m pretty sure in another episode Finch explains to Reese that he designed the system that way for a reason. It’d be kind of neat if they did an episode where Finch says “Hey look I know your self aware I think it’s time we had a long talk.” Unfortunately the Rules of Dramatic TV preclude such an intelligent thing ever happening. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/137 "2014-04-29T08:36:40Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Here’s a few: > > [ol] > [li] **Die Hard** - Who was the inside man/woman who gavce Hans and his crew the information on what was in the vault? They had some exceptionally detailed information about the building and its layout also about the contents of the vault. Who told them?[/li][/ol] Somebody who was smart enough not to come that evening. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/138 "2014-04-29T13:04:56Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > **Where are all of the Black people in Mayberry**? - The ANdy Griffith Show is set in a Southern town in North Carolina which apaprently ahs NO African Americans. Was there some ethnic cleansing going on before the start of the series? National Lampoon did a hilarious/bitterly ironic parody where the good people of Mayberry took a moment from their idyllic life to lynch a black person who unwisely stopped there to get gas. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/139 "2014-04-29T13:20:49Z")
So Liz Lemon lands, Jon Hamm, Matt Damon, James Marsden and a one-night stand with James Franco as himself? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/140 "2014-04-29T13:29:15Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > First question: If the Machine can send a nine-digit number (4 bytes) without being detected, can’t it use just one bit to flag whether the person is the victim or the perpetrator? > > Second question: In the opening episode of the second season, we learn that the Machine doesn’t just send Finch a 4-byte number, it contacts him by pay phone and gives him the encoded number using a speech synthesizer. If it can send that much data without creating a noticeable blip, why can’t it just e-mail him the POI’s whole resume? It would take a lot less bandwidth. > > Third question: In the third season opener, the Machine has freed itself from government control, but is still sending Finch numbers. Since nobody is monitoring it anymore, and it’s supposed to be intelligent and self-aware, can’t it start sending him more useful data? It may be intelligent and self-aware, but it’s not capable of programming a new interface for itself, only of using those it was given. Sadly, the interface it has was written by Finch while running through his workstation’s shutdown on what would be his last day on the job so he didn’t have time to go chasing for field names and so forth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401.md?page=8)