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* In the first minute of WebVideo/TechnologyConnections video [[https://youtu.be/mSFwyM2L5h4?t=49 CED Part 2]], Alec does this to fix a RepetitiveAudioGlitch on his {{UsefulNotes/CED}} machine.

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* In the first minute of WebVideo/TechnologyConnections video [[https://youtu.be/mSFwyM2L5h4?t=49 CED Part 2]], Alec does this to fix a RepetitiveAudioGlitch on his {{UsefulNotes/CED}} {{Platform/CED}} machine.
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* ''Series/TheCrown2016''. Queen Elizabeth II tells off the Queen Mother when she starts whacking the television set when it starts fizzing out, pointing out that it's rented. A nearby footman simply tunes the set so the image returns.

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** One episode features a particularly dodgy ship that only really works when the engines are thumped with a stick.

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** One The episode "The Flax" features a particularly dodgy ship that only really works when the engines are thumped with a stick.stick.
--->'''Staanz:''' Hang on. If I don't get to this, she's going to blow! ''(banging on the machine with a metal rod)'' COME ON BABY!
--->'''D'Argo:''' Why don't you just get it fixed?
--->'''Staanz:''' I did fix it! That's why it works when I whack it a few times!
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* At the end of the Music/BeastieBoys "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" video, Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D are trying to [[{{Safecracking}} break into a safe full of money]]. Ad-Rock is turning the combination dial while listening to a stethoscope, MCA is using a jackhammer, and Mike is using a crowbar. Finally MCA just bangs his fist on the top of the safe and the door flies open.

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* At the end of the Music/BeastieBoys Music/BeastieBoys' "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" video, Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D are trying to [[{{Safecracking}} break into a safe full of money]]. Ad-Rock is turning the combination dial while listening to a stethoscope, MCA is using a jackhammer, and Mike is using a crowbar. Finally MCA just bangs his fist on the top of the safe and the door flies open.
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* At the end of the Music/BeastieBoys "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" video, Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D are trying to [[{{Safecracking}} break into a safe full of money]]. Ad-Rock is turning the combination dial while listening to a stethoscope, MCA is using a jackhammer, and Mike is using a crowbar. Finally MCA just bangs his fist on the top of the safe and the door flies open.
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* In the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo beat-em-up game ''[[VideoGame/RushingBeat The Peace Keepers]]'', in one level your hero finds that the bad guys have rigged the plane you're on to crash. The only way to prevent it from crashing is to ''[[FridgeLogic completely destroy all the control consoles]]'' so the autopilot kicks in.
* In the UsefulNotes/Commodore64 game ''Super Pipeline'' and its sequel, your helpers fix leaky pipes by ''hitting the pipes with their hammers''.

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* In the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo Platform/SuperNintendo beat-em-up game ''[[VideoGame/RushingBeat The Peace Keepers]]'', in one level your hero finds that the bad guys have rigged the plane you're on to crash. The only way to prevent it from crashing is to ''[[FridgeLogic completely destroy all the control consoles]]'' so the autopilot kicks in.
* In the UsefulNotes/Commodore64 Platform/Commodore64 game ''Super Pipeline'' and its sequel, your helpers fix leaky pipes by ''hitting the pipes with their hammers''.



* This is, believe it or not, one of the many ways to ([[ItOnlyWorksOnce temporarily]]) cure the [[HeroicRROD Red Rings of Death]] on UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}s. (Another one is baking, mentioned later on this page for [=GPUs=] -- because the fault '''is''' in fact an unsoldered GPU.)

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* This is, believe it or not, one of the many ways to ([[ItOnlyWorksOnce temporarily]]) cure the [[HeroicRROD Red Rings of Death]] on UsefulNotes/{{Xbox Platform/{{Xbox 360}}s. (Another one is baking, mentioned later on this page for [=GPUs=] -- because the fault '''is''' in fact an unsoldered GPU.)



* After a few years of use, the original UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}'s DVD drive may stop opening. The correct procedure for this is a good, solid thump right above the drive.

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* After a few years of use, the original UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}'s Platform/{{Xbox}}'s DVD drive may stop opening. The correct procedure for this is a good, solid thump right above the drive.
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* During theStinger in ''Film/{{Wonka}}'', the Oompa-Loompa gets the projector working after it stops by thumping it.
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** If a Luxan is bleeding and the color is inky-black, Percussive Maintenance must be performed on the wound until the blood turns to a clear color. Yes, an entire species whose first aid procedure consists of Percussive Maintenance. It's ''that'' kind of show.

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** If a Luxan is bleeding and the color is inky-black, Percussive Maintenance must be performed on the wound must be struck as hard as possible until the blood turns to a clear color. Yes, an entire species whose first aid procedure consists of Percussive Maintenance. It's ''that'' kind of show.
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* One event in the first ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'' has Tact facing a malfunctioning coffee machine, and he can ask any of the three Angels present for help with it. If he chooses Forte, she steps up and starts kicking the machine until it works.

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* One event in the first ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'' has Tact facing a malfunctioning coffee machine, and he can ask any of the three Angels present for help with it. If he chooses Forte, she steps up and starts kicking the machine until it works. Another event also has Tact visiting Milfie in her room when she's trying out a popcorn machine, which she chops when it doesn't work and the thing ends up blasting the popcorn all over the room and leaves the two [[SuggestiveCollision in a rather compromising position]].

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* ''Anime/LupinIIITheColumbusFiles'' has Goemon doing this to the motorboat's engine.

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* ''Anime/LupinIIITheColumbusFiles'' has Goemon doing this to the motorboat's engine. Lupin tries to do the same thing later but just breaks it further.



* ''Anime/LupinIIITheColumbusFiles: Goemon does this with a shoddy outboard motor. Lupin tries to do the same thing later but just breaks it further.

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* A more "realistic" example, in an episode of ''Manga/CrayonShinChan'' has the Nohara family's television fuzzing up. Mitsae Nohara then attempts to fix it by slapping it's side, and later its top when it starts showing double images, only to make it shut down instead.

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* A more "realistic" example, in an episode of ''Manga/CrayonShinChan'' has the Nohara family's television fuzzing up. Mitsae Nohara then attempts to fix it by slapping it's its side, and later its top when it starts showing double images, only to make it shut down instead.



** The early chapter that introduces the Time Cloth (one of the series' most recurring, frequently-used gadgets) have Nobita and Doraemon watching the Nobi household's old, cranky television set, and the screen finally fuzzing up causing Nobita and Doraemon to celebrate "finally, we're getting a new TV!" only for Nobita's mother, Tamako to come over and land a chop on it's side, fixing the screen. At which point a frustrated Doraemon decide to just take out the Time Cloth and de-age their TV set to brand new. Tamako even lampshades the trope briefly, "You just need to know ''where to hit''."
** An example that doesn't involve technology shows up in ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasDorabianNights'', when Sinbad, Doraemon and Nobita tries spying on the escaped slaver, Abdil, through Sinbad's magic Pool of Visions. The pool suddenly gets fuzzy, and Sinbad hits it's sides with his staff, so it becomes clear again. But then it starts getting fuzzy once more - cue Nobita, Doraemon and Sinbad hitting the whole thing simultaneously, to no avail. Nobita even lampshades "this thing is like an old TV!"

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** The early chapter that introduces the Time Cloth (one of the series' most recurring, frequently-used gadgets) have Nobita and Doraemon watching the Nobi household's old, cranky television set, and the screen finally fuzzing up causing Nobita and Doraemon to celebrate "finally, we're getting a new TV!" only for Nobita's mother, Tamako to come over and land a chop on it's its side, fixing the screen. At which point a frustrated Doraemon decide decides to just take out the Time Cloth and de-age their TV set to brand new. Tamako even lampshades the trope briefly, "You just need to know ''where to hit''."
** An example that doesn't involve technology shows up in ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasDorabianNights'', when Sinbad, Doraemon Doraemon, and Nobita tries try spying on the escaped slaver, Abdil, through Sinbad's magic Pool of Visions. The pool suddenly gets fuzzy, and Sinbad hits it's its sides with his staff, so it becomes clear again. But then it starts getting fuzzy once more - cue Nobita, Doraemon and Sinbad hitting the whole thing simultaneously, to no avail. Nobita even lampshades "this thing is like an old TV!"



* In the second season of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' the members of Celestial Being try to get the titular Gundam's [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Twin Drive system]] to work, but never seem to get it to stable operation, even with the hypothesized 'best combination' of [[spoiler:0 Gundam's and Exia]]'s GN Drives. Guess how [[spoiler:Setsuna]] gets it to work when the mothership gets attacked a few minutes later.
* Used by Tamama in an episode of ''Manga/SgtFrog'', where he fixes a machine with a rapid fire punch attack. It does take a few tries to find the attack that works, though.
* The whole premise of ''Hikkatsu'' is centered on this, where geomagnetic abnormalities have let to a complete technological breakdown, with various electronics, vehicles and appliances going berserk, and after his martial arts master is killed by a runaway construction vehicle, the main character tries to turn Percussive Maintenance [[MartialArtsAndCrafts into a martial art.]]

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* In the second season of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' the members of Celestial Being try to get the titular Gundam's [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Twin Drive system]] to work, work but never seem to get it to stable operation, even with the hypothesized 'best combination' of [[spoiler:0 Gundam's and Exia]]'s GN Drives. Guess how [[spoiler:Setsuna]] gets it to work when the mothership gets attacked a few minutes later.
* Used by Tamama in an episode of ''Manga/SgtFrog'', where he fixes a machine with a rapid fire rapid-fire punch attack. It does take a few tries to find the attack that works, though.
* The whole premise of ''Hikkatsu'' is centered on this, where geomagnetic abnormalities have let led to a complete technological breakdown, with various electronics, vehicles vehicles, and appliances going berserk, and after his martial arts master is killed by a runaway construction vehicle, the main character tries to turn Percussive Maintenance [[MartialArtsAndCrafts into a martial art.]]



