History Main / ItsProbablyNothing

* Averted in ''Death to Spies''. If any enemy even spots a body, sees the player for too long, hears any noise (except the silenced pistol), or if the player has any visible Soviet gear on at all -- even after changing uniform --, has a weapon out (unless dressed as a patrolman, and then only a weapon that the others have, usually an MP-40), is doing something that doesn't match the disguise's purpose or rank (stealing a truck without being in an officer or driver's uniform) or is a patrolman/officer who can recognize if you are not one of them, they will almost immediately upon entering their "sight confirmation" begin to fire, alerting any other nearby guards, and giving chase, usually for half of the map. In many cases, they will run to hit the alarm, which will effectively end the mission because every guard in the area will be alerted to you (often well over 20-30 people), and quickly open fire if they spot you as well as give chase, often killing you very quickly if there are any sharpshooters in the area, even faster if you are headshot. Oh, and don't try hiding: they'll stay on full alert, just waiting for the chance to find you.

* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in ''CodeLyoko'', when Jérémie gets an anomalous alert on the computer and instantly thinks, "It's probably bad news."

* Played thankfully straight several times by both Soviet and Western radar operators during the ColdWar. Several times the computers malfunctioned and detected massive nuclear attacks from the enemy. Every time the operators (correctly) dismissed this as a bug.

* ''Franchise/StarWars''.
** The first time this happens in ''Film/ANewHope'', it's an Inversion. Obi-Wan uses a Jedi Mind Trick against two stormtroopers on the Death Star, and they do what competent guards should do, they investigate. Though in that case it really was nothing; Obi-Wan did it to cover his escape in the other direction. ** In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', two [[EliteMooks Super Battle Droids]] are investigating the crashed Jedi starfighters in the hangar bay. When one hears Artoo lurking in a corner, the other stops him, saying it's nothing.

* Used at least twice in ''Franchise/StarWars''. In ''Film/ANewHope'', Obi-Wan uses it against two stormtroopers on the Death Star to cover his escape. Though in that case it really was nothing. In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', two [[EliteMooks Super Battle Droids]] are investigating the crashed Jedi starfighters in the hangar bay. When one hears Artoo lurking in a corner, the other stops him, saying it's nothing.

-->-- '''[[http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=222203 Bump in the Night,]]'''
''MagicTheGathering'', in the Flavor Text\\

** In ''Innistrad'', plane filled with horror tropes, we get [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=222203 Bump in the Night]] and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=237360 Feeling of Dread]].

* In a chapter of ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4055090/3/Pokemists_Pocket_Alchemists Pokémists: Pocket Alchemists]]'', a ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' fanfic, the four main characters stumble into an enemy meeting by ''[[ThereWasADoor breaking through the wall]]'', [[ExaggeratedTrope and the bad guys in the meeting assume it was the rain.]] [[OverlyLongGag They keep assuming it is the rain even when the good guys talk at normal volume and even yell "You people are...IDIOTS!" The bad guys finally notice the good guys because one of them SNEEZES.]]

-->-- '''[[http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=222203 Bump in the Night]]''', ''MagicTheGathering'', in the Flavor Text\\

** Also referenced and subverted in ''Webcomics/DarthsAndDroids'':

'''[=LeChuck=]:'''[[ImmediateSelfContradiction Must be the wind.]]

** In ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' Episode 2, Dr. Magnusson dispatches Freeman to the secondary silo where "damn crows have been nesting in the tracks all day", therefore setting off the silo alarms. Apparently no one thought to check on the non-responsive secondary silo staff until Gordon heads over there and finds [[spoiler: a Combine invasion in-progress]].

* ''Film/{{Spider-Man}} 3'', when Marko's presence in the test chamber is immediately dismissed as just a bird.
* Played with in ''PansLabyrinth''. Early in the movie, Ofelia hears some creepy noises coming from the walls of the house at night, and her mother explains it as the sounds of the house settling. Later, [[spoiler:Ofelia narrowly escapes the Pale Man's lair with the Pale Man chasing after her; and once she gets back into the house, the Pale Man pounding on the door behind her makes the exact same "house-settling" noises Ofelia heard earlier.]]

* In ''[[{{Shrek}} Scared Shrekless]]'', Donkey appears to hear the voice of Lord Farquaad's ghost.

* ''TheGreatEscape'' plays this to the point of ridiculousness. Having charged through a door and straight into the arms of a patroling German soldier, you dash straight into another room leaving the poor sod gawping after you. His words?

* Played with in ''Fanfic/RedFireRedPlanet''. In the first two chapters the crew of Starfleet Listening Post 204RT pick up subspace anomalies, and Crewman Yasmin Sherazi is insistent that there's something going on despite the fact the others think there's just a problem with the warp drive on the USS ''[=DeWitt=]'', a ship which was not on the schedule.[[note]]The joke being that the ''[=DeWitt=]'' is really a KDF Bird-of-Prey generating an oversize warp field and broadcasting the ''[=DeWitt's=]'' entry codes.[[/note]] [=OS1=]. Bikog gets really hyper when he insists there's nothing there. But then [=OS2.=] Kybok spots a tachyon burst in the logs and Lt. sh'Kreem decides to take the listening post's shuttle out for a look-see.

* In ''DuckSoup'', spy Harpo thinks he's opening a wall safe, instead turning on a radio that plays loud brass band music. Groucho's explanation for the sudden noise: "Sounds to me like mice!"

** "Uh... it's probably not a problem... probably... but I'm showing a small discrepancy in the-- well, no, it's well within acceptable bounds again. Sustaining sequence."