# Things that are extremely common in TV shows/movies that you've rarely seen in real life **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161 "2009-08-29T16:20:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/321 "2009-09-04T17:40:29Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Straight men who are not transvestites dressing as women- and being hit on by men. Including men they know who don’t recognize them. (I have actually wondered if it’d be possible to put on a disguise using things from my house [i.e. no Hollywood latex costume guru stuff] good enough that it could fool my friends and family.) Heh! I worked at a social services agency and one of the workers was asked to see, on her lunch hour, a poor old lady who walked in off the street without an appointment. She sighed, said of course, and into her office comes this old, old woman with a walker, gray head down, dressed in scarves and wraps and a hat and a big old fur coat. And big dark glasses because of her cataracts. She sat down and began jabbering away in a foreign language, weeping with distress, wringing her hands. The social worker got up to hand her a tissue and was shocked to the point of cardiac arrest when the old woman grabbed her boobs and pulled her off her feet onto her (old woman’s) lap! It was her fiancee, and we were all in on it, and it was the best April Fools Day joke EVER!😃 (I can still remember her yelling, “Help! Help!”) So it can be done!..well, it was funny at the time… ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/322 "2009-09-04T17:58:25Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > I grew up in two houses with kitchen doors. One was a modest 1940s house and has doors on either end of the kitchen. One was somewhat larger and more pretentious, built in the '70s and has a door between the kitchen and the formal dining room but not between the kitchen and the “family area.” My mom’s house was built around 1985 and she has kitchen doors. The doorway is the standard width, but the doors themselves are skinny double-doors. You can eat at the kitchen table in the kitchen, the double-doors open into the dining room. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/323 "2009-09-04T18:34:07Z")
Holding a lit lighter near a sprinkler head and activating every sprinkler in the building. I’ve never seen that. Probably because that just doesn’t happen - only the sprinkler head that reaches a certain temperature will activate - not ALL of them. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/324 "2009-09-04T21:10:22Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Holding a lit lighter near a sprinkler head and activating every sprinkler in the building. I’ve never seen that. > > Probably because that just doesn’t happen - only the sprinkler head that reaches a certain temperature will activate - not ALL of them. It’s even worse when somebody turns all the sprinkles on _just by pulling the fire alarm_. I’ve seen a couple of shows/movies where this happened in high schools. :rolleyes: Yeah, let’s give every pissed off teenager the ability to instantly cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to the entire school. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/325 "2009-09-04T21:47:53Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Probably because that just doesn’t happen - only the sprinkler head that reaches a certain temperature will activate - not ALL of them. This depends on the type of sprinkler heads used. Some heads are designed so that the seal will only break when the local temperature reaches a certain point. You would typically use these types of heads where there are strong concerns about water damage from false alarms. Where this is less of a concern, sprinkler heads with dual release are used. These are activated either directly, or (by means of “sails” which extend up into the pipe) when the rate of flow in the pipe reaches a certain level.) These types of sprinkler heads are used for a “surround and drown” approach, where there is less concern about water damage than about the possibility of a fire spreading. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/326 "2009-09-04T22:00:05Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > This depends on the type of sprinkler heads used. > > Some heads are designed so that the seal will only break when the local temperature reaches a certain point. You would typically use these types of heads where there are strong concerns about water damage from false alarms. > > Where this is less of a concern, sprinkler heads with dual release are used. These are activated either directly, or (by means of “sails” which extend up into the pipe) when the rate of flow in the pipe reaches a certain level.) These types of sprinkler heads are used for a “surround and drown” approach, where there is less concern about water damage than about the possibility of a fire spreading. Which one is more likely to be used in an office building or police station? (That’s usually the type of situation where I see this trope) ---
**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:** [September 4, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/327 "2009-09-04T22:18:08Z")
> [@stuthehistoryguy](#): > > Nah, mate. Especially in the middle of the night, when the great brown shark might take the opportunity for a grand foray, I’m a’sittin’. I always sit for late-nite pisses, for purposes of accuracy. I’ll quite often piss sitting in certain other situations, too (toilets on moving vehicles, in particular. Buses often have signs expressly indicating that a gentleman is to sit when relieving himself so as not to douse the entire bathroom in his urine.) ---
