The Big Bang Theory

Correction: Both spellings are correct. I checked thirty six online dictionaries and they all list "collectable" and "collectible" as the correct spelling.

The Toast Derivation - S4-E17

Corrected entry: Sheldon makes fun of Leonard's idea to go to Raj's for dinner by speculating that they could stop using the letter M, which would be "isguided and oronic. Later he says that "This is adness. Complete and utter adness. He should have said "This is adness. Coplete and utter adness., leaving the M out of the word "complete" - and there is no way a pedantic, obsessive genius like Sheldon would make a mistake like that.

Correction: I viewed this scene more than 10 times and listened closely and Sheldon says, "This is adness; this is utter and coplete adness. He does in fact take the "m" out of the word complete.

Correction: However, Penny's father might not know that. Also, it could be a case that since he works as a theoretical physicist that he may have to work weekends, like when he worked nights.

Ssiscool

Correction: It's not the same work shift. Note that Howard isn't wearing the same clothes.

Super Grover

Correction: This "mistake" relies on a single person acting in precisely the same way that someone else expects them to 100% of the time. People act inconsistently all the time, often totally at odds with their professed beliefs. This "mistake" is only valid if Sheldon's mother was seen forbidding him to dress as a zombie, and that did not happen.

Correction: How do you know she knew? She might have been out of town, busy that night, and so on and so on. Sheldon is hyperintelligent - he wouldn't put on his costume in front of her.

Sheldon is incapable of deception. And guessing where his mother was at the time is too much of a stretch.

MovieFan612

What deception? He didn't tell his mother about a costume he wore, and she didn't find out independently. There is no mistake here.

Correction: Sorry, but this is completely incorrect. I had inflatable decorations back in the 90s, and there were absolutely inflatable lawn decorations in the 80s. You can still buy some inflatable 80s decoration secondhand on sites like eBay. "Modern" inflatables like balloons date back 200 years, and the air-inflation process had been used prior to that even. I can only presume you're referring to the more current in-vogue inflatables that use fans... but even those existed before 2001, albeit they weren't as widely used. (Ex. The StarLab inflatable planetarium that many schoolchildren still experience to this day uses the same basic fan system and was invented in the 1970's.)

TedStixon

I researched my answer. Can you provide more info on yours?

MovieFan612

How could you have possibly done research on inflatables and come to the conclusion that inflatable decorations were invented in 2001? My info is that I literally owned some, and you can still find plenty second-hand online. Go to Etsy and search "vintage inflatable" and there are currently multiple inflatable decorations that date from the 80s and earlier that people are selling secondhand.

TedStixon

Correction: He says he had an inflatable Santa Claus, but nothing to suggest it was an "air blown" version that you seem to be talking about.

Bishop73

Inflatable means you blow air into it.

MovieFan612

Yes, but it doesn't mean to blow air into constantly with a portable fan. That's why kids before 2001 had beach balls and other inflatable pool toys. What you seem to be describing or alluding to are called "Gemmy Airblown Inflatables," introduced in 2001.

Bishop73

Very true, Bishop. And even then... the technology Gemmy Airblown Inflatables use existed long before 2001. As I said in my response, it's the same basic tech used for things like inflatable planetariums. I'm confused as to what MovieFan612 is getting at. They seem to be indicating that inflatable decorations in general didn't exist before 2001... which is just factually wrong.

TedStixon

Correction: The figure he's holding is a genuine Star Trek figure in the correct packaging. It was produced by Playmates Toys and marketed in the Star Trek The Next Generation packaging as "Lieutenant Commander Geordie LaForge Movie Uniform"

Correction: The figure in the episode is specifically a 'movie uniform' outfit, as labeled on the packaging. Many of these made their way into the standard 'Next Generation' line of figures. This is not an error.

The Zazzy Substitution - S4-E3

Corrected entry: The proposition that danishes wouldn't exist if Copenhagen were flooded is wrong, because "danishes" were created by Austrian bakers. They are called danish in English-speaking countries because they're very popular in Denmark. The Danish word for this pastry is wienerbrød, which translates to "Viennese bread."

