# Subtle inaccuracies in depictions of your city/region in fiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2021, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508 "2021-01-14T09:45:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/81 "2021-01-15T12:38:33Z")
Chicago, “The Windy City”, does not refer to the sometimes vicious winter wind coming off Lake Michigan into downtown, it originally referred to politics in Chicago. Weathering a “Chicago Winter” isn’t nearly as foreboding as it sounds. Large snowfalls are actually quite rare, usually coming many years apart, and the deep freeze is only a few days every winter. Thus far this winter, we’ve had only two days with highs in the teens and lows in the single digits, and January is half over. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/82 "2021-01-15T12:46:18Z")
Sweden is nowhere near as blonde as non-Swedes seem to think it is. Or as white, frankly. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/83 "2021-01-15T13:16:45Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > Llamas in Tibet? Hmmmm. But Tibet has Buddhist lamas Woosh ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/84 "2021-01-15T14:28:30Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I wish I knew the shortcuts used by the cops in _Bosch_ to drive from Hollywood to Alhambra or Seal Beach in 15 minutes. Especially as in the books he talks about “freeway discipline”, where the LAPD assigned officers they don’t like to stations waaaaay away from where they live. If one could get around LA that fast, the PD couldn’t do that. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/85 "2021-01-15T14:33:50Z")
> [@solost](#): > > In the Mel Gibson / Goldie Hawn movie ‘Bird on a Wire’, they take a ferry boat from Detroit to Racine, Wisconsin. Pretty neat trick, since Racine is across Lake Michigan on the west side of Michigan, and Detroit is all the way over on the other side of the state. I mean it is theoretically possible to do so (go up the St Clair River, up Lake Huron, though the Straits of Mackinac, and down Lake Michigan), but would be a long trip… Brian ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/86 "2021-01-15T14:35:04Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > > [@RealityChuck](#): > > > > “Freeway” is a California term. > > Are you talking about use as a generic term or roads actually named “freeway”? Because I’ve been all over the country and have heard people refer to interstates as freeways in all 50 states, including NYC. I’ve lived in New York state all my life and I’ve never heard anyone who lived there using the term “freeway.” Downstate, the generic term was “parkway”; upstate depends on location (since there’s usually only one – any others are just referred to by their Interstate designation.\*) No limited access highway in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey or New England is called a freeway. Why would anyone use the term if there’s nothing that uses it? \*Except Route 17, which isn’t an Interstate. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/87 "2021-01-15T14:52:16Z")
> [@thdudescar](#): > > You betcha! 😏 ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/88 "2021-01-15T14:54:38Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Are you talking about use as a generic term or roads actually named “freeway”? Because I’ve been all over the country and have heard people refer to interstates as freeways in all 50 states, including NYC. Born and raised in Michigan, I’ve always used the terms ‘freeway’ and ‘highway’ interchangeably to refer to an interstate. But apparently I’ve been wrong in my use of ‘highway’: [all freeways are highways, but not all highways are freeways.](https://azdot.gov/adot-blog/transportation-trivia-whats-freeway-vs-highway#:~:text=A%20freeway%20is%20a%20highway,controlled%2Daccess%20highway%20by%20ramps.&text=Highways%20will%20also%20have%20cross,lower%20speed%20limits%20than%20freeways.) ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/89 "2021-01-15T14:55:24Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > > [@TRC4941](#): > > > > And Minnesotans do not speak like they have us depicted in the Fargo series. > > Isn’t the film set in North Dakota? Most of the seasons are set in Minnesota. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/90 "2021-01-15T14:59:36Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’ve lived in New York state all my life and I’ve never heard anyone who lived there using the term “freeway.” Downstate, the generic term was “parkway”; upstate depends on location (since there’s usually only one – any others are just referred to by their Interstate designation.\*) > > No limited access highway in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey or New England is called a freeway. Why would anyone use the term if there’s nothing that uses it? > > \*Except Route 17, which isn’t an Interstate. I’m in Chicago – I feel like generically, we called them “expressways” and “highways” (or “tollways” where appropriate), not so much “freeways.” Growing up, I thought it was a Southern term or something. (I actually think I first learned the term from the Atari 2600 game “Freeway.”) That said, we do have the “Bishop-Ford Freeway” as one of our named expressways, so I guess the term is sometimes used here, too. