# When The Public Imitates Movies

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-public-imitates-movies/848659>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 28, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-public-imitates-movies/848659 "2020-02-28T16:40:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-public-imitates-movies/848659/21 "2020-02-29T14:59:32Z")

</div>

John LeCarre invented the term “mole” to mean a double agent. After _Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy_, it became the standard term for intelligence agents and the general public.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\
**Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-public-imitates-movies/848659/22 "2020-02-29T15:14:12Z")

</div>

Ira Levin’s Stepford Wives put the word “stepford” in our lexicon.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\
**Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-public-imitates-movies/848659/23 "2020-02-29T16:21:02Z")

</div>

_Jaws_ created an open season on sharks, among other things.

> **['Jaws' Made Us Believe Some Ludicrous Shark Myths—And It Had Devastating...](https://www.ranker.com/list/how-jaws-affected-sharks/laura-allan)**
>
> How terrified were you to dip your toes in the ocean after you saw Jaws for the first time? Unfortunately, the lies perpetuated by Jaws didn't just scare you, they actually sparked a shark-hunting frenzy that decimated the shark...

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\
**Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-public-imitates-movies/848659/24 "2020-02-29T16:46:30Z")

</div>

What may have happened with undershirts is that they didn’t exist until the mid-nineteenth century. Before then there was one-piece underwear. T-shirts (as opposed to sleeveless undershirts) didn’t become common until the 1930’s, although the U.S. Navy was issuing them beginning in the early twentieth century. T-shirts worn without shirts over them became popular later in the twentieth century. The gradual decrease in the wearing of undershirts was probably just part of this overall change in clothing.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\
**Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-public-imitates-movies/848659/25 "2020-02-29T18:17:35Z")

</div>

the Brando t-shirt

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-public-imitates-movies/848659.md?page=1)