PEDAUNT

11th Oct 2017

Jonathan Creek (1997)

28th Apr 2017

Chernobyl Diaries (2012)

Factual error: The idea that anyone survived living in Pripyat Hospital is absurd. The uniforms of the doomed firefighters were stored in the basement and are so radioactive that anyone straying downstairs for more than 45 seconds has about a week to live. The ground and upper floors are far less radioactive but prolonged exposure - in other words, living there - would be fatal. Nobody could survive on the grounds for more than two or three months without receiving a lethal dose of radioactivity. Incidentally, prolonged exposure to radioactivity doesn't turn you into a deranged zombie - it turns you into a corpse.

PEDAUNT

11th Oct 2016

Columbo (1971)

It's All in the Game - S12-E1

Factual error: Despite the fact that other officers are doing so, Columbo does not wear gloves while examining the crime scene. He also eats and drinks in the room - both absolutely forbidden - leaving eggshells scattered about the place. The crime scene is now totally compromised and nothing found can be used as evidence.

PEDAUNT

Factual error: The airliner keeps its undercarriage down far too long. Normally the wheels would be retracted while the aircraft was still over the airport - this one is almost at its cruising altitude before they do that.

PEDAUNT

7th Jun 2016

Columbo (1971)

Old Fashioned Murder - S6-E2

Factual error: In common with many other episodes, Columbo and all the other police officers at the crime scene hopelessly contaminate it - none of them wear gloves or protective clothing. Not one artifact recovered from the scene would be usable as evidence.

PEDAUNT

28th Feb 2016

Jonathan Creek (1997)

The Wrestler's Tomb - S1-E1

Factual error: During the examination of the crime scene at the beginning of the episode, not one of the Crime Scene Officers or any of the police on site wear latex gloves. The supervising police officer picks up a vital piece of evidence - a small bag of jewellery - with bare hands! They have hopelessly contaminated the scene.

PEDAUNT

4th Dec 2015

The Martian (2015)

Factual error: Towards the end of the film Watney is told to discard the heavy nose cone of the Martian Ascent Vehicle and replace it with a flimsy plastic sheet because the atmosphere is so thin that it will not be damaged despite the vehicle being accelerated to Martian escape velocity - nearly 14,000 kmh. But the storm caused massive damage earlier. It cannot work both ways - if the atmosphere is so thin that it won't dislodge a jury rigged plastic canopy from an accelerating spacecraft, it cannot possibly whip up a storm like the one we see.

PEDAUNT

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Mars' atmosphere works very differently than Earth's. Near the surface, there are often heavy storms and winds. But go up near the edge of the atmosphere, it's drastically thinner. Earth's atmosphere doesn't differ THAT much; your logic would make sense for Earth. However, for Mars' atmosphere, the movie was accurate.

Absolute rubbish. It is a well established fact that the atmospheric pressure on Mars is 610 pascals, 1% of that on Earth. A 170 kmh wind storm on Mars (specified in the film) would be like a gentle, 18kmh breeze on earth. There is absolutely no way that a storm like the one we see at the beginning of the film could occur on Mars. The storm would barely scatter small pebbles about, let alone throw a spacesuited human body around. As for the atmosphere on Earth not differing form that on Mars... good grief, are you serious? Anyway, don't take my word for it. "No, it's not accurate!" Goddard cheerfully informed us (The Radio Times). "It's the one big buy of the movie, that because of the atmosphere, or lack thereof, Mars would never have a storm that big. But if we didn't do it, we wouldn't have a movie. It sort of kicks off the movie." You think Mr Goddard would be in a good position to comment. He wrote the screenplay.

You need to take the thickness of Mars' atmosphere into consideration.

Factual error: Hannah's full name is Hannah Ásgeirsson. Icelandic surnames are (Father's name) sson for boys and (Mother's name) dottir for girls, so Ásgeirsson would be the surname of the male child of a man named Ásgeir. Her name should be Hannah Sigurbjörnsdóttir.

PEDAUNT

26th Jul 2015

Ant-Man (2015)

Factual error: Twice in the film it is made clear that the Pym particle works by reducing the space between atoms in order to shrink an object, and by increasing it to enlarge them. This means that the object will weigh the same, whether shrunk or enlarged - it cannot be otherwise. A 90kg man the size of an ant would punch a hole through any surface upon which he stood (and couldn't ride ants), Doctor Pym has been walking about with a 60 tonne tank in his pocket, Darren Cross lifts a full grown sheep between finger and thumb, and the supersized Thomas The Tank Engine would be far too light to crush the police car (in fact it would float harmlessly away as it would probably weigh less than the air it displaced).

PEDAUNT

Factual error: The pirates' map shows a drawing of Tower Bridge, which Pirate Captain sees through the telescope moments later. Construction of Tower Bridge started in 1886, and it was completed in 1894. Queen Victoria was 73 when Tower Bridge was completed, whereas she is in her late twenties or mid thirties here. The sign setting the film in 1837 also makes no sense given this timeline. (00:25:20)

PEDAUNT

26th May 2014

Columbo (1971)

Ashes to Ashes - S13-E3

Factual error: An important plot point is that diamonds do not burn and can be recovered from the ashes of a cremated body. This is completely wrong - diamonds would combust freely at cremation temperatures, and since they are pure carbon they don't even leave any residue.

PEDAUNT

2nd Mar 2014

Columbo (1971)

The Most Crucial Game - S2-E3

Factual error: In the middle of summer in southern California, water spread thinly on an outdoor ceramic surface would start evaporating immediately and would be gone in about fifteen minutes. The surrounds of the pool would be bone dry by the time Columbo arrived at the scene, nearly an hour after the murderer sprayed the water there.

PEDAUNT

2nd Mar 2014

Columbo (1971)

The Most Crucial Game - S2-E3

Factual error: Probably an in joke - the wheels of the "airliner" shown landing at LA international airport are those of a B52 bomber. They are very distinctive and look nothing like those on any airliner ever made.

PEDAUNT

4th Feb 2014

Columbo (1971)

Troubled Waters - S4-E4

Factual error: In common with a number of characters in numerous episodes, Columbo hopelessly contaminates crucial evidence - at the end of the episode he handles the surgical gloves used by the killer with bare hands.

PEDAUNT

Factual error: A number of press photographers are present during the trial of the Great Train Robbers and they take a series of photographs of the opening proceedings. No photographer has ever been allowed in a British courtroom for any reason at any time, ever.

PEDAUNT

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