History Main / ItBelongsInAMuseum

* There's an urban legend about [[NonIndicativeName the Hope Diamond that brought misfortune on whoever owned it]]. This stopped when it was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. (Although the curator once took it in his pocket to an exhibition in another country and had an extremely bad trip).

* ''Literature/Nation'': This is the rationale behind Daphne's father's well-meaning but very colonial attempt to take the Nation's secret treasures back to England. Daphne, however, has got to know and understand the Nation by living with them and is having none of that, pointing out that the objects are already ''in'' a museum.

** ''Literature/ACivilCampaign'': Miles offers his grandmother's old saddle to Ekaterin. His grandmother being the daughter of the Emperor, Princess Vorbarra and Countess Vorkosigan. When Ekaterin exclaims this line, Miles replies that it was made to be used, and belongs under a fine lady, not glass.

->'''Young Indy:''' [[TropeNamer This should be in a museum!]]
-->-- ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''

* '''"Don't touch that MacGuffin!"''' Here, the phrase is usually uttered by the resident AdventurerArchaeologist, but can be given by just about any NaiveNewcomer or TheEveryman who happens to stumble on something very old or valuable while exploring The Ruins. ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' was most likely either the TropeMaker or the TropeCodifier for this particular type. There are two common variations of this type:

* '''"It's too dangerous for us!"''' This usually occurs in AnAesop about the GreenEyedMonster. A group finds a treasure/MacGuffin and decides to split it. But soon, [[GoldFever everyone's turning on each other]] in order to get more than their own share or in order to get the [[ArtifactOfAttraction artifact]] all to himself. Eventually a truce is reached when the group realizes that [[NoMacGuffinNoWinner what they found is more trouble than it's worth]], and the item gets sent to a museum instead. Although, it's a very common story that a MacGuffin, under the care of a museum, will be the [[DangerousDeviceDisposalDebacle target of theft or cause trouble in some way]], so it takes a certain amount of GenreBlindness to believe that this really will solve the problem (in such cases, characters may decide that the only safe alternative is to [[NoManShouldHaveThisPower destroy the thing]]).

* Inverted in ''ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader'', in a sequence homaging Franchise/IndianaJones, where Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, a rogue archaeologist who is essentially Jones' {{Expy}} EvilCounterpart, breaks into a vault where old superweapons are stored, and dodges a variety of booby-traps before being caught just as she's about to get away. She insists that the MacGuffin is too useful to be left gathering dust in a museum -- "It belongs in an armory!"

** There is a similar moment with a valuable old violin in ''Literature/FallingFree''. Madame Minchenko ''used'' to keep it in a climate controlled vault, but then she realized that musical instruments are meant to be played.
* ''Literature/LordOfTheNightSky'': Inverted, kindof. Ted has strong views about cultural appropriation, and believes that native artifacts should be returned on request. That said, he also thinks that research are both good reasons for a museum IF you have permission.

* Came up in ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow'' of all places. Rob inherited an old-fashioned roll top desk from his IdenticalGrandfather, and searched it for a treasure which the grandfather had implied was hidden in it. The treasure turned out to be a picture of UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln taken by CivilWar photographer Matthew Brady. At first they were going to sell it, then weren't sure, and ended up giving it on permanent loan to a museum.
* Frequently used by Sydney Fox in ''Series/RelicHunter''. One episode had her decide that some cursed artifact was too dangerous to put in a museum, and just wanting it left in it's original position.

* Said OnceAnEpisode in ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' (this is just as much one of cartoon Jackie's catch phrases as it is Indy's). Except for the time when Jackie broke ''into'' the museum to steal the MacGuffin back...

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Krusty once shown an old chair and, after telling its history, he said it should be in a museum. In a subversion of the trope, Krusty explains it isn't because museums ''don't want'' it.

* Billy Quizboy of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' says this often to his nemesis, Augustus St. Cloud. They are rival collectors of movie and TV memorabilia, and Billy points out artifacts that St. Cloud displays in his home that should be in a museum--or at least a Planet Hollywood. He does have a point, considering that St. Cloud has been known to use the original [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood Henrietta Pussycat]] puppet to wash his genitals. But it could also just be SourGrapes, since Billy couldn't begin to afford a collection the size of St. Cloud's. Ironically, Billy has ''stolen'' articles from museums on a couple of occasions.

