History Main / MeritBadgesForEverything

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool'', the Junior Chipmunks seemed to have a patch for almost everything. Naturally, Kuzco failed to achieve even one, meaning he had to obtain the highly-dangerous Condor Patch to avoid flunking out of school (ItMakesSenseInContext). [[spoiler:He fails to get even that one, but guess what? He gets to get the [[MedalOfDishonor "I Failed To Get Every Single Patch Patch"]]...]]

--->'''Head Den Mother''': "You are ''not'' certified to drink your own urine!"

** In "Papa Don't Leech" Lisa is part of a Girl Scout-like organization and delivers an order of cookies to Mayor Quimby, who tries to fib his way out of paying after realizing how expensive they are. In response, Lisa points out her "Skepticism" patch.

** How about the "Reckless Disregard for Life and Limb" patch? (Though Isabella could have made that one up.)

[[quoteright:310:[[WesternAnimaton/PhineasAndFerb https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/emotional_bravery_patch.png]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'': The Sparrow Scouts have their share of badges, most of them quite ordinary like "Friends of the Park" and "Level Three Friendly and Helpful badge". Near the end of episode 4, the trope is actually averted. When Frida and David successfully rescue Hilda and the last Vittra (a race of underground creatures) from [[ConveyorBeltOfDoom Big Chipper,]] Frida cheers that this must be worth a 100 points for the ‘Catch A Falling Friend’ badge…only to admit that there isn’t really such a badge (Hilda thinks there should be, though). Hilda also suggests they deserve a "Friend of the Vittras" badge, which doesn’t exist either.

** They still have a Nuclear Science badge, although they stopped advertising the fact after an overly enthusiastic Scout got arrested for building a nuclear reactor in his parents’ garage.

* Disney's ''Junior Wood Chucks'' are like this, sometimes using buckets to collect their badges and medals.

* In ''TheSimpsons'' episode "Boy Scoutz 'n the Hood", Bart join the [[ScoutOut Junior Campers]] and earns various patches to sew onto his uniform. Some of them are for dubiously fantastic feats, the punchline being a shot of his "Patch Forgery" patch.

* This is pretty much the basis of the Nick Jr. preschooler series ''Hey Dugee'', in which the IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming is always based on these. "The Super Squirrel Badge" and "The Drawing Badge" are just a couple of examples of installments of the show.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/{{Up}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/93851.jpg]]]]

* Russell from ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' is a member of the Wilderness Explorers and has a ChestOfMedals from all the badges he's collected. He's introduced approaching Carl Frederickson to offer help and earn his "Assisting the Elderly" badge. Other badges mentioned are "Extreme Mountaineering Lore" and "Wild Animal Defensive Arts", and the credits include several strange-looking one, featuring such things as a radiation hazard symbol and a mushroom cloud.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyB'''s central premise involves Bessy having to gain every single merit badge as a Honey Scout, all of which are exaggerations of this trope.

* Russell from ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' is a member of the Wilderness Explorers and has a ChestOfMedals from all the badges he's collected. He's introduced approaching Carl Frederickson to offer help and earn his "Assisting the Elderly" badge.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyB''

* While the only badge actually mentioned in Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', "Assisting the Elderly", is pretty normal, the credits include several strange-looking one, featuring such things as a radiation hazard symbol and a mushroom cloud.
** Those possibly reference [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn David Hahn,]] "The Radioactive Boy Scout". Having received a Eagle Scout merit badge in Atomic Energy (presumably a "displaying understanding" project) he went on try building himself a breeder reactor. This never achieved critical mass, but did produce a dangerous amount of radiation.
** The movie did also mention "Extreme Mountaineering Lore" and "Wild Animal Defensive Arts".

* British Scouts can also earn a Geocaching badge, in addition to badges for Circus Skills and Pulling (fixed-seat rowing, as opposed to what most British teenagers might think [[note]]in British slang, "pulling" means kissing or seducing someone[[/note]]). The Public Relations badge, much mocked when it was introduced in the 1990s, is now called the Media Relations & Marketing badge. There's now a Sports Enthusiast badge for those who ''follow'' a sport rather than participate in it, while the Skin Diver badge (for snorkelling and breath-held diving, as opposed to SkinnyDipping) is no more - the activities for that badge are nowadays covered by the Water Activities badge instead.

