# 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:** 24
**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, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/461 "2021-02-13T19:24:32Z")
Here’s one I’ve noticed a lot, and I was reminded when I saw it in a movie just the night before last: in a romantic bedroom setting, approximately 37,000 candles have been lit. They are everywhere there is a horizontal surface. It seems like an awfully dangerous fire hazard. In this movie I just saw, it was a horror movie where a couple was staying in an abandoned mansion, and they fell asleep with all the candles still lit. Personal anecdote: many years ago in mt 20s I was renting a room, my girlfriend was staying over, and I lit just two candles on my dresser. They were big, like 3” in diameter and maybe a foot tall. They looked identical, except they were different colors. We fell asleep with the candles still lit, and when I woke up in the wee hours of the morning, one candle was just halfway gone or less, still burning. But the other candle was completely consumed and had burned a divot into the cheap particle board surface of my dresser. Maybe the particle board is treated to not be too flammable, but it felt like a close call. ---
**Author:** ![blabbermeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@blabbermeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blabbermeister)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/462 "2021-02-13T21:17:39Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I did this all the time in college. The thing is, you don’t need to read ALL the material to pass a quiz/eaxm or write a term paper. All you have to do is review the main points and/or select the information that will support or refute your thesis. Wow! I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/463 "2021-02-13T21:46:20Z")
> [@solost](#): > > But the other candle was completely consumed and had burned a divot into the cheap particle board surface of my dresser. Maybe the particle board is treated to not be too flammable, but it felt like a close call. At least you didn’t have an exploding vagina candle. ---
**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 14, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/464 "2021-02-14T02:27:45Z")
What about getting thrown through a plate glass window? Does it ever happen and is it even possible to survive it? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/465 "2021-02-14T02:32:59Z")
Getting hit with a heavy wooden chair would more likely result in the person breaking than the chair flying to pieces. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/466 "2021-02-14T02:44:48Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > What about getting thrown through a plate glass window? Does it ever happen and is it even possible to survive it? The only person I know of who got thrown through a plate glass window is comedian Mike Birbiglia, and he threw himself through it while sleepwalking. IIRC he received 33 stitches. He now sleeps in a special restraint sack. > **[Spending The Night With Sleepwalker Mike Birbiglia](https://www.npr.org/2010/10/18/130644070/spending-the-night-with-sleepwalker-mike-birbiglia)** > > Comedian Mike Birbiglia has a disorder that makes him sleepwalk. He recounts his worst episode — as well as other painfully embarrassing moments — in his comedic memoir, Sleepwalk With Me. ---
**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 14, 2021, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/467 "2021-02-14T05:32:26Z")
Using someone else’s urine to pass a drug test, only to be told that you’re pregnant must happen rarely. Especially if you’re male. ---
**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 14, 2021, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/468 "2021-02-14T08:46:12Z")
And on the subject of getting thrown through windows; if you’re a bad guy who happens to get pushed out of a window of a two story house, there’s a better than average chance that there will be a wrought iron fence nearby upon which you will be impaled. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/469 "2021-02-14T09:24:53Z")
> [@TheCuse](#): > > I’ve never had to ask for change or to break a large bill in order to leave a tip. I have but this hasn’t been an issue since I stopped carrying cash about twenty or so years ago. If the bill was $38 and all I have is $100 in $20 bills then I’m either going to leave a $2 tip or ask them to break a $20 so I can leave a decent tip. (A $2 isn’t an option of course because I’m not a monster.) If it was a $32 bill I’d probably just leave $40 on the table and be done with it. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/470 "2021-02-14T09:35:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Probably not depicted on TV and movies as often these days as it was in the past, but…getting stuck in quicksand. True dat. For some reason quicksand hasn’t turned out to be near the hazard that I thought it would be when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/471 "2021-02-14T09:44:17Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > Probably not depicted on TV and movies as often these days as it was in the past, but…getting stuck in quicksand. > > True dat. For some reason quicksand hasn’t turned out to be near the hazard that I thought it would be when I was a kid Maybe it would be if you lived closer to Lassie. ---
