# 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:** 234
**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:** [February 3, 2025, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4689 "2025-02-03T06:49:56Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > I’ve seen in some movies/series where the good guy (victim, kidnappee) is invited/hustled into the limousine; the divider goes up, poison or knockout gas is dumped into the compartment rendering our subject inert. … > I don’t think this happens in real life a bunch … likewise, releasing gas through an air vent to knock out a room full of people. From what I understand anesthesiology is a very complex field. Dosage has to be carefully tailored to a particular individual. There is no reliable and safe knockout gas that can just be released into a space. Releasing gas into a room might send one person to sleep, overdose another, make another one dizzy, cause another one to vomit, and not affect another at all. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2025, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4690 "2025-02-03T11:06:49Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > and not affect another at all. I can tell you from personal experience, that if you get someone who is an inveterate insomniac, used to taking a lot of crap just to be able to sleep every night, what will knock out everyone else in the room won’t touch the insomniac, other than something that reduces the oxygen content in the room, but that is dicey if you eventually want them all awake again. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4691 "2025-02-03T12:11:26Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > There is no reliable and safe knockout gas that can just be released into a space. But it worked just fine when Vlad ordered it! > **[Moscow theater hostage crisis](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_theater_hostage_crisis)** > > Crisis ended > Russia > The Moscow theater hostage crisis (also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege) was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater in Moscow by Chechen terrorists on 23 October 2002, resulting in the taking of 912 hostages. The attackers, led by Movsar Barayev, claimed allegiance to the Islamist separatist movement in Chechnya. They demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya and an end to the Second Chechen War. The crisis was resolved when Russian security services... ---
**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 3, 2025, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4692 "2025-02-03T16:30:56Z")
> the taking of 912 hostages. > 132 hostages died, largely due to the effects of the gas. Acceptable casualty/survivor ratio. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4693 "2025-02-03T17:06:03Z")
In that particular case it may have been an acceptable solution. Remember, this happened in Russia. They were unlikely to wait out the terrorists and the terrorists had enough explosives to kill everybody in the place. In much of the world this would not have been done as quickly as Russia chose to act if it was considered an alternative at all. But considering where it happened and who was involved the end result was not the worst possible outcome even though far from the best. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4694 "2025-02-03T17:20:39Z")
I don’t work in law enforcement, so I don’t know if this is something that never happens in real life or not – do real life detectives ever put up a big bulletin board with photographs of all their suspects and their associates, with notes describing possible motives and other evidence against them, and pieces of string indicating relationships between different people? This of course doesn’t only apply to police detectives, although you do see it on cop shows, but also to amateur detectives, and conspiracy theorists. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4695 "2025-02-03T17:22:37Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I don’t work in law enforcement, so I don’t know if this is something that never happens in real life or not – do real life detectives ever put up a big bulletin board with photographs of all their suspects and their associates, with notes describing possible motives and other evidence against them, and pieces of string indicating relationships between different people? This of course doesn’t only apply to police detectives, although you do see it on cop shows, but also to amateur detectives, and conspiracy theorists. Doesn’t everybody have a murder board in their garage? ---
**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:** [February 3, 2025, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4696 "2025-02-03T17:34:40Z")
When I started teaching, I’d encourage the use of “Pics ‘n’ String” bulletin boards to connect different ideas and characters. Once they became shorthand for “Obsessed Conspiracy Terrorist” I reluctantly backed off to a more sane-looking diagram on a blackboard. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4697 "2025-02-03T17:50:27Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Once they became shorthand for “Obsessed Conspiracy Terrorist” I reluctantly backed off to a more sane-looking diagram on a blackboard. That’s just what They wanted you to do. Sheeple! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4698 "2025-02-03T18:03:19Z")
Though at least 99% of passenger cars can be made to have windows that can be locked (obvious) and doors that cannot be opened from the inside, just the divider is not common. I don’t think most people are aware that back doors can be locked, except parents of inquisitive children. There’s a switch on the inner edge of your door where the hinge is. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4699 "2025-02-04T10:01:41Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Judges using gavels. > > I’ve never seen it in real life. On tv and in movies, it’s standard. Also legal dramas in Los Angeles featuring “classic” courtrooms with richly coffered wood panelng, sconces and other decorative touches. IRL L.A. lost all of that either through earthquakes or through rapid population growth requiring old courthouses to be replaced by larger buildings. However, they might have some now that the old Hall Of Justice has been restored and reopened. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2025, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4700 "2025-02-13T12:35:03Z")
someone opens a lock by shooting it. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2025, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4701 "2025-02-13T12:43:55Z")
In television shows set in hospitals, the doctors invariably wear white coats with a pen in their top pocket. If the show is supposed to be in current times, it’s quite dated. Most all doctors I have seen lately are in office attire, often shirts and ties but no coat. And the pen? Whatever for? They now truck a laptop around with them. When’s the last time you saw a doctor write something with a pen? ---
**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:** [February 13, 2025, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4702 "2025-02-13T12:53:38Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > someone opens a lock by shooting it. Yeah, I believe that was busted by Mythbusters, along with the ‘cutting a hanging rope by shooting it just before the hanging victim dies’ trope. > [@abcdefghij](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > Once they became shorthand for “Obsessed Conspiracy Terrorist” I reluctantly backed off to a more sane-looking diagram on a blackboard. > > That’s just what They wanted you to do. Sheeple! [![](https://uploads.dailydot.com/2023/11/charlie-day-meme.jpg?q=65&auto=format&w=1200&ar=2:1&fit=crop) ](https://uploads.dailydot.com/2023/11/charlie-day-meme.jpg?q=65&auto=format&w=1200&ar=2:1&fit=crop) ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2025, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4703 "2025-02-13T12:57:02Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > When’s the last time you saw a doctor write something with a pen? At my oncology appointment last week when my doctor was jotting down notes about my medications to give me. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4704 "2025-02-13T14:12:59Z")
Yesterday- at my cardiologist’s office . Who apparently has his assistants print out part of my electronic medical record for him to write on and I assume they then enter his comments into the medical record. He’s also the only doctor I see regularly who wears ordinary office attire including a jacket ( yesterday it was black pants and a navy jacket. Every other doctor I see (either in an office or a hospital) wears either a white coat or scrubs. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2025, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4705 "2025-02-13T14:22:34Z")
OK maybe results may vary by setting and/or hospital practice. Some of the older docs may not be computer friendly and get printouts to mark on. My experience that docs never wear white coats or use pens may be atypical. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4706 "2025-02-13T14:32:25Z")
I don’t assume my cardiologist isn’t computer friendly - I mean , that could be the issue, but it’s more likely that he has five exam rooms and having him sign in and out for each patient takes too much time. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4707 "2025-02-13T18:14:52Z")
Hero Cop/Soldier who’s nationally recognized gets blacklisted from the government because of something they saw/prevented that angered the powers that be, and they now live as an unemployed burn-out or suicidal recluse nobody believes. I’m pretty sure at the time but especially now if you’re ANYBODY famous and then say some crazy shit, SOMEBODY will believe you. Especially if you’re like a guy who got famous for saving the President’s life prior to the incident. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2025, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4708 "2025-02-13T20:30:04Z")
The last time I was in the hospital, the doctors usually wore surgical scrubs. One day, they came in wearing slacks, dress shirts, neckties, and lab coats. One of them told me that, a couple of days a week, the hospital made them do some kind of administrative work, for which they had to dress up. [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=233) [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=235)