History Main / GogglesDoNothing

* Launchpad in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' wears his goggles atop his head. He only wears them over his eyes once or twice in the entire series. The same goes for ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck''.

* Launchpad in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' wears his goggles atop his head. He only wears them over his eyes once or twice in the entire series. The same goes for ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck''

* Launchpad in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' wears his goggles atop his head. He only wears them over his eyes once or twice in the entire series.

* The {{Trope Namer|s}} is a line from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juFZh92MUOY Rainier Wolfcastle acting the lead role in the Radioactive Man movie]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Note that in this case the goggles were ''supposed'' to do something, they just didn't work. Rainer's line is even said to be one of Creator/MattGroening's all-time favorite quotes from the show.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant This is not]] a command for [[Manga/{{Splatoon}} Goggles]] to do nothing, although [[IdiotHero some might prefer it that way]].

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant This is not]] a command for [[Manga/{{Splatoon}} Goggles]] to do nothing, although [[IdiotHero some might prefer it that way]]. This is also not anything to do with the line from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', that's {{Squick}}.

* In ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'', it borders on a RunningGag that the lead character always wears goggles. It started with [[Anime/DigimonAdventure Taichi/Tai]], then [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 Daisuke/Davis]] actually started wearing Taichi's original goggles. ''Then'' [[Anime/DigimonTamers Takato]] wears them because he watched a different version of Digimon on television. Then there's [[Anime/DigimonFrontier Takuya]], [[Anime/DigimonXrosWars Taiki/Mikey]], [[Anime/DigimonXrosWarsTheYoungHuntersLeapingThroughTime Tagiru]], [[Anime/DigimonUniverseApplimonsters Haru]], Tsurugi in ''Next'', and Hikaru in ''D-Cyber''. Strangely, [[OlderThanTheyThink the very first guy to wear goggles]] ([[NoExportForYou another guy named Taichi]] in ''[[Manga/DigimonVTamer01 V-Tamer 01]]'') actually got them as a gift from a pilot and [[UnbuiltTrope used them for that very purpose.]] In several instances, the characters do actually use them. The problem is that nobody else seems to ever be bothered by whatever condition prompts the current goggle boy to wear them.

* Ancient Greek soldiers had a habit of tipping their [[CoolHelmet Corinthian helms]] up to rest on their foreheads for comfort when out of combat. This led to a style of helm known as the Italo-Corinthian, which was meant to be worn as a cap but still had eye holes and a nose-guard that no longer served any purpose whatsoever, other than [[RuleOfCool looking cool]].

* Adelleh in the [[https://web.archive.org/web/20120503190121/http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5153247/1/Tunnels_The_Tale_of_Tavor_T1 Tales]] series of ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'' fanfiction is a ''crazy zombie priestess'' who wears green goggles for no apparent reason (then again [[BunnyEarsLawyer much of what]] [[SuccessThroughInsanity Adelleh does]] [[CloudCuckoolander has no apparent reason]]), despite them being somewhat out of place in a medieval fantasy setting. Nobody knows why she wears them, but they've become her signature costume item.
* Retro, an original villain made for ''Fanfic/CanYouImagineThat'', then reappears in ''Fanfic/TroubleIsland'' and ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'', wears a pair of these for no good reason.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Canada]] from ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' sports a pair of goggles on his head in a few illustrations of his military uniform. Oddly enough, his brother America is the one who wears a uniform resembling that of a pilot, but only is drawn with goggles once or twice. Considering Canada's UsefulNotes/{{W|orldWarII}}W2 role as the airplane manufacturing/flight training center for most of the British Empire and the fact that his uniform seems to include a parachute, he's probably a bombardier or navigator, so the goggles aren't totally superfluous.

* Will Feral in ''Comicbook/{{Kingdom}}'' wears an aviator's hat and matching goggles for no particular reason. Dingo Star's shoulder pads and pouches might also count.

* Scootaloo wears a set of goggles around her neck in ''FanFic/BadFutureCrusaders'' which she never wears and only keeps because they [[TragicKeepsake used to belong to Rainbow Dash]]. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted though: although she never actually wears them, she uses them as a weapon against Lightning Dust by using a piece of broken glass as a knife.]]

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''VideoGame/{{Red Alert 3}}'' where one of the allied units (who wear goggles) say when clicked on "The googles! Zey do nothink!".

