# What is extremely common in TV or movies but almost never happens in real life? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2021, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311 "2021-02-06T04:16:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/221 "2021-02-07T23:04:27Z")
I don’t think you ever saw anyone using it, but you I recall hearing Archie at least flushing and washing up on All in the Family. And I think you actually saw the kids going in and out of the hall bath and arguing about not being able to use it and stuff on the Cosby show. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/222 "2021-02-07T23:08:45Z")
There’s an AITF bit that’s punctuated by Archie flushing, but I don’t remember how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/223 "2021-02-07T23:21:22Z")
I delivered flowers for a couple of summers, and the closest that I ever got to anything like that was a lady who answered the door in some kind of filmy nightgown kind of thing, while drying her hair while clearly in a big hurry to get ready to go somewhere. She was more annoyed that we were taking her time than anyting. Of course, 18 year old me was pretty annoyed to have been on the downtown/hospital route the day that some high roller bought a single rose in bud vases for every stripper at one of the larger strip clubs in Houston near the Galleria. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/224 "2021-02-07T23:26:53Z")
That reminds me of another. People firing automatic weapons on full-automatic without muzzle climb or anything like that. It doesn’t work that way- when you fire just about any fully automatic weapon, the muzzle (where the bullet comes out) climbs upward. I’m not sure if it’s a weapon geometry thing or what, that causes it, but it’s a real thing. That’s why _real_ machine guns are fired prone from a bipod, or from a fixed mount of some kind, etc… And why the gunners only fire 3-4 round bursts so that it works kind of like a giant shotgun. And also why most people are trained to fire their weapons in semi-automatic mode in most situations. Full auto is generally too uncontrollable. There are times and places for it, but they’re more along the lines of urban room clearing type situations from what I understand. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/225 "2021-02-07T23:46:29Z")
When I was working my boss would ask me to do something. It was never an order and I suppose I could have refused, but I never did. If anyone had started to order me around, I would have been checking the sit’s vac pages pronto ---
**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:** [February 7, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/226 "2021-02-07T23:58:59Z")
There were three bathrooms in Frasier’s apartment, and people used them all the time. On _ **Star Trek** _, Elaan of Troyius locked herself in the bathroom after throwing a tantrum, though we never actually saw the toilet. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2021, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/227 "2021-02-08T00:09:16Z")
With regard to the “Hang on with one hand, I’ll pull you to safety!” shtick, one of the regular cast of _ **Heartbeat** _ plummeted to an almost certain death in last season’s finale. (At least the last season I’ve seen so far.) I’ve resisted checking the fan base because I want to see if he’s brought back at the start of the new one. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/228 "2021-02-08T00:10:56Z")
I read an account by Dan Rather of a trip to Pakistan (I believe) and a soldier demonstrated an assault rifle by firing it out of an open window into a desolate valley. Rather talked about watching the muzzle rise and rise, and he realized – Pretty soon now the bullets are going to be staying inside the room! Fortunately, the soldier stopped before that happened. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/229 "2021-02-08T00:29:32Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > > [@Voyager](#): > > > > right. > > Hey, they exist! In Jersey City, NJ. Just looked up waterfront apartments in Jersey City. 2 BRs are $4500 - $5,000 a month. Any barista can afford that! ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/230 "2021-02-08T00:30:01Z")
Ewwww gross ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/231 "2021-02-08T00:36:13Z")
I used to live in Princeton, which is full of people, as I think Einstein said, who pretend they don’t live in New Jersey. Pretty nice, actually. The Meadowlands and the chemical tanks are really to keep people out of the good parts of the state. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/232 "2021-02-08T00:42:14Z")
Could be worse. Could be a Dutch Oven. 🤭 Or, the woman could blow Reveille. Yeccch! 🤮 ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/233 "2021-02-08T01:06:01Z")
I don’t remember the episode name, but when Archie was shocked to get a phone call from his old buddy who had become really rich (Eddie Frasher?), Archie’s trip upstairs was punctuated by the signature flush. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/234 "2021-02-08T02:27:02Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Full auto is generally too uncontrollable. There are times and places for it, but they’re more along the lines of urban room clearing type situations from what I understand. > [@When is firing full-auto a good tactic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-firing-full-auto-a-good-tactic/450435): > > Considering how many times and places I’ve read that “spray and pray” is NOT a smart move, it begs the question of just when it is. Obviously submachine guns and full-auto assault rifles continue to be made and carried by various forces all over the world. So they must fullfil a combat niche that can’t be met by single round at a time weapons. What is the doctrine on full-auto fire? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/235 "2021-02-08T02:40:00Z")
I remember a thing a few years back when a kid used a full auto at a gun range and sprayed himself in the head. ---
**Author:** ![Leftwix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@Leftwix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leftwix)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/236 "2021-02-08T02:50:13Z")
A staple in soap operas is amnesia, very rare in real life I believe. Another soapy one is a memorial service where the person who is supposed to be dead walks in. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/237 "2021-02-08T02:50:18Z")
> [@bump](#): > > That reminds me of another. > > People firing automatic weapons on full-automatic without muzzle climb or anything like that. It doesn’t work that way- when you fire just about any fully automatic weapon, the muzzle (where the bullet comes out) climbs upward. I’m not sure if it’s a weapon geometry thing or what, that causes it, but it’s a real thing. That’s why _real_ machine guns are fired prone from a bipod, or from a fixed mount of some kind, etc… And why the gunners only fire 3-4 round bursts so that it works kind of like a giant shotgun. And also why most people are trained to fire their weapons in semi-automatic mode in most situations. Full auto is generally too uncontrollable. There are times and places for it, but they’re more along the lines of urban room clearing type situations from what I understand. The most extreme version of this being the man-portable minigun, first popularized in Predator. Sure, Jesse Ventura can pick up the modified M134 Minigun. But IRL, he would still need to carry around the power pack and thousands of rounds of ammunition. All for the dubious benefit of 4-10 seconds of sustained fire. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/238 "2021-02-08T02:54:30Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I remember a thing a few years back when a kid used a full auto at a gun range and sprayed himself in the head. If it’s the story I recall, I thought he accidently sprayed the trainer in the head. Although back in college, my friends and I visited a local gun range where you could fire automatic submachineguns like the MAC-10. It actually doesn’t have much kick to it. At least, not like the movies where the hapless untrained person wrestles with the thing spraying wildly like a firehouse. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/239 "2021-02-08T03:07:19Z")
> [@Leftwix](#): > > A staple in soap operas is amnesia, very rare in real life I believe. I think evil twins are much more common on soaps than they are in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/240 "2021-02-08T03:09:31Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > If it’s the story I recall, I thought he accidently sprayed the trainer in the head. Yeah, that’s the one. > **[Shooting of Charles Vacca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Charles_Vacca)** > > On August 25, 2014, 39-year-old Charles Vacca was accidentally shot and killed while instructing a nine-year-old girl in how to shoot a Mini-Uzi. The accident occurred at the Arizona Last Stop Gun Range (also known as "Bullets and Burgers") in White Hills, Arizona, where Vacca had worked for about 18 months. According to county law officials the shooting is being viewed as an industrial accident. The minimum age set by the shooting range to fire a weapon is eight years old provided that Accordin... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311.md?page=13)