# 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:** 26
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/501 "2021-02-14T20:07:13Z")
I apologize for derailing the thread. Can we get back to the topic? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/502 "2021-02-14T21:26:04Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > 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. Face up. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/503 "2021-02-14T21:39:22Z")
Also, falling people always land on the center of the roof of a car, never the hood or the trunk, or just clipping the bumper. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/504 "2021-02-14T21:39:41Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > There’s a widespread trope (in movies, TV or real life) of a physician giving patient X days/months/years to live. I have never heard of a doctor actually doing this. An M.D. might in response to a query say that patients with this particular affliction have a typical life expectancy of whatever, but c’mon - no one says “You’ve got three months to live - bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!” (even if the bwa-ha-ha-ha is only implied and not spoken). When my younger brother was diagnosed with brain cancer, the doctor told him a few months, and he’d be lucky to see Christmas (this was on Halloween Day). He actually died that December 23rd. When my twin sister was dying from her second bout of breast cancer, she was told “maybe six months.” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/505 "2021-02-14T23:48:57Z")
As explained earlier - if a physician is asked how long someone with a particular condition might typically live, they’ll generally give a ballpark answer (with the proviso that it is not at all an exact science). There’s a difference between that and the bogus trope about how “the doctor gave him six months to live”. \*in these stories, the patient often counfounds his physicians and lives indefinitely by believing in Jesus, taking an alt med remedy They didn’t want him to know about, or just being of sterner stuff than ordinary weaklings. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/506 "2021-02-15T00:09:15Z")
I’m not sure what the distinction you’re making is - is it that the doctor in the trope says “six months” instead of “5-6 months” or “around six months”. Or are you only talking about the trope where the patient is given six months to live and ends up living five more years because of glurge, and not the more commonly seen tropes where the doctor gives a few days and someone gets to the bedside just in time or where someone is given six months and spends that six months doing things they always meant do - and then dies right around six months ? ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/507 "2021-02-15T00:09:54Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Also, falling people always land on the center of the roof of a car, never the hood or the trunk, or just clipping the bumper. Falling people always leave a perfect puddle, and are perfectly intact upon landing, as if they were placed in a puddle of their own blood. There’s never any blunt force trauma or “exploded” organs, craniums, or limbs from the trauma. Never any splatters along the walls or passers by, either. Nope, folks that hit things land pristine by the laws of Hollywood physics. Tripler Clean as a whistle, with a tidy pool of blood. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/508 "2021-02-15T00:15:54Z")
I don’t know how to explain this much more clearly to you. Physicians in my experience do not dogmatically “give” anyone a set amount of time to live in response to questions about terminal illness. Unless I’m missing something from all the cancer conferences I’ve attended and all the consultation reports I’ve read, or have blocked out instances involving family members. “Doc - is it fatal”? “Yes. You’ve got six months to live.” Nope, doesn’t happen. ---
**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 15, 2021, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/509 "2021-02-15T00:18:26Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > Falling people always leave a perfect puddle, and are perfectly intact upon landing Nowadays, to show that their cop show is “darker”, the shot of the (perfect, unmarked) body from directly above has the pool of blood expand as if it’s leaking out the back of the head. Ooooh, edgy… not really. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/510 "2021-02-15T00:25:26Z")
Well, no, they probably don’t say “You’ve got six months to live” in precisely those words. And “give” might not be the perfect word. But here people have mentioned others being told “you won’t see Christmas” and when the doctor said my grandfather had a few days, most likely less than a week, I wasn’t imagining it. He didn’t have cancer- but your original post didn’t mention cancer either, ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/511 "2021-02-15T00:31:07Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > But here people have mentioned others being told “you won’t see Christmas” Wait long enough, and someone here will swear they were told “don’t buy any long-playing records.”\* \*or in more modern terms, “don’t bother with any extended downloads.” ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/512 "2021-02-15T00:48:53Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I was once at a Sears store in the early 70’s when a shoplifter/thief opted to exist by running through plate glass Potentially, that could be considered opting _not_ to exist… (Sorry - couldn’t help myself. I’ll just let myself out now. And not by the plate glass window…) ---
**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:** [February 15, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/513 "2021-02-15T01:14:44Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > What about getting thrown through a plate glass window? Does it ever happen and is it even possible to survive it? I knew a girl in high school who had walked through a sliding glass door a few years previously. She’d had a ton of surgeries, but was badly scarred and still walked with a bit of a limp. In addition to scars, she had a lot of skin discolorations – like birthmarks almost – I don’t know what you’d call them. She survived and had a decent quality of life, but it was a long haul getting to that pint. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/514 "2021-02-15T01:17:18Z")
standing in line to attack the hero - and guy #8 just knows he can win ! ---
**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 15, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/515 "2021-02-15T01:35:43Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > What about getting thrown through a plate glass window? > [@Broomstick](#): > > running through plate glass > [@Aspidistra](#): > > And not by the plate glass window… Why the distinction “plate” glass? Is there some way for a large glass window to be “non-plate” glass? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/516 "2021-02-15T03:00:14Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > 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. Yeah, as I said in post #444, it can happen that distinguished researchers sometimes teach entry-level courses. But again, that’s not because they’re trying to talent-spot “bright young minds”. They meet plenty of bright young minds in the upper-level and graduate courses. ---
**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 15, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/517 "2021-02-15T03:04:08Z")
Don’t buy any unripe bananas. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/518 "2021-02-15T03:17:46Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Why the distinction “plate” glass? Is there some way for a large glass window to be “non-plate” glass? [Picture Windows](https://www.kingshadeandwindow.com/wp-content/uploads/picture_window1.png) I think we can all agree it would be pretty unpleasant to get thrown through _that_. ---
**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 15, 2021, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/519 "2021-02-15T04:01:15Z")
Stained glass wouldn’t be a walk in the park either. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/520 "2021-02-15T04:40:36Z")
why would you have stained glass in the park? [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=25) [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=27)