"The Turtles Were Dumped Illegally Into Rivers And Lakes As Well As Dumpsters" – 9 Movies And TV Shows That Inspired Dangerous And Illegal Real-Life Things

Don't do this at home, literally.

We all take inspiration from TV shows and Films, but sometimes people can take things too far, and end up doing pretty harmful or illegal things after watching a show or movie.

Universal Pictures

So, here are nine movies and TV shows that people took inspiration from to do some pretty dangerous and harmful things:

1. Fight club

20th Century Studios

We all know the rules of Fight Club, but one that the movie probably didn't have to directly reference was "don't run a fight club for kids at the daycare you're working in". Well, that's exactly what a daycare centre in St. Louis was accused of doing. 

According to the lawsuit, and by the looks of the video, the employees would encourage the children to fight each other with giant hulk fists. The workers suggested that it was a way of releasing energy and because the kids were "bored" and they'd "ran out of things to do."

One mother said her four-year-old and another child were encouraged to punch and hit each other, and accused the daycare of allowing one child to "intimidate and harm" her child while directing a "fight club." 

Here's the 'fight club':

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2. Twilight

Summit Entertainment

It's safe to say that teens were inspired by Twilight, but it also created a pretty dangerous fad – biting. There were reports that US teens would engage in biting each other and even sucking the blood, which, if you didn't know, is very dangerous. One medical advisor said that these kids "thought they were real vampires." 

He spoke about how vampire movies are making sucking blood seem desirable: “If you think about it, there is such glamorisation in those teen vampire movies, they make it seem so sexy and appealing and intriguing. It’s all mixed up with passion.”

One teen spoke about biting and said how other people would go so far they'd draw blood:

"I think a lot of people draw blood because they want to feel very powerful, when you bite the other person you get the huge adrenaline rush and it feels like you can't stop and some people just take it too far." 

Here's a news story about it:

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3. Wedding Crashers

New Line Cinema

No, people weren't crashing weddings due to this film (that we know of), but people were doing something more dangerous. There were multiple reports of people using eyedrops to poison other people, as happens in the movie. In one of the reports, the movie was referenced directly. A woman had watched the scene where Vince Vaughn encourages Owen Wilson’s character to spike Bradley Cooper’s drink with Visine in order to make him sick and get him out of the way. 

The woman then tried this on her husband in order to "incapacitate him." She was arrested for "distributing noxious or deleterious food." It turns out eye drops should NOT be ingested as it can be incredibly dangerous. 

Here's the scene:

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4. Breaking Bad

AMC

There have been many copycat crimes related to Breaking Bad. Predictably, after the hit series arrived on our screens, police were seizing crystal meth that was coloured blue – just like Walt's and Jesse's signature product. Along with that, there was even a teacher who'd been diagnosed with cancer who was charged with trafficking methamphetamine. 

5. Money Heist

Netflix

Of all the shows to get inspired from, Money Heist is pretty a high-stakes one. Three individuals took inspiration from the bank robbery show and decided to rob a jewellery store. Apparently, the mastermind behind the plan was actually a salesman at the store who set up the entire crime scene. One accomplice was dressed in a burqa inside the store, while the other was in the getaway car waiting outside. 

Things aren't always as easy as they look on TV though, because there was a CCTV camera in sight of them, and police ended up finding the car, and one of the assailants' shoes, which led them to the thieves. A policeman spoke about the crime, saying: 

"A day before the robbery, the accused hammed out the plan, but in haste, Imran forgot to change his shoes while stepping out of the car. The accused also failed to notice a functional CCTV just next to the jewellery shop." 

6. The Town

Warner Bros. Pictures

Sticking with robberies, another heist movie, The Town, which in itself was inspired by real-life crimes, was the source of inspiration for ATM and shop robberies in New York. Five men were arrested for being part of a team of robbers who went on a 14-month spree of robbing stores and ATM's throughout Brooklyn and Queens. 

Often, the team would drench the crime scenes in bleach to remove their fingerprints, just as they did in the movie. Police said that the suspects told them that they'd been inspired to do so by watching The Town.

Here's the scene:

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7. Squid Game

Netflix

It seems like half of the world watched Squid Game, and there was one particular trend it started that had medical professionals worried. The Squid Game honeycomb challenge became a huge deal online, and kids were attempting to create their own honeycomb biscuits to try for themselves. 

While the challenge itself is pretty harmless, making the dalgona sweets involved heating baking powder and sugar in a small pan, and then pouring the mixture out into shapes. It was the pouring part that was causing injuries, as children were doing this unsupervised, and the temperature of the mixture was high enough to scold, burn, and blister the skin. 

One plastic surgeon spoke about the dangers, saying; “We’re really worried after seeing several children with very deep skin injuries caused by scalds linked to this social media trend." 

Have a look here:

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8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Alan Markfield / New Line Cinema

When hit movies about animals come out, there are always an influx of people wanting the animals as pets, and that's exactly what happened here. Well, after the first Ninja Turtles film came out, there was a huge increase in turtles being sold to people. There were multiple problems here, because, this led to many of these animals being discarded in rivers or dumpsters and left to die. 

Here's what The American Turtle Rescue had to say: 

"Parents, trying to please their children, purchased live turtles which ended up languishing in tanks.  Or, when the kids realised after a few weeks that these were not ninja turtles, the turtles were dumped illegally into rivers and lakes as well as dumpsters, flushed down toilets or relinquished to shelters and overcrowded rescues. It’s estimated that 90 percent died."

9. 101 Dalmatians

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

In a similar vein, this classic Disney film, portraying Dalmatians as cute cuddly animals had disastrous effects on the dogs in real life. Children would pester parents to get them, but when they grew out of their puppy stage, the dogs would be too much for families to care for, and kennels were inundated with them. They were also neglected and sometimes just abandoned. The number of abandoned Dalmatians increased by 100% shortly after the film was released. 

One activist blamed Disney's portrayal of the dogs for the mistreatment of the real-life animals, saying: "Disney is making a fortune off these dogs but they don't bear any responsibility for the overbreeding and... abuse they suffer later on when they're no longer cute little puppies." 

Here's a clip:

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What other TV and Movies have sparked dangerous real-life events? Let us know in the comments below!