History Main / GeniusBonus

* At the 2014 Paris Motor Show, Lamborghini released the Asterion [=LPI910-4=] hybrid concept car. "Asterion" happens to be the name of another hybrid -- [[ALoadOfBull the Minotaur of Greek legend]]. In addition, Lamborghini's emblem is a charging bull, and many of its models names are related to bulls and bullfighting.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Dennis Miller has spoken of liking to say things like "the Middle East situation is less stable than Creator/CrispinGlover", knowing that few of his listeners will have seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dYjdKbMT_c Glover nearly kick Letterman in the head]], but that the few who have are saying, "Thank you for making that joke".
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJUgu9qr8wI This clip]] features [[Series/TheKidsInTheHall Dave Foley]] delivering a monologue, in which he claims that the average temperature in Canada is 275 degrees below zero, which he quickly qualifies with, "But that's in ''Celsius.''" High school physics students are duly impressed. [[labelnote: note]]They shouldn't be. That's ''below'' absolute zero. 273.15 below is absolute zero in Celsius.[[/labelnote]]

* Brazilian comic book ''ComicBook/MonicasGang'' has [[StayInTheKitchen Chauvinist]] as a character's pet pig name
* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' by Alan Moore. Just try to catch all the references in it to Victorian literature, politics, and events.
* Moore's ''ComicBook/VForVendetta''. Nearly every other sentence V utters is a quote from some famous writer. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] near the end.
* Although the ComicBook/{{Batman}} graphic novel ''Comicbook/ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth'' by Creator/GrantMorrison can be enjoyed as a psychological horror story with drool-worthy art, readers with a knowledge of [[UsefulNotes/CarlJung Jungian psychology]] and symbolism (or who own a copy of the fifteenth anniversary edition with Morrison's annotated script) will get much more out of it.
* As a FantasyKitchenSink series, ''ComicBook/{{Finder}}'' is overflowing with obscure and unusual references. The author wisely chooses to weave most of them into the background and leave the most complex and unwieldy connections in the (substantial) footnotes.

* In ''Comicbook/KnightAndSquire'' #3, Britain is under threat from the Bad Kings of England, superpowered clones of the originals. Each of them attempts to conquer a different area of the country; Edward I takes the north, and his superpower is a massive energy-mallet. If you know the ''real'' Edward was called the "Hammer of the Scots"...

* You sure have to have read a lot to catch all the mythological and literary references in ''ComicBook/TheSandman''. Just to throw in a few:
** ''World's End'' has many parallels with ''Literature/TheDecameron''.
** Creator/WilliamShakespeare plays a significant secondary role during the whole series. Bonus points if you are familiar with the relevance of ''Theatre/TheTempest'' in Shakespearean studies.
** Lucifer quotes Satan from Literature/ParadiseLost and immediately claims having borrowed the quote from Milton.
** There are characters a-plenty from different traditions: Morpheus, Orpheus, Calliope (Myth/GreekMythology); Odin, Loki (Myth/NorseMythology); God, Lucifer, Azazel (Christianity); Ra, Bastet (Myth/EgyptianMythology); the Three (found in multiple traditions as the embodiment of femininity); and many, many more.
** Why and how does abusing a woman named Calliope make you a bestselling author? If you're familiar with the concept of [[TheMuse Muses,]] you will get it: not everyone is, nowadays.
** TheFairFolk sent to parlay with Morpheus in ''Season of Mists'' say that they want an end to the tithe they've been paying to Hell. If you're familiar with the 400-year-old Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} "Literature/TamLin", this will make perfect sense. If not, well...

