# 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:** 97
**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 30, 2022, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1922 "2022-08-30T08:12:31Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > In fiction small countries are able to get away with a surprising lot of antagonism with significantly larger countries and just get away with it. Well, Grand Fenwick went to war against the US… and accidentally won. ---
**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 30, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1923 "2022-08-30T17:18:15Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Huh. He could still be _seen_ even though he was not on the sidewalk, and he would have no expectation of privacy. I guess it depends on the state laws. Or maybe the cops just didn’t feel like doing the paperwork. “Indecent exposure” is highly dependent on exactly how laws are written. In some jurisdictions it’s public lewdness that’s illegal and nudity isn’t considered lewd on it’s own. IIRC in Vermont public nudity is perfectly legal (unless there’s a local ordinance to the contrary), but _disrobing_ in public is illegal (so one would need to undress before going out in public). I believe California doesn’t have a statewide ban on public nudity either. San Francisco at least used to allow it. ---
**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 30, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1924 "2022-08-30T17:28:52Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > San Francisco at least used to allow it. Well, _that’s_ a shock! 🤨 ---
**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 30, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1925 "2022-08-30T17:30:36Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > San Francisco at least used to allow it. Ditto Berkeley. > **[Andrew Martinez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Martinez)** > > Luis Andrew Martinez (November 15, 1972 – May 18, 2006) was an activist who was known at the University of California, Berkeley as the Naked Guy. > Martinez was a high school football player when he attended Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California. > Martinez attended classes at the University of California, Berkeley. In September 1992, his second year in college, he began appearing unclad in public and led a campus "nude-in" to protest social repression. Campus police first arrested hi... ---
**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:** [August 30, 2022, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1926 "2022-08-30T18:41:15Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I believe California doesn’t have a statewide ban on public nudity either. San Francisco at least used to allow it. Topless for all apparently legally in New York City since 1992. You probably still need to wear pants, though. ---
**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 30, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1927 "2022-08-30T19:19:58Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Topless for all apparently legally in New York City since 1992. You probably still need to wear pants, though. ![](https://c.tenor.com/WWloVPxS9lYAAAAS/sue-ellen-mischke-bra.gif) ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1928 "2022-08-30T19:47:29Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > In fiction small countries are able to get away with a surprising lot of antagonism with significantly larger countries and just get away with it. > > Like theres a North Korean style and size country that invites both the US and China’s diplomats for “negotiations” and then kills both sets of diplomats to “prove a point” and then both the US and China both decide to just sit on their hands and go “Well, we don’t want to go on full on war so we’ll just let that one slide” and continue negotiations. I can’t think of a single work of fiction in which this happens… can you name several? ---
**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 30, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1929 "2022-08-30T20:02:44Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > San Francisco at least used to allow it. They did ban it relatively recently. I guess not _that_ recently anymore, but recent enough that I was living in California when then enacted it. IIRC the city wanted to project a more “family friendly” image. Not that I have witnessed it myself, but I’ve heard nudity was not uncommon in the annual Bay to Breakers race before the ban. And Marshall’s Beach was known as the city’s unofficial nude beach. > [@Folacin](#): > > Topless for all apparently legally in New York City since 1992. IIRC it’s all of New York state. Women are allowed to be topless anywhere a man would be allowed to be topless. I remember when that first went into effect the morning DJs on the radio station I listened to were acting like it meant women were going to be sunbathing topless in Central Park every day. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1930 "2022-08-30T20:18:54Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > And Marshall’s Beach was known as the city’s unofficial nude beach. It is still sorta unofficially a clothing optional beach, as it’s federal land and the park service have no regulations banning nudity. But my understanding is nudists aren’t particularly common there anymore. Otherwise you can apply for permitted nudist events in San Francisco, but I don’t think Bay to Breakers bothers. But I’ve heard a few people usually still race in the buff. I wouldn’t know myself - I always avoided those mass events like they were the plague. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1931 "2022-08-30T20:40:57Z")
Falling off a roof and being impaled by something. Has never happened to me even once. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1932 "2022-08-30T21:11:36Z")
