History Main / NeverNeedsSharpening

* ''VideoGame/Fallout76'' was heavily advertised with the statement "Every character you talk to is a real person!" This is a very polite way of saying "this game has absolutely no human [=NPC=]s in it." Sure enough, by far the most common criticism of the game was that twelve-year-olds in voicechat shouting racial slurs didn't offer much in the way of interesting character work.

* In an infamous statement, Creator/JohnRomero claimed that ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' was supposed to be an "expert-level FPS", and that the difficulties players were having with it came down to being used to games where the only real objectives were shooting and dodging, while ''Daikatana'' required the player to be more mindful and challenged them in different ways. Which is true, but [[FakeDifficulty only if you consider]] "figuring out which of the guns in the game [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace won't accidentally kill you when you fire it in a given situation]]", "knowing {{speedrun}}ning techniques, much less when to use them to avoid unfairly-placed enemies, ahead of time", "[[ArtificialStupidity trying to coax your AI partners to walk across a room without getting stuck on nearby scenery]]", and "being forced to take damage in a long fall to proceed" to be different kinds of legitimate challenges.

* Several weapons based on designs from the "Combloc"[[note]]which is generally how the Eastern Bloc plus China and Yugoslavia (the communist countries where one can actually find guns and gun parts from) are referred to in firearms circles[[/note]] are advertised as made from genuine parts kits. This is even worse than the above "military grade" guns, as it's a fancy way to say "used" (and to downplay just ''how'' used they are). It means not only are the guns assembled from random parts from actual militaries, it also generally means that these parts are from the guns these countries ''don't want'' anymore, usually because they are worn out from being in constant use since the '50s and '60s. If a manufacture does take the time to make sure it's using quality second-hand parts, they will usually advertise the weapon as being made from refurbished parts, and their efforts will generally be visible even to an untrained eye.

* Those commercials for Goldline that you see Fox News and Radio/GlennBeck advertising insist that, since the entire world will soon be descending into poverty-driven madness, you should trade in all of your soon-to-be-worthless cash for their delicious, shiny gold. They don't bother mentioning that since they're taking in all the paper money, they're driving ''themselves'' into the future, gold-driven poorhouse. That's because actually, they're making money by pretending to be gold brokers who are trading cash for gold near the current rate, when they're really selling gold at a ''huge'' markup. There's been some Senate inquiries into this. While the price of gold probably is going to go down and isn't that great an investment, if you wish to buy gold anyway, check the current price of gold online so when you go to buy it, you aren't suckered by someone offering it to you at three times what the market says it's worth.\\

One has to wonder if they have a partnership with the exact opposite companies like "Cash 4 Gold" who are urging you to send in your unwanted gold, silver, platinum, or whatever jewelry and get cash in return… with, of course, the company you're sending your jewelry to deciding on exactly ''how much'' cash you get in return. It's actually quite hilarious on the occasions when commercials for these two types of companies air sequentially. ''South Park'' played that exact scenario in one episode. It also relies on people buying into the misconception that gold has an inherent value, so that in a potential post-apocalyptic scenario they will have reliably precious gold on hand instead of "worthless paper". In actuality, should civilization go belly-up, gold could be just as worthless[[note]]Currency are only valuable insofar as society accepts their value. In the event of some kind of economic crash that results in currency becoming worthless, then the default method of trade would switch to the barter method: "I'll give you this in return for that." Currency evolved as an intermediary for determining value (instead of "I'll give you one cow for two loaves of bread", it became "I'll give this other guy one cow for $5, then use that $5 to buy two loaves of bread"), but has no intrinsic value beyond that. Similarly, gold is valuable only as long as ''we say'' it has value: it can't be used for anything in and of itself by most people. On the other hand, it is beautiful, rare and does not rust. But also notes and base metal coins are quite pretty and as they will be rarer and rarer, they may become valuable. Shortly speaking, everything depends on the taste of the people after the cataclysm[[/note]]. Besides, everyone knows the universal currency of Post-Apocalyptia will be [[VideoGame/{{Fallout}} bottlecaps]] and [[VideoGame/Metro2033 AK bullets]].