* This was actually made part of the story for an issue of ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan''. The Wizard challenged the Human Torch to a contest wherein he'd leave clues for where his next crime was going to occur, if the Torch figured out the clues, he'd be able to stop him. The Wizard used science-related clues that he figured would stump the Torch, but Spider-Man teamed up with Johnny and his heavy science background enabled him to figure out the clues easily. This infuriated the Wizard, since he considered Spider-Man helping Johnny to be cheating.
* In the first issue of ''ComicBook/SevenSoldiers: The Shining Knight'', all the stuff about KingArthur plundering the realm of the Sheeda with three ships, and only seven men returning, but they did get the Cauldron of Rebirth out of it? Straight from the less-well-known Arthurian epic ''The Spoils of Annwn'', supposedly by Taliesin. "Revolving Castle" is one of many possible translations of the Welsh ''Caer Sidi''; others being "Castle of the Mound" and "Castle of the Zodiac".
* ComicBook/{{Asterix}}: Numerous references to antiquity and Latin language that only history buffs and Latinists will understand. Little jokes referencing French literature and linguistic brain-twisters are also thrown in.
** In ''Caesar's Gift'', Asterix has a sword fight against a Roman with a large red drunkard's nose and quotes lines that are directly lifted from ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'', in which the protagonist also has a GagNose. This clever joke loses somewhat of its power in the English translation, where Asterix quotes ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' instead.
** Everything the crippled pirate in ''Asterix'' says is untranslated Latin, but always fits the situation.
** The entire battle between the Belgians and Caesar in ''Recap/AsterixInBelgium'' is accompanied by text on scrolls which is a linguistic spoof of Creator/VictorHugo's ''Les Châtiments'', a poem written about the Battle of Waterloo. A double joke in the sense that Caesar, too, loses the battle and that Waterloo is located in Belgium.
** Towards the end of ''Asterix and Cleopatra'', Cleopatra swears by "Ammon and Helios", Helios being the Greek god of the sun. Cleopatra and her family were Greek and worshipped Greek gods.

* The original [[Comicbook/SquadronSupreme Squadron Sinister]] version of Hyperion, one of Creator/MarvelComics' {{Superman Substitute}}s, believed his real alien name was Zhib-Ran. This is a StealthPun on "[[Comicbook/{{Superman}} Kal-El]]" by way of the early 20th century writer Kahlil Gibran.

* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' author Bill Amend sometimes put challenging math puzzles in his strips, where only the genius or patient would try to solve them. The rest just scratch their heads. Amend also has a real-life degree in physics, so all of the formulas in the series are perfectly accurate.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Frazz}}'' has one in [[http://i.imgur.com/muJoZ.gif this strip]] for climatologists. See SnowMeansCold for details.
* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' was full of these, becoming very popular with scientists as a result.

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes,'' beginning with the names of the two main characters referencing philosophers John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes.

* ''Podcast/OnTheThreshold'': Victorian physician Dr. Powell makes passing references in his journal to treating his female patients with "pelvic massages", in one case until they "achieved a satisfying paroxysm, for which she and her husband were, as always, most grateful." This refers to actual Victorian medical treatments in which physicians would essentially give women handjobs.

* In the ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'' epsiode "Stage Fright", the action centers around the "Taft-Hartley Theater" where a SchoolPlay is to be held. In professional acting circles (including radio), being "Taft-Hartleyed" refers to [[UsefulNotes/UnionsInHollywood a non-union actor]] being allowed to take ''one'' role in a union-signatory production without joining SAG-AFTRA (incidentally, being Taft-Hartleyed is often the first step to joining said union). Incidentally, ''Adventures in Odyssey'' is a union production.

