Call "bullshit" on Hollywood technology

[Durandal]

The thread about Tom Clancy in OT got me thinking. Someone asked if cell phone jammers actually existed. Turns out they do. So I thought it'd be fun to have a thread serve as a repository for these kinds of questions and answers. A lot of times, you'll see some ridiculous piece of technology in a movie, TV show or book that saves the day and think "That can't really exist", and it turns out that it does, but it's just far more limited than how it's portrayed.

A lot of such technology is computer and cell phone technology, so anyone with expertise in those areas is welcome to comment on whatever abuses/exaggerated portrayals they see.

So I'll start it off.

• "Can you blow that up?"
  There is no wonder-algorithm that can take footage off a VHS camera and "blow it up" and add detail in the process to the point where forensics investigators can make out the letters on some guy's employee name badge. If there was, don't you think that Adobe would've put such an algorithm in Photoshop by now? That kind of scaling would involve such an enormously complicated AI to process the pixels that the running time would be absurd. Not only that, but the AI would have to make guesses as to the missing information, which means that it'd be wrong sometimes.
• The amazing, hacking USB thumb-drive
  A lot of times, when some character needs to "hack" a computer, he starts off by plugging a USB thumb-drive into it. And that's it. He gains total access. As far as I know, these magic thumb drives do not exist. You could put useful tools on a thumb drive and use those to do your dirty work, but the process would be anything but automatic. Theoretically, on a Windows 2000/XP machine, you could do this though. If you could put a very small Linux distro on the thumb drive that included a Windows 2000 password hash cracker (basically the equivalent of a Live CD), you could boot from the thumb drive and run it on the hash, since Linux would not respect access permissions on the Windows volume. But this requires that your target computer's motherboard supports booting from a USB drive. Hell, Microsoft may have since fixed the problems with their hashing algorithm that made it easily crackable.
• "Damn! We only needed 3 more seconds for the trace!"
  Yes, it is possible to obtain the location of a cell phone through triangulation. Your cell phone will either output a constant RF signal or pulse a signal to nearby cell towers. Since the speed of radio waves in Earth's atmosphere is known, cell phone administrators can measure the delay between pings to a cell tower and determine the distance between the cell tower and the cell phone. Then, on a map, draw a circle with a radius of that distance around the tower. Do this for two or three more towers. The intersection of those circles is the approximate position of the cell phone.
  
  This means that you don't actually have to be talking on your cell phone for your position to be triangulated. It just has to be on and connected to your cell network.

[Majin Gojira]

I can't think of any myself, and I love the idea for this thread.

So, I'll copy what the Mythbusters Busted.

It is possible to be thrown through a glass window and walk away without a scratch just like in Hollywood movies. Partly Busted
While it is possible to fly through an ⅛ inch glass pane with little or no injuries, ¼ inch glass is thick enough to inflict significant lacerations on a body, should one be thrown through it. In Hollywood, a breakaway faux-glass substance called sugar glass is used in stunts requiring an actor to be thrown through a window. Sugar glass does not fracture into sharp fragments like real glass does and does not injure stunt performers.

If a pressurized scuba tank is shot, it will explode. Busted
When the tank was punctured by a bullet it simply decompressed quickly, causing it to fly around like a compressed-air rocket. The team was only able to make the tank explode in the end by using explosives.

A Great White Shark can pull barrels underwater and hold them there. Busted
The force a shark can generate in a continuous pull is insufficient to keep the barrels under water for a significant amount of time.

A car can jump a significant distance using a pile of dirt as a ramp and land with minimal damage or loss of momentum. Busted
The Dukes of Hazard car managed to jump 172 feet (51.6 metres), three feet (90 cm) short of the estimated distance of the gorge jumped in the movie. However, the car crashed nose-down and was destroyed, busting the myth (and the car). It is somewhat widely-known that stunt cars rarely survive the bigger jumps (and must subsequently be scrapped), see the The General Lee article for details.

A lock can be broken by shooting it with handguns. Busted
The 9mm pistol and the .357 Magnum failed to open either the padlocks or the deadbolts. A Shotgun or powerful rifle, however can, but it is extremely dangerous.

