# 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:** 176
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3502 "2024-04-08T16:23:14Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > That would seem pretty weird in a time with cellphones It sure would. But I grew up in a time before cell phones, and we never did that. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3503 "2024-04-08T16:28:31Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > > [@Procrustus](#): > > > > I saw one in a movie last night. Throwing pebbles at a young woman’s window to get her attention in the middle of the night. I’ve never done that. > > That would seem pretty weird in a time with cellphones I had a client who did it. He had gotten into a fight with his girlfriend, so she wasn’t answering the phone. So he stood downstairs throwing rocks at her window to get her attention. Except she didn’t want to talk to him, so he had to give up. The next day, when her landlord told her that her window was broken, she explained what he had done. He spoke to them briefly, but nothing came of it until months later, when he called the police on Christmas Eve to report that his car was stolen. Thats when he discovered that he had an outstanding warrant for criminal mischief. And got to spend Christmas in jail. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3504 "2024-04-08T16:35:49Z")
[![](https://i.makeagif.com/media/3-01-2018/AHuTEM.gif) ](https://i.makeagif.com/media/3-01-2018/AHuTEM.gif) ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3505 "2024-04-08T17:02:02Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > That would seem pretty weird in a time with cellphones Why would you throw your cellphone at somebody’s window? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3506 "2024-04-08T17:08:41Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > Why would you throw your cellphone at somebody’s window? To get her attention in the middle of the night. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3507 "2024-04-08T17:18:08Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > Why would you throw your cellphone at somebody’s window? I know. If anything, you’d throw a charger like a Balearic sling ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3508 "2024-04-08T17:25:09Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > It’s mainly in comedies I’ve seen, somebody accidentally injests a bunch of hot sauce and people think they’re drunk. > [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > What show was that on? I’ve never seen that. Or the cough medicine variant. Someone has a cold in the first act of an 80s or 90s sitcom → they get recommended something to take → say they feel much better but are acting weird → other lead character reads label and asks “how much of this have you had?” In the real world, yes, cough syrups often contain significant alcohol and you can go over the driving limit from drinking them, so you have to be careful. But I think you reach toxic levels before you could actually get drunk on them. Most of us prefer to have our headaches, nauseu and vomiting _after_ a good drinking sesh. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3509 "2024-04-08T19:04:05Z")
I think codeine is the implied impairment agent in a cough medicine gag. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2024, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3510 "2024-04-09T00:29:59Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Thats when he discovered that he had an outstanding warrant for criminal mischief. And got to spend Christmas in jail. The landlord or the boyfriend? 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3511 "2024-04-09T03:00:37Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > got to spend Christmas in jail Is that the guy whom John Prine wrote [that one song](https://youtu.be/00Ig33jctXs?si=E693BRlWXKooRGBP) about? ---
**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:** [April 9, 2024, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3512 "2024-04-09T03:08:28Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@kayaker](#): > > > > Is CCTV really everywhere in the UK? Every police show set in the UK makes it seem like CCTV is freaking everywhere. > > In the bigger cities, yes. > [How Many CCTV Cameras in London? UK CCTV Numbers (Updated 2022)](https://clarionuk.com/resources/how-many-cctv-cameras-are-in-london/#:~:text=You%20are%20likely%20to%20be%20captured%20on%20UK%20CCTV%20up,million%20cameras%20in%20the%20UK). > > Research by [Clarion Security Systems](https://clarionuk.com/) estimates that there are over 7,371,903 CCTV cameras in the UK, meaning there is 1 CCTV camera for every 11 people in the UK. You are likely to be captured on UK CCTV up to 70 times per day. (2022) I surprised there isn’t an underground movement of anarchists devoted to vandalizing them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3513 "2024-04-09T03:49:27Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I surprised there isn’t an underground movement of anarchists devoted to vandalizing them. Of course there is- > **[Driving | Life & Style](https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/driving)** > > Expert reviews, news and insights on cars and motoring from The Times and The Sunday Times. Latest on vehicle models, driving tips, industry trends and road safety. # ULEZ CAMERAS VANDALISED AS PROTEST GROUPS RESIST ‘ANTI-CAR’ POLICY AND WARN OF LARGE-SCALE DISRUPTION ## Government told to expect civil