Ribbons on vents. Why? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 months ago by themroc@sh.itjust.works to c/movies@lemmy.world

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Why is it in Hollywood movies every time there is a vent or AC unit someone has fixed little ribbons on it? Is that a thing americans do? Why? The vent in this movie is close to the floor in the toilets of a train. This implies someone got on all fours ON THE FLOOR OF A TRAIN'S BATHROOM to stick those ribbons there for a reason i can't even begin to comprehend.

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[-] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 65 points 2 months ago

The only places I've seen that IRL, are stores or commercials. The ribbons help you see how much wind it pushes out, and make it look more desirable.

I'm guessing we only see it in movies as a hack to help us visualize a breeze.

[-] xantoxis@lemmy.world 41 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

And usually only in movies where airflow later stops for a plot-related reason. (e.g. the life support has shut off on a space station)

[-] snooggums@midwest.social 14 points 2 months ago

Alao if the airflow atarts because it it bringing in toxic gas, or oxygen that instantly fills a room that was without enough.

[-] mPony@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

Somehow I associate airflow being shut off with a turbine fan slowing and stopping. I guess due to Total Recall and OG Half Life?

[-] themroc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

Actually in this movie it doesn't matter. Something has been hidden behind that vent which the protagonist is about to findbout in a second.We will never come back to that bathroom.

[-] Kelly@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I often see them in offices. People who are working 8 hours in an environment where thy don't control the AC will often want proof that it is or is not working effectively. As there are potentially multiple vents along a duct these ribbons are a handy way to see how much the duct pressure varies across the room.

[-] Banana@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 months ago

They had these on the vents at my university, I think it's just so they know they're working

[-] ch00f@lemmy.world 49 points 2 months ago

To answer the question about it being in a movie, it’s because the director needed you to know the air was moving through a visual means.

[-] cerement@slrpnk.net 46 points 2 months ago

easy way to see if the vent is working or the AC is on

(and not just US, I have seen this worldwide)

[-] themroc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago

I am fairly well traveled. I know mostly countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa, and I never noticed anyone doing this in any hotel, public building, private house or plane or train... Never been to the US though, so I wondered if it was real thing people do.

[+] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world -19 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Idk, usually I can just tell when I get hot or cold if the central air isn’t working myself.

It’s a thing for commercial buildings with stuff high up snd you can’t feel the draft from without a ladder, but not in houses or trains or anywhere else Hollywood slaps them. It’s not a thing, why are so many people trying to claim it is? Lol

Let’s see yours on your vents if it’s a thing then.

[-] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 19 points 2 months ago

How can you tell when you’re looking at the vent through a camera?

[+] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world -12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Why would you be using a camera? Is Hollywood inside you house lmfao. The vents are also easily reachable without a ladder, so you wouldn’t need a camera anyways? So why are you suggesting a camera?

This isn’t a thing in real life, never has, never will be. It’s a Hollywood trope…. Let’s see someone post a picture from their house, this isn’t a thing and people here are yanking your chain OP.

[-] awesome_lowlander@lemmy.dbzer0.com 37 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Ribbons (or visual indicators in general) wouldn't have been stuck on there by a member of the public. It would have been placed there by technicians or maintenance guys to help with their tasks. Not common at home for obvious reasons, but not uncommon in commercial / public spaces.

Hollywood took an existing practice and made it ubiquitous because it was a convenient visual shortcut.

[-] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world -4 points 2 months ago

The practice is only used when the vents are hard to reach, Hollywood puts them eveyrwhere, like OP said behind a toilet, where the technician can easily verify by hand or with the actual tool to measure airflow so they have an actual metric to see if it’s deteriorating.

Its a Hollywood trope.

[-] awesome_lowlander@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 2 months ago

Did you miss my last sentence?

[+] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world -15 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It’s not a thing in real life either…

HVAC techs will use the anemometer that’s part of their standard kit, they aren’t going to tie a fire hazard that collects dust to a duct….

If you see them left behind, that’s because the company was too cheap to cleanup their garbage, they would ONLY be used while the techs were actively diagnosing a persistent issue, but it should be removed when done.

Why do people perpetuate obvious fake Hollywood stuff? Do you think code will allow you to permanently affix something flammable to a duct that would be heated and can catch it on fire…..?

[-] awesome_lowlander@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It’s not a thing in real life either…

then

If you see them left behind, that’s because

That pretty much says it IS a thing in real life. It may not be supposed to be there, but it does appear in real life.

code will allow you tie someything flammable to a duct that would be heated and can catch it on fire

... how hot do you think the air coming out of a duct is? Also, this isn't a discussion about what codes allow, this is about what happens in practice.

they would ONLY be used while the techs were actively diagnosing a persistent issue

I've personally seen them placed by people who were having issues with building management messing up the hvac schedule, and I'm sure there are other cases where they would be used. You're extrapolating your one use case to everything else.

