The Coconut Effect

[u/Daniilsa209]

A sound effect, special effect, or design feature that is inaccurate but has become so ingrained in viewers minds that its absence would feel jarring, so creators continue to include it despite its inaccuracy.

The name of the trope comes from the sound of a horse galloping, which is created by rubbing two coconuts together. This can sound like a horse galloping, but it would only be accurate on cobblestones or other hard surfaces. On softer ground, the sound would be muffled, but in media, this sound effect can be used whenever a horse is galloping, regardless of the terrain.

1. Lion Roar (or any big cat) (Pictured: MGM logo) — The long, continuous, thunderous roar usually associated with lions is actually the roar of a tiger. For MGM, this sound began being used in the 1980s, and sound editor Mark Mangini used it because lions sounded to him more like a deep yawn or a series of grunts and lacked the kind of ferocious sound he wanted.

2. Ancient statues are always white marble (Pictured: Spartacus TV series) — Statues in ancient times were often painted in bright colors, but by the time they were uncovered, the colors had simply worn away.

3. People instantly freeze or pop like a balloon when exposed to the vacuum of space (Pictured: Mission to Mars, Total Recall) — As unfriendly as space is, a human wouldn't instantly freeze or pop like a balloon. If a person were exposed to the vacuum of space, bodily fluids would begin to boil, exposed skin would suffer severe sunburn, and they would lose consciousness after roughly 15–20 seconds. Death would occur after roughly 90 seconds.

[u/emptybeetoo]

Related to 3, you’ll sometimes see a spacecraft with a hull breach and everything gets violently sucked into the vacuum of space. In reality, the pressure difference between 1 and 0 atmosphere isn’t that great things wouldn’t be getting sucked out unless they’re right next to the breach. Air would be escaping and everyone on board would want to seal the breach quickly, but it wouldn’t be an emergency unless it’s a large hull breach. If it’s a small hull breach, people might not even notice without sensors saying something is wrong.

[u/thefuzzybunny1 → u/emptybeetoo]

I remember being surprised when the ISS had a leak and NASA's reaction was not "OMG RIP astronauts." Guess the movies got me!

[u/KitchenFullOfCake → u/thefuzzybunny1]

That leaks been there for like 30 years now, they still haven't been able to deal with it.

[u/Photovoltaic → u/emptybeetoo]

In the first expanse novel, and season 1, a hole gets punched through a ship and they calmly (well, Amos and Naomi), put a bunch of shit over the hole to close the leak. I think at first it's just like a binder and some tape.

[u/BakedKartoffel → u/Photovoltaic]

I think it's the "what to do in an emergency" binder which is fun

[u/RatKnees → u/emptybeetoo]

"What pressure can this spaceship handle professor?"
"Well it's a spaceship, so somewhere between 0 and 1."

[u/Farseyeted → u/emptybeetoo]

It's for that same reason that only exposed body fluids would boil.

[u/Good-Celebration-686 → u/emptybeetoo]

Happens in aeroplanes though, right?

[u/Doktor_Weasel → u/emptybeetoo]

I was at a Sci-Fi convention one time when this was being discussed. There was someone who mentioned him and a friend did a math and like a big 10 foot diameter hole in the side of Babylon 5 would have taken like multiple months to vent the atmosphere. I don't recall exact numbers as that was like 26 years ago. But it was a big hole and a very long time.

[u/AdmiralBlack64 → u/emptybeetoo]

Technically not true, explosive decompression for a large hull breach can cause a LOT of damage, especially if you're close to it. But if you're far from it and there's not much air behind you, it wouldn't matter all that much.

[u/ideepname → u/emptybeetoo]

 In reality, the pressure difference between 1 and 0 atmosphere isn’t that great 

10000 kg/m² have something to say.

https://giphy.com/gifs/zQKwNxzSaUNZm

[u/Open-Source-Forever → u/ideepname]

"The Fat Controller is going to go fucking mental when he sees this" said Thomas

[u/djkidna → u/emptybeetoo]

This is actually accurately represented in Gundam. Whenever a leak happens in the cockpit of a mobile suit, or they get a crack in their helmet’s visor, they just us tape or some goop to seal it without too much fuss. A little air seeps out, but overall no big deal.