M*A*S*H

Abyssinia, Henry - S3-E24

Factual error: Henry says that every Wednesday, his wife drives up Route 26 with some friends. US. Route 26 starts out in Nebraska and leads to Oregon. The closest thing that could be described as a "Route 26" would be the road leading from Princeton, IL to Dixon, IL which begins 85 miles from Bloomington. The writer probably meant Route 24, which passes about 20 miles north of Bloomington. (00:03:10)

Doc

Iron Guts Kelly - S3-E4

Factual error: When Frank sits down on Margaret's bed, he pulls a single metal star out of his butt. Kelly being a Lt. Gen, he should have (and has, as can be seen in other scenes) a single bar of three interconnected stars, not three single ones. Therefore Frank shouldn't be able to find a solitary star in Margaret's bed. (00:19:00)

Abyssinia, Henry - S3-E24

Factual error: When reminiscing about Radar's appendectomy, Henry says it took a long time to find because it was behind his secum. The appendix is behind the secum in more than 50% of people, so this shouldn't have fooled a doctor of Henry's caliber. (00:09:00)

jle

House Arrest - S3-E18

Factual error: In the beginning, Hawkeye says that the patient was full of shrapnel from a claymore. M*A*S*H was set in the early 50's, and the M18 Claymore was only in the development stages in 1952, and not accepted and battle used until Vietnam in 1961.

Movie Nut

Mad Dogs and Servicemen - S3-E13

Factual error: While Radar's lying in bed, Margaret reads a letter to him which was written by Wanda McCandless, and in the letter Wanda mentions that her favorite songs are "Pretty Thing..." by Bo Diddley, and "Oh, The Wayward Wind..." by Gogi Grant, but the problem is these songs were written and recorded in 1955 and 1956, years after the Korean War was already over in 1953.

Super Grover

M*A*S*H mistake picture

Divided We Stand - S2-E1

Visible crew/equipment: In the opening scene where General Clayton is explaining the 4077 to the psychiatrist, the scene changes to the outdoor set and the camera pans to the right. As the camera pans past the hospital, a white 1970s era shuttle van can be seen driving into the set in the upper right corner of the screen. (00:01:35)

John Hunt

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Sometimes You Hear the Bullet - S1-E17

Henry Blake: All I know is what they taught me at command school. There are certain rules about a war, and rule number one is that young men die. And rule number two is that doctors can't change rule number one.

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Dear Dad - S1-E12

Question: A number of times it is mentioned that the outfit is unarmed, yet several times, Frank has a rifle, or a pistol, and once Klinger had a grenade, and the guards and Klinger, while on sentry duty, has a rifle. Was this standard, or is this a mistake?

Answer: Even an Army field hospital would have SOME weapons for self-defense if the enemy attacked. What's meant is that it's not a combat outfit, and therefore wouldn't have enough weapons to actually attack anyone. (It's also mentioned a few times that the Officer of the Watch is supposed to carry a pistol at all times, but Hawkeye refuses to do it when he's in charge and Colonels Blake and Potter don't enforce the rule).

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: The Geneva Convention allows even doctors to carry a sidearm to be used in their self defense or the defense of their patients, however it is rare to do so.

stiiggy

Answer: As an old medical unit staffer, my experience is that med units have combat units assigned to defend them. Usually it was marines.

Answer: My old doctor (now deceased) served in Korea during the War. He was required to carry a sidearm anytime he was not in the hospital.

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