History Main / ItsProbablyNothing

* The guards in ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' do this a lot. Torch that's been clearly doused with a water arrow, presumably leaving puddles of water all over the place? "Must've been the wind." Large metal object falling down, making a stupid amount of noise? "Hmm... must be my imagination." [[http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20040616 Et cetera.]]

* In ''TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'', Guybrush has infiltrated the ghost-pirate [=LeChuck=]'s ship, using a magic eyeball necklace that makes him invisible. The player has to get a key off of [=LeChuck=]'s cabin wall, but every time Guybrush approaches, [=LeChuck=] turns and makes a comment about how someone must be behind him. When he sees that no one is there, he turns back around while invoking some version of this trope.

* In ''{{Remnants}}'', the programmer of a computer-based perimeter security system puts in a backdoor -- the program assumes that any intruder emitting a certain high-pitched tone is a wild pig. This is very useful when he needs to [[spoiler:sneak onto a Space Shuttle.]]

* In ''WorldOfWarcraft'', when your character is bitten by a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Worgen]], you dismiss it as just a scratch and nothing to be worried about. [[ZombieInfectee The end result of this is being taken by the transformation during a last stand, killing the allies unfortunate enough to not also be infected, and causing your final defenses to fall.]]

* The AI in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' does this to the point that it is just sad (e.g., dismissing an arrow in their back as the wind) especially when the AI was something that was hyped up to no end before the game was released.
** Even worse, they won't even react if their buddy's corpse is lying next to them. But move a little too close to them and they start charging at you.
** Even the occasional BLIND Npcs will react to you sneaking around by saying their eyes must be plaing tricks on them...
** It's even possible for a stealthy enough character in Oblivion to sneak up on two [=NPCs=] chatting away with each other, cut the conversation short by stabbing one in the back, and the other NPC won't so much as react to their friend being KilledMidSentence.
** Alive and well in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' as well, though Bethesda seems to be making ''some'' progress. The AI reacts to sneak attacks from a warrior or a mage fairly competently: it's fairly hard to maintain the element of surprise or stay concealed when clanking around in heavy armor or throwing lightning bolts around.

A case of some TruthInTelevision as each area has a large assortment of ambient sounds that individuals become familiar with and often ignore possibly at their detriment. Similarly, as a part of the "denial response" or "freeze response" that is just as much a reaction to danger as fight or flight, it is also TruthInTelevision that people tend to dismiss or ignore unusual bodily symptoms (even those of blatant heart attacks or strokes or obvious cancers), fail to call the fire department during the early stages of a potential fire, insist on ignoring tornado warnings until they can sight the tornado, often don't flee or shelter from disasters in general, and don't flee or defend against criminal attack (even to the degree of locking doors or calling police) until it's far too late. The key to not letting this trope [[TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs kill you]] in real life is to keep in mind that if you are saying "it's probably nothing," something has made you say that, and further investigation (or in the case of a disaster, just getting the hell out of there and/or obeying the warnings) might be an inconvenience that proves it was nothing after all, or it might save your life.

* CtrlAltDel: Shows us the [[http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20121219 problem with this.]]

'''Stephanie:''' Just the wind? ''Just the wind?!'' '''''[[GenreSavvy It's never JUST THE WIND]]!'''''

* ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'': In the first episode, the three soon-to-be-Rangers hear the Mooks of the year coming for them. Kira suggests (without much hope) that it's the wind, and Ethan proves his GenreSavvy by disagreeing.

** This is actually Lampshaded by the enemies: if the player makes a loud enough noise without being seen, there's a randomly-occuring exchange where one guard says "It's probably--" but is then abruptly cut off by his partner, who tells him that it's [[GenreSavvy never "just nothing"]].

** After the characters watch ''Franchise/StarWars'' 4-6 in ''{{Spaced}}'', Tim declares that entire plot wouldn't have happened if the Imperial gunner in ''A New Hope'' hadn't dismissed the escape pod carrying [=R2D2=] and [=C3PO=] down to Tatooine as nothing to worry about.

