History Main / BlindShoulderToss

Where a character is given or is holding an item, considers it for a second and then dismisses it as worthless, unimportant, or irrelevant and subsequently rids themselves of it, frequently by tossing it over their shoulder without a glance. Sometimes results in item breaking or secondary character chasing after it as it may actually be important. Sometimes is a part that was broken off of something else, and is accompanied by an 'Oh, well' or 'Whatever.' Can be played for humor if discarded item unintentionally hits something. If it's a disguised explosive, expect it to detonate on impact.

While this does happen in Real Life, sometimes purposely like a BouquetToss, most people will simply put or hand an item back. If they do toss it, it usually isn't over the shoulder (a blind-spot). If it's actual garbage, might be used as a WastebasketBall. May come back later as a BrickJoke. Compare and contrast BillBillJunkBill.

* In the comic continuation of {{Gargoyles}}, Broadway disarmed the club wielding clone Burbank. He then blindly tossed the club over his shoulder, to knock out the clone known as Malibu.

[[AC:Live-Action Television]]

* Appears as a running gag in ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget''. At the beginning of each episode, Chief Quimby would give the titular character a mission briefing written on [[ThisPageWillSelfDestruct self destructing paper]]. After reading it, Gadget would invariably crumple it up and obliviously throw it over his shoulder on his way out, where it would blow up in Quimby's face.

* During a filmed ''Wrestling/{{WWE}}'' promo, CurtHennig in his "Mr. Perfect" character throws a basketball behind his back and gets nothing but net.

[[AC:ProfessionalWrestling[=/=]{{WWE}}]]
* During a filmed promo, CurtHennig in his "Mr. Perfect" character throws a basketball behind his back and gets nothing but net.

[[AC:ProfessionalWrestling/{{WWE}}]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* ''{{Garfield}}'' does this with a flower after sniffing it in [[http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/1995/ga950625.gif this]] strip. A bee nearby him gets offended at this, so he grabs the flower, flies to Garfield, and hits him with it.
* In an ''ArchieComics'', Jughead refuses to be superstitious on Friday the 13th. After bad luck following each attempt to disprove the notion, he finds a horseshoe, scoffs at the idea it's lucky, and casually throws it away. It hits a passing driver in the head -- who turns out to be tall, muscled, and none too pleased.
* In one Disney comic, a superstitious Donald Duck [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spilling_salt spills a salt shaker and declares it's bad luck, unless you toss some above your shoulder.]] He promptly does so, only for the salt to land in someone's ice cream. Cue angry customer.
* In the comic continuation of {{Gargoyles}}, Broadway disarmed the club wielding clone Burbank. He then blindly tossed the club over his shoulder, to knock out the clone known as Malibu.

[[AC:WebComics]]
* ''{{Goblins}}'': Minmax does this when he discovers the Any Mug in the poorly locked chest, declaring the mug "lame," and hitting Forgath in the helmet. It's not until a later scene that they realize the mug is a magical item.

