Mundane Utility: Difference between revisions

* The title character of ''[[My Lovely Ghost Kana]]'' has discovered she can produce [[Ghostly Chill]] '''to cool cans of beer''' by tucking them into her cleavage for a minute or so. Her living boyfriend notices that area isn't especially cold at other times.

* In the [[Beach Episode]] of ''[[A Certain Scientific Railgun]]'', Mikoto Misaka (the third-most-powerful esper in a city of two million people) uses her electrokinetic powers to... cook rice. By induction. It requires her complete concentration so that the rice doesn't boil over.

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

*** Superman has ''also'' manufactured a ton of diamonds in ''Superman: True Brit''. [[You Fail Economics Forever|Unfortunately, he made WAY too many...]]

** [[The Silver Age of Comic Books]] basically turned him into a ''full-bore doormat'' with this; flying dinosaur skeletons into the Metropolis Museum (with a specially-designed removable roof, no less!), smoothing out a ship's transport for Lois Lane by lifting it over his head...

** Does Clark Kent "interviewing" Superman to get his job at the Daily Planet count?

*** It does if one accepts the "super hypnosis" explanation for [[Clark Kenting]].

* ''[[Touhou]]'' fans love to depict various powers used for mundane or silly reasons. Even beyond all those mentioned below, Suika using her manipulation of density to collect small things - and growing to giant size to easily collect lumber ''by plucking whole trees as though they were carrots'' - Aya using her [[Super Speed]] to aid in her role as the local [[Intrepid Reporter]], [[An Ice Person|Cirno]] being used as [http://danbooru.donmai.us/pool/show/1787 air conditioning], [[Reality Warper|Yukari]] using her gaps for [[It Amused Me|pranks]], and many, many other variations exist.

* The mundane utility of most things from ''[[Lyrical Nanoha]]'' is explored in ''[[In the Service]]'', from using flight magic letting someone avoid pressure-based traps to telepathy being used for privacy or in loud environments. Some of the more worrisome aspects are also examined, like being able to cauterize the wounds your [[Flaming Sword]] causes ''while it is causing them'' being handy for cutting off people's bits as a torture technique.

 

== [[Film]] ==

** Shaving is excellent training for controlling the wild magic. Considering he couldn't use it in the first series at all, and when it did activate, it had a tendency to blow up everything around him, that sounds perfectly reasonable.

** It's also his own (morbid) personal self-mastery ritual. Being a leper he doesn't have the feeling of presure in his fingertips to have perfect control. Also as a leper he is very prone to infection. Tom being the [[Sarcasm Mode|cheerful]] character that he is uses a cutthroat razor, in his left hand, that's missing two fingers, and he still slips up with.

** Unseen University's omniscopes are powerful scrying devices that can see anywhere and anywhen. Because of this it's extremely hard to get them to show anywhere and anywhen ''in particular'', so they usually show the blackness of empty space (that being what most of the universe consists of). The wizards mostly use them as shaving mirrors.

** On the other side of the fence, Discworld witches are trained to avert this trope (which doesn't necessarily mean they do it 100%, just that they're trained not to rely on magic as much as possible). Most of them seem to take it as a point of pride how far they can go using only hard work and completely nonmagical things like herbalism and headology.

'''Mrs Googol''': Sure. When there ain't no alternative.

'''Nanny''': When ... you know ... people ain't showing respect, like.

'''Mrs Googol''': When the house needs paintin'.}}

* [[Keith Laumer]] has written a series of stories about "[[Bolo]]" tanks, super sized military tanks. In one of the stories, it is mentioned that after a war an attempt was made to use them for peaceful purposes, including attaching a blade for demolition work to one and calling it a "tractor". The half-megaton/second firepower still available on it tended to belay the "peaceful" status.

** A later scheme was to use an obsolete Bolo's massively powerful AI and large hull space to create an automated tractor/bulldozer/genetics lab for adapting crops to survive on newly settled colonies. While those responsible were smart enough to remove the [[Frickin' Laser Beams]] this time, they made a really shoddy job of adapting the AI's programming: the result being that when the colony was invaded by hostile aliens it kicked into combat mode and exterminated them all with customised bioweapons, all while thinking they were just a particularly large type of crop pest.