* While "Cold Steel" isn't bad per se, it's usually inferior to a knife made in hot steel. Cold steel just means the knife was pressed or cut from a sheet of steel without heating it. This is in contrast to a forged knife or cast knife that where the steel is heated (and in the latter, liquefied) to make the shape of the blade. While the disadvantages of cold steel are theoretically minor, forging and casting are more expensive and thus more likely to be finished out correctly. Cold steel is mass produced, and there is more likely to be problems with the temper, bevel, quality of the steel, heat treat, ect.

* The term "affordable housing" began as this type of marketing spin. These apartments were affordable because they were in the bad parts of town and the landlord had largely given up on maintenance. They would also advertise as being free of trash and maintenance fees, because there was no trash and maintenance services either.

* The UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn boasted in commercials having ''8 processors'', thereby somehow making it superior to the competing [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation Sony PlayStation]], which only featured 5 (your standard CPU, GPU, and SPU combo, plus a CD drive controller and DSP for disc access). In reality this made the Saturn hideously difficult to program for, not to mention expensive to produce. The [=PS1=]'s simpler architecture meant that games often looked and ran better on that system due to the greater ease of programming (also propagating the myth that the Saturn was vastly less powerful than the [=PS1=]. While this wasn't exactly true, the extra processors didn't mean the Saturn was able to run circles around the [=PlayStation=][[note]]In fact, the Saturn originally really ''was'' less powerful than the [=PlayStation=], as it was originally designed for [=2D=] games. When Sega realized the competing [=PlayStation=] would have [=3D=] graphics, the extra processors were added to the system late in development so that the Saturn could better compete[[/note]]). This also had the added benefit of keeping manufacturing costs down, which allowed Sony to market the [=PS1=] at a lower price point and essentially lure away Sega's consumer base.

* Part of the reason Betamax lost its format war to VHS was that Sony unsuccessfully pulled this trope. [[FlameBait While there have been multiple discussions on the technical superiority of one tape over the other,]] the fact of the matter is that VHS started producing [=VCRs=] with more features than betamachines. To try to stay relevant, Sony advertised that you didn't have to pay for features you might not use with a betamachine. There were two problems with that. First: Betamachines tended to be more expensive than VHS [=VCRs=]. So, [[ExactWords while you might not pay for features you might not use, Sony didn't exactly mean you'd save any money either.]] Secondly, these features were things most users were interested in, and most Betamachine users would have to pay even more to install as addons. For example: VHS [=VCRs=] had an automatic start and stop function (allowing people to record programs during times when they weren't free to watch TV), where Betamachines could only be manually started by default (only good for recording one show while another is playing)

* It started as a trend in the US during the 1990s for most boxed cake mixes to advertise their product as having "pudding in the mix." This was done as a way to counter their previous reputation of being dry and spongy, having an ingredient as rich and liquid as pudding in the mix implied the finished cake will be moist and soft as well. The part they leave out is that a standard recipe for custard (what is often called "pudding" in American slang,) consists of a base of sugar, dairy (milk or cream,) and egg yolks. Since milk, sugar, and eggs are pretty much base ingredients in most cake recipes already (with the addition of flour,) it technically means '''all''' cakes could be said to have "pudding in the mix" and their boxed mix isn't really that special. For an added indignity, most boxed cake mixes require you to add the eggs and sometimes the dairy yourself (others include powdered milk in the mix and merely ask for water or oil) meaning the only real part of the "pudding" the cake mix itself is guaranteed to contribute is the sugar. The ratio of egg white to yolk does much more to affect the moistness of the finished product: the more egg white you add in, the less dense and moist the cake will be.