One can escape through a floor by shooting a ring around them. Busted
Even a fully-automatic MP-5 failed to break through the support beams in any reasonable amount of time, even with the assistance of a 12-gauge shotgun. This method also wastes a lot of ammunition; Tory had to fire all of his 360 rounds of ammunition. Finally, due to the close proximity of the shots to the shooter, flying debris and the possibility of ricochets makes this method extremely dangerous.

A sword can cut off the blade of another sword. Busted
A genuine Japanese-constructed katana did slice through the replica stainless-steel sword. It also broke another genuine sword, but this break was caused by stress fracturing rather than being cut through. Katana vs. Rapier: Rapier was bent into snapping, but not cut. Claymore vs. Katana: Katana flexed but didn't break. Claymore vs. Viking sword: Viking sword severely nicked the Claymore. In the end, though some swords managed to break the other, none were able to actually cut through another sword.
In short, the swords break, they aren't cut. And sometimes it would require superhuman strength.

You can safely slow a fall by using a knife to cut a sail. Busted
Through various small scale tests, the MythBusters found that sails were not made in one piece, but in fact had a number of seams where the sail was folded over into several layers, making them harder to cut. Also, the sharpness of the knife plays a major role in the myth. If the knife is too sharp, the pirate falls too fast. If the knife is too dull, it would be unable to cut through the seams. In the full scale test, Tory attempted the myth himself by using a moderately sharp knife on a full-size sail. However, every time he attempted the myth, his knife would hit the seam and pop out of the sail. In the end, the MythBusters concluded that there is no possible way that a pirate's knife would be able to be at the perfect balance between dullness and sharpness to safely cut through a sail.

[DPDarkPrimus]

If a pressurized scuba tank is shot, it will explode. Busted
When the tank was punctured by a bullet it simply decompressed quickly, causing it to fly around like a compressed-air rocket. The team was only able to make the tank explode in the end by using explosives.

That's not to say that pressurized air tanks aren't dangerous. They had one punch a hole through a concrete barrier once.

[weemadando]

If a pressurized scuba tank is shot, it will explode. Busted
When the tank was punctured by a bullet it simply decompressed quickly, causing it to fly around like a compressed-air rocket. The team was only able to make the tank explode in the end by using explosives.

That's not to say that pressurized air tanks aren't dangerous. They had one punch a hole through a concrete barrier once.

Well, there was a reason that the Irish loved using them as improv mortars.

[Majin Gojira]

Oh, absolutely. They do shoot off like rockets when punctured and full of air.

They just don't explode.

[Majin Gojira]

Some More Mythbusters:

Magic Bullets: Bullets made of Ice, Meat and Jelatin Busted
Ice Bullets were to fragile to be practical. All did not do enough damage to be considered lethal. The Ice Bullet melted in the powerder's fire, and the meat bullet unfroze as well.

Explosive decompression can occur when a bullet is fired through the fuselage of a pressurized airplane, causing the hole to grow dramatically and possibly cause the plane to break up as seen in movies. Busted
The pressure is not high enough and the hole is too small. Explosive decompression only occurred when a hole the size of a window was made with explosives. Even then, the rush of air could not suck Buster completely out of the hole. Lastly, there are proven instances of explosive decompression where the plane was still able to maintain control and land.

A steel cable, attached to both a street light post and the rear axle of a police car, will be able to yank the rear axle clear out from under the car when it tries to drive off, as seen in American Graffiti. Busted
The rear axle was able to be pulled loose, but only after several bolts securing it were removed. Additionally the axle was caught along the underside of the police car and could not clear the trunk. Adam and Jamie theorized that, in the movie, a ramp was used to give the car and axle enough of a boost to wrench the axle completely free.

If a bullet is shot through the fuel tank, it will explode. Partly Busted The gas tank did not explode when shot. However, if a gasoline tank is shot by a tracer round from a great enough distance so that the round can ignite with air friction, it will cause the gasoline to catch fire. By the time this happened the tank was so riddled with bullets (from previous tracers that were fired too close to ignite) that there was no contained pressure, but the MythBusters surmised that had the tank been properly enclosed, it may have exploded; but overall it remains extremely improbable.

