The 14 Dumbest Things In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

8. The Father Of Transparent Aluminum

With no “transparent aluminum” to be found in Ronald Reagan’s America, Scotty and Bones have to seek out the clunkier 20th-century equivalent: big slabs of plexiglass.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, so they have to barter to get what they need, and the only thing they have of value to Plexicorp planet manager Dr. Nichols is Scotty's 23rd-century knowledge of materials not invented yet. The movie has some fun with this by hanging a lantern on it.

McCOY: Well, a moment alone, please. ...You do realize, of course, if we give him the formula, we're altering the future.

SCOTT: Why? How do we know he didn't invent the thing?

How indeed, but even if Dr. Nichols was indeed the inventor, when something was invented could affect history as much as who.

And, wait a second...why does it need to be transparent? Or even plastic? Clear plastics are not as durable as opaque ones, and plastics, in general, are less durable and more prone to leaking than stainless steel. So why...

Oh, wait... it's a movie and we want to see the whales, not slabs of steel.