** Ekaterin's own point of view regarding this scene:

{{quote|''Yes, she realized enviously, he could just wave all ordinary problems out of his path. Leaving only the extraordinary ones... her envy ebbed.''}}

* In ''[[Harry Potter]]'' magic is used for nearly everything imaginable. From making animated Chocolate Frogs, to the various practical joke items, transport, Quidditch, enchanted items that do household chores for you, self stirring cauldrons, semi-sentient owls, radio (no muggle radio for them, which works out fine since wizards apparently get better radios), the list goes on. It's stated that high levels of magic such as at Hogwarts cause Muggle technology more advanced than a wristwatch to fail to work.

** [[Justified Trope]] in that, if Arthur Weasley is any example, the magical population of the world hasn't a clue how Muggle technology ''works''. If the wizarding world ever gets hit with an [[Anti-Magic]] Field or something, they'd die of starvation surrounded by filth.

** The House-elves. A race of powerful magical beings with near absolute loyalty as their ''Hat'', whose magic isn't bound by the same rules as human wizardry, and what do most wizards and witches use them for? ''Chores''. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] by the [[Fantastic Racism|condescending attitude]] most wizards and witches have concerning House Elves. A few wizards do make clever use of their House elves though: {{spoiler|Crouch Sr. entrusted Winky with the ''very'' important task of keeping his son hidden (and fired her for nearly letting him escape), Regulus Black told Kreacher to destroy Voldemort's locket Horcrux, though even Kreacher's powers weren't enough to break it, and Harry put Kreacher's talents to good use for espionage in ''Half-blood Prince'' and for capturing a thief in ''Deathly Hallows''}}.

* ''[[Bloodsucking Fiends]]'': Upon concluding that Vampire saliva acts as a healing agent (primarily to keep those tell-tale neck wounds from being noticed), Tommy tries to convince his [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire]] girlfriend Jody to fix his cuticles and get rid of a blister on his toe. Jody is not amused.

* In the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' novel "How Much For Just The Planet" our heroes encounter a baking dish made out of dilithium (a valuable type of crystal that is one target for both sides of the Federation/Klingon Cold War currently in effect). To make it even better, the slab of dilithium is engraved with writing from the local [[Precursors]], combining two kinds of Mundane Utility. The locals argue that if dilithium can regulate a matter-antimatter reaction a few hours in the oven isn't going to hurt it.

* In [[Stephen King]]'s novel, ''[[The Tommyknockers]]'', an alien spacecraft is discovered, and it makes the people near it technical geniuses. The main character uses her new abilities to power up her water heater by creating a small sun in it, making a tractor that can fly, and a typewriter that can read thoughts.

* [[H. Beam Piper]]'s ''Uller Uprising'' features a project to use A-bombs for volcano mining. [[Justified Trope|Justified]], because by the point in the future Piper's novels are set in, people have access to weapons like [[Stuff Blowing Up|the Bethe-cycle bomb]], which ''creates a miniature sun 2000 miles across'' at its point of detonation (which has ''no'' mundane utility, because it's kind of hard to find a mundane use for a 2000-mile-across fusion fireball lasting several hours).

* [[Sword of Truth|Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander]], Wizard of the First Order, AKA the Wind of Death, has been known to use his exceptional and frightening mastery over magic to cook dinner just a little faster.

** A necessary function, as he is a [[Big Eater]].

** Another case has Zedd restoring a wilted flower to full vitality before he goes to speak with his girlfriend.

** Also of note, Nicci, Death's Mistress and former lieutenant of the [[God of Evil|Keeper of the Underworld]], applies [[Black Magic|Subtractive Magic]] to tasks such as healing and changing the color of clothes. Zedd [[lampshade]]s this, but considering his own example, he doesn't have much room to talk.

