Factual error: In scenes that take place in 1912 on the porch of the hotel you can sometimes see American flags in the background. The flags in the movie have 50 stars. The 50 star flag wasn't adopted until after 1959. (01:25:15)
Factual error: When Dave is at the Yankee game and he is telling Linda he wants to marry her from the field, it is impossible for his voice to ring throughout the whole stadium without a microphone (even though it echoes as if he were using one.). Similarly, he wouldn't have been able to hear Linda when she shouts "I'm over here." (01:26:30 - 01:27:45)
Factual error: One of the main characters has a Harley Davidson. The movie is supposed to take place in the fifties. The Harley had an electric start primary cover which wasn't made by Harley until 1965.
Factual error: At the end of the film, when Ramu is on the Sally Jesse Raphael show, even if it was being broadcast live in New York, it certainly wouldn't be broadcast live in India for his family to watch. Also, India is 9 1/2 hours ahead of New York. If Ramu's family are watching the show when it's daytime in New York, it's awfully light outside!
Factual error: In the scene where Inman is helping build the church he is handed modern pre-cut lumber. This product was not introduced until the middle of the 20th century.
Factual error: When animated Giselle begins to sing and brushes her hair, the reflection of her "one true love" is visible in the mirror. Problem is that its image is not reversed in the reflection. (00:02:00)
Factual error: The car Flounder drives is a 1964 model, built beginning late in 1963, but the events of the movie take place in 1962. (00:45:40 - 01:08:25)
Factual error: During the scene towards the end of the film where Alejandro is chasing Captain Love in the shack with the furnace at the mine, we see a pressure gauge just before the furnace explodes. The unit of measurement on the pressure gauge is shown as kg/cm2. Metric measures were not used in Mexico until eleven years after the film was set, and as California was a part of Mexico at the time, metric measurements would not have been used there.
Factual error: In one scene, Vada is showing off her mood ring. The movie is set in 1972 and mood rings were not created until 1975.
Factual error: Mrs. Loving washes Corelle dishes after dinner with the Life magazine photographer. Those photos were in 1965 and Corelle dishes were not introduced until the 1970's. (01:27:00)
Factual error: This movie is set in New York. In the beginning of the movie, Ryan (Charlie Sheen) is working as a stock broker and is at work in a high rise office building. Library Tower is clearly visible through the window. This is the tallest building in California. Imagine if the Empire State Building was visible in a movie set in LA. (00:10:50)
Factual error: Deer are not repelled by the smell of human urine, and in fact it does not have "a" smell - it has many. The smell of human urine varies enormously based upon diet, health and environmental factors so that no wild animal could possibly be scared of them all. Even if Lou didn't know this (and everything about her character suggests she should), Doctor Stone would - he is a doctor, after all.
Factual error: During one scene where Ronald is giving lessons, he tells Cecile to play a G major scale. After he says this, he adds, "Remember the third note, it's sharp." In a G major scale the third isn't sharp. The seventh is. (00:18:35)
Suggested correction: When playing the cello, there can either be one finger space between the two notes or two. The first G would be just the G string with no fingers. The second note would be A, which means just putting a finger in the correct space on the string. The third note is B. The third note would use the third finger. The alternative, which would be wrong, would be to use the second finger. What Ronald is saying is, rather than use the second finger, you should use the third finger.
This correction seems to validate the mistake. There's nothing in the quote to indicate he's talking about finger positioning, you're not playing a sharp on the 3rd note.
Factual error: When the plane is taking off while the animals are on the runway they duck down hoping it will stop and it becomes airborne shortly before hitting them. In actuality they should have been blown backwards from the jets like ragdolls.
Factual error: Cher complains that Astroturf is going to ruin baseball. Mermaids is set in 1963 when Astroturf was still being developed under the name Chemigrass. It wasn't christened Astroturf until it made its world debut on the floor of the Houston Astrodome in 1966.
Factual error: In the beginning sequence where they show the sperm first fertilizing the egg, it is biologically incorrect - only the head part of the sperm enters an egg, everything else stays on the outside and eventually dies off.
Factual error: When John Wayne and Geraldine Page first meet the lead cavalry man and 'Buffalo Baker', you can see in the distance a radio tower on top of the hill/mountain.
Suggested correction: It's not a radio tower. It leans to one side and also the line goes almost to the creek bed. When the troops come back after getting ambushed it's not in the picture anymore.
I'm currently watching the movie and I noticed the radio tower in the background. There are no wires and the tower was not leaning.
Suggested correction: It isn't a tower at all, it's a flaw in the film. As the scene continues, at one point you can see it kind of shake or move a little. It's just a line or flaw on the film itself, it's not a radio tower or anything in the background.
Factual error: If you have ever actually seen London then you can see that the route Hallie takes to get to the house would take you all around London.
Factual error: The Forum shown in the film is smaller than in real life. Also, Cleopatra is shown passing through the Arch of Constantine, a monument that was built centuries after her death.
Factual error: When Renee Zellwegger arrives in New York, she exits her cab in front of the United Nations. The Canadian flag is visible. The movie is set in 1962, and the form of Canadian Flag in the shot was not adopted until 1965.