Moviegoers offered examples of the things that don't fly in real life when Redditor qbl256 asked:
"What only works in movies?"
Courtroom antics are better left up on the big screen.
Anything Goes In Court
"Doing whatever you want in a courtroom as long as you are 'going somewhere with it.'"
– aperson7780
Ignoring Protocol
"Any random person being able to walk up and present new evidence."
– shegedep
Respecting Boundaries
"Also, yelling at a judge and invading the judges personal space always works out ok."
– Slytherian101
Action movies are entertaining because of its heightened sequences that are more convincing on film.
Violent Tactic
"Conveniently knocking someone unconscious so they're not bothering you for several minutes while you do secret stuff. Without killing them or serious brain damage."
"Actually lampshaded in Archer."
– yParticle
Piercing Glass
"Jumping through shattering glass windows and surviving without lacerations all over."
– Glock43xyz
It's Lit
"Shooting a gas tank so it explodes."
"Or removing a bullet from yourself and then you're fine."
– midunda
The Perfect Aim
"Shooting a lock to open it is my favorite. Sure shooting a lock will break it, but you just broke it in the locked position. Now it’s even harder to open."
– Studio_Life
It's Such A Blast
"Running away from an explosion and letting the blast push you to safety."
– ImInJeopardy
Certain elements are added to elevate a scene–which only proves, "yeah, that's not real-life."
Sonic Aftermath
"A hushed conversation immediately after shooting a gun indoors without ear protection."
– KyOatey
Street Vendor At The Wrong Time & Place
"Someone pushing a fruit cart across a street just as you’re speeding by. I’ve never seen a moving fruit cart otherwise. Or seen a fruit cart, actually."
– Double-Elevator619
No Time For Recovery
"Running for a very long time and then being able to talk normally."
– Ruminations0
What I always get a kick out of is when the distressed character attempts to flee from a knife wielding, masked home intruder by running up the stairs instead of going out the backdoor.
Like, why make the escape route that much more difficult by adding another obstacle like jumping out the window or being trapped in the closet until the inevitable moment of death?
Oh, right, it extends the tense sequence to prolong the final moments of the soon-to-be victim.
Ah, gotta love the movies.
Redditor SkunkytheSkunk7 asked everyone to share what wild things they knew to be true:
"What sounds like fiction but is actually a real historical event?"
I really wish history classes in school would get into more of the soap opera of it all.
People would stay awake for this stuff.
Plugged
Streaming Rabbit Hole GIF by Feliks Tomasz KonczakowskiGiphy"In 1980 Lake Peigneur in Louisiana drained like a bathtub with the plug removed. Oil Drillers on a rig in the lake had hit a mine shaft below. The rig, barges, a tugboat and part of a nearby island got sucked into the largest man-made whirlpool ever."
FrankieMint
Dumped in the Ocean
"Operation Mincemeat. The allies planted a dead body with fake battle plans to trick the Germans into thinking that the allies were going to attack Sardinia when they were in fact going to attack Sicily."
"They built an entire life for this dead, fake, military man, dumped him in the ocean, and successfully distracted the Germans."
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat"
xubax
Legend...
"In 1971, a teenage girl named Juliane Koepcke was on a plane that was struck by lightning and disintegrated in the air. She plummeted 3,000 meters strapped to her seat, and landed in the Amazon rainforest."
"Her mom had been on the flight with her, and Juliane searched in vain for her mom, but Juliane was the sole survivor of the crash."
"She survived 11 days alone, treating her maggot-infested wounds with fuel and using tracking techniques her father had taught her, before she found a boat that she used to make her way back to civilization."
"What an absolute legend."
echoskybound
Sitting Around
"Due to a military stand off that took years, 15 ships became stranded in an inland sea, and over 8 years formed a multi-national ship-based society that even included it's own currency. Google the Yellow Fleet. The yellow was because of blowing sand that gradually just accumulated on the ships."
mikepictor
"Suez Canal. The Great Sand Fleet I think the ships were nicknamed. The Swedish ship had a swimming pool, so they hosted pool parties. Another ship hosted movie nights."
"The ships were American, British, German, Bulgarian, Swedish (did I leave anyone out?) Since it was soooo boring to just sit on the ships, crews were rotated every 6 months. By the time the ships could finally leave, only 1, the German boat, could move under it's own power. It got a hero's welcome when it finally sailed into Germany."
aethelwulfTO
Richard Parker
Altered Carbon Dust GIF by NETFLIXGiphy"Edgar Allen Poe wrote a novel in 1838 in which 4 shipwrecked survivors, at the point of starvation, choose to resort to cannibalism. So they kill the young cabin boy, Richard Parker, and eat him."
"In 1884, a ship called the Mignonette sank. 4 crew members survived. At the point of starvation, they killed and ate the youngest of them: Richard Parker."
Poe was really brilliant. He could see a story a mile away.
