The Big Bang Theory

The Vengeance Formulation - S3-E9

Factual error: Sheldon's voice becomes squeaky when helium is pumped into his office. But if the room contained enough helium to make his voice squeaky just by breathing, Sheldon would actually be suffocating due to lack of oxygen, the lighter helium having displaced the heavier oxygen. You can do it with a balloon because you can breathe normal air between huffs, but if you're in a room full of helium, you won't last long before passing out and asphyxiating.

DavidK93

The Excelsior Acquisition - S3-E16

Character mistake: When Howard finds the stack of paychecks in Sheldon's drawer and wonders why Sheldon hasn't cashed them, Sheldon explains that he's saving them to purchase items that have yet to be invented and he doesn't trust banks. But just keeping them in his drawer doesn't do anything, because checks are voided after a set period of time and they would eventually become worthless.

Cubs Fan

The Vengeance Formulation - S3-E9

Factual error: In order to get vengeance on Kripke, Sheldon mixes a solution of hydrogen peroxide, saturated potassium iodide and liquid soap, creating a large foam blob. This is easy to replicate, and what you will get (and look carefully, it is what Sheldon gets) is a huge, aerated foam mass consisting almost completely of bubbles. It is barely heavier than air, and if dropped from a ceiling as we see later in the episode it would float harmlessly about the place. Whatever it is that drops on Kripke and his visitors later, it isn't the foam mixture we see earlier - it looks like some sort of custard mix.

Show generally

Factual error: The main apartment in the show is located in Pasadena, Calif. When looking out the window in the background, mountains are shown in the distance and far away. In reality, Pasadena lies right underneath the long mountain range so the mountains would be up close, not far away.

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

Suggested correction: Not true. I lived in Pasadena for years and in some areas, the mountains do look further away. The view from the San Pasqual apartments, you can barely see the mountains.

immortal eskimo

The Junior Professor Solution - S8-E2

Character mistake: When Howard is asking Sheldon engineering questions, the first question is "How do you quantify the strength of materials?" Sheldon answers "Young's Modulus," and Howard admits that is correct. But it's not correct - Young's Modulus quantifies a material's elasticity, not strength. (00:17:10)

The Codpiece Topology - S2-E2

Character mistake: When Sheldon arrives at the apartment with his Nintendo 64 in the box, he tells Leonard that they can play Super Mario 64. He then proceeds to say, upon finding a memory card, that they can pick up where he left off. Super Mario 64 does not make use of the memory card for progression, all of that data was saved on the cartridge. (00:07:25)

Knever

The Big Bang Theory mistake picture

The Bad Fish Paradigm - S2-E1

Continuity mistake: In the laundry room when Penny is talking to Sheldon, Sheldon takes some time arranging a blue shirt on his plastic laundry folder. Then it suddenly turns into a pair of socks, which he folds and then picks up the blue shirt again. There was not enough time for him to switch out the shirt for the socks. (00:06:30)

Video

The Thespian Catalyst - S4-E14

Revealing mistake: When Sheldon goes to Penny's apartment and they do a scene study together, they both read lines from a multi-page script that Sheldon brings with him. On a couple of occasions the camera cuts to a side view of Sheldon and we get to see the page of the script that he's currently reading from. The pages are completely blank.

More quotes from The Big Bang Theory
More trivia for The Big Bang Theory

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

More questions & answers from The Big Bang Theory

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.