# 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:** 153
**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:** [December 8, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3042 "2023-12-08T16:56:45Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Are you the Doper who’s been in a family business that distributes phone books? Yup, I wrote about it (partially) [here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-family-business-market-distribution-specialists-inc-1984-2012/923289). The one incident which sticks in my mind is a Wednesday in 2005, where I was in Kansas City. Our manager had flaked out and hired a bunch of (obvious) crack addicts to deliver the books. Well, they disappeared after taking about 8,000 books out of the warehouse, so for this, and other reasons, I was sent to clean up the mess and had to find the 8k books. So I went to the addresses they put on their applications, found one woman who said “Yeah, he spends his time at ADDRESS, smoking crack”. I went to the address, it was an obvious crack house (you just _knew_), and … the very next day… rounded up some big guys at the Home Depot (where the contractors hung out @ 7 in the morning looking for day work). Told them what was up, paid them $150 each, they got into the van I rented, and we went to get our books. It was bedlam! I knocked on the door and someone opened it to see a white guy who looks like a detective (me) and three big husky guys behind them. They screamed, left the door open and ran away, whereupon we entered… and yes, it smelled like literal shit + chemicals… and I was just yelling “You all had better get out before the police arrive! Fucking leave, if you’re smart!” Well, most of the crack users got the fuck outta dodge, some were too wasted (or sick) to move, and we proceeded to load the books (which were in the garage) in the van and took them back to the warehouse. Two days later, I was giving a presentation to the head of Sprint’s phone book division about how MDS (the family business) was their best option to deliver even more books, the man none the wiser that the guy he was talking to had just been in a crack house rescuing 8k books (about $160,000 of product given how Sprint’s valuation method calculated the worth of the books). We got the business and kept it until my stepmother decided to take a leading role in the business development side and pissed off all of our largest clients because she was a complete and utter shit. But that’s another story… (Sorry for the off-topic digression!) ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3043 "2023-12-08T17:28:13Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > But that’s another story… Is your biography forthcoming? ![](https://media1.tenor.com/m/PR8K0vX8gngAAAAC/stripes-billmurray.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3044 "2023-12-08T17:40:36Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Standard modern handgun cartridges can easily penetrate the thickest law textbook from 25 feet away. Is there a story wherein you obtained that knowledge? ---
**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:** [December 8, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3045 "2023-12-08T17:55:29Z")
A guy I’ve been camping with every Thanksgiving since the early 80s is a retired lawyer. Every year we’d blast the previous years law texts to let off steam. Our favorite trick was to put an explosive target inside the book before using it for target practice. Made for messier cleanup, but very satisfying. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2023, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3046 "2023-12-08T18:13:20Z")
Thanks. I promise to spend it on something frivolous. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3047 "2023-12-08T18:26:22Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > Is your biography forthcoming? Feel free to check out the SDMB link in my post. Any questions should be asked there. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2023, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3048 "2023-12-09T00:08:26Z")
An old hotel in my city, which used to be high-end with a similarly high-end restaurant, had a quasi-library in said restaurant. This was at the beginning of my book resale business, so of course I checked out the contents sale they held before the building, which was also chock-full of asbestos, was demolished. Most of the library consisted of a) Reader’s Digest Condensed Books; b)infested with black mold; or c) RDCBs that were infested with black mold. And plenty of vintage law books, also basically transformed into sawdust. I did find a few items that I could use. I could certainly see pharmacists doing something like that with our favorite doorstop, the Physician’s Desk Reference. (However, some of the older ones are actually fairly valuable.) They’re fine for laypeople, but no, pharmacists don’t use it for any other reason. (Nor do pharmacists usually wear those Nehru-jacket things; maybe I mentioned that already.) ---
