# True facts that movies have taught you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 24, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811 "2011-01-24T17:55:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/21 "2011-01-24T20:11:19Z")
A child who experiences any kind of trauma will often stop speaking. They’ll resume speaking when the adult who has helped them is about to leave and they want to say goodbye. Due to an odd mixture of acoustics and residual hauntings, driving through a poor black area of the rural south will usually result in mournful gospel or blues music that seems to emanate from the very Earth itself. Most white southerners, regardless of age or what time they live or lived in or what socioeconomic class or level of education they have speak in pretty much the same accent and never sound the ‘r’ on the end of a word (“We live ovah thayuh by the rivah”.) The better looking a person is, the more likely they are to be naked in awkward or comedic situations. Coughing is usually a symptom that somebody is going to die of a progressive illness within a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/22 "2011-01-24T20:14:31Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > and bits of metal and rubber, you forgot the metal bits and rubber =) And 1950s casual evening wear. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/23 "2011-01-24T20:18:12Z")
People in fantasy realms that existed long before the modern world or in other hemispheres or even in other universes from the modern day UK still speak in a various types of British accent, especially if they’re villains. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/24 "2011-01-24T20:19:11Z")
If you have a nose bleed, you have at most 7 days to live. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/25 "2011-01-24T20:19:36Z")
In ancient times, gorgeous women often became skilled warriors, with mastery of edged weapons and hand-to-hand combat. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/26 "2011-01-24T20:23:08Z")
The sharper the blade the more it rings, regardless of how lightly it’s moved. ([Obligatory trope link](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AudibleSharpness)- you can’t not notice this one after learning it’s name.) ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/27 "2011-01-24T20:26:08Z")
All colleges have exactly two fraternities, one consisting of likeable underdogs and the other of rich douchebags. Also, all college and university administrators attended the school where they now work, and have unfinished baggage from their undergraduate days. Also, they are all male, but have attractive female relatives. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/28 "2011-01-24T20:27:22Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > If you have a nose bleed, you have at most 7 days to live. And if you’re bleeding from the corner of your mouth, you’re already dead. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/29 "2011-01-24T20:27:57Z")
Never trust anyone with an aristocratic British accent, especially if they’re male and not stunningly attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/30 "2011-01-24T20:28:58Z")
Also, people in general are more attractive than you’d think from a look at your own surroudings. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/31 "2011-01-24T20:30:11Z")
All homeless people have a story, but very few have a mental illness, drug addiction, or bad teeth. Most women realize they are pregnant when a friend points out how often they’ve been sick in the mornings. Morning sickness is always a sign of pregnancy. Loud nightclubs and dance clubs are still quiet enough to have a conversation at reasonable voice levels. All ministers are corrupt and have sex scandals. Most wear black vestments and white clerical collars regardless of their denomination and almost all religions practice infant baptisms. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/32 "2011-01-24T20:31:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Movies have taught me that shoulder wounds are minor, you can recover from a beating in less than 15 minutes with little swelling or bruising, and women will leave their fiances at the altar if you are charming and goofy enough. I learned how one is able to jump from an explosion, which I find a helpful skill in my day-to-day life. Apparently if you put a log between you and the bomb, you can outjump a _nuclear_ explosion if you’re baddassed enough (cite: _Predator_), but I have yet to have a nuke blow up close enough for me to test this one… ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/33 "2011-01-24T20:34:03Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Also, people in general are more attractive than you’d think from a look at your own surroudings. The corollary to this is that a woman in a movie who is described as ugly is, in fact, more beautiful that 99% of women in real life. (But an ugly man in a movie really is terribly ugly.) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/34 "2011-01-24T20:35:31Z")
Laughter cures STDs, which is why they don’t exist in sex comedies. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/35 "2011-01-24T20:39:02Z")
While being chased by the bad guys the hero can run great distances - including up and down stairs and jumping over gaps between buildings - without getting tired or winded. Heck, after the chase is over the hero doesn’t even breathe hard. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/36 "2011-01-24T20:40:20Z")
Women who are pregnant will keep this information from their partner until after a terrible situation occurs, which will spur the man even harder to make sure they stay as safe as possible, as he’s suddenly realized he really does want to be a father. Occasionally, the pregnancy will not be known about until after she is killed by the villain. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/37 "2011-01-24T20:42:07Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > The corollary to this is that a woman in a movie who is described as ugly is, in fact, more beautiful that 99% of women in real life. > > (But an ugly man in a movie really is terribly ugly.) There is a corollary to the ugly women corollary, the geek woman corollary, which states that all female geeks have to do to become popular, obtain the man of their dreams, and make all the popular rich bitches extremely jealous of the newfound hawtness is to remove those god-awful glasses, revealing the 36-D hottie that lies beneath. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw) (not a movie, but a perfect example nonetheless…) ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/38 "2011-01-24T20:42:28Z")
Bad guys can only be killed in ascending order of their postion on the criminal org-chart. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/39 "2011-01-24T20:43:49Z")
If you’re in danger, stab someone in the gut (preferably the bad guy’s henchman). He’ll collapse and die within 0.04 seconds. If you don’t have a knife handy, a quick karate chop to the back or side of the neck works just as well. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/40 "2011-01-24T20:45:10Z")
Kids do all sorts of fun and interesting things before the school day starts, whether it be at home or on their way to school via bike. I must have been one lame kid because I slept until 5 minutes before the bus came and that was all I ever did in the morning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811.md?page=3)