The Recombination Hypothesis - S5-E13
Factual error: Leonard lies to Sheldon about his being over at Penny's at 3am by saying he went across the street to use the gas station bathroom. Sheldon refers to it as "The Colorado Boulevard Chevron." The address of their apartment building is 2311 N. Los Robles. Colorado Boulevard is five miles away. (Yes, it's a fantasy sequence, but even in Leonard's head, Sheldon's not likely to make a mistake like that). (00:15:45)
The Beta Test Initiation - S5-E14
Factual error: Penny picks up a hand gun, pulls back the slide to ensure the chamber is empty (which would discharge any round in the chamber too) and then releases it, leaving it closed. She then loads a magazine into the butt of the weapon and hands it to Leonard. He starts to smooch her and shoots himself in the foot. The gun could not have fired, because Penny would have to pull the slide all the way back and then release it again to load the first bullet. There couldn't have already been a bullet in the chamber, as the whole reason Penny pulled the slide back in the first place was to check just that.
The Launch Acceleration - S5-E23
Factual error: In all the episodes leading up to Howard and Bernadette's wedding, Howard was going into space to install a space toilet. But in this episode, Howard tells her they want his telescope, so he has to go.
Suggested correction: The space toilet was something Howard designed that NASA installed back in season 2. His mission to the ISS in season 5 was always about his telescope. In episode 5, "The Russian Rocket Reaction", Howard says NASA picked his team's design for the deep field space telescope that's going on the International Space Station in the spring.
The Countdown Reflection - S5-E24
Factual error: There is not a snowball's chance of Howard becoming an astronaut. He suffers from cardiac arrhythmia, something about which he is completely open. "Transient" or not this is easily detectable by a simple electrocardiogram, which is a fundamental part of the many medical examinations a potential astronaut will have to pass. He wouldn't even be allowed to start basic training. Note also that during his basic training he shows signs of severe stress and trauma which would inevitably trigger a cardiac episode. Even if it didn't the fact that he was falling apart at the seams would have him removed from the programme for his own good.
The Higgs Boson Observation - S6-E3
Factual error: Sheldon tells Alex that he's run a background check, including her medical records. There is no way he could obtain medical records without a HIPAA authorization signed by Alex herself. It's illegal.
The Contractual Obligation Implementation - S6-E18
Factual error: At the end of the episode, the girls are at Disneyland in costume as Disney Princesses. Adults at Disneyland are not permitted to wear character costumes because of the risk of them masquerading as Cast Members, so they certainly would not have been dressed that way at Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique.
The Mommy Observation - S7-E18
Factual error: Based on the length of Bernadette's skirt and the place she's standing, Stuart could never see under it.
The 2003 Approximation - S9-E4
Factual error: Sheldon tries to pretend that it is 2003, before he met Leonard. But in the episode The 21 Second Excitation S4 E8 it was stated Leonard and Sheldon waited in line for 14 hours to see the midnight premiere of Star Trek: Nemesis. Star Trek: Nemesis premiered on the 9th of December 2002.
The Fetal Kick Catalyst - S10-E6
Factual error: When Raj, Howard and Bernadette are in the car, Raj puts on Batman the Animated Series to distract Howard from his back pain. Howard says "I'm in too much pain to watch cartoo-oh, this is a good one!" However, there is no way he could know that it's a good episode of the show because the opening theme song can be heard playing and the name of the episode does not appear until after it.
Suggested correction: He meant the cartoon is good, in general. Not the specific episode.
Nah, he was told right beforehand that it was Batman: The Animated Series. A nerd like Howard definitely knows which cartoon that is and that it's a good cartoon without needing to look at it.
