'Hand me the tongs'

When told that the lab has been "ransacked", they find a residue around the hole in the table. Lisa says, "Hand me the tongs."

Miyamoto reaches into his pocket and hands her what appears to be sugar tongs.

Do Japanese men habitually carry sugar tongs in a business suit? Do blonde European women usually know which Japanese men carry tongs?

When the tongs break the sample, someone hands her a spoon. The one thing you will not find in a lab, is a spoon. Would a Japanese man be likely to carry a spoon in his pocket?

Other odd points:

If enough nuclear fuel to get home can be carried in something the size of a large suitcase, why wouldn't they carry more in their spacious ship?

While Capt. Sano and Miyamoto are shown sharing a large hot bath, why are the women shown in separate showers forty feet apart?

When the women come in wearing cocktail dresses, why is Capt. Sano still in his spacesuit after having taken a bath?

Why does Capt. Sano "bark" at Lisa all the time? Is he embarrassed or is this just a Japanese commander thing?

Spaceship AAB-Gamma seems to have been designed as a cross between a pontoon boat and "Doctor Who's" K-9 robot dog.

Why wasn't the panicky replacement doctor, who placed the ship in danger by using up their fuel, locked up when they returned to Earth?

I've left out a number of other questions because they were obviously necessary for dramatic reasons - such as: how do Michiko's communication skills qualify her to be on the rescue mission?

I did like the movie but I had the nagging feeling I had seen a heavily edited version somewhere before.