Continuity mistake: When Barbara Bush walks in to the dining room at the beginning she is dazed and walks up to the table. Next shot she is walking to table less dazed but well behind where she was in the previous shot. (00:02:10)
Continuity mistake: When Frank is driving the tank, a dog house is connected to the tank with a chain. You can see the chain is connected inside the dog house. When it cuts the chain is connected to the corner of the dog house. (00:32:30)
Continuity mistake: When Frank is fighting with Savage in the bathroom, he gets a towel thrown on his head. When he pulls the towel off his hair is messed up. When you see him again a second later, his hair is neatly combed (but with no particular reference to it as a joke, unlike towards the end when he miraculously gets clean and acts surprised). (00:47:05)
Continuity mistake: At the conference, when the President is announced, there is a wide shot of the crowd and you see a lot of people standing in the background against the wall. There are also several spotlights turned on. Then it cuts to the stage where Frank and the squad are walking. When it cuts back to the crowd all the people in the background are gone and the spotlights are switched off. The crowd reappears later and the spotlights are on again. (01:00:50)
Continuity mistake: When Frank and Jane are trying to stop the atomic bomb, Frank's jacket is aspired by the mechanism. He's still wearing his jacket when he is on the stage making a speech. (01:16:45)
Continuity mistake: The red Ford van the bomber drives (I think Econoline) changes to the different year's model in the middle. You can see this difference by watching the seal 'FORD' in front of the van.
Continuity mistake: When we first see the Meinheimer Institute, it's at night and stormy. The capitol building is in the background. When Frank pulls up the next day, the Washington Monument is in its place.
Continuity mistake: When Frank goes to the bar depressed after meeting Jane again, the establishing shot shows four portraits. The two middle ones change when the waiter appears.
Continuity mistake: When the guard is reading the tabloid paper, he has it fully open (so that he's holding the back page in his right hand) and starts to turn the page. In the next shot, when he's startled, all of the suddenly the paper is closed so that the "spine" is now in his right hand.
Answer: The foot pedal controls the speed of the wheel. Frank puts his foot on top of Jane's foot and pushes the pedal down all the way. The rapid acceleration and the fact they took their hands off the clay caused it to go everywhere.
Bishop73
Wouldn't that hurt Jane as Frank's foot is applying pressure to hers while pressing down on the pedal?
Not really, you can see his foot gently presses on top of hers, and both their feet cause the pedal to slope towards the floor, which would decrease the amount of pressure Frank's foot applies to Jane's. On top of that, different people have different pain thresholds.
Phaneron ★
This is not exactly related to the question asked, but part of the scene that I could never really figure out. It showed that Jane made something in the shape of a square out of a piece of clay. What did she make and how could she have made it in only seconds with her eyes closed? I also don't quite understand how the clay could've possibly gotten to where she obtained it to begin with (asking in a way of abiding by the guidelines).
The scene cuts to them shaping clay without showing any of the set up. So we don't see how it got to that point, so she didn't do it in a second with her eyes closed. It's just a parody of the scene from "Ghost." In real life, using a clay wheel makes shaping clay faster, although it takes practice. If you put your hand, or a tool, on top and press down, you create a hole (which we aren't shown). It looks like Jane is just making a vase.
Bishop73
I really apologize, but I was referring to after the vase was inadvertently destroyed. It was after Frank apparently had a bodybuilder's physique (which was an obvious body double joke). Then it showed Jane making something out of clay in such a short time with her eyes closed. So sorry about that. Thank you for the reply.
The fact she made it so quickly was a gag, but she makes an ashtray. I would say the joke about that is people will often smoke after sex (or there's a perceived joke they do). It seems the clay comes off Frank's body, like it was there when the clay went everywhere.
Bishop73
Thank you very much. Yes, I never could get that part of the joke no matter how many times I have watched it. Thanks again for the help.