Entertainment
The Smartest TV And Movie Criminals All Make The Same Dumb Mistake
By Robert Scucci
| Updated
“I’m a bad man! I commit egregious acts of corporate espionage in my sleep. I extort my neighbors into helping me operate my highly illegal gambling and drug-running syndicate. I vape in public bathrooms that have ‘No Vaping’ signs. I loiter at the Pokémon card vending machine outside of my local Kroger so I can snag all the good ones and sell them on eBay despite the explicit instructions posted all over the place telling me not to do this. I document all of my crimes extensively, and have a massive paper trail.
But don’t worry, because when the FBI and a rogue beat cop collaborate to finally lock me up for good, I have the best solution: I’ll compile all of these incriminating paper documents, throw them into a comically large barrel, and drop a single match into it right before I walk off into the sunset without ever looking back. There’s no way they’ll ever catch me.”
Sounds pretty stupid, right?
This is standard practice in crime movies and TV series, and it’s all for dramatic effect. When you break it down, though, the old flaming barrel evidence destruction dodge leaves a lot to be desired.
On one hand, I get it. We need a visual representation of a very bad person, in a last-ditch effort, trying to destroy evidence that will later come back to bite them in the ass. It’s a great visual shorthand to show the audience that the criminal in question is taking the necessary steps to make sure there’s no record of their crimes against humanity. However, it’s clear that none of these guys have ever seen that Smokey Bear commercial that instructs you to let the fire burn down, hit it with a bucket of water, mix it with a shovel, and hit it with even more water. You have to be thorough.
Not only are these idiots not making sure the evidence is thoroughly destroyed, they’re also not making sure the surrounding structures don’t burn to the ground, adding yet another offense to their rap sheet.
The Smartest Criminals Do The Dumbest Things
I’ve been thinking about the flaming barrel trope, and evidence destruction in pop culture in general, ever since I sat down and watched 2025’s Relay. In the film, a fixer named Ash (how fitting) uses a complex network of jerry-rigged communication systems involving jailbroken burner phones and a telecommunications device for the deaf that he uses in collaboration with a legitimate relay service for the hearing impaired. The man’s a genius, and he operates like a ghost. He knows where and when to show up when he’s fixing to get his whistleblowing clients out of a jam. He knows how to not blow his cover. He communicates by proxy to get the job done, and he’s always one step ahead of everybody.
But when it comes time to destroy the evidence, what does he do? He rips the document in half, tosses it in a trash can, and sets it on fire. The guy who’s so careful that most of his clients don’t even know what his voice sounds like just tosses the documents all willy-nilly in front of a train full of potential witnesses before getting back to work.
Are you a fan of Breaking Bad? If so, you already know how painstakingly careful Gustavo Fring is in running his meth empire. He has an overseas alliance with an obsessive-compulsive contact at the Madrigal Electromotive GmbH megacorporation named Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, an accounting expert who can cook the books with her eyes closed. He distributes Walter White’s meth across the Southwest United States through the distribution lines already in place from his sprawling fried chicken enterprise, which operates as a front for his more illicit activities.
Going even further into how careful Fring is, the meth he distributes comes from an elaborate, $8 million underground lab that took the entirety of Better Call Saul to construct. It’s hidden under an industrial laundromat with state-of-the-art air filtration systems that let him cook massive quantities without ever being detected by the authorities. Werner Ziegler, who built the facility brick by brick, was executed under Gus’ order when he inadvertently compromised the project’s secrecy.
Living his double life as a fast food franchisee turned drug lord, Gus Fring once forced his assistant manager, Lyle, to clean the fry baskets until his hands bled while he sat in his office for hours, waiting for one of his associates to complete a series of dead drops, establishing an alibi and keeping his hands clean.
It’s all a really smart way to operate, but this level of obsessive attention to detail goes completely out the window when Gus makes incriminating phone calls, barks orders into a flip phone, breaks it in half, and simply tosses the device into the trash can in front of his place of work, something he does often. If you want a prime example of dropping the ball at the one-yard line, this is it. After all, we see what finally happens to Gus when he stops being careful (ding, ding, ding!).
I could list examples of sloppy evidence disposal all day, every day, but it’s such a common occurrence in the media that all I ask of you, dear reader, is that you open your eyes and see for yourself.
Shred It, Bro!!!
