Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Does anyone know where the idea for the Arab flag in the movie came from? Seems to me it resembles the Louisiana flag (the bird with the babies) except with no writing. Did anyone else notice this?

Show generally

Question: My understanding is Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, Howard, and even Amy and Kripke work for a university; but none of them seem to be teachers. And if they are, they never have office hours, or are seen grading homework, and Sheldon seems inept at teaching. Do universities really hire that many people who simply do research with no actual work requirements? Or what's going on? (I understand not filming boring office hours or grading, etc. But they never even allude to it, their work never interferes with random daily events, and I imagine college teachers/professors would stay extremely more busy.

Bishop73

Chosen answer: The boys work for Caltech, a research university mainly dedicated to science and technology. It's never been stated where Amy works, except that she has her own lab. But remember, her lab is fully funded by the Saudi prince that she is pseudo-engaged to. Any business or university would hire her for that reason.

Greg Dwyer

Answer: In season 7 though Amy came to work at the university til the end.

Chosen answer: This is a reference to a popular fictional masked cowboy hero, the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger stood for truth, justice, and conducts himself by a strict moral code. When the Lone Ranger would solve a crime or capture a villain he never stopped to explain who he was but he always left behind a silver bullet as his trademark. Even his horse was named "Silver". When Sandy calls Danny a fake and a phony, Kenickie says "I wonder if she carries silver bullets" to mock her for her righteous outburst.

Question: In the bonfire scene when the girls are taking Sandy over to meet Danny, and after Danny acts differently toward Sandy in front of his friends, why did Rizzo do all of that? Obviously she did it because she knew how Danny would be in front his friends but it seems like there was something else. Did they ever date in the past?

aniyaaaaa

Answer: Danny and Rizzo had a relationship in the past. At the beginning of the movie Jan asks if Rizzo had seen Danny that morning and Rizzo says "that's ancient history." Meaning their relationship is over. I think when they were together Danny treated her poorly and broke her heart. That's how she knows how he'll act towards Sandy at the bonfire and also why she wants to get back at him.

Chosen answer: Remember that Rizzo didn't like Sandy at all. Her clean-cut personality was the opposite of Rizzo's and she hated that. So chances are, she just wanted to humiliate her. Also she didn't like Danny either, so this was like killing two birds with one stone for her. It's possible that she might have dated Danny previously - Jan says to Rizzo that Danny is looking good this year and Rizz says "that is ancient history."

Gavin Jackson

Question: In the scene when Moriarty is doing a book signing, his aide sits and hands him a piece of paper with what looks like some kind of grouped numbers together. What is this and does it get referenced later in the film?

Brad Barding

Chosen answer: That's the key code for his fortune concealed in his library. The one Mrs Watson uses to relay to Inspector Lestrade. Like the book reference numbers in a public library.

Question: Beckett commands Davy Jones to kill the Kraken, and then when we see it, it doesn't appear to be missing any body parts. There's also nothing to suggest frenetic cannon shots. How did Jones kill the Kraken?

Answer: Jones killed the Kraken by beaching it. It being an aquatic animal, it suffocated outside of water. I assume it was due to his magical control over it that enabled it.

Question: Did I miss something somewhere? What was so special about the baby that its birth would change everything?

lartaker1975

Chosen answer: It is implied that this baby is destined to grow into a leader, a person of power, authority, and influence in the world and will be a champion for peace and the unity of all mankind.

Phixius

Question: When Professor Snape confronts Draco for avoiding him, he is able to tell that Draco is using Occlumency to block his attempts to look into his mind. Therefore, wouldn't Voldemort know if Snape has ever used Occlumency to block him out, and be suspicious of him?

Answer: Two possibilities: One: Voldemort didn't question Snape's loyalty and never bothered to look into his mind to see if he was using Occlumency. Two: Since Snape is operating as the Death Eaters' double-agent in the Order of the Phoenix, it would be practical for him to be using Occlumency at all times (which would have the hidden advantage of not being able to let Voldemort see that he is, in fact, a triple-agent loyal to Dumbledore).

Captain Defenestrator

Question: After the weasels who work for Judge Doom leave Eddie's office having failed to find Roger, Roger remarks that Eddie saved his life. It is mentioned in the movie that The Dip is supposedly the only way to kill a Toon, so how would Roger have been killed if the weasels did find him, especially since they were holding guns?

Answer: As you mention, the weasels work for Judge Doom, who is in possession of the dipping machine. Had they found Roger, they would have simply delivered him to Doom, who could then put Roger into the Dip.

Cubs Fan

Chosen answer: He doesn't trust her. He knows Ethan is in love with Claire, and suspects she is in love with him. Claire does not deny this, and begs him not to kill Ethan, which confirms his suspicion.

Sierra1

Answer: Perhaps he planned to kill her all along. He was planning to escape via the helicopter but how was she to escape?

She was never supposed to go to the baggage area. She would have just got off the train like a normal person.

Question: The bride has been in a coma for 4 years, during this time the muscles in her legs have atrophied, yet miraculously the same has not happened to the muscles in her arms. Surely it would not only affect her legs?

Answer: There's a difference between being able to walk and being able to move. All of her muscles have atrophied, but mostly it just means she's much weaker. For her legs it means she can't walk.