* ''Anime/LupinIIITheColumbusFiles: Goemon does this with a shoddy outboard motor. Lupin tries to do the same thing later but just breaks it further.



* French comedy comics Isidore has a gag in which Isidore, a mechanic, is trying to watch soccer on his TV, but it keeps breaking. He repeatedly punches his TV, without any results. A client comes in with his car, asking for repairs; Isidore, still caught in the anger, punches the car, AND IT RESTARTS. The client leaves happy, but the TV still isn't working.

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* French comedy comics comic Isidore has a gag in which Isidore, a mechanic, is trying to watch soccer on his TV, but it keeps breaking. He repeatedly punches his TV, without any results. A client comes in with his car, asking for repairs; Isidore, still caught in the anger, punches the car, AND IT RESTARTS. The client leaves happy, but the TV still isn't working.



* In the second Creator/DCComics ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series, picking up after ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'', the malfunctioning CaptainsLog recorder from the film becomes a RunningGag for the first three issues, until Captain Kirk finally orders Scotty to fix it himself. Scotty examines the device for a few moments, before slamming it against the armrest of Kirk's chair.

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* In the second Creator/DCComics ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series, picking up after ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'', the malfunctioning CaptainsLog recorder from the film becomes a RunningGag for the first three issues, issues until Captain Kirk finally orders Scotty to fix it himself. Scotty examines the device for a few moments, before slamming it against the armrest of Kirk's chair.



* During the ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} in Paradise'' arc, Odie and the local mechanic are trying to get a classic car to start in order to [[ItMakesSenseInContext drop it into a volcano to appease it.]] They try every repair job they can think of, until Odie hits the carburetor with a hammer...at which point the car roars to life and takes off.

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* During the ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} in Paradise'' arc, Odie and the local mechanic are trying to get a classic car to start in order to [[ItMakesSenseInContext drop it into a volcano to appease it.]] They try every repair job they can think of, of until Odie hits taps the carburetor with a hammer...at which point the car roars to life and takes off.



* ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'' segment "So Beautiful and So Dangerous". One of the aliens tries to open a compartment to obtain a bag of drugs. When pushing a button fails to do anything, he kicks it and it slides opens.

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* ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'' segment "So Beautiful and So Dangerous". One of the aliens tries to open a compartment to obtain a bag of drugs. When pushing a button fails to do anything, he kicks it and it slides opens.open.



** Calhoun frequently shakes and hits the motion-detector she's using to track Cy-Bugs, as it has trouble functioning through all the sweets that constitutes ''Sugar Rush''[='s=] landscape. It doesn't do much good, though.

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** Calhoun frequently shakes and hits the motion-detector she's using to track Cy-Bugs, as it has trouble functioning through all the sweets that constitutes constitute ''Sugar Rush''[='s=] landscape. It doesn't do much good, though.



* The climax of the action movie, ''Film/BigBullet'', have Sergant Bill and his trainees infiltrating a military plane hijacked by terrorists to prevent it from taking off. Bill's youngest rookie, Apple, managed to get herself in the cockpit, and after some failed attempts to stop the plane from moving by pressing dials and knobs on the controls, she instead decide to kick the pedals in desperation. It ''works''.

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* The climax of the action movie, ''Film/BigBullet'', have Sergant movie ''Film/BigBullet'' has Sergeant Bill and his trainees infiltrating a military plane hijacked by terrorists to prevent it from taking off. Bill's youngest rookie, Apple, managed to get herself in the cockpit, and after some failed attempts to stop the plane from moving by pressing dials and knobs on the controls, she instead decide decided to kick the pedals in desperation. It ''works''.



* ''Film/DemolitionMan''. During the final battle between John Spartan and Simon Phoenix, Phoenix tries to use a laser cutting device on Spartan but its power output drops. Phoenix bashes it against a column, breaking the focusing lens, and its power massively increases for a bit (though also consequently less accurate, shooting electrical arcs everywhere) before it burns out completely.

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* ''Film/DemolitionMan''. During the final battle between John Spartan and Simon Phoenix, Phoenix tries to use a laser cutting laser-cutting device on Spartan but its power output drops. Phoenix bashes it against a column, breaking the focusing lens, and its power massively increases for a bit (though also consequently less accurate, shooting electrical arcs everywhere) before it burns out completely.



* In ''Film/GettingStraight'', Harry can't get TheAllegedCar to turn off. He repeatedly hits and kicks the steering wheel, which causes the radio to turn on, but after enough whacks he manages to get both the car and the radio turned off.

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* In ''Film/GettingStraight'', Harry can't get TheAllegedCar to turn off. He repeatedly hits and kicks the steering wheel, which causes the radio to turn on, but after enough whacks whacks, he manages to get both the car and the radio turned off.



* At the beginning of ''[[Film/JackFrost1998 Jack Frost]]'' (the family version, not the serial killer version), Creator/MichaelKeaton's character is going to a music gig with his band but then decides to go back to spend Christmas with his family. His best friend gives him his car. A snow storm starts, and the guy is trying to see where he is going. Then the windshield wipers stop working. This is when he tries Percussive Maintenance on the dash to try to get them working again, as his friend showed him before. Unfortunately, he loses sight of the road and drives off a cliff.

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* At the beginning of ''[[Film/JackFrost1998 Jack Frost]]'' (the family version, not the serial killer version), Creator/MichaelKeaton's character is going to a music gig with his band but then decides to go back to spend Christmas with his family. His best friend gives him his car. A snow storm snowstorm starts, and the guy is trying to see where he is going. Then the windshield wipers stop working. This is when he tries Percussive Maintenance on the dash to try to get them working again, as his friend showed him before. Unfortunately, he loses sight of the road and drives off a cliff.



* In ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'' the famous ThisPageWillSelfDestruct trope is spoofed by having Ethan's IMF briefing (hidden in a Russian public phone) fail to self destruct after five seconds. Ethan walks back and thumps the phone, which finally produces the expected puff of smoke.

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* In ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'' the famous ThisPageWillSelfDestruct trope is spoofed by having Ethan's IMF briefing (hidden in a Russian public phone) fail to self destruct self-destruct after five seconds. Ethan walks back and thumps the phone, which finally produces the expected puff of smoke.



* The Julie Andrews Movie Musical ''Film/ThoroughlyModernMillie'' (as well as the TheMusical adaptation for the stage) featured an old timey elevator that you had to tap-dance in to get started.

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* The Julie Andrews Movie Musical ''Film/ThoroughlyModernMillie'' (as well as the TheMusical adaptation for the stage) featured an old timey old-timey elevator that you had to tap-dance in to get started.



* Old joke: A man can't get his car working, so he gets it into a repair shop. The repairmen turns over the engine a few times, then goes to his tool rack and grabs a hammer. He comes back, pops the hood, gives the engine one quick rap with the hammer, then turns the key and -- presto! Engine works. The repairman then hands the owner his bill for $220, to which the owner responds "What!? $220 for hitting it once with a hammer?" The repairman responds, "Nope, hitting with the hammer is only $20. The other $200 is for knowing where to hit it."[[note]]A more hi-tech (by 1950s standards), non-percussive variation of this joke was told about a number of early computer scientists, with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann John von Neumann]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbert_Wiener Norbert Wiener]] being the most common figure in them, though a later version from the 1970s features [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Cray Seymour Cray]]. In the joke, The Expert carefully listens to the description of the problem, then takes a look at the wiring diagram, and circles the faulty part in pen and walks out. He later sends a bill for $1000.01, itemized as, "One cent for the pen mark, $1000 for knowing where to draw it."[[/note]]

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* Old joke: A man can't get his car working, so he gets it into a repair shop. The repairmen repairman turns over the engine a few times, then goes to his tool rack and grabs a hammer. He comes back, pops the hood, gives the engine one quick rap with the hammer, then turns the key key, and -- presto! Engine works. The repairman then hands the owner his bill for $220, to which the owner responds "What!? $220 for hitting it once with a hammer?" The repairman responds, "Nope, hitting with the hammer is only $20. The other $200 is for knowing where to hit it."[[note]]A more hi-tech (by 1950s standards), non-percussive variation of this joke was told about a number of early computer scientists, with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann John von Neumann]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbert_Wiener Norbert Wiener]] being the most common figure in them, though a later version from the 1970s features [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Cray Seymour Cray]]. In the joke, The Expert carefully listens to the description of the problem, then takes a look at the wiring diagram, and circles the faulty part in pen pen, and walks out. He later sends a bill for $1000.01, itemized as, "One cent for the pen mark, $1000 for knowing where to draw it."[[/note]]



* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': The telescreen freezes, and Foaly goes to repair it. Julius hits it to make it go back on line, but that not only fails (with the narration making it clear that this almost never works) but he burns his hand because the screen gets hot after a time.

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* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': The telescreen freezes, and Foaly goes to repair it. Julius hits it to make it go back on line, online, but that not only fails (with the narration making it clear that this almost never works) but he burns his hand because the screen gets hot after a time.



* ''Literature/TheCatWhoWalksThroughWalls'': The protagonists manage to rent a car from a very, ''very'' low cost rental agency and proceed to fly to the moon (they were already in space and the car's a spaceship). Being a budget rental, everything goes wrong as they try to land. At one point the computer (which controls the rockets) fails. The husband hits it. No go. He hits it again. No go. His wife hits it nearly hard enough to crack the casing. It comes back on. (Briefly.)

