Movies vs. Science — The Worst Science Mistakes on Film

The Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum used to have a great little video with a claymation Albert Einstein shaking his head over the many mistakes in sci-fi movies. “They’re breaking my rule!” he exclaimed. As the animated genius went on to say, it is a lot of fun to watch movies and no one expects them to be entirely accurate. But it is good to know where they go wrong.

About.com has a great piece by chemistry expert Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. with some of her favorite movie mistakes about science. Some are the ones also identified in the Smithsonian’s list. You can’t hear sounds in space. And as Sheldon Cooper explained in one of the very first episodes of “The Big Bang Theory,” even Superman can’t catch someone falling off a building.