A Bullet can be stopped by:
...a book? Busted A hardcover book of at least 400 pages can potentially stop a .22 rifle shot, but anything stronger would shoot completely through.
...a deck of playing cards? Busted The deck failed to stop any bullets.
...a Zippo lighter? Busted The lighter failed to stop any bullets.
...a quarter-inch polycarbonate shield like that used by MythBusters? Busted The shield failed to stop any bullets.

"Killer Quicksand" like in the movies (i.e. quicksand that slowly sucks any person or animal unlucky enough to fall into it under) really exists. Busted
Quicksand is denser than water; the greater the density, the greater the buoyancy of objects within. Any victims found in quicksand likely died for some other reason (i.e. exposure to the elements).

A person will be propelled violently backwards if hit by a bullet . Busted
A bullet fired by a gun cannot hold enough momentum. According to Newton's third law, if the bullet were to knock the target 20 feet (6 metres) back, an equal amount of force would be applied in the direction of the gun -- effectively knocking the shooter back about the same distance. Even a .50 Caliber bullet does not have the momentum to knock a person backwards.

The infrasonic brown note can cause a human to lose control of their bowels. Busted
Even after testing a wide range of sub-audible and near-sub-audible noises on him, not once did Adam lose control of his bowels. Some discomfort was reported however, due to the effects of low-frequency sound on the lungs.

It is possible to split an arrow perfectly down the middle with a second arrow like in the film The Adventures of Robin Hood. Partly Busted
While it is certainly possible to rear-end an arrow with another, only a fiberglass arrow can be split down the middle (known as telescoping in archery circles). With a wooden arrow, even under the most ideal conditions, the best one can do is a partial split along the grain of the wood, and even that is improbable. They clearly showed that the film's circumstances can be recreated using a hollow shaft, such as bamboo.

A shotgun plugged by a human finger will backfire and explode injuring or killing the shooter instead of the intended victim. Busted
Both test hands (composed of ballistics gel of varying firmness) were completely obliterated by the shotgun blast. Neither had the volume or strength needed to plug the barrel to create enough pressure to cause it to explode. Even under ridiculous circumstances like having the barrel clogged with dirt, being sealed off by a 4 inch spike welded into the barrel and by being blocked by a simulated squib load, the gun still didn't explode. The best results seen were minor deformations in the gun barrel.

It is possible for a human to catch a fired bullet in one piece with their teeth. Busted
A pig's teeth are significantly stronger than a human's, and yet were shattered by an impulse test when a bullet, held by a pig head's teeth under the same pressure as an average human's maximum bite strength, was suddenly forced forward by a force equivalent to a speeding bullet. Furthermore, the reaction time needed to perfectly capture a bullet in one's teeth is too short and has too tight a tolerance for any human (and almost any machine for that matter) to succeed. Finally, when the bullet was captured perfectly, the velocity that it traveled at completely destroyed even a full metal jacket bullet: it is impossible to catch a bullet in the same state as it exited a gun via solid mechanical means.

Scaling an airduct using Magnets or Suction Cups for easy entry. Busted
Busted Jamie's magnets (ten 500-pound (225 kg) strength ones) could hold his weight and allowed him to make it to the top of the duct, but they caused far too much noise on the way up to allow for a stealthy entrance.
Busted Adam's suction cups were able to hold his weight as well and were much quieter than Jamie's magnets. However, the mechanics Adam used to control the vacuums often failed, which caused him to slip and fall down the vent, blowing his cover. He did however make it to the top of the vent once he perfected the method of operating the device in sequence to his steps up the vent. However, breaking through the grate of the air duct was much too noisy, thus blowing his cover.
Using them for a building can work, but requires a good deal of stamina.

Dodging Laser beam security systems: By blowing cosmetic powder across the beams to identify their position, using night vision goggles. Pointing another laser at the photodetector. Busted None of them worked to any effective degree, and none of the techniques effected infra-red laser systems used in real-life security systems.

