Corrected entry: When the captain's assistant tries to give him a challenge coin he claims he only carries one from his previous ship, the USS Wichita. Just one problem. The Wichita was decommissioned on February 3rd, 1947 and sold for scrap in 1959. Captain Glass is not old enough to have served on the Wichita.
A nameless member
6th Nov 2022
Hunter Killer (2018)
17th Jul 2013
Bones (2005)
The Pain in the Heart - S3-E15
Character mistake: Zach, from his hospital bed, says he used 3 grams of the monomer to make the explosion. 3 grams of a powder would be a very small amount; less than a teaspoonful. But when he actually did use it, he took a loose amount in a large tablespoon. Zach would have carefully measured it in order to be precise; but he did not. So this is a factual error in what he says; it is also a character mistake in that Zach is the personification of technical accuracy, and would never take a casual spoonful - especially of an explosive.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Given subsequent revelations, this could be said to be part of everything that goes on.
26th Apr 2022
Scream (2022)
Corrected entry: The Reporter states it has been 25 years "almost to the day" since Billy and Stu died (1996), making it September 2021. Tara is a high school senior, and her older sister, Sam, Billy's daughter, is stated multiple times as 5 years older, 23 at best. Many Easter eggs on Richie's laptop state STAB 8 is a 2021 release, which was "last year" according to Sam and Mindy in separate scenes, making the film set 2022, 26 years later. Sam is 1-2 years younger than she should be, or Tara is 20. (00:57:14 - 01:47:18)
Correction: The Scream movies never say at all specifically when they take place. For you to say "September" when the movie never ever for any reason said the month it was taking place in is just a lie and not a mistake. Also just because Mindy said "last year" doesn't mean anything. She could have meant last school year, since kids in school generally use their schooling as the basis for "this year/last year." I've already heard people say last years Scream even thought it's still 2022.
If you go back to the original towards the end of Scream while at Stu's house there is a calendar hanging up which specifically shows it saying SEPTEMBER, the original killings happened in September along with Maureen's death which is stated by Billy saying "congratulations, we killed your mom exactly one year today".
It's pretty comprehensively covered that they're in September, based on the killing of Maureen and the 1996 Scream killings which takes place almost exactly a year later: https://scream.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline.
No. They never say this in the film, at all, there is no evidence of when it takes place. The wiki link you sent is objectively pure speculation by whoever wrote it.
15th Oct 2022
Friends (1994)
The One With The Embryos - S4-E12
Corrected entry: The plot hinges on the girls losing the Lightning Round because they don't know what Chandler's job is, but there is no reason for it; as there was no penalty for a wrong answer, they could have simply answered wrong and moved on to the next question. Both teams had done this already, so the girls knew it was an option; they just conveniently forget it so the plot can move forward.
Correction: They knew they were running out of time and this could be their last question, so didn't want to waste time by passing, especially since they thought they knew it, or could guess. No guarantee the next question would be any easier. Entirely normal behaviour for a quiz, rather than a convenient plot choice.
7th Oct 2022
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)
Factual error: Sometime when Chula the spider is chasing Fievel, he sings a version of "Itsy bitsy spider." However the film takes place in the 1890's and the song "Itsy bitsy spider" was not written until 1910.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: It had been around for much longer than that, that's just the oldest book we have a record of which listed it.
Except the 1910 version was the "Spider Song" since it didn't use the words "itsy bitsy" and those lyrics didn't come until later in the 40's.
2nd Sep 2022
The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)
Corrected entry: When Mrs. Claus explained that children from all over the world brought presents for Santa, she said they came from the east, the west, north and south. When she said "east," a cowboy was shown, when she said "west," an Asian was shown. The north and south characters were correctly identified.
Correction: But north and south are absolutes, whereas "east" and "west" depend where you're starting from. Mrs. Claus won't automatically have a western-centric perception of global geography.
23rd Aug 2022
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Corrected entry: The team is required to fly at high speed due to the anticipation of 5th gen fighters intercepting them on the way out. Issue 1 - They blew up the nearest airbase, so where would these fighters come from? Issue 2 - If they expected them from another nearby base, they should have launched the tomahawks later in the mission (as it was, they would have given the enemy a major head start by blowing up the runway about a minute to early). Note: The only planes that arrive were totally unexpected.
Correction: They say in the film that the point of the runway strike is to stop new aircraft taking off, but that some will already be in the air on patrol - those are the ones which come after the US planes.
I wondered too why they attacked the airfield when they did. That attack is what tipped the bad guys off, right? Without that warning the team could have flown up the canyon with less speed, have an easier shot at the target, and climb out with less danger. Escaping without crashing into the steep mountain was perhaps the most difficult part of the mission. So why not hit the airfield after the target it hit?