**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:** [September 5, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/328 "2009-09-05T01:42:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Straight men who are not transvestites dressing as women- and being hit on by men. Including men they know who don’t recognize them. (I have actually wondered if it’d be possible to put on a disguise using things from my house [i.e. no Hollywood latex costume guru stuff] good enough that it could fool my friends and family.) It happened to one of the other grad students (with strangers, at least, not anyone who knew him): He was dressed as a woman for a Halloween costume, and some guy followed him around at Wal-Mart and whistled at him. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/329 "2009-09-05T02:29:09Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > TV and movies are filled with disgruntled vets who lash out against society/become mercs/get into illegal work. Why in Miami alone, you probably couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting an ex Special Forces operator or Navy SEAL who’s either running heroin or working as a contract killer. > > Yeah, I know a lot of vets have trouble reintegrating into society, but turning to a life of crime seems pretty far fetched. Or [**re** turning](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/10/01/ING42LCIGK1.DTL), as the case may be. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/330 "2009-09-05T03:37:52Z")
A man fainting upon learning that his wife is pregnant. An upset woman running into her bedroom and collapsing face-down on her bed and sobbing. A sad, depressed, lonely, or whatever person sitting alone in a dark room doing nothing for hours and hours, only to snap out of it when someone comes home and turns on the light and sees them sitting there. I mean, who DOES that? ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/331 "2009-09-05T11:17:40Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Gift wrapping. On TV shows and movies, gifts are “wrapped” by placing them in decorative boxes with easy-to-remove matching lids. You never see that in real life. IRL, you have to rip off the paper with your fingernails. They do this so that the presents don’t have to be re-wrapped after every take. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/332 "2009-09-05T13:26:07Z")
> [@Netflix synopsis of Babylon A.D.](#): > > Hard-boiled mercenary Toorop (Vin Diesel) accepts a risky mission to escort a virus-carrying woman (Mélanie Thierry) and her guardian nun (Michelle Yeoh) from Russia to China. But Toorop gets far more than he bargained for when a mysterious religious cult stops at nothing to kidnap his charge. -Mercernary, Check! -‘soft asset’ (google image search proceeds) check! -stuck up sidekick, check! -Mysterious Religous Cult! Double Check! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/333 "2009-09-05T13:29:48Z")
> [@kapri](#): > > A sad, depressed, lonely, or whatever person sitting alone in a dark room doing nothing for hours and hours, only to snap out of it when someone comes home and turns on the light and sees them sitting there. I mean, who DOES that? Very depressed people do that. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/334 "2009-09-05T15:01:06Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Very depressed people do that. I think **kapri** was referring to the “snap out of it” part. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/335 "2009-09-05T15:21:47Z")
> [@maplekiwi](#): > > Someone talking on the phone - something surprising is said. The person takes the receiver away from their ear & stares at it. I’ve never seen anyone do this in real life. I do this. When someone I am sitting next to (at the same table or desk) at work does this, it is time to simultaneously press the speaker and mute buttons to find out what the fool thing the person on the other end is spouting about. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/336 "2009-09-05T15:27:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It happened to one of the other grad students (with strangers, at least, not anyone who knew him): He was dressed as a woman for a Halloween costume, and some guy followed him around at Wal-Mart and whistled at him. This explains much about Wal-Mart. ---
**Author:** ![Clivas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clivas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clivas)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/337 "2009-09-05T15:39:42Z")
> [@astro](#): > > TV kitchens are absolutely pristine and the food is never boiling or cooking it’s always cooked so there’s no steam. In real kitchens while cooking or doing prep work there’s open stuff all over the place. Even when they pretending to cook on TV you never see open cans and boxes of pasta or chopped vegetables. > > Apple Mac computer are much more common on TV or in movies as household items than IRL. I work with CAD software at my job and talk to people every day on the phone who have macs. I see advertisements in magazines and tv as well as seeing them in movies and tv shows. But not a single person I know has one and I’ve never crossed anyone on the job or in a park or in a coffee shop or anywhere that I can remember that was holding a mac. They are out there apparently, I just don’t know where they hide. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/338 "2009-09-05T15:52:59Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Most movie weddings I see these days are conducted by a middle-aged non-denominational female clergyperson. This was the case at the most recent real-life wedding I attended. It was also an outdoor wedding, although not held in the backyard of the happy couple. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/339 "2009-09-05T15:55:12Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Cite, please. That doesn’t sound like Miss Manners. > > Unless you’re using “Miss Manners” to refer to other so-called etiquette experts, in which case, please stop. It’s an insult to the real Miss Manners, who is practical, realistic, and focuses on human interaction rather than table settings and frippery. While she is not as fussy as most people think, Miss Manners does advise that one serve in dishes not commercial packaging. I am fussy about that myself. One night I came home and my husband was setting dinner on the table in a skillet, and I asked him what he was doing. He told me that Marie, (not her real name), one of our house guests, had advised him that it was ok. I told her, “Well, you are not married to Marie, and while I’m you wife, it is not ok.” I also like to serve condiments from small dishes, but sometimes jars sneak onto the table. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/340 "2009-09-05T16:12:12Z")
> [@lee](#): > > While she is not as fussy as most people think, Miss Manners does advise that one serve in dishes not commercial packaging. Which is funny as my MIL likes to pull things out of commercial packaging as a way to make is seem, as an example, like she baked the Pie herself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161.md?page=18)