# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/381 "2009-09-08T01:18:08Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Nuns. Whenever a nun appears in a movie or TV show she’s wearing a habit, often the old pre-Vatican II ones that cover everything but her face. Real life nuns these days do dress very plainly and conservatively, but no veil or anything to make them really stand out from lay women. I work with nuns who wear a habit. It’s not a full one, but they do all wear veils with sensible (usually grey or black or brown or navy) street clothes. I would never put a gallon milk or OJ onto the table where a meal is being served-lesson learned from mother. I’d find a cite for this (ala Miss Manners or Emily Post) but can’t be bothered. The weird thing is that while milk had to be in a pitcher, we were free to have the cereal boxes on the table–and we kids studied them avidly. In some column or other, Cecil addresses this tangentially, saying (paraphrased) that next to cereal boxes, beer cans/labels are some of the most read items. IMS, someone had asked about why beer doesn’t have to list its ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/383 "2009-09-08T03:45:06Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Waking up from a dream and repeating the last words said in it, often with flailing limbs and head shaking. Done by me. Then again, it was during a period of anxiety attacks and terrifying recurring nightmares. Actually, the flailing limbs were replaced by incredibly tensed-up muscles that took a while to relax, but I think that’s close enough for government work, as they say. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/384 "2009-09-08T03:50:21Z")
> [@jizwood125](#): > > A woman on TV \<\<\\>\> Why did you copy and paste a [previous post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11500796&postcount=102) in this thread and make it look like your own? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/386 "2009-09-08T05:49:49Z")
> [@breezman](#): > > Spit-takes. I had a real one of these last night. All over the table, cards, and my stepson’s girlfriend. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/387 "2009-09-08T06:12:00Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Why the screaming? Is it more attractive than moaning and groaning? Is it subliminal birth control? “Don’t get pregnant – it **hurts**!” Having worked in OB admissions and on a Labor/Delivery floor, I can pretty easily tell you why they do the screaming, rather than the more accurate moaning, grunting and groaning: The normal noises that accompany labor sound remarkably like sex noises.Swear to god, on a busy night, your average hospital’s labor floor will sound like a porn studio. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/388 "2009-09-08T09:56:25Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > On TV, there’s always quite a bit of ambient lighting in nighttime bedroom scenes. I will go to bed with a light left on for mrAru, and he will forget to turn it off … but then again we sleep with the tv on in the bedroom so it is normally failry bright to your standards in the bedroom. Also my aerogarden automatically turns on at 5 am and off at 10 pm, no matter what time we rise and sleep, and it probably wont change to match daylight savings time … unless I think to reset it. Look, he was military, and had to sleep when it was his shift to sleep, and I put in enough years working third shift that either of us can [demonstratively] fall asleep on a sofa in a busy hospital waiting room. A little light in the bedroom is nothing, we could probably fall asleep in the center ring of a circus if we were tired and wanted a nap. I have trouble understanding people who need absolute silence and darkness to fall asleep … simply because I have never been one of them. I have the other form of insomnia sometimes, where once I wake up, that is it for the night … but it has nothing to do with light or sound. [personally I have the idea it has something to do with how my brain is wired that gives me migraines as well as dyslexia and aphasia.] ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/389 "2009-09-08T13:12:09Z")
I’ve never seen anyone kick the tires when shopping for a used car. I’m not even sure why anyone would do that–the tires are one of the easier fixes on a car, and I’m not sure what sort of diagnostic purpose kicking one would have, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/390 "2009-09-08T15:34:16Z")
If I was a Doctor (I am not) I’d probably say defribillating asystole. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/391 "2009-09-08T17:53:18Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > Having worked in OB admissions and on a Labor/Delivery floor, I can pretty easily tell you why they do the screaming, rather than the more accurate moaning, grunting and groaning: > The normal noises that accompany labor sound remarkably like sex noises.Swear to god, on a busy night, your average hospital’s labor floor will sound like a porn studio. My sister tells me that Mexican women really _do_ scream blood murder while in labor, though. We hve significant Mexican population here, and when my sister went to the hospital to deliver her first child, she could hear all sorts of screaming coming from other birthing rooms. When she asked about it the nurses told her, “It’s the Mexican women. They all do that. They’ve got the moms and sisters and aunts around them _telling_ them to scream loud.” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/392 "2009-09-08T17:56:01Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > My sister tells me that Mexican women really _do_ scream blood murder while in labor, though. We hve significant Mexican population here, and when my sister went to the hospital to deliver her first child, she could hear all sorts of screaming coming from other birthing rooms. When she asked about it the nurses told her, “It’s the Mexican women. They all do that. They’ve got the moms and sisters and aunts around them _telling_ them to scream loud.” You’d think it would be exhausting. Screaming takes effort! ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/393 "2009-09-08T18:25:42Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I had a real one of these last night. > All over the table, cards, and my stepson’s girlfriend. :eek: You really know how to show a gal a good time! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/394 "2009-09-08T18:44:43Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > I’ve never seen anyone kick the tires when shopping for a used car. I’m not even sure why anyone would do that–the tires are one of the easier fixes on a car, and I’m not sure what sort of diagnostic purpose kicking one would have, anyway. I don’t think this is done so much anymore, but I believe it’s one of those things that Hollywood keeps doing because it’s already been established and used for a while, kind of like the two eyehole when you get a binoculars-eye view of some stock footage. The thought behind it is if someone sells you a car with some crappy tires on it, they’re probably selling you a crappy car. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/395 "2009-09-08T19:02:09Z")
**monstro** said: > [@](#): > > People walking around the house/apartment with shoes on. I walk around indoors with my shoes on all the time. Many people I know do. ---
**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 8, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/396 "2009-09-08T20:13:04Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t think this is done so much anymore, but I believe it’s one of those things that Hollywood keeps doing because it’s already been established and used for a while, kind of like the two eyehole when you get a binoculars-eye view of some stock footage. That’s a good one, too: When you’re using properly-adjusted binoculars, your field of view is a single circle, not the Mastercard logo shape you always see in movies. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/397 "2009-09-08T20:21:06Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Which marathon were you watching; Hallmark or WE? :o > > If we’re thinking of the same episode (where the heater broke & Rose turned the AC on) they didn’t even bother closing the hall door or turning the light off. Another thing that bugs me about that episode is that they lived in Miami. Exactly how cold could it have been?! ---
**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 8, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/398 "2009-09-08T20:39:52Z")
> [@PeskiPiksi](#): > > Another thing that bugs me about that episode is that they lived in Miami. Exactly how cold could it have been?! Florideans can have some very amusing ideas about what constitutes cold (through Dorothy & Sofia are from Brooklyn and Rose is from _Minnesota_). The really odd thing is why did they even have a furnace and central heating in the first place? :dubious: Houses that far south usually don’t have either because it cold enough days to make them cost effective; central AC is another story. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/399 "2009-09-08T21:03:14Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > I have never thrown a drink in anyone’s face to register my indignation. I have never had a drink thrown in my face nor have I ever been in a restaurant or bar where a drink was thrown. I’ve asked my friends (an admittedly small sample of fairly laid back people) and their experience seems to mirror mine. I’ve had two drinks thrown in my face, on two separate occasions, by two separate women. The second time was in Antarctica, at the bar at the Palmer research station. The final straw was when she said she was going to throw the drink in my face, and I replied “Better women than you have done that”. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/400 "2009-09-08T21:46:19Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > If I was a Doctor (I am not) I’d probably say defribillating asystole. If I were a paramedic, for me the solution to every problem would be Ringer’s Lactate, whatever that is. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/401 "2009-09-08T21:57:31Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > If I was a Doctor (I am not) I’d probably say defribillating asystole. If you were a doctor, you’d say defibrillating, not “defribillating.” Just move the r two spaces to the right. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-extremely-common-in-tv-shows-movies-that-youve-rarely-seen-in-real-life/508161/402 "2009-09-08T23:01:13Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > If I were a paramedic, for me the solution to every problem would be Ringer’s Lactate, whatever that is. Either that or start a IV of WD-40. (Yeah I know it’s an IV of D5-W, but WD-40 is funnier) [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=19) [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=21)