Cutting open glass by gently cutting the glass and removing it with a suction cup. Busted
The suction cup could not remove the glass.

A safe can be quickly cracked by using a stethoscope. Partly Busted
Modern safes are designed with this old technique in mind, and the tumblers proved too quiet to be heard even with amplification.

Whirlpools are an ancient maritime fear. According to the myth, a tidal whirlpool can sink a container ship or a fishing trawler Busted
In order for this to happen, the whirlpool would have to be significantly stronger than any maelstrom ever recorded.

A heat detector can be fooled by cooling the body down using a CO2 fire extinguisher, a neoprene diving suit, being covered in mud, heating the room to body temperature. All Busted.

Ultrasonic motion sensors can be fooled by really thick clothing. Busted.

If a cable snaps, it can cut a person in two. Busted
A 5/8" cable at 30,000 lbs of tension was unable to cut a pig in two (or even cut into it), but did cause potentially lethal injuries. The MythBusters took the test even further by adding a smaller cable at the end of larger one to create a "whip" effect, and even pre-looped a cable around the pig itself. None of these methods could cut the pig by the pre-tensed cable's inertia alone. The pig was cut in half only when Adam tied a cable around it and then tightened the cable. Also, after making inquiries with almost every safety organization imaginable, the MythBusters were unable to find any concrete evidence of a person being cut in half by a snapped cable.

Sounds can be recovered from old pottery. Busted
The MythBusters were unable to recover any recognizable sound from the pot using a record player with a glass needle (to prevent scratching the clay). Even with professional audio enhancement and the most advanced sound systems available, they were unable to recover any discernible sounds from the straw-made grooves on the pots.

Gunslinger Myths
Using a Colt Peacemaker and a Navy revolver, the MythBusters tested whether an Old West gunslinger could...

...drop a coin and fire his pistol five times before it hits the ground.
Busted
Using replicas of actual Wild West pistols, Grant, Kari, and Tory attempted the stunt themselves. However, Grant and Kari were unable to clear the pistols from their holsters in time and Tory was only able to get off one shot. Grant then built a device which showed that the pistols were mechanically unable to fire that fast. The MythBusters finally turned to a professional gunslinger, but he could only fire three shots and he stated that firing five in that space of time would be "extremely difficult". With no results, the myth was busted.

...shoot a hole through a silver dollar. Busted
The MythBusters used actual period silver dollars for the test. A professional gunslinger proved that hitting the coin was possible (with many tries) by piercing a lead coin. Both the Peacemaker and Navy revolver were only able to dent the silver dollar. While a .357 Magnum could easily pierce the coin, the myth was busted because the .357 was not introduced until the 1930's—gunslingers didn't have access to it. However, re-trying the myth with lead coins instead of silver did yield large holes from both period weapons.

...save a man from being hanged by shooting the rope. Busted
Firing at a rope with the pistols, even at point blank range, failed to break the rope. The bullets were merely deflected off of the rope. A professional gunslinger armed with a more powerful Winchester repeating rifle managed to shoot and break the rope, but it required multiple tries in order to pull off. With the difficulty involved in shooting and breaking the rope, the myth was considered busted.

You can escape a car that has fallen into the water as soon as water covers the car window from the outside. Busted
At this point, the pressure differential has become too great. Adam is unable to escape.

You can open a window in a submerged car by…
…using a manual window crank. Busted
Using a test weight of 350 lbs (equivalent to pressure differential from just two feet of immersion), the pressure of the window glass against the frame is so great that no amount of effort can move the gear. You are more likely to break the window handle.

…opening power windows. Busted
Though more powerful, power windows still cannot overcome the pressure differential.
Contrary to popular belief, though, power windows can withstand immersion in fresh water for prolonged periods and still function.

...attempting to break the window using a set of keys. Busted
Window glass is tempered and resistant to impact from blunt objects. Keys are ineffective.

…attempting to break the window using a cell phone. Busted A cell phone is ineffective.

…attempting to break the window using steel-toed boots. Busted
Boots are ineffective.