That is fair, but they seemed fairly surprised when the 2 bandits appeared on radar, and the Air Boss even asked where they came from. If they anticipated patrols, he shouldn't have been so surprised. They still launched the tomahawks way too early - there was no reason not to time them to hit at the approximate time that Maverick was in position to fire. Time was stated as their biggest adversary, and the tomahawks landing early cost them decent amount of it.
My assumption was that after taking out the initial aircraft, they'd assumed that was all there were, presumably with no others on radar. The final two may well just have been further away than radar range. The missile timing is a bit debateable - given their job was to stop any new fighters taking off, and the F-18s being under the radar would keep them secret anyway, it didn't need to be down to the second. Perhaps they wanted to hit the runway early enough to give the planes time to cancel the attack if the runway wasn't properly disabled.
They WERE surprised when they appeared on their radar. That's the point of the 5th generation stealth technology! The "where'd they come from" response was spontaneous, since the radar picture was clear and then it wasn't.
26th Jul 2022
The Towering Inferno (1974)
Corrected entry: There's no way anyone could afford to own a building 1,688 feet tall. The costs of utilities and other things would be quite high.
Correction: Every tall building has an owner. Either the owner/corporation is profitable enough to justify operating it themselves, or else floors/offices are leased out to others, and the income from that more than covers the costs.
3rd Mar 2006
Malcolm in the Middle (2000)
Corrected entry: When Steve throws himself to the floor deliberately, people go to help him. When they grab him, even though he supposedly can't, he moves his left leg. It's really obvious.
Correction: He can move his legs, he is unable to walk because he only has one lung and it cannot support the exertion of that much activity.
Actually, it's said multiple times that Stevie can't feel his legs, thus meaning he's paralyzed and shouldn't be able to move his legs.
1st Mar 2016
Bully (2001)
Plot hole: When Marty, Ali and the hitman go back to the crime scene, they go over to the water where they threw Bobby's body. Marty throws up, leaving his DNA at the crime scene. And since he was Bobby's best friend, he's the number one suspect.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Vomit doesn't contain DNA, unless said vomit contains blood.
Untrue. "While not all these bodily substances provide ideal DNA samples, testable DNA can often be extracted from all of them. In every case, what is being tested is the DNA contained in cells of human tissue, whether found on their own or carried by another substance, like earwax, sweat or mucus. Shed cells are also found in urine and feces, vomit, and even tears." https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/science/02qna.html. Also https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/violent-thug-caught-dna-vomit-4017184 "A violent thug who glassed a man in the face has been jailed after being traced down by DNA in his vomit."
20th Jul 2022
Independence Day (1996)
Corrected entry: When the president talks to his wife who's in LA, he says he has a helicopter waiting to take her to Dulles airport, which is in Virginia. Then the General maybe 30 mins in the air after the attack says the helicopter never made it to Dulles. That's 2,444 miles - an average helicopter (which she gets in) can only go 250 miles before refuelling, they would have to refuel almost 10 times.
Correction: He says "Nellis", not Dulles. Nellis Air Force base is about 250 miles from LA.
19th Jul 2022
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Corrected entry: When God tells Bruce the two rules he says Bruce can't tell anyone he's "God" and he can't "mess with free will" but by telling Bruce himself what he can't do just by explaining the rules God himself is messing with Bruce's free will. So by God's own reasoning he's breaking his own rules.
Correction: The rules are for Bruce, not God. But the free will thing could just be a limitation of God's powers, not a "rule". If I tell you that you can't lift a mountain, I'm not messing with your free will, just stating a fact. And/or just telling Bruce he can't tell anyone he's God isn't about free will, simply an "actions have consequences" thing. If he breaks the rules he'd lose his powers or similar. I mean all of us have free will, but if we exercise that in a harmful way then we go to jail or similar. That's not "messing with our free will", just natural limitations.
Correction: If your parents tell you to do your homework, it's not violating your free will, because you still make the choice of whether or not you do as you're told. If they use supernatural powers to mind control you and literally force you to do it, now they've violated your free will.
18th Jul 2022
Friends (1994)
The One With The Embryos - S4-E12
Corrected entry: When the Gynaecologist says we insert 5 embryos for a 25% chance one will attach. Wouldn't one in five be a 20% chance?
