# 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:** 78
**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:** [August 22, 2021, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1541 "2021-08-22T19:55:39Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > If mocha chip ice cream exists, I’ve never seen it, but on TV and in movies, it’s the universal ice cream flavor. Jamoca Almond Chip used to be the number one flavor at Baskin-Robbins. I haven’t been to one of their shops in decades, so I don’t know it’s still around. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2021, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1542 "2021-08-22T22:17:07Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Jamoca Almond Chip used to be the number one flavor at Baskin-Robbins. I haven’t been to one of their shops in decades, so I don’t know it’s still around Are you thinking of Jamoca Almond Fudge? (Asking, no snark) ---
**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:** [August 22, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1543 "2021-08-22T23:46:23Z")
Yes! I said it had been a long time… ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1544 "2021-08-23T02:28:09Z")
I scooped quite a bit of that back in the day. There’s a BR31 in my town; maybe I should stop in and see if they still have it. They had about a dozen flavors that all stores had to carry, and rotated others. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1545 "2021-11-02T17:49:03Z")
People being murdered by placing a pillow over their face. Are pillows that dangerous? Are both sides of a pillow good for murdering people or is one side for murdering and the other side for sleeping on? Do people actually die because they roll over in their sleep and their pillow kills them? The end of the world or some other disaster causes an estranged couple to reconcile (2012, Greenland, San Andreas). In reality - “Sir…is there anyone else you would like to take with you to the secret asteroid-proof shelter?” “Ummmmm…nope.” ---
**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:** [November 2, 2021, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1546 "2021-11-02T18:00:24Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > People being murdered by placing a pillow over their face. Are pillows that dangerous? Are both sides of a pillow good for murdering people or is one side for murdering and the other side for sleeping on? Do people actually die because they roll over in their sleep and their pillow kills them? Yes, they do, which is why it’s vital to make sure the correct side of your pillow is up before going to sleep. Many, many cases of “died in their sleep” could have been avoided had people put the correct side of the pillow up. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1547 "2021-11-02T18:48:13Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Not being shot when running from bad guys firing machine guns at you. Or bad guys shooting at you with machine guns. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1548 "2021-11-02T18:57:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Yes, they do, which is why it’s vital to make sure the correct side of your pillow is up before going to sleep. Many, many cases of “died in their sleep” could have been avoided had people put the correct side of the pillow up. Now I’m picturing something like a claymore. [![](https://render.fineartamerica.com/images/rendered/default/greeting-card/images/artworkimages/medium/3/m-18a1-claymore-mine-front-toward-enemy-mark-hendrickson-transparent.png?&targetx=0&targety=41&imagewidth=700&imageheight=418&modelwidth=700&modelheight=500&backgroundcolor=ffffff&orientation=0) ](https://render.fineartamerica.com/images/rendered/default/greeting-card/images/artworkimages/medium/3/m-18a1-claymore-mine-front-toward-enemy-mark-hendrickson-transparent.png?&targetx=0&targety=41&imagewidth=700&imageheight=418&modelwidth=700&modelheight=500&backgroundcolor=ffffff&orientation=0) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1549 "2022-01-10T04:19:44Z")
A funeral will almost always occur during a rainstorm. The mourners will all be carrying black umbrellas. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2022, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1550 "2022-01-10T05:13:59Z")
And watching from the distance, there will be a lone figure in black, or in a trenchcoat, or in a black trenchcoat. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1551 "2022-01-10T15:23:02Z")
And the funerals always take place at the freshly-dug grave site where the coffin is lowered into the ground, and there’s an emotional moment where people take turns throwing roses or ceremonial scoops of dirt into the grave, often filmed upward from coffin-view. I’ve been to my share of funerals in my lifetime, and there’s usually a church ceremony, the procession from the church to the cemetery, then another ceremony in the cemetery chapel, and then on to a luncheon where there may be some reminiscing. I’ve never been to a funeral that had the coffin-lowering ceremony at the actual burial site. Is that a real-life thing that I’ve just somehow missed, or is that just a TV / movie convention? ---
**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:** [January 10, 2022, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1552 "2022-01-10T15:27:50Z")
… And the only part of the cemetery where the rain is coming down is over the grave. Everywhere else, the Sun is shining brightly. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1553 "2022-01-10T15:28:00Z")
I’ve only been to a handful of funerals but the one for my college roommate had us at the gravesite, throwing dirt on top. (It was a Jewish funeral and that’s part of the custom, apparently.) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1554 "2022-01-10T15:30:01Z")
And there is one mysterious person no one knows standing on the knoll overlooking the funeral. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1555 "2022-01-10T15:32:27Z")
BTW, one thing I noticed with movie/TV show funerals and other things that show a hole dug in the ground, is how absolutely square and straight the holes are. Every time I tried to dig a hole, it ended up an irregular mess, though that may be because the soil where I grew up was so rocky, it just wasn’t possible to make a clean hole. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1556 "2022-01-10T15:34:12Z")
If it turns out to be a cop, he’ll take advantage of the situation to approach the widow (it’s always a widow) and further his investigation. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1557 "2022-01-10T15:34:38Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I’ve never been to a funeral that had the coffin-lowering ceremony at the actual burial site. Is that a real-life thing that I’ve just somehow missed, or is that just a TV / movie convention? I’ve been to a lot of funerals – many when I was an altar boy and, sadly, in recent years, many of relatives and people I’ve known. There certainly is a grave-side ceremony where people will usually place flowers on the coffin. Thy usually “dress up” the site with Astro-turf-like fake grass covering the new excavation and dirt, and often with a tent-like pavilion near the grave (nobody has to carry those black umbrellas, should it rain). More often than not, I’ve seen the coffin suspended on canvas tethers on a four-sided tubular thing that sits around the gravesite. When everyone leaves they hit a release and two of the tubes rotate, letting the canvas tethers slowly unfurl and gradually lower the coffin into the grave. YMMV ---
**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:** [January 10, 2022, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1558 "2022-01-10T15:41:05Z")
If the stiff was a hit, the mobster(s) responsible will be among the mourners. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1559 "2022-01-10T15:44:19Z")
That’s a fair description of my Grandpa’s funeral, complete with some throwing in of random items onto the coffin, along with a few shovels of soil. There was a service inside first, then the ‘ashes to ashes’ bit with coffin lowering outside in the graveyard. Sadly no-one showed up standing mysteriously half out of view in a long black coat and veil though. Given that he may have still been legally married at the time- something we’re still not sure about- I feel that was a missed opportunity. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1560 "2022-01-10T15:46:10Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > BTW, one thing I noticed with movie/TV show funerals and other things that show a hole dug in the ground, is how absolutely square and straight the holes are. Every time I tried to dig a hole, it ended up an irregular mess, though that may be because the soil where I grew up was so rocky, it just wasn’t possible to make a clean hole. Were you using a mechanized trench-digger? [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=77) [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=79)