It’s very rare that this kind of behavior gets called out in TV and movies, but a great example of the trope being dismantled can be seen in 1992’s Batman Returns. Corrupt businessman Max Shreck thinks he’s in the clear after flushing shredded documents down the toilet. What he didn’t anticipate was Oswald Cobblepot, more affectionately known as The Penguin, painstakingly piecing the documents back together to blackmail him, famously saying he accomplished this with “a lot of tape and a little patience.”
Listen, I’m not telling anybody out there to go out and commit crimes. I’m not encouraging more thorough concealment of heinous acts that should, by all rights, land you behind bars. But you have to think about the implications here.
I worked for years as a payroll auditor, and we had those giant Shred-It bins all over our office. When I first started that job, I asked the higher-ups what happened to those bins when they were swapped out every week. Without hesitation, they told me they were loaded onto trucks, shredded into confetti, rendered into pulp, de-inked, and manufactured into new, blank paper. After that, a Certificate of Destruction is issued, stating, for legal purposes, that these bins full of Personally Identifiable Information were securely disposed of. A chain of custody is documented, and that’s that.
I’m not a criminal, and I’d argue that I’m not even all that smart a civilian. But when I’m tossing out a paystub or an old tax document, you better believe it’s thoroughly destroyed after it’s served its purpose. Proper document destruction is an integral part of both criminal and civilian life. If there’s any lesson to be learned here, whether you’re a good guy or a bad guy, it’s that if insidious people want to access your deepest, darkest secrets, your old 1099-NECs, or even worse, your entire iPhone camera roll full of trash riffs, they’ll find a way if you’re not careful.
Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 2, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will require some knowledge of popular U.S. sports and pop culture.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: A Pittsburgh Athlete
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Green: Seen on an MLB Scorebug
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Blue: Teams in the PWHL Playoffs
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Purple: Horse Racing Triple Crowns
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #585 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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A Pittsburgh Athlete: PANTHER, PENGUIN, PIRATE, STEELER
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Seen on an MLB Scorebug: COUNT, INNING, OUTS, SCORE
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Teams in the PWHL Playoffs: CHARGE, FLEET, FROST, VICTORIE
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Horse Racing Triple Crowns: AFFIRMED, CITATION, JUSTIFY, WHIRLAWAY
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to today’s Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Pips hints, answers for May 2, 2026
Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.
Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.
Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.
How to play Pips
If you’ve ever played dominoes, you’ll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we’ve shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don’t necessarily have to match.
The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.
Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:
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Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.
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Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.
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Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.
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Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.
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Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.
If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.
Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 6-3, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed horizontally.
Less Than (6): Everything in this space must be less than 6. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically.
Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 0-3, placed vertically.
Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally.
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Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed vertically.
Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 5-6, placed vertically.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-6, placed vertically.
Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 2-5, placed vertically.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-3, placed vertically.
Number (15): Everything in this space must add up to 15. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally.
Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally.
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically; 1-3, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally.
Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally.
Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally; 0-1, placed horizontally.
Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
New rules for the Oscars: AI actors are out of the race
The Academy won’t be handing over the golden statuette to robots anytime soon.
In new rules announced May 1, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has ruled that AI performances are not eligible for an Oscar. Filmmakers can still utilize AI tools in their submitted works, but only human actors and human-authored screenplays will be considered for the body’s highest honors.
The move aligns with AI agreements won during the 2023 Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA strikes and addresses growing tension over the presence of generative AI tools across artistic industries.
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For example, a recent trailer for the upcoming historical adventure film As Deep as the Grave, featuring an entirely AI-generated recreation of the late Val Kilmer, caused widespread furor among fans who recoiled at the on-screen digital likeness. Prior to his death, Kilmer created an AI version of his speaking voice with UK tech company Sonantic. Other celebrities, like Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine, have worked with AI company ElevenLabs to clone their voices, as well.
But while some celebs are getting ahead of their AI counterparts, others are fighting back against nonconsensual deepfakes writ large. Pop star Taylor Swift recently filed for trademark of her voice and image — including the phrase “Hey, it’s Taylor.” — amid a surge of synthetic AI likenesses of her proliferating across the internet, including ones used in data phishing scams.
The Academy announced additional rule changes for international film and acting categories, generating buzz online after several contentious Oscar campaign races in recent years. For non-English films, a country can now have multiple nominated entries instead of the previous limit of one. Similarly, actors can receive multiple nominations in the same category if their performances rank in the top five.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Oscars
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 2, 2026
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