* Unlike his teammates who has [[OneWayVisor helmet visors]] Air Enforcer of the ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' has goggles that even in mid-flight he never uses.

* In the AnimatedAdaptation of ''Literature/WyrdSisters'', Granny Weatherwax inexplicably has a pair of goggles strapped to her pointy hat. The trope is later subverted, though: on the scenes when she goes broomstick-flying, she wears the goggles to protect her eyes.

** TheProtagonist, Yuya Sakaki averts this trope. Aside, he uses them to hide his feelings, they protect his eyes when he is riding into bushes, puddings or other nasty things. In the Synchro Arc, he uses his goggles whenever he is in a Riding Duel.
** Averted with Yuto in his first appearance. They protect him from flying debris, but they break. After that, he ditches them since his next appearance.

** Wanze of Cipher Pol. is a chef who wears googles on his forehead. In an SBS question corner, the author said that they were to prevent him form crying when he chops onions. In response to another reader's statement that onions irritate the nose to cause tears, Oda said that Wanze [[GogglesDoSomethingUnusual sticks them in his nostrils]].

* ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'': Sailor V's mask is this. Unlike Manga/SailorMoon's similar mask in the manga it has no point aside from obscuring her face. When she becomes Sailor Venus she continues to wear it offscreen for a bit and during her introduction (probably so viewers/readers know that she and Sailor V are the same person) ditches it once she joins the team and her identity is never revealed due it.

* ''Anime/OnePiece'':

* The aptly named Goggles from the ''Manga/{{Splatoon}}'' manga wears the goggles item from [[VideoGame/{{Splatoon}} the game]] on his head. Like in the games, he never pulls it down.

* Retro Girl of ''ComicBook/{{Powers}}'' used aviator goggles when flying, for some reason, despite being a level nine "We as a species just pray to dear God they're good folks" power.

* ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} does not wear goggles. However, the fact that the filed-down horn stumps on his forehead were ''mistaken for goggles'' by many early fans goes to show how ubiquitous the "goggles as fashion accessory" idea is. Even Creator/GuillermoDelToro, the director of [[Film/Hellboy2004 the first pair of movies]], thought they were goggles.
* Averted in Garth Ennis's ''Comicbook/TheBoys''. One of the team's resident sociopathic anti-heroes, The Frenchman, initially appears to wear a pair of basic goggles on his bald head for purely aesthetic reasons. However, when he enters combat and draws them on to his eyes, their utility is quickly demonstrated as he rips his opponents apart like wet tissue paper and is immediately covered in viscera.

* Punchy in ''ComicBook/TheIntimates'' usually wears his goggles on his forehead, but whenever he's required to do a lot of moving around he'll pull them over his eyes. This is less a fashion statement and more a matter of comfort -- the goggles are part of his costume, meaning he ''has'' to wear them constantly according to his SuperheroSchool's rules, but wearing them over his eyes all day would be uncomfortable and pointless
* Depending on the artist, the Creator/MarvelComics ComicBook/{{Foolkiller}} sometimes wears what appears to be goggles instead of the usual domino style mask.
* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': The extra two sets of goggles lenses that don't cover Redback's eyes don't appear to have any use outside of giving her a spider-like aesthetic. Though of course she's never seen outside of costume, nor confirmed to be human so given that she's in the DCU they could possibly be covering another two sets of eyes.

* ''Franchise/TheFlash'': Wally West and Bart Allen both wore lenses in their masks for some time, despite it being shown by other speedsters (or themselves when out of costume) as unnecessary as their speed aura protects them. This was more pronounced with Bart, who had wide lenses while Wally's were small and just part of an ExpressiveMask. For Wally, it just seemed to be RuleOfCool and later to distinguish him from Barry Allen, while Bart. Subverted with Jesse Quick, who ''also'' wore this for a while, but it was shown she was actually short-sighted and occasionally wore glasses outside of uniform, so the goggles were probably for corrective reasons.

* In F. Bondarchuk's ''[[Creator/StrugatskyBrothers Inhabited island]]'' the gear of an alien guardsman includes fa-abulous pink (!) ski goggles. They almost never put them on, even during shooting practice, obstacle courses (with fire barriers) and actual combat raids against insurgents.
* In ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator'''s director's commentary, the director said that originally only one character was to wear goggles on his head. The other cast members thought it looked cool, so they all wore goggles on their head... which meant they had to be fogged up so they wouldn't reflect the cameras.