Hungry
Hungry Ren And Stimpy GIF by NickRewindGiphy"The Soviet scientists starving to death saving the seed bank of Leningrad during Hitler's invasion in the winter of 1941-42 despite it being full of corn, wheat and potatoes."
scruffy932
"They ran out of food but couldn’t eat anything from the seed bank since they needed to preserve its stocks."
suavebirch
Elephant Island
"The escape from Antarctica by the members of the Antarctic expedition led by Ernest Shackleton. The stuff they went through was unbelievable. Their boat, the Endurance was crushed by ice floes. They were stranded on the floes for over a year in temperatures well below freezing."
"They then took to three boats around 22 feet in length across the antarctic ocean looking for land. There were about 10 men in each boat. They missed reaching land by just a few miles at times. Two thirds of them got stranded on Elephant Island surrounded by ice while one of the boats went out in search of rescue."
"That boat made it through the Drake Passage, one of the deadliest places in the ocean. All but three of them got stranded with little food and water while the three men who left became the first people the cross South Georgia on foot. They found civilization. Rescued the men who came through the Drake Passage."
"Waited months until they could rescue those on Elephant Island. Every single person who came on the initial voyage survived with the worst lasting consequence being a single foot amputation."
LordofHopeHomestuck
Shipwrecked
"An English king named Ethelred, later called the Unready, took some troops to defend against a Viking invasion. The weather was bad, so a lot of the Vikings’ ships crashed as they were landing. Ethelred thought that it would be dishonourable to attack them as they were stumbling onto shore."
"So he kept his troops back until the Vikings had a chance to get together and form proper battle lines before he attacked them. The better prepared Vikings then won the fight and slaughtered a bunch of Ethelred’s men and he and the rest were forced to run away while the Vikings went around pillaging."
TheBestPeter
A Stench
"The 'Great Stink' was an event in central London in 1858."
"The hot weather exacerbated the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent that was present on the banks of the River Thames."
Back2Bach
Hero Bear
Greetings Hello GIFGiphy"Wojtek was a bear who fought Nazis in return for cigarettes and beer. He didn’t die until 20 years after WW2."
ThePumpk1nMaster
"My favorite part about that story is that after the war he lived in a zoo. It was common for soldiers from the bear's company to come visit and simply jump into the enclosure to play with him, much to the zoo keepers' annoyance."
Not_Chrus
Truth really is stranger than fiction.
Do you have any strange historical stories to share? Let us know in the comments below!
Redditor AmOdd asked:
"What did a fictional character say that stuck with you?"
"The love Molly. You take it with you." - Sam Wheat/Patrick Swayze (Ghost)
I still weep.
POV
"Many of the truths we cling to depend largely on your point of view. - Ben Kenobi"
taloncard815
Ewan Mcgregor Hello GIF by Disney+GiphyAcceptance
"'We accept the love we think we deserve.'"
“'I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't change the fact that they were upset. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have.'”
"(Perks of Being a Wallflower, I Don't Know if i'm a cliche)"
itsacalamity
steeped in blood...
"A boy who idealizes war is perplexed why a war hero wants to retire to become a farmer. He asks the wise warrior why he seems to despise war and this is his response:"
"There is more honor in a field well plowed than one steeped in blood."
oWatchdog
"Lloyd Alexander the Black Cauldron. Read it in elementary school and that has always stuck with me. Good thing too, because the indoctrination and glorification of the military is very strong in my country and starts at an early age."
oWatchdog
Sober
"When Vimes says about his alcoholism, 'One is too many, two's not enough.' That's when I knew that cutting down wouldn't work, I would have to completely stop. Been sober nearly five years now."
ahhtibor
"I always tell people 'Drinking-wise, you are like a car; you have an accelerator and a brake. You can start and stop or go fast or slow. I'm the space shuttle; I can only light the rocket or not light the rocket, that's it, those are the choices I have."'
"I haven't lit the rocket in a decade."
picksandchooses
Burning
“'I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me.' -Joshua Graham, Fallout New Vegas"
Wrayo
Summer Burn GIF by NETFLIXGiphyGreat words from great characters will haunt you forever.
Picard
"'It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness, that is life.' - Jean-Luc Picard"
martinsonsean1
Star Trek Drinking GIF by HULUGiphy'tomorrow never comes'
"Tomorrow's the day you'll pay the bills! Tomorrow's the day you'll grow up and start acting responsible. But tomorrow never comes for you, because it's always so conveniently a day away.' Suzie, Hey Arnold. Had to copy and paste because I forgot the original quote verbatim but the 'tomorrow never comes' part always stuck with me despite me being a massive procrastinator."
fernadoreddit
Sacrifice
"'The hero decides to give their life to save the day, and because of their sacrifice the good guys win, the survivors all cheer, and everybody lives happily ever after. But the hero never gets to see that ending. They'll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They'll never know if the day was really saved. In the end they just have to have faith. Ain't that a *itch? - Epsilon from red vs blue.'"
Marston
"'Be loyal to what matters.' - Arthur Morgan"
MemeMachine2468
"Roger Clark killed that role. It’s not often that a video game voice actor gives a genuinely Oscar-worthy performance."