Tanngrisnir

Correction: The origin of the Danish pastry is often ascribed to a strike amongst bakery workers in Denmark in 1850. The strike caused bakery owners to hire workers from abroad, among them several Austrian bakers, who brought along new baking traditions and pastry recipes.

The Skywalker Incursion - S8-E19

Corrected entry: Leonard refers to a never-ending game of "Bottle of Beer on the Wall" as having 'one times ten to the fourth' bottles of beer. One times ten to the fourth power is just one multiplied by itself a ridiculously large number of times, which equals one. That would be a very short game. Not a mistake a physicist would make.

PEDAUNT

Correction: One times ten to the fourth is 10,000.

Correction: That is totally possible when you play on a random board, which has the bonus squares in different places. I have played it with an opening word point total of over 225.

The Agreement Dissection - S4-E21

Corrected entry: For an obsessive genius Sheldon makes a stupid mistake when he blackmails Leonard into signing a new roommate agreement - any contract signed under duress is invalid. He gains nothing from Leonard signing the new agreement as no other action on his part is required. Effectively Sheldon has got his autograph. Big deal. Leonard is free to ignore the new agreement if he feels like it - and his lawyer was there to witness the fact that he was forced against his will to sign in the first place. This also begs the question of why Priya gets in such a panic about Sheldon blackmailing Leonard by threatening to reveal details of their relationship to her parents - why didn't she just advise Leonard to sign on the dotted line, explaining later that he signed an invalid contract? It would certainly have saved her a lot of grief.

Correction: Priya might have brought the idea of the letter of the law in, but Sheldon has never actually sued anyone for violating the roommate agreement. Leonard abides by it because otherwise Sheldon will become unliveable with. Priya won't give Leonard any more advice because of the risk that Sheldon will tell Priya's parents about Leonard's relationship.

Moose

The Robotic Manipulation - S4-E1

Corrected entry: Howard explains the ease with which he "borrowed" the programmable robot arm thus : "You just have to take it out to your car as if you own it". Howard doesn't have a car - he has a Vespa scooter, and there is no way he could carry the robot arm on that. (While we are on the subject, how does he transport it from Sheldon and Leonard's apartment to his house?).

Correction: His mother very likely has a car (we've heard her say that she's driving back to the grocery store), which Howard very likely used for this occasion.

Knever

Deus ex Machina explanations for errors do not invalidate them. Howard does not have a car and at no time does he mention borrowing one from anyone.

The Adhesive Duck Deficiency - S3-E8

Corrected entry: When Penny and Sheldon get into the car to drive to the hospital, she makes the remark, "You do have a learner's permit, right?" He answers yes and explains he has logged several simulation hours which ended badly. She already knows he has a learner's permit and about the simulations, since in season 2, "The Euclid Alternative," she was with him at the DMV when he got the permit and stood beside him during the simulation, actually hitting him in the face with a pillow to mimic an airbag when he crashed.

lizbeth1fl

Correction: Actually, after Sheldon said that it was the first time driving an actual vehicle, she said "you do have 'your' learners permit, right?" It was an indirect reference to the fact that (approx) a year had passed (a season for us viewers) and he had not stepped into an actual vehicle. Penny has been known to be sarcastic from time to time.

XIII

Correction: After Amy says "How could you leave like that without saying goodbye and then call Leonard instead of me", and the shot changes to Sheldon looking at Leonard and then back to the three of them, it can be seen in the background that at the turn, the tarmac quality actually changes. Thus it is originally there and the footage is continuous.

Correction: The symbol is there the entire time. It's just very difficult to see.

Greg Dwyer

Correction: Penny says "I've been trying to get in for months."

The Solder Excursion Diversion - S9-E19

Corrected entry: It's revealed that Sheldon rents out a storage unit that contains literally everything that he has ever owned in his lifetime. How is it that nobody else has ever known about this? He doesn't drive, nor does he take public transportation, and we can assume that he must make regular trips there to store any item that he no longer needs/uses. So he would surely need to be driven there by someone, most likely by Leonard, and he obviously couldn't keep it a secret as to why he needs to go there.