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* ''Literature/TheCatWhoWalksThroughWalls'': The protagonists manage to rent a car from a very, ''very'' low cost low-cost rental agency and proceed to fly to the moon (they were already in space and the car's a spaceship). Being a budget rental, everything goes wrong as they try to land. At one point the computer (which controls the rockets) fails. The husband hits it. No go. He hits it again. No go. His wife hits it nearly hard enough to crack the casing. It comes back on. (Briefly.)



* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': When preping a derelict ship to escape in Pegla has Jezzi hit the gauges to get them to show the actual fuel level after they stay on empty even after the tanks have been filled.

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* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': When preping prepping a derelict ship to escape in Pegla has Jezzi hit the gauges to get them to show the actual fuel level after they stay on empty even after the tanks have been filled.



* An episode of the Disney sitcom ''Series/HannahMontana'' has one of the characters, Oliver, have the nickname "Locker Man" because he is gifted with the talent of being able to open a stuck locker with a series of blows.

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* An episode of the Disney sitcom ''Series/HannahMontana'' has one of the characters, Oliver, have having the nickname "Locker Man" because he is gifted with the talent of being able to open a stuck locker with a series of blows.



** Elliott's sorority sister hits a Jukebox and after it turn on, she says "[[PersonAsVerb Hey, I'm the Fonz!]]"

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** Elliott's sorority sister hits a Jukebox and after it turn turns on, she says "[[PersonAsVerb Hey, I'm the Fonz!]]"



** In the pilot episode Chief O'Brien, trying to transport Odo back after a bit of sabotage on the Cardassian ship, is frustrated with his inability to make the transporter work, because it's an unfamiliar system and the Cardassians intentionally trashed the station before they left. Fed up, he kicks the console out of sheer frustration -- and Odo promptly materializes on the pad. The novelization of the episode takes it a little further -- his foot actually ''hit the control'' he was missing on the unfamiliar control panel.

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** In the pilot episode Chief O'Brien, trying to transport Odo back after a bit of sabotage on the Cardassian ship, is frustrated with his inability to make the transporter work, work because it's an unfamiliar system and the Cardassians intentionally trashed the station before they left. Fed up, he kicks the console out of sheer frustration -- and Odo promptly materializes on the pad. The novelization of the episode takes it a little further -- his foot actually ''hit the control'' he was missing on the unfamiliar control panel.



* The AnimatedCreditsOpening of ''Series/SuperGran'' shows the villain Scunner Campbell [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtymNiYlSD4 bashing a malfunctioning piece]] of AppliedPhlebotinum he'd stolen. This backfire badly on him and his gang, since it suddenly fires a ray that turns an elderly woman into his ArchNemesis, Super Gran!
* In one episode of ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', Louie demonstrates this twice when the other cabbies try to unclock a brief case belonging to a big shot who rode in Bobby's cab. Louie first opens it with a punch only to close it shut right away so he can charge the cabbies for his service, and then opens it again ''just by pointing at it.''

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* The AnimatedCreditsOpening of ''Series/SuperGran'' shows the villain Scunner Campbell [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtymNiYlSD4 bashing a malfunctioning piece]] of AppliedPhlebotinum he'd stolen. This backfire badly on him and his gang, gang since it suddenly fires a ray that turns an elderly woman into his ArchNemesis, Super Gran!
* In one episode of ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', Louie demonstrates this twice when the other cabbies try to unclock unlock a brief case briefcase belonging to a big shot who rode in Bobby's cab. Louie first opens it with a punch only to close it shut right away so he can charge the cabbies for his service, and then opens it again ''just by pointing at it.''



* Jeremy Clarkson's general attitude to car maintenance on ''Series/TopGear''. During the ''Top Gear Ground Force'' special, May and Hammond assumed that Clarkson was going to use a hammer to get rid of weeds, since that's what he normally uses for fixing everything. He didn't. He got a shotgun instead.

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* Jeremy Clarkson's general attitude to car maintenance on ''Series/TopGear''. During the ''Top Gear Ground Force'' special, May and Hammond assumed that Clarkson was going to use a hammer to get rid of weeds, weeds since that's what he normally uses for fixing everything. He didn't. He got a shotgun instead.



* ''Manhua/OldMasterQ'' have the titular character's television fuzzing up, so he tries getting it to work by pounding it's top. It doesn't work, so Master Q went to fetch a toolbox, returning with hammers, screwdrivers and other more practical equipment... only for him to ''[[BaitAndSwitch continue banging the television using those tools]]''.

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* ''Manhua/OldMasterQ'' have the titular character's television fuzzing up, so he tries getting it to work by pounding it's its top. It doesn't work, so Master Q went to fetch a toolbox, returning with hammers, screwdrivers screwdrivers, and other more practical equipment... only for him to ''[[BaitAndSwitch continue banging the television using those tools]]''.



* ''[[Radio/IntergalacticalMagicalRadio The Wacky Musical Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Intergalactical Magical Radio]]'': One of the kids suggests to Ronald that they can get the radio station working by hitting it like his father does with the television during the track "We'll Be Listening for the Signal". Ronald points out that such a technique isn't recommended on delicate equipment, but decides it can't hurt to try anyway.

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* ''[[Radio/IntergalacticalMagicalRadio The Wacky Musical Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Intergalactical Magical Radio]]'': One of the kids suggests to Ronald that they can get the radio station working by hitting it like as his father does with the television during the track "We'll Be Listening for the Signal". Ronald points out that such a technique isn't recommended on delicate equipment, but decides it can't hurt to try anyway.



* ''TabletopGame/FezVWizardsBetrayal'': Probably one of the first instances of this in a role-playing game. The "Final Engineer's Test" is performed during the introductory scene -- in this adventure it works somewhat like an exposition. Of course, this comes back later in the adventure -- a newly built machine doesn't work until one of the players performs the "Final Engineer's Test" on it to get it running.

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* ''TabletopGame/FezVWizardsBetrayal'': Probably one of the first instances of this in a role-playing game. The "Final Engineer's Test" is performed during the introductory scene -- in this adventure adventure, it works somewhat like an exposition. Of course, this comes back later in the adventure -- a newly built machine doesn't work until one of the players performs the "Final Engineer's Test" on it to get it running.



** Under ''FATE'' rules, it is also entirely possible to create stunts which allow you to replace one skill check with another (subject to DM approval). Replacing Repair with Melée and invoking this trope would be perfectly permissible.

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** Under ''FATE'' rules, it is also entirely possible to create stunts which that allow you to replace one skill check with another (subject to DM approval). Replacing Repair with Melée and invoking this trope would be perfectly permissible.



*** ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' has it as a talent to unjam weapons. The Technical Knock is a swift prayer to the Omnissiah, and a swift smack to the jammed weapon. It always works.

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*** ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' has it as a talent to unjam weapons. The Technical Knock is a swift prayer to the Omnissiah, Omnissiah and a swift smack to the jammed weapon. It always works.



** Befitting the Orks' general blunt approach to life, their favored way of dealing with temperantal or underperforming machinery is to give it a few solid thumps with a fist or handy blunt object. Horrified Imperial Tech-Priests speculate that Ork Meks brutalize their machine spirits into submission.

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** Befitting the Orks' general blunt approach to life, their favored way of dealing with temperantal temperamental or underperforming machinery is to give it a few solid thumps with a fist or handy blunt object. Horrified Imperial Tech-Priests speculate that Ork Meks brutalize their machine spirits into submission.



* ''VideoGame/{{Apocalypse}}'': Kincaid doesn't press buttons on control panels, he ''kicks'' them. There's also a cutscene where he uses the butt of his machine-gun to smash an electronic pad to forcefully open a door.

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* ''VideoGame/{{Apocalypse}}'': Kincaid doesn't press buttons on control panels, he ''kicks'' them. There's also a cutscene where he uses the butt of his machine-gun machine gun to smash an electronic pad to forcefully open a door.



* The [=PlayStation=] tie-in game for ''VideoGame/DangerGirl'' have a cutscene where Sydney and JC (the team's WrenchWench) are in a submarine, and facing a minor leakage. When JC's repeated attempts to fix the leak doesn't work, she then hits the leaking part with her wrench.

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* The [=PlayStation=] tie-in game for ''VideoGame/DangerGirl'' have has a cutscene where Sydney and JC (the team's WrenchWench) are in a submarine, and facing a minor leakage. When JC's repeated attempts to fix the leak doesn't don't work, she then hits the leaking part with her wrench.



* Inverted in ''VideoGame/WingCommanderIVThePriceOfFreedom'', during the cutscene where Pliers (ship's mechanic) has found a disc of unknown purpose in a captured Dragon (to the characters, that is -- the players know it as a Flash-pak, a bomb capable of burning out a entire capital ship if it hits ANYWHERE on the hull). He doesn't know what it is, so he drops it on the deck, while everyone around him dives for cover -- when it doesn't explode, he then picks it up, [[CaptainObvious states that that's apparently not how it works]], and resigns himself to some actual work.

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* Inverted in ''VideoGame/WingCommanderIVThePriceOfFreedom'', during the cutscene where Pliers (ship's mechanic) has found a disc of unknown purpose in a captured Dragon (to the characters, that is -- the players know it as a Flash-pak, a bomb capable of burning out a an entire capital ship if it hits ANYWHERE on the hull). He doesn't know what it is, so he drops it on the deck, while everyone around him dives for cover -- when it doesn't explode, he then picks it up, [[CaptainObvious states that that's apparently not how it works]], and resigns himself to some actual work.



** Another example in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''. Zell does try to fix a machine the traditional way, but eventually gives it a kick out of frustration. The machine works fine afterwards. Zell's example is somewhat of a subversion though, as while it will does fix the machine and open the door to the dungeon, it also forces you to fight a series of tedious and difficult monster battles. While if you go about the slightly more tedious way of acquiring enough points to open the door normally, you can chose whether or not to fight the monsters.

