Factual error: The Siege of Syracuse occurred in 212 BC, during the Second Punic War, when Rome was still a republic. Some of the equipment the Romans are using in the movie, however, particularly their swords and helmets, are replicas of weapons dating to the later Imperial era.
Daniel4646
2nd Jul 2023
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
3rd Jan 2017
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978)
Factual error: At the end of the fight between Pai Chang Tien (the Old Man) and Shu Chin (the fan-wielder), Pai catches his opponent with his pipe on the larynx and strangles him to death. In his death-throes Shu Chin groans until he dies; but with a piece of wood pressing down on his windpipe, he realistically wouldn't be able to make such a pronounced sound. (01:19:10)
10th Jun 2014
Them! (1954)
Factual error: Grandpa Johnson's .30-30 Winchester rifle was apparently bent by the giant ants during their attack on his store. But as we can see later, the ants' mandibles are too thin and too curved to provide enough gripping and leverage area for bending a metal rifle barrel that severely.
Suggested correction: Impossible. When Ben Peterson is killed near the film's end, you can see that the ant's mandibles leave too much space even as they clamp shut. And their slender form is made for grabbing bites, not sturdy enough for crushing jobs.
That's just what I was talking about, if not quite correctly worded.
29th May 2014
Them! (1954)
Factual error: In order to keep the giant ants inside the New Mexico nest, the protagonists bombard the entrance hole with phosphorus shells. Phosphorus burns at an average temperature of 5,000° Farenheit. At this temperature, the heat from the shells should have fused the sand around the entrance hole to glass (the threshold for this process is about 4,200° Farenheit), yet the sand remains unchanged.
22nd Jul 2013
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Factual error: The film starts in the year 1936, and just like the RPG Indy uses to threaten Belloq with, the MP40s (or at the earliest, MP38s) are an arms-historical anachronism in this movie. As the numbers in their names imply, the MP38 was first produced in 1938. The weapons in the movie are not the similar-looking ERMA MP-36, you can see the ribbed, vertically angled magazine holders typical for the MP40 - its predecessors had either a 30°-canted, smooth magazine holder (MP36) or a round viewing port for checking the ammo (MP38). (01:31:45)
21st May 2012
The Avengers (2012)
Factual error: The Königsstraße in Stuttgart is located in the city's main shopping area, not its cultural center as the film would suggest. (00:37:20)
28th Apr 2012
The Avengers (2012)
Factual error: In the scene in Stuttgart, we see a "reserved parking" sign written as "Reservierten Parken". First of all, this is grammatically wrong - if used at all, it should be "Reserviertes Parken". But you wouldn't find a sign in Germany saying that. They say "Reservierter Parkplatz".
28th Apr 2012
The Avengers (2012)
Factual error: In Stuttgart, the German police cars use the wrong lights (they should be blue instead of orange-yellow) and license plate marking arrangements. (00:39:40)
15th Oct 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Factual error: The German Stielgranaten - as well as other traditional German WW II hand grenades - did not have a ring and pin like the ones the Allies used, but had a string which had to be pulled hard in order to arm them. Thus they wouldn't make such a distinct 'ping' as they do in the movie.
1st Apr 2010
Superman: The Animated Series (1996)
Double Dose - S2-E10
Factual error: Season 2 episode 10 "Double Dose": When Superman snatches Parasite's escape boat and hauls it back to Stryker's, Parasite attempts to blast him with a shotgun found aboard. But somehow the animators appeared unable to decide whether the gun should be a double-barrel or a pump-action type; and building a double-barrel pump gun would be impractical due to additional weight and bulk.
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