Ticking Time Bomb

Hypothetical "ticking time bombs" often come up as an argument for the use of torture.

There's one big problem with that: ticking time bombs are a staple device of fiction, not of real life. They build suspense in movies. A terrorist has no reason to use a timer once they have put a bomb somewhere. (A cynical soul on Wikipedia has made a note that the section about known uses of time bombs is in need of expansion.)

Besides that, imprisoned people have been tortured during the War on Terror even though there were no ticking time bombs anywhere.