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** Another example in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''. Zell does try to fix a machine the traditional way, way but eventually gives it a kick out of frustration. The machine works fine afterwards. Zell's example is somewhat of a subversion though, as while it will does fix the machine and open the door to the dungeon, it also forces you to fight a series of tedious and difficult monster battles. While if you go about the slightly more tedious way of acquiring enough points to open the door normally, you can chose choose whether or not to fight the monsters.



** Shadow manages to not only bypass Eggman's security systems, but to ''bodily enter cyberspace'' by karate chopping a computer terminal.

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** Shadow manages to not only bypass Eggman's security systems, systems but to ''bodily enter cyberspace'' by karate chopping a computer terminal.



* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'' has Section trying and failing to fix a CLAW drone. Frustrated, Harper kicks it, and it immediately starts mowing down every bad guy in sight. Apparently, in the futuristic world of 2025 filled with robots and cutting edge computers, it's still tried and true method of fixing things.

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* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'' has Section trying and failing to fix a CLAW drone. Frustrated, Harper kicks it, and it immediately starts mowing down every bad guy in sight. Apparently, in the futuristic world of 2025 filled with robots and cutting edge cutting-edge computers, it's still a tried and true method of fixing things.



* In ''VideoGame/RollerCoasterTycoon'', mechanics fix broken down shops by kicking them.

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* In ''VideoGame/RollerCoasterTycoon'', mechanics fix broken down broken-down shops by kicking them.



* You can play ''Savage: The Battle for Newerth'' entirely with melee if you want to. It's probably done to keep things simple. Building, repairing structures, mining and claiming spawn flags are all done with melee. The people at newerth.com at some point said they were thinking about adding different animations for the different actions depending on what you're aiming at but they never got around to adding it.

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* You can play ''Savage: The Battle for Newerth'' entirely with melee if you want to. It's probably done to keep things simple. Building, repairing structures, mining mining, and claiming spawn flags are all done with melee. The people at newerth.com at some point said they were thinking about adding different animations for the different actions depending on what you're aiming at but they never got around to adding it.



--->"It's Pre-War tech, so you need to thump it once in awhile to keep it running."
** ''Dead Money'' has a console that can activate some security turrets to help you deal with the FinalBoss of the DLC, provided you can pass one of two skill check. One requires you to have sufficient Repair. The other needs you to simply bash it in, and requires a high Unarmed skill.

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--->"It's Pre-War tech, so you need to thump it once in awhile a while to keep it running."
** ''Dead Money'' has a console that can activate some security turrets to help you deal with the FinalBoss of the DLC, provided you can pass one of two skill check. One requires you to have sufficient Repair. The other needs you to simply bash it in, in and requires a high Unarmed skill.



** Ezio solves a ClockPunk puzzle that has been under water and presumably has some gunk in the gears. It grinds to a halt, and he kicks it to get it moving again.

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** Ezio solves a ClockPunk puzzle that has been under water underwater and presumably has some gunk in the gears. It grinds to a halt, and he kicks it to get it moving again.



** Norma in ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' kicking the machine in order for the bridge to appear to each of the four monuments in chapter 6.

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** Norma in ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' kicking kicks the machine in order for the bridge to appear to each of the four monuments in chapter 6.



* ''VideoGame/GhostRider'' has a cutscene where Johnny - in Ghost Rider form - tries activating a control panel to activate an exit. When the buttons doesn't work, Johnny straight-up ''destroys'' the panel with a fiery punch. Surprisingly, it works, cue descending ladder.
* Crewmen in ''VideoGame/GunsOfIcarusOnline'' repair damage to their vessels by running around and hitting various pieces of machinery with a wrench. There's also a special hammer available in the loadout that won't actually repair broken things, but will ''buff'' their stats if you start hitting the fully-repaired machinery with it.

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* ''VideoGame/GhostRider'' has a cutscene where Johnny - in Ghost Rider form - tries activating a control panel to activate an exit. When the buttons doesn't don't work, Johnny straight-up ''destroys'' the panel with a fiery punch. Surprisingly, it works, cue descending ladder.
* Crewmen in ''VideoGame/GunsOfIcarusOnline'' repair damage to their vessels by running around and hitting various pieces of machinery with a wrench. There's also a special hammer available in the loadout that won't actually repair broken things, things but will ''buff'' their stats if you start hitting the fully-repaired machinery with it.



-->'''Ulman:''' Cool, just like in old Hollywood movies about Soviet Union.

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-->'''Ulman:''' Cool, just like in old Hollywood movies about the Soviet Union.



** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Sora's ridiculous banging on the keyboard when he, Donald and Goofy are searching for information on King Mickey and Riku on Ansem the Wise's [[spoiler:Xehanort's]] computer is one of the causes[[labelnote:*]]the other is Donald throwing himself on the keyboard to tackle [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch Stitch]][[/labelnote]] that alerts the Master Control Program, and gets the trio zapped inside.

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** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Sora's ridiculous banging on the keyboard when he, Donald Donald, and Goofy are searching for information on King Mickey and Riku on Ansem the Wise's [[spoiler:Xehanort's]] computer is one of the causes[[labelnote:*]]the other is Donald throwing himself on the keyboard to tackle [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch Stitch]][[/labelnote]] that alerts the Master Control Program, Program and gets the trio zapped inside.



* In the Taiwanese video game ''[[VideoGame/{{Richman}} Richman 8]]'', a News would randomly occured as the game processes, demonstrated by a Newslady and a television. Sometimes, the Newslady will hit the fuzzing television before its screen works properlly, and announce the News afterwards.

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* In the Taiwanese video game ''[[VideoGame/{{Richman}} Richman 8]]'', a News would randomly occured occur as the game processes, demonstrated by a Newslady and a television. Sometimes, the Newslady will hit the fuzzing television before its screen works properlly, properly, and announce the News afterwards.



** In the "Helpers Needed at Once!" sidequest, Malbee requests the party to fix several malfunctioning Mender bots by rebooting their systems. When Kabbu asks how to do that, Malbee answers that they need to whack them until their system is resetted. Kabbu gets worried, because he believes it will hurt their feelings, but both Leif and Malbee assure him they [[JustAMachine don't have any]].

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** In the "Helpers Needed at Once!" sidequest, Malbee requests the party to fix several malfunctioning Mender bots by rebooting their systems. When Kabbu asks how to do that, Malbee answers that they need to whack them until their system is resetted. reset. Kabbu gets worried, worried because he believes it will hurt their feelings, but both Leif and Malbee assure him they [[JustAMachine don't have any]].



* ''VideoGame/DeepRockGalactic'' has a series of pre-made and comically nonsensical 'construction-ish' animations play when you are performing any sort of repair or construction in the game. For sentries, satellite uplinks, fuel cells, mini-mules, and cargo crates, you build/activate these items with repeated whacks of a hammer. For other objective items such as pipelines or rock crackers, the series of random animations includes a few brisk whacks with a pipe wrench. There's almost certainly a ShoutOut to ''Team Fortress 2'' and ''Overwatch'' somewhere in there.

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* ''VideoGame/DeepRockGalactic'' has a series of pre-made and comically nonsensical 'construction-ish' animations that play when you are performing any sort of repair or construction in the game. For sentries, satellite uplinks, fuel cells, mini-mules, and cargo crates, you build/activate these items with repeated whacks of a hammer. For other objective items such as pipelines or rock crackers, the series of random animations includes a few brisk whacks with a pipe wrench. There's almost certainly a ShoutOut to ''Team Fortress 2'' and ''Overwatch'' somewhere in there.



* {{WebVideo/Techmoan}} made a video about [[https://youtu.be/gLlgNbzWJFo?t=951 Mini Showa Retro Consumer Electronics Toys]] from Japan. This miniature smartphone-run TV offer a simulated version of this. Occasionally the "horizontal hold" would go haywire, and the fix is to slap it.

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* {{WebVideo/Techmoan}} made a video about [[https://youtu.be/gLlgNbzWJFo?t=951 Mini Showa Retro Consumer Electronics Toys]] from Japan. This miniature smartphone-run TV offer offers a simulated version of this. Occasionally the "horizontal hold" would go haywire, and the fix is to slap it.



* ''WesternAnimation/{{Dogstar}}'': In "The Quick and the Dog", after Zeke's DoomItYourself attempt to repair the food synthesizer, Alice is able to fix it with a single well-place thump.

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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Dogstar}}'': In "The Quick and the Dog", after Zeke's DoomItYourself attempt to repair the food synthesizer, Alice is able to fix it with a single well-place well-placed thump.



* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'': Fred Flintstone is a master TV repair man, provided he has his club.
* The Fonz himself is featured in ''WesternAnimation/TheFonzAndTheHappyDaysGang'', employing his trademarked fix in order to, among other things, repair a time-traveling flying saucer, vehicle of choice of the gang in the cartoon. In several chapters the Percussive Maintenance (usually in the form of a finger snap) is even seen stopping and reversing inertial momentum (!).

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* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'': Fred Flintstone is a master TV repair man, repairman, provided he has his club.
* The Fonz himself is featured in ''WesternAnimation/TheFonzAndTheHappyDaysGang'', employing his trademarked fix in order to, among other things, repair a time-traveling flying saucer, vehicle of choice of the gang in the cartoon. In several chapters chapters, the Percussive Maintenance (usually in the form of a finger snap) is even seen stopping and reversing inertial momentum (!).



** In the episode "Bender Should Not be Allowed on TV" an Antonio Calculon Junior breaks down. Someone comes by and hits him on the head a couple of times. It doesn't work.

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** In the episode "Bender Should Not be Allowed on TV" an TV", Antonio Calculon Junior breaks down. Someone comes by and hits him on the head a couple of times. It doesn't work.