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': The effect of Last Chapter of the Noble Knights actually works as an elaborate Mythology Gag when taken in tandem with Bedwyr's lore article. The art clearly depicts Bedwyr returning Excaliburn to the lake, and a knight with a red sword about to strike Bedwyr down, thus a knight and arms are lost. But the card returns a Knight and Arms to the field. Why is the dissonance? Bedwyr's lore article describes these events from Merlin's perspective, and Merlin sees time in reverse. The effect is reversed from the events because that's how Merlin sees it.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', the Puyallup Barrens in the Seattle metropolitan area has an abandoned shopping mall called the Crime Mall, which is currently used as a front for many black market dealers. Now consider that the real life town that the Barrens is based on is named after a Native American tribe whose term literally means "the generous people" in their dialect. Given the location of the Crime Mall in that particular town, the name couldn't be any more coincidentally accurate.
* Some pairs of black and white cards in ''TabletopGame/CardsAgainstHumanity'' are made for each other specifically, such as ''Things White People Like'' and ''The 3/5ths Compromise.''
* The ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' Bestiaries are gold mines for people familiar with mythical monsters. Most people will recognize the classical monsters pulled from Myth/{{Classical|Mythology}}, Myth/{{Egyptian|Mythology}}, and Myth/NorseMythology. A lesser, but still significant, number of people will recognize the single popular monsters from certain mythologies, like the Algonquian {{Wendigo}}, the Orcadian Nuckelavee, and various {{Yokai}}. But only very dedicated or specialized mythological scholars will be able to identify all the lesser known monsters right off the bat, which draw from Taíno, Mesopotamian, Persian, Aztec, Inuit, Ojibwe, Chinese, French, Aboriginal Australian, and Bagandan folklore and myth, among many others.

* In ''Theatre/{{Evita}}'', the musical based on the life of Argentine First Lady Eva Perón, mourners at Eva's state funeral sing a Latin chant based on the real-life Roman Catholic prayer, the Salve Regina. The original prayer references the [[Literature/TheBible Biblical Eve]], known in Latin as Eva, meaning that the chant can be read as a prayer to Eva Perón herself.
* At the very end of ''Theatre/{{Urinetown}}'', the Narrator, Officer Lockstock, concludes the tale of [[spoiler:the eventual decay and collapse of the town's society when people are allowed to use water without restraint]] by shouting "''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_catastrophe Hail Malthus!]]''" This is a reference to a Malthusian Catastrophe, which is ''exactly'' what Urinetown illustrates.
* In ''Irma Vep'', stage directions indicate that the innocent-young-girl character is to play a few bars of "The Last Rose of Summer" on the dulcimer. Although "The Last Rose of Summer" is perfect for this gothicky play, being a sentimental Victorian song that's [[http://www.potw.org/archive/potw105.html really pretty morbid]], few people in the audience will know the words, even if the tune sounds vaguely familiar to them.
* In ''Theatre/NoisesOff'', Lloyd the director mentions in the second act that another play he is directing is having many problems, including the actor playing Richard III suffering a back injury. This becomes funnier when you remember that Richard III the character has back problems, too.

* The former [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal's]] ''Ride/BackToTheFutureTheRide'': When Doc Brown goes back in time and meets Albert Einstein, he doesn't look ecstatic or happy like the other scientists that the Doc saw. During the press shoot, there is a man standing next to Einstein; that man is Oppenheimer. The press shot that Doc went to was about the atomic bomb during/after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII!