"I remember thinking before the game was launched 'Huh, this guy seems like a total *ick, there’s no way R* can make him a more likable character than Marston'; now that I’ve had a few months to stew on it I honestly think he may be my favorite video game character of all time, probably top 5 protagonists in all fiction."
Hypergolic_Golem
Help
"'Some people will always need help. That doesn't mean they're not worth helping.' -Meera Reed from Game of Thrones"
Nachodoo
Come At Me Bring It GIF by Game of ThronesGiphyI do love good dialogue. It's the key to everything.
Redditor Aden_Elvis77 asked:
"What is something that most people won’t believe, but is actually true?"
I am not a "knowing extra facts person," so I'm here to be schooled.
Layers
"Think of an apple as the Earth. Human beings have never dug past the skin layer."
SithLard
"Think PF balloon filled with water. Just imagine the water is molten lava."
ffsudjat
Silence Of The Lambs Skin GIF by Death Wish CoffeeGiphySaviors...
"Humpback whales will turn on their back and let seals jump on their stomachs to save them from orcas because they freaking hate orcas."
"Edit: Just because this got attention, here are some fun sources..."
"Humpbacks attempting to save a calf from being drowned by Orcas"
"An incredibly well done Radiolab episode explaining the relationships between Orcas and Humpbacks"
chinabot1
Age is only a #
"The guy who played the villain in Karate kid 3 (Terry Silver , Thomas Ian Griffith) is actually 7 months younger than Ralph Macchio, (Daniel LaRusso). It’s weird because the karate kid was still supposed to be under 18 and the villain was supposed to have fought in Vietnam."
TheRedMarin
"Hollywood age is really weird. Sean Connery was only 12 years older than Harrison Ford, but played his noticeably older father in Indiana Jones."
JinimyCritic
"He's in the latest couple of seasons of Cobra Kai and I would not have guessed that. Good fact!"
Grimdotdotdot
Pressure
"The average blood pressure of a giraffe is around 300/190. They need to have a high BP to get the blood all the way up the neck to profuse the brain with oxygen. I am thoroughly impressed by their cardiovascular system."
anastasiaanne
"They also have a specific mechanism to not let their brain explode from too much blood pressure when they lower their head to drink. Truly fascinating creatures."
Doc_Plague
Breeding
"Komodo dragons usually reproduce sexually, but females in captivity have been known to reproduce by parthenogenesis, without the need for sperm."
Dusty_Roller
dragon spinner GIFGiphyI really have no interest in anyone or anything's sex life but mine.
Read the label...
"There would be a lot more ancient Egyptian mummies if we didn’t grind most of them up to paint with or… eat."
Faust_8
Dance Dancing GIF by Scooby-DooGiphy"Victorians be whack. Mummy brown was a very popular paint pigment for the time, creating a rich brown color that couldn’t easily be replicated, and eating bits of mummies (mixed into other things mind you, it was considered a medicine and not a food) was thought to possibly cure diseases. Probably had 0 scientific backing behind it even back in the day but trendy rich people are trendy rich people no matter the era."
MadameCat
Important Dates
"Anne Frank, Martin Luther King, and Barbara Walters were all born in the same year."
Crooooow
"C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley died on the same day, but it didn't really make the news because the day was 11/22/1963 and it was also the day JFK was shot."
SerialKillerVibes
"It's wild that Anne Frank or MLK might still be alive today if they hadn't been killed by oppressive right-wing regimes. Makes you wonder what we're missing out on."
BabyYodasDirtyDiaper
Taste Related
"Almonds are from the peach family."
RifleShower
"Cashews, pistachios, and mangos are related to poison ivy. If you are extremely sensitive to poison ivy you may also react to the others. Mango skin can cause the ‘mango mouth’ rash and cashews for example can give you a terribly itchy bu**hole."
howling_greenie
"If done right, marzipan (made from almonds) and persipan (made from peach seeds) almost taste the same."
CaptainThorIronhulk
Over the Water
"The shortest commercial flight in the world lasted 57 seconds. It was a Loganair flight between two Scottish islands, Westray and Papa Westray. It was recorded the shortest commercial flight, with the distance of 1.7 miles."
AnneKellyy
"It’s actually quite necessary. There are too few people living there to build bridges, and the seas are too rough for ferries, so the only real option is to use planes. As for the planes themselves, the ones operating the flight are tiny DHC-6 Twin Otters, which don’t use that much fuel relative to larger airliners."
griffin-meister
Pieces of Rain
"Humans can smell some components of the smell of rain (the geosmin part of petrichor, specifically) far better than sharks can small blood in water. We are very very sensitive to it."
"Edit: thank you all for enjoying this fact I really like reading all your replies and I’m learning even more about this. Now go own people in trivia! Science is awesome! Thank you for the premium/gold whoever did that!"
Ratmatazz
madonna GIFGiphyWell that was entertaining. I knew I loved rain.
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below.
