10 Common Misconceptions About Science In Film And TV That Bug Real Scientists

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a vehicle that just crashed at high speed. Or so we are led to believe by the movies.

This myth is so prevalent that even the Mythbusters tested this one (sort of).

If TV and movies are meant to be believed, then every time a bike or car is crashed, it will inevitably twist and fly up into the air as if propelled upwards by an unseen force, and frequently will be on fire.

What if I told you that there is no unseen force that leads to this unscheduled flight plan, and in the overwhelming majority of cases, unless someone attached explosives to the underside of the vehicle, it will stay largely planted to the ground.

Unless there is an overall resultant force occurring on the vehicle going upwards, it would not be possible to follow this trajectory.

As a bonus to this misconception, the gas tank is also unlikely to explode in a great ball of fire when a car or bike crashes.