# 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:** 92
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1822 "2022-08-10T20:07:50Z")
There was a Chinese restaurant my family went to a lot back in the 1980s that had a beaded curtain in some doorway. I think maybe it separated the bar area from the main dining room or something. When I saw it for the first time my reaction was “Hey, a beaded curtain like you see on TV all the time!” I don’t know if this has been mentioned already or not (it’s a long thread), but I’ll add houses with two stairways. I remember a lot of sitcoms from the 1980s-90s era would have their interior house sets designed with a stairway in the living room, and another stairway in the kitchen. Off the top of my head _The Cosby Show_, _Family Matters_, and _Full House_ all had sets like that. I think I’ve only seen a house like that in real life once. My mom dragged me along on some home tour thing, and one of the houses on the tour was a McMansion type place that did indeed have a second back stairway. But it’s way more common on TV than in real life. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1823 "2022-08-10T20:21:10Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I know it’s a bit late, but to expand on this a little, the idea that someone just goes to a bar and says “Give me a double” or “A beer please”. > > I’m not a barfly or anything, but I’ve spent some time in bars, and I’ve NEVER run across anyone who has just ordered generically like that. I’ve definitely heard someone order something very mass-market and generic- “Miller Lite please” , or “Give me a double of Jack”, but never just generic “beer” or “whiskey”. Well, back in the Old West, there likely would have been only one beer on tap. in some saloons. > [@Broomstick](#): > > I suspect that in the actual frontier days a small outpost might have only one type of beer or whiskey, in which case that makes some sense,… Correct. > [@WildaBeast](#): > > . As I understand it if you don’t specify what kind, by default you’ll get whatever the bar’s “well brand” is, usually some lower end brand. Which- for a mixed drink is often just about as good. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > The Ammonium Dichromate Volcano. > > This baby was the real deal. Yep. And dangerous as all hell. But super cool! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1824 "2022-08-10T20:51:09Z")
Must have been the pioneer days’ legacy of the terrible though cheap local beers that lasted well into the 20th C.: Brew “102” in Los Angeles Primo beer in Hawaii Rainier beer in Seattle Lone Star in Texas Etc. etc. All bad beers, but available and affordable. And often revived by the same major big breweries that had put them under as hometown pride labels ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1825 "2022-08-10T21:07:58Z")
I’m not sure that it’s so much that it’s more common on TV than in real life - I don’t remember that many TV houses with two stairways. I think that it’s more common in certain areas because certain areas are more likely to have old houses. And for both the _The Cosby Show_ and _Full House_ ( not sure about _Family Matters_) the houses used in the exterior shots were built in the 1800s and would have been owned by people wealthy enough to have domestic workers who would have used the staircase near the kitchen. I’ve absolutely seen the second staircase in old Victorian houses in NYC but you wouldn’t see it in a neighborhood where the houses were built in the 1950s ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1826 "2022-08-10T21:14:41Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Brew “102” in Los Angeles > Primo beer in Hawaii > **Rainier beer in Seattle** > Lone Star in Texas > > Etc. etc. **All bad beers** , but available and affordable. You’re thinking of Rainier Ale (AKA Green Death). Regular Rainier was an affordable mainstream lager. Better than BudMillerCoors at least. Plus great commercials. (Which, BTW, also never happen in real life. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VtbP2hOX9xA/hqdefault.jpg "Rainier Beer - Wild Rainiers - Mickey Rooney") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtbP2hOX9xA) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1827 "2022-08-10T23:12:00Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > the pioneer days’ legacy of the terrible though cheap local beers that lasted well into the 20th C.: There was a point where Pittsburgh’s Iron City Beer was sold in Caribbean bars as a premium import, often in bars with Steelers memorabilia. I’d order a Carib or Presidente and be in the minority. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1828 "2022-08-11T00:06:48Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > > [@msmith537](#): > > > > assume the reason they do that on TV and movies is they aren’t providing free product placement for beverage companies. > > Case in point, [Heisler Beer](https://fictionalcompanies.fandom.com/wiki/Heisler_Beer), a fictional brand, [one of many](https://studiographics.us/beer-2/) offered by Independent Studio Services Also, Duff Beer. Mmmmm… Duff. ~(8^(I) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1829 "2022-08-11T07:11:40Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > It has been a long time since I’ve been to one - but my memory is that there were “old man bars” that had only one beer on tap. They had slightly more variety in cans and bottles but if someone ordered a “beer” , they weren’t looking for a can or a bottle. It wasn’t just “old man bars,” it was pretty much all bars. At least in my location, back in the day. Bars had one tap–sometimes with a sign over it, saying “On Draught Today” and a hook-on sign that would say, “Molson Export” or “Labatt 50” or similar. The draught beer that the bar served was whatever the distributor delivered that day. And it was just like in the movies–you ordered “a beer,” and you got whatever was on tap, no matter what it was. You could, of course, order by brand, and the bar had a selection of bottled beers to fill those orders, but simply ordering “a beer” got you a glass of draught beer. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that I saw bars with two or more taps. At that point, you could no longer order “a beer.” You had to specify which. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1830 "2022-08-11T14:04:15Z")
Many older houses around here have two stairways. ---
**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 11, 2022, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1831 "2022-08-11T17:41:34Z")
Older houses needed a front staircase for the family and a back stairway (often from the kitchen) for the staff. My aunt’s house in New England dated to that era - the back staircase was narrow and uneven. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1832 "2022-08-15T20:16:21Z")
I remember the chemistry master doing the volcano thing at school, and it was very impressive. ---
**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 15, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1833 "2022-08-15T23:07:09Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I think I’ve only seen a house like that in real life once. My mom dragged me along on some home tour thing, and one of the houses on the tour was a McMansion type place that did indeed have a second back stairway. That’s a lot more common in old houses where people had “staff.” The backstairs are nearly always in the kitchen, and usually lead to the cook/maid’s rooms. My great-uncle had an old Victorian with two staircases like this. Sadly, I was only in the house once (he was in Ohio, and we were in California), but I loved it. The second “staff” staircase is usually narrower and steeper than the staircase in the front of the house. made of lots on accidents (includiing deaths) in the old days. I’m old, so I saw a ton of beaded curtains back in the day. I have a good friend with one now. > [@Andy\_L](#): > > Older houses needed a front staircase for the family and a back stairway (often from the kitchen) for the staff. My aunt’s house in New England dated to that era - the back staircase was narrow and uneven. Rats – ninja’d! I thought I was close enough to the end of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1834 "2022-08-17T15:02:22Z")
Servants were to NEVER use the front staircase in the course of doing their everyday chores! How would it look to have the butler usher in a gentleman and his retinue, and see the maids scurrying up and down the grand staircase with towels, laundry, and chamber pots! I believe cleaning, polishing, and so forth was done at the crack of dawn, or when the family was out. (I read a book by a butler who said it was surprising how often a family traveled and left the servants to their own devices in their big house.) ---
**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:** [August 17, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1835 "2022-08-17T16:24:55Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Absolutely this! Mostly “something science”. In the 1950’s the cause was “something atomic”. In the 1980 it was “toxic waste”. I seem to have missed “genetic engineering”. But any day now I expect it will be “some virus”. (Hoping it will NOT be - “aftereffect of a vaccine”.) “Some virus” is already the go-to explanation for zombie apocalypses. The new “something science” thing is nanotech. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1836 "2022-08-17T20:05:51Z")
Likewise servants never entered or exited via the front door (other than nanny when she has the children). ---
**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:** [August 17, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1837 "2022-08-17T20:13:41Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The new “something science” thing is nanotech. And it’s infected Jams Bond films! ---
**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 17, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1838 "2022-08-17T20:15:56Z")
It’s not still “quantum”? I’m so out of date! ---
**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:** [August 17, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1839 "2022-08-17T21:00:05Z")
For a very brief window, it was transistors: [![](https://preview.redd.it/x29o76ppckg71.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=964746f91a6ddc6d27190f73fd63bbbaf119d546) ](https://preview.redd.it/x29o76ppckg71.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=964746f91a6ddc6d27190f73fd63bbbaf119d546) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1840 "2022-08-17T21:01:30Z")
In early SF it was Busbars. Massive ones! ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1841 "2022-08-17T21:11:03Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > For a very brief window, it was transistors: Wouldn’t have given him tubes more of a buzz than tiny transistors? 🤔 [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=91) [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=93)