Raiders of the Lost Ark is universally praised as a near-perfect movie, but its submarine plot hole remains a controversial topic of discussion. This controversy was popularized by the Big Bang Theory episode “The 21-Second Excitation,” in which the guys get excited to see a new cut of the first Indiana Jones movie with an additional 21 seconds in its runtime. Leonard claims the extra scene “finally solves the submarine controversy.” Without these 21 seconds, a scene in which Indiana Jones hitches a ride on a German submarine from the middle of the ocean to the shore of a remote island lacks an adequate explanation.

Indiana Jones's inexplicable ability to ride a submersible for miles without drowning or slipping has become notorious as a supposed inconsistency in what is otherwise an untouchable masterpiece. Even the best action movies of all time can have plot holes, but this one stands out in Raiders of the Lost Ark...