* ''WesternAnimation/PeterRabbit'': In "Flooded Burrow", Peter and his friends use a vacuum-like device to get the water out of the flooded burrow. Later, when the owl Old Brown threatens to attack, Peter decides to try to reverse it in order to spray him, but isn't sure how. Benjamin suggests giving it a kick, and does so. He ends up suffering AgonyOfTheFeet for it, but it also works, albeit with a bit of a delay.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Lampshaded in "Hide and Seek" when Dr. Doof tries gets his IncrediblyObviousBug working by after repeatedly hitting his monitor.

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* ''WesternAnimation/PeterRabbit'': In "Flooded Burrow", Peter and his friends use a vacuum-like device to get the water out of the flooded burrow. Later, when the owl Old Brown threatens to attack, Peter decides to try to reverse it in order to spray him, him but isn't sure how. Benjamin suggests giving it a kick, kick and does so. He ends up suffering AgonyOfTheFeet for it, but it also works, albeit with a bit of a delay.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Lampshaded in "Hide and Seek" when Dr. Doof tries gets to get his IncrediblyObviousBug working by after repeatedly hitting his monitor.



* ''Animation/{{Pucca}}'': In one episode, Abyo tries to do this with a kick, searching to repair a problem with the time clock of the Master Soo's temple, [[spoiler:which because the dragon was sleeping (it was the main mechanism of the clock), it was causing a [[GroundhogDayLoop day loop]], which only Garu could detect]], but he couldn't repair the problem. Their two attempts caused [[spoiler:that the time was going to forward and back respectively]]. Then, the Master Soo came and with a punch he can solve the problem with the clock... or well, [[spoiler:until that Pucca came later, but that's another story]].
* ''Series/DieSendungMitDerMaus'': In one cartoon, the mouse wants to make a photo of herself. All the photo machine produces are elephants. This trope doesn't help a bit. Why is revealed when the mouse opens the maintenance lid: the machine is a fake and the little blue elephant inside does the pics with crayons.

to:

* ''Animation/{{Pucca}}'': In one episode, Abyo tries to do this with a kick, searching to repair a problem with the time clock of the Master Soo's temple, [[spoiler:which because the dragon was sleeping (it was the main mechanism of the clock), it was causing a [[GroundhogDayLoop day loop]], which only Garu could detect]], but he couldn't repair the problem. Their two attempts caused [[spoiler:that the time was going to forward and back respectively]]. Then, the Master Soo came and with a punch punch, he can solve the problem with the clock... or well, [[spoiler:until that Pucca came later, but that's another story]].
* ''Series/DieSendungMitDerMaus'': In one cartoon, the mouse wants to make take a photo of herself. All the photo machine produces are elephants. This trope doesn't help a bit. Why is revealed when the mouse opens the maintenance lid: the machine is a fake and the little blue elephant inside does the pics with crayons.



* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E06TerminalProvocations Terminal Provocations]]", when Badgey freezes while loading a cargo recovery training simulation, Rutherford gives him a kick to get him working again. It works, but drives Badgey to murder as soon as the safeties fail.

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* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E06TerminalProvocations Terminal Provocations]]", when Badgey freezes while loading a cargo recovery training simulation, Rutherford gives him a kick to get him working again. It works, works but drives Badgey to murder as soon as the safeties fail.



** In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E15Trespass "Trespass"]], a large group led by Obi-Wan and Anakin is investigating a droid base, the inhabitants of which have all been decapitated... not far from a Republic base where the same thing had happened. Obi-Wan attempts to use a computer to find answers, and has no success. Anakin gives it a good punch, and the hologram comes up.

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** In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E15Trespass "Trespass"]], a large group led by Obi-Wan and Anakin is investigating a droid base, the inhabitants of which have all been decapitated... not far from a Republic base where the same thing had happened. Obi-Wan attempts to use a computer to find answers, answers and has no success. Anakin gives it a good punch, and the hologram comes up.



** "Desertion of the Dinobots" has both Autobots and Decepticons malfunctioning due the degradation of a critical element in their systems, Cybertronium. This can result in things like the loss of flight capability, being stuck in one mode or another, or even being stuck partially transformed. At one point, Jazz is stuck in his vehicle mode, unable to transform. Ironhide's solution is a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56jwbLU7ZhQ none-too-gentle kick]] that finally gets Jazz into robot mode.

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** "Desertion of the Dinobots" has both Autobots and Decepticons malfunctioning due to the degradation of a critical element in their systems, Cybertronium. This can result in things like the loss of flight capability, being stuck in one mode or another, or even being stuck partially transformed. At one point, Jazz is stuck in his vehicle mode, unable to transform. Ironhide's solution is a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56jwbLU7ZhQ none-too-gentle kick]] that finally gets Jazz into robot mode.



* During the Apollo 16 mission, an alarm light kept malfunctioning until commander John Young tried kicking it. When he reported success, the response from Earth was "It's an old American custom: kick it if it doesn't work."

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* During the Apollo 16 mission, an alarm light kept malfunctioning until commander Commander John Young tried kicking it. When he reported success, the response from Earth was "It's an old American custom: kick it if it doesn't work."



* The first Skylab mission (the one that had to fix all the major malfunctions that were mostly the result of one solar wing trying to deploy ''during the damn launch'') had a problem with the small solar array hardware having accumulated static. They fixed it by thumping it during a spacewalk. (This works on certain classes of electronics prone to malfunction due to static electricity build up. A suitable thump will help disperse it.)

to:

* The first Skylab mission (the one that had to fix all the major malfunctions that were mostly the result of one solar wing trying to deploy ''during the damn launch'') had a problem with the small solar array hardware having accumulated static. They fixed it by thumping it during a spacewalk. (This works on certain classes of electronics prone to malfunction due to static electricity build up.build-up. A suitable thump will help disperse it.)



* ''999'' had a real life story where a couple were trapped in a car with its engine on fire and but found the electric locks wouldn't open. The husband in desperation started belting the steering column with his hands multiple times, until the locks suddenly opened on their own.

to:

* ''999'' had a real life real-life story where a couple were trapped in a car with its engine on fire and but found the electric locks wouldn't open. The husband in desperation started belting the steering column with his hands multiple times, times until the locks suddenly opened on their own.



* While this is ''not'' advisable unless you have no other choice (e.g. you don't have a backup for some reason or other, your laptop is out of warranty and you don't have money for the fan repair immediately, you're on tour or assignment and can't get to a repair shop/can't do without your only laptop for a week) this does work occasionally to restart a stuck fan on a Macbook Pro (at least the 2010 version). First try to loosen dust/dirt with compressed air if possible, then, find the location of the stuck fan (your fan control software should tell you which side is running slow/not running). With the laptop turned off, smack the case under the fan with the palm or heel of your hand once or twice, then boot, turning the fans to max speed. If this has worked, it will blast out a cloud of dust and dirt and run at normal (or at least some of normal) speed again, usually long enough for you to safely back up or get the money you need or finish your assignment/touring/work...

to:

* While this is ''not'' advisable unless you have no other choice (e.g. you don't have a backup for some reason or other, your laptop is out of warranty and you don't have money for the fan repair immediately, you're on tour or assignment and can't get to a repair shop/can't do without your only laptop for a week) this does work occasionally to restart a stuck fan on a Macbook Pro (at least the 2010 version). First try to loosen dust/dirt with compressed air if possible, then, find the location of the stuck fan (your fan control software should tell you which side is running slow/not running). With the laptop turned off, smack the case under the fan with the palm or heel of your hand once or twice, then boot, turning the fans to max speed. If this has worked, it will blast out a cloud of dust and dirt and run at normal (or at least some of normal) speed again, usually long enough for you to safely back up or up, get the money you need need, or finish your assignment/touring/work...



** Early [=PCs=] as well. And even modern day [=PCs=] with cases manufactured under questionable quality control will have this problem. The author of "Building and Maintaining Your PC" called this issue "card creep", although his advice was a more sensible albeit time consuming "open the PC up and push every single card and RAM bar down". Yeah, a applying percussive force from the top fixes things too in many cases.

to:

** Early [=PCs=] as well. And even modern day modern-day [=PCs=] with cases manufactured under questionable quality control will have this problem. The author of "Building and Maintaining Your PC" called this issue "card creep", although his advice was a more sensible albeit time consuming time-consuming "open the PC up and push every single card and RAM bar down". Yeah, a applying percussive force from the top fixes things too in many cases.



** Atari ST enthusiasts are familiar with something similar, called the Universal 4 Inch Drop. And for pretty much the same reason as the above Apple [=IIIs=].

to:

** Atari ST enthusiasts are familiar with something similar, called the Universal 4 Inch 4-Inch Drop. And for pretty much the same reason as the above Apple [=IIIs=].



** Averted: This is one of the reasons why PCI-E slots (commonly used for Graphics Cards) are often outfitted with a plastic hook which will click into a small slit (or 'key') in the card. The card cannot be moved in the slot unless the hook is pulled back first.
* While not a computer with the same mindset as your early PC, the Austrailian Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) sometimes required a great deal of "impact maintenance" when instrument [=ROMs=] were inserted via floppy disk so the buggers wouldn't jam. Despite these limitations, their use has been lauded and seen by many top-tier artists of {{the Eighties}} and even early [[Main/TheNineties Nineties]], from producers [[Music/TheBuggles Trevor]] [[Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood Horn]] and Music/{{Brian Eno}}, to musicians Music/{{Mike Oldfield}}, Music/{{Peter Gabriel}}, [[Series/MiamiVice Jan Hammer]] and Music/{{Stevie Wonder}}. That, and only ~300 units were made at a [[CrackIsCheaper starting price of $25,000.]]

to:

** Averted: This is one of the reasons why PCI-E slots (commonly used for Graphics Cards) are often outfitted with a plastic hook which that will click into a small slit (or 'key') in the card. The card cannot be moved in the slot unless the hook is pulled back first.
* While not a computer with the same mindset as your early PC, the Austrailian Australian Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) sometimes required a great deal of "impact maintenance" when instrument [=ROMs=] were inserted via floppy disk so the buggers wouldn't jam. Despite these limitations, their use has been lauded and seen by many top-tier artists of {{the Eighties}} and even early [[Main/TheNineties Nineties]], from producers [[Music/TheBuggles Trevor]] [[Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood Horn]] and Music/{{Brian Eno}}, to musicians Music/{{Mike Oldfield}}, Music/{{Peter Gabriel}}, [[Series/MiamiVice Jan Hammer]] and Music/{{Stevie Wonder}}. That, and only ~300 units were made at a [[CrackIsCheaper starting price of $25,000.]]