* In a ShoutOut to this trope, the very nastiest event in ''EuropaUniversalis 2'' ("The White Lotus Rebellion") has two options, one of which "It's likely just harmless talk." (Cue 30% revolt-risk.) The OTHER option gives you half that revolt-risk, but costs you an arm and a leg.

* Lampshaded and subverted in ''GearsOfWar'', where Dom does not brush off the strange sound so easily. He's right.

* JamesEllroy typically does quite a convincing job of this, as we really can't blame the cops a lot of times for ignoring details that genuinely seem inconsequential. It's their bad luck that they're being written by a guy who loves coming up with insanely complicated stories where every little detail matters.

** Justified after many long hours guarding; 90% of the time, it is nothing, another 9.99% it's nothing that can't be dealt with just be showing up and providing a security presence. If you can see a plausible source for a noise you heard, or it didn't sound significant enough to search for it, of course you'd write it off to watch for something more substantial.

* [[EdgarAllanPoe While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping/As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door./"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door/Only this, and nothing more."]] ([[ExactWords Technically]], he was right.)

* In ''The Rainmaker'' and its musical adaptation ''Theatre/OneHundredTenInTheShade'', the entrance of Starbuck is initially dismissed this way:

** Humourously referenced in ''[[FamilyGuyPresentsLaughItUpFuzzball Family Guy: Blue Harvest]]''. "Wait, hold your fire, there are no life forms aboard that vessel", "Wait, hold your fire? What, are we paying by the laser now?" "Hey Terry, you don't do the budget but ''I DO''."

One of the heroes receives a broad hint that something unpleasant might happen -- any kind of bad thing, from the plans of a [[TheMole Mole]] to a debilitating disease. It could come in the form of a prophecy, an important clue picked up off a defeated enemy, an inconclusive medical test... the form varies depending on the context.

Which is why, on the rare circumstance that the hero does go after it -- it proves to be a RedHerring.

--> '''Gunnery Captain Bolvan:''' Shoot it! Shoot it!
--> '''Lieutenant Hija:''' But it has no life forms, sir.
--> '''Gunnery Captain Bolvan:''' Oh right... because there's no such things as sentient metallic beings with no life readings in this universe...
--> ''[[BeatPanel beat]]''
--> '''Lieutenant Hija:''' I'll just shoot it down, shall I sir?

* In the SolomonKane story ''Footfalls Within'', by Creator/RobertEHoward, the titular footfalls are blithely dismissed as "nothing" by a bunch of slavers, with [[KarmicDeath foreseeable consequences]].

* Quite common in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'', even a few books into the series when you'd think, after constant hazards and all the times it was not nothing, people would be paying attention. Later they learn, a bit, but that just leads to more RedHerring moments.

'''Stephanie:''' Just the wind? ''Just the wind''?! '''''[[GenreSavvy It's never JUST THE WIND]]!'''''
* In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy'' episode "Doomed", Giles dismisses an earthquake as "shifting landmasses". On the one hand, he ''is'' in Southern California. On the other hand, as Buffy points out, the last time they had a decent earthquake in Sunnydale, she [[DisneyDeath died]]. Buffy is proven right, as it turns out to be a portent of the apocalypse.

-->"That ain't the wind. As much as we'd ''like'' it to be... it ain't."

* In the game ''{{Tenchu}}'', fighting a guard automatically raises the alarm. Guards who were, just a moment ago, attacked with katanas will dismiss the incident as being caused ''by a dog!''

* In ''Film/DuckSoup'', spy Pinky thinks he's opening a wall safe, but instead turns on a radio that plays loud brass band music. His partner Chicolini explains the sudden noise: "Sounds to me like mice!"

->[Bender is in were-car form following two vandals at night, he loudly rolls over a manhole cover and quickly parks.]
->Vandal #1: Did you hear something?
->[They both look around then carry on walking.]
->Vandal #2: Ah, it was probably just a golden marmoset.
->[The were-car revs its engine.]
->Vandal #1: That don't sound like no golden marmoset I ever heard!

->[Hera is sneaking around an Imperial base as a Stormtrooper hears her spraypaint cans.]
->Stormtrooper #1: You hear that?
->Stormtrooper #2: I don't hear it. Wait... Yeah, what is that?

* ''FullHouse'':