# Tiny errors that drive you insane **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 29, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557 "2016-02-29T19:58:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [March 1, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/41 "2016-03-01T05:09:36Z")
The mind boggles at the thought that there is only one “correct” version of history, i.e., “as we know it.” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/42 "2016-03-01T05:26:56Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Whenever I read someone is an alum, I wonder how he could be an aluminum potassium sulfate. Might he be used in pickles? > > Finishing the word with -nus (or -na for a female) really wouldn’t be that hard. But that’s the word that is used in general practice, that’s not a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/43 "2016-03-01T06:04:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > When they show the night sky, and it isn’t any night sky ever visible from Earth. OK, I understand that cameras have much less dynamic range than eyes, so they can’t just shoot the actual night sky. I understand that they have to put in a simulated sky. But is there any reason that the simulated sky can’t simulate the real constellations? The thing that really bugs me is that dreadful “day for night” effect, where they shoot the scene in daylight with a blue filter to simulate nighttime. Even in the hands of a skilled director, it always looks bad – in the night scenes of _Mad Max: Fury Road,_ the characters were CASTING SHADOWS, fer Cripes’ sake! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/44 "2016-03-01T13:21:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Electrical: calling a receptacle a “wall socket”. I know it’s just trade ignorance, but it bugs me. I’m not in the trade, but please fight my ignorance: is “wall socket” not just one of the commonly used terms for “receptacle”? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/45 "2016-03-01T14:34:46Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The mind boggles at the thought that there is only one “correct” version of history, i.e., “as we know it.” :eek: Several of the chapters deal with finding out that… it wasn’t quiiiite like that (aside from the team’s own manipulations). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/46 "2016-03-01T14:38:22Z")
WAG: I suspect that as an electrical wiring professional, he prefers that the term “socket” be reserved for receptacles for actual loads (such as light bulbs) rather than shared with outlets for power cords. ETA: The above is intended as a response to **Vinyl Turnip** ’s query. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/47 "2016-03-01T14:48:44Z")
News media that refers to every type of earth moving construction equipment as a ‘Bull Dozer’. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/48 "2016-03-01T15:05:55Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > WAG: I suspect that as an electrical wiring professional, he prefers that the term “socket” be reserved for receptacles for actual loads (such as **light bulbs** ) rather than shared with outlets for power cords. You mean lamps. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/49 "2016-03-01T15:26:51Z")
When any coincidence is declared ironic. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/50 "2016-03-01T16:01:11Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > A buddy of mine was running a motor pool in Vietnam during the war. He was a CW2, Army. > > As he tells it, one day he gets a call: “This is Captain such-and-so. Please send a car to pick me up.” > > That was a pretty ballsy request from a junior officer, so it got placed at the bottom f a long list. > > Several hours later: “This is Captain S-a-so – where the hell is my car?” > > At that point my friend says something like, “Maybe you should just get your own transport, sir.” And hangs up. > > An hour later, in storms Navy Captain Such-and-So. (The Naval rank of Captain is a senior officer, O-6, as opposed to,the comparatively lowly Army O-3). > > This wasn’t a film error, but the SGT / MSG confusion reminded me of the story. My friend dodged the wrath of the guy by sending someone else out to meet him, I think. Should he have identified himself as US Navy Captain? I know the ranks don’t equal up (Navy Captain = Army Colonel) so I wonder how they keep the distinctions straight and give the proper respect across the services. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/51 "2016-03-01T16:09:30Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > WAG: I suspect that as an electrical wiring professional, he prefers that the term “socket” be reserved for receptacles for actual loads (such as light bulbs) rather than shared with outlets for power cords. > > ETA: The above is intended as a response to **Vinyl Turnip** ’s query. Yeah, it’s no big deal, just a personal nerve tic. Sockets are for light fixtures, receptacles or ‘outlets’ are for walls. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/52 "2016-03-01T16:16:12Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Should he have identified himself as US Navy Captain? I know the ranks don’t equal up (Navy Captain = Army Colonel) so I wonder how they keep the distinctions straight and give the proper respect across the services. He shouldn’t have to. Even if a warrant officer has more years and experience than a junior officer, he must still respect the rank. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/53 "2016-03-01T16:21:57Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > I’m not mad it’s always a red-tailed hawk. I’m mad every freaking time they show an eagle, hawk, or falcon, they screech. > Most digital cameras, apparently still make the sound of a film camera with an autowinder. I think that is because some jurisdictions require it because of the rash of upskirt and downblouse pics so that it would be impossible to quietly take those pics. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/54 "2016-03-01T16:29:20Z")
And because people like to get feedback from their devices. Without that sound, you’d get a lot of people complaining “I pushed the button, and nothing happened!”. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/55 "2016-03-01T16:59:52Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > When East Coast highways are referred to as “The ##”. I guess all the writers live in L.A. > [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Most digital cameras, apparently still make the sound of a film camera with an autowinder. Digital SLRs still have mechanical shutters and mirror mechanisms. No more film advance but there is still plenty of audible noise, especially when there are dozens of them in a press conference situation. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_X2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90db22/32.png) [@Karen\_X2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_X2)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/56 "2016-03-01T17:18:02Z")
Bullets that spark after striking the street. Or wood. Or concrete. Shooting a revolver without earplugs, then having a normal conversation with the person next to you. The ringing in your ears doesn’t stop that quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/57 "2016-03-01T17:35:04Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > The thing that really bugs me is that dreadful “day for night” effect, where they shoot the scene in daylight with a blue filter to simulate nighttime. Even in the hands of a skilled director, it always looks bad – in the night scenes of _Mad Max: Fury Road,_ the characters were CASTING SHADOWS, fer Cripes’ sake! I mostly agree with you, but a near full moon _will_ cast shadows on a clear night. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/58 "2016-03-01T17:46:48Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > The idea that a beret is useful or practical in any sense whatsoever is utterly laughable. A few years ago (dozens) I combed my hair one morning as I had all my life, looked in the mirror and noticed for the first time that my hairstyle was actually a comb-over. So I said “fuck it” and redirected everything off the back. Much easier to maintain, although it left an expansive, expanding naked area on the top. In Wyoming in July, a beret is good for protecting that spot if I go outside midday for more than an hour. In Wisconsin in February, the beret helps reduce the radiant heat loss that that exposed flesh is so good at. And in states that do not start with “W”, it rolls up into a nice, compact thing that can fit in a jacket pocket. Granted, it does not keep the rain off my glasses, but on the other hand, it takes a whole lot more wind to remove it from my head that most other hats can cling against. Even my fez leaps away before my beret does. So, yeah, a beret can indeed be useful and practical. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/59 "2016-03-01T17:50:01Z")
Hmmm…so in my golden years I will either have to pretend to be an EX Green Barret or convert to Judaism? Not sure I can pull of the former…but sure as hell not giving up ham… ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/60 "2016-03-01T18:37:23Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I think that is because some jurisdictions require it because of the rash of upskirt and downblouse pics so that it would be impossible to quietly take those pics. > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Digital SLRs still have mechanical shutters and mirror mechanisms. No more film advance but there is still plenty of audible noise, especially when there are dozens of them in a press conference situation. I meant to say “in movies”, with the sound added in post-production. There is still noise from DLSRs but there’s no autowinder noise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557.md?page=4)