Do authors intentionally insert mistakes?

I should have qualified my comments. I had been thinking about this topic and remembered the discussion in question. I didn't intend them to be a response or rebuttal to any other comments on the thread.
 
I read a book that had a bad guy with a 45mm pistol. Anyone that could shoot and hold onto a 45mm pistol would be so big, he wouldn't need a gun to hurt someone else.
 
During WW II the Wehrmacht used a 25mm pistol. Of course it was originally a flare gun, but they also developed grenades for it, even an anti-tank round capable of penetrating 50mm of armor (under perfect conditions).

I'm not certain but I believe there have been flare gun "pistols" as large as 37mm, so I think a 45mm one would be possible.

but a 45mm "pistol" as a repeater, using standard type ammo? no. A writer confusing terminology? yes...most likely.

One of the more laughable examples of a "writer" (in this case a journalist) doing "basic" research, but still not understanding what he read was a fellow who, wrote that somebody was using a WW I pistol to shoot people when the police informed him that the gun used in several local shootings was a 9mm Luger....

yes, that really happened...
 
However, you would think that people like Mr. King would know at least one gun-guy who could proofread his draft for silly gun errors.
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King once said he knew he had errors about guns and just didn't care. Following the Newtown shooting, he published an anti-gun broadside, so I imagine asking him to correct that stuff now would be futile.

The television series Breaking Bad appears to document the process for manufacturing methamphetamines in detail. As it turns out, something like 90% of the process is accurately portrayed, with the other 10% being intentionally wrong so anybody trying to emulate it would end up with an inert chemical.
 
If you want to know how to make meth properly just go on to You Tube. Lots of info on growing marijuana too. But post a gun video they don't like and down it goes.
 
"...movies that are "based on historical events"..." Rarely have anything to do with said events. Usually not even getting the actual story correct.
However, movies and novels are not history. They're for entertainment. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many Mack Bolan books(with all the stupid nonsense in 'em.). Mack would be over 70 years old.
Tom Clancy's non-fiction stuff is good. His fiction is entertaining. RIP Tom.
 
If you want to know how to make meth properly just go on to You Tube. Lots of info on growing marijuana too. But post a gun video they don't like and down it goes.
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Actually, they take down anything they don't like, some drug stuff, some gun stuff, some ranting nonsense. There is still a LOT of gun stuff still on Youtube.

As for the marijuana angle, given that it is legal in numerous states, what's the problem? You can find beer brewing on there as well.

However, movies and novels are not history. They're for entertainment.
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True.
 
Try Dean Koontz

Koontz has a lot of firearms in his strange form of fantasy. Near as I can tell they are accurate depictions.

Life is good.
Prof Young
 
Koontz started out as a mediocre science fiction writer.
The only one of his better seller thick books I ever struggled through, he armed a character with a 400 shot Uzi. But it was an alternate timeline, so I guess that makes it ok.

Best not to go into too much detail, even if correct. A lot of post-apocalyptic adventures read like a Guns n Ammo Buyer's Guide. Dull.
 
Koontz.
Near the start of one of his books there was a confrontation between "hill folk". One guy tried to fire a double barrel shotgun and just got clicks for his trouble. When he broke open the gun the shotgun shells had been turned into snakes.
He lost me right there.
I think I found "Koontz" looking for "Coonts". Stephen Coonts writes Navy action/adventure books that IMhO are pretty good.
 
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Bubbles called me into the front room where she was catching up on Marvel Shield episodes on Netflix.

Re-wound a sequence where a double-barreled coachgun was being carried as a saddle gun on a horse.
When it was pulled from the scabbard, the sound of a hammer cocking was clearly heard. On a hammerless gun.

When a second actor took it away from the first, we heard the sound of a levergun cycling.

This was obviously all written deliberately by the writer to prevent anybody watching from mis-using such a coachgun in real life, after seeing it on the screen.

Diabolically clever.... :)
Denis
 
I recently read a pulp western novel that reminded me of this thread. I've read just about all of Louis L'Amour's books, so this was a used one I picked up by some second-tier western writer. It was supposed to be set in 1858, but the rugged hero was armed with a Colt revolver (possible ... other than the multiple references to reloading it with cartridges) and a Henry rifle ... which wasn't designed until 1860.

And the leader of the outlaw gang was armed with a Walker Colt ... which was also loaded with cartridges.

I don't think these errors were intentional -- I think they were pure ignorance mixed with laziness.
 
TXAZ said:
Actually Tom Clancy gave an interview after he wrote The Sum of All Fears about intentionally inserting bad info. He indicated he intentionally put in bad nuclear weapon design information to try avoid helping a terrorist group.

What he didn't know was that Al Gore, in his infinite wisdom to show openness of the government put very specific nuclear weapon design information on the internet.
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Gore put nuclear weapons design on the internet? I need proof before believing that.
 
What he didn't know was that Al Gore, in his infinite wisdom to show openness of the government put very specific nuclear weapon design information on the internet.
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I don't know if this is tongue in cheek, or an actual fact, but it doesn't matter...

If you didn't flunk high school physics (as taught in the 1970s) you know how to make an atomic bomb.

Getting the special nuclear material needed is not a simple task, and even if you could, getting the bomb to WORK is an entirely different level of complexity, and even if design(s) are on the Internet, actually creating the physical device is no trivial matter.
 
Glenn E. Meyer said:
Just read a police procedural where someone put their 40 cal revolver in their SOB holster. Now such exist or was it just some baloney?
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Just doing a quick google search there is the Taurus Model 405 revolver chambered in .40 S&W. No idea if there's a SOB holster for it. Honestly wasn't aware that there were holsters specifically made for SOB. Guess I have to do another google search . . .

P.S. well there are holsters specifically for SOB. learn something new everyday . . .
 
Do authors intentionally insert mistakes? In the case of road maps, yes. These intentional mistakes are called "copyright traps" and are used to prove copyright infringement.
 
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