[Stark]

Timed things that are 100% complete at a known time (even things like decryption, hacking, code attempts etc) and will be 0% complete if it's stopped. Because you can't just restart it, there's no list of the codes you already tried, and if you get the first 7 numbers of a phone number you have to start again next time.

Also the phone number thing. The phone network is not a slot machine: it doesn't give you the next number every x seconds. If you have access to the right parts of the infrastructure, you will know instantly.

[CaptainChewbacca]

I love mythbusters. I really liked that they proved it is possible to shoot down the barrel of another gun, and that it IS possible for two minnie balls to collide and fuse in midair.

Also, for the gunslinger myths, they did a show on the HC just about those, and proved it IS possible to clear and shoot a pistol five times that quickly.

[aerius]

The amazing hacking portable computer
So you need to hack into an ATM to steal some cash, bypass a security lock to get into a building, or tap into some top secret network to get some files. The solution? A laptop computer or PDA and some random wires and connectors. Somehow the computer never gets fried from the wrong wires going to the wrong slots, and they always have just the right adaptors & wires for the job. And somehow the computer always manages to interface with whatever the hell it's trying to hack, and throws up nice neat lines of code instead of failing to connect or just getting a bunch of random garbage. The OS, language, and communications protocols always miraculously match up and the portable computer always gets into the system just by typing in the right password. It's like seamless perfect plug & play every single time.

[JLTucker]

Just to let you all know, part 2 of 2 new episodes about Hollywood Myths is currently airing on the Discovery Channel. Repeats at 11pm est.

[Stark]

The amazing hacking portable computer
So you need to hack into an ATM to steal some cash, bypass a security lock to get into a building, or tap into some top secret network to get some files. The solution? A laptop computer or PDA and some random wires and connectors. Somehow the computer never gets fried from the wrong wires going to the wrong slots, and they always have just the right adaptors & wires for the job. And somehow the computer always manages to interface with whatever the hell it's trying to hack, and throws up nice neat lines of code instead of failing to connect or just getting a bunch of random garbage. The OS, language, and communications protocols always miraculously match up and the portable computer always gets into the system just by typing in the right password. It's like seamless perfect plug & play every single time.

The ATM example (lol Terminator 2) is fantastic - obviously connecting an ATM card via ribbon cable to a laptop allows you to divine the pin which is somewhere in the ATM.

[Durandal]

The ATM example (lol Terminator 2) is fantastic - obviously connecting an ATM card via ribbon cable to a laptop allows you to divine the pin which is somewhere in the ATM.

Don't forget that this same device could penetrate the security of a billion-dollar multinational corporation's computing development labs.

[KrauserKrauser]

So if I'm in a car and it somehow gets submerged in water, I'm basically fucked?

Wow, good to know.

[Howedar]

No, you just need to open the window or whatever before the vehicle is submerged, or wait until after the pressure has equalized inside the car (ie it's full of water). No pressure differential = no problem.

[Covenant]

So if I'm in a car and it somehow gets submerged in water, I'm basically fucked?

Wow, good to know.

Actually, Adam got out other ways. I won't spoil how, but it's remarkably easy to escape a car. A car safety kit could easily contain all the tools you need to make this an easily survivable thing.

So long as it's not winter or at night, anyway.

[Stark]

Don't forget that this same device could penetrate the security of a billion-dollar multinational corporation's computing development labs.

Even better, it could do this after the alarm system had DEACTIVATED the code panels. Apparently, the alarm system changed all the codes to another, secret code instead of just locking the place down. How the 'card + trial and error' thing was supposed to work in that situation is beyond me.

[Darth Wong]

The thing I don't like about Mythbusters is that their logic often falls along the lines of "if we can't figure out how to do it, then it's impossible".

Of course, not all of their tests employ this logic, but I've seen quite a few episodes where I couldn't help but think that they should have tried some other ideas.

And the one about the swords was stupid. Of course you can only break a sword with another sword rather than slicing through it like butter, but since when did the movie myth require cutting rather than breaking?

[KrauserKrauser]

What's fun is that they recognize that and have had episodes where they bring up the viewers emails and then re-examine their results.