Why do people perpetuate obvious fake Hollywood stuff

All I said was, there's a real life basis for the trope. And there is, even you've admitted to it. So I'm not sure what your big argument is about...

[+] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world -15 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

how hot do you think the air coming out of a duct is? Also, this isn't a discussion about what codes allow, this is about what happens in practice.

Its hot enough to catch wood on fire… thats why metal ducts have very specific code clearances to combustible's… yikes… yeah thats the education level on this topic here…? The duct gets a lot hotter than the air coming out of it… try touching an operating one sometime…

[-] awesome_lowlander@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 2 months ago

Its hot enough to catch wood on fire

Your ducts are emitting 250 C hot air? Because that's the ignition temp of wood. Should have told us you were working at camp Dante. The actual reason combustibles are supposed to be kept away from air ducts are because, in case of an actual fire, it prevents the fire from spreading via superheated air in the ducts. There is no way it happens during normal operation.

The duct gets a lot hotter than the air coming out of it

Now you've gone and broken the laws of physics. The duct would be exactly the same temp as the air coming out of it, or significantly lower if insulated on the inside. The only reason it seems hotter is because it has higher thermal conductivity.

yeah thats the education level on this topic here

Oh, the irony

[-] HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com 5 points 2 months ago

thanks because his comment about catching fire is one of those things thats so ridiculous. Those electric warming quilt tables and halogen lights are way more a fire hazard.

[-] Drusas@kbin.run 1 points 2 months ago

electric warming quilt tables

Kotatsu? Because they're actually quite safe.

[-] HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com 2 points 2 months ago

exactly.

[-] TheHottub@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It's a way to tell if the air is flowing cause you can see the ribbons move with the air. Hollywood thinks it looks good and makes it easy to let the viewer know the air is flowing so they use it all the time.

[-] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 32 points 2 months ago

We don't hose our streets down every night either, it just works better for movies because any stains or dogpiss puddles get evened out and reflecting lights bring out the perspective, and are pretty.

Chances are, you've seen lots of HVAC vents without ribbons in Hollywood movies without noticing them, because whether they were blowing wasn't important to the scene.

[-] themroc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

Whether the air is blowing or not is strictly irrelevant to this scene. something has been hidden inside the vent which the protagonist is about to find out when the picture was taken. We will never come back to this bathroom later. As a matter of fact it would have made sense if the ribbons were not floating and the object was big enough to obstruct the vent, but this is not the case here.

[-] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

In that case you're right and it's just bad cinema.

[-] mihnt@lemmy.ca 28 points 2 months ago

It's to show the movement of air.

[-] Hobbes_Dent@lemmy.world 26 points 2 months ago

Also shows the movement of ribbons. Bonus.

[-] GrabtharsHammer@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Not the ribbon, not the air. Mind is moving.

http://12stepsandzenkoans.blogspot.com/2015/06/not-wind-not-flag-that-moves.html?m=1

[-] themroc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago

I... Got that part.

[-] mihnt@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 months ago

When I posted in this topic there were no other responses, so I gave you the answer. It's literally the only reason any one ever does this and it's done in movies to show the air moving if it directly affects the plot.

[-] themroc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago

Thankbyou for your answer. In this movie it does not affect the plot.But it is also something one only ever sees in us movies so I wondered if this was something Americans did IRL.

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 16 points 2 months ago

Because when people are hot, they think the air conditioning isn't working, and the little ribbons are visual indicator that yes the air conditioning is actually running!

[-] doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 months ago

The answer in movies is the same as IRL: it's to visually indicate that air is moving through the vent. In a movie this can be hard to tell the audience without a possibly annoying sound. In real life you might see this on vents that are difficult to access, probably so an HVAC technician can tell if the vent is working.

[-] themroc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago

Whether the air is running or not is irrelevant to this scene, die example. So that is why I wondered whether it wasbrrue that there were ribbons everywhere on vents in the US.

[-] altima_neo@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 months ago

I thought it was because cheap motels built in the 50s, would do that to show you how cold the ac blows

[-] themroc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago

It would only tell you whether air is flowing, not whether that air is hot or cold.

[-] im_john_here@programming.dev 2 points 2 months ago

It’s to show the viewer when the vent is on or off. Typically only when the fact of it being on or off is important.

[-] themroc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

It is strictly irrelevant to this scene, for example.

[-] themroc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago

Maybe american viewers will be so kind as to tell us in what kind of context they do see ribbons in real life and even post a few pictures?

this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2024

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