10 Huge Disaster Movies That Scientists Called Bullsh*t (And Why)
6. No, Plants Cannot Sense Humans - The Happening (2008)
The Disaster: Americas east coast is plunged into panic when a mass suicide in New York City is attributed to an unidentified neurotoxin being released into the air. Believing that the city has been hit by a terrorist attack, a family jump on a train out of town, though they soon discover that it's everywhere and cannot be escaped. After watching their friend commit suicide after exposure to the toxin, the family come to the realisation that it is being released by angry plant-life nationwide, and mankind is the target. Why Its Bullshit: Though Shayamalan claimed to have talked to experts at the University of Massachusetts about the possibility of the environment fighting back against industrialisation and the effects plant toxins can have on the human brain, he stretches the truth to new lengths in The Happening. For instance, the idea that plants can communicate is true in that a signal made by one can be sensed by another on some level, though to suggest that an army of foliage can organise an orchestrated attack on mankind is ludicrous. It is indeed true that plants do respond to certain stimuli. This is a phenomenon known as tropism, and the best known example is that of the carnivorous venus fly trap which has trigger hairs that make it close on unsuspecting prey when touched. One stimuli that plant-life does not respond to is speech, however. There is simply no way in which a plant could sense human presence, or a lack thereof.
