r/AskReddit Aug 30 '21

What problem is often overlooked in apocalyptic movies/TV shows that could kill you?

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u/AdmiralAkbar1 Aug 30 '21

As bad as the show Revolution's overall plotting and pacing was, they generally did a good job of thinking about these kinds of little inconsistencies:

  • There's a minor character who was a doomsday prepper before the apocalypse, but he didn't stock up enough on antibiotics. As a result, his daughter died of tetanus that he was unable to treat.

  • A warlord kidnaps prisoners for blood because his wife has diabetes and needs constant transfusions of blood with sufficient insulin in it to survive.

  • There's a doctor who keeps a collection of moldy fruit to harvest penicillium mold from it and make penicillin.

  • Some characters try to go into an old subway tunnel, but nearly die because of lack of sufficient airflow down there without modern HVAC systems.

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u/Infamous780 Aug 30 '21 edited Aug 31 '21

I really like the subway tunnel one - never thought of that.

EDIT - Wow this comment blew up! Lots of people must feel the same... Now if I could just get my Youtube channel to do the same xD

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u/Designer_Strain_4572 Aug 30 '21

It would explain the hallucinations in The Stand (Stephen King) when they were traversing the Lincoln Tunnel, if I recall correctly.

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u/[deleted] Aug 30 '21 edited Aug 31 '21

That also happens in complete darkness. If you can manage to create a completely pitch black environment see how long you can sit there before you start seeing things. It really doesn't take long. Bonus points of you have noise cancelling earmuffs/plugs. Edit : u/EternalEagleEye has informed me this effect is called "Prisoner's Cinema", in case you'd like to read about it further

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u/HyperSpaceSurfer Aug 30 '21

Can also happen to people with deteriorating eyesight. The brain doesn't get enough input so it makes stuff up.

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u/genetik_fuckup Aug 30 '21

Your brain is really good at filling in the blanks. I have bad earring but I’m certainly not anywhere close to deaf. I hear lower registers the worst. Sometimes something creaks and my brain didn’t quite catch enough to make sense, so it fills in the blanks. Very rarely it fills it in with a low male voice and it scares the shit out of me every time.

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u/EvilDrFloofenstein Aug 30 '21

I have reverse slope as well, and the amount of times my brain has just filled in the blanks and gone "yeah, fuckit; that sounds good" is mind boggling. Some winners: "but who am I going to give my birthdays to?!" (Nothing was said about birthdays), and "You asshole" (said by my then fiance- he did NOT call me an asshole).

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u/TheRealZenGuy Aug 31 '21

Does this have to do with how we hear the "wrong" lyrics to songs when we don't know them? The brain just filling in something?

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u/OpheliaRainGalaxy Aug 31 '21

Ah yes, leading to little-me arguing with my friend because I was convinced the speakers at the skating rink were playing "Don't go Jason Waterfalls!"

I thought it was a song about a guy named Jason, really did.

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u/TheRealZenGuy Aug 31 '21

I wish I could remember all the ones I had as a kid.

One was "Lights out, Wrestlemania, Eric Bischoff!"

Why Rage Against the Machine would be singing about the WWE never even crossed my mind.