Being an Australian, I'm unsure about American phone numbers. In American movies/TV shows, I always notice that people's phone numbers are '555' followed by four digits, but if every American's phone number was that, then it would only allow for 10 000 phone numbers. Please fill me in.
Blibbetyblip
25th Jan 2008
General questions
23rd Jan 2008
General questions
In American movies, I sometimes notice little flag shaped things on people's letterboxes, that can be moved up and down. In Australia, where I live, I've never noticed these, nor have I noticed them in countries I've visited (I haven't visited America). What is the purpose of these flag shaped things, and are they solely American?
Chosen answer: It's actually a very practical device, and they are mostly used in rural areas that have roadside letterboxes. The homeowner raises it when there is outgoing mail to be picked up. The postal carrier can put the flag in the "up" position when there's a delivery.
I've never heard of any mailman doing that. The signal flag is only for outgoing mail.
I think the question is about the "little flag" (usually yellow), not the standard red flag that the owner raises when s/he puts outgoing mail in the box and doesn't want the postal carrier to bypass the mailbox if there is no mail to be delivered to that address that day. Regarding the small yellow flag that is near the bottom of the door (whereas the red flag extends above the box to be more visible), the yellow flag pops up when the mail box's door is opened. The carrier doesn't have to "put the flag up" to indicate a delivery - it is automatic - again, the flag goes up when the door goes down (is opened). The yellow part usually faces toward the house so that the homeowner (or renter) can see from the window if any mail has been delivered. With mailboxes that do not have the little flag, people have to walk to the mailbox to see if there is any mail. The mailboxes with the little flags can be bought on-line but are becoming obsolete with "informed delivery" emails.
Answer: Outgoing mail to be picked up? The US doesn't have post boxes? How strange.
The US does have post boxes, but if someone decides to install a full service mailbox, it's more convenient. Generally using the post box can be a bit faster since the mail carrier who picks up the mail might not return in time for the mail to be processed that day.
18th Nov 2007
General questions
This is for the title of a film I saw in 2000. It is about a boy who goes to stay with some people and finds a huge garden out the back of their house. When he asks the people he's staying with about the garden they say that they don't have a garden, only a courtyard with some rubbish bins. There is a gardener who says "bloody hell" a lot. At one point the boy is hiding behind a door from someone. The film is probably English, cannot quite remember. Sorry about the vagueness, but could someone please identify this film.
Chosen answer: This could be Tom's Midnight Garden. I don't know the film but the children's book is by Phillipa Pearce.
28th Aug 2007
General questions
Multiple times on this site I have seen mistake corrections saying that the mistake is not valid because the two movies of the same series are not consistent (e.g. Harry Potter 2 and 3). Why are they not consistent- is it because they have different directors?
24th Aug 2007
General questions
Say a movie is based on a book. If the book has a mistake in it, and the movie copies it, does it count as a movie mistake since the filmmakers were just using the idea from a book?
Chosen answer: Yes. A mistake is a mistake regardless of the reason. It could, under those circumstances, possibly be considered under the "Deliberate Mistake" category, but it still counts as an error.
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Chosen answer: The main reason for this is that a range of numbers within the American '555' area code have been intentionally left unassigned for fictional use, with the aim of avoiding the inadvertant use of a real phone number; there have been cases of members of the public receiving numerous calls when film or TV companies have not used a 555-prefix. Other countries have similar setups - for example, Ofcom, the regulating body of the phone network in the UK has set aside a large number of numbers within various area codes specifically for use in fiction. You may well find that a similar policy exists in Australia as well.
Tailkinker ★