There are certain things movie and TV characters do that would make literally no sense if they lived in the real world.
So Reddit user Alaskan_Loss asked, "What happens in movies or TV that seems to be normal and you think to yourself, 'That is not what people in real life do'"? Naturally, everyone had a lot of thoughts about these overused tropes.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
1. "Getting hit over the head and knocked out...then just waking up later on and acting like they just have a small hangover."
2. "Preparing a huge five-star breakfast (pancakes, waffles, fruit, biscuits, oatmeal, omelette, etc.) that no one eats; I don't even understand why that's a thing in movies and TV shows."
3. "Ending a call and hanging up the phone without saying goodbye."
4. "Ordering a beer without specifying what brand of beer they want."
5. "People just firing guns with no hearing protection without becoming deaf."
6. "People splashing cold water in their faces and looking in the mirror to indicate a character is upset. It’s particularly strange in public washrooms. Dude, how are you going to dry your face, and what about getting your tie wet?"
7. "Women running around in heels with perfect hair and makeup, and the dirt and sweat making their hair and makeup look even better. Looking at you, Jurassic World."
8. "One thing that drives me berserk in movies is when someone is driving and talking to their passenger. They refuse to keep their eyes on the road and insist on making prolonged eye contact with the person next to them. In the movies this often means a jump-scare car crash is about to happen."
9. "Everyone has one paper bag for groceries, and it has a celery stalk and loaf of french bread sticking out the top."
10. "Being a young, aspiring artist/writer/actor living alone in a nice, spacious apartment in a prime area of a big city like New York or LA."
11. "Wearing shoes on their beds. Like who actually does that?"
12. "Throwing an unspecified amount of money on the bar and walking out."
13. "Walking into friends' houses without knocking."
14. "Getting fired from an office job and walking out with a box that has a 3-foot tall plant sticking out."
15. "Furiously making out while coming through a front door."
16. "Taking turns talking. Like in cop shows when one cop begins an explanation, then the next one picks up the story at a seamlessly convenient spot, then the third adds, “but...” and throws in some more. No one in real life has ever talked like that."
17. "Going to a friend's place, staying there for all of 30 seconds to talk about something plot-relevant, then just leaving right away."
18. "Turning on a shower and jumping right in without checking the water temperature with their hand first."
19. "Absolutely everything related to pregnancy and especially childbirth. You don't just instantly rush to the hospital. The Office got it a little closer when Pam was in labor at the office all day. You can definitely be in labor hours before any real pain starts."
20. "Guessing the passwords of other people correctly."
21. "Running upstairs in horror movies. If there was something chasing you, wouldn’t head for the door to get outside? Also, you’re creeped out in the house but you never turn on the light?"
22. "On the phone making plans: 'OK, meet me at 5?' 'Sure.' And that’s the whole plan. Where are you meeting? Planning to meet someone in a public place never goes this smoothly."
23. "Knocking on the door and someone opening it within two seconds."
24. "No one using a computer ever uses a mouse. It’s just constant, frantic typing."
25. "Literally everything Aaron Sorkin has ever written. Non-stop razor sharp dialogue with the most quick-witted responses and comebacks. It's so perfect it's distracting."
26. "School buses honking and waiting for kids who are still in the house. If I wasn’t at the bus stop when the bus arrived, it would drive on by. It didn’t stop. It didn’t honk. It didn’t wait."
27. "When a woman rejects a man and he keeps pestering her with gifts and attention until she changes her mind. In real life, that’s called stalking/harassment and she won’t appreciate it."
