The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory (2007)

4 corrected entries in The Vengeance Formulation

(13 votes)

The Vengeance Formulation - S3-E9

Corrected entry: The foam Sheldon used on Kripke consists of mixing ordinary dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, and saturated potassium iodide. That kind of exothermic reaction is dangerously flammable, so it should have severely burned Kripke and the members of the university board when it fell on them.

Correction: Correct, but I think you're confusing 'flammable' with hot. Without a source of ignition, the flammable foam would not ignite and generate heat from combustion. However, this reaction is sufficiently exothermic that the falling goop would not have had time to cool, and would likely have burned the individuals underneath. You can see this during the test in the apartment when the reaction generates copious clouds of steam.

The Vengeance Formulation - S3-E9

Corrected entry: Sheldon caused thousands of dollars of damage to university property when he exacted his revenge against Barry Kripke in an act of blatant vandalism. Not only does he get Barry, but also the university president and other dignitaries. Sheldon would have certainly faced a disciplinary hearing, along with paying for the damages he admitted to causing. But nothing of the event is mentioned after that.

Mike Lynch

Correction: Nothing about it is mentioned in the show. Doesn't mean that he wasn't punished. He's lucky he held his job, probably. That's all we know.

lionhead

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

Super Grover

The Vengeance Formulation - S3-E9

Corrected entry: Kripke pumps helium into Sheldon's office to make his voice squeaky while conducting a phone interview. However, the helium is pumped in via a tube that is above the height of Sheldon's head, and helium floats in air; therefore, the helium would have accumulated near the ceiling and would not have affected Sheldon within a couple of minutes as shown.

DavidK93

Correction: Kripky opens 2 massive canisters of helium - enough to accumulate low enough to affect Sheldon's voice.

Ssiscool

The Pork Chop Indeterminacy - S1-E15

Character mistake: In his conversation with Missy Sheldon makes it clear that his superior intelligence is a result of a random, mutated gene. Since Missy isn't similarly intelligent she obviously isn't carrying this mutated gene (which would be a billion to one shot anyway) so her offspring wouldn't inherit it. Sheldon would know this - his offspring would carry the mutated gene for superior intelligence, Missy's would not. Anyone knowing enough about genetics to use the term 'randomly mutated gene' understands enough to know that the mutated gene would only be expressed in a direct line from the carrier - Sheldon. Also bear in mind he has a model of the DNA molecule in his living room - it is obviously an interest.

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

Suggested correction: Genes can be dormant. Which allows them to skip generations. Therefor Missy's children could actually get the "mutated" gene. This is especially true since Sheldon and Missy are twins. Also, since the episode is about who out of Leonard, Howard or Raj, Sheldon would allow to "mate" with his sister, there is the added "insurance" of getting any smart genes from any of the 3 Lothario's mentioned above.

If you are going to try to argue with a geneticist about genetics, please use the correct terms. Sheldon is not referring to a recessive gene - there is no such thing as a dormant gene - he is speaking of a randomly mutated gene. Those are the words he used. If he had inherited a homozygous recessive karotype - one recessive gene from each of his parents - then somewhere in his family tree there would similarly gifted people, in which case he would use the correct term - a recessive gene. If Missy is a heterozygotic dominant karotype possessing the recessive gene for super-genius and the dominant for ordinary intelligence then mating her with Howard, Raj or Leonard would be a waste of time as their dominant genius gene would prevent the recessive super-genius gene from being expressed in the phenotype of the resulting child. The child would be highly intelligent but not on Sheldon's standards. It doesn't matter if Sheldon does not know any of this as he refers several times to a randomly mutated gene, not a recessive one. Missy does not carry the super-genius gene. The posting is correct.

Sheldon is prone to magical thinking when necessary to preserve his obsessive need to control his environment. He may have simply ignored the flaw in his reasoning, as even the most intelligent humans do when venturing outside their ares of expertise. He may be interested in the science of genetics, but his Ph.D. in physics doesn't qualify him as an expert in that field.

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Chosen answer: The song is called "Dark as a Dungeon" and was written and first performed by singer-songwriter Merle Travis in 1946. It has been performed by a wide array of artists, including Tennessee Ernie Ford, Harry Belafonte, Dolly Parton, Queens of the Stone Age, Kathy Mattea and Amy Grant. But it was made most famous when it was performed and recorded by Johnny Cash during his concert at Folsom Prison in 1968. According to Wikipedia: "It is a lament about the danger and drudgery of being a coal miner in an Appalachian shaft mine. It has become a rallying song among miners seeking improved working conditions."

Michael Albert

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