The Big Bang Theory was one of the most loved sitcoms of the decade. The geeky comedy celebrates the unlikely friendship between roommates Leonard (played by Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons). On the show, Sheldon has landed into trouble a lot of times while getting into feuds with other characters on the show. One such feud was with Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie). While the feud was filled with a lot of pranks, fans believe that there was one prank that should have killed Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory Season 3.
In The Vengeance Formulation, which is the ninth episode of the season, Kripke decides to disrupt Sheldon’s NPR Interview. As Sheldon is getting ready to take the call, Kripke fills the room with helium. This causes Sheldon’s voice to become high and squeaky. However, as one fan pointed out, it is also factually incorrect.
A fan explained it best on an online forum. “Sheldon’s voice becomes squeaky when helium is pumped into his office. But if the room contained enough helium to make his voice squeaky just by breathing, Sheldon would actually be suffocating due to lack of oxygen, the lighter helium having displaced the heavier oxygen.”
It would have been a pretty dark turn for the light hearted comedy series had they stayed true to science. Fans of the series have often been disappointed with the writers of the show as the fail to do basic research while writing the show.
In this instance, maybe it is better that the writers didn’t put too fine a point on the science. Sheldon is one of the most beloved characters from The Big Bang Theory and the show would not have been the same without him.
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