* In a season 2 episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', Tony and Kate shows up at [=McGee's=] apartment early in the morning. When he asks what they are doing there, Kate's says they wanted to observe him in his natural environment, and Tony starts a National Geographic routine about "watch as the [=McGee=] moves slowly to the watering hole..." Then Tony walks into the study, where there is an old fashioned desk and a typewriter. Immediately he asks if that's the History channel room.

* In the interwar period the general opinion about the state of [[TanksForNothing the Japanese armor]] varied between the SoLastSeason and ''this''. At the start of the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar most of Japanese armored corps consisted of the late-[[RoaringTwenties Twenties]] and early-[[TheThirties Thirties]] designs, and while they were more or less adequate against the Chinese, who didn't have even that, the VillainForgotToLevelGrind, and when Japan entered the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in earnest, ''[[WhatAnIdiot they did close to zero progress]]'' — the IJA, which was responsible for tank development, was constantly sidelined and denied resources in favor of the IJN, which actually bore the brunt of the war. This was understandable, but by the end of the war Japanese tanks were [[TheAllegedCar the everyone's laughingstock]] and hardly ever had any military impact. Even the humble M4 Sherman was ''completely superior'' against ''anything'' the Japanese could field. The Americans had to use fragmentation rounds against the Japanese tanks: [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill anti-tank rounds simply penetrated the Japanese armour, broke everything on their trajectory and came out from the other side]], leaving no other damage but the entry and exit holes (and anything in-between).
** [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships The Brits]] were actually hit by the same bug, and their tanks for most of the interwar period were sometimes even ''more'' archaic — just remember the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI straight-outta-Somme monstrosity]] that was the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOG2 TOG II]], or marginally more modern, but still obsolete while still on the drawing board Churchill. Fortunately for them, they were much, much quicker to get their shit together, and by the end of the war they had some of the best Allied tanks, like the astonishingly deadly Sherman Firefly. Though even their more dated designs like the Matilda still were much superior to anything the Japanese could field. The Matilda tank had two assets for the jungle warfare: extremely thick armour which no Japanese gun could penetrate and two Nuffield diesel engines, which made it both extremely durable and reliable. It had gained the nickname "Queen of the Desert" in 1941; in 1944 it became "Queen of the Jungle". The Australians even equipped it with [[ImprobableWeaponUsage Hedgehog depth charge launcher]] which proved a success against the Japanese bunkers.

* On an episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' Worf, Dax and Dax's old Klingon buddy Kor find the fabled Sword of Kahless, believing it can unite the empire. After arguing among each other how it should treated and nearly killing one another at one point, they ultimately decide it would tear the empire apart rather than unite it, so the beam it into space in the middle of nowhere.

** In "Heart of Gold", when Toby comes to Ulfstead Castle to fill in for Stephen while the latter is being repaired at the Steamworks, Devious Diesel asks Toby if he's come to be put on display. Some passengers also say that Toby looks like he belongs in a museum when Toby is about to begin the tour of Ulfstead Castle, but they stick up for him at the end of the episode when they learn that Toby stopped a pair of thieves that tried to steal King Godred's crown.

* [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends Ezreal]] uses the phrase as a taunt. You belong in a museum!

StockPhrase expressing just how old and/or valuable a given MacGuffin, ArtifactOfDoom, or hey, maybe someone's [[BadassGrandpa Grampa]] is. Used in a few different types of plot scenarios.

* On an episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' Worf, Dax and Dax's old Klingon buddy Kor find the fabled Sword of Kahless, believing it can unite the empire. After turning on one another how it should treated and nearly killing one another at one point they ultimately decide it would tear the empire apart rather than unite it and so the beam it into space in the middle of nowhere.

* Parodied in the [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Strong Bad Email]] [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail179.html "pizza joint"]].

** There is also the cat statue that turns anyone who touches it into a cat. Jackie decides that destroying it is the best thing, this fits more with It's Too Dangerous.

