# 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:** 282
**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:** [September 16, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5649 "2026-09-16T14:32:32Z")
There’s the practical requirements of staging a fire on a soundstage or a lot, where not generating huge volumes of smoke is necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2026, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5650 "2026-09-16T15:10:59Z")
Unless the smoke is plot-relevant, like in _Dog Day Afternoon_. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5651 "2026-09-16T17:10:02Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > You’re failure to follow directions Huh? 🙄 🤨 😳 ---
**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:** [September 16, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5652 "2026-09-16T17:26:14Z")
It was to Tamerlane who was giving directions in the post above and several others riffed on. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5653 "2026-09-16T18:35:22Z")
> [@solost](#): > > When any law enforcement agency is about to do a ‘SWAT’-style raid on some place where bad guys are holed up, everybody is in full protective gear including helmets, except for the 2 or 3 main characters leading the raid, who have vests on but never helmets. Can’t obscure those attractive faces! In theory- but of course not on TV- the armored SWAT guys go in first to clear. The detectives- wearing vests but not the rest of the gear- follow in when the situation is mostly safe. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5654 "2026-09-16T18:39:54Z")
And of course they have their side arms while everyone else has tactical rifles at the ready. I mean of course their 9mm police issue is going to make the difference if trouble arises. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5655 "2026-09-21T16:58:32Z")
I’m sure this one has been mentioned in the thread before, but I just encountered it in two different shows. Jumping from a moving car, and not suffering any injury after a bit of rolling. In _Lanterns_ Hal jumps from a moving car, and hops right up. He’s a superhero, but he isn’t using his powers at that time, so a normal human. The second season of _Beef_ one of the characters jumps from a moving car and after a rolling a bit hops up and is fine. Not a fantasy show, just one about people making bad decisions. The act of jumping from a moving car is **not** one of the bad decisions; it’s just being dramatic and treated as no more dangerous than similar dramatic actions like storming out of a house, or leaving a restaurant mid-meal. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5656 "2026-09-21T17:42:02Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Jumping from a moving car, and not suffering any injury after a bit of rolling. > > In _Lanterns_ Hal jumps from a moving car, and hops right up. The issue is more how fast. In my youth I rolled out of a moving Pickup, but it was going pretty slow, and I had nice soft stuff to hit. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5657 "2026-09-21T18:15:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The issue is more how fast Yep. Run as fast as you possibly can and dive onto asphalt, a gravel shoulder, soft grass, a cactus, etc. That will simulate leaping from a car going about 15MPH. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5658 "2026-09-21T18:17:13Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Yep. Run as fast as you possibly can and dive onto asphalt, a gravel shoulder, soft grass, a cactus, etc. That will simulate leaping from a car going about 15MPH. I suggest the soft grass. 😛 Do note that stuntmen can do this without serious injury. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5659 "2026-09-21T18:29:25Z")
It helps if you’re wearing a thick leather jacket and have mastered the “spin on your back” maneuver. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5660 "2026-09-21T18:36:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I suggest the soft grass. 😛 > > Do note that stuntmen can do this without serious injury. I think this is related to the cases where: When someone jumps from the second story or higher into a dumpster, the dumpster is inevitably filled with empty egg crates and foam rubber chunks. When fighting in an alley, one of the fighters always gets knocked into a stack of completely assembled but empty cardboard boxes. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5661 "2026-09-21T19:20:52Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > When someone jumps from the second story or higher into a dumpster, the dumpster is inevitably filled with empty egg crates and foam rubber chunks. I was re-watching the Grisham film The Firm the other day, starring Tom Cruise among many others. Tom Cruise has a scene where he leaps from a second or third story window to land into a truck bed filled with nice, soft bales of cotton. It’s ridiculous. But what I did slightly appreciate about it is that they set it up like Chekhov’s gun - the same truck is parked in the same spot illegally multiple days ahead of time and you get treated to an argument between the driver and a cop about why it is always being parked there. It’s still pretty ridiculous. But kudos to them for at least putting some thought into their contrived, ridiculous scene - usually no one even bothers 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5662 "2026-09-21T19:41:29Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > But what I did slightly appreciate about it is that they set it up like Chekhov’s gun - the same truck is parked in the same spot illegally multiple days ahead of time and you get treated to an argument between the driver and a cop about why it is always being parked there. Just like the guys selling fruit and carrying a sheet of glass back and forth across the street in _Wayne’s World 2_. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5663 "2026-09-21T19:41:58Z")
That reminds me of all the times I got to tromp cotton. My father-in-law was a cotton farmer and after the cotton stripper would load up the cotton trailer, we had to get in and tromp it down so that it could hold more. You could stomp on it or take the more fun route and climb on the top of the trailer and jump into it. Good times. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5664 "2026-09-22T00:17:50Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Jumping from a moving car, and not suffering any injury after a bit of rolling. In Ride or Die the heroes jump out of a moving train. They do not roll down a convenient slope, land in a haystack, or anything else - just flat ground. Somehow they are completely uninjured. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5665 "2026-09-22T00:23:27Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Tom Cruise has a scene where he leaps from a second or third story window to land into a truck bed filled with nice, soft bales of cotton. It’s ridiculous. In **Ponies** Emilia Clarke jumps out of a 3rd storey window into a garbage bin no more than a metre square filled with presumably soft stuff (in Moscow in 1977?!?). Naturally she lands precisely in the middle, not touching the sides, and is completely uninjured. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2026, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5666 "2026-09-22T02:18:52Z")
I haven’t seen this one in a while, but it seems like in 1970s TV shows there was a trope where a bad guy in a car would try to run over the hero, and the hero would survive by leaping towards the car, do a somersault rolling over the hood, and land on his feet while the car safely drove past him. I seem to remember Mannix doing this a lot. That seems even more implausible than surviving a leap out of a moving car. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2026, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5667 "2026-09-22T04:00:56Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I was re-watching the Grisham film The Firm the other day, starring Tom Cruise among many others. Tom Cruise has a scene where he leaps from a second or third story window to land into a truck bed filled with nice, soft bales of cotton. It’s ridiculous. Related to this is the popular “Jumping off of an overpass onto a moving semi-truck” to escape. I honestly doubt that this has ever been successful in real life. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2026, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/5668 "2026-09-22T04:43:25Z")
I suspect this triggered some deaths via copycat idiocy, so they stopped showing this. Similarly when they depicted characters (young men usually) lying on the white lines on highways unscathed, as if they were magically immune from vehicles changing lanes. [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=281) [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=283)