# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/141 "2011-01-26T00:19:50Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Movies taught me wives are smart & serious, husbands are goofy & dumb. Or was that TV commercials? The difference between the two is shrinking rapidly. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/142 "2011-01-26T01:31:22Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Spaceships have their own gravity that works inside the ship. And their own atmosphere releaser that transmits the sounds of the ship’s engines to travel through the vacuum of space. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/143 "2011-01-26T01:32:52Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > All teenagers have deep, thoughtful and articulate conversations with each other using vocabulary that would outstrip a Harvard linguist. ## Unless they’re stoners. No stoners have more than 4 functioning neurons. Most also wear long hair and marijuana leaf T-shirts or earrings- they’re never “good kids who happen to toke up occasionally”. A sham marriage to a U.S. Citizen will _always_ allow you to stay in the country, once you dodge a few questions by a witless INS bureaucrat anyway. It’s automatic that if you marry a citizen they have to let you stay. Nobody ever gets into any real trouble for entering into such a marriage even if caught, though usually they fall in love anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/144 "2011-01-26T01:32:56Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > And their own atmosphere releaser that transmits the sounds of the ship’s engines to travel through the vacuum of space. Which also allows them to bank and turn as if they were aircraft ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/145 "2011-01-26T01:55:37Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > If a movie is set in a certain city, the opening shot and/or the trailer is sure to show one of the following shots: The Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline (even if the movie is set in the outer boroughs); the Golden Gate or Bay Bridge/Transamerica Pyramid; or the Hollywood sign. > Obviously we wouldn’t be able to figure out the setting any other way. > > For some reason, movies set in Chicago never show the establishing shot, unless it’s a baseball-related movie (Wrigley). It’s remarkable how much all American cities look like Toronto and Vancouver. 😃 > [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](#): > > \ > Speaking of restaurants and bars in movies/TV shows, no one ever finishes a meal or drink. They order, take one bit or sip, then leave the rest. Yet they’re healthy and not anorexic. Ergo, fact: eating and drinking are not really necessary, but have been fabricated simply for image and social situations. That’s one that gets up my nose - someone comes in exclaiming about how famished they are (and may actually be literally starving), and has one bite of the food put in front of them. Or, they’re eating normally, then push their food away after a bite because they just learned something that has them all bummed-out. Just eat your freakin’ dinner already. > [@Cluricaun](#): > > \ > > Cats let out screeches or howls every time they move.\ Well, if they’re Siamese cats… > [@Anaamika](#): > > it’s OK to cheat on your nice, perfectly decent if a little boring husband, if you _really_ love the other guy. That’s another one that bugs me - it’s okay to cheat or treat your decent spouse like shit if the other person is your _true love_. Well, as long as the new person is your _true love_, we’ll just overlook this marriage of 15 years and the three kids and you can get on with being with your _true love_. ---
**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:** [January 26, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/146 "2011-01-26T01:58:48Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > It’s remarkable how much all American cities look like Toronto and Vancouver. 😃 Heck, _alien worlds_ look like Vancouver! ---
**Author:** ![Jadis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@Jadis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jadis)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/147 "2011-01-26T02:20:37Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Cats let out screeches or howls every time they move. If they’d start exclusively using Siamese cats in movies calling for feline appearances, this one would actually be true. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/148 "2011-01-26T02:41:32Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Spaceships have their own gravity that works inside the ship. Outside the ship there is none. Nevertheless, the gravity-planes of any two spacecraft that meet and hold station will align, as if they were submarines. This holds true even where it advantageously might not, as when Kirk is outwitting Khan by his superior mastery of 3-dimensional movement. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/149 "2011-01-26T02:48:36Z")
Intelligence agencies and criminal organizations have technology decades ahead of everyone else and unlimited budgets. When such an intelligence agency learns of a threat to the nation or even the whole planet, they always send no more than a small team and usually just one guy to deal with it. Calling the military and having them casually obliterate the villain’s headquarters is out of the question. Indiscriminate gunfire only hits innocent bystanders when the bad guys are the ones shooting. Surprisingly small objects like a blanket held in the hands can let you survive falling out of an airplane. Or a flat piece of debris if you land on snow or water. Governments always react to sufficiently unusual people by kidnapping them and experimenting on them. They never ask to study them first or try offering money. When in church, avoid the aisle between the pews. That’s where the monster will come up through the floorboards, flinging the pews aside. Latin chanting is to be feared! If you hear it, flee immediately! ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/150 "2011-01-26T05:40:40Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > If a movie is set in a certain city, the opening shot and/or the trailer is sure to show one of the following shots: The Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline (even if the movie is set in the outer boroughs); the Golden Gate or Bay Bridge/Transamerica Pyramid; or the Hollywood sign. > Obviously we wouldn’t be able to figure out the setting any other way. When you go overseas, the establishing shot will feature one of: the Eiffel Tower; Big Ben; the Colluseum; the Sydney Opera House. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/151 "2011-01-26T06:22:18Z")
Regular people (not bad guys) are really easy to beat to death. If you get enough practice, you could punch a woman twice and kick her once, and she’ll die. Men aren’t much more of a challenge - you can kill a dude by hitting him with a soup can. Bad guys, on the other hand, are really hard to kill, even if they’re entirely human and without supernatural gifts. Double tap to the head, just to be sure. Being a good guy/gal means that God is secretly helping you even the odds, even if God isn’t mentioned. That’s why you can take on ten ninjas or zombies, most of whom will politely wait their turn to have their asses kicked, all by yourself. If you add good guys, this increases your odds even more, because two good guys can take on 30 bad guys, and three can take on 50 etc. Stalking is endearing if the guy is **really** sure he and his [del]victim[/del] intended are meant for each other. Likewise, it’s not a big deal to try to seduce someone with a significant other, because you are meant to be together. Despite being rather cold seven months of the year, tarantulas are naturally occurring species in Maine. And (as someone else pointed out in their LJ) alien planets tend to look a lot like Vancouver. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/152 "2011-01-26T06:37:59Z")
It is easy to fly a commercial plane if someone walks you through it on the radio ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/153 "2011-01-26T07:07:59Z")
Mythbusters did a show where someone talked them through landing a jumbo jet (simulator) and they both found it was pretty doable. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/154 "2011-01-26T07:38:47Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > …we all commute between humungous country houses set in vast rolling parkland, and our chi-chi _pieds à Terre_, sipping champagne at celebratory parties and being charmingly wry and inscrutable. I should mention that our very rich families are also dysfunctional. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/155 "2011-01-26T08:07:27Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > If you take a bath, you must always submerge yourself fully, backwards, keeping your eyes open. And if you’re female, you will have 500 candles lit around the perimeter of the tub. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/156 "2011-01-26T08:08:52Z")
Last year I had to go on a course for work which involved us driving out to the countryside on a dark and misty night to an isolated cottage miles from civilisation. When we arrived, we discovered the power was out, and no-one could get a signal on their mobile phone. I confess to being somewhat disappointed that we didn’t then all get gradually bumped off one by one, while we desperately tried to work out which one of was the killer. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/157 "2011-01-26T08:15:38Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > you can kill a dude by hitting him with a soup can. Tea, actually. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/158 "2011-01-26T09:14:55Z")
There is one which I really don’t understand how come sports commisions haven’t caught on: not only do attractive (which normally includes “thin and/or athletic,” in holly-speak) females never get wounds on exposed skin, but they can jump, run, or vault over a whole flight of stairs with stilettos on with no damage or need to slow down. If one heel breaks and the setting is not a romcom, it will not break until after the lady in question has already stopped running - either having evaded her pursuers, or grabbing her pursued just as said heel breaks. Given the information above and how many men love high heels, why don’t female athletes wear stilettos? It should raise ratings! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/159 "2011-01-26T09:25:56Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > No shit. Where do they get that shit from anyway? Do people ACTUALLY use their birthday for a password? Actually… yes, if it’s a PIN. And the town they live in and where the factory is located, if it’s a no-numbers-required password. I’ve taught computer courses and helped people set up their accounts and I would say that first-time users choose their town over 90% of the time; an additional 5% use their SO’s name. I tell them to change it to something which doesn’t appear in their company file and stick a number someplace. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811/160 "2011-01-26T09:41:39Z")
If you’re smart, you’ll either be mentally disturbed or a douchebag. If there’s a problem that only research can solve, you can montage all you want, but the _real_ answer will be found by hearing a chance comment while doing something completely different. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-facts-that-movies-have-taught-you/568811.md?page=9)