History IdiotBall / MythsAndReligion

* In the Myth/HinduMythology epic the Ramayana: Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana all take turns with the IdiotBall after Mareecha turns into a golden deer to lure the heroes from their cottage. Sita, upon seeing the deer, begs her husband Rama to go fetch it, which he happily does... Keep in mind they all have already been accosted by demons before this and deer ''are not gold.'' Lakshmana has the good sense to stay behind and guard Sita until Mareecha screams in Rama's voice to make it sound like he was injured... But he knows that Rama is a [[GodInHumanForm Godly Incarnate]] of Vishnu which makes him practically immortal. He leaves Sita anyway to go investigate, which leads to Sita getting kidnapped by Ravana at the end of the second arch.

* In Literature/TheBible, Delilah asks Samson how to [[BroughtDownToNormal take away]] his SuperStrength. Samson tells her that he can lose his strength if he is bound with new ropes or if his hair is braided, both of which are lies. Delilah tries both of these, and summons Philistines to attack him, [[OneManArmy and fails]]. Then, ''after'' she tries to take away his strength ''twice'' and Philistines showed up to attack him ''both times'', Samson tells her to cut his hair, which works. Memorably pointed out by Creator/OrsonScottCard's character [[Literature/TheTalesOfAlvinMaker Alvin Maker]]. Apparently, his thoughts even the morning after his hair was cut were "Philistines? Time to whip their butts again! Wait, why am I so weak--[[EyeScream OW! MY EYES]]!!"

** And then the *exact* same thing happens to his son Isaac![[note]]In fairness to Isaac, "Hey, did I ever tell you about the two times I almost got your mom raped by the king?" is among the more unlikely things for a father to say to his son.[[/note]]

* In Literature/TheBible, Delilah asks Samson how to [[BroughtDownToNormal take away]] his SuperStrength. Samson tells her that he can lose his strength if he is bound with new ropes or if his hair is braided, both of which are lies. Delilah tries both of these, and summons Philistines to attack him, [[OneManArmy and fails]]. Then, ''after'' she tries to take away his strength ''twice'' and Philistines showed up to attack him ''both times'', Samson tells her to cut his hair, which works. Memorably pointed out by Creator/OrsonScottCard's character [[Literature/TheTalesOfAlvinMaker Alvin Maker]].
** Then again, Samson is established as [[DumbMuscle not the sharpest knife in the drawer]] to begin with. Notice that his thoughts even the morning after his hair was cut were "Philistines? Time to whip their butts again! Wait, why am I so weak... [[EyeScream OW! MY EYES]]!!"

** Abraham is traveling through Egypt with his [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman lovely wife, Sarah]] in tow. He fears that the Egyptians would [[MurderTheHypotenuse kill him and take her away]] because of her beauty. So, what does he do? He stuffs her [[GirlInABox into a box]]. He didn't stop to think that ''maybe, just maybe'' that box would, you know, have to pass through customs. Then when she is discovered, he tells them that [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend she's only his sister]], which results in Sarah being taken into the Pharaoh's harem. The ''real'' icing on the cake? This happens [[AesopAmnesia twice!]]

* In the Myth/HinduMythology epic the Ramayana: Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana all take turns with the IdiotBall after Mareecha turns into a golden to lure the heroes from their cottage. Sita, upon seeing the deer, begs her husband Rama to go fetch it, which he happily does... Keep in mind they all have already been accosted by demons before this and deer ''are not gold.'' Lakshmana has the good sense to stay behind and guard Sita until Mareecha screams in Rama's voice to make it sound like he was injured... But he knows that Rama is a [[GodInHumanForm Godly Incarnate]] of Vishnu which makes him practically immortal. He leaves Sita anyway to go investigate, which leads to Sita getting kidnapped by Ravana at the end of the second arch.

** To be fair to Lakshmana, Sita was pleading with him to go check as well, but should have known better than to give in.

* In the Myth/HinduMythology epic the Ramayana: Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana all take turns with the IdiotBall after Mareecha turns into a golden to lure the heroes from their cottage. Sita, upon seeing the deer, begs her husband Rama to go fetch it, which he happily does... Keep in mind they all have already been accosted by demons before this and deer ''are not gold.'' Lakshmana has the good sense to stay behind and guard Sita until Mareecha screams in Rama's voice to make it sound like he was injured... But he knows that Rama is a [[ GodInHumanForm Godly Incarnate]] of Vishnu which makes him practically immortal. He leaves Sita anyway to go investigate, which leads to Sita getting kidnapped by Ravana at the end of the second arch.

* In the Myth/HinduMythology epic the Ramayana: Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana all take turns with the IdiotBall after Mareecha turns into a golden to lure the heroes from their cottage. Sita, upon seeing the deer, begs her husband Rama to go fetch it, which he happily does... Keep in mind they all have already been accosted by demons before this and deer ''are not gold.'' Lakshmana has the good sense to stay behind and guard Sita until Mareecha screams in Rama's voice to make it sound like he was injured... But he knows that Rama is a Godly Incarnate of Vishnu which makes him practically immortal. He leaves Sita anyway to go investigate, which leads to Sita getting kidnapped by Ravana at the end of the second arch.

