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Trivia: Throughout the series, nearly every Law Enforcement Officer with whom Jessica interacts is either conceited, arrogant, narcissistic, rude, incompetent, ignorant, stupid, or some combination thereof.

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Dead Heat - S2-E8

Trivia: The name of the horse, "Anchors Ahoy," is meaningless and silly. The term, "anchor's aweigh," is short for "the anchor is aweigh," meaning the anchor has been pulled free of the bottom. However, "ahoy" is a hailing call, used to attract the attention of another vessel or, perhaps, a person, and requires an answer. (It's kind of like saying, "Hey, you!") Since anchors are inanimate objects, they can neither hear nor respond to the call.

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To Kill a Legend - S11-E3

Trivia: During the Revolutionary War era, Maine was part of Massachusetts, even though it was physically separated from Massachusetts proper by New Hampshire. Maine did not become a separate state until 1820.

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Night of the Coyote - S9-E6

Factual error: Celestial navigation can determine one's position on the earth's surface to within about one mile, not precise enough to give the location of a buried treasure. It also requires more than a sextant. It requires tables published in a nautical almanac (which is updated each year), charts on which to plot lines of position, and an accurate chronometer that is set to the precise time at the Prime Meridian (Greenwich Mean Time).

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The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case - S6-E3

Factual error: A "silencer" (properly called a "suppressor") does not muffle a gunshot to a whisper. An unsuppressed gunshot is about 160 dB, equivalent to a jet airliner taking off, but a suppressed gunshot still registers about 100 dB, equivalent to a power lawn mower. Also, a suppressor on a revolver is totally useless, because most of the noise comes from the gap between the front of the cylinder and the rear of the barrel.

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Trivia: In the explosion that kills Mariko, Blackthorne is temporarily blinded; but in the novel, the explosion makes him deaf, which actually makes more sense.

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Factual error: When Blackthorne is on Rodrigues' ship, Rodrigues offers him grog. But grog was only invented in 1740, by British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon, whose nickname was "Old Grog" because of his preference for coats made of grogram cloth.

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Episode #1.1 - S1-E1

Character mistake: In the opening minutes of the first episode, as the Erasmus is struggling through a storm, Blackthorne is told that the boatswain is dead. He checks the corpse and then says, "Get the body aloft," which would entail carrying the deceased up the mast. The correct order would be "Get the body topside."

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Who Killed J.B. Fletcher? - S7-E14

Factual error: Bremerton, Washington is not a hick town as depicted in this episode (it is the home of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, a US Navy installation that employs 14,000 people) and the people there do not have southern accents.

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Dead Letter - S6-E6

Factual error: Unlike the Connie Kowalski character in this episode, real insurance investigators are not trained in arson investigation. Insurance investigators search for evidence of fraud relating to insurance claims. Arson investigators are professional firefighters who have had extensive additional training in arson investigation.

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Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble - S5-E13

Factual error: The only instances of "witchcraft" or "witch trials" in America were in Salem, Massachusetts. There were none in Maine or anywhere else. The Salem witch trials spanned 15 months, from February, 1692 to May 1693. Over 200 people were accused of witchcraft, but only 30 were found guilty. Of the 30, 14 women and 5 men were executed by hanging and one man, Giles Corey, was executed by "pressing." Another five died in jail, but none were burned at the stake, which was a punishment unique to Europe.

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The Most Dangerous Match - S2-E7

Factual error: Clayton tells Columbo that he had purchased a new transistor for his hearing aid. Hearing aids - even the old types in use in the 1970's - do not have any user-replaceable parts. The only thing that can be replaced is the battery.

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Trivia: In the novel, in the fight at the boom, many American sailors are injured, but Harris is the only one killed. Then, in the final confrontation at China Light, Jameson and Holman are the only ones killed; even the captain escapes, despite having been wounded at the boom. In addition, there is a third American missionary at China Light, a young man who escapes and (by implication) ends up with Shirley.

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Fire in the Hull, the Gipper's Bombshell and Electric Tricycle - S15-E9

Factual error: It is stated that exhibits in the Pima Air and Space Museum include a 1964 F/A-18 Super Hornet used by the Blue Angels. The FA-18 Hornet did not enter service until 1983, and the Super Hornet did not enter service until 1999.

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Now You See Him - S5-E5

Factual error: Santini murders Jerome using a revolver with a silencer. Although this is one of the oldest Hollywood tropes, a silencer (properly called a suppressor) does not reduce a gunshot to a whisper; it only cuts the noise to about 110 dB, which is still very loud. In addition, suppressors do not work at all on revolvers, because most of the noise is generated in the gap between the cylinder and the barrel.

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Forgotten Lady - S5-E1

Factual error: All LAPD officers must re-qualify with their weapons multiple times a year. If indeed Columbo could not "hit the target," as he says to another detective, he would never have made it through the police academy, much less have become a detective and have been promoted to sergeant and eventually to lieutenant.

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Forgotten Lady - S5-E1

Factual error: Columbo gives another detective $5 to go to the gun range for him. Technically, that is a bribe and it would cost both Columbo and the other detective their badges.

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The Witch's Curse - S8-E12

Factual error: "Witches" were burned at the stake in Europe, but not in America. In America, they were hanged.

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Factual error: At the beginning of the movie, Forney, who is an enlisted man (a chief petty officer), replies to an officer's orders with, "very well, sir." Officers say "very well" to enlisted personnel, but for an enlisted man to say "very well" to an officer is a serious breach of naval etiquette.

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Factual error: After checking the damage caused by the explosion, Gary Collins tells Dean Martin he's going to cut off the passenger oxygen, but that is something he could not do. Each passenger oxygen mask is part of an individual self-contained unit that uses a chemical reaction to generate oxygen. The reaction is initiated when a passenger pulls down on the mask, and once started, it cannot be stopped, but continues for 10 to 14 minutes.

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