Jurassic Park

Factual error: Near the beginning, at the "Montana Badlands" dig site of Drs Grant and Sattler, a large shrub identifiable in several shots is creosotebush, a warm-desert plant that doesn't grow anywhere near Montana. Could this be California? (00:08:00)

Gregory Forbes

Factual error: In the early scene where Dennis Nedry meets a man to plan the embryo theft, the subtitle says that they are in San José, Costa Rica. However, the sleepy coastal town in the movie within sight of the ocean bears no resemblance to the real San José (a cosmopolitan capital of almost 1 million people, situated 50 miles from either coast). Even the book makes this error. (00:13:10 - 00:14:45)

Factual error: The way the car "slides" down the tree as Grant and Tim are climbing down is very unrealistic. Rather than hugging the trunk like it does, the branches (some of which are thick enough) would deflect it away from the trunk. (01:13:30 - 01:15:00)

Factual error: When the goat leg falls down onto the glass roof of the tour vehicle, the wound on it is much too clean. Whether it is actual meat, it looks like it was cut with a knife. Dinosaurs, like crocodiles had conical teeth and had to tear or rip their prey apart - unlike cats or dogs, whose premolars act in a scissor-like way and actually cut the meat. The wound surface should be frayed and messy. Also, a T-Rex wouldn't even be able to tear apart a goat, because it's too small to step on it and tear at it at the same time. Instead, he would chew and shake it a few times to shatter the bones, then swallow it whole.

Doc

Factual error: At the beginning of the film we are shown an amber mine in the Dominican Republic. This amber is only 45 million years old, Hammond would never bother buying the amber from there as dinosaurs disappeared from the fossil record 65 million years ago.

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Suggested correction: This is assuming that Hammond would restrict himself to a specific period of the earth's history, which makes no sense. Of course Hammond would also be interested in Paleogene or early Tertiary fossil blood! All the proto-birds, giant birds (just think about a Gastornis! What a sensation in a zoo!), not to mention giant mammals like the Megatherion, proto-elephants, proto-rhinoceroses.

Doc

There is absolutely no suggestion in Jurassic Park - film or book - that Hammond has any interest in any animals except for dinosaurs. We see no facilities for cloning extinct birds or mammals, nor are they mentioned in his promotional film. The post is correct.

It's specifically mentioned in the book that Hammond was buying huge quantities of amber, even museum-quality jewelry. He was likely getting hold of everything he possibly could to increase chances of finding blood-carrying insects.

LorgSkyegon

There is also absolutely no suggestion that he wouldn't be interested. Surely these would make excellent alternatives / backups in the event he couldn't source enough mosquitos of the era he was most interested in.

As has been pointed out on this site before, inventing deux ex machina explanations for plot holes and factual errors does not invalidate them. Cloning non-egg laying mammals would require vastly different technology to that seen in Jurassic Park. Nowhere in the film is it indicated that Hammond is interested in anything except dinosaurs, nor that he is in any way equipped to clone anything but them.

Hammond buying up any mosquito-containing amber is not a plot hole. He didn't say he wanted exhibits from 45 million years ago, but he also didn't specifically say he wasn't interested. Lack of a statement in a film is not a plot hole.

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Continuity mistake: After the T. Rex rolls Explorer 4 upside-down with Lex and Tim inside, in the closeup when the dinosaur bites on the rubber tire we see the hub hole at the center of the wheel rim, but two shots later the wheel cover is back on the wheel.

Super Grover

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Trivia: When the grandchildren and Grant are crawling above the drop-down ceiling to flee from the raptors, the raptors at one point have "squares" of light shining on them. If you look closely at this light, these "squares" of light are not really squares, but the letters A T C G, the DNA sequence abbreviations.

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Question: Was there any truth to Hammond's comment that none of the rides at Disneyland worked when the park first opened? I just find that a little hard to believe.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Yes. The first opening day of Disneyland in California was catastrophic. The pavement was fresh and the sun was so hot high-heeled shoes actually sunk into the walkways. Counterfeit tickets were made, resulting in more people than the park had room for. They ran out of food and drinks. Bathrooms clogged and shut down. Many of the rides broke down on opening day. The Storybook Land Canal Boats had to be pulled by cast members in rubber boots. At the time, there were no guide rails for Autopia; some of the cars crashed into each other, making them inoperable. A gas leak in Fantasyland lead to the land being temporarily closed for part of the day.

David Yard

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