[[AC:Anime/Manga]]
* This is how Usagi initially meets Mamoru in ''Manga/SailorMoon''--she crumples up and tosses away a bad test paper, and hits him.
* In one episode of ''GreatTeacherOnizuka'', Urumi throws an empty bottle over her shoulder; it hits a Yakuza boss on the head.
* Done in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' by Iris, with an oversized Basculin. She had grabbed it out of a river with her bare hands during a fishing contest after getting bored with fishing the normal way, and threw it back after she was told she had broken the rules.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Characters in ''{{Scribblenauts}}'' do this with items they don't want.
* In ''[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]] Adventure Battle 2'', If you try giving a Chao fruit and they don't finish it, they toss it away.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', no sooner have you gotten the three {{Plot Coupon}}s than the apparent BigBad Zant shows up, takes them, looks at them for a moment, and then tosses them away in disdain, leaving you to find four more {{Plot Coupon}}s to find him again.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Discord creates a glass of chocolate milk. He then ''drinks the glass,'' leaving the milk behind suspended in air. He then casually tosses it behind him. The milk ''explodes.''
* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'', Jack Spicer opens a [[SealedEvilInACan puzzle box]] containing "A mask? Lame." and tosses them behind him.
* ''TheSimpsons'', "Two Bad Neighbors"
-->'''Homer''': Good old Evergreen Terrace: the swankiest street in the classiest part of Pressboard Estates.
-->'''Bart''': Well if you love it so much, why are you always littering?
-->'''Homer''': ''[finishing a canned drink''] It's easier, duh. ''[tosses can on ground]''
* In an episode of ''DogCity'', Ace bought a newspaper, read the headline, then disgustedly wadded the paper and tossed it over his shoulder. [[FridgeLogic Makes you wonder why he bothered wasting a quarter]]....
* In the first season ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Mecha-Streisand", Cartman tosses aside a triangle that he digs up on a school excavation trip. Said triangle turns out to be an ancient artifact.
* Appears as a running gag in ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget''. At the beginning of each episode, Chief Quimby would give the titular character a mission briefing written on [[ThisPageWillSelfDestruct self destructing paper]]. After reading it, Gadget would invariably crumple it up and obliviously throw it over his shoulder on his way out, where it would blow up in Quimby's face.

[[AC:Wrestling/{{WWE}}]]
* During a filmed promo, CurtHennig in his "Mr. Perfect" character throws a basketball behind his back and gets nothing but net.

* Done in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' by Iris, with as oversized Basculin. She had grabbed it out of a river with her bare hands during a fishing contest after getting bored with fishing the normal way, and threw it back after she was told she had broken the rules.

* In the 2008 ''Film/IronMan'', after Tony is captured, he pulls apart a war head for .13 grams of an element, tossing the rest of it behind him with a comment of "Don't need that."

* In the comic continuation of {{Gargoyles}}, Broadway disarmed the club wielding clone Burbank. He then blindly tossed the club over his shoulder, to knock out the clone known as Malibu.

* ''{{Goblins}}'': Minmax does this when he discovers the Any Mug in the poorly locked chest, declaring the mug "lame," and hitting Forgath in the helmet. Its not until a later scene that they realize the mug is magical item.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', no sooner have you gotten the three {{Plot Coupon}}s than the apparent BigBad, Zant, shows up, takes them, looks at them for a moment and then tosses them away in disdain, leaving you to find four more {{Plot Coupon}}s to find him again.

* The Swedish Chef from ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' tosses food over his shoulder almost every time he appears.

* Appears in running gag in ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget''. At the beginning of each episode, Chief Quimby would give the titular character a mission briefing written on a [[ThisPageWillSelfDestruct self destructing paper]]. Invariably, after reading it Gadget would crumple it up and obliviously throw it over his shoulder on his way out, where it would blow up in Chief Quimby's face.

Where a character is given or is holding an item, considers it for a second and then dismisses it as worthless, unimportant, or irrelevant and rid's themselves of it, frequently by tossing it over their shoulder. Sometimes results in item breaking or secondary character chasing after it as it may actually be important. Sometimes is a part that was broken off of something else, and is accompanied by an 'Oh, well' or 'Whatever.' Can be played for humor if discarded item unintentionally hits something. If it's an disguised explosive, expect it to detonate on impact.

* In ''StarTrekGenerations'', after [[spoiler:the Enterprise-D crash-landed]], Picard is seen in his ready room looking for his photo album, and he picks up a ceramic object, casually putting it back down in a dismissive manner. It was his [[PricelessMingVase priceless]] [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Kurlan_naiskos Kurlan naiskos]] from the show, used here as a random prop. Notable from the {{RedLetterMedia}} review, including dubbing a glass shatter over the discard.

* In ''StarTrekGenerations'', after the Enterprise-D crash-landed, Picard is seen in his ready room looking for his photo album, and he picks up a ceramic object, casually putting it back down in a dismissive manner. It was his [[PricelessMingVase priceless Curlin Nascar artifact]] from the show, used here as a random prop. Notable from the {{RedLetterMedia}} review, including dubbing a glass shatter over the discard.

