# 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:** 208
**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:** [August 25, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4147 "2024-08-25T20:49:06Z")
Or antidotes that work in the last ten seconds before you would die. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4148 "2024-08-25T20:54:57Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > I think most killers would choose a poison without a helpful vial lying somewhere about to save the hero Except that is really not how poisons work- they start by doing damage and bit by bit the damage adds up and you die. So, if it was a 24 hour poison and you got the antidote hour 23, you’d be pretty fucked up, needing some serious hospital time, and likely some new organs. You wouldnt down a little vial and be good. Nor do antidotes taken orally work like that- there are some that can be used quickly by injection. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4149 "2024-08-25T20:59:55Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > I think most killers would choose a poison without a helpful vial lying somewhere about to save the hero. Also why not use real poison that kills instantly instead of a knockout poison that allows the killer to explain everything triumphantly to the woozy hero (allowing time for rescue) You know, if I were at a table with an Indiana Jones type, and it’d be difficult for me to slip poison into the alcoholic beverage he’s tasting while knocking back, and I then said triumphantly at him that I’ve got a helpful vial of antidote right here for the poison he just drank, I could then maybe get him to pay through the nose for the poison he’s about to enthusiastically swallow… ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4150 "2024-08-25T21:18:48Z")
When journeying through the wilderness, movies will threaten your life with rattlesnakes and scorpions. In real life, you’ll be in more danger from ticks and mosquitos. And flies and gnats will cause less overt danger, but more non-dramatic misery. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4151 "2024-08-25T23:35:31Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Or getting poisoned and subsequently having to frantically search for/ chase after/ bargain for the little vial of antidote that will save your life. Or, fortuitously having prepared for that exact poison by micro-dosing yourself on it for years in advance. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4152 "2024-08-26T02:01:33Z")
You never know when you might end up in a battle of wits with a Sicilian. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4153 "2024-08-26T05:42:12Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > In real life, you’ll be in more danger from ticks and mosquitos. Yep, those little monsters are the real dangers. 700000 deaths by skeeters, 3000 for scorpions, 1-2 rattlesnake deaths. Mind you, shaking out your boots in the morning is still a good idea. ---
**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:** [August 26, 2024, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4154 "2024-08-26T11:53:16Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > The old “distract the other person and then swap the cups while they’re not looking” bit seems unlikely to have ever happened in real life On two different occasions in bars, my gf has gone to the bathroom. While she was gone, I picked up her drink and tasted it. When she returned from the ladies room a woman approached her and told her the guy she was with had handled her drink. ---
**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:** [August 26, 2024, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4155 "2024-08-26T12:22:12Z")
A) Good on those women for looking at for someone else B) You must give off a sex predator vibe if it’s happened to you twice 😇 ---
**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:** [August 26, 2024, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4156 "2024-08-26T12:26:37Z")
We both agree with your two points. ---
**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:** [August 26, 2024, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4157 "2024-08-26T17:45:04Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Or, fortuitously having prepared for that exact poison by micro-dosing yourself on it for years in advance. > [@msmith537](#): > > You never know when you might end up in a battle of wits with a Sicilian. See [Crazy-Prepared - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CrazyPrepared) ---
**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:** [August 26, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4158 "2024-08-26T18:07:48Z")
There was that TV show that addressed the interfamilial back-stabbing and poisoning, decades before GOT, where everyone dropped an enlarged kidney stone into their drink to absorb any poison: _Leave it to Bezoar_ ---
**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:** [August 26, 2024, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4159 "2024-08-26T18:50:54Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > In real life if you suspect someone of murder, and you are discussing it with them with no one else around…I bet you DON’T drink the tea they are serving. In the great and underappreciated TV movie **Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders** (based on Robert H. van Gulik’s novel, with screenplay by the King of TV movies, Nicholas Meyer) the Judge at the end sits with the one he now knows is he murderer as he casually explains how he did the crimes, certain that he won’t have to pay for his deeds. Being a Tang dynasty cultured individual, the murderer offers Dee a cup of tea. Dee holds up an admonitory hand, refusing it. “Dee, Dee,” pleads the criminal, “What must you think of me?” Dee accepts the cup from the murderer, careful sniffs it, then never drinks a drop. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4160 "2024-08-26T21:39:59Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > See [Crazy-Prepared - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CrazyPrepared) well, NOW you tell me there is a whole website dedicated to TV Tropes??? 4149 posts into this thread??? ---
**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:** [August 26, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4161 "2024-08-26T22:58:55Z")
People have been known to go there and never return… The entry I’m proud to have started and which has grown bigger and better over the years: [Everyone Is Armed - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EveryoneIsArmed) ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4162 "2024-08-27T00:06:10Z")
When somebody is hiding in something from a kidnapper/killer/monster the person stalking them will go as close as possible to the object, try to look in, then give up and walk away, only to then 2 seconds later IMMEDIATELY open the object and grab the person. Almost always accompanied by a scare cord. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4163 "2024-08-27T03:48:34Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Almost always accompanied by a scare **cord**. Do they then rope them? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4164 "2024-08-27T04:25:14Z")
If they’re hiding under a bed, yes, because then they somehow get dragged out from under a bed INCREDIBLY quickly ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4165 "2024-09-05T00:18:10Z")
Somebody with AB+ blood is injured and needs a transfusion immediately. Desperate search for an AB+ donor follows. Wrong for at least two reasons. First of all, AB+ is the universal recipient. If there is no AB+ blood available, they can take O, A, B, and either + or - And secondly, AB+ isn’t really all that rare. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4166 "2024-09-05T00:45:01Z")
It’s AB- right? [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=207) [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=209)