* Webcomic/ThePropertyOfHate does this every so often. One of the characters, Melody speaks entirely in musical notes. Another character, Dial has an old microphone for a head.
* ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'' does this a lot. DM Maus tends to explain the references for those who don't get them in TheRant, though. Even then, they can be a bit brain-breaking and tough to understand. In [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2339.html this one]] he goes UpToEleven by explaining the [[MindScrew Banach-Tarski theorem]] and ''making it make sense.''
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' does [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2010-04-20 a cool arc]] where the villains use command injection to force a CCTV system to sleep for ten minutes. When a QR code is held up to a security camera, the system reads the commands contained in the code and executes them because the administrators never changed the system's admin username and password from their defaults. The QR code in question is displayed to the reader, so what happens when you use your smartphone's bar code scanner to read the QR code the character is holding up? Your phone returns the following data:
** UID='ADMIN'
** PASS='DEFAULT'
** CMD='sleep, 600sec, noprompt, [[Literature/{{Illuminatus}} fnord]]'
* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' makes some obscure references without stopping to explain: Though Reynardine's character is more based on Reynard the Fox, his first meeting with Antimony references the seduction from the [[Literature/ChildBallads English folk song]] "Reynardine". Similarly, Winsbury and Janet's secret relationship is a reference to the song "Willie O'Winsbury". The [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=121 First Treatise]] copies poses and Latin from the ''Mutus Liber'', a 17th-century Hugenot [[EsotericMotifs alchemy text]]. And Chapter 17 references Medieval German master swordsman Johann Liechtenauer.
** Tom Siddell seems to be particularly fond of song references. Mr. Eglamore's name contains yet [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgidfxhVAFU another one]].
* As it is befitting of the title, several ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' strips offer incredibly obscure references, a selection:
** A flirtatious Jäger referring to a waitress as his little nokedli (it's a type of dumpling).
** More a "Wisconsinite" bonus but when Agatha was listing [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031013 Othar's supposed exploits]] she included "Savior of the town of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Horeb,_Wisconsin Mt. Horeb]] from the rain of Mustard."
** Brillat-Savarin, mentioned [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070119 here]], was a famous gastronomist and essayist -- just the sort that a minor spark would crow about outwitting.
** Spot the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etaoin_shrdlu typography Easter egg]] in the Geisterspeak on this [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060104 page.]]
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20160212 "If you analyze these vellum pages really thoroughly you get instructions on how to build a cow."]] The "instructions" in question are a sequence of the letters A, C, G and U... genetic code (specifically, RNA). And vellum is parchment made from calf skin...
* ''Webcomic/ListeningTo11975Mhz'', if you understand every obscure literary, mathematical, and radio reference, you ''need to get out more often''.
* As a comic that bounces around between physics, psychology, math, philosophy, and general geekery jokes, you need to be fairly cosmopolitan in your background to enjoy ''Webcomic/DresdenCodak''. It's worth it though. The author mentions at one point that the comic probably wouldn't work in another medium, because only on the web do readers have near-instantaneous access to obscure information.
* The entire cast (and most of the dead bodies) in ''Webcomic/WeaponBrown'' comes from various syndicated comic strips. Identifying all of them and picking up all the references and in-jokes would take someone who's a talking encyclopedia of the hundred year history of comic strips.

* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' is loaded with these, to the extent that some have called it a series of obscure references that occasionally involve jokes, rather than the other way around.

%%* ''Webcomic/NoBlackPlume'' does this from time to time.

* ''Webcomic/ThePackrat'' already expects [[ViewersAreGeniuses the reader to be a synth geek]], but still, spotting the many unmentioned but accurately drawn synthesizers and other electronic devices is a nice bonus.

* ''Webcomic/ChasingTheSunset'' plays with this a lot. In [[http://www.fantasycomic.com/index.php?p=c533 one notable instance]] a broken automaton lets out a stream of plusses and other symbols which, when compiled with a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainfuck brainf*ck]] compiler (it's a programming language), spells out "beep".

* Spinnerette nails it with the engineering crowd by one super hero claiming to fly via the [[https://www.spinnyverse.com/comic/10-08-2012 'Left Hand Rule'.]]
* Ursula Vernon, author of ''Webcomic/{{Digger}}'', has a degree in antropology and an interest in the more obscure mythologies (South American, Balkian). This shows up frequently in her works.
* One of the "About" pages for ''[[Webcomic/{{Mezzacotta}} Comments on a Postcard]]'' reads "According to an analysis of your IP address, you access this site from a computer located in the Langerhans Islets. In accordance with Langerhans Islets pornography laws, individual pictures will not be displayed." The Islets of Langerhans are groups of hormone-secreting cells in the pancreas.

