Smart Ball: Difference between revisions

* In ''[[Deep Rising]]'', a [[Jerkass]] who works for the cruise line spontaneously rattles off a theory as to the man-eating worms' origins, and [[Improbable Taxonomy Skills|displays such expertise that you'd think designing computer networks for ships requires an advanced degree in marine invertebrate paleontology]]. He turns out to be totally wrong. The "creatures" ''aren't'' worms. In fact, they {{spoiler|aren't even individual creatures. They're the tentacles belonging to a monstrous octopus-like creature.}}

* [[Firefly|Mal]] in ''[[Serenity]]'', after he exhibits a working knowledge of [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]:

** Another example: The Operative went by the popular misconception that the albatross was sign of bad luck. (For background, in the poem the misfortunes of the eponymous Mariner comes about because he killed the albatross; it is literally a weight around his neck because his fellow shipmates tie it there as punishment for killing a bird which was both a good omen and which could have led them to shore)

* Ragetti, the skinny one-eyed pirate from the [[Those Two Guys|comic duo]] in [[Pirates of the Caribbean]] displayed some quite commendable knowledge of mythology and philosophy in the sequels, though they were out of place most of the times.

*** A bit of [[Truth in Television]] in this. A lot of people do believe [[All-Natural Snake Oil|organic/natural = good]].

* In the final episode of ''[[Blackadder]] the Third'', the three main characters are trying to come up with a plan to get the Prince Regent out of a duel he's sure to lose, when the plan comes up of Blackadder and the Prince switching places so that Blackadder can fight instead. When the Prince notes that it will never work, because "my portrait hangs on every wall", Baldrick - who thought to solve the problem of his mother's low roof by cutting off her head - offers up this gem:

'''Blackadder''': Well, your cousin Bert obviously has a larger vocabulary than you, Baldrick. }}

* In ''[[QI]]'', [[The Ditz|Alan]] occasionally has this, usually when it makes the scene in question [[Rule of Funny|funnier]].

* Suzanne and Charlene would occasionally make remarkably insightful comments or unexpectedly understand some abstruse comment on ''[[Designing Women]]''.

* An episode of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' has the team going to a planet where an eclipse is going to darken the sky enough to allow observation of a black hole using an observatory they set up there. After the smart people in the room talk about how cool the spinning mass of...mass getting sucked into the black hole will look, Jack O'Neill correctly identifies it as the accretion disc. Carter and Jackson look at him funny, and his response is that the telescope on his roof isn't just for spying on his neighbors. Of course, many characters state that O'Neill is [[Obfuscating Stupidity|a hell of a lot smarter than he lets on]], but he still tries to explain all advanced technology as magnets.

* Emiya Shirou of ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' is not the sharpest knife in the drawer for the Fate route and most of the Unlimited Blade Works route. {{spoiler|Then he has an [[Eureka Moment]], figures out how to turn into a [[Reality Warper]] [[Awesomeness By Analysis|entirely by watching Archer,]] and never drops the [[Smart Ball]] again.}} It's almost a little jarring seeing how quick on the uptake he is in Heaven's Feel.

* The ''Judge'' is given the Smart Ball in case 3-5 of ''[[Phoenix Wright]]''. It's even lampshaded:

'''Phoenix''': Did the Judge take smart pills over the recess?! }}

* For the first two [[Mass Effect]] games, [[Heroic Wannabe|Conrad Verner]] has bees seen as little more than an annoyance. Then come [[Mass Effect 3]] it turns out he is actually Dr. Conrad Verner and did a dissertation on dark matter energy, which helps with the construction of the Crucible.

** He also astoundingly knew what a pentimento was. When the others are shocked, he explains that [[Not That Kind of Doctor|his doctorate is actually in art history]].

* There's an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' where Homer is suddenly knowledgeable about the laws of physics for the sake of a joke. His line after Lisa builds a perpetual motion device (that actually ''keeps going faster and faster'')?

** Homer has had several humorously out of character [[Smart Ball]] moments, that showcase his stupidity at the same time. In one episode he knew who former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Earl Warren was, but somehow thought he was also a stripper.

** His most common and impressive form of brilliance is when he infrequently appears to be an [[Omniglot]]. Homer has spoken Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and even ''Penguin'', amongst others. He has passed this trait onto Bart who has picked up French, Spanish and Japanese himself in different episodes.

** He also once corrected Apu on the nature of karma, using somewhat more complex words than usual in this scene.

'''Apu:''' ...he's got me there. }}

** At the beginning of another episode, he predicts that a meteor heading for Springfield will probably shrink to the size of a small chihuahua. At the end of the episode, it gets lampshaded. "Dad was right!" "I know, kids. I'm scared, too."