**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 14, 2021, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/472 "2021-02-14T09:45:16Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > At least you didn’t have an exploding vagina candle. Someone call Gwyneth Paltrow. I have a marketing idea for her… ---
**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:** [February 14, 2021, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/473 "2021-02-14T10:13:25Z")
I’ve put my hand through a window once, and didn’t have so much as a scratch, so I guess it depends on exactly what kind of glass and the thickness; it’s not absolutely certain you’ll get cut up. Not that I am recommending anyone try it. NB1: I know a hand is a very different thing to a whole body NB2: No, it wasn’t tempered glass ---
**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:** [February 14, 2021, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/474 "2021-02-14T11:15:07Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Professors who are recognized as leaders in their fields will happily teach entry-level courses - because they like to meet “bright young minds”. This is not that weird in small fields. My first-year geology lecturers included 3 A-rated scientists, all world leaders in their respective fields. And yes, they all were there because they wanted to be, not because they had to be, AFAIK. ---
**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 14, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/475 "2021-02-14T12:52:01Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Professors who are recognized as leaders in their fields will happily teach entry-level courses My parents were both professors. They by far (especially my father) preferred teaching grad classes, but would teach 101 classes to MAJORS in their fields. What they hated teaching were “general requirements” classes that people took to fill elective credits. Majors classes required a B- to count as a class toward your major (and most people worked hard and wanted the A), but GR classes just had to be passed on a D-, and could even be taken pass/fail, which a lot of people did. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/476 "2021-02-14T13:09:52Z")
I surrender. So some renowned professors LOVE to teach introductory classes. In my college, we were lucky if one put in an appearance for ONE session - just to impress us with the prestige of the college. And, yes introductory classes were taught by teaching assistants. Come to think of it, some of them were my best teachers. ---
**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 14, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/477 "2021-02-14T14:09:13Z")
My brother accidentally put his hand through a pane of glass once when he was barreling through a porch door. He was four years old at the time, and had to be rushed to the hospital for stitches… ---
**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 14, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/478 "2021-02-14T15:17:54Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > And on the subject of getting thrown through windows; if you’re a bad guy who happens to get pushed out of a window of a two story house, there’s a better than average chance that there will be a wrought iron fence nearby upon which you will be impaled. Of course the other half of the equation is if you’re a good guy there will be a pool below, or at least an open dumpster with some soft trash bags to break their fall. ---
**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 14, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/479 "2021-02-14T15:35:24Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > > [@TheCuse](#): > > > > I’ve never had to ask for change or to break a large bill in order to leave a tip. > > I have but this hasn’t been an issue since I stopped carrying cash about twenty or so years ago. If the bill was $38 and all I have is $100 in $20 bills then I’m either going to leave a $2 tip or ask them to break a $20 so I can leave a decent tip. (A $2 isn’t an option of course because I’m not a monster.) If it was a $32 bill I’d probably just leave $40 on the table and be done with it. But don’t forget, the trope we were challenging was “leave big bill or crumpled wad of bills on the table and rush out”, usually chasing an angry date or some other emergency. And it’s just guessing\* at the amount, there’s never time to ask the server for a check; it’s always “WHAT?”/grab coat/throw bill/run. … \*Wait, that’s another part of this that doesn’t ring true. Is this person on a date and mentally doing the arithmetic the whole evening? “Hmmm, she’s getting another martini, that bumps her share to $32.75, that makes $58.25 total, plus 5.5% sales tax and 3.5% city tax, so with a 25% tip that’d come to… carry the 2… sorry, what were you… of COURSE I was listening to you, no don’t storm off, but actually, go ahead, I’ve got it all figured out.” ---
**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 14, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/480 "2021-02-14T15:49:12Z")
> [@digs](#): > > leave big bill or crumpled wad of bills on the table and rush out To be fair, if the person is at a familiar restaurant, where they may order the same thing a lot, then they may know what the bill will be. Once, when I saw this trope on _Mom_, the characters were at a restaurant they go to two or three times a week, and have for years. So it’s legitimate that they knew what the bill would be. But yes; it was distracting that I had to think it through like that. I missed a minute of dialogue. [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=23) [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=25)