* When ''[[{{Webcomic/Morphe}} morphE]]'' isn't overtly explaining the game mechanics of TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening, it is using spells and information from the source books without any extra focus or attention. Readers with a knowledge of the source books will pick up on these bread crumbs and hints to ongoing mysteries through their understanding of the universe. The rest of the audience are left to discover these facts with the main characters.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Tiamat, the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' goddess of evil dragons, is part of the Western Pantheon. The Western Pantheon is based on the gods of ancient Babylon, which is where the name Tiamat (although nothing else about her, as Babylonian Tiamat was a sea goddess) came from.

-->'''aqulia2sax:''' ''The analogy with language acquisition is this: The language center is a thinking part of the brain, that is located in the subconscious, its thinking processes hidden away from conscious awareness. Thus, it bears some resemblance to Kungfu Panda's budding kungfu skills, which lurked beneath his awareness.''
* For ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'', the character designs of the soldiers of the town militia are based on the styles of several famous Spanish painters, the most surreal-looking characters being based on Picasso and Dali.
* ''WesternAnimation/HortonHearsAWho'': It's pretty well-known that Creator/JimCarrey likes to insert little impressions in all of his movies. In this kids' movie, as he (who's voicing the titular character) is being chased by the Wickersham Brothers, he randomly does an impersonation of... Henry Kissinger, of all people.

* ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' has a StealthPun in the title that requires knowledge of Latin to understand. Nemo is Latin for "no one", so the title means "Finding No One". It's also a ShoutOut to [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]], whose name was itself a genius bonus; Nemo is the Latin equivalent of the Greek Outis, which is the name Odysseus used when blinding the cyclops Polyphemus in ''Literature/TheOdyssey''.
* ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'': While the Drawfs forcibly wash Grumpy, they put a ring of flowers on his head and Sneezy comments that he smells like a petunia. In botany, petunias symbolize anger and resentment, which explains Grumpy's MeaningfulName.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'', the side of the titular island on which its indigenous predators live bears several signs warning passerby of "foosa". Since that's how the word is pronounced and it's [[SeldomSeenSpecies an incredibly obscure species]], very few people are likely to catch the joke that "fossa" has been misspelled.
* Hook Hand, the leader of the pub thugs in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', dreams of becoming a concert pianist, despite missing a hand. One-handed concert pianists are in fact [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Classical_pianists_who_played_with_one_arm not entirely unheard of.]]
* BigBad Shan Yu from ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' is pretty much the only character in the entire movie to never even care that the titular Mulan is a woman, only remarking "the ''soldier'' from the mountains!" when he comes face-to-face with her during the FinalBattle. Anyone familiar with the history of China and the Huns will know this is because Mongolian women had a much higher social standing than anywhere else in Asia (Genghis Khan's daughters were even army combat Generals). The significance of Mulan being a woman is completely lost on him and she really is just a soldier like anyone else as far as he's concerned.

* BigBad Shan Yu from ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' is pretty much the only character in the entire movie to never even care that the titular Mulan is a woman, only remarking "the ''soldier'' from the mountains!" when he comes face-to-face with her during the FinalBattle. Anyone familiar with the history of China and the Huns will know this is because Mongolian women had a much higher social standing in Asia than anywhere else (Genghis Khan's daughters were even army combat Generals). The significance of Mulan being a woman is completely lost on him and she really is just a soldier like anyone else as far as he's concerned.

** The biology bonuses. While Hussie is a bit [[ArtMajorBiology artistic]] with the trolls, the fact that the handle abbreviations are genetic code pairs (GCAT), and the fact that [[spoiler:Bslick's "cancer" is caused by an error in his genetic code]] are completely sound. Especially if you consider that [[spoiler:the "cancer" was caused by Karkat, whose chum handle (carcinoGeneticist) practically means "creator of Cancer". He's also the Cancer troll, and John changed his handle from valid genetics to "EB", (a [[FridgeBrilliance mutation]]) after Karkat messed with Jade, who brought it up, causing John to decide to change his handle. And his WeaponOfChoice is a sickle- this initially appears to just be because it resembles a crab's claw, until we find out Karkat is a mutant himself, with the only other troll sharing his blood color being his ancestor. Let's see, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle-cell_disease sickles and genetic blood disorders caused by a mutation]]...]]