* In the Myth/HinduMythology epic the Ramayana, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana all take turns with the IdiotBall after Mareecha, under the orders of the demon king Ravana, turns into a golden to lure the heroes from their cottage. Sita, upon seeing the deer, begs her husband Rama to go fetch it, which he happily does... Keep in mind they all have already been accosted by tricky demons before this and deer ''are not gold.'' Lakshmana has the good sense to stay behind and guard Sita until Mareecha screams in Rama's voice to make it sound like he was injured... But he knows that Rama in a Godly Incarnate of Vishnu and is practically immortal. He leaves Sita to go investigate, which leads to Sita getting kidnapped by Ravana at the end of the second arch of the epic.

* Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana all take turns with the Idiot Ball after Mareecha, under the orders of the demon king Ravana, turns into a golden to lure the heroes from their cottage. Sita, upon seeing the deer, begs her husband Rama to go fetch it, which he happily does... Keep in mind they all have already been accosted by tricky demons before this and deer are ''are not gold.'' Lakshmana has the good sense to stay behind and guard Sita until Mareecha screams in Rama's voice to make it sound like he was injured... But he knows that Rama in a Godly Incarnate of Vishnu and is practically immortal. He leaves Sita to go investigate, which leads to Sita getting kidnapped by Ravana at the end of the second arch of the epic.

*** It's also justified in that in some myths, he's on their side -- before he really goes bad, he's a bastard, but he's ''their'' bastard. He does manage to get back Thor's hammer after it's stolen by giants, for instance.

* Probably not the only case in GreekMythology, but the biggest: Rhea fooled her husband Kronos from devouring little baby Zeus by giving him a stone in diapers. To be fair, she did get him drunk first.

* In NorseMythology, Frigg went on a pilgrimage throughout the world and extracted a promise from ''everything in existence'' that they would not harm her beloved son Balder. The other gods even made a game out of it, putting the amused Balder in the middle of a circle and throwing things at him just to watch the things dodge him. That's not the IdiotBall; that's cute. The IdiotBall shows up when Loki disguises himself as an old woman who manages to get Frigg to explain that she didn't get this promise from one thing - mistletoe, because she deemed it "too young" to be bound to such a vow. He immediately gets mistletoe and tricks Balder's blind brother into throwing it at him, resulting in Balder's death. Frigg, you twit, why would you tell ''anyone'' about that, especially knowing that there's a nasty trickster god running around who's really good at disguises?

** And then the *exact* same thing happens to his son Isaac!

* In Literature/TheBible, Delilah asks Samson how to [[BroughtDownToNormal take away]] his SuperStrength. Samson tells her that he can lose his strength if he is bound with new ropes or if his hair is braided, both of which are lies. Delilah tries both of these, and summons Philistines to attack him, [[OneManArmy and fails]]. Then, ''after'' she tries to take away his strength ''twice'' and Philistines showed up to attack him ''both times'', Samson tells her to cut his hair, which works. Memorably pointed out by Creator/OrsonScottCard's character Alvin Maker.
** Then again, Samson is established as not the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with. Notice that his thoughts even the morning after his hair was cut were "Philistines? Time to whip their butts again! Wait, why am I so weak... [[EyeScream OW! MY EYES]]!!"

** ''Any'' time ''anyone'' listens to Loki immediately gets the IdiotBall. It's somewhat justified in that he's the god of lies and it's in his power to convince people.

* In NorseMythology, Frigg went on a pilgrimage throughout the world and extracted a promise from ''everything in existence'' that they would not harm her beloved son Balder. The other gods even made a game out of it, putting the amused Balder in the middle of a circle and throwing things at him just to watch the things dodge him. That's not the IdiotBall; that's cute. The IdiotBall shows up when Loki disguises himself as an old woman who manages to get Frigg to explain that she didn't get this promise from one thing - mistletoe, because she deemed it "too young" to be bound to such a vow. He immediately gets mistletoe and tricks Balder's blind brother into throwing it at him, resulting in Balder's death. Frigg, you twit, why would you tell ''anyone'' about that, especially knowing that there's a nasty trickster god running around who's really good at disguises?

** Then again, Samson is established as not the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with. Notice that his thoughts even the morning after his hair was cut was "Philistines? Time to whip their butts again! Wait, why am I so weak... [[EyeScream OW! MY EYES]]!!"

* In Literature/TheBible, Delilah asks Samson how to [[BroughtDownToNormal take away]] his SuperStrength. Samson tells her that he can lose his strength if he is bound with new ropes or if his hair is braided, both of which are lies. Delilah tries both of these and fails. Then, ''after'' she tries to take away his strength ''twice'', Samson tells her to cut his hair, which works. Memorably pointed out by OrsonScottCard's character Alvin Maker.
** Then again, Samson is established as not the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with.

* Hey, Eve, don't eat the apple.

** "Orpheus, you vanquished every obstacle in your path and made us weep, you love your girl so much. She can come back to the living world, just don't look back, okay ?" "Derp!"

* In TheBible, Delilah asks Samson how to [[BroughtDownToNormal take away]] his SuperStrength. Samson tells her that he can lose his strength if he is bound with new ropes or if his hair is braided, both of which are lies. Delilah tries both of these and fails. Then, ''after'' she tries to take away his strength ''twice'', Samson tells her to cut his hair, which works. Memorably pointed out by OrsonScottCard's character Alvin Maker.