disobedience on a “huge scale” * * * _Protesters are vandalising and stealing cameras installed across London to enforce the [latest expansion of the city’s ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ)](https://www.driving.co.uk/news/roads/confirmed-ulez-to-be-extended-to-cover-all-london-boroughs/) as opposition against the initiative from grassroots organisations and local governments grows._ _Hundreds of cameras have already been taken down by the “Blade Runners” — an anti-ULEZ group — as Londoners prepare for a fresh ULEZ expansion, which will see the zone expanded to cover the whole of Greater London from the end of August._ _Public opposition against the expansion is growing increasingly vocal, with another newly formed group called UK Unites claiming support from 2.5 million people across Britain. The group has warned the government to expect civil disobedience on a “huge scale” unless its ULEZ plans are revised._ IIRC there are others. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3514 "2024-04-09T11:17:55Z")
Well, I wouldn’t call them [anarchists](https://www.euronews.com/2023/10/02/blade-runners-fight-back-against-controversial-ulez-scheme-in-london). > one saboteur told The Daily Express newspaper what makes these attacks unusual is that they aren’t undertaken by young people or gangs of activists. > > “It’s mostly people in their 40s and pensioners,” he told the paper. “I get old ladies asking me how to destroy the cameras. They’re going around London with garden shears. These are normal people who work normal jobs, have businesses, families.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3515 "2024-04-09T15:16:09Z")
Jeremy? Jeremy Clarkson? Is that you? ---
**Author:** ![BertNobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3e96dc/32.png) [@BertNobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BertNobbins)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3516 "2024-04-09T16:11:26Z")
Exactly that happened to me and a friend of mine. Our usual pub was shut, so we went to one down the road, which we had never visited before. We walked in, and total silence fell. Everyone in the room (maybe 20 people) turned and stared at us, and they were not friendly stares. We turned round rapidly and found another pub. There was nothing obviously different about this pub, and it was in Clerkenwell, a perfectly respectable area in London. No idea what was going on. I have never encountered anything like it and I’ve been around a bit. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2024, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3517 "2024-04-09T16:22:09Z")
Was the pub called The Slaughtered Lamb? Perhaps there was a full moon over the moors that night. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VJRZ4kIizXY/hqdefault.jpg "American Werewolf in London - Pub Scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJRZ4kIizXY) ---
**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:** [April 9, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3518 "2024-04-09T16:46:13Z")
> [@BertNobbins](#): > > We walked in, and total silence fell. Everyone in the room (maybe 20 people) turned and stared at us, and they were not friendly stares. > We turned round rapidly and found another pub. Years ago, when Rolling Rock was still brewed in Latrobe, I was with a friend driving in the Laurel Highlands between Latrobe and Ligonier. We stopped at a little bar and walked in. I noticed there were stacked cases of Rolling Rock along one wall. I also noticed a Rolling Rock tap handle and no other beers on tap. When the bartender asked what we wanted (which meant Rolling Rock draft or bottle) my friend chuckled and replied, “anything but Rolling Rock”. A guy sitting near us stood up and asked what a couple of assholes were doing stinking up his bar. We left quickly. Plot Twist: If you went back to that same bar today they’d serve anything but Rolling Rock. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3519 "2024-04-09T23:28:07Z")
There’s an incident where multiple cops are killed and the police treat it like it’s a parking problem. “Sorry we just lost five cops, but I just can’t reassign anyone else to your case you have to investigate this on your own!” I think it was especially blatant in 48 Hours where 2 prison guards and two police detectives are killed and the police honestly don’t seem THAT concerned over it. ---
**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:** [April 10, 2024, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3520 "2024-04-10T00:01:06Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > There’s an incident where multiple cops are killed and the police treat it like it’s a parking problem. “Sorry we just lost five cops, but I just can’t reassign anyone else to your case you have to investigate this on your own!” > > I think it was especially blatant in 48 Hours where 2 prison guards and two police detectives are killed and the police honestly don’t seem THAT concerned over it. You need at least one line about how you are about to retire before anyone cares about you. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3521 "2024-04-10T00:06:32Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > Why would you throw your cellphone at somebody’s window? > [@fachverwirrt](#): > > To get her attention in the middle of the night. If you turn on your bagpipe app, that’ll get some attention. [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=175) [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=177)