Corrected entry: Klaatu supposedly neutralised all the electricity on the Earth for 30 minutes, which would explain why gasoline-powered cars would stop, because the spark plugs wouldn't work. Diesel engines (used in many trucks and buses shown in the film), however, don't use sparkplugs, so they would keep running.
Charles Austin Miller
27th Aug 2001
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Correction: Http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/3617/milestones-in-diesel-technology Diesel engines based on WW2 era technology used indirect injection and their fuel pumps were mechanically driven. Electric starter motors were widely used at that time however, so perhaps only diesel engines already running or so old that they could be started by mechanical means would have been operable. There still should have been a significant number of trucks and even some automobiles (i.e. Benz products) in operation.
Correction: Klaatu's technology could stop any human technology for the duration of the event, electrical or not; but his technology was extremely selective, such that airplanes didn't fall out of the sky, submarines didn't sink, and hospitals were unaffected. It was a powerful and complex demonstration designed to send a powerful and complex message.
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.
Correction: Diesel engines still use an electric stop solenoid on the pump to draw the fuel from the tank up to the injectors.