Correction: That's not how the statistics work. There's no guarantee that any embryos will attach at all - presumably the odds of any one embryo attaching is 5%, so adding 5 makes the odds 25%. It has to be a balance between ensuring a vaguely decent chance of a viable pregnancy vs. the risk of having multiple babies. For example if they inserted 20 embryos to potentially "guarantee" at least one would attach, at least statistically, the odds would be much much higher of say 5 of them attaching, which would cause great complications for the mother and indeed the fetuses, not all of which would likely survive.
18th Jul 2022
Sex and the City (1998)
Four women and a funeral - S2-E5
Corrected entry: In this episode, Miranda tells Carrie her parents live in Pennsylvania after having the panic attack, then in S3 EP3 mentions to Magda that they live in Pennsylvania, however, in S4 EP8, Miranda goes to Philadelphia as it's where her parents live.
Correction: Philadelphia is in Pennsylvania.
20th May 2022
Dune (2021)
Corrected entry: It is questionable if there can be "sandstorms powerful enough to cut through metal." The year may be 10191 and "Arrakis" unknown to contemporary society, but the sandstorms would have to be at least comparable to the capabilities of modern day SAND BLASTERS that might do that type of damage operating at 1,000 MPH. IF the sand storms were that powerful, the people probably could not survive them. (00:05:50)
Correction: It's just hyperbole, like when someone says, "The sleet was cutting like daggers." It's meant to emphasize how powerful and dangerous the sandstorms are, not that the sand could literally cut metal.
That's not the impression I got. There would be too much of a gap between cutting skin/flesh from bones (already not very likely) to cutting through metal. Such an exaggeration would not be necessary.
Even if not hyperbole, it might be that the sandstorms can cut through/wear down metal over time, possibly quite a short time, making it a technically accurate statement. They don't say they can cut through metal instantly or like a knife through butter.
31st May 2022
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Corrected entry: Lt. Robert "Bob" Floyd Is a F-18 pilot wearing glasses. As far as I understand all fighter pilots are required to have 20/20 vision.
Correction: On top of that (which is a relatively new policy) - he's a Weapons System Officer (WSO), not a pilot, and he wouldn't have the same vision requirements, anyway.
Correction: To become a pilot, that means the candidate's vision can be no worse than 20/70 (correctable with glasses to 20/20) in each eye.
24th May 2022
Schindler's List (1993)
Corrected entry: When the train with the deported women is driving through the winter landscape. In the foreground there is a car with a ponton body parked beside a farm house. It seems to be a Trabant or Wartburg. These cars were made in the 60s and 70s. (02:30:45)
Correction: "Ponton" style cars have been around since the 20s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponton_(car)
6th May 2019
The Transporter (2002)
Stupidity: At the start, when the bank robbers pile into the car, Frank flips a switch and the licence plate changes...out in full view of the public. Given how well-prepared Frank is demonstrated to be, that's absolutely something he would have done in private, before arriving at the bank.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: The plate is changed after the robbery for a reason. By allowing plate A to be seen during the robbery the information will be relayed to the police that a car with registration plate A is involved. Swapping to plate B after the robbery ensures that police will see plate B and know that the car is not involved.
But the point is he drives up to the bank with plate A on display. The robbers pile in and he switches to plate B. So any witnesses have seen both plates (plus the fact that the car switched plates, doubly suspicious). Whereas if he'd switched to plate B while out of view in the car park, he'd still have a "clean" plate to use.
12th Feb 2021
Good Omens (2019)
Factual error: In order to take delivery of the demon baby, Crowley meets Hastur and Ligur - two fellow demons - in a church graveyard, but later we find that demons cannot step on to consecrated ground without suffering extreme discomfort. Church graveyards are always on consecrated ground.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: But it is a satanic church so Crowley can step in it.
There is nothing in The Book or the film to suggest that the graveyard is part of a "satanic church."
The church is run by Satanic nuns who are orchestrating the entire plan to switch babies.
No, it is not. Crowley has to drive for a considerable distance from the church to the convent in order to deliver baby Adam to the satanic nuns. They have nothing to do with it.
8th Apr 2022
The Terminator (1984)
Corrected entry: Kyle Reese says Skynet only knew that Sarah Connor lived in Los Angeles. Nothing to suggest Skynet had photos. So the Terminator should not have been able to recognize Sarah in the Tech Noir club.
Correction: Did you not watch the film? He kills Sarah's roommate, then hears Sarah leave a message so knows he got the wrong person. He searches the apartment and finds Sarah's photo ID so he knows exactly where she is and what she looks like.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Correction: Firstly there's a more modern USS Wichita, active since 2016. Secondly the submarine in this film, the USS Arkansas, only started construction in 2018, the year this film was released, and it's hardly unreasonable for films to create fictional ships for the sake of the plot rather than use real ones.