History Main / ForgotICouldntSwim

* RealLife example from nature; the highly endangered Kakapo. As DouglasAdams described it in his book ''Last Chance To See'' "not only has the Kakapo forgotten how to fly, it has forgotten that it has forgotten how to fly". Despite being completely flightless, they will throw themselves out of trees to try and escape danger. [[hottip:*: Couldn't find the right clip, so here's one [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY shagging a photographer.]]

* In ''SchlockMercenary'', one arc has the titular mercenaries take a job as mall cops. As part of the contract, they have to leave behind all their military grade gear, including armor that can let them fly. When what appeared to be a thief started jumping from balcony to balcony, Captain Tagon jumped from his balcony intending to fly and follow. Only on his way down did he remember that he couldn't fly because he wasn't wearing his suit and promptly crashed into someone's dinner table, taking a fork in the eye for his trouble.

* RealLife example from nature; the highly endangered Kakapo is known as 'the bird that forgot that it forgot how to fly'. Despite being completely flightless, they will throw themselves out of trees to try and escape danger. [[hottip:*: Couldn't find the right clip, so here's one [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY shagging a photographer.]]

* In the anime version of {{Asu no Yoichi}}, the title character was raised in the mountains and never learned to swim, but when a side character falls into the water and is unable to swim because the bad guys are creating waves preventing him from doing so, Yoichi heroically jumps in to save the other. After several moments, he surfaces and splashes about. The original water-bound character is eventually saved by a third character who ''can'' swim (though no one knew that) while Yoichi gets a life preserver tossed to him so he can distract/fight off the opponents.

* In a StarWars one-shot comic, Boba Fett is hired to track down the man who killed a crime lord's son and kill him. Turns out, Boba Fett was the one who killed the boss's son, and the job was a setup to allow his other son to get revenge. After fighting against hordes of scrapyard droids, Fett douses the guy in oil and lights him on fire. Naturally, he runs screaming into a nearby pool to put himself out--remembering immediately afterwards that ''he can't swim''. As he watches him drown, Fett aptly remarks "No smarter than your brother."

[[AC: Children's Literature]]
* In ''[[RodAlbrightAlienAdventures Aliens Stole My Body]]'' by Bruce Coville, the main character has had his brain transferred into the body of an alien. He talks the alien whose body he is sharing into going for a swim, only to realize that's not a good idea when you breathe through your skin...

[[AC: Literature]]
* In AnneOfGreenGables, Anne starts a writer's club. She writes a story in which two women fall in love with the same man, and the man falls in love with one of them. The other woman gets jealous, and eventually pushes her friend off a bridge into a river. The man they were fighting over jumps in to rescue her, but he can't swim, and both of them drown.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* RealLife DarwinAwards example: [[http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2002-19.html This guy.]]
* It's funny when you're on a boat and you pretend like you're about to fall in. It's less funny when you can't actually swim, but do actually fall in. It's downright tragic when two ''other'' people [[TooDumbToLive who can't swim]] [[http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2010/08/four_mean_feared_drowned_in_idaho_reservoir.html jump in to try to save you]].
* RichardPryor mentions this in one of his routines. Whilst playing around with his children in his swimming pool, he accidentally jumped into the deep end and only after he was in the water did he remember that he can't swim.
* RealLife example from nature; the highly endangered Kakapo is known as 'the bird that forgot that it forgot how to fly'. Despite being completely flightless, they will throw themselves out of trees to try and escape danger. [[hottip:*: Couldn't find the right clip, so here's one [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY shagging a photographer.]] ]]

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]
* In ''SchlockMercenary'', one arc has the titular mercenaries take a job as mall cops. As part of the contract, they have to leave behind all their military grade gear, including armor that can let them fly. When what appeared to be a thief started jumping from balcony to balcony, Captain Tagon jumped from his balcony intending to fly and follow. Only on his way down did he remember that he couldn't fly because he wasn't wearing his suit and promptly crashed into someone's dinner table, taking a fork in the eye for his trouble.

* YuGiOhGX has a somewhat comical example as well. Jaden loses a duel against a pirate duelist and is forced to join the latter's crew, only to escape and return to the Academy at the end of the episode. His boat, however, almost doesn't make it, and Syrus dives in to help him, literally forgetting he couldn't swim until Jaden asked him about it.

* In ''DigimonAdventure'' Jou (Joe) saves Takeru (TK) from drowning before going under himself. Thankfully, his actions cause his [[ThePowerOfTrust Crest of Faith (Reliability)]] to glow, evolving Ikkakumon into Zudomon and saving both of them.

* In the MarvelUniverse, the Taskmaster can copy any ability he sees perfectly. When he was little, he used this to perfectly mimic a dive when he was unable to swim and almost drowned as a result.

