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For the classic disassembly of these sort of statistics, may we recommend Darrell Huff's ''How to Lie with Statistics''? The 1950s were a lot less naive than you might assume. And indeed, this is a subtrope of [[Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics]].
This trope has nothing to do with [[Doctor Dolittle]], [[Doctor Doom]], [[
{{examples}}
* The original instance of this phrase comes from Trident gum, where "four out of five dentists recommended sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum". They didn't add the qualifier "if their patients ''insisted'' on chewing gum", nor did they tell you that [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_174a.html the fifth dentist recommended that his patients not chew gum at all].
** Years later, Trident would parody this device by having four out of five dentists endorse the gum, with the fifth accidentally denouncing it (being knocked unconscious and landing his face on the "NO" button, [[Squirrels in My Pants|having a squirrel crawl up his leg]] and [[Groin Attack|bite him in the groin]], causing him to yell [[Big No|"Nooooooo!"]] etc.).
** This was parodied on an early episode of ''[[Friends]]'' - someone enters and says "Guess what!" and Chandler immediately quips, "The fifth dentist caved, and now they're all recommending Trident?"
** It was also parodied in a 2004 ''[[
* The legendary [[Stan Freberg
* An extreme example: an ad for Whiskas claimed that "8 out of 10 Cats prefer Whiskas." This was later changed to "8 out of 10 owners who expressed a preference said that their cats preferred Whiskas." ("who expressed a preference" means there could be twenty thousand cats who'll eat anything for every eight Whiskas lovers, but they don't count.)
** This is actually gave the name to the Channel4 [[Panel Show]] ''8 Out Of Ten Cats'', which is all about statistics and opinion polls.
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* Parodied by [[David Letterman]] on his talk show, when he claimed that "3 out of 4 Americans make up 75% of the population."
* [http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/One_Out_of_Ten_Doctors This] uncyclopedia article, supposing on the answer to what the one out of ten doctors do recommend (leeching and eye of newt for allergy medication and the like..)
* Parodied when ''[[
{{quote| '''Tim:''' Look at this! Nine out of every ten doctors agree that people who don't eat Sunbeam sliced bread will get squashed by elephants!<br />
'''Graeme:''' That's right. Mind you, it did take us a long time to find the right nine doctors, woo hoo hoo (makes loony signal) ... and the elephants! }}
* ''[[Pearls Before Swine]]'' had a few comics where Pig introduced his friends, five doctors, four of which agreed on everything, the fifth of which always disagreed. This was for more than just chewing gum -- they went to a funeral, and while the first four were offering their condolences, the fifth one just said, "She's dead all right."
* A strip in ''[[
* Humorous advertising-deconstruction program ''[[The Gruen Transfer]]'' has actually registered the company "Nine Out Of Ten Experts", and are offering the company's endorsement to products for a "small fee". Nine Out Of Ten Experts recommend The Gruen Transfer.
* A commercial for Tylenol stated that "9 out of 10 doctors recommend Tylenol!" The ''very next'' commercial was for Advil, stating "4 out of 5 doctors prefer Advil!" Humanity is screwed.
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'''Sam''': What did the fifth one do?<br />
'''Max''': He kept sobbing, and saying, "Why can't we all just get along?" }}
* [[
* Dying after beaming into a toxic atmosphere in ''[[Space Quest]] V'' results this quote, "4 out of 5 doctors agree that beaming into a toxic atmosphere without the proper equipment can be hazardous to your health."
* A variation: speaking of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', a wonderful [[Fun T-Shirt]] found online has "9 out of 10 Doctors agree, [[Large Ham|the 10th Doctor]] [[Hot-Blooded|should mellow out.]]"
** Another version: "9 out of 10 doctors agree: [[Tom Baker|Four]]'s scarf is too long."
* Colin Mochrie on ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]?'':
{{quote| "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}oCdkV8MOcDQ Nine out of ten Americans agree that out of ten Americans, one will disagree with the other nine!]"}}
** Or how about: "Nine out ten doctors agree the tenth one should really chill out" (did I get that right)
* On February 15 2008, a news anchor on ''[[Royal Canadian Air Farce]]'' said, "A survey shows 51% of Canadians believe there is such a thing as love at first sight. The other 49% are men."
* A strip of ''[[
* A humorous variant in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'':
{{quote| '''Tupari Drinks Machine:''' "Four out of five Tupari drinkers recommend Tupari to their friends. The last one is on my list!"}}
* Played for laughs in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
* That`s what happens to the 10th doctor [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fhetbwvmhJw/TfrLZSSj8mI/AAAAAAAAD3k/h4fAN-z5Lt8/s1600/Dentista-2.jpg\]
* The joke "9 out of 10 people enjoy gang rape". No prizes for guessing who the 10th person is.
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