# 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:** 140
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2782 "2023-09-11T07:19:59Z")
I saw a meme that “once you have seen a woman take off her bra without removing her shirt, it makes more sense why they should be in charge of things.” ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2783 "2023-09-11T12:59:52Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > > [@terentii](#): > > > > Assuming he was ~18 at the time, that would place this one around 1971. > > In Minnesota the drinking age for all types of alcohol was 18 at that time. It was certainly a different era. Frankly, I think it looks like him. The Minnesota drinking age went to 18 in 1973 (which historically is close to 1971). I remember because it was the year my oldest brother graduated high school, and his entire class was in our small town city-owned bar with shots at the ready, which they all downed at midnight on the day the law took effect. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2784 "2023-09-11T15:08:34Z")
Taking someone aside 3 steps and talking to them as if they’re in private and that no one else in the room can hear them. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2785 "2023-09-11T15:43:48Z")
Being at a disco or club and being able to hear each other talking without shouting! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2786 "2023-09-11T22:40:14Z")
Someone gets really upset until someone else slaps them hard in the face, then they instantly calm down. I know what I need when I’m really anxious is to be physically assaulted. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2787 "2023-09-11T22:46:27Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QgJBvEMOpWQ/maxresdefault.jpg "The Producers 50th Anniversary - "I'm Hysterical and I'm Wet!" Clip") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgJBvEMOpWQ) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2788 "2023-09-12T02:01:35Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > “Captain, you should come down here.” > > “What is it?” > > “…something you should see for yourself.” I just finished a book by a space shuttle astronaut, and they had a rule: you never never end a sentence wit _that_, like “Oh my god look at THAT!” ---
**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:** [September 12, 2023, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2789 "2023-09-12T04:17:56Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I just finished a book by a space shuttle astronaut, and they had a rule: you never never end a sentence wit _that_, like “Oh my god look at THAT!” … Unless you want to start a new UFO conspiracy theory. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2790 "2023-09-12T13:50:07Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > From _Greg the Bunny_: > > > **Junction Jack** : We’re going to Greg’s house. > > **Count Blah** : What? Why? > > **Jack** : No time to explain! > > **Count Blah** : What are you talking about? It’s a forty-minute drive to his house! There’s plenty of time to explain! This reminds me of a comedy take on a common TV / movie trope. I don’t remember the exact situation where I saw it, (I think it was a Simpsons ep) but it went something like: (Two people in a house or apartment) **Person 1:** We need to immediately drive to [place X], because… (Scene cuts to them driving in the car) **Person 1:** …we need to stop [blah blah reasons blah blah]. **Person 2:** why did you start the explanation at my place, then stop and go quiet for a full 10 minutes until we got in the car and I started driving, then pick up the explanation where you left off? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2791 "2023-09-12T14:14:29Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Someone gets really upset until someone else slaps them hard in the face, then they instantly calm down. I was at a friend’s place for a party he threw. He took a variety of drugs, including mescaline, and was behaving a bit crazy. As he was peaking, he was sitting in a metal folding chair in the middle of the living room, with his eyes close, chanting. Seriously. I silently got everyone’s attention and help up a firecracker. I lit it and tossed it under his chair. When it went off, he tried to stand and run, but fell to the ground. He still tried to run, but he was laying on his side running. I shook him and tried to settle him down, but nothing. Eventually I did the slap across the face _ **and it worked** _. He stood up and asked if anyone needed their drinks freshened. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2792 "2023-09-12T19:40:59Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > The two best smokes were the cigarette after sex and the cigarette after a meal. Of course. The body had been deprived of the drug it wanted for an extended period, and so the rush of the drug made the body happy. > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > **Count Blah** : What are you talking about? It’s a forty-minute drive to his house! There’s plenty of time to explain! They did that a lot on _Lost,_ where someone said it was a long story or would take too long, but- they were trapped on a desert island. What else do they have to do? > [@Folacin](#): > > The Minnesota drinking age went to 18 in 1973 (which historically is close to 1971). Of course, MADD pushed Congress to blackmail all the states to make it 21. Odd that- you are a citizen at 18. But you cant drink (or buy a handgun). How is that Constitutional? I eman, say they passed a law that said Native Americans couldn’t drink or blacks couldn’t own guns? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2793 "2023-09-13T15:36:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Odd that- you are a citizen at 18. But you cant drink (or buy a handgun). How is that Constitutional? I eman, say they passed a law that said Native Americans couldn’t drink or blacks couldn’t own guns? There have been studies showing the death rate for younger drivers went down by 36% or more. I’m not sure what part of the constitution you think it goes against. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2794 "2023-09-13T20:22:26Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There have been studies showing the death rate for younger drivers went down by 36% or more. I’m not sure what part of the constitution you think it goes against. That doesnt matter. If I had a study that said Native Americans had a higher death rate from drunk driving, would it be okay to discriminate against them and make laws that said they cant buy alcohol? I am sure i can find studies (maybe bogus studies, but still)that show Blacks commit more violent crimes- can we ban them from owning guns? All citizens have the same rights as all other citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2795 "2023-09-13T21:39:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If I had a study that said Native Americans had a higher death rate from drunk driving, would it be okay to discriminate against them and make laws that said they cant buy alcohol? I am sure i can find studies (maybe bogus studies, but still)that show Blacks commit more violent crimes- can we ban them from owning guns? Youth is not a protected class. It’s legal to discriminate on the basis of young age, provided you have a rational reason. > [@Loach](#): > > There have been studies showing the death rate for younger drivers went down by 36% or more. And there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2796 "2023-09-13T23:44:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > There have been studies showing the death rate for younger drivers went down by 36% or more. I’m not sure what part of the constitution you think it goes against. > > That doesnt matter. If I had a study that said Native Americans had a higher death rate from drunk driving, would it be okay to discriminate against them and make laws that said they cant buy alcohol? I am sure i can find studies (maybe bogus studies, but still)that show Blacks commit more violent crimes- can we ban them from owning guns? > > All citizens have the same rights as all other citizens. So there shouldn’t be a drinking age at all? ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2797 "2023-09-13T23:44:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > All citizens have the same rights as all other citizens But driving is not a right. This has been argued in threads before, and it doesn’t matter one bit of difference what you or I think about driving being a right. What matters is what the government and courts think, and they are happy with driving being a privilege. As said in other threads, that doesn’t mean they can arbitrarily remove the privilege, but it does mean they can set boundaries and conditions on it in ways they can’t with rights. One of these things is not like the other: - You can not get a driver’s license until age 16 - You can not drink alcohol until age 21 - You can not publish a newsletter until age 18 My idea is to give kids the right to choose. At 16 you can either get a license to drive or a license to drink. At 21 you can get the other one, for the full set. If you’re real generous, allow one swap between 16 and 21. This is pretty far from the OP. So I guess, uhh, my friend group in high school did not drink to nearly the extend depicted on TV. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2798 "2023-09-14T00:44:16Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > So there shouldn’t be a drinking age at all? No, you are not a citizen until 18. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2799 "2023-09-14T01:42:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, you are not a citizen until 18. If you are born in the US (or abroad of US citizen parents) you are a citizen at birth. To become a naturalized citizen of the US, one of the requirements is that you are 18. Are you thinking of the age of civil majority? That varies from state to state, most are 18 but several are 19 (mine being one of them) and Mississippi is the outlier at 21. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2800 "2023-09-14T02:10:49Z")
I was in high school in the late 1970s when Iowa raised the legal age from 18 to 19, and there was an immediate and precipitous drop in, ahem, “problems” at school. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2801 "2023-09-14T12:18:54Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > So there shouldn’t be a drinking age at all? I was in a bar in Dominica, a small Caribbean island. I was surprised by how young the bartender was. I asked him what the legal age for drinking was and he did not understand the question. As we discussed it more, he explained that anyone could come in and buy a drink. I asked if a little kid could buy a drink and he said of course not, they wouldn’t have any money. [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=139) [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=141)