* It started as a trend in the US during the 1990s for most boxed cake mixes to advertise their product as having "pudding in the mix." This was done as a way to counter their previous reputation of being dry and spongy, having an ingredient as rich and liquid as pudding in the mix implied the finished cake will be moist and soft as well. The part they leave out is that a standard recipe for custard (what is often called "pudding" in American slang,) consists of a base of sugar, dairy (milk or cream,) and egg yolks. Since milk, sugar, and eggs are pretty much base ingredients in most cake recipes already (with the addition of flour,) it technically means '''all''' cakes could be said to have "pudding in the mix" and their boxed mix isn't really that special. For an added indignity, most boxed cake mixes require you to add the eggs and sometimes the dairy yourself (others include powdered milk in the mix and merely ask for water or oil) meaning the only real part of the "pudding" the cake mix itself is guaranteed to contribute is the sugar.

Compare and contrast OurProductSucks, where product flaws are described more honestly, and GoodBadBugs, which is (generally) a software and gaming trope when a bug makes its way into the game, isn't picked up or fixed by the developers, but ends up left in the game for some reason (usually because it's harmless and [[RuleOfFunny funny]]). Also compare AsbestosFreeCereal, when the advertisement is trying to sell the product on trumped-up claims that are [[ExactWords technically true]] but also insignificant in the first place. DeceptivelySimpleDemonstration is also an upside framed deceptively, only it doesn't tend to be an actual flaw. See also DeliberateFlawRetcon, when the creator of an artistic work claims that flaws in the work were actually put in there intentionally. See also PolishTheTurd and DamnedByFaintPraise. NotAvailableInStores is often a subtrope, where "nobody carries this garbage/we want you to buy straight from us" is repolished as "exclusive, rare, and special."

* Another device that was trying to get funded at the time of the Juicero disaster, was "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2e1x5IaO7k SMALT - The World's First Interactive Centerpiece and Smart Salt Dispenser]]". No, your eyes are not deceiving you. An internet-connected salt shaker/dispenser with companion smart phone app. Rather than play the TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket route, they instead take it in the opposite direction by bragging about all the neat features it has compared to your average container of table salt. The average container of table salt that most people can use to season their food in less time than it takes to pull out their phone, turn on the app, select the dispenser setting and amount, set the mood lighting color, and have a conversation about the device that the company behind it advertises that it wants you to have with your dinner guests. Yes, really. Now we don't have much room to talk here, but if this device is the highlight of your dinner table conversations, then you may want to re-examine the choices in this life that you've made that has brought you to holding a "riveting conversation" about a freaking ''salt shaker''.Keep in mind that Internet-connected appliances that have no real need to connect to the Internet often exist primarily to obtain and sell customers' personal information. The real purpose of the SMALT wasn't to grind salt; it was to [[SpyCam collect data]] the parent company could profit from. Same with the Juicero (there's a reason Google gave them tens of millions in venture capital); same with all other similar devices.

* Another device that was trying to get funded at the time of the Juicero disaster, was "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2e1x5IaO7k SMALT - The World's First Interactive Centerpiece and Smart Salt Dispenser]]". No, your eyes are not deceiving you. An internet-connected salt shaker/dispenser with companion smart phone app. Rather than play the TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket route, they instead take it in the opposite direction by bragging about all the neat features it has compared to your average container of table salt. The average container of table salt that most people can use to season their food in less time than it takes to pull out their phone, turn on the app, select the dispenser setting and amount, set the mood lighting color, and have a conversation about the device that the company behind it advertises that it wants you to have with your dinner guests. Yes, really. Keep in mind that Internet-connected appliances that have no real need to connect to the Internet often exist primarily to obtain and sell customers' personal information. The real purpose of the SMALT wasn't to grind salt; it was to [[SpyCam collect data]] the parent company could profit from. Same with the Juicero (there's a reason Google gave them tens of millions in venture capital); same with all other similar devices.

* For that matter, there's an increase in various "smart" kitchen gadgets in recent years... ranging from large such as ovens to smaller such as slow-cookers, with manufacturers boasting that it makes the device smaller and more streamlined and increases convenience since you can make adjusts from anywhere with a smartphone app. The problem (besides the obvious data-mining mentioned above) arises when companies start removing any kind of manual controls and instead make their devices '''app-only''' which leaves you dependent on an online app to do anything with your device. If there's a breakdown anywhere in the line of operation (the company goes out of business, decides to stop maintaining the servers for the app, you get a new phone or operating system upgrade that's incompatible with the app, even the internet service either at the company or your home goes out,) your expensive appliance is now a doorstop.