* In the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] novel ''[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Yoda:_Dark_Rendezvous Yoda: Dark Rendezvous]'' has [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Wookieepedia:Quote_of_the_Day/2_July_2007 a conversation about such uses of the force] (But of course using the force for such things [[Comes Great Responsibility|leads to the darkside]])

** [[Vibroweapon|Vibroblades]] are awesome weapons that can cut and slice through most armors. Sure enough, they are used for day-to-day cutting of non-warfare-related items all the time, and scaled-down versions exist that aren't even supposed to be used for fighting at all. And yeah, lightsabers get used for similar purposes too every now and then, as well as torches.

* One of the perennial complaints of Marvin the Paranoid Android from ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' is that he has a brain the size of a planet, yet is assigned only simple household tasks that wouldn't challenge a lobotomized goldfish's intellect.

* ''[[Good Omens]]'': The divine / infernal powers are nice for miracling up vintage wines into existence and keeping your car dent-free.

** To the surprise of both the Wine, and the Car, apparently.

* According to [[The Bible]], Jesus' very first miracle? Turning water into wine during a wedding party as a private favor for his host, and upon a request from his mom Mary. ([[Sacred Hospitality]] is [[Serious Business]].)

** In other Gospels not considered canonical, a young Jesus also experimented with his powers by animating a clay bird and raising a kid from the dead when he accidentally smited the guy for being a moron.

** [[Fridge Brilliance]] when you consider that the Rings of Power grant your deepest desire. So for the Elves, they preserve the beauty of their realms, for the Dwarves they bring wealth, for Men they prolong life. And what do Hobbits most desire? ''Not to be noticed by the Big Folk.''

* The boys in ''[[Krabat]]'' may and do use magic for their daily work and even just for pranks.

== [[Live-Action TV]] ==

* The world of ''[[Gene Roddenberry]]'s [[Andromeda]]'' includes such wonders as [[Nanomachines]] and they're available to pretty much everyone. How does maverick captain Beka Valentine use hers? [[Hair Colors|Instant hair dye.]] {{spoiler|And blackmail.}}

** When asked by a kid if he ever used his ability to sneak into women's locker rooms, Darien refuses to answer. In the pilot, he was caught spying on a soldier and a nurse getting it on and gets a black eye for that.

* All the time in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'':

* ''[[The Perry Bible Fellowship]]'' proves [http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/998/caffeinatorse8.jpg here] that useless superpowers with this can win by sheer rarity value.

* The title character of ''Magical Mina'', part of the ''[[Tsunami Channel]]'' ...uh, franchise?... does this sometimes, with [http://www.tsunamichannel.com/index.php?date=2002-09-16&comic=MaMi this] being a particularly good example. She's also adapted her Sword magic for a scalpel. Of course, she was written to be an exceedingly clever and intelligent [[Magical Girl]]. Also, [http://www.tsunamichannel.com/index.php?date=2003-10-17&comic=MaMi here].

** There's also Ardam using a lightning spell to recharge the batteries in Drecker's Walkman.

* Dave in ''[[CRFH]]'' has used his laser vision to make popcorn.

== [[Web Original]] ==

* Some of the ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' characters have used their powers to dry off after a shower (Phase and Chaka both), dry her hair (Fey), shave her legs (Verdant), unpack suitcases (Bugs), keep her clothes clean (Pristine), have [[Snowball Fight]]s (a lot of Poe cottage), mop floors and fold laundry (Chaka), paint a room (Plastic Girl), move furniture, shop, and on and on.

** In the prequel comics, Johnny Snow uses his ice beam to chill a six-pack of beer/soda.

* [http://qntm.org/?ed Ed], the man who subconsciously received his brain from the future, built a fleet of [[Humongous Mecha]]s to save the world from invading aliens, and accidentally erased the Andromeda Galaxy by ''hacking the universe''... [http://qntm.org/?bread puts a time machine to very unorthodox purposes].

* [[5-Second Films]] gives us the "[http://5secondfilms.com/watch/death_ray_from_space Death Ray From Space]"; a [[Kill Sat]] used to puzzle a kitten.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRltwX49Gzw This sketch] from Carpe Clunes depicts a [[Public Service Announcement]] warning the viewer of [[Mind Over Matter|psychics']] tendency to ruin games of pictionary.

