Wastebasket Ball: Difference between revisions

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* In the film ''[[The 25 th Hour]]''.
* In the film ''[[The 25 th Hour]]''.
* The ''[[Daredevil (Film)|Daredevil]]'' movie has one of those little basketball hoops hung over the wastebasket. The blind yet supersensitive Matt Murdock always dunks it, and the comic relief sidekick, Foggy Nelson, can never manage it. It doesn't stop him from saying [[Saying Sound Effects Out Loud|"swoosh"]] to try to convince the blind guy that he made it, however.
* The ''[[Daredevil (film)|Daredevil]]'' movie has one of those little basketball hoops hung over the wastebasket. The blind yet supersensitive Matt Murdock always dunks it, and the comic relief sidekick, Foggy Nelson, can never manage it. It doesn't stop him from saying [[Saying Sound Effects Out Loud|"swoosh"]] to try to convince the blind guy that he made it, however.
* In the film ''[[City of Angels (Film)|City of Angels]]'', in the middle of surgery, an assisting nurse is sitting reading a ''Who'' magazine. He tosses it for a solid three points into a big bag marked "Biohazard materials".
* In the film ''[[City of Angels (film)|City of Angels]]'', in the middle of surgery, an assisting nurse is sitting reading a ''Who'' magazine. He tosses it for a solid three points into a big bag marked "Biohazard materials".
* The film ''[[The Cutting Edge]]'' has the ice-skating male lead do this while negotiating with the female figure skater's father over being hired on as her partner after the father misses three times.
* The film ''[[The Cutting Edge]]'' has the ice-skating male lead do this while negotiating with the female figure skater's father over being hired on as her partner after the father misses three times.
* In ''[[Primer]]'', Abe and Aaron are seen playing this as part of a [[Time Compression Montage]] prior to their trip back in time.
* In ''[[Primer]]'', Abe and Aaron are seen playing this as part of a [[Time Compression Montage]] prior to their trip back in time.
* In ''[[Semi Pro (Film)|Semi Pro]]'', Ed Monix misses the wastebasket while being introduced as the team's new captain.
* In ''[[Semi Pro]]'', Ed Monix misses the wastebasket while being introduced as the team's new captain.
* In ''[[Iron Man (Film)|Iron Man]] 2'', the [[Holographic Terminal]] that fills Tony's work station allows him to pick up a floating program window, scrunch it into a ball, and throw it in the Recycle Bin, which immediately announces "SCORE!"
* In ''[[Iron Man (film)|Iron Man]] 2'', the [[Holographic Terminal]] that fills Tony's work station allows him to pick up a floating program window, scrunch it into a ball, and throw it in the Recycle Bin, which immediately announces "SCORE!"
* ''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'' has a humorous variation, in which the title character tosses a package backwards over his shoulder into a trash can. As the DVD outtakes demonstrate, it took [[Michael Cera]] ''thirty tries'' before he got it right.
* ''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'' has a humorous variation, in which the title character tosses a package backwards over his shoulder into a trash can. As the DVD outtakes demonstrate, it took [[Michael Cera]] ''thirty tries'' before he got it right.
* Comes into play at the beginning of ''[[One Crazy Summer]]''. After we see that "Hoops" is not a very good cartoonist, he plays the trope by throwing away the crumpled up drawing. A couple dozen such crumpled papers surround the wastebasket which is ''completely empty''. Apparently, Hoops isn't much of a basketball player either.
* Comes into play at the beginning of ''[[One Crazy Summer]]''. After we see that "Hoops" is not a very good cartoonist, he plays the trope by throwing away the crumpled up drawing. A couple dozen such crumpled papers surround the wastebasket which is ''completely empty''. Apparently, Hoops isn't much of a basketball player either.
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== Literature ==
== Literature ==


