# 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:** 38
**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:** [March 1, 2021, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/741 "2021-03-01T07:16:45Z")
I’ll cop to that. I was basing it off of American tv sitcoms ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/742 "2021-03-01T07:25:26Z")
Every cop show, every crime scene. Cops wandering about in their everyday clothes and shoes, moving stuff around and picking it up - all fine so long as you put on one latex glove. And don’t forget to go to the autopsy. There’s always something gross stuck way down deep in the victim’s mouth or ear that the pathologist missed. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/743 "2021-03-01T08:22:29Z")
The heroes are forced to hunker down for the night in hostile territory, and the group’s Tough Guy, who’s usually the only one with any outdoors experience, says, in a gruff tone, “I’ll take first watch”, as if he’s making a huge sacrifice for the team. …dude, the first watch is the _best_ watch! You finish it, and you get to sleep till dawn! If your were really a tough outdoorsman, you’d volunteer for one of the _middle_ watches. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/744 "2021-03-01T08:23:27Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I love how the field surgeon–or _any surgeon_ –just goes fishin’ around in an open wound as if he’s got a shovel in a wide trench, lookin’ for that small nugget ‘o’ gold. Radiography, bah! Just start poking and prodding! This was beautifully lampshaded in the comedy _Game Night_ with Justin Bateman. He’d been shot in the forearm, wife needed to get the bullet out. She used a knife to make a slit, then was digging around quite a lot. Couldn’t find the bullet. At one point, Bateman turns him arm over for both of them to see the exit wound. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/745 "2021-03-01T08:45:18Z")
Not to mention that in many cases, it’s better to just leave the bullet in. It’s already done as much harm as it’s going to. Besides the damage caused by all that poking around, the bullet might just be plugging a hole in an artery. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/746 "2021-03-01T09:29:02Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’ve never heard of a doctor giving X months or years to live- but I have heard of weeks or days. Back in the late '80s, IIRC, I read a Readers Digest story (the magazine or one of those collected stories books?) wherein a brain surgeon was telling his war stories. In one, he told a patient, with the wife standing by, the bad news. “How long do I have, doc?” “Minutes.” Patient just took his wife in his arms, murmuring things like, ‘We’ve had a good life’ and was indeed gone minutes later. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2021, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/747 "2021-03-01T10:02:11Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > If your were really a tough outdoorsman, you’d volunteer for one of the _middle_ watches. Or the last one, because if the hours to be covered are an odd number, the last guy gets the long shift. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/748 "2021-03-01T10:06:38Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Or the last one, because if the hours to be covered are an odd number, the last guy gets the long shift. Nah. Any shift that lets you sleep straight through the night is better than a shift where you have to wake up and go back to sleep. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2021, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/749 "2021-03-01T10:08:16Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Besides the damage caused by all that poking around, the bullet might just be plugging a hole in an artery. Pretty much everything I’ve read agrees that what really killed Pres. Garfield were the attempts to retrieve the bullet. Given that he lived for more than three months after the assassination shot, and people tried something new every few days to locate the bullet, including a number of exploratory surgeries, one led by a crude early attempt at some sort of sonar with a device designed by AG Bell. Now, I don’t know that the bullet was plugging a hole in an artery, and it shifted, and he bled out. More like, his immune system was fighting the good fight initially, but new bacteria were being introduced every few days, until he was overwhelmed. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2021, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/750 "2021-03-01T10:12:48Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Nah. Any shift that lets you sleep straight through the night is better than a shift where you have to wake up and go back to sleep. Actually, that’s my opinion, but when we had fireguard in basic, the last shift, the long one, was the least popular. I used to volunteer for it, and go to bed early, during our 45 minutes of personal time, assuming we actually got it that night. Speaking of sleep deprivation, people on TV with newborns are NEVER as exhausted as people with newborns should be. Particularly about 4 weeks in. That’s the point where even fathers and adoptive parents look like zombies. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/751 "2021-03-01T10:23:11Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Actually, that’s my opinion, but when we had fireguard in basic, the last shift, the long one, was the least popular. I used to volunteer for it, and go to bed early, during our 45 minutes of personal time, assuming we actually got it that night. I’m assuming that fireguard is what we used to call camp guard - one guy from the platoon who’s up and in uniform, patrolling the campsite. We just used to do half-hour shifts, by bed, meaning you’d just wake up the guy on the cot to the right (or left) of yours when you’re done. Switching wasn’t really allowed. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2021, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/752 "2021-03-01T11:51:55Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > That was **lucky**. MGs are weird. The wheels fit on with a spindle device instead of nuts, and you use a mallet to take it on or off. It would be very easy for a tire tech with no experience with an MG to strip it, or to be so worried about stripping it that it would be put on to loosely. And it has no fail-safe, the way cars have 4-6 nuts. There’s one spindle. If it fails, that’s it. Many cars in the old days had wheels that were held on by one big nut. One variety had wings and were removed/installed by smacking them with a brass hammer. It may be an urban legend, but the story is that two films in the 1960’s featured said cars, and the U.S. government banned them shortly thereafter. The one film was a biography of dancer Isadore Duncan who was killed when riding in a car (Bugatti?) and her LONG neck scarf got caught in the wheel nut. The other film was one of the James Bond films (Goldfinger?) His Aston Martin featured a wheel nut that could be extended out from the car to tear up the tires on adjacent vehicles. Early 1960’s MGB’s had wing wheel nuts. Later MG changed to a BIG hex nut, but still one nut per wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/753 "2021-03-01T14:19:07Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > > [@Steve\_MB](#): > > > > I was riding down the highway with MrsSteve\_MB driving when a tire blew out about ten years