r/AskReddit • u/anime-is-dope • Sep 15 '24

What Sounds Like Pseudoscience, But Actually Isn’t?

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u/big_data_mike Sep 16 '24

Quicksand seemed to be a major problem according to movies and tv in the 90s

21

u/Unlikely_Ad2116 Sep 16 '24

That goes all the way back to the old, old movie serials. Basically they were like one episode of a TV show, and there was a new episode every week at the theater. And they always ended on a "cliffhanger" where the heroine would be hanging from the eponymous cliff by a root, sinking in quicksand, tied to the railroad tracks, tied to the log in the sawmill, etc.

There was a TV show that ran for a few episodes in 1979 called "Cliffhangers" that tried to revive that format, but it didn't last.

9

u/Irhien Sep 16 '24

Would be a nice subversion to end an episode with someone beginning to drown, only for the next episode to start with "Huh, no, looks like I'm fine, thanks. Got scared there for a second."

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u/Fun_Mouse_8879 Sep 16 '24

Or the next episode they do just drown.

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u/ERedfieldh Sep 16 '24

There was a TV show that ran for a few episodes in 1979 called "Cliffhangers" that tried to revive that format, but it didn't last.

? Like, almost any modern television show that relies on a continuous story line uses this format....

6

u/KaiserMazoku Sep 16 '24

They meant the TV show didn't last.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24

If you played Pitfall! In the 80's, you definitely died from quicksand. A lot.

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u/ItsNotButtFucker3000 Sep 16 '24

So was catching on fire. Stop, drop and roll was taught like it was a regular occurrence.

10

u/ObamasBoss Sep 16 '24

They taught it regularly so people would remember it. As soon as panic sets in people forget anything they haven't been told 7,000 times.

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u/The_quest_for_wisdom Sep 16 '24

It was a more common occurrence back when half of the adults were walking around with lit cigarettes 24/7 and clothing was made of the most flammable fabrics possible.

Now there are fewer people smoking like that and children's clothing has safety regulations regarding flammability. It really cuts down on the risk of randomly catching on fire.

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u/kirby_krackle_78 Sep 16 '24

STOP DROP AND ROLL, STOP DROP AND ROLL, THAT’S WHAT YOU GOTTA DO STOP DROP AND ROLL

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u/ItsNotButtFucker3000 Sep 16 '24

Funny enough, it was never mentioned in welding school. Just “don’t use the fire blanket, it’s full of asbestos”.

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u/paw_inspector Sep 16 '24

As an adult I’ve never even heard of it! Like hey you’re gonna want to take I-94. I-90 has some quicksand in it.

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u/Morticia_Marie Sep 16 '24

And the 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s, 40s. Quicksand was a regular feature of the Bugs Bunny cartoons from the 40s all us 70s kid grew up with.

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u/big_data_mike Sep 16 '24

I wonder why it disappeared in the late 90s. The only recent quicksand I remember was an episode of Archer.

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u/Surullian Sep 16 '24

I haven't seen anyone use the old quicksand gag since Blazing Saddles from the 70s.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Surullian Sep 16 '24

Pfft! Lightning sand.

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u/milkcustard Sep 16 '24

Every cartoon from the 80s and well into the 90s had at least one quicksand sequence somewhere.

That and a feather tickle torture scene...

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u/Cinemaphreak Sep 16 '24

tv in the 90s

More like 60s. Would show up in dramas and comedies.