O termo um momento de portas deslizantes se tornou um termo popularizado no final do século XX, momentos aparentemente inconseqüentes que, no entanto, alteram a trajetória de eventos futuros.
Embora o termo tenha se originado das portas deslizantes do filme de 1998, escritas e dirigidas por Peter Howitt e estrelado por Gwyneth Paltrow, o conceito foi explorado anteriormente por J. B. Priestley em sua peça de 1932 Dangerous Corner.
Exemplos de 'portas deslizantes momentos' sendo usadas (com a adequação variável) no vernáculo moderno incluem:
Princess Diana's last minute decision to make a trip to Paris.In relation to Labor Party ahead of a byelection for Longman.The fortunes of the Croatian national football team ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in which they would eventually finish as runners-up despite struggling through qualifying.Personal relationships.The chequered history of Roxy Music.The drop in funding of the NHS.A round table discussion on the Set Piece Menu podcast on how football history might have changed if certain key moments had gone differently, such as England’s 1966 World Cup victory masking wider deficiencies in the post-war state of English football, and the seemingly opportunistic 1992 signing of Eric Cantona by then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, amongst others.Bill Simmons frequently declares events to be sliding door moments in the history of the National Basketball Association and its players, teams, coaches and staff on the Bill Simmons Podcast and the Book of Basketball podcast. Australian bowler Glenn McGrath injuring himself in the warm-up to the 2nd test of the 2005 Ashes series, meaning he couldn't play in the match. Australia would go on to narrowly lose the match, and after levelling the series 1-1 England would go on to win their Ashes series since 1986-87.