* In ''StarTrekGenerations'', after the Enterprise-B crash-landed, Picard is seen in his ready room looking for his photo album, and he picks up a ceramic object, casually putting it back down in a dismissive manner. It was his [[PricelessMingVase priceless Curlin Nascar artifact]] from the show, used here as a random prop. Notable from the {{RedLetterMedia}} review, including dubbing a glass shatter over the discard.

* This often occures in ''TheThreeStooges'', whatever was being tossed aside would end up hitting Moe and giving him a reason to DopeSlap someone.

While this does happen in Real Life, sometimes purposely like a BouquetToss, most people will simply put or hand an item back. If they do toss it, it usually isn't over the shoulder (a blind-spot). If it's actual garbage, might be used as a WastebasketBall. May come back later as a BrickJoke.

Where a character is given or is holding an item, considers it for a second and then dismisses it as worthless, unimportant, or irrelevant and rid's themselves of it, frequently by tossing it over their shoulder. Sometimes results in item breaking or secondary character chasing after it as it may actually be important. Sometimes is a part that was broken off of something else, and is accompanied by an 'Oh, well' or 'Whatever.' Can be played for humor if discarded item unintentionally hits something. If it's an disguised explosive, expect it to detonate on impact.

Item may just not be what a character is looking for, especially if sought item is thought to be buried in a closet or other clothing storage place. Expect something similar to a toned-down RansackedRoom but is usually done by a forgetful owner who can't remember where they hid something.

Often used to show an impatient or careless character trait.

[[AC:Film]]
* In the 2008 ''Film/IronMan'', after Tony is captured, he pulls apart a war head for .13 grams of an element, tossing the rest of it behind him with a comment of "Don't need that."
* While ''{{WesternAnimation/Wall-E}}'' is looking for treasure, he comes across a diamond ring in a hinged box. However, after pulling the ring out of the box, he tosses the ''ring'' over his shoulder, being fascinated with the box.
* ''TheEmperorsNewGroove'': At the end of Kuzco's funeral, all the "mourners" casually toss the candles they were holding behind them and go back to work, clearly not distraught in the least.
* ''Film/ThreeAmigos''. When the title characters are riding through the desert, Lucky Day and Ned Nederlander run out of water. Dusty Bottoms [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJmesqycoQU#t=3m11s takes a drink from his canteen and casually tosses it away]] ''even though it's still full of water'', to the stunned disbelief of Lucky and Ned.
* In the film adaptation of ''ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'', Scott buys an item from the internet for the sole purpose of talking to Ramona. When she delivers it, he casually tosses it into the trashcan behind him without looking. Notable because no special effects were involved: Michael Cera had to do about 40 some odd takes in order to get the package to land exactly in the trash can.
* In ''DumbAndDumber'', Lloyd tells Harry that, in order to get rid of bad luck, he should toss some salt over his left shoulder. Harry, without a thought, tosses an entire salt ''shaker'' [[YourOtherLeft over his right shoulder]]. This, of course, beans "Sea Bass", a very large and angry gentlemen.
* In the remake of ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', Mr. Salt hands Wonka a business card, which Wonka promptly whips over his shoulder without even a glance at it.
* In ''PoliceAcademy'', an apple core thrown over the shoulder hits a gangbanger and starts a chain reaction that results in huge riots.
* The 1960 Disney version of ''{{Swiss Family Robinson}}'', Francis tosses a lit-up coconut bomb at the pirates, where the pirate captain grabs hold of it looks at it for a second, then tosses it away. It hits another pirate on the head, and explodes.

[[AC:Comics]]
* ''{{Garfield}}'' does this with a flower after sniffing it in [[http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/1995/ga950625.gif this]] strip. A bee nearby him gets offended at this, so he grabs the flower, flies to Garfield, and hits him with it.
* In an ''ArchieComics'', Jughead refuses to be superstitious on Friday the 13th. After bad luck following each attempt to disprove the notion, he finds a horseshoe, scoffs at the idea it's lucky, and casually throws it away. It hits a passing driver in the head -- who turns out to be tall, muscled, and none too pleased.