Correction: While Sheldon does not like public transportation, he does take the bus when needed. There are numerous mentions of "bus pants" and "bungee cording himself to the seat" to prove he will take a bus when he has to.

SantaJim

The Bat Jar Conjecture - S1-E13

Corrected entry: Sheldon is very particular about sitting in his spot and not allowing anyone else into his spot. We learn later on in the series that he has been this way since Leonard moved in. However at the very end of this episode, we see Leonard sat in Sheldon's spot and Sheldon sat in the arm chair. (00:19:00)

Ssiscool

Correction: At the start of the scene, Sheldon attempts to sit in his spot, but Leonard doesn't let him, because his Physics Bowl trophy is sitting there and then Leonard moves slightly onto Sheldon's spot to make fun of him using the trophy. Presumably, he is just sitting on the arm chair because Leonard wouldn't move and he is just sitting in that seat reluctantly.

Casual Person

The Codpiece Topology - S2-E2

Corrected entry: Sheldon's battery runs low during Leonard's date with Leslie so he gets an extension cord but leaves the door open. As he goes down the stairs the extension cord unwinds until he can't go any further and attempts to pull it. Then Leonard gets to shut the door easily like there is no extension cord plugged into the outlet and leading out of the apartment. (00:11:20)

Yesser Rabhi

Correction: Having just watched this the lead goes slack and under the door.

Ssiscool

Correction: The rotating of the cans is due to the various camera angles being used in the shot. Same with the straws.

Ssiscool

The Excelsior Acquisition - S3-E16

Plot hole: In Series 1, Episode 7, "The Dumpling Paradox, " Sheldon makes an oblique reference to his financial status: "Frankly, if I could afford the rent, I'd ask you [Leonard] to leave, " meaning he cannot pay the rent on his two bedroom apartment by himself - not that he doesn't want to, he can't. However, in "The Execlsior Acquisition, " we find that he does not even cash his pay cheques. He doesn't even deposit them into a bank account - he leaves them in a drawer in his desk. In Series 2 Episode 14 "The Financial Permeability", he lends Penny a large amount of money from a huge bankroll he just happens to have lying about - again, without cashing his pay cheques! He is obviously independently wealthy. Either he doesn't have enough money to afford the rent or he has enough to work without being paid while practically giving large amounts of cash away. Can't be both.

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

Suggested correction: Not being able to afford doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have the money, especially a man like Sheldon. He works with a budget and he sticks to it. In his budget he has a certain amount set aside for rent, anything more than that and he can't afford it alone.

Nonsense. If he was sticking to a "rigid budget" he wouldn't have even thought of lending a hopeless credit risk like Penny a single cent. Instead he throws a huge bankroll at her without even discussing a repayment plan.

Rubbish, I stick to a strict budget but still have the money to lend to close friends. Like Penny is to him.

He might have different budgets for different things. People could get a higher margin because they could be of more use to the scientific mind of Sheldon.

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The Holographic Excitation - S6-E5

Trivia: In this episode, Sheldon and Amy are trying to decide on couples' themed Halloween costumes. Sheldon is standing in front of the dry erase board. There are 2 columns written on the board. One named "Couples I Like" and the other "Couples You Like." Under the "Couples You Like" column, one of the couples is Blossom and Joey. Blossom is the name of the television character played by Mayim Bialik in the 90s and Joey was one of her brothers.

More trivia for The Big Bang Theory

Show generally

Question: How come Raj has no problem speaking to his mother, but, when around other women, such as Penny, he immediately stops talking? Also, why does he have to whisper in someone's ear if he wants to ask Penny something?

Answer: Because Raj's selective mutism seems to be caused by women that Raj sees (on some sort of conscious or subconscious level) as a potential sexual partner. An attribute that wouldn't apply to either his sister or mother.

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