* In the first ''[[Red Dwarf (Literature)|Red Dwarf]]'' novel, Rimmer decides that, if he can get do this first time with a paper towel, this means he will pass his exam. He doesn't. So he decides that if he can do it three times in a row this cancels it out, and not only will he pass his exam, he will have sex with a beautiful woman. He achieves this by standing directly over the bin. [[Dropped a Bridge On Him|And then he gets hit in the face by a nuclear blast.]]
* In the first ''[[Red Dwarf (novel)|Red Dwarf]]'' novel, Rimmer decides that, if he can get do this first time with a paper towel, this means he will pass his exam. He doesn't. So he decides that if he can do it three times in a row this cancels it out, and not only will he pass his exam, he will have sex with a beautiful woman. He achieves this by standing directly over the bin. [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|And then he gets hit in the face by a nuclear blast.]]
* When Susan Sto Helit of ''[[Discworld]]'' does this, she never misses. Sometimes, ''the basket will even move'' to make sure the paper ball goes in.
* When Susan Sto Helit of ''[[Discworld]]'' does this, she never misses. Sometimes, ''the basket will even move'' to make sure the paper ball goes in.
* In the novel ''[[The Man Who Never Missed]]'', the title hero makes his reputation by tranq-darting several ''thousand'' enemy soldiers with a tiny personal firearm, each one with a single perfect shot. In the last scene, after the hero has retired and opened a bar, he makes a paper-ball-and-wastebasket shot - and misses.
* In the novel ''[[The Man Who Never Missed]]'', the title hero makes his reputation by tranq-darting several ''thousand'' enemy soldiers with a tiny personal firearm, each one with a single perfect shot. In the last scene, after the hero has retired and opened a bar, he makes a paper-ball-and-wastebasket shot - and misses.
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** In "My Quarantine", the Janitor loses badly at this, betting ridiculous amounts of money with Dr Kelso.
** In "My Quarantine", the Janitor loses badly at this, betting ridiculous amounts of money with Dr Kelso.
* Interesting take on this in ''[[The West Wing]]'' episode "Faith Based Initiative." A basketball is left on C.J. Cregg's desk as a joke in response to recent internet reports about the skills she had as a high school basketball player (really these are an attempt to call into question her sexuality). C.J. easily sinks the actual basketball into the trash can while sitting behind her desk.
* Interesting take on this in ''[[The West Wing]]'' episode "Faith Based Initiative." A basketball is left on C.J. Cregg's desk as a joke in response to recent internet reports about the skills she had as a high school basketball player (really these are an attempt to call into question her sexuality). C.J. easily sinks the actual basketball into the trash can while sitting behind her desk.
** In "Evidence of Things Not Seen," the staff's poker game devolves into a card-tossing contest after somebody throws away the joker from all the way across the room. (They move into the press briefing room to try aiming for different seats and are in there when someone attempting [[Suicide By Cop]] fires three shots at the window, one of the main plot points of the episode.)
** In "Evidence of Things Not Seen," the staff's poker game devolves into a card-tossing contest after somebody throws away the joker from all the way across the room. (They move into the press briefing room to try aiming for different seats and are in there when someone attempting [[Suicide by Cop]] fires three shots at the window, one of the main plot points of the episode.)
* In ''[[The Office]]'', Michael pits his staff against the warehouse workers in a game of basketball, under the assumption that by having a black man on his team, Stanley, it's a shoe-in. We then see a brief segment of Stanley tossing a ball of paper, completely missing. Kevin, the lazy fat man, on the other hand, does the same thing, and makes it. It's a bit of foreshadowing, as later on Stanley sucks at the real game, and Kevin shoots hoop after hoop once the game is done, never missing a shot.
* In ''[[The Office]]'', Michael pits his staff against the warehouse workers in a game of basketball, under the assumption that by having a black man on his team, Stanley, it's a shoe-in. We then see a brief segment of Stanley tossing a ball of paper, completely missing. Kevin, the lazy fat man, on the other hand, does the same thing, and makes it. It's a bit of foreshadowing, as later on Stanley sucks at the real game, and Kevin shoots hoop after hoop once the game is done, never missing a shot.
* The staff of ''[[Sports Night]]'' often played garbage can basketball on slow news days.
* The staff of ''[[Sports Night]]'' often played garbage can basketball on slow news days.
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== Western Animation ==
== Western Animation ==


* Lois Lane does this in an episode of ''[[Superman the Animated Series]]''. Later in the episode, when she has to get a chunk of kryptonite into a lead cup, [[Chekhov's Skill|it ends up being a useful skill]].
* Lois Lane does this in an episode of ''[[Superman: The Animated Series]]''. Later in the episode, when she has to get a chunk of kryptonite into a lead cup, [[Chekhov's Skill|it ends up being a useful skill]].
* One episode of ''[[The Simpsons (Animation)|The Simpsons]]'' sees a veternarian do this ''with a hamster's corpse''.
* One episode of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' sees a veternarian do this ''with a hamster's corpse''.


== Web Original ==
== Web Original ==
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