The Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - S5-E4
Factual error: Near the end, the gang is using Luminol to check for blood on neighbourhood signs. Luminol won't work in broad daylight, they should have used a blue light filtering lens to enhance its visibility.
Factual error: The Roswell, New Mexico sheriff forces Bones to examine the body because it was found in his jurisdiction. But later in the episode, we learn that the body was found 2 kilometers from the border of Mexico. Roswell is not even in a county on the border of New Mexico much less one that borders Mexico. In fact the closest border to Roswell between the US and Mexico would be in Texas - hours drive away. The Roswell sheriff would have no jurisdiction.
Factual error: In the opening shot of the episode they show a plane landing at an airport, and it says Dulles International Airport on the screen. There is even a nice shot of the US Capitol building in the background, the problem is that Dulles Airport is about 25 miles from Washington, if the shot is real it was filmed at Reagan National Airport. (00:00:10)
The Critic in the Cabernet - S4-E25
Factual error: Temperance Brennan is examining the bones of the victim and mentions she wants to have a baby. She starts examining the tibia, mentions the she wants to have a baby, then says "capitulum" while still looking at the tibia. In actuality, the capitulum is on the distal epiphysis of the humerus, not the tibia. (00:06:25)
The Superhero in the Alley - S1-E12
Factual error: Booth is supposed to be a (former) Army sniper. Military personnel chosen to be snipers are expert shooters. At the young mans grave, Booth places a sharpshooter badge on the boys casket. Being a sniper, Booth should be an expert and, as such, should have placed an expert badge instead of a sharpshooter. (Rifle and Pistol sharpshooter badges in rank lowest to highest: marksman, sharpshooter, then expert.)
Factual error: When the gang is reviewing mall security footage to find the kids, Angela says her maximum resolution is 640x480 pixels 'per square inch'. Digital resolution is not defined per inch - it's defined by the entire image. Secondly; moments later, she refers to having another angle of the scene - but the camera shows the very same shot as was just seen. (00:14:40)
The Bullet in the Brain - S6-E11
Factual error: Bone mentions Booth holds the "official record for the longest shot, almost a kilometer", and Booth corrects her to "over a kilometer." The record at the time was actually well over 2km, held by Corporal Rob Furlong, a Canadian sniper (since been beaten, it currently stands at 3.5km). In fact plenty of sniper kills had been recorded at over a kilometer since the late 19th century.
Factual error: It's established that a Birimbao is a "small flute" by Dr Brennan. However, a Birimbao is a stringed percussion instrument. (00:03:00)
The Carrot in the Kudzu - S9-E18
Factual error: The plant the victim is covered in is not Kudzu. Kudzu is trifoliate (three leaflets per node) with two or three lobes per leaflet, and with entire margins (no serrations). The plant shown is serrated and does not have lobes.
The Movie in the Making - S11-E18
Factual error: Angela try to recover some digital data (like SMS or the call list) from memory chip of a 2006 mobile phone. But there's not any memory chip on Angela's work table; there's a SO-DIMM RAM wafer, probably an old DDR which makes no sense: 1. RAM is a volatile memory, so after power off, data goes bye. 2. Lot of chips for a simple mobile phone memory 3. It's a RAM wafer. (00:28:50)
The Plain in the Prodigy - S5-E3
Factual error: When Bones and Booth go to visit Levi's parents and Sarah's brother yells at her that she is needed at home, when he gets into the buggy you see him wearing a wedding ring. Amish wear a beard to indicate marital status, not jewelry it is against the religion to wear any decoration including wedding rings. (00:08:50)
The End in the Beginning - S4-E26
Factual error: Near the end, as Bones is typing her book, she hits the
A Night at the Bones Museum - S5-E5
Factual error: Hodgins makes a remark about the mummy wrappings being for an important person because it is a diamond weave pattern. However, the diamond weave pattern didn't come into effect until the Greco-Roman period that began at 332 B.C. It certainly wouldn't be found in an 18th dynasty mummy, no matter how important he was.
A Night at the Bones Museum - S5-E5
Factual error: Hodgins says that natron was a naturally drying agent, which was used in the second century B.C. This is both wrong and right. While it is true that natron was used for mummification, it was used for thousands of years in Egyptian culture, not just the second century B.C.
The Pain in the Heart - S3-E15
Factual error: Following Sealy's funeral, in the scene at the Jeffersonian, a close up of Master Sergeant Booth's uniform, the service ribbons are displayed upside down. His bronze star is on the bottom right and it should be on the top left.
Factual error: This episode was supposed to be staged outside of a small Washington State town. About midway, they cut to a mountain background scene that is Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California, then pan to Booth and Brennan talking to the sheriff. Anyone who does not realize an iconic landmark like Half Dome is not in Washington was asleep in Geography class.
Factual error: E.M.T.'s do not normally have access to those type of drugs. Only Paramedics usually do.
Factual error: When Bones is doing the autopsy on the cannibal victims, she dictates her findings into a tape recorder. She refers to a 'low calibre' gun, rather than the correct 'small calibre' reference. Someone who deals with victims frequently, and who is so specific & detailed, would be well aware of the proper references for such things. (00:32:00)
Boy in the Time Capsule - S3-E7
Factual error: It's established that the victim disappeared on June 10th 1987 which was the day the time capsule was sealed. However, earlier in the episode the tank is being drained and a part of the album Appetite for Destruction by the band Guns N' Roses is in the capsule. The album was initially released on July 21st 1987. Further to this, the sleeve of the album shows the common 'Cross' artwork which wasn't used on the 1st press of the album. The 'Cross' artwork was first released later that year. (00:12:00)
The Woman in the Whirlpool - S10-E20
Factual error: Brennan gives Jessica an X-ray with Technetium (Tc99m) for her collection. It's not an X-ray but a PET scan and it's not Technetium but most likely Fluor 18 (also radioactive) labeled sugar: F-18-FDG.
Answer: Since the palatine bone is a bone that helps form the mouth it has a lot to do with speaking. The shape of it differs a lot depending on your ethnic background. I would guess that they, in the show, meant that the person's bone tells that they were Japanese and that it was "made for the purpose of speaking Japanese." That's what I'd assume anyway. I've studied molecular biology though, so I'm not an expert on bones.