# 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:** 166
**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:** [February 7, 2024, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3302 "2024-02-07T15:11:07Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > ahhh and … “sex in the pool” is also overdone in movies … and overrated … vs. IRL Sex in the ocean? Aw, hell no! Just the one time when I was extremely young. (I’m female, for the record.) ---
**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, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3303 "2024-02-07T19:20:25Z")
In a Western where the leader of the outlaw gang says “All right, boys, you know what to do,” just once I’d like to hear them answer “Uhh … no. We don’t know what to do” and then start arguing about what they’re supposed to do. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3304 "2024-02-07T21:40:47Z")
That would have been a perfect addition to “Blazing Saddles.” ---
**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, 2024, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3305 "2024-02-07T21:52:48Z")
So would a mob standing in front of the Sheriff’s office saying “Yeah!” repeatedly just because “it seems like the thing to do on a Saturday afternoon.” Along with “I hear this music every time we ride!” and “Smile when you say that!” “I can’t. I left my teeth in my saddlebag.” ---
**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 7, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3306 "2024-02-07T22:18:25Z")
Marvel Comics adult Max imprint had a five-issue miniseries “Slap Leather” parodying its “Rawhide Kid” character. The series included a bandit gang leader drawing a map in the dirt, only to have all his gang members criticize how poorly drawn and unhelpful the map was. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3307 "2024-02-08T12:48:01Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > And on an ocean beach; gritty, sandy, salty, thousand of creepy crawly bitey things. Just NO. As a favorite podcast host once put it: “Don’t let a crab do a grab!” ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3308 "2024-02-08T22:14:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Has anyone ever depicted this very real and common behavior in a movie or TV show? Flashdance. Jennifer Beals’ character did so. I was inspired to try it, and it works fine, if you are limber enough to reach behind your back and undo the hooks. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2024, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3309 "2024-02-08T22:59:04Z")
I can also see it in a Tarantino movie, kinda like the “can’t see shit in these bags” conversion in _Django Unchained_. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3310 "2024-02-08T23:10:45Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Uh, I do that quite a bit. I’m actually doing it tonight. Not the whole neighborhood, but a few people do come over. Works really well for Halloween. The few posts before this were all related to sex on tables etc. My first thought was that you had a VERY interesting evening planned!! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3311 "2024-02-09T00:18:55Z")
My sister mentored a teenage girl through CASA; it was similar to Big Brothers/Big Sisters but it was through the county social services agency and the boundaries were VERY strict. Anyway, “the teenager” was surprised to learn that as kids, we had never been put to bed in the bathtub so we wouldn’t be hit by stray bullets, and was also very surprised to learn that not only were our parents still together (this was a few years ago; Dad died in October 2023) but even that we knew who and where both of them were, and that nobody in our immediate family had been to prison. It was quite an eye-opener for both of them. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3312 "2024-02-09T00:23:30Z")
That’s both heartbreaking and eye-opening. Often we don’t realize that our experiences may be _very_ different from that of others. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3313 "2024-02-20T03:40:26Z")
A sexy woman walking past a parrot, the parrot instinctively whistles at her, and the woman now angry finding the nearest man to slap. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3314 "2024-02-20T13:22:07Z")
I like the gag, but I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever seen it in a movie. Is it really “extremely common”? ---
**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:** [February 20, 2024, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3315 "2024-02-20T13:47:21Z")
I’ve seen it in real life. Shortly after we got Rocco, he was on our porch and he wolf whistled. It’s one of his things. One of our neighbors told my gf I made her laugh, whistling at her while she was doing yard work. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3316 "2024-02-20T18:24:26Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I like the gag, but I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever seen it in a movie. Is it really “extremely common”? Real life wolf whistles died out in the 1950s-1960s. I don’t think I have ever heard one myself. I have seen a few things with parrots, but not very recently. So I think “extremely common” is a big stretch at this point. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3317 "2024-02-20T18:30:56Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > Real life wolf whistles died out in the 1950s-1960s. I don’t think I have ever heard one myself. I have seen a few things with parrots, but not very recently. So I think “extremely common” is a big stretch at this point. I’m not asking about this “in real life”, though. I’m saying that I don’t recall seeing this gag (parrot producing wolf whistles mistaken for human, not “wolf whistles” in general) in any movie – even one from the 1950s-1960s. Even if you can dig up an odd example, I don’t think I’d characterize it as “extremely common”. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3318 "2024-02-20T18:41:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’m not asking about this “in real life”, though. I’m saying that I don’t recall seeing this gag (parrot producing wolf whistles mistaken for human, not “wolf whistles” in general) in any movie – even one from the 1950s-1960s. Even if you can dig up an odd example, I don’t think I’d characterize it as “extremely common”. While the joke seems to draw from elements that were common tropes at one time, I would agree that it is simply too specific to gain repeated usage. It’s a single joke, not a setting or format. It might have appeared in one of the more gag-oriented comic strips. But that’s not TV or movies. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3319 "2024-02-20T23:31:04Z")
I got a few of them as a teenager, a few years on either side of 1980. Yeah, I know it was guys driving by and seeing an underage girl and whistling at her, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss that. As for some posts earlier about people smashing wedding cake in each others’ faces, YouTuber Penguinz0 (that’s a zero on the end) did a video about this recently. It does contain profanity. TL : DW - he’d never seen it either, nor known of anyone personally who did it themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3320 "2024-02-21T01:13:42Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > It might have appeared in one of the more gag-oriented comic strips That’s where I remember it from, or maybe Mad magazine ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3321 "2024-02-27T08:25:04Z")
This was probably mentioned way upthread, but I don’t believe I’ve ever been in real life, in danger of dying in quicksand. Or by having a piano or safe dropped on me. [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=165) [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=167)