* In ''Aliens Stole My Body'' by Bruce Coville, the main character has had his brain transferred into the body of an alien. He talks the alien whose body he is sharing into going for a swim, only to realize that's not a good idea when you breathe through your skin...

* In an old ''FantasticFour'' cartoon, when the Fantasticar is shot over the ocean, the Four manage to bail onto an island. Johnny Storm turns into the Human Torch to go recover the submerged car. Think that one through, since clearly he didn't. Bizarrely, this is a ''dramatic'' variant of the trope's use, even though there's no real tension as to whether Johnny will be rescued. [[AnimationAgeGhetto Eh, what're ya gonna do?]]

* In Schlock Mercenary, one arc has the titular mercenaries take a job as mall cops. As part of the contract, they have to leave behind all their military grade gear, including armor that can let them fly. When what appeared to be a thief started jumping from balcony to balcony, Captain Tagon jumped from his balcony intending to fly and follow. Only on his way down did he remember that he couldn't fly because he wasn't wearing his suit and promptly crashed into someone's dinner table, taking a fork in the eye for his trouble.

-->[[http://www.platypuscomix.net/onlyme/rotj.html Original script for]] ''BatmanBeyond: Return of the Joker''

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* In ''GhostTrick'', the protagonist Sissel is told to break into prison and read a certain prisoner's work schedule. Easy task for a ghost. But when the time comes, Sissel remembers he can't read. [[spoiler:It turns out to be a non-issue; the work schedule in question turns out to be completely blank.]]

* In one ''DegrassiJuniorHigh'' plot, one boy makes a bet with the girl swim team that the soccer team can beat them at swimming. He does this in spite of the fact that the ''rest'' of the soccer team clearly has a look on their faces that this is a very, very foolish idea.

* In ''AzumangaDaioh'', in the first volume, Chiyo can "sort of do a doggy-paddle," but that doesn't stop her from jumping in and proceeding to sink. Of course, this happened during ''swim class'' and had many people monitoring her, so teaching her was kind of the point. (She improves as the series progresses; by the time they go to Okinawa, she's been SCUBA diving.)

* In an episode of ''DangerMouse'', WesternAnimation/CountDuckula dives [[ItMakesSenseInContext 500 feet into a glass of water]]. Guess what he says just after he makes the jump?

* In ''{{Dinozaurs}}'', Rena jumps into a hippo and crocodile infested lake in Africa to try to goad her friend into jumping in as well. He jumps in, but only to save her when she nearly drowns.

* In ''DigimonAdventure'' Jou saves Takeru from drowning before going under himself. Thankfully, his actions cause his [[ThePowerOfTrust Crest of Faith]] to glow, evolving Ikkakumon into Zudomon and saving both of them.

-> "I'll just swim around and drink as much as I want! (derisive laugh) (beat) Help! I can't swim!"

-> "Oh no, I just remembered, I can't swim!"

* In an old ''FantasticFour'' cartoon, when the Fantasticar is shot over the ocean, the Four manage to bail onto an island. Johnny Storm turns into the Human Torch to go recover the submerged car. Think that one through, since clearly he didn't. Bizarrely, this is a ''dramatic'' variant of the trope's use, even though there's no real tension as to whether Johnny will be rescued. [[AnimationAgeGhetto Eh, what're ya gonna do]].
* One of the many ridiculous plans to catch the pigeon in ''DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'' was flying a ''diving board plane'' with Dastardly on it so when he was directly above the pigeon, he would dive, catch him, and land on a plane carrying a huge tank of water. Dastardly remarks "OK...but I seem to be forgetting something". Remarkably he actually catches the pigeon only for him to suddenly say "Uh oh! Now I remember! I CAN'T SWIM!", land in the water, let go of the pigeon and once again beg for Muttley to rescue him.
* Varation: ''{{Freakazoid}}'' is using his super-car to distract Longhorn, a redneck minotaur in a super semi-truck. They race all around the country till they get to the ocean, and Freakazoid thinks "let's see him follow me under water!" Longhorn's truck has a scuba mode. The Freakmobile, ''doesn't''. Freakazoid: "That was important and I forgot it!"

* In an episode of DangerMouse, WesternAnimation/CountDuckula dives [[ItMakesSenseInContext 500 feet into a glass of water]]. Guess what he says just after he makes the jump?

* In TheZetaProject, the titular DoAnythingRobot has a wide variety of tools. A means of flight is not among them, which would have been nice to remember ''before'' he jumped out of a skyscraper.

* In ''GhostTrick'', the protagonist Sissel is told to break into prison and read a certain prisoner's work schedule. Easy task for a ghost. But when the time comes, Sissel remebers he can't read.

* In an episode of DangerMouse, CountDuckula dives [[ItMakesSenseInContext 500 feet into a glass of water]]. Guess what he says just after he makes the jump?

[[redirect:{{ptitlesi1n36pj}}]]