The most interesting example of this is the Salami rocket where the watchers were right and they had to reporve their previous results.

Big fan of Mythbusters

[Molyneux]

So if I'm in a car and it somehow gets submerged in water, I'm basically fucked?

Wow, good to know.

Actually, Adam got out other ways. I won't spoil how, but it's remarkably easy to escape a car. A car safety kit could easily contain all the tools you need to make this an easily survivable thing.

So long as it's not winter or at night, anyway.

Why the heck won't you spoil how? I'd like to know. Might be useful.

[Durandal]

I have a floppy with a similar script and a minimal Linux install here that I can use in case I ever forget my superuser password. It works beautifully. I assume a similar thing can be done with a Mac, but I know little about them, so I am not sure. I would think Windows would be similar too, but again, I don't know.

You could do the same thing on a Mac, but you'd have to put HFS+ drivers on your thumb drive install, otherwise the file system just won't mount. You could also put a stripped down Darwin install on there too.

The easier thing to do would just be to use single-user mode to reset the password (assuming that there is no firmware password or that single-user mode hasn't been disabled).

As for MythBusters, they're more into the spectacle of things. It's a fun show to watch, but really, I could have told them that a lot of the myths they tested were impossible. Like using a giant slingshot to hurl an illegal immigrant across the border and have him land on a mattress. It doesn't take a genius to see just why this is completely impractical. But they built a giant slingshot and tried it.

[Vympel]

I want to use magic missile!

It's invariably the case in war/ action movies employing any kid of unguided rocket or guided missile that the projectile in question will have an everlasting constantly burning rocket motor, irrespectve of the type of weapon in question or the range at which it was fired. The most ludicrous example being the Strela-3 SAM (SA-13 GOPHER) that shoots down Owen Wilson's F/A-18E Super Hornet in "Behind Enemy Lines". It gets bonus points for totally ignoring things like the missile seeker's field of view, allowing the missile to turn aggressively and continue chasing the target aircraft (with its unlimited fuel supply) even after multiple near misses.

[Durandal]

Why the heck won't you spoil how? I'd like to know. Might be useful.

There are special hammers used for this exact purpose. They have very tiny heads and concentrate your force into a smaller surface area of impact, exerting much more pressure on your window when you strike. They'll bust the window every time and let you escape. But really, the best option is to unroll the window while the car is sinking. Or if you have a sun roof, pull that back.

[Darth Wong]

Re: submerged cars. Obviously, the most important thing to do if you ever drive into water is to immediately open the windows. A car does not submerge instantly; it is surprisingly buoyant, and will need to at least partially fill with water before it can submerge. That gives you plenty of time to open your windows.

I saw a TV special once about submerged cars and the police officer said that most of the victims they find drowned in their cars still had their seatbelts on. One victim actually got her window open, but drowned struggling in the car because she forgot to take off her seatbelt.

Panic makes you lose your rational thinking faculties. That's why the best thing for escaping a car is to have thought about this scenario beforehand, so your brain doesn't lock up. Of course, I have to wonder just how drunk you have to be in order to drive into a lake in the first place.

[Vympel]

Speaking of which, one thing I'd like to know- I've seen in a movie with I think Danny Devito, some sort of thriller, he's shot and falls into the water, only to appear running up to the protagonist (Michael Douglas? Buggered if I know ...) proclaiming that he "has his own air tank"- taking a puff of his asthma breather.

Is that bullshit? I personally don't know.

[Durandal]

Speaking of which, one thing I'd like to know- I've seen in a movie with I think Danny Devito, some sort of thriller, he's shot and falls into the water, only to appear running up to the protagonist (Michael Douglas? Buggered if I know ...) proclaiming that he "has his own air tank"- taking a puff of his asthma breather.

Is that bullshit? I personally don't know.

My instinct would be to say that's bullshit. I have athsma, and I use a Provenol inhaler. In general, you breath in relaxants to keep your lungs from seizing and coughing. Any oxygen you breath in while taking a puff is probably from the surrounding, since your lips won't form a perfect seal around the inhaler nozzle.