**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:** [December 9, 2023, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3049 "2023-12-09T15:14:45Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I don’t know if this happens in real life but to super wealthy CEOs just sit around their homes in the middle of the day fully dressed in expensive business suits, drinking scotch in their big home office? Not to mention the crystal containers that every rich person seems to transfer their liquor into. I understand why movies and TV shows do it— it looks ‘fancy’ and avoids dealing with branding issues. But in real life, nobody is doing this, especially with top-shelf liquor. Ain’t no way a $1000 bottle of Pappy Van Winkle or whatever is getting poured into an anonymous container, no matter how fancy the container is. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3050 "2023-12-09T15:35:55Z")
And the Well-Dressed Rich Person will casually motion to his visitor and say “Help yourself… now, what do you know about that investigation?” with NO indication of what’s in the anonymous crystal decanter. I’d be unable to answer any of WDRP’s questions. My mind would be busy with _“What did he just offer me? Is it a 20-year Pappy that I’d regret not trying? Is it something I’d hate, like a single malt that’s been poured through a handful of moss and peat? Could be ginger ale… oh, I know what I want. I wish that it was Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Soda…”_ ---
**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:** [December 9, 2023, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3051 "2023-12-09T15:48:15Z")
“I’m good. You have a Diet Coke?” ---
**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:** [December 9, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3052 "2023-12-09T19:18:42Z")
“It’s in the brown decanter.” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3053 "2023-12-10T13:53:25Z")
> [@digs](#): > > And the Well-Dressed Rich Person will casually motion to his visitor and say “Help yourself… now, what do you know about that investigation?” with NO indication of what’s in the anonymous crystal decanter. > > I’d be unable to answer any of WDRP’s questions. My mind would be busy with _“What did he just offer me? Is it a 20-year Pappy that I’d regret not trying? Is it something I’d hate, like a single malt that’s been poured through a handful of moss and peat? Could be ginger ale… oh, I know what I want. I wish that it was Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Soda…”_ Great, I’ll just start up my 8 hour tape recorder so we can record your confession. Just start with your troubled childhood, take me through your entire rise to power, and then lets try to end on some sort of ironic twist where presumably some important life lesson can be learned by any third parties listening to this later on. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3054 "2023-12-14T17:23:54Z")
In **The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo** , Lisbet nails her half-brother’s feet to the floor. He feels no pain, so doesn’t notice until he finds he can’t move. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2023, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3055 "2023-12-15T22:36:38Z")
Not going to see if this has been mentioned before, but… I’m asleep. The woman I live with, who shares my bed, dressers, closets, bathrooms, etc., decides she has had enough of the JohnT Experience (shocking and unbelievable, of course, but let’s just go with it for the purposes of this post). She gets out of bed, clears out all her stuff, empties the dressers, removes her clothes from the closet, loads it in her car, erasing all evidence of her from my life. I awaken sometime later, to an empty home. How I don’t wake up during all this activity is beyond me, but I’ve seen it in _Sex and the City_, _The Sopranos_, and other shows just this year alone. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2023, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3056 "2023-12-15T22:43:44Z")
Imperviousness to pain was his superpower. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2023, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3057 "2023-12-15T23:26:17Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I awaken sometime later, to an empty home. A buddy returned from work to a totally empty home. His wife left, took all her shit along with all the furniture (an inheritance). She hired a mover. ETA: it was pretty gruesome. Two kids, 8 & 10. He had to go to Sears and buy his kids beds so they could sleep that night. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3058 "2023-12-15T23:50:20Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > A buddy returned from work to a totally empty home. His wife left, took all her shit along with all the furniture (an inheritance). She hired a mover. Hey, I had the same thing happen to a buddy of mine. She left him some of his clothes, one coffee cup, a bowl, a spoon and a box of cereal. No kids, thankfully. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3059 "2023-12-16T00:05:39Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > ETA: it was pretty gruesome. Two kids, 8 & 10. He had to go to Sears and buy his kids beds so they could sleep that night. WTF that is terrible. Why can’t some people behave like adults? ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3060 "2023-12-16T02:12:42Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Why can’t some people behave like adults? “Mid-Life Crisis”. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3061 "2023-12-16T03:38:39Z")
A/k/a “Itchy feet.” [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=152) [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=154)