Factual error: The registration plate of the white Jaguar refers to a year 2003 registration. This is impossible as this particular model Jaguar ceased production a long time ago, and could never have that plate.
Factual error: In the final scene with the New York skyline in the background, the new glass/stainless steel Manhattan complex at 731 Lexington Avenue is seen; this building is just being finished now in early '06. The building stands where Alexander's dept store once was. (On a related note, it is a nice touch on Spielberg's part to overlay the Twin Towers onto the skyline in that same scene.)
Factual error: When Dahlia is on her cell phone with her lawyer, she goes down into an underground subway and is still talking to him. Her call should have been cut short, because cell phones in NYC don't work in underground subways.
Factual error: When Jeff Tally gets the first call from the little boy Tony, he checks both his cells. The blue Nokia is ringing however there isn't an incoming call on his phone, you see that as he has the two options, either "clear" and "options", meaning that the seven numbers have been typed in. (00:45:00)
Factual error: As the film itself notes, the major action starts in spring 1818 and continues for several weeks if not months. However, many of the trees remain leafless and the weather is nothing like the norm in spring and summertime Tennessee.
Factual error: Throughout the movie, the television sets at ABC are airing historically relevant news broadcasts. However, the events are always shown on the same day as key episodes of Dynasty, but completely divorced from the real date of their occurrence. For example, President George Bush is alleged to have been sworn in on the day the finale aired, May 10, 1989, when it really happened in January of that year.
Factual error: After Nick Naylor visits "The Captain" in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he is being driven to the airport to fly back to Washington. In one shot, mountains are visible in the background. However, they are brown and barren, like mountains in Southern California, which is probably where that scene was shot. How come many movie and television directors don't seem to understand that mountains in the Eastern U.S. look different from mountains in the West?
Factual error: In the first scene at the Pentagon, the sergeant tells the other officer that all satellites are being put into geosynchronous orbit to "hide them behind the planet." But objects in geosynchronous orbit don't remain hidden behind the Earth relative to the sun; they orbit once a day, remaining over a particular longitude on earth. Therefore, they would be subjected to the magnetic storms every day, during daylight at that longitude.
Factual error: When they're driving down the road in the Chevrolet with the soldier, the car is in Park.
Factual error: In order to be electrocuted you need to connect a high voltage to a low voltage. Touching a power line does not get you electrocuted unless you make contact with the ground. So electrocuting the locusts by making them fly against a powerline can not work because they are not 'grounded'.
Factual error: When Domino is talking about when her dad took her to the fair and won her a goldfish, she states this is 1993, but in the flashback of the stall where she won said fish, there are lots of "Finding Nemo" toys hung around the stall. This film did not come out till 2004.
Factual error: There is a three prong electrical outlet visible in the Wershba's bathroom. These were not used at the time the film takes place, they were introduced decades later.
Factual error: The geographical context of the film is wrong. Riverton, Wyoming (as the name implies) is in a fertile agricultural river valley. The surrounding country is uncultivated desert. There is none of the extensive grasslands shown in the film. Moreover, even in the 1960s Riverton, which is a county seat and market center, was much more substantial than the film implies.
Factual error: In Derailed, the train that Lucinda and Charles ride is called the "Red Line, to Union Station". The Red line in Chicago does not go to Union Station and the train they are on is a Metra suburban mass transit train. The Red Line is part of the "El" system and is part of the CTA, not Metra.
Factual error: In the scene in Josey's kitchen, 3/4 of the way through the film, there is a bottle of TUMs Ultra on the kitchen table. There were TUMs but no TUMs Ultra at the time.
Factual error: Bree is on hormones up until the day of her surgery. In reality, estrogen can't be taken for several weeks beforehand because it increases the risk of blood clots.
Factual error: The night the episode takes place is described to have freezing rain with very icy road conditions. Vic describes the roads to Charlie as a "hockey rink" in one of their conversations, Charlie loses control of his car and slides off the road in one scene, and he slips on an ice patch and falls flat on his back in another. However, throughout the night, there are rather large drops of rain falling and puddles with unfrozen water on the roadways and parking lots. Being from upstate New York, I can tell you that freezing rain falls in much smaller droplets, and ice will accumulate wherever there is any water on the ground, not just in some places.
Factual error: In the scene prior to the Braddock/Baer fight, when Jim's wife Mae comes into the locker room and gives him the heartfelt spiel about being behind him in this fight after all, she leaves the room and as she leaves Jim, Russell Crowe, is standing there in a white "wife beater" tank top. It is a new one with a screened on tag by either Fruit of the Loom or Hanes. Screened-on tag tees didn't come about until the last few years.
Factual error: When looking at Anna's cell phone, you can see the logo for Telus, a Canadian communication company that only offers cell phone service in Canada.
Factual error: In the movie, Marcus is out of high school, probably in his late teens, early 20's. Going by 50 cent's age, this would probably put the movie back in the mid 90's. When he flashes back, he's younger, put it in the late 80's. Well, in one sequence when he's young, he's playing with friends and has on red and white low Air Jordan 2's on. These were not made in this color until 2004. Same in another sequence when he's talking to Majestic while eating fast food, he's wearing some white and green Air Jordan 4's, which also didn't come out til 2004, which in fact is when the movie was filmed.