[[AC:WebComics]]
* ''{{Goblins}}'': Minmax does this when he discovers the Any Mug in the poorly locked chest, declaring the mug "lame," and hitting Forgath in the helmet. Its not until a later scene that they realize the mug is magical item.

[[AC:Anime/Manga]]
* This is how Usagi initially meets Mamoru in ''SailorMoon''--she crumples up and tosses away a bad test paper, and hits him.
* In one episode of ''GreatTeacherOnizuka'', Urumi throws an empty bottle over her shoulder; it hits a Yakuza boss on the head.
* Done in ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' by Iris, with as oversized Basculin. She had grabbed it out of a river with her bare hands during a fishing contest after getting bored with fishing the normal way, and threw it back after she was told she had broken the rules.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Characters in ''{{Scribblenauts}}'' do this with items they don't want.
* In ''[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]] Adventure Battle 2'', If you try giving a Chao fruit and they don't finish it, they toss it away.

[[AC:Live-Action Television]]
* In the ''DoctorWho'' episode "Dalek" the Ninth Doctor tosses away items in this fashion while looking for a weapon to fight the Dalek with "[[BillBillJunkBill Broken, broken, hairdryer, broken]]...".
* During a ''MythBusters'' build-off, [[NeatFreak Jamie]] pulled the outer shell off a radio and tossed it over his shoulder.
* This often occures in ''TheThreeStooges'', whatever was being tossed aside would end up hitting Moe and giving him a reason to DopeSlap someone.
* Happens all the time in ''BlackBooks''. That's probably why the bookshop is such a mess.
* The Swedish Chef from ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' tosses food over his shoulder almost every time he appears.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Discord creates a glass of chocolate milk. He then ''drinks the glass,'' leaving the milk behind suspended in air. He then casually tosses it behind him. The milk ''explodes.''
* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'', Jack Spicer opens a [[SealedEvilInACan puzzle box]] containing "A mask? Lame." and tosses them behind him.
* ''TheSimpsons'', "Two Bad Neighbors"
-->'''Homer''': Good old Evergreen Terrace: the swankiest street in the classiest part of Pressboard Estates.
-->'''Bart''': Well if you love it so much, why are you always littering?
-->'''Homer''': ''[finishing a canned drink''] It's easier, duh. ''[tosses can on ground]''
* In an episode of ''DogCity'', Ace bought a newspaper, read the headline, then disgustedly wadded the paper and tossed it over his shoulder. [[FridgeLogic Makes you wonder why he bothered wasting a quarter]]....
* In the first season ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Mecha-Streisand", Cartman tosses aside a triangle that he digs up on a school excavation trip. Said triangle turns out to be an ancient artifact.

[[AC:{{TabletopGames}}]]
* ''Tabletopgame/MagicTheGathering'': [[http://magiccards.info/m13/en/146.html Rummaging Goblin]] is seen tossing a book over his shoulder.

[[AC:{{WWE}}]]

* Done in ''{{Anime/PokemonBestWishes}}'' by Iris, with as oversized Basculin. She had grabbed it out of a river with her bare hands during a fishing contest after getting bored with fishing the normal way, and threw it back after she was told she had broken the rules.

* Done in ''{{Anime/PokemonBlackAndWhite}}'' by Iris, with as oversized Basculin. She had grabbed it out of a river with her bare hands during a fishing contest after getting bored with fishing the normal way, and threw it back after she was told she had broken the rules.

* While ''[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Wall-E Wall-E]]'' is looking for treasure, he comes across a diamond ring in a hinged box. However, after pulling the ring out of the box, he tosses the ''ring'' over his shoulder, being fascinated with the box.

While this does happen in Real Life, sometimes purposely like a BouquetToss, most people will simply put or hand an item back. If they do toss it, it usually isn't over the shoulder (a blind-spot). If it's actual garbage, might be used as a WastebasketBall. May come back later as a BrickJoke.

* ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Discord creates a glass of chocolate milk. He then ''drinks the glass,'' leaving the milk behind suspended in air. He then casually tosses it behind him. The milk ''explodes.''