** The titular White Mare's gradually shrinking crown of ice invokes both the snowdrop flower shedding its petals as Spring nears and an old nomad tradition of dedicating masks with antlers to sacred dead horses.

* In ''Knight & Squire'' #3, Britain is under threat from the Bad Kings of England, superpowered clones of the originals. Each of them attempts to conquer a different area of the country; Edward I takes the north, and his superpower is a massive energy-mallet. If you know the ''real'' Edward was called the "Hammer of the Scots"...

Genius Bonuses are most often seen in series with a DirectDemographic, especially NewMedia, as they can expect their audiences to be sufficiently focused that most of them will recognize an in-joke.

* One has to have extensive knowledge of pop culture trivia to get all the references in ''FanFic/TheStoryToEndAllStories''.

* In ''Theatre/{{Company}}'', [[LadyDrunk Joanne]] says that smoking is the best, saying that it's "better than Librium". Librium was the precursor to Valium and is a sedative/muscle relaxant/anti-anxiety/anti-convulsant drug, mostly prescribed in the short term to treat anxiety. You know what else it's prescribed for? [[TheAlcoholic Acute alcohol withdrawal]].

--> No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, something isolated, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory â this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me it was me. ... Whence did it come? What did it mean? How could I seize and apprehend it? ... And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it. And all from my cup of tea.

* The original [[Comicbook/SquadronSupreme Squadron Sinister]] version of Hyperion, one of Creator/MarvelComics' {{Superman Substitute}}s, believed his real alien name was Zhib-Ran. This is a pun on "[[Comicbook/{{Superman}} Kal-El]]" by way of the early 20th century writer Kahlil Gibran.

* In ''Theatre/IrmaVep'', stage directions indicate that the innocent-young-girl character is to play a few bars of "The Last Rose of Summer" on the dulcimer. Although "The Last Rose of Summer" is perfect for this gothicky play, being a sentimental Victorian song that's [[http://www.potw.org/archive/potw105.html really pretty morbid]], few people in the audience will know the words, even if the tune sounds vaguely familiar to them.

* ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'' does this a lot. DMMaus tends to explain the references for those who don't get them in TheRant, though. Even then, they can be a bit brain-breaking and tough to understand. In [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2339.html this one]] he goes UpToEleven by explaining the [[MindScrew Banach-Tarski theorem]] and ''making it make sense.''

* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' makes some obscure references without stopping to explain: Though Reynardine's character is more based on Reynard the Fox, his first meeting with Antimony references the seduction from the [[Literature/ChildBallads English folk song]] "Reynardine". Similarly, Winsbury and Janet's secret relationship is a reference to the song "Willie O'Winsbury". The [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=121 First Treatise]] copies poses and Latin from the ''MutusLiber'', a 17th-century Hugenot [[EsotericMotifs alchemy text]]. And Chapter 17 references Medieval German master swordsman Johann Liechtenauer.

* ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'': While the Drawfs forcibly wash Grumpy, they put a ring of flowers on his head and Sneezy comments that he smells like a petunia. In botany, petunias symbolize anger and resentment, which explains Grumpy's MeaningfulName.

* Hook Hand, the leader of the pub thugs in ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'', dreams of becoming a concert pianist, despite missing a hand. One-handed concert pianists are in fact [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Classical_pianists_who_played_with_one_arm not entirely unheard of.]]
* BigBad Shan Yu from ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'' is pretty much the only character in the entire movie to never even care that the titular Mulan is a woman, only remarking "the ''soldier'' from the mountains!" when he comes face-to-face with her during the FinalBattle. Anyone familiar with the history of China and the Huns will know this is because Mongolian women had a much higher social standing in Asia than anywhere else (Genghis Khan's daughters were even army combat Generals). The significance of Mulan being a woman is completely lost on him and she really is just a soldier like anyone else as far as he's concerned.