ago. We spun around and crashed into the median barrier – neither of us was injured, but the car was a total loss. > > OK; I actually worked in a shop for about a year after the military (I was a power generator mechanic in the military), and I saw a lot of cars and light trucks that had blown a tire-- literally blown one, not just been riding on a flat-- and while in some cases the wheel was too damaged to be usable, and in a few cases, there was some damage to the front end parts, like the tie-rod end, and while I also grant that we didn’t see the more severely damaged cars, we saw enough for me to say that a lot of cars _do_ survive blowing a tire. > > A lot of it may depend on things like how big what you hit is-- I can see a scenario where something big got stuck in the tire, and prevented the wheel from turning, and _that_ caused the car to skid, especially if it were a drive wheel, and the car did not have a limited slip differential, so the opposite wheel spun like wild when the one got stuck. > > I have never encountered a car that had a tire shot out, but I don’t think it would make you skid off the road. It would slow you down, though. Which is why it’s a really dumb thing to do to a car you are _pursuing_, something I have seen on TV, but doubt _ever_ happens in real life. YouTube has enough videos of real-life high-speed chases ended by spike strip to prove that even a speeding car will not automatically crash when the tires are blown. Even when the tires are in tatters and the car’s driving on rims, it’s still controllable. > [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > You still see more if it on TV shows because it fulfills a nostalgic male fantasy. _Nostalgic_? ---
**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:** [March 1, 2021, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/754 "2021-03-01T14:27:45Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Even when the tires are in tatters and the car’s driving on rims, it’s still controllable. Come to think of it, there was a story in the newspaper about 25 years ago, about a gay couple who had parked and gotten out of their car for a nature walk in a remote place, but one open to the public, and with marked trails. They came back to find all four of their tires cut, and a group of about four menacing looking young men walking toward them. They didn’t debate the subject; they got in the car and drove as fast as they could on the rims to a location where more people were around, and then to the nearest garage, which allowed them to call the police (and probably their insurance). I don’t know at what speed they were traveling, but I know the roads they would have used, and the limit was mostly 45, with a stretch of 55, so to not be a hazard, they would have needed to go at least 30, I’m estimating. I’m sure they ruined the rims, but I would have done the same thing. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/755 "2021-03-01T14:34:25Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > > [@Procrustus](#): > > > > > [@Superdude](#): > > > > > > It’s been my observation that the “hot wife, fat husband” trope occurs far less in real life than it does in entertainment. > > > > Hang out with a bunch of really rich 55 to 70 year old men and their wives You’ll see some of that. > > I think it was also more common in the past even among non-rich people. When women’s career prospects were more restricted, a man with a steady job had a better chance to land a pretty wife, regardless of his looks. Women doctors and lawyers can afford to be more picky. Also, having a spare tire was often considered a sign of prosperity for a man (at least until baby boomers got interested in fitness ca. 1970). > > You still see more of it on TV shows because it fulfills a nostalgic male fantasy. Also there’s the high school jock who, peaking in high school, marries the hottest girl in school. Then he continues to party like he did in his high school days and lets himself go, while his wife keeps herself tight. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/756 "2021-03-01T14:44:09Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The heroes are forced to hunker down for the night in hostile territory, and the group’s Tough Guy, who’s usually the only one with any outdoors experience, says, in a gruff tone, “I’ll take first watch”, as if he’s making a huge sacrifice for the team. > > …dude, the first watch is the _best_ watch! You finish it, and you get to sleep till dawn! If your were really a tough outdoorsman, you’d volunteer for one of the _middle_ watches. Yeah, but then the tough guy never wakes up anybody and keeps watch the whole night. Cut to dawn, the others groggily waking up while he is stoically still on watch. “Why didn’t you wake us up?” “Eh, you looked so peaceful, I didn’t have the heart”. Which is dumb, because then the most capable member of the group is also the most sleep-deprived. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/757 "2021-03-01T14:48:43Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > public, and with marked trails. > > They came back to find all four of their tires cut, and a group of about four menacing looking young men walking toward them. Were banjos playing? ---
**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:** [March 1, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/758 "2021-03-01T14:59:33Z")
The article didn’t say. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/759 "2021-03-01T15:37:25Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Yeah, but then the tough guy never wakes up anybody and keeps watch the whole night. Cut to dawn, the others groggily waking up while he is stoically still on watch. “Why didn’t you wake us up?” “Eh, you looked so peaceful, I didn’t have the heart”. > > Which is dumb, because then the most capable member of the group is also the most sleep-deprived. Heh. Yeah, you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/760 "2021-03-01T15:56:03Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Not to mention that in many cases, it’s better to just leave the bullet in. That gets so annoying.“We have to take the bullet out, or he’ll DIE!” Why? People can live the rest of their lives with a bullet inside them. Plus, JUST taking the bullet out doesn’t msagically fix the nicked artery, or the damaged nerve, broken bone, or prevent infection. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > including a number of exploratory surgeries, one led by a crude early attempt at some sort of sonar with a device designed by AG Bell. It may have been crude, but it was correct. Bell showed where the bullet was, but the “I know more than you” doctors didn’t believe Bell. Of course, as you noted, Garfield died from sepsis. His body was one large infection when he died, because the “I know more than you” American doctors didn’t wash up before poking around inside. If garfield’s wound had be inflicted today, his surgery would have been outptient, and he’d have been home for supper. > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > The idea that someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing can checkmate an experienced opponent because he never experienced their random-move strategy before. They even did that in a Magnum PI, and it wasn’t just random moves, it was the Scholar’s Mate, IIRC. AND it was an important plot point! [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=37) [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=39)