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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 145
C
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That most certainly looks like the same design of housing (albeit with a multiple outlet instead of single). I think we have a correct identification [Linked Image]

Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 174
K
Member
OK here's a blooper I noticed on the movie "Thirteen Days" a 2000 move about the cuban missle crises of 1962.

I'm probably the only one in the country, who was sitting in the theatre and noticed that all the wallplates were smooth white plates. In 1962? Now I wasn't in the business, but I don't even think the White House had smooth plates OR white plates that long ago.

[This message has been edited by kale (edited 01-10-2006).]

Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 693
L
Member
When I was a little bitty helper, wrinkle-paint steel plates were the norm.


Larry Fine
Fine Electric Co.
fineelectricco.com
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,498
Likes: 1
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C-H Offline
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How do you tell where a film has been filmed?

I look for these three:

- Plates of cars in the background

- Outlets

- Other wiring details

Hollywood tend to place American outlets in any place of the world... Swedish films of course feature Swedish outlets anywhere. [Linked Image] To the film makers credit: They do take care not to put new switches and outlets in "old" films.

BTW: Do those weird American paper bags without handles you see in films exist in reality?

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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Quote
- Plates of cars in the background

Ah.... Nice to know I'm not the only one looking at that!

Somewhat off-topic, but you might find this website of interest for identification -- Pictures of every standard issue U.S. and Canadian license plate from 1969 to the present:

http://www.15q.net/

(I also have a book on the history of U.S. plates which goes right back to the beginnings.)

Quote
Hollywood tend to place American outlets in any place of the world... Swedish films of course feature Swedish outlets anywhere.

I remember watching an old episode of Mission Impossible once in what was supposed to be a London hotel. The operation involved considerable rewiring and general "fiddling" with the building's electrical system for the usual sort of deception.

Yep, you guessed it -- Every switch and outlet in the place was American!

I'm always looking out for telephone-related things as well. In fact mistakes on phones is a subject which crops up in some telecom discussion groups quite often -- Things like sound effects using the wrong type of bell for the phone which is supposedly ringing, or the very common "ding ding" gong sounds as coins are deposited in a single-slot coinphone (the bells were used on the older 3-slot models). That's not to mention things like coinphones which are supposedly in New York or Chicago but have Pac-Bell logos on them!

I'm not singling out Hollywood by the way. British poductions often contain just as many errors.

Quote
BTW: Do those weird American paper bags without handles you see in films exist in reality?

Yes.




[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 01-11-2006).]

Joined: Jul 2004
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I have one of those old 3 slot pay phones. Many years ago my buddy was making an operator crazy (remember when Ma Bell had operators). A call from my house to his was a toll call and he tried to dial home on his credit card. The operator came on the line and said the card was bad. He told her he would just pay at the phone. She said this wasn't a pay phone. Then he started pumping in coins and the unmistakable sound of dings and dongs made her crazy. They bantered back and forth for about 5 minutes. She finally put the call up for free. A couple days later I got a call from the billing department telling me I was going to see an investigator or a charge on my bill. I just told them to bill me.


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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LOL! I bet that operator didn't forget that incident in a hurry! [Linked Image]

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This guy loves to screw with people on the phone. He can keep a wrong number caller going for 5 minutes.
Telemarketers invented the do not call list for him.


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,803
Member
What's weird about American paper bags? In a landfill, they are pushing up daisies in 2 or 3 years. Our EU polythene monstrosities last for about 600. And the handles snap anyway! I believe Eire have a tax on them now to discourage their use.
In the good 'ol days, anyone remember 'carrier bags'? Nice stout heavy brown-paper bags with string handles. When they started charging a penny for them, my dear old Ma turned them inside out. When the cashier at the local Co-op questioned this, she replied to the effect that She wasn't paying to advertise them up the blinkin' High Street!
As to that plug and socket, Doc Brown could have picked that up anytime between 1875 and 2050.

Alan


Wood work but can't!
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,691
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SvenNYC Offline OP
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When I was a kid, we would always get our groceries from the corner supermarket in paper sacks. No handles. This was back in the 1980s.

Later on, the plastic bag caught on and that's what we'd end up bringing home. We would use them for garbage bags.

Before that, the plastic bag was only used for things like fresh meat from the butcher stall at the market (things that would leak and make a mess).

Most people I know in this country (and in other countries also - Colombia and South Korea) re-use the plastic bags as garbage can liners.

It's quite common to see scraps of these beasts hanging from trees in the neighborhood, as the wind picks them up and carries them off. I thought they were supposed to be "biodegradable"? [Linked Image]

And regarding that plug. Wow, I'm amazed at the amount of responses it generated. Thanks guys! [Linked Image]


[This message has been edited by SvenNYC (edited 01-12-2006).]

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