Huh. Never heard of that while I lived there, although that was quite awhile ago. But still, the beginning of Snakes on a Plane seemed to show an active freight train in use, not a historical oddity.
Well, Hawai’i had them. But they all got taken out of service because everybody had had it with these motherfuckin’ snakes on the motherfuckin’ train.
If there are fifty guys shooting at the hero with machine guns, they will all miss or just give him a flesh wound.
And if they do riddle him, there’s not much blood.
When running through the woods in order to save your own personal life, it’s best to wear high heels. Stilettos, if you got 'em.
The inevitable tree root will still take you down. But at least you’ll look sexy.
This is from TV.
If you are party with Jessica Fletcher, somebody (or somebodies) is going to die.
If you’re a harmless-looking older lady (e.g. Jessica Fletcher), you can wind up involved in a murder investigation every week, with homicides even happening in your vicinity while you’re traveling, and somehow never be suspected of being a serial murderer.
Really, if she hadn’t traveled so much, Cabot Cove would have had a population of about eight.
While there may occasionally be some communication trouble between a person from, say, 16th-century England and one from 21st-century New Jersey, or someone from 10-century-BC Greece and someone from 20th-century Wales, it will only last for as long as the intended comedic effect is expected to work.
Also and if TV counts, it is possible for two Brits in 21st century clothing, one of them black, evidently female and wearing jeans, to walk around Shakespearean London and not draw so much as a raised eyebrow until they meet the Bard himself. The Bard’s English is surprisingly non-Shakespearean, too; I suspect many people for whom English is a second language would find his accent and phrasing more understandable than Tennant’s…
I may have missed it but:
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when a cop/detective/PI/vigilante/other encounters a bag filled with a white powder, its always a good idea to have a taste of an unknown white powder to determine if its cocaine. Even in a crack den with associated levels of hygiene and cleanliness.
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white south africans always speak English with an Afrikaans accent. Sometimes Australian. (I’m looking at you, Grimm!)
I thought that was the TARDIS’s automatic language translation. How would someone in 16th century London say “Shut yer gobs!”?
The Gift of the Time Lords
3rd Doctor explained it to Sarah Jane was my first knowledge of it. Probably explained earlier, tho
Martha’s trousers, rather than her skin color, were probably the bigger anachronism. “Moors” were exotic in Jacobean London, but not completely unknown. It’s not certain if “Moor” referred to just North Africans, or any dark-skinned person, but in any case, brown people were common enough for Shakespeare to write a play about one.
The jeans, on the other hand, must have stood out. But hey, the Doctor ran around in Pompeii in a trenchcoat and suit, without raising any eyebrows.
Slight hijack, inspired by the mention of Jessica Fletcher: Culinary mysteries have taught me that any women who works in the catering and/or restaurant business will have a homicide detective for a boyfriend or husband, and constantly be falling over dead bodies.
Korea has the same climate and trees as Southern California.
It is most effective to spray a house with automatic weapons at window level because people inside would never think to lay down on the floor.
When investigating a crime scene always leave the lights off and use flashlights to search for clues.
After kicking in the door of a perp’s residence, holding your pistol sideways and shouting “clear!” insures that no one can be hiding in a closet or behind the couch.
The ‘enlarge’ and ‘clarify’ functions on police computers take one key-stroke each.
You can discharge firearms on multiple occassions and even in confined spaces without ear protection and never experience hearing loss.
For me, the elevator scene in Terminator 2 stands out as a particularly ridiculous example.
If it is accompanied by a pain in your left arm, you are a dead man. There is no such thing as a benign cough or left arm pain in movies or TV.
*And faces. And license plate numbers. Oh yeah, this is one of my favorites. :rolleyes:
You mean that’s NOT true? 
Crap.
Strike two.
This from TV: if a cop sends you to a safe house and/or says “We can protect you,” you are toast. Especially if it’s Olivia Benson talking.
Abbey of NCIS read an inverted licence plate from a pumpkin.
To be fair, it was a large and shiny pumpkin! 