Numb3rs

Numb3rs (2005)

4 factual errors in season 1 - chronological order

(3 votes)

Counterfeit Reality - S1-E7

Factual error: The Secret Service agent says the bills are counterfeit because you can see the watermark under a uv light, which is completely wrong. The uv reactive strip is not a watermark, it's a plastic strip embedded between the two layers of the bill and fluoresces under uv as a security measure. In older bills, it glows blue as in the film. In newer ones, it glows yellow to orange and is on the right half of the bill. A fake bill would be the one that does not glow. (00:07:20)

zephalis

Dirty Bomb - S1-E10

Factual error: Season 1, Episode 10, "Dirty Bomb": The opening figures refer to "500g of Nuclear Material." These are the wrong units to determine the hazard level in a radiological sample. The "Curie content" describes, roughly, how much radiation will be given off, and is not tied directly to the sample's mass. 500g of Cesium-137 (the isotope being discussed in the episode) could well be less radioactive than 1g of a different isotope.

Rooster of Doom

Noisy Edge - S1-E12

Factual error: In the beginning of the episode, Charlie is stating that "there is always a solution" and "if there's any limitation it's got to be in the mathematician, not the math". Unfortunately, according to Kurt Godel's incompleteness theorems, this is not true. Simply put, there are mathematical problems that cannot be proven/solved.

Protest - S2-E16

Continuity mistake: Season 2 - Episode 16 - "Protest": Near the end when the guy is threatening to drop the nitroglycerin, he drops the test-tube and it lands on a red mat. However, when the agent picks it up, there isn't a mat anywhere near the test-tube.

Ronnie Bischof

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Amita Ramanujan: Charlie, where did you learn all this stuff about assassination?
Charlie Eppes: If I told you that I'd have to kill you.
Amita Ramanujan: Okay, seriously.
Charlie Eppes: Seriously.

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Trivia: Judd Hirsch is an astro-physicist and can actually do the math Charlie does on the show. He caught the acting bug in school and chose that over physics.

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In Plain Sight - S2-E8

Question: This question is about the mistake where a SWAT officer has a magazine backwards in his MP5. I know this would be impossible on a real weapon. But, how could it have happened in filming? Rubber cast weapon? Very badly worn prop weapon? Set armourer with a hammer and no clue?

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