[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/TroopBeverlyHills'' has some fun with this one. Phyllis and her troop find no value in most of the traditionally woodsy official Wilderness Girl patches, but then Phyllis discovers a {{loophole|Abuse}}: she can custom-design her ''own'' patches! Soon the entire troop is decked out in merit patches for things like jewelry appraisal and "gardening with glamour." Naturally, the evil council leader declares all of these patches invalid when she finds out about it.
-->'''Rosa:''' Patches! [[Film/TheTreasureOfTheSierraMadre We don't need no stinking patches!]]

* The Junior Woodchucks continue to impress in WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017. It doesn't come up as much, but badges include Sickle Sharpening, and Cartography, which doesn't sound like much except it requires you to map a location that has never been mapped by anybody before. Huey's opening short implies (but never states) that Bigfoot Catching is also a merit badge. They even have a merit badge for ''Failing'', of which Launchpad has several.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' had Cosmo getting various weird merit badges.

-->'''Rosa:''' Patches! [[Film/BlazingSaddles We don't need no stinking patches!]]

Related to MacGyvering. (Boy Scouts is an organization dedicated to producing those guy guys with skills!) See also IMinoredInTropology.

* Basketry-- Weaving baskets (presumably not [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_basket_weaving underwater]]).

* British Scouts can also earn a Geocaching badge, in addition to badges for Circus Skills and Pulling (fixed-seat rowing, as opposed to what most British teenagers might think [[note]]in British slang, "pulling" means kissing or seducing someone[[/note]]). The Public Relations badge, much mocked when it was introduced in the 1990s, is now called the Media Relations & Marketing badge. There's now a Sports Enthusiast badge for those who ''follow'' a sport rather than participate in it, while the Skin Diver badge (for snorkelling and breath-held diving, as opposed to SkinnyDipping) is no more - any Scouts interested in that sort of thing can work towards the Water Activities Badge instead.

* British Scouts can also earn a Geocaching badge, in addition to badges for Circus Skills and Pulling (fixed-seat rowing, as opposed to what most British teenagers might think [[note]]in British slang, "pulling" means kissing or seducing someone[[/note]]). The Public Relations badge, much mocked when it was introduced in 2002, is now called the Media Relations & Marketing badge. There's now a Sports Enthusiast badge for those who ''follow'' a sport rather than participate in it, while the Skin Diver badge (for snorkelling and breath-held diving, as opposed to skinny-dipping[[note]]nude swimming[[/note]]) is no more.

* In The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Jew Scouts", there are apparently two ways to get a Chutzpah Badge: babysit the "Squirts" (Cub Scouts equivalent) OR capture a bear.

* An early episode of ''TheSimpsons'' had Bart join a Boy Scouts facsimile of some sort and earn various patches to sew onto his uniform. There's a bit with him attaching various patches for dubiously fantastic feats, the final punchline being a shot of his "patch forgery" patch.

* The Boy Scouts now have a UsefulNotes/{{Geocaching}} Merit Badge.
** Honorable mentions go to ''Truck Transportation'', ''Farm Mechanics'', ''Pulp and Paper'', and the politically questionable ''Indian Lore''.

* The Boy Scouts of America still offers a Nuclear Science badge, although they stopped advertising the fact after an overly enthusiastic Scout got arrested for building a nuclear reactor in his parents’ garage.

* British Scouts can also earn a Geocaching badge, in addition to badges for Circus Skills and Pulling (fixed-seat rowing, as opposed to what most British teenagers might think). The Skin Diver badge (for snorkelling and breath-held diving, as opposed to skinny-dipping) is no more.

* The Boy Scouts still offers a badge on Nuclear Science, although they stopped advertising the fact after one Scout got arrested for building a nuclear reactor in his garage.

* Creator/AlexDay's [[http://www.lifescouts.com Life Scouts]] is a program getting people inspired to do actual RealLife exploring things. Like learning how to juggle and giving blood. And stuff.