It happens all the time in bad future speculative fiction or bad alternative histories. S. M. Stirlings Draka series is entirely based on a “What if South Africa took on the entire world?” mainly due to the fact they’re able to boss around significantly bigger countries very early on. The video game Homefront where North Korea forcibly united with South Korea and proceeds to nuke and take over Japan while China and the United States just allow it to happen. Call of Duty: Ghosts has basically a Venezuelan lead South American coalition drop kinetic warheads on San Diego, Los Angeles, Houston and a bunch of other border cities killing tens of millions of Americans in order to force the United States to end it’s war against them, though the fact the US Military is still fully intact and has their complete nuclear arsenal and the kinetic warheads drops were their one trick pony, doesn’t explain why all of South America isn’t a radioactive crater in response. (This is also where the example of killing diplomats comes from, Venezuela kills a bunch of UN and EU diplomats/negotiatiors who are trying to end the US/SA war, again with no military response) There’s others but those are the three I was thinking of when writing this. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1933 "2022-08-31T00:04:16Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > Falling off a roof and being impaled by something. Has never happened to me even once. People falling off _ **you** _, however … ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1934 "2022-08-31T06:07:24Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > There’s others but those are the three I was thinking of when writing this. Which of those are TV or movies? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1935 "2022-08-31T06:46:52Z")
I’ve always appreciated how the SDMB is constantly pushing the goalposts for no reason in topics. “give me 27 examples of this trope in fiction” “now give me 27 examples of this trope appearing in TV or movies despite the fact it’s clear that multiple people have brought up events in books or other media because this is cafe society” Now someone is going to ask me to name 27 examples of this trope in TV or movies of things they’ve actually seen that have been made between 1987 and 2003. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1936 "2022-08-31T07:31:16Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > constantly pushing the goalposts **for no reason** > What is extremely common **in TV or movies** but almost never happens in real life? My boldings. > [@Asuka](#): > > it’s clear that multiple people have brought up events in books or other media Actually, the thread has been remarkably good about mostly keeping to the stated topic limitations, for a Cafe thread, which is why I’ve enjoyed lurking here. I know _Max_ did ask for examples in “a work of fiction”, so you’re somewhat justified. But I was enjoying the movie visuals discussions, and wanted to object to thread drift. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2022, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1937 "2022-08-31T12:44:22Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > Falling off a roof and being impaled by something. Has never happened to me even once. If it does happen, I’m sure it’s at most only once. ETA: I hate to be that guy, but I can’t resist: nice username / post combo! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1938 "2022-08-31T15:43:55Z")
I remember when that went into effect, and a friend said he and some buddies heard there was going to be a big gathering in a park, dozens - maybe hundreds! - of topless women ‘celebrating’ the great victory. His sister was laughing her azz off when she told me he was greatly disappointed to find only a handful of ‘fat hairy mouthy wimmens libbers’ (his words!) making a speech about freedom and oppression. And not a wonderland of hundreds of topless girls displaying their wares… some time much later, there was an article online about a young woman who actually did decide to ‘test’ the law and went out in public in a park, walking around topless, to see what happened. (not all that much, from what I remember.) ---
**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 31, 2022, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1939 "2022-08-31T21:26:27Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > Falling off a roof and being impaled by something. Has never happened to me even once. Happened to actress Romi Schneider’s son. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1940 "2022-09-01T02:49:47Z")
Mayo Clinic at one time had a medical display that included a wax dummy of the cross section of the torso of a local farmer who had fallen off of a barn roof. He landed butt first on the handle of a hay rake. The display showed the rake handle running up his anus, past his liver and stomach and barely missing his heart. It was the most talked about item in the display, and also the most painful to imagine happening to you. ---
**Author:** ![cincinnatus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cincinnatus/32/7990_2.png) [@cincinnatus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cincinnatus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/1941 "2022-09-01T03:09:19Z")
Did he survive? [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=96) [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=98)