History Main / ArtisticLicenseAwards

* The Medal of Honor is the paramount military decoration in the United States services. It's often called the ''Congressional'' Medal of Honor, which is not its name; it's simply got "in the name of Congress" in its citation. A common "artistic license" in both fiction and RealLife. The misnomer might also come from the civilian equivalent, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Gold_Medal Congressional Gold Medal]]. Confusing the two is a common mistake.
** In ''Film/MarsAttacks'', Richie and his grandmother are given the Congressional Medal of Honor by the president's daughter, in honor of their role in stopping the {{Martians}}. The President's daughter is referred to as the only surviving member of the Government (she's not -- she didn't hold any office, and being a member of the family of an officeholder doesn't make you part of the government), but it's overlooked that the medal is only awarded to military personnel, not to civilians.

* seventh: The Nobel Prize, once awarded, cannot be withdrawn, revoked, or rescinded, as Nobel's will provided no mechanism for this, and the Nobel committee doesn't seem to be in any hurry to institute one.

* Seventh: Nobel nominations for a given year are kept secret for 50 years. Saying somebody was "nominated for a Nobel Prize" is generally meaningless, because it's impossible to know if it's correct or not.
** Even if it is correct the nomination may be pretty meaningless anyway; the Nobel Peace Prize accepts nominations from any member of any national government or any university professor in a related field.[[note]]For an infamous example, ''UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler'' was nominated in 1939 for the ''Peace Prize'' by a single member of the Swedish Parliament as a protest response to UsefulNotes/NevilleChamberlain also having been nominated the same year.[[/note]]
* Eighth: The Nobel Prize, once awarded, cannot be withdrawn, revoked, or rescinded, as Nobel's will provided no mechanism for this, and the Nobel committee doesn't seem to be in any hurry to institute one.

** Played for laughs in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' where the Iron Cross is rewarded to Abraham Simpson, a Sargent in the US Army, for his incompetence in mine clearing. It's left ambiguous whether this was from the Nazis thanking him or from the US as a sarcastic MedalOfDishonor.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'', Colonel Hathi claims to have earned the Victoria Cross while serving in the British Army. However, the Victoria Cross is only awarded to humans, and Hathi is [[WarElephants an elephant]]. There is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickin_Medal Dickin Medal]] from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, established in 1943, which likely didn't exist when the film is set.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'', Colonel Hathi claims to have earned the Victoria Cross while serving in the British Army. However, the Victoria Cross is only awarded to humans, and Hathi is [[WarElephants an elephant]].

** In ''Film/MarsAttacks'', Richie and his grandmother are given the Congressional Medal of Honor by the president's daughter, in honor of their role in stopping the Martians. The President's daughter is referred to as the only surviving member of the Government (she's not -- she didn't hold any office, and being a member of the family of an officeholder doesn't make you part of the government), but it's overlooked that the medal is only awarded to military personnel, not to civilians.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': In "The Double Deuce", Woodhouse is revealed to have served in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War as a Lance-Corporal, acting as a batman to his squadron's commanding officer Captain Thistileton (with whom he may or may not have had a SingleTargetSexuality). He is stated to have received the Victoria Cross for rushing into No Man's Land to rescue said CO when he gets shot down in Bloody April, then attacking a German position and killing 50 German soldiers in an UnstoppableRage when Thistleton is killed by a sniper. His gravestone in a later episode states in addition to the VC, he also received the Distinguished Conduct Cross, the Military Cross and Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, plus a Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. Before the review in 1993, the Military Cross could only be awarded to officers and the Military ''Medal'' was awarded to Other Ranks (Warrant Ranks could potentially receive either), while the Distinguished Conduct Cross was likewise only available to officers until 1993 and was only available to Royal Navy officers until 1940, when eligibility was extended to non-naval officers serving aboard Navy vessels. The Distinguished Service Order was and remains available to officers-only and has never been awarded to non-commissioned personnel, and is generally issued to a Major or higher unless a more junior officer just missed out on the Victoria Cross. It is unclear if this is a {{retcon}} of his military service, as he would not have been awarded four medals for the same act.

* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', [[spoiler:Sheldon improvises his Nobel acceptance speech. This isn't allowed, as speeches have to be submitted 24 hours in advance to be translated into Swedish.]] Further, the rules of the Nobel Prize in Physics require the achievement has "stood the test of time", generally accepted to be a minimum of twenty years, so he shouldn't even be eligible for consideration.

* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', [[spoiler:Sheldon improvises his Nobel acceptance speech. This isn't allowed, as speeches have to be submitted 24 hours in advance to be translated into Swedish.]]