Factual error: When Shawn is talking to Belle over the phone, the Eiffel Tower can be seen outside her window, yet, she's supposed to be in Milan, Italy.
Factual error: Abe Carver was a police commander. Consequently, his funeral should have been attended by the city's entire police force, in full uniform. The funeral would have been a solemn affair carried out in conjunction with the municipal government, and certainly would not have been combined with the funerals of two other people.
Factual error: It is impossible for Jack to donate his organs seeing as he's a cancer survivor.
Factual error: The Salem Police Department is grossly misusing the term "serial killer" in conjunction with the Abe Carver murder. The inaccuracies are too numerous to list, but the most obvious is the fact that the police believe that Abe was murdered by someone with a specific motive. A serial killer selects victims based on a general profile, usually in conjunction with a psychological "need" to commit the crime. The police brand the unidentified murder a serial killer based purely on the fact that they think he or she may strike again. But not every multiple murderer is a serial killer, and the police would certainly know better than to fall prey to this misnomer.
Factual error: On 6/26/07, Sami's obstetrician told her that she was pregnant with fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, and that the sample of amniotic fluid that had already been drawn could be used for paternity testing on both babies. But fraternal twins always have separate amniotic sacs, meaning that the amniotic fluid must be drawn separately. Since the doctor didn't know there were two babies until the fluid was already drawn, it must have been drawn only once, from one sac, meaning a second amnio would have to be performed.
Factual error: On 10/1/04, Lexie told Brady that John and Bo had been "declared dead by the government". But in terms of Salem time, the plane crash had occurred on the previous day. For starters, any salvage operation lasts for several days, and they certainly wouldn't have been declared dead while that was still in progress. In any event, it takes three years before a declaration of death can be obtained, and that has to be done by the next of kin, who in this case weren't even informed of their loved ones' deaths until after the declarations had already been made.
Factual error: Throughout the serial killer plot in the fall of 2003, Celeste often dealt tarot cards. The Death card turned up very frequently, and it was always treated as though it actually meant death. I can see how a layperson could make this mistake, but Celeste should know that the Death card simply represents transformation and is not an omen of doom.
Factual error: On the 11/11/03 episode, Phillip is on the computer at the police station, searching to see if the serial numbers of Rex's mask matches the killer's mask. Problem is, he should be able to tell right away that they aren't the same masks. They have a video image of the killer killing Maggie and his/her mask has three holes above the eyes and eight holes near the mouth. Rex's mask only has two holes above the eyes and six holes by the mouth.
Factual error: The weeks of 4/26/04 and 5/3/04, Marlena willingly went under the influence of sodium pentathol so that she could remember the killings and confess to them. But sodium pentathol does not restore repressed memories. It can be used to cause someone to speak against their will, but only about things of which they are cognizant.
Factual error: On May 17 and 18, 2007, there were frequent references by multiple characters to a "level four typhoon" on its way. However, there is no such thing as a level four typhoon. Typhoon strengths are not designated by numbers, but by the prefixes "severe" and "super." On the other hand, strong tropical systems near Australia, which is where these events took place, are not even called "typhoons," but "tropical cyclones," although there are numerical categories for them.
Factual error: On 6/15/05, Marlena told Mimi that "the first rule of the Hippocratic Oath is 'First, do no harm.'" It is a common misconception that the Oath begins with that phrase, which actually appears nowhere in either the ancient or modern versions. But Marlena, a psychiatrist, would certainly know the actual Oath.
Factual error: When Sami called the psychic hotline in 2004, the caller ID identified her as "Samantha J. Brady," presumably for her supposed middle name Jean. But Sami's middle name is actually Gene, the masculine version of the name, because she was named after Eugene Bradford.
Factual error: On 9/19/05, Kate mentioned something to Billie about Billie being Lucas' "only sister." But Lucas has three sisters: Billie, Jennifer, and Cassie. All three are actually his half-sisters. Even if Kate wouldn't think of Jennifer, she would certainly remember her own daughter Cassie.
Factual error: When Abe is shot, Bo, John, and even the paramedics need some training in their CPR. First off, Bo and John do 3 chest compressions and 1 breath (or 2 I can't remember) when it's supposed to be 15 compressions and 2 breaths. Then, when the paramedics take over, they aren't even doing the chest compressions the right way. They compress with their fingers rather than their palms and they look like they're compressing in Abe's ribs rather than up by his breastbone. I know it's TV and that they can't give real compressions, but they could at least make it look like they know what they're doing and do CPR the right way.
Factual error: During the time in which Chelsea's driver's license was taken away, and she was taking driving lessons in order to get her license back, she came home one day with a paper which would give her permission to get a temporary license before her classes were finished. She told Bo she needed his signature on that paper for permission to get the temporary license. Chelsea is over 18, so why would she need parental permission to do anything? Parental permission isn't required for a legal adult, so that kind of kills the entire story line of Hope blaming Bo for Zack's death, because he gave Chelsea permission to get a temporary license so she could drive that night during which she ran Zack down, doesn't it?
Factual error: On 3/1/05, Kate wondered if she and John could be a couple, partly "because your son is married to my daughter." But it's Kate's son Philip who is married to John's daughter Belle, and not the other way around.
Factual error: On 7/4/07, Hope told Ciara that Alice was her, Ciara's, "great-great-grandma." But Alice is Hope's grandmother and Ciara is Hope's daughter, so Alice is Ciara's great-grandmother, not great-great-grandmother.