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/91 "2021-01-15T15:10:26Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > In one season of _24_, Jack Bauer declares that he will take “the 355” to go to from DC to Virginia. But referring to highways with the definite article is a California thing, and there is no 355 that goes from DC to Virginia, as far as I know. Yeah, NCIS would refer to “the 495” - um, no, that’s the Beltway. There was also an episode of NCIS where the team popped over from DC to Norfolk in amazing time, especially considering they were driving. Under ideal conditions, it still takes more than 3 hours, and anyone who’s driven I-95 from DC south knows it’s _never_ ideal… ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/92 "2021-01-15T15:28:46Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Under ideal conditions, it still takes more than 3 hours, and anyone who’s driven I-95 from DC south knows it’s _never_ ideal… FBI Most Wanted seems to suffer this malady a lot. They hunt fugitives, so they’re driving all over perdition to find these people. Some episodes, it looks like they go in their fancyschmancy fugitive motorhome mystery machine from NC to NYC in about an hour. Though I guess, showing them driving driving driving on the freeway/Interstate/parkway/I95 and stopping for gas and everyone running in to pee and buy sodas and Twinkies and fighting over the good seats and whose music to play just doesn’t make for exciting television. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/93 "2021-01-15T15:29:58Z")
In such cases I wonder if they fly to another place and then use a local vehicle there. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/94 "2021-01-15T15:31:26Z")
Most shows set in Texas seem to want to play up the Old West nature of Texas; in fact most of the populated parts of Texas have been so since well before the Civil War, and never had much to do with cowboys, native americans, buffalo hunting, etc… And for the most part they’re flat-ish, verdant and/or forested, not the vaguely desert-ish mountainous landscapes you see in a lot of movies. Nor do you run into a LOT of people wearing cowboy hats and/or boots unless it’s the weeekend and you’re near a country bar/dance hall. You run into some, but they’re the exception to the rule, especially in larger urban areas. Boots are more common, but not _that_ common. JR Ewing was a caricature even back when “Dallas” was on the air, not an accurate representation of what Texans actually look, act or sound like. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/95 "2021-01-15T15:32:26Z")
I was disappointed the first time I went to Texas on a business trip not to see people in cowboy hats everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/96 "2021-01-15T15:42:14Z")
Hah! People don’t seem to realize that the big cities in Texas are _big cities._ Houston in particular is the fourth largest city in the country and anchors the fourth largest metro area in the country. Dallas is the ninth largest city, and anchors the fifth largest metro area. They’re not hick towns by any stretch of the imagination- depending on the analysis, Houston is up with NYC for most diverse/most international city in the country. Dallas has a lot of sophisticated high-end stuff (the legacy of the mid-century oilmen, I suspect), and Austin has a hippie/alternative scene that rivals any in the country. It’s true that if you go out to say… Groesbeck, you’re going to find a bunch of more “classic” Texans, but they represent more of a bygone, more rural era. Modern Texans predominantly live in large, cosmopolitan metro areas and work in energy, tech, manufacturing or stuff like financial services, and don’t wear cowboy hats or boots. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/97 "2021-01-15T15:46:11Z")
In Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, they would seem to [take a route that intentionally avoids every White Castle in the tri-state area.](https://www.google.com/maps/search/white+castle/@40.6200963,-74.2774204,9.5z/data=!4m34!1m30!4m29!1m6!1m2!1s0x89c257608d1533d1:0x44b6ca6a1137bf87!2sHoboken,+New+Jersey!2m2!1d-74.0323626!2d40.7439905!1m6!1m2!1s0x89c3c355f06a92a5:0x25925506798e230c!2sNew+Brunswick,+New+Jersey!2m2!1d-74.4518188!2d40.4862157!1m6!1m2!1s0x89c6cb660be23e95:0x35db09ecd8adbdc0!2sCherry+Hill,+NJ!2m2!1d-75.0246312!2d39.926813!1m6!1m2!1s0x89c3e6d8cd98b6e9:0x2ba7ed6fa90024f!2sPrinceton+University,+Princeton,+NJ+08544!2m2!1d-74.6550739!2d40.3430942!3e0!2m2!3m1!5e2) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/98 "2021-01-15T15:50:19Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Thus far this winter, we’ve had only two days with highs in the teens and lows in the single digits, and January is half over. What’s a typical daytime temperature in January in Chicago? I’ve only ever been once, in November, and have never been so cold in my life! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/99 "2021-01-15T15:52:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m in Chicago – I feel like generically, we called them “expressways” and “highways” (or “tollways” where appropriate), not so much “freeways.” Growing up, I thought it was a Southern term or something. (I actually think I first learned the term from the Atari 2600 game “Freeway.”) That said, we do have the “Bishop-Ford Freeway” as one of our named expressways, so I guess the term is sometimes used here, too. I’m not sure what we call them in Florida since you’re usually only close to one of them, or you specify which one. I guess if I wanted to generically refer to a limited-access highway but not specify which one, I’d just use “highway”, or maybe “interstate highway” or “interstate” if I thought far enough ahead of time to differentiate them from their stoplighted brethren. Having grown up in upstate NY, I occasionally refer to a interstate highway as a “thruway” out of habit due to that being the name of the biggest one in NYS. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508/100 "2021-01-15T16:02:22Z")
I’ve lived in New Jersey and Atlanta, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use the term freeway except on TV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508.md?page=6)