* Those commercials for Goldline that you see Creator/{{Fox News|Channel}} and Radio/GlennBeck advertising insist that, since the entire world will soon be descending into poverty-driven madness, you should trade in all of your soon-to-be-worthless cash for their delicious, shiny gold. They don't bother mentioning that since they're taking in all the paper money, they're driving ''themselves'' into the future, gold-driven poorhouse. That's because actually, they're making money by pretending to be gold brokers who are trading cash for gold near the current rate, when they're really selling gold at a ''huge'' markup. There's been some Senate inquiries into this. While the price of gold probably is going to go down and isn't that great an investment, if you wish to buy gold anyway, check the current price of gold online so when you go to buy it, you aren't suckered by someone offering it to you at three times what the market says it's worth.\\

This problem goes back to at least 1984, and ''Xavior'' on the [[UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum Spectrum]]; the blurb boasted "4,096 screens" and "32 great level designs", carefully omitting to mention that these two combined meant that (1) all those screens looked pretty much the same and (2) slogging through them rapidly became a chore. It thus took over 20 years for the game to finally be completed — and for it to be discovered that [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable the end-game routine doesn't work]].

* The Pasta Pro, a big pasta pot with a lid that doubles as a colander, proudly advertises that the lid locks on tight so you won't scald yourself due to the lid falling off. Sounds like a great idea -- one less dish to wash -- but some reviewers have reported that the lid isn't "locking on" so much as it's ''warping''. It sticks so badly that it won't come off when the pot is hot. Of course, attempting to pry the lid off carries a very high risk of burns. Other manufacturers have [[FollowTheLeader improved upon]] the idea with better results.

* [[https://i.redd.it/cn6jey2uroj71.jpg This]] early magazine ad for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 (then called the [[WorkingTitle Nintendo Ultra 64]]) touts its infamous lack of a CD drive as a virtue, citing the slow load times of CD-ROM and the instantaneous load times of cartridge. While Nintendo likely stuck with cartridges for this reason (along with concerns of [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil piracy]]), this decision also carried a ton of downsides such as limited storage space ([=64MB=] ''max'', which doesn't even come close to touching a [=CD-ROM=]'s [=700MB=]), longer production times, and increased manufacturing costs. These costs were often passed onto the consumer, as Nintendo 64 games tended to be priced higher than UsefulNotes/PlayStation games, especially the games printed on higher-capacity cartridges as those were more expensive to produce. Developers were deeply upset with having to deal with a measly 64 MB of space to work with, along with Nintendo's overbearing content policies at the time and a myriad of other technical issues plaguing the [=N64=], leading many to produce games for the competing [=PlayStation=] instead. This translated to less games for Nintendo 64 owners, with many of the best games coming from either Creator/{{Rareware}} or Nintendo themselves.

* Back in the days of analog television, some sets were mono (sounds worse and has only one channel of audio) while others were stereo. Some of the mono sets tried to advertise that as an advantage, since you could run the missing channel to an external speaker (not included naturally) and theoretically achieve stereo with greater separation. While technically possible, it is annoying to do and make it sound right. There was also nothing stopping you from trying that with a stereo tv. [[Note]] It's also worth noting that composite video inputs work by creating a complete circuit through the the left audio channel and the video channel. So, you couldn't just plug the video into the TV and the audio into a sound system.[[/note]]

* Back in the days of analog television, some sets were mono (sounds worse and has only one channel of audio) while others were stereo. Some of the mono sets tried to advertise that as an advantage, since you could run the missing channel to an external speaker (not included naturally) and theoretically achieve stereo with greater separation. While technically possible, it is annoying to do and make it sound right. There was also nothing stopping you from trying that with a stereo tv.

