# 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:** 143
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2842 "2023-09-27T16:43:56Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Jackie Chan is riddled with injuries from such stunts. One of my favorite parts of Jackie Chan’s movies were the outtakes at the end. You get to see the stunts before they got them right. That guy must STILL be taking painkillers. In ‘Rumble in the Bronx’, you see him actually break his ankle trying to make a jump onto a boat. He had to wear a cast painted to look like a tennis shoe for the rest of the shoot. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2843 "2023-09-30T14:39:23Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > To become a naturalized citizen of the US, one of the requirements is that you are 18. To take the oath of citizenship, you have to be 18, because you have to be 18 to take an oath in general (there are a few exceptions). But foreign-born children adopted by citizen parents are naturalized before they are 18. They have to be, or they can’t get a US passport, and they might need one before they are 18. Possibly, they can repudiate their naturalization at 18, and there may be a need to establish it permanently then, this I don’t know. But I know several people who adopted from overseas, and have to naturalize their children. ETA: Just remembered something-- and I don’t know when it changed, but at one time, the head of a household (usually the husband/father) would be naturalized, and take the oath, and his certificate would list his wife, and all his children, and any of whom who were foreign-born would then become citizens as well. I have my great-grandfather’s certificate. /ETA ---
**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 30, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2844 "2023-09-30T15:29:59Z")
Here’s one that I see in books more than on TV or movies: The character is so anxious/stressed/scared/angry whatever that they bite their lip until it bleeds. Does anybody actually do that in real life? Maybe they do, and I just don’t know. In any difficult final exam, are \frac{1}{4} of the students sucking on blood? Obviously people can bite their lips or tongue hard enough to bleed in an accident where they hit their chin or head; that’s not what is meant. There may also be people who obsessively chew their cheek or lip, and that is also different from the trope I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2845 "2023-10-01T10:55:42Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Here’s one that I see in books more than on TV or movies: > > The character is so anxious/stressed/scared/angry whatever that they bite their lip until it bleeds. > > Does anybody actually do that in real life? Probably. I mean, there are people who bite their nails or cuticles until they bleed. Nervous/obsessive behavior can be self-destructive. But I don’t think it’s real common. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2846 "2023-10-01T11:50:43Z")
Occasionally someone will be shopping and somebody is the millionth customer, with all the hoopla. I don’t think they really do that. Then I realized, I could have been the millionth customer and nobody knows about it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2847 "2023-10-01T12:21:59Z")
/aside - I used to be in mountain search and rescue. Stepping on a rope during practice would get you a fine. You don’t want to grind dirt into it. /a Real life - I have 200 feet of 9mm perlon. I don’t climb anymore, but I beat the shit out of that rope. Used it to put a sat dish on the house recently. Tree people also beat the shit out of their ropes. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2848 "2023-10-01T12:56:51Z")
In prison movies, after someone is in the hole for a long time, and they open the door, the prisoner will scoot back against the wall and throw up his arms to block the light. I’m guessing irl, the guy would just close his eyes until they adjust. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2849 "2023-10-01T14:25:01Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > irl, the guy would just close his eyes until they adjust. IRL, they keep the lights on 24/7. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2850 "2023-10-01T15:56:41Z")
I searched this thread, but didn’t see this one, which is a bit surprising. In comedies, laxatives work instantly. You know the scene, the person, through trickery or accidentally, eats the wrong chocolate, or a special (but not the fun kind) of brownie. Within moments their stomach starts rumbling, and they have to run out of the room. We have enough colonoscopy threads on this board that you all should know that it takes an hour or more for things to start happening. The people who don’t know this like to write supposedly true revenge stories on the internet where (for example) their bully steals their spiked lunch, and then shits himself in the school cafeteria. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2851 "2023-10-01T16:15:53Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > In comedies, laxatives work instantly. Just like tranquilizer darts. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2852 "2023-10-01T16:23:19Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > > > irl, the guy would just close his eyes until they adjust. > > IRL, they keep the lights on 24/7… That may be true now but it hasn’t always been that way. When you take the walking tour of Alcatraz, the inmate/narrator mentions that to pass the time, they would throw a button into the air and then try to find it. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2853 "2023-10-01T17:09:41Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > In comedies, laxatives work instantly. You know the scene, the person, through trickery or accidentally, eats the wrong chocolate, or a special (but not the fun kind) of brownie. Within moments their stomach starts rumbling, and they have to run out of the room. Dumb & Dumber gets it about right. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2854 "2023-10-01T18:02:51Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > The character is so anxious/stressed/scared/angry whatever that they bite their lip until it bleeds. > > Does anybody actually do that in real life? Corollary: **“He licked his lips.”** Does this really help relieve tension? ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2855 "2023-10-01T18:07:35Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Here’s one that I see in books more than on TV or movies: > > The character is so anxious/stressed/scared/angry whatever that they bite their lip until it bleeds. Sort of related is the character who is so stressed that they shatter a glass they’re holding because they’re gripping it so hard. This might be more comedy than dramatic trope. Usually one character will ask another “you ok? You seem awfully stressed out about something”. “No, not at all! Everything’s perfectly fine (forces a strained smile but suddenly the glass they’re holding shatters). > [@echoreply](#): > > In comedies, laxatives work instantly. You know the scene, the person, through trickery or accidentally, eats the wrong chocolate, or a special (but not the fun kind) of brownie. Within moments their stomach starts rumbling, and they have to run out of the room. I just saw this in a show the other day; I can’t remember which show, but I do remember rolling my eyes hard, because, just as you say, a character is served something with laxatives in a restaurant and _ **immediately** _ upon eating it makes an alarmed face and starts running for the restroom. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2856 "2023-10-01T18:14:50Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Usually one character will ask another “you ok? You seem awfully stressed out about something”. “No, not at all! Everything’s perfectly fine (forces a strained smile but suddenly the glass they’re holding shatters). Does his hand bleed profusely from all the broken glass embedded in it? I know you can jump through a window without getting cut to ribbons by the glass. People do it all the time on TV and in the movies. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2857 "2023-10-01T18:51:50Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > I love this one. I remember watching a western and a character was in the middle of the shave and then got called away to the plot… I always loved the idea of the adventure going so long that his beard grew in half way and he had to constantly explain his face. You mean this fellow? He didn’t survive long enough for it to make a difference. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZH4IbebCX4&t=185s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZH4IbebCX4&t=185s) ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2858 "2023-10-01T19:04:15Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Does his hand bleed profusely from all the broken glass embedded in it? Well, in the comedic version of the trope, no. That would have to be a very dark comedy for that to happen. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2859 "2023-10-01T19:20:55Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > In comedies, laxatives work instantly. You know the scene, the person, through trickery or accidentally, eats the wrong chocolate, or a special (but not the fun kind) of brownie. Within moments their stomach starts rumbling, and they have to run out of the room. Read A Fistful of Fig Newtons by the late great Jean Shepherd. > [@terentii](#): > > **“He licked his lips.”** > > Does this really help relieve tension? No, but when you are scared your mouth gets dry. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2860 "2023-10-01T19:38:48Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “He licked his lips.” Romance heroines are always biting their bottom lip. I imagine they get pretty chapped. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/2861 "2023-10-01T19:47:04Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > In comedies, laxatives work instantly. When my kids were little I made an African Stew with meat, yams, and prunes. It was amazingly delicious. My son was finishing his bowl and asked what the little black things were. He freaked out when I told him they were prunes. He was sure he was going to started shitting like a firehose. To this day, he still occasionally mentions the time I fed him prunes. [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=142) [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=144)