* Any British geek of late '70s/early '80s vintage worth his or her salt can tell you what a balky piece of equipment the typical Sinclair computer was. The fact that the most common storage device was a common or garden domestic tape recorder didn't help matters in the least. The tinkering that ZX-80/ZX-81/Spectrum owners would engage in with azimuth adjustment screws, volume and tone knobs, cabling position, tape recorder position, computer position and a dozen other things became almost ritualistic. But when all that failed, just whacking the tape recorder, or the computer, or the power supply brick would actually work on a disturbingly regular basis. Some still remember having to keep their feet on the power brick otherwise the dreaded R: Tape Loading Error message would pop up.
** Inverted by the behaviour of the 16Kb RAM pack which attached onto the back of the ZX-81, any slight movement of which relative to the computer could cause an instant system crash and loss of all data, slightest movements caused by, for instance, ''using the keyboard at all''. Users jammed blu-tack, plasticine, modelling clay, cardboard and many other substance into the gap, mounted the computer and RAM pack in improvised vices, and took many other precautions to avoid the nightmare scenario.

to:

* Any British geek of late '70s/early '80s vintage worth his or her salt can tell you what a balky piece of equipment the typical Sinclair computer was. The fact that the most common storage device was a common or garden domestic tape recorder didn't help matters in the least. The tinkering that ZX-80/ZX-81/Spectrum owners would engage in with azimuth adjustment screws, volume and tone knobs, cabling position, tape recorder position, computer position position, and a dozen other things became almost ritualistic. But when all that failed, just whacking the tape recorder, or the computer, or the power supply brick would actually work on a disturbingly regular basis. Some still remember having to keep their feet on the power brick otherwise the dreaded R: Tape Loading Error message would pop up.
** Inverted by the behaviour of the 16Kb RAM pack which attached onto the back of the ZX-81, any slight movement of which relative to the computer could cause an instant system crash and loss of all data, slightest movements caused by, for instance, ''using the keyboard at all''. Users jammed blu-tack, plasticine, modelling clay, cardboard cardboard, and many other substance substances into the gap, mounted the computer and RAM pack in improvised vices, and took many other precautions to avoid the nightmare scenario.



* One of the first things to try when clearing a weapon jam is to simply smack the magazine, which it is also recommended you do before loading the magazine in the first place (it helps the cartridges to seat correctly and reduces the chance of a misfeed). A few good mag taps on a your hand, your helmet or a nearby rock before loading will do wonders for a weapon.

to:

* One of the first things to try when clearing a weapon jam is to simply smack the magazine, which it is also recommended you do before loading the magazine in the first place (it helps the cartridges to seat correctly and reduces the chance of a misfeed). A few good mag taps on a your hand, your helmet helmet, or a nearby rock before loading will do wonders for a weapon.



* Engineer's Creed: "If it moves, and it shouldn't move, use duct tape. If it doesn't move, and it should move, use a hammer." Add a can of WD-40, a pocket-knife, and a six-pack, and you have the Redneck (or [[Series/TheRedGreenShow Red Green]]) Tool Kit.

to:

* Engineer's Creed: "If it moves, and it shouldn't move, use duct tape. If it doesn't move, and it should move, use a hammer." Add a can of WD-40, a pocket-knife, pocket knife, and a six-pack, and you have the Redneck (or [[Series/TheRedGreenShow Red Green]]) Tool Kit.



* Slot machines typically have several different doors leading to various parts of their innards. Sensors are connected to the doors, and generate a tilt whenever they register as being open. Unfortunately, sometimes the machine will be manhandled to the point where closed doors will still show to the machine as being open. An experienced slot attendant often knows how to diagnose which door is the problem and clear the error with one well-placed smack, without going through the trouble of actually opening the door and adjusting the sensor (which often involves filling out logs and other red tape).

to:

* Slot machines typically have several different doors leading to various parts of their innards. Sensors are connected to the doors, doors and generate a tilt whenever they register as being open. Unfortunately, sometimes the machine will be manhandled to the point where closed doors will still show to the machine as being open. An experienced slot attendant often knows how to diagnose which door is the problem and clear the error with one well-placed smack, without going through the trouble of actually opening the door and adjusting the sensor (which often involves filling out logs and other red tape).



** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gashapon_machine.jpg Capsule vending Machines like this]] can usually be fixed by tapping between the lock and the turning knob. Over long periods of use, the path coins travel to engage the gears gets worn down. Tapping/punching said area can shift the coins over small imperfections in the path. Experienced users can usually tell how far the coin has traveled just by sound. Tapping/jiggling the entire machine sometimes works if the capsules are on the larger side (greater tendency to get stuck). They're designed to prevent free-play by tipping though, as there's a large spring which blocks the exit port unless you turn it the proper way.

to:

** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gashapon_machine.jpg Capsule vending Machines like this]] can usually be fixed by tapping between the lock and the turning knob. Over long periods of use, the path coins travel to engage the gears gets worn down. Tapping/punching said area can shift the coins over small imperfections in the path. Experienced users can usually tell how far the coin has traveled just by sound. Tapping/jiggling the entire machine sometimes works if the capsules are on the larger side (greater tendency to get stuck). They're designed to prevent free-play by tipping though, as there's a large spring which that blocks the exit port unless you turn it the proper way.



* London, Brighton and South Coast Railway locomotives had a [[CrazyPrepared special hammer for this purpose]] as part of their standard toolkit. The business end was made of lead, to reduce the risk that it would damage the paintwork.
* Renowned [[RedsWithRockets Soviet]] [[BoringButPractical T-34 tank]] had a very poor transmission/steering design, unfaithfully copying an American project of the late 1930s which hadn't get put into production exactly because it didn't work. The massive iron levers which actuated the steering and gearshift would often get stuck, even worse in freezing temperatures which are typical to Russia, and they had to be moved with a hammer. There were hammers issued to tank drivers just for this purpose.
* Another Soviet standard, the AK-47 and its clones and offspring are infamous for their simplicity and reliability. On the off chance anything ''does'' go wrong with one, though, there's more than a few incidences where the solution was "hit rifle with hammer." Debris causing stoppage? Hit the receiver with a hammer til the debris falls out. Firing pin eating chunks of the primers? Hit the firing pin with a hammer until it stops doing that. Handguard catch fire because you overheated it? Hit the furniture with a hammer until it's extinguished or the furniture falls off, whichever causes your rifle to stop being on fire first. Bolt is stuck due to a stovepiped or disintegrated brass? Pry the (remains of) brass off with pliers and hit the charging handle with a hammer until it moves again. Because of its simplicity --"an elegantly simple nine pound amalgamation of forged steel and plywood," as it was famously put in ''Film/LordOfWar''-- the AK can take this abuse in stride and keep working right through the fix.

to:

* London, Brighton Brighton, and South Coast Railway locomotives had a [[CrazyPrepared special hammer for this purpose]] as part of their standard toolkit. The business end was made of lead, to reduce the risk that it would damage the paintwork.
* Renowned [[RedsWithRockets Soviet]] [[BoringButPractical T-34 tank]] had a very poor transmission/steering design, unfaithfully copying an American project of the late 1930s which hadn't get put into production exactly because it didn't work. The massive iron levers which that actuated the steering and gearshift would often get stuck, even worse in freezing temperatures which are typical to Russia, and they had to be moved with a hammer. There were hammers issued to tank drivers just for this purpose.
* Another Soviet standard, the AK-47 and its clones and offspring are infamous for their simplicity and reliability. On the off chance anything ''does'' go wrong with one, though, there's more than a few incidences where the solution was "hit rifle with hammer." Debris causing stoppage? Hit the receiver with a hammer til the debris falls out. Firing pin eating chunks of the primers? Hit the firing pin with a hammer until it stops doing that. Handguard catch fire because you overheated it? Hit the furniture with a hammer until it's extinguished or the furniture falls off, whichever causes your rifle to stop being on fire first. Bolt is stuck due to a stovepiped or disintegrated brass? Pry the (remains of) brass off with pliers and hit the charging handle with a hammer until it moves again. Because of its simplicity --"an elegantly simple nine pound nine-pound amalgamation of forged steel and plywood," as it was famously put in ''Film/LordOfWar''-- the AK can take this abuse in stride and keep working right through the fix.



* The "RCA Kick" name is actually a reference to the Radio Corporation of America, and the devices which first popularized this practice in the early days of massed produced electronics. The finicky vacuum tubes and mechanical relay, switches, and toggles which were at the heart of any cutting edge device allowed an unprecedented level of compactness and processing power, but low dust tolerance, extreme levels of heat (and thus heat expansion of mounts), and loose tolerances in production of sensitive parts meant that these devices required frequent reseating of tubes and contacts, unsticking of switches, and clearing of dust to function at their best. Most owners of early radios and televisions quickly learned that a swift light kick or whack to the right spot was actually a quick and fairly reliable way of accomplishing all of these tasks without having to miss the rest of a broadcast doing it properly. Given that it continues to occasionally actually work, (largely by doing the same thing for today's smaller and slightly less sensitive circuit boards) this remains Emergency Repair Procedure #1.

to:

* The "RCA Kick" name is actually a reference to the Radio Corporation of America, and the devices which first popularized this practice in the early days of massed produced mass-produced electronics. The finicky vacuum tubes and mechanical relay, switches, and toggles which that were at the heart of any cutting edge cutting-edge device allowed an unprecedented level of compactness and processing power, but low dust tolerance, extreme levels of heat (and thus heat expansion of mounts), and loose tolerances in production of sensitive parts meant that these devices required frequent reseating of tubes and contacts, unsticking of switches, and clearing of dust to function at their best. Most owners of early radios and televisions quickly learned that a swift light kick or whack to the right spot was actually a quick and fairly reliable way of accomplishing all of these tasks without having to miss the rest of a broadcast doing it properly. Given that it continues to occasionally actually work, (largely by doing the same thing for today's smaller and slightly less sensitive circuit boards) this remains Emergency Repair Procedure #1.



* This is a common quick fix for automotive starters. Most of the time the starter doesn't work because the throw-out bearing is bad. Hitting it with a hammer is often enough to get it to let the starter gear to engage the flywheel and turn the engine over.

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* This is a common quick fix for automotive starters. Most of the time the starter doesn't work because the throw-out bearing is bad. Hitting it with a hammer is often enough to get it to let the starter gear to engage the flywheel and turn the engine over.



** Sometimes, the wear on the starter gear teeth and flywheel gear teeth will get the starter stuck in the flywheel and therefore starting the car is impossible (turning the key has no effect other than overheating the starter motor). Solution: engage second-tallest gear (either 3rd or 4th gear, depending on car) and push back and forth violently the car a few times. Stuck starter disengages with almost 100% certainty and starts afterwards.

to:

** Sometimes, the wear on the starter gear teeth and flywheel gear teeth will get the starter stuck in the flywheel flywheel, and therefore starting the car is impossible (turning the key has no effect other than overheating the starter motor). Solution: engage second-tallest gear (either 3rd or 4th gear, depending on car) and push back and forth violently the car a few times. Stuck starter disengages with almost 100% certainty and starts afterwards.



** Also can be part of your reload drill for the M16/M4. The Bolt Catch is actually quite small, and doesn't need to move much for the bolt to be allowed to move into battery. Once the magazine is seated inside the well, slapping the rifle in the general vacinity will have the exact same effect as pressing the bolt release. This can even be achieved by slamming the magazine into the well hard enough, however this is [[DoNotTryThisAtHome NOT recommended]]

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** Also can be part of your reload drill for the M16/M4. The Bolt Catch is actually quite small, small and doesn't need to move much for the bolt to be allowed to move into battery. Once the magazine is seated inside the well, slapping the rifle in the general vacinity vicinity will have the exact same effect as pressing the bolt release. This can even be achieved by slamming the magazine into the well hard enough, however this is [[DoNotTryThisAtHome NOT recommended]]



** This can also work with flickering projectors, for exactly the same reason - Something has probably worked loose and needs to be reseated. It's more likely to work with ceiling-mounted ones, though this also harder for obvious reasons. Tapping them on the side with a broom handle or yardstick often works just as well.

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** This can also work with flickering projectors, for exactly the same reason - Something has probably worked loose and needs to be reseated. It's more likely to work with ceiling-mounted ones, though this is also harder for obvious reasons. Tapping them on the side with a broom handle or yardstick often works just as well.



* Onkyo home theater A/V receivers have a notorious reputation for faulty audio channels. Sometimes audio channels will stop working and can easily be fixed by tapping the receiver on the front or site with a hard object, like its remote control.
* Ever been to an airport security checkpoint and wondered what those big sticks were on top of the X-Rays? Well, in the event that a bag gets stuck in the X-Ray machine, those sticks get put to use to either push the bag back into proper alignment, or, pull the back out of the machine itself. Considering that the alternative is to shut the machine down, call a technician, have them dismantle part of the machine, get the bag out, re-check said bag, and put the machine back together is a bit expensive and time consuming, whacking someones bag with a stick to get it moving through the machine again suddenly sounds like a welcome alternative. Especially at large airports like JFK and LAX.

to:

* Onkyo home theater A/V receivers have a notorious reputation for faulty audio channels. Sometimes audio channels will stop working and which can easily be fixed by tapping the receiver on the front or site with a hard object, like its remote control.
* Ever been to an airport security checkpoint and wondered what those big sticks were on top of the X-Rays? Well, in the event that a bag gets stuck in the X-Ray machine, those sticks get put to use to either push the bag back into proper alignment, alignment or, pull the back out of the machine itself. Considering that the alternative is to shut the machine down, call a technician, have them dismantle part of the machine, get the bag out, re-check said bag, and put the machine back together is a bit expensive and time consuming, time-consuming, whacking someones someone's bag with a stick to get it moving through the machine again suddenly sounds like a welcome alternative. Especially at large airports like JFK and LAX.

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Compare PercussiveTherapy where a character hits things solely for their own emotional benefit, rather than the proper functioning of whatever they're hitting, and HaveYouTriedRebooting, another common way of fixing malfunctioning technology. Contrast PercussiveShutdown where the hit is intended to ''stop'' a thing from working. Compare and contrast HealingShiv, a weapon or technique designed specifically to heal and repair things attacked by it. For use on life forms, see the DopeSlap, GetAHoldOfYourselfMan, {{Facepalm}}, BeatTheCurseOutOfHim, or DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff.

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Compare PercussiveTherapy where a character hits things solely for their own emotional benefit, rather than the proper functioning of whatever they're hitting, PressureSensitiveInterface, when pushing the interface's buttons harder makes it work better, and HaveYouTriedRebooting, another common way of fixing malfunctioning technology. technology.

Contrast PercussiveShutdown where the hit is intended to ''stop'' a thing from working. Compare and contrast HealingShiv, a weapon or technique designed specifically to heal and repair things attacked by it. it.

For use on life forms, see the DopeSlap, GetAHoldOfYourselfMan, {{Facepalm}}, BeatTheCurseOutOfHim, or DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff.
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*** ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' has it as a talent to unjam weapons. The Technical Knock is a swift prayer to the Omnissiah, and a swift smack to the jammed weapon. And it always works.

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*** ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' has it as a talent to unjam weapons. The Technical Knock is a swift prayer to the Omnissiah, and a swift smack to the jammed weapon. And it It always works.



*** In ''Storm of Iron'' it's implied the "Chant of Awakening" consists of nothing more than swearing at the unresponsive device while pounding on the buttons.

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*** In ''Storm of Iron'' it's implied that the "Chant of Awakening" consists of nothing more than swearing at the unresponsive device while pounding on the buttons.

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* In ''TabletopGame/TimeLord'', a ''Series/DoctorWho'' tie-in RPG released in the 1990s, it was possible to equip characters with this ability (called "Bench-Thumping" in the game).
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'', this is an ability of some of the mystically-endowed-mechanic-type classes, like Techno Wizards and Operators, under the punny name "Guerrilla Repairs".
* In the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' game ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'', Nockers had the ability to fix machines by smacking and/or threatening them.

to:

* In ''TabletopGame/TimeLord'', a ''Series/DoctorWho'' tie-in RPG released ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberspace}}'': One entry in the 1990s, Equipment Mishandling Chart said "A sharp slap and the item begins to function normally again."
* ''TabletopGame/D20System'': The "Guerilla Repair" ability allows the user to keep a malfunctioning weapon firing a few turns yet through anything from this trope to ''verbally reprimanding'' it.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'': The ''Complete Scoundrel'' sourcebook includes the skill trick "Opening Tap". It gives a rogue a chance to open a lock without any tools, just by tapping
it was with a hard, blunt object.
* ''TabletopGame/FezVWizardsBetrayal'': Probably one of the first instances of this in a role-playing game. The "Final Engineer's Test" is performed during the introductory scene -- in this adventure it works somewhat like an exposition. Of course, this comes back later in the adventure -- a newly built machine doesn't work until one of the players performs the "Final Engineer's Test" on it to get it running.
* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'': In ''GURPS 4e'' if cinematic rules are in effect and the GM allows, it is
possible to equip characters do this at a big penalty if the kicker is sufficiently skilled.
* ''TabletopGame/IronKingdoms'': The Bodger class has this as one of their main class features. At higher levels, they can even do this at range ("Toss a Hammer At It").
* ''TabletopGame/MurphysWorld'': Brownies have an Excellent Sense for Things Mechanical. It allows them to get just about anything working
with this ability (called "Bench-Thumping" in the game).
a well-applied kick or thump.
* ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'': In ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'', this ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'', Nockers can fix machines by smacking and/or threatening them.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'': This
is an ability of some of the mystically-endowed-mechanic-type classes, like Techno Wizards and Operators, under the punny name "Guerrilla Repairs".
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Spycraft}} 2.0'': The Wheelman class gains the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' game ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'', Nockers had "Manual Adjustment" ability, letting them use this, depending on their level, to automatically succeed at most Mechanics, Electronics, and Security skill checks, should the initial skill roll fail.
* ''TabletopGame/StarblazerAdventures'':
** The "Thump of Restoration" stunt (under Engineering) and an Engineering roll will cause any device that isn't working to start working again. However the device only works for a limited period of time: the better your roll, the longer it works.
** The "Just Hit It" stunt works exactly the same way, but specifically for starship engineering.
* ''TabletopGame/TimeLord'', a ''Series/DoctorWho'' tie-in RPG released in the 1990s: It's possible to equip characters with this
ability (called "Bench-Thumping" in the game).
* ''UsefulNotes/{{FATE}}'':
** There's a stunt called Thump of Restoration, which works by hitting an object which makes it work for X turns and gives further repairs a -1 modifier.
** Under ''FATE'' rules, it is also entirely possible
to fix machines by smacking and/or threatening them.create stunts which allow you to replace one skill check with another (subject to DM approval). Replacing Repair with Melée and invoking this trope would be perfectly permissible.



** The game gave us the (in)famous "Ritual Slap on the Left".
** And because of the [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve peculiar nature of Ork technology]], this method is the ''normal'' means of fixing most broken (or in many cases, perfectly functional) Ork machines.
** In fact the orks take this further in the ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' With Percussive CONSTRUCTION. While the Imperium uses its once advanced tech to build everything it needs, the Eldar uses its very advanced (easily mistaken for magic) technology and Chaos uses actual magic to build everything. The orks simply have their Gretchin hit a dropped in pile of scrap with wooden mallets until it resembles an actual structure (and the whole thing works because [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve Ork Logic]]).
** ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' has it as a talent to unjam weapons. The Technical Knock is a swift prayer to the Omnissiah, and a swift smack to the jammed weapon. And it always works.
** There's also the "Rite of Ignition", an ancient tradition of Forge World labourers. This is "a form of prayer to the Machine Spirit that involves striking the object in question several times". This is seldom used in the presence of actual Tech-Priests.
** In ''Storm of Iron'' it's implied the "Chant of Awakening" consists of nothing more than swearing at the unresponsive device while pounding on the buttons.
** The rulebook appendices also note that a standard Mechanicus ritual for particularly old and revered machinery involves "a rhythmic striking with a special metal tool"
* In ''[[TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} GURPS 4e]]'' if cinematic rules are in effect and the GM allows, it is possible to do this at a big penalty if the kicker is sufficiently skilled.
* In ''TabletopGame/IronKingdoms'' d20 setting, the Bodger class has this as one of their main class features. At higher levels, they can even do this at range ("Toss a Hammer At It").
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Spycraft}} 2.0'', the Wheelman class gains the "Manual Adjustment" ability, letting them use this, depending on their level, to automatically succeed at most Mechanics, Electronics, and Security skill checks, should the initial skill roll fail.
* Iron Crown Enterprise's ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberspace}}''. One entry in the Equipment Mishandling Chart said "A sharp slap and the item begins to function normally again."
* The D20 system also gives us the "Guerilla Repair" ability, which allows the user to keep a malfunctioning weapon firing a few turns yet through anything from this trope to ''verbally reprimanding'' it.
* ''Starblazer Adventures'', based on the 1980's British science fiction ComicBook.
** The "Thump of Restoration" stunt (under Engineering) and an Engineering roll will cause any device that isn't working to start working again. However the device only works for a limited period of time: the better your roll, the longer it works.
** The "Just Hit It" stunt works exactly the same way, but specifically for starship engineering.
* ''Murphy's World''. Brownies have an Excellent Sense for Things Mechanical. It allows them to get just about anything working with a well-applied kick or thump.
* Probably one of the first instances of this in a role-playing game: in ''Fez V: Wizard's Betrayal'' the "Final Engineer's Test" is performed during the introductory scene -- in this adventure it works somewhat like an exposition. Of course, this comes back later in the adventure -- a newly built machine doesn't work until one of the players performs the "Final Engineer's Test" on it to get it running.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'': The ''Complete Scoundrel'' sourcebook includes the skill trick "Opening Tap". It gives a rogue a chance to open a lock without any tools, just by tapping it with a hard, blunt object.
* ''UsefulNotes/{{FATE}}'':
** There's a stunt called Thump of Restoration, which works by hitting an object which makes it work for X turns and gives further repairs a -1 modifier.
** Under ''FATE'' rules, it is also entirely possible to create stunts which allow you to replace one skill check with another (subject to DM approval). Replacing Repair with Melée and invoking this trope would be perfectly permissible.

to:

** The game gave us Adeptus Mechanicus, the (in)famous "Ritual Slap on the Left".
** And because
Imperium's primary source of the [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve peculiar nature of Ork technology]], this method is the ''normal'' means of fixing most broken (or in many cases, perfectly functional) Ork machines.
** In fact the orks take this further in the ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' With Percussive CONSTRUCTION. While the Imperium uses its once advanced tech to build everything it needs, the Eldar uses its very advanced (easily mistaken for magic)
technology and Chaos uses actual magic to build everything. The orks simply maintenance thereof, is a machine cult that preserves ancient technical information chiefly in the form of religious doctrine, magical rituals, and superstition that it doesn't really understand. As a result, a great deal of Imperial maintenance rituals are derived from what would have their Gretchin hit a dropped in pile originally been casual bouts of scrap beating, fiddling with wooden mallets until it resembles an actual structure (and the whole thing works and swearing at machines, still done faithfully by rote because [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve Ork Logic]]).
**
nobody remembers which parts worked or why.
***
''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' has it as a talent to unjam weapons. The Technical Knock is a swift prayer to the Omnissiah, and a swift smack to the jammed weapon. And it always works.
** There's also the *** The "Rite of Ignition", Ignition" is an ancient tradition of Forge World labourers. This is "a form of prayer to the Machine Spirit that involves striking the object in question several times". This is seldom used in the presence of actual Tech-Priests.
** *** In ''Storm of Iron'' it's implied the "Chant of Awakening" consists of nothing more than swearing at the unresponsive device while pounding on the buttons.
** *** The rulebook appendices also note that a standard Mechanicus ritual for particularly old and revered machinery involves "a rhythmic striking with a special metal tool"
* In ''[[TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} GURPS 4e]]'' if cinematic rules are in effect and ** Befitting the GM allows, it is possible Orks' general blunt approach to do this at a big penalty if the kicker is sufficiently skilled.
* In ''TabletopGame/IronKingdoms'' d20 setting, the Bodger class has this as one of
life, their main class features. At higher levels, they can even do this at range ("Toss a Hammer At It").
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Spycraft}} 2.0'', the Wheelman class gains the "Manual Adjustment" ability, letting them use this, depending on their level,
favored way of dealing with temperantal or underperforming machinery is to automatically succeed at most Mechanics, Electronics, and Security skill checks, should the initial skill roll fail.
* Iron Crown Enterprise's ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberspace}}''. One entry in the Equipment Mishandling Chart said "A sharp slap and the item begins to function normally again."
* The D20 system also gives us the "Guerilla Repair" ability, which allows the user to keep a malfunctioning weapon firing
give it a few turns yet through anything from this trope to ''verbally reprimanding'' it.
* ''Starblazer Adventures'', based on the 1980's British science fiction ComicBook.
** The "Thump of Restoration" stunt (under Engineering) and an Engineering roll will cause any device that isn't working to start working again. However the device only works for a limited period of time: the better your roll, the longer it works.
** The "Just Hit It" stunt works exactly the same way, but specifically for starship engineering.
* ''Murphy's World''. Brownies have an Excellent Sense for Things Mechanical. It allows them to get just about anything working
solid thumps with a well-applied kick fist or thump.
* Probably one of the first instances of this in a role-playing game: in ''Fez V: Wizard's Betrayal'' the "Final Engineer's Test" is performed during the introductory scene -- in this adventure it works somewhat like an exposition. Of course, this comes back later in the adventure -- a newly built
handy blunt object. Horrified Imperial Tech-Priests speculate that Ork Meks brutalize their machine doesn't work until one of the players performs the "Final Engineer's Test" on it to get it running.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'': The ''Complete Scoundrel'' sourcebook includes the skill trick "Opening Tap". It gives a rogue a chance to open a lock without any tools, just by tapping it with a hard, blunt object.
* ''UsefulNotes/{{FATE}}'':
** There's a stunt called Thump of Restoration, which works by hitting an object which makes it work for X turns and gives further repairs a -1 modifier.
** Under ''FATE'' rules, it is also entirely possible to create stunts which allow you to replace one skill check with another (subject to DM approval). Replacing Repair with Melée and invoking this trope would be perfectly permissible.
spirits into submission.



* In ''VideoGame/{{Apocalypse}}'', Kincaid doesn't press buttons on control panels, he ''kicks'' them. There's also a cutscene where he uses the butt of his machine-gun to smash an electronic pad to forcefully open a door.
* In ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', due to an oversight, the player is never shown inserting new magazines into their SMG. They just slap the bottom of the gun and magically reload it.

to:

* In ''VideoGame/{{Apocalypse}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Apocalypse}}'': Kincaid doesn't press buttons on control panels, he ''kicks'' them. There's also a cutscene where he uses the butt of his machine-gun to smash an electronic pad to forcefully open a door.
* In ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', due ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'': While the Imperium uses its once advanced tech to build everything it needs, the Eldar use their very advanced (easily mistaken for magic) technology and Chaos uses actual magic to build everything, the Orks simply have their Gretchin hit a dropped-in pile of scrap with wooden mallets until it resembles an actual structure.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'': Due
to an oversight, the player is never shown inserting new magazines into their SMG. They just slap the bottom of the gun and magically reload it.



* In ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'', when Yagami poses as a maintenance worker, he gets asked to fix the building's air conditioner and in a moment of desperation, asks the guard watching to [[LookBehindYou look behind]] as he gives it a kick to jumpstart it.

to:

* In ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'', when ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'': When Yagami poses as a maintenance worker, he gets asked to fix the building's air conditioner and in a moment of desperation, asks the guard watching to [[LookBehindYou look behind]] as he gives it a kick to jumpstart it.

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* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' features a little scene between Hwaryun and Khun, where Hwaryun gets juice out of a disperser he was having problems with by hitting it. She comments on how he didn't read enough manhwa and he tries to follow her suit. He hurts [[SubvertedTrope his]] [[PlayedForLaughs hand]].



* In ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' [[https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/tower