* Knives (or even worse, swords) that can store something[[note]]almost always a cheap survival kit[[/note]] in the hilt. This means that implement does not have a tang, the part of the blade that sits within the hilt and keeps the visible part of the blade connected to it. Such blades are extremely likely to break off their handle, and are often derided as "knife-like objects." More often than not, the storage compartment is just the cavity left by the injection molding process, itself another mark of a cheap knife. Putting a lid on this cavity and labeling it as a storage compartment makes it seem elite, and can often be sold for much more than an actual utility knife [[BoringButPractical with a storage compartment in its sheath.]]

* It started as a trend in the US during the 1990s for most boxed cake mixes to advertise their product as having "pudding in the mix." This was done as a way to counter their previous reputation of being dry and spongy, having substance as rich and liquid as pudding in the mix implied the finished cake will be moist and soft as well. The part they leave out is that a standard recipe for custard (what is often called "pudding" in American slang,) consists of a base of sugar, dairy (milk or cream,) and egg yolks. Since milk, sugar, and eggs are pretty much base ingredients in most cake recipes already (with the addition of flour,) it technically means '''all''' cakes could be said to have "pudding in the mix" and their boxed mix isn't really that special. For an added indignity, most boxed cake mixes require you to add the eggs and sometimes the dairy yourself (others include powdered milk in the mix and merely ask for water or oil) meaning the only real part of the "pudding" the cake mix itself contributes is the sugar.

* While not universal, a few "smart" appliances fall into this category. Computers have been finding their way into appliances since at least the nineties and electromechanical logic is as old as appliances themselves. However with some smart appliances, that logic, which was previously entirely self contained, is shifted to an app on your phone. This is mostly to make coding easier and so less processing/ logic has to be in the device itself. However, if the app stops being supported, it's entirely possible that the device will no longer work.

** While not universal, a few "smart" appliances fall into this category. Computers have been finding their way into appliances since at least the nineties and electromechanical logic is as old as appliances themselves. However with some smart appliances, that logic, which was previously entirely self contained, is shifted to an app on your phone. This is mostly to make coding easier and so less processing/ logic has to be in the device itself. However, if the app stops being supported, it's entirely possible that the device will no longer work.

[[folder: In Fiction]]

* [[https://i.redd.it/cn6jey2uroj71.jpg This]] early magazine ad for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 (then called the [[WorkingTitle Nintendo Ultra 64]]) touts its infamous lack of a CD drive as a virtue, citing the slow load times of CD-ROM and the instantaneous load times of cartridge. While Nintendo likely stuck with cartridges for this reason (along with concerns of [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil piracy]]), this decision also carried a ton of downsides such as limited storage space ([=64MB=] ''max'', which doesn't even come close to touching a [=CD-ROM=]'s [=700MB=]), longer production times, and increased manufacturing costs, costs that were often passed onto the consumer, as Nintendo 64 games tended to be priced higher than UsefulNotes/PlayStation games, especially the games printed on higher-capacity cartridges as those were more expensive to produce. Developers were deeply upset with having to deal with a measly 64 MB of space to work with, along with Nintendo's overbearing content policies at the time and a myriad of other technical issues plaguing the [=N64=], leading many to produce games for the competing [=PlayStation=] instead. This translated to less games for Nintendo 64 owners, with many of the best games coming from either Creator/{{Rareware}} or Nintendo themselves.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG9C7Tgms8U This video]] by the WebVideo/LockPickingLawyer shows off a "[=ProKevLock=] Multi" anti-theft bag, advertised as being made of kevlar and as such "almost impossible to cut". The logic is evidently that people who need such a bag will see "kevlar", think of the stuff that body armor is made of, and immediately conclude that this means it's indestructible; in reality, and as the video demonstrates, kevlar is easily defeated by sharp objects (and that's ignoring that the small print states it's only a kevlar-style fabric and not the real deal). It's probably not for nothing that the full claim is "almost impossible to cut [[ExactWords with conventional tools]]", without specifying the one kind of tool people would actually use to cut a bag open.