* '''"Don't touch that MacGuffin!"''' Here, the phrase is usually uttered by the resident AdventurerArchaeologist, but can be given by just about any NaiveNewcomer or TheEveryman who happens to stumble on something very old or valuable while exploring The Ruins. ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' was most likely either the TropeMaker or the TropeCodifier for this particular type. There are two common variations of this type.\\
\\
In the first, the line serves to establish the character who utters it as a good and trustworthy person, in [[{{Foil}} contrast]] to the person he's saying this to, who will be (or, more likely, is) devoured by the GreenEyedMonster and will, in a relatively short time span, KickTheDog. It's likely that their response to this phrase will, in itself, be a KickTheDog.\\
\\
The second variation is less straightforward regarding good guys and bad guys. In this scenario, someone finds something old and/or valuable, sometimes in a PersonalEffectsReveal, sometimes in some other scenario, but always already in someone's possession and exclaims this. Another person then goes through an explanation as to why it does not, in fact, belong there. Both characters here are quite capable of being good, and the object will most likely not go to a museum in the end, in contrast to the first one, where the object will, but after a major argument and/or FightScene.

** [[BritsWithBattleships The Brits]] were actually hit by the same bug, and their tanks for most of the interwar period were sometimes even ''more'' archaic — just remember the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI straight-outta-Somme monstrosity]] that was the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOG2 TOG II]], or marginally more modern, but still obsolete while still on the drawing board Churchill. Fortunately for them, they were much, much quicker to get their shit together, and by the end of the war they had some of the best Allied tanks, like the astonishingly deadly Sherman Firefly. Though even their more dated designs like the Matilda still were much superior to anything the Japanese could field. The Matilda tank had two assets for the jungle warfare: extremely thick armour which no Japanese gun could penetrate and two Nuffield diesel engines, which made it both extremely durable and reliable. It had gained the nickname "Queen of the Desert" in 1941; in 1944 it became "Queen of the Jungle". The Australians even equipped it with [[ImprobableWeaponUsage Hedgehog depth charge launcher]] which proved a success against the Japanese bunkers.

* '''"It's too dangerous for us!"''' This usually occurs in AnAesop about the GreenEyedMonster. A group finds a treasure/MacGuffin and decides to split it. But soon, [[GoldFever everyone's turning on each other]] in order to get more than their own share or in order to get the [[ArtifactOfAttraction artifact]] all to himself. Eventually a truce is reached when the group realizes that [[NoMacGuffinNoWinner what they found is more trouble than it's worth]], and the item gets sent to a museum instead. Although, it's a very common story that a MacGuffin, under the care of a museum, will be the [[DangerousDeviceDisposalDebacle target of theft or cause trouble in some way]], so it takes a certain amount of GenreBlindness to believe that this really will solve the problem (in such cases, more GenreSavvy characters may decide that the only safe alternative is to [[NoManShouldHaveThisPower destroy the thing]]).

->'''Young Indy:''' [[TropeNamer Then it belongs in a museum!]]

* Inverted in ''ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader'', in a sequence homaging Franchise/IndianaJones, where an adventurer breaks into a vault where old superweapons are stored, and dodges a variety of booby-traps before being caught just as she's about to get away. She insists that the MacGuffin is too useful to be left gathering dust in a museum -- "It belongs in an armory!"

* A comic example occurs in HarvestMoon Animal Parade during a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6DgHaToDuM cutscene]] in which Calvin, the resident Indiana Jones {{Expy}}, angrily declares this line to [[TheFool Luke]] and [[TheBigGuy Owen]], who are trying to smash down a millennium-old wall in order to get to more ore.

* There's an urban legend about the Hope Diamond that brought misfortune on whoever owned it. This stopped when it was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. (Although the curator once took it in his pocket to an exhibition in another country and had an extremely bad trip).

--> '''Panama Hat:''' Dr. Jones, this is the second time I've had to reclaim my property from you.
--> '''Indiana Jones:''' That ''belongs'' in a ''museum''!
--> '''Panama Hat:''' [[GoodIsOldFashioned So do you!]]