* In ''Film/TopGun'', the bad guys [[FacelessGoons wore their visors at all times]] while flying, while the good guys never did.

* Imperial defector Bodhi Rook wears protective goggles on the top of his head for almost all of his screen time in ''Film/RogueOne''. Yes, he's a pilot but he flies a cargo shuttle in space so their utility would seem limited. The only time they might have been useful - on the dusty desert planet of Jeddha - he still doesn't wear them in the prescribed fashion.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', Raz lowers his goggles over his eyes before entering a person's mind... for no apparent purpose. In "The Milkman Conspiracy," this becomes {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by the interrogative [[TheMenInBlack Men In Black]]: "Who are you?" "Who is the Milkman?" "What is the purpose of the goggles?" It's then {{subverted|Trope}} when the [[BossBattle boss]] threatens to pluck out his eyes:
--> '''Razputin''': Ha, you can't! ''That'' is the purpose of the goggles.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has an accessory known as beer goggles. The enchantment is "They do Nothing!" Ironically, said enchantment allows them to be pulverized into twinkly powder (as opposed to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin useless powder]]). Which means that the fact that they do nothing means they do something. But if they do something, they can't do nothing. But if they don't do nothing, then they can't do that something... [[LogicBomb ow, my brain]].
* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' and ''City of Villains'' have goggle appearances, including ones always stay on the forehead. Like every other cosmetic choices, there's no gameplay result. Which actually means that every single piece of your equipment, other than any weapon-based powers are an example of this trope. Some good examples would include things like {{utility belt}}s, wings, armor, bandoliers, extra swords/guns, tails, and claws.

* In the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series, Wario wears his goggles when riding his motorcycle but Mona doesn't wear hers on her scooter. Her ''monkey'' even wears his goggles.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Goggles are an equippable item, which prevent blindness. Unfortunately, a glitch with the Evasion stat in the game made it so blindness doesn't affect the accuracy of physical attacks as it's supposed to, making them useless. The Goggles, quite literally, do nothing. This was fixed in the remake. Sadly, the goggles aren't actually drawn on your character. Ironically, the Blind status effect (rendered irrelevant by the above-mentioned glitch aside from preventing Strago from [[PowerCopying learning enemy spells]]) ''does'' make a character look like they're wearing goggles.
* In ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVII'', while Cid never uses his goggles in the intended manner, despite actually being a pilot, they do provide a nice place for him to stick his pack of cigarettes. Reno also boasts a pair, except without cigarettes, [[AllThereInTheManual seeing as he's a very competent helicopter pilot.]]
* Rikku from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' wears a pair of goggles in her swimwear. When she takes it off, there's ''another'' pair of goggles underneath. She never wears these. Which is particularly baffling as she is of a race of people who can stay underwater apparently indefinitely and none of them ever put on any goggles when doing so. On the other hand, her older brother is wearing his goggles all the time and never takes them off.
* The Cid of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' wears a pair of goggles up on his forehead, not because as an engineer he may need them at any time, but to hide the ThirdEye that marks him as a pure-blooded [[TheEmpire Garlean]].
** The PlayerCharacter gets an outfit of their own known as the "Scion Adventurer's Outfit" which boasts the same aetheric-detecting goggles the rest of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn use, but they are a decoration, thus fit into this trope. This goes the same for the Mogstation-purchased outfits based on the other Scions.

* In ''[[VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame Lego Star Wars II]]'', some of the [=NPCs=] in the Mos Eisley Cantina and in the Tatooine levels are wearing what appear to be bucket hats with goggles around the crown. This hat can also be chosen in the character builder. These have no effect on gameplay, but boy, do they ever look cool.
* In the VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga, we see Jan Ors actually use the goggles she wears on her head twice. Somehow, both the Empire and Jabba the Hutt let her keep them on after she was captured by them.

* The goggles Hwoarang from the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' series wears but never puts over his eyes. There is a cutscene in ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 5'' (and ''Dark Resurrection''), where Hwoarang is riding his motorbike... with the goggles still up on his hair.

* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars[='=]'' Ratsel Feinschmecker wears enormous aviator goggles as a PaperThinDisguise, in homage to [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Char Aznable's]] similar trick with CoolShades. They're useless because the disguise fools absolutely no one.
* The main character of ''VideoGame/IzunaLegendOfTheUnemployedNinja'' wears a pair of strange triangular goggles that are never used.
* Beaux from ''VideoGame/{{Atelier Annie|Alchemists of Sera Island}}'' wears a pair of goggles on his head that he's never actually seen using as protective eyewear. One of his alchemy requests is for you to make a Glass Sphere to help him repair one of the lenses, which makes one wonder...what exactly ''does'' the boy use the goggles for, anyway?
* ''VideoGame/TheSims2'' has goggles you can wear on your forehead, but not over your eyes. A lot of user made content involves giving your character other equipment such as weaponry, backpacks, etc. that don't do anything.
* Okay, so it's not goggles, but ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'': Covenant has Yuri, wearing a small satchel on his back (with trailing buckle-straps). While one could argue that's [[HammerSpace where the millions of random items you collect or buy over the course of the game]] end up stashed, you never see Yuri use it. Seems he took a few traveling tips from [[Franchise/TombRaider Lara Croft]].
* ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune''. The night vision goggles do almost nothing. And enemies can still see you in the darkness without night vision. In ''Soldier of Fortune 2'', thermal goggles allowed you to see through walls (but were less compatible with sniper rifles).
* In ''VideoGame/VacantSky'', there's a tombstone that literally reads:
--> RIP Jiroriseth Moss
--> The goggles did nothing
* Flak in ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars]]'' wears goggles and a helmet. No-one's quite clear on why ''[[DumbMuscle Flak]]'' would need head protection. Also [[AcePilot Eagle]], who always wears his goggles around his neck. Apparently they're his lucky goggles. He IS a pilot, though.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Nostalgia}}'', Melody's [[RobeAndWizardHat pointy witch hat]] sports a pair of goggles for some reason. She never wears them.
* A variant: The Leather Armor in ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' has a dagger in a sheath attached to the sleeve. You can't do anything with it, but it looks cool.
* Captain Rush of ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' wears a pair of orange goggles around his neck. Being a US Army soldier and all, you'd think they'd come in handy...
* Inzaghi in ''VideoGame/BlazeUnion'' and ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion''.
%%* Velgas in ''VideoGame/GloriaUnion''.
* The Alchemist from ''VideoGame/{{Torchlight}}'' wears them proudly in the loading screen and other art. All classes can wear helms that show up as just goggles, and in the case of the Vanquisher the goggles strap ties up her ponytail as well.
* ''{{VideoGame/Portal 2}}'': The [[http://theportalwiki.com/wiki/Goo_Gear_Snorkel Goo Gear Snorkel item]] from summer 2011 for the co-op robots don't really help much against the deadly goo in the test chamber levels.
* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'', you can craft goggles out of two lenses (as in the [[OrganDrops organ itself]]), they do nothing more than give one measly point of defense so they're more for decoration than anything for your character. During [[HolidayMode Halloween]], the [[SteamPunk Steampunker]] sells steampunker goggles that are completely vanity only and their not even worn over the character's eyes compared to the former example.
* Used as an achievement in ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', the player character must don a pair of goggles (and nothing else but their underwear), and proceed to dive into a pool of lava from an immense height. As the fall will kill the player character due to the height before the lava even does any damage, the goggles really didn't help at all.

* ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}''
** Played straight by Ruckus, who has forehead goggles and never puts them on.
** Averted by Barik and Pip. They have forehead goggles at champion select, but put the goggles over their eyes when the action starts. On a similar note, Fernando also puts his helmet's visor down.
* ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot'': The titular pink puff gains a headgear containing goggles upon taking the Robobot Armor for himself. However, for some odd reason, he refuses to wear them on his face.
* Both played straight and averted in the ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' games. Googles are among many pieces of headgear in the game, with some only worn on the forehead, while others are actually put on by the character. Not that shielding your eyes does anything gameplay-wise.
* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'' gives us this FlavorText for the Steampunk Fedora item:
--> ''A needlessly expensive novelty hat with glued-on goggles, which do nothing.''
* Much like with the anime and manga, if you're a protagonist in a Franchise/{{Digimon}} game, odds are that you're wearing a pair of useless goggles.
** Keisuke manages to avert it however in ''VideoGame/DigimonStoryCyberSleuthHackersMemory'', as his goggles (though more of a visor really) are actually his Digivice, and he needs to put them on to log into [[CyberSpace Eden]]. He is shown with them on while using an item in battle.