* In ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'', members of the Blue Team have used the scopes of their sniper rifles as binoculars to spy upon the Reds from a distance. Also, in the later seasons, Tucker's sword also counts. It is debatable as to whether or not it was primarily created to be a sword or a key. Quoth Caboose: "Or maybe it's a key all the time, and it when you stick it in people, it unlocks their death."

* Abounds in ''[[Tales of MU]]''.

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* The title characters of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' frequently use their powers for other things when they're not fighting crime or monsters, such as cleaning their room.

* Coop from ''[[Megas XLR]]'' abused his mecha's abilities at every possible opportunity, usually just for rather mundane things. And that's not counting all the times he's just showing off because he's bored.

** It's also continually subverted. Even though he's in a giant mech with enough firepower to destroy planets and can ''fly at interstellar speeds'', he still has to deal with things like traffic and annoying drivers. In one episode, Megas got ''towed''. Coop had to jump through all the hoops, including retaking the driver's exam, to get back a giant robot that could smite the world with the press of a button.

* In ''[[She-Ra and the Princesses of Power]]'', many of the Princesses use their powers frivolously. Glimmer is likely the worst offender, using her [[Teleport Spam]] to give Adora a quick tour of the guest room. Her ''own'' bedroom has a bed suspended by gilded chains from the ceiling, about fifteen feet off the floor, put there simply because she's so proud of her powers. Unfortunately, she quickly sees a downside of this when stress from the worsening crisis starts causing her powers to malfunction, and needs help simply to reach it.

* Inverted in one episode of ''[[The Smurfs]]''; Jokey Smurf usually uses his exploding presents to play jokes on the other Smurfs, but in one episode, when he and the others are trapped in a dungeon, he uses them to blast open the locked door that prevents their escape.

 

== Other Media ==

** The same thing happens with off duty bus drivers, to buy lunch.

* Firefighters, police and ambulance drivers (especially the latter for obvious reasons) will often unabashedly clear gridlocks with their sirens. [[Double Standard|People are not half as amused]].

* In [[World War I]], water cooled machine guns were occasionally fired just so that the resulting hot water in their cooling jackets could be used to make cups of tea.

** A more recent example is soldiers doing their washing over a long offroad trip by putting dirty fatigues, water and soap flakes in a sealed container and stashing the whole thing in the back of their jeep. It was even used to advertise the vehicle at one point.

*** Forty-five percent of the nuclear material used in the 104 nuclear power plants in the US comes from old Russian Nuclear weapons. The electricity produced from repurposed Russian nuclear missiles accounts for about five percent of the electricity generated in the US.

** Same goes for Geothermic power. When people hear this word, they tend to think of '''harnessing the powers of a volcano!''' When you really get down to it, it's more or less sticking a giant cooking pot low enough into the earth so that it produces steam. For all it's uses, Electricity is pretty mundane.

** The soldiers had been taught to think of the robot as a [[Companion Cube|team-member]], given that it worked to save their lives (and their superior officers wanted them to take care of it), so when they took a day off, they felt the robot needed to come too.

* What do you get when you take a captured Iraqi tank and stick a pair of jet engines on it? The world's most [[Awesome Yet Practical|awesome]] [http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2009/08/jet-engines-on-trucks-for-fun-and.html fire extinguisher].

* Bayonets are often used for wire-cutting, opening cans, basically almost anything except impaling people which surprisingly has not been often done historically (usually when one side challenges a bayonet fight the other refuses; the fact that armor did not make a comeback in fashion until quite recently and one of the two sides was so battered by firepower that it's courage is knocked out affects that). Because of this recent bayonets have added features until they are really utility knives that incidentally can be fitted on a bayonet mount.

* The Prussians were the first in Europe to make proper use of troop trains. One use they got out of them was obscure but interesting. Because of them they could use reserve units in battle far away from home. This was important because until then [[New Meat|unseasoned troops]] wouldn't know how to carry their knapsacks and muskets and would be too tired to fight by the time they got to battle. By inserting them close to the front they could have a shorter march.

 

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