Continuity mistake: When Barney, Thelma Lou, and Andy are driving to Andy's blind date they're all in the squad car. When they're parked in front of Helen's house in the closeup shots the light mounted on the roof has vanished, the glass windshield's gone, the car's interior differs, etc., and then it changes back. The roof is black, then white, as well.
Continuity mistake: While Peggy's waiting in front of the drugstore she's splashed by a car driving through a puddle, and when she shows up at Andy's house the stains on her dress are different.
Continuity mistake: When Barney and Andy are looking at Barney's picture on the front page of the newspaper, first, the article has nothing to do with Barney or the arrest, and second, when Barney takes the paper from Andy he folds it with the front page on the outside, and the page we see is not the same front page from the closeup.
Continuity mistake: When Andy locks himself in the jail cell, the key is lying flat on the short wall, but after Barney locks himself in the other cell, the key has turned itself upright on its side.
Continuity mistake: When Andy and Mrs. Silby are walking into the courthouse, in the exterior shot of Andy opening the door he's wearing the baseball mitt on his left hand, but when it cuts to the interior shot Andy's opening the door with his left hand and the mitt has vanished.
Mayberry Goes Hollywood - S1-E13
Continuity mistake: When Andy's done showing Hollywood producer Mr. Harmon around town, he says, "Here we are, right back where we started, old oak tree," then mentions climbing that tree as a boy, and later says, "You're gonna cut down the oldest oak tree in the entire town?" But viewers have seen the entire area in front of the church (season 1 "Ellie for Council") and there isn't a large old oak tree. The fake tree was placed in this episode as a plot point between the producer and the townspeople.
Andy and the Gentleman Crook - S1-E21
Continuity mistake: After Gentleman Dan has taken Barney's gun, Aunt Bee, Opie, and Andy walk in on his attempted escape, and when Barney leaves the jail cell his badge inexplicably vanishes and reappears.
Continuity mistake: On the curb outside the courthouse there's a fire hydrant beside the pole, which not only changes its position on the sidewalk in different scenes, but it has also vanished at the end when Rogers drives away, as Barney crosses the street.
Continuity mistake: While the squad's siren switch is stuck in the on position, Barney and Rogers get out of the car to open the hood, and suddenly there's a pencil sticking out of Barney's shirt pocket for Rogers to use to tap the condenser box, to stop the blaring siren.
Continuity mistake: On Flint's farm there's a cow tied to the back fence, which can be seen in exterior shots throughout the episode - when Ellie, Andy, and Barney are there. After Flint tells Barney to get off his land, in the exterior shot when Barney walks into the barn we see that cow tied to the back fence, but next shot inside the barn we see that very same cow in the stall - note the black/white markings.
Continuity mistake: While Barney's on the farm trying to get Frankie, twice he heads into the barn through the right-side entrance door within the tall sliding double barn doors (about 12 ft high), but when it cuts to the interior shots he's entering through the barn's left-side entrance door, plus the fact that it's not within huge double sliding doors. (This interior set is seen again in "Barney Gets His Man.").
Continuity mistake: At the "Hen Party", Jeff Pruitt says hello to Thelma Lou and she states she is going to get coffee, then goes to the kitchen. However, when Jeff walks across the room and looks back, Thelma Lou is back in the same area. She never walked back from the kitchen.
The Return of Barney Fife - S6-E17
Continuity mistake: When Barney and Andy are at the Class Reunion dinner, there is a band playing, but the accordionist's fingers aren't in sync to the music.
Mayberry Goes Bankrupt - S2-E4
Continuity mistake: In establishing scenes throughout the first part of the episode, Andy is seen driving up to Meyers' home which seems to be located far from neighbors and on a dirt road. In the "renovation" scene and those following, Frank's home is located on a paved road with other homes nearby in the shot. Clearly a different set entirely.
Opie Steps Up in Class - S8-E5
Continuity mistake: When Aunt Bee picks up Opie at Billy's house, she parks the car in front and walks up to the front door. In the wideshot there's a space of approximately 3-4 feet between the blue window shutter and the door trim under the pediment, but in Aunt Bee's closeup there is no space whatsoever.
The Arrest of the Fun Girls - S5-E28
Continuity mistake: When Daphne and Skippy drop in on Andy and Barney at the courthouse and want to "play jail," Skippy carries the radio and her sweater into the jail cell with her, but when Skippy asks for her ukulele we see the radio and sweater are now on the side desk, under the gun case.
Continuity mistake: After Andy and Floyd talk outside the grocery Floyd gets into his car with the convict, and when they drive away we see all the food ads taped to both of the store windows while Andy's on the sidewalk, but when it cuts to Andy's closeups the taped ads have changed.
The Keeper of the Flame - S2-E14
Continuity mistake: When Andy holds Barney by the shoulders while congratulating him for an outstanding job of detective work, Andy holds his notebook in his left hand, but when it cuts to a different angle the notebook's suddenly in Andy's right hand.
Continuity mistake: In the initial episode, and Runaway Kid in season 1, Barney is a cousin of Andy's. In subsequent episodes, they are unrelated.
Aunt Bee's Medicine Man - S3-E24
Continuity mistake: Andy and Barney are playing checkers near the end of the episode. Andy can be seen making 2 moves in a row, skipping Barney's move.
Answer: Those "boxes" are valences that used to be very common, before air conditioning. They allow for windows to be open during rain storms. They permit air circulation, without letting the rain in.