** "quote the fights historical from Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical" -- He has only read about them in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifteen_Decisive_Battles_of_the_World The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo ]] but can't even remember the timeline.

* Spinnerette nails it with the engineering crowd by one super hero claiming to fly via the [[http://www.spinnyverse.com/2012/10/08/10082012/ 'Left Hand Rule'.]]

* ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'': The MajorGeneralSong sounds impressive to the uninitated, but most of the things that the Major General brags about doing are either flat-out impossible or trivially easy.

*** "quote the fights historical from Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical" -- He has only read about them in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifteen_Decisive_Battles_of_the_World The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo ]] but can't even remember the timeline.
*** "can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies" -- Raphael painted religious iconography heavy with symbolism while Dow and Zoffany painted photorealistc scenes from life. The difference is unmistakable.
*** "tell you every detail of Caractacus’s uniform" -- The only depiction of Caractacus shows him in the nude. Also, Caractacus was a Gallic chieftain who lived around the birth of Christ, and would never have worn a uniform anything.
*** "I can quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus" is well and good, but an elegy is very specifically a poem of ''praise''. Someone has misunderstood something here...
*** "I can write a washing bill in Babylonic Cuneiform": Cuneiform was at the time understood to be a form of writing, but nothing else was known about it.
*** "And I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din a-fore": Fugues are per definition polyphonic, i.e. have more than one melody running at the same time. Tuvan throat singers can accomplish something to this effect by singing one tune and humming another, but good luck humming two tunes at once.
*** "About binomial theorem I’m teeming with a lot o’ news" -- No real advances had been made in the area since Newton generalized it more than 200 years before, hence there were no "news" for him to teem with.
*** "I'm very well acquainted too with matters mathematical / I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical" -- Understanding a quadratic equation is junior-high-level math and should not impress anyone older than 14. At the very least, a man of his class would be expected to have been introduced to calculus as a university freshman, so a statement like this would be roughly the equivalent of someone today saying "I went to high school."

[[folder:Softwares]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Tiamat, the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' goddess of evil dragons, is part of the Eastern Pantheon. The Eastern Pantheon is based on the gods of ancient Babylon, which is where the name Tiamat (although nothing else about her, as Babylonian Tiamat was a sea goddess) came from.

*** "I'm very well aquainted too with matters mathematical / I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical" -- Understanding a quadratical equation is junior-high-level math and should not impress anyone older than 14.

*** "I can quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus" is well and good, but an elegy is very specifically a poem of ''praise''. Someone has misunderstood something here, but exactly what is somewhat unclear...
** As well as some which are outright impossible:

** One of the early-edition Space Marine Chapters was called Rainbow Warriors. Goofy as it may sound, there's an Aztec myth about a Rainbow Warrior who protects all life.

* The ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' Bestiaries are gold mines for people familiar with mythical monsters. Most people will recognize the classical monsters pulled from [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greco-Roman]], [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Egyptian]], and [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse]] mythology. A lesser, but still significant, number of people will recognize the single popular monsters from certain mythologies, like the Algonquian {{Wendigo}}, the Orcadian Nuckelavee, and various {{Yokai}}. But only very dedicated or specialized mythological scholars will be able to identify all the lesser known monsters right off the bat, which draw from Taíno, Mesopotamian, Persian, Aztec, Inuit, Ojibwe, Chinese, French, Aboriginal Australian, and Bagandan folklore and myth, among many others.

* ''Cabbage Patch Kids'' is a well known line of dolls that's been around since 1978. However, what some people may not know is that the name is a reference to one of the myths surrounding "where babies come from". One of those myths is that they're "found in the cabbage patch", inspiring the name of the toyline.