[[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations Ace Attorney Investigations 2's]] [[AmoralAttorney Blaise]] [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Debeste]] wears a pair of biker goggles. Their only purpose seems to be damming his [[CrocodileTears endless supply of tears]]. [[spoiler:During his VillainousBreakdown, [[HumiliationConga having accidentally set himself on fire]], they don't even shield his eyes properly]].

* The heavy use of this trope in steampunk is lampshaded in [[http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=266 this]] ''Webcomic/HarkAVagrant''.
* The Commander in ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'' has these. Lampshaded [[http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/454 here.]]

* {{Averted|Trope}}, in ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=884 here]], and then lampshaded in Tom's [[TheRant rant]].
* Since a character redesign, Shelly Mander of ''Webcomic/{{Femmegasm}}'' wears goggles for no reason.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': The trope name is referenced by Meenah upon encountering Kanaya, who glows [[spoiler: because she is a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent rainbow drinker]]]]. Meenah is blinded by the glare and says, "The goggles do nothing [to help]."
* In ''Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName,'' Veser wears a pair of goggles around his neck. A partial example, since it helps with his [[AnimalMotif shark motif]], and may somehow be related to the fact that [[spoiler:his mother is a [[SelkiesAndWereseals selkie]]]].
* Sock from ''Webcomic/WelcomeToHell'' wears goggles on top of his hat for apparently aesthetic reasons, even as a demon.
* Averted and lampshaded in [[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/2018-04-25/ this strip]] of ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}'', when Moonshadow uses high-tech goggles to scan what another character is holding:
--> '''Moonshadow:''' It's a flash drive with a bluetooth transmitter attached to it.
--> '''Cecil:''' How do you know ''that''?
--> '''Moonshadow:''' The googles, they do something.
--> '''Cecil:''' You're quipping now. Stop it.
* A [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/1753.html bonus strip]] of ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' has Bria/Jyn questioning why Bodhi wears goggles when he does his piloting in a pressurised cockpit, and Bodhi coming up with increasingly unlikely reasons, all of which happen over the course of the story. (One of them is in fact happening while they have the conversation, but Bodhi's goggles are perched uselessly on his forehead.)

* Alex Steacy of ''WebVideo/LoadingReadyRun'' wears welding goggles at all times, apparently for the look.

* Many in Theatre/TheLeagueOfSTEAM wear goggles (it's steampunk, what do you expect?) but they rarely seem to be used for anything.
* Creator/LiamDryden of the band Music/ChameleonCircuit sports a fairly awesome pair at times, notably in live concerts, his "TimeTravel" outfit, and when he and Creator/AlexDay are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzj1OF7d9m4 raiding Wal-Mart.]] Liam even {{lampshade|Hanging}}s the fact that he just wears them on his head as a NiceHat most of the time in the Wal-Mart video.
* ''WebVideo/ThePlumberKnightReturns'': Mario has goggles as part of his new costume, but only puts them on while suiting up, wearing them around his neck otherwise.
* The kiwi from ''WebAnimation/{{Kiwi}}'' dons a pair of pilot's goggles before jumping off the cliff. ''But he doesn't ever use them.''

* Frida from ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre''. In one episode, after her goggles fall off and break, Frida shrieks, "Those are prescription!" However, she rarely, if ever, wears them over her eyes.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant This is not]] a command for [[Manga/{{Splatoon}} Goggles]] to do nothing, although [[IdiotHero some might prefer it that way]].

* Adelleh in the [[https://web.archive.org/web/20120503190121/http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5153247/1/Tunnels_The_Tale_of_Tavor_T1 Tales]] series of ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'' fanfiction is a ''crazy zombie priestess'' who wears green goggles for no apparent reason (then again [[BunnyEarsLawyer much of what]] [[CrazyAwesome Adelleh does]] [[CloudCuckoolander has no apparent reason]]), despite them being somewhat out of place in a medieval fantasy setting. Nobody knows why she wears them, but they've become her signature costume item.

* In the AnimatedAdaptation of ''Discworld/WyrdSisters'', Granny Weatherwax inexplicably has a pair of goggles strapped to her pointy hat. The trope is later subverted, though: on the scenes when she goes broomstick-flying, she wears the goggles to protect her eyes.

* The {{Trope Namer|s}} is a line from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juFZh92MUOY Rainier Wolfcastle acting the lead role in the Radioactive Man movie]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Note that in this case the goggles were ''supposed'' to do something, they just didn't work.

* Jasper in ''Series/{{The 100}}'' wears goggles as a hat-like accessory.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''.