# 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:** 245
**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 21, 2025, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4909 "2025-04-21T15:29:29Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There is a gavel. It’s up there on the bench as decoration saying “this is a courtroom.” I’ve never seen the judge even glance at it. In some courtrooms the bailiff will bang it at t he start of the day to announce the judge is coming (“all rise!”) But it’s rare in my experience. Like you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a judge use one for any purpose. Certainly not to proclaim “There will be order in this courtroom, or I’ll clear it out!” ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4910 "2025-04-22T06:03:29Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’ve never seen a judge use the gavel. We are slowly going through all nine seasons of _Perry Mason_. I’ve not noticed any episodes where the judge used a gavel, preferring to tap the desk top with a pen instead. Verisimilitude, at least in Los Angeles county perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4911 "2025-04-22T13:17:41Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Verisimilitude Verisimilitude, word of the day. 🙂👍👍🙌🙌 ---
**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:** [April 26, 2025, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4912 "2025-04-26T01:46:07Z")
I’m sure they exist but I’ve never been in a business office that had multiple decanters of booze. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4913 "2025-04-26T02:04:03Z")
Verisimilitude, a good word to spread. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/s-RUCasghSw/hqdefault.jpg "The Dick Van Dyke Show - I'm No Henry Walden! (Verisimilitude)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-RUCasghSw&t=182s) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4914 "2025-04-26T10:09:14Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I’m sure they exist but I’ve never been in a business office that had multiple decanters of booze. By the time I worked at the brewery, the engineering office had gone dry. The meeting booze was still there though. I won’t say it was good stuff – I wouldn’t know, I suspect it was only stuff from companies with distribution agreements. The factory was still wet, and went dry later (health and safety). No more free beer at lunch or break. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4915 "2025-04-26T21:54:56Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I’m sure they exist but I’ve never been in a business office that had multiple decanters of booze. I was in advertising just after the Mad Men era. They’d quit having office-wide open bar before I joined, but the top brass would still have a nip at 5:00 on a Friday. It was really something to peek in the “Booze Cabinet” (a classy, mid-century modern birch sideboard)… I’d bet there was easily a thousand bucks worth of scotch, gin and tequila in there. And it was still there years after anyone was day drinking… hmmm, wonder if it’s still there? ---
**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:** [April 26, 2025, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4916 "2025-04-26T22:34:36Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Maybe it’s a regional thing? There is a gavel. It’s up there on the bench as decoration saying “this is a courtroom.” I’ve never seen the judge even glance at it. The two times I’ve served on juries were both in Indiana. In both cases, the judge used the gavel to punctuate the fact that court was or was not declared in session-- that is to say, four times a day. Once, in session in the morning, out of session for lunch, back in session after lunch, and out of session for the day. Had anything untoward happened, causing a lawyer to ask for a break, like they do on TV, and we’d been out of session for an hour, or something, I imagine there would have been two more gavel bangs. I suppose if there is ever any legal question if something is said or done in or out of session, the stenographer has recorded the gavel sound, so there is no question of when someone perceived the court to be in or out of session. The appearance of the gavel is pretty obvious, too, and Deaf people are very alert, so I think it’s both a visual and audio signal. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4917 "2025-04-27T17:44:11Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Ah, old school memes, with the great title “[2 idiots 1 keyboard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ)” He unplugged the _monitor_??? ---
**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 28, 2025, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4918 "2025-04-28T00:57:54Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > > > Ah, old school memes, with the great title “[2 idiots 1 keyboard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ)” > > He unplugged the _monitor_??? So he wouldn’t have to watch them anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4919 "2025-04-29T03:18:27Z")
Yankees visiting the South are often haunted by the ghosts of dead Confederates, which is weird because you’d think if Ghosts exist all those Confederate ghosts would be too busy having to fight off all those ghosts of dead Slaves who have far more of a right to be angry after death than “We lost the war oh no!” And yes I know ghosts aren’t real but there are weirdly a ton of Confederate ghost stories out there in the real world. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4920 "2025-04-29T03:23:07Z")
You’d think Nazi death camps would be crawling with ghosts. ---
**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 29, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4921 "2025-04-29T16:37:04Z")
All of which led C.S. Lewis to comment on the bizarreness of humanity’s fear of the dead supernaturally returning: “why dead men (assuredly the least dangerous kind of men) should have attached this peculiar feeling.” ---
**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 29, 2025, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4922 "2025-04-29T16:51:31Z")
It seems like a trope I’ve noticed in supernatural stuff that I’ve called “stronger after death”, wherein a ghost takes on dangerous deadly powers that they didn’t have in life. Or the ever-present zombies who can only be stopped by shooting them in the head; any other organ shot that would stop a living in its tracks doesn’t faze them a bit. This TV Trope looks like it comes close: > **[Death-Activated Superpower - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeathActivatedSuperPower)** > > Winning the Superpower Lottery is a good thing, right? Well, unless you're Blessed with Suck or Cursed with Awesome. But what happens when you're a Differently Powered Individual whose powers only activate upon your death? Kind of a downer, huh? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4923 "2025-05-05T22:57:12Z")
Maybe I’ve mentioned it here, and I haven’t seen it in a while, but here it is: A driver has a very annoying passenger who won’t get out of the car, so they park the car in the middle of a busy intersection and refuse to move until that person gets out. Has anyone here actually done this? ---
**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:** [May 5, 2025, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4924 "2025-05-05T23:22:08Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Maybe I’ve mentioned it here, and I haven’t seen it in a while, but here it is: A driver has a very annoying passenger who won’t get out of the car, so they park the car in the middle of a busy intersection and refuse to move until that person gets out. > > Has anyone here actually done this? I haven’t seen a driver stop directly in the middle of the street but I’ve certainly seen them call the police to have the passenger removed. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4925 "2025-05-06T03:55:44Z")
That would work nowadays, but a few decades ago, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4926 "2025-05-06T07:03:08Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > They have to work their way up to 360 joules Well, once upon a time we _did_ have to work our way up to 360 joules. (You’re reminding me of my long-ago EMT-3 ballad to the tune of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” which had the line “so shock at two hundred and then at three, and shock at 360 and start an IV” etc.) And it was believed at the time that in the immediate aftermath of a shock, the myocardium was transiently more receptive to a subsequent shock. Hence the three “stacked” shocks. Ah, the memories ! ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4927 "2025-05-06T07:04:27Z")
But of course (as I think has already been pointed out) the EKG never displayed a shockable rhythm at those times. They were always shocking a flatline. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/4928 "2025-05-07T00:09:24Z")
Old time crime boss or owner of a ranch in a Western goes to physically attack someone who annoys him, then growls to his minions “Hold me back, boys, or I’ll kill him!”. They do. Ever happen in real life? [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=244) [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=246)