# 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:** 77
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1521 "2021-08-18T03:11:36Z")
Even limited exposure to Chinese historical action films tells me that I can support myself by stepping on a spinning sword ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1522 "2021-08-18T04:12:36Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Nope! Also, if you are a damsel falling from a skyscraper and Superman flies up at you and extends his arms to catch you, you will hit his arms at 120-180 mph and die. > > And Superman will have to send his suit out for dry cleaning. The body heat emanating from his arms acts as a super cushion to slow down the lass before she hits. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2021, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1523 "2021-08-18T04:25:56Z")
Seriously, I would like to see a superhero fly or swing down to catch a falling person. They’d match their speed to the (by now unconscious) person, and gradually push them away from a vertical fall… and hopefully miss the ground at the end of their _very_ wide arc\* as they “slow down slowly”. They’d both end up flying horizontally, not speeding back up into the sky. \*So if you’re falling, call for Supes right away, while you’re still a half mile up. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1524 "2021-08-18T12:49:23Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Nope! Also, if you are a damsel falling from a skyscraper and Superman flies up at you and extends his arms to catch you, you will hit his arms at 120-180 mph and die. Also applies if you’re falling from a bridge, and Spider-Man snags you with his web. R.I.P., Gwen Stacy. 😢 ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1525 "2021-08-18T13:09:11Z")
When a group of friends from high school or college reunite after a long period of time, all of them have exciting and important jobs- bestselling author, movie star, senator, celebrity chef, inventor. Maybe one will be an investment banker, and worry about giving up their idealism for money. It’s about as realistic as a group of high schoolers all getting into the Ivy League together. Interestingly, it does sometimes happen- remember that Al Gore was Tommy Lee Jones roommate. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1526 "2021-08-18T13:38:20Z")
I think that would be more plausible if the characters attended an elite secondary school or university. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2021, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1527 "2021-08-18T13:46:00Z")
> [@JohnnyEcks](#): > > When a group of friends from high school or college reunite after a long period of time, all of them have exciting and important jobs- bestselling author, movie star, senator, celebrity chef, inventor. Maybe one will be an investment banker, and worry about giving up their idealism for money. It’s about as realistic as a group of high schoolers all getting into the Ivy League together. > Interestingly, it does sometimes happen- remember that Al Gore was Tommy Lee Jones roommate… One of them will be a loser. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1528 "2021-08-18T14:39:58Z")
One of them will be dead - but look like Kevin Costner ---
**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:** [August 18, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1529 "2021-08-18T15:43:02Z")
Another one will have just gone through a divorce. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1530 "2021-08-18T15:54:18Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > But if you instead fall that same distance and your harness catches on something that stops the harness dead in the air, well, the mushy parts of you will try to keep on going, and I suspect you won’t make it down in a single piece. Wasn’t that how Hannibal Lector killed someone in the book/movie _Hannibal_? Supposedly a medieval/Renaissance Italy way of spectacularly doing away with someone. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1531 "2021-08-18T15:55:53Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The key to surviving impact with a planet is to lose relative speed slowly. > > The key difference between an airplane landing or an airplane turning into an oversize lawn dart is the nature of the impact with the ground. In the “lawn dart” scenario all the potential energy is given up at once, resulting in crumpled aluminum containing mush. In the normal landing scenario the speed/energy is reduced gradually so when the airplane finally touches the ground it is a gentle tap that does no damage. The same amount of energy is involved in both cases, the difference in result is how the energy is managed (or not). See “lithobraking”. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2021, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1532 "2021-08-18T16:05:08Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Nope! Also, if you are a damsel falling from a skyscraper and Superman flies up at you and extends his arms to catch you, you will hit his arms at 120-180 mph and die. > > And Superman will have to send his suit out for dry cleaning. Superman must be using his contact levitation power that makes it possible for him to pick up aircraft carriers. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1533 "2021-08-18T16:20:08Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Wasn’t that how Hannibal Lector killed someone in the book/movie _Hannibal_ ? Supposedly a medieval/Renaissance Italy way of spectacularly doing away with someone. Yup. He tied him to a metal hand cart, eviscerated him, and then pushed him out the window. The rope caught him as he fell but his intestines continued all the way down… ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1534 "2021-08-18T17:49:04Z")
Yep. Superman has skills that can only be attributed to magic. Batman, on the other hand, at least SEEMS to pay lip service to the laws of physics even if most of his nifty gadgets would not work as advertised. So if it comes down to choosing which one to stop me as I make my unplanned descent from the skyscraper, it’ll have to be Superman. I’d never heard of lithobraking but the Wiki article seems to basically be saying it’s a combination of SOME kind of reverse thrust (to slow the vehicle down), and a whole lot of balloon cushioning (glorified bubble wrap) to absorb / spread out the final impact and slow the rate at which you go from 100 to zero. I wonder if Mythbusters ever looked into that sort of use for bubble wrap… ---
**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:** [August 18, 2021, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1535 "2021-08-18T18:00:11Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I wonder if Mythbusters ever looked into that sort of use for bubble wrap… They did indeed. IIRC, it did not end well. The dummy they wrapped would have suffered severe internal injuries. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1536 "2021-08-18T19:23:19Z")
Yeah, but as I recall, Lector sliced open the guy’s lower abdomen before he pushed over the balcony. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2021, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1537 "2021-08-20T04:56:05Z")
Nobody tell this to Jackie Chan. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2021, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1538 "2021-08-20T06:41:52Z")
Snipers in movies/TV will always have their target sighted in so that only their head or very upper body is visible through their scope. As far as I can tell in real life having that large image in your reticle means either your within pistol range of your target or the slightest movement would throw off your aim completely. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2021, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1539 "2021-08-20T06:43:51Z")
Why did Hannibal Lecter invite Jackie Chan to dinner? He was in the mood for a little Chinese, 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1540 "2021-08-20T19:11:28Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Nobody tell this to Jackie Chan. No, you’d want to ask his doctor. Jackie Chan is riddled with injuries from such stunts. [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=76) [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=78)