Question: I'd like some clarification on the dual timelines in this movie. The past timeline is pretty simple, as it's just a continuation from First Class. But is the future apocalyptic timeline really the same timeline as X-Men, X-2, X-3, Origins, and The Wolverine? I ask because, while it'd be much simpler than having THREE different timelines unnecessarily, I'm not sure it really adds up. Why didn't Trask and his prototype Sentinels have a MUCH heavier presence in those previous movies? Why are there two Bolivar Trask characters, one of whom is portrayed by the African American Bill Duke, and another by Peter Dinklage? How does the after-credits scene from The Wolverine play into the events of Days of Future Past?

Answer: The Sentinels had no presence in the previous movies because the manufacturers spent decades working on them. Wolverine's intervention in the past set up a chain of events to which the first Sentinel prototypes were introduced much earlier. The mid-credits scene in "The Wolverine" implies that the Sentinels from the original timeline are nearing completion, which is why Magneto and Xavier are recruiting Wolverine. There aren't two Bolivar Trask characters. The Secretary Trask character played by Bill Duke just happens to have the same last name and was originally meant to be a nod to the character.

Phaneron

Question: Who put Magneto in that plastic prison? Nixon and his cabinet don't seem know anything about mutants or see them as a threat (even after Cuba). Yet they put Magneto in a plastic prison as they know he can bend metal, so why wasn't anyone in the US government and most notably the President informed of this fact? It would have made Trask's appeals a lot more justified. Even likely sentinels would have been put into action a lot sooner rather then later.

lionhead

Chosen answer: Government agents were previously aware of mutants - they are probably the same ones that imprisoned Magneto, and his attempt to prevent JFK's assassination was most likely covered up due to the revelation that Kennedy was a mutant. Magneto was already in prison by the time Trask pitched his Sentinel idea to the government, which is probably why the program wasn't instituted.

Phaneron

Question: In terms of the scene when Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven are chased by the snow monster, I have two questions to ask. 1) Why does Olaf call the monster Marshmallow? 2) While Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf fall off the cliff and Sven runs into a different direction when the chase begins, how does Sven get down to the bottom of the cliff?

John Ohman

Chosen answer: 1. Because the monster looks like a marshmallow. 2. Sven knows that area well, he probably just went a different direction that leads to the bottom of the cliff.

Question: In Divination class, Harry predicts that Ron will suffer but be happy. Is this a particular reference to anything that happens later in the series? (I have read the books, so spoilers are fine).

Answer: It does not have any real reference to anything in the entire story. Neither Harry or Ron have any psychic abilities or real interest in Divination. Harry did have a psychic connection to Voldemort, but he could not predict the future. Divination is just a class they are taking as part of their Hogwarts curriculum. In the book, both were making up predictions on the spot when it was their turn because they are expected to participate in the class. Their predictions became more outlandish over time. Technically that particular prediction is accurate, but it is so generalized that it could apply to almost any character in the books.

raywest

The Herb Garden Germination - S4-E20

Question: In the beginning, Sheldon and Amy are attending a reading (or lecture) of Brian Greene. It seems Sheldon is truly mocking, although at the end he says he's kidding. Do theoretical physicists consider Greene to be a hack, or is he respected in the field of physics? Are Sheldon and Amy truly laughing at him?

Bishop73

Chosen answer: He's respected. Sheldon just thinks he knows more than anyone else and mocks anyone whose theories don't agree with his completely. Amy is probably just going along because it makes Sheldon happy.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: Do the pieces of Voldemort's soul (in the Horcruxes) obtain all of his memories, including those from days after they were made? For example, would the Tom Riddle in the diary horcrux remember Harry killing Professor Quirrell a year earlier?

Answer: No, the Tom Riddle that rose from the diary had no recollection of anything that happened after the piece of soul from which he came had been severed from the rest of Voldemort's soul.

Phixius

Question: Did Professor Snape have an ulterior motive for participating in the Dueling Club, or was it just simple personal interest?

Answer: Snape is mostly sure that Lockhart is a fraud and is looking for any chance to expose him.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: After watching Professor Quirrell die in this school year, shouldn't Harry have been able to see thestrals?

Answer: In the novel, Harry passes out before Quirrell dies, meaning that he did not truly see the death and therefore was unable to see the Thestrals. In the movie, Harry does see Quirell die and therefore should have been able to see the Thestrals before witnessing Cedric Diggory's death. This was a movie mistake.

kristenlouise3

I thought the reason Luna told Harry that only they could see the thestrals was because they lost a loved one. Not that that they saw someone die.

Question: When the transvestite is propositioning Calvin, he says "I'll even throw in some lawn furniture." Later, when Calvin tells his wife about the encounter, he says "they offer lawn furniture as a come on!" I have been puzzled by what they were referring to for years! Urban Dictionary has been no help at all! Does anyone know what s/he was referring to?

Captain Defenestrator

Chosen answer: I think this is a reference to two things: home shopping networks (which often offer free inducements such as lawn furniture or steak knives to shoppers who "call now" or "act now"; it's also probably a reference to Calvin's age - elderly people liking lawn furniture.

Sierra1

Years ago, there were TV commercials of used car salesman that would throw in lawn furniture or other desired household items when you buy a car from them. Pretty sure that is the reference here.

Answer: He is talking about what he thinks is the sub race of people created by the atomic blast. The "new human race" that he was telling his wife about.

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