-->Teddy Roosevelt: Beasts such as these belong in a museum, for everyone to share.

-->[[WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad Cheerleader]]: This is taking too long!
-->What's Her Face: I'm already bored!
-->So and So: I'm going home!
-->The Ugly One: I belong in a museum!

-->Sulu: It would have looked nice in some museum.
-->Spock: It never would have reached a museum, Lieutenant. There was too much power in that one setting. If not the Kzinti, the Klingons or some other species would have tried to possess it.

--> '''Pinkerton agent''': (''showing Zorro his mask'') This belongs in a museum. So do you.

* ''[[Literature/VorkosiganSaga A Civil Campaign]]'': Miles offers his grandmother's old saddle to Ekaterin. His grandmother being the daughter of the Emperor, Princess Vorbarra and Countess Vorkosigan. When Ekaterin exclaims this line, Miles replies that it was made to be used, and belongs under a fine lady, not glass.

** There is a similar moment with a valuable old violin in ''Falling Free''. Madame Minchenko ''used'' to keep it in a climate controlled vault, but then she realized that musical instruments are meant to be played.
* LordOfTheNightSky: Inverted, kindof. Ted has strong views about cultural appropriation, and believes that native artifacts should be returned on request. That said, he also thinks that research are both good reasons for a museum IF you have permission.
* [[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians Piper MacLean]] has a moment like this when she is told the dagger she is holding belonged to Helen of Troy. Annabeth explains that Half-Bloods live surrounded by ancient stuff and it's meant for them to use.

* In DelveDeeper, the King will comment on the treasures you turn in. Sometimes he'll declare "It belongs in a museum. Good thing I have one."

* In the interwar period the general opinion about the state of [[TanksForNothing the Japanese armor]] varied between the SoLastSeason and ''this''. At the start of the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar most of Japanese armored corps consisted of the late-[[RoaringTwenties Twenties]] and early-[[TheThirties Thirties]] designs, and while they were more or less adequate against the Chinese, who didn't have even that, the VillainForgotToLevelGrind, and when Japan entered the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in earnest, ''[[WhatAnIdiot they did close to zero progress]]'' — the IJA, which was responsible for tank development, was constantly sidelined and denied resources in favor of the IJN, which actually bore the brunt of the war. This was understandable, but by the end of the war Japanese tanks were [[TheAllegedCar the everyone's laughingstock]] and hardly ever had any military impact. Even the humble M4 Sherman was ''completely superior'' against ''anything'' the Japanese could field. The Americans had to use fragmentation grenades against the Japanese tank: [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill anti-tank rounds simply penetrated the Japanese armour, broke everything on their path and came off from the other side]], leaving no other damage but the entry and exit holes (and anything in-between).

* In the interwar period the general opinion about the state of [[TanksForNothing the Japanese armor]] varied between the SoLastSeason and ''this''. At the start of the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar most of Japanese armored corps consisted of the late-[[RoaringTwenties Twenties]] and early-[[TheThirties Thirties]] designs, and while they were more or less adequate against the Chinese, who didn't have even that, the VillainForgotToLevelGrind, and when Japan entered the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in earnest, ''[[WhatAnIdiot they did close to zero progress]]'' — the IJA, which was responsible for tank development, was constantly sidelined and denied resources in favor of the IJN, which actually bore the brunt of the war. This was understandable, but by the end of the war Japanese tanks were [[TheAllegedCar the everyone's laughingstock]] and hardly ever had any military impact.
** [[BritsWithBattleships The Brits]] were actually hit by the same bug, and their tanks for most of the interwar period were sometimes even ''more'' archaic — just remember the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI straight-outta-Somme monstrosity]] that was the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOG2 TOG II]], or marginally more modern, but still obsolete while still on the drawing board Churchill. Fortunately for them, they were much, much quicker to get their shit together, and by the end of the war they had some of the best Allied tanks, like the astonishingly deadly Sherman Firefly. Though even their more dated designs like the Matilda still were much superior to anything the Japanese could field.

* Said OnceAnEpisode in ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures''. Except for the time when Jackie broke ''into'' the museum to steal the MacGuffin back...