# 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:** 84
**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:** [January 18, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1661 "2022-01-18T19:55:40Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Somehow the Teflon increased bullet velocity 5x. Super-supersonic! As I understand it, the Teflon doesn’t make the bullet super penetrating; the Teflon protects the gun from the super hard penetrating round (which 9mm isn’t). ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1662 "2022-01-21T01:39:09Z")
Most movies follow the “if you cough once you are dead” rule, which I guess has become more accurate in recent years but is still far from the norm. ---
**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 23, 2022, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1663 "2022-01-23T00:03:16Z")
See also the “if you are a childbearing age female who throws up and it’s not obviously from drinking too much, you’re pregnant” rule. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1664 "2022-01-23T01:22:46Z")
Also “If someone is shown going poo or pee and it isn’t a comedy, something immediately bad is going to happen” ---
**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 23, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1665 "2022-01-23T01:29:42Z")
Any time someone says “It’s nothing, just a little indigestion,” you can expect a heart attack in the next few seconds. ---
**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:** [January 23, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1666 "2022-01-23T15:09:14Z")
A toilet in a Walmart. Because the test was stolen, and she couldn’t take it out of the store without setting off the alarm. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1667 "2022-01-23T15:18:40Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > [@Asuka](#): > > > > Somehow the Teflon increased bullet velocity 5x. > > Super-supersonic! > > As I understand it, the Teflon doesn’t make the bullet super penetrating; the Teflon protects the gun from the super hard penetrating round (which 9mm isn’t). I thought Teflon prevented the bullet from sticking to armor. Of course, a bullet will be stopped by any object conveniently located in your breast pocket - a pocketwatch, drinking flask, Bible or other book, notepad containing the secret formula or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1668 "2022-04-13T00:18:57Z")
> [@solost](#): > > See also the “if you are a childbearing age female who throws up and it’s not obviously from drinking too much, you’re pregnant” rule. Hey, sometimes they have cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1669 "2022-04-13T01:59:23Z")
Unless it’s about intimacy, TV is a dangerous place to have a headache. Not that I want to see valuable time filled with trivia… but no one ever can’t find their keys, fills up the car tank or runs out of wiper fluid, has indigestion, waits to find the relevant news story. Might be a different thread, though. 😉 ---
**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:** [April 13, 2022, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1670 "2022-04-13T03:40:32Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Not that I want to see valuable time filled with trivia… but no one ever can’t find their keys Probably for the dealbreaker thread, but if any of those trivial things _do_ happen, then it will turn out to be a major plot point, not just some trivial thing that’s forgotten about a few minutes later. To bring it around to this thread, random stuff slightly changes my plans all the time, and yet it’s never made a life or death difference for me (as far as I know). I was a few minutes late leaving work because I had to go back in to get my glasses, and that wasn’t just the delay needed for me to be at the wrong intersection at the wrong time and get hit by a deorbitted Starlink satellite. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1672 "2022-04-13T04:06:03Z")
If I, say, notice a wrench in the gutter and take it into the car with me, I think, _“Ah ha, it’s Chekhov’s Spanner. This will be a major plot point in the penultimate scene…”_ If I seem odd, it’s just that I have a very entertaining interior life. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2022, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1673 "2022-04-13T06:12:55Z")
There’s a little Walter Mitty in all of us. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1674 "2022-04-14T18:00:16Z")
> [@Phil1](#): > > look ar this creepy old house , let’s go there People exploring abandoned buildings is not particularly unusual in real life. There’s literally thousands of videos of people doing just that on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1675 "2022-04-18T09:48:50Z")
That’s not all that unrealistic. There is a place near us that advertises takeaway dinner parties (well they used to - pre covid). The menu of choice would (apparently) be prepared and ready for finishing off and serving up. They also offered complete table settings if required. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1676 "2022-04-18T09:57:02Z")
Most of the shows mentioned above are not shown over here, but we do get a lot of American cop/agent shows. We have been watching NCIS and its offshoots for years. A regular beef I have is when the agents - sometimes two, sometimes all four (they like a quartet) go to a suspect’s residence and bang on the front door. I will be snarling, “He’s going to leg it out of the back you idiots.” Of course, a chase then ensues. A favourite character was a diminutive ex-Mossad agent, who could easily subdue agressive men twice her size without breaking sweat. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1677 "2022-04-18T13:16:01Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I will be snarling, “He’s going to leg it out of the back you idiots.” Of course, a chase then ensues. Thank you! I have the same reaction. I realize the foot chase is exciting TV and that is why they don’t cover the back, but after all these years you’d think Jethro would finally tell one of them to go around back. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1678 "2022-04-18T22:49:39Z")
You might also expect them to have sussed out that the isolated shack in the woods will invariably blow up. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1679 "2022-04-18T23:18:09Z")
The bullet was real. It was sold only to police departments, and they had to have their armorer load it into a cartridge to make a complete round. It was only for cops. No cops were even shot with one, and of course the company stopped making them, and iirc went out of business. Pure scare tactics. Used in a Mel Gibson film as a major plot point… wrongly of course. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1680 "2022-04-19T00:46:58Z")
As per John Mulaney, mocking Law And Order. Homicide detectives show bartender a picture. Detective: “Do you remember this lady?” Bartender: “Sure I do. She was wearing a blue shirt. Nice lady! “ Detective: “Did she seem happy?” Bartender: “Yeah! She was smiling. Guy she was with though… He was scowling the whole time. Looked really mad. They left about 9:35, 9:36. Why? Did something happen?” ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1681 "2022-04-19T01:13:33Z")
No, but they have to bring him around first: Detective: Do you remember this lady? Bartender: Hey, we get a lot of ladies in here. Detective: But what about this lady? Bartender: Never seen her. Detective: Why don’t you at least look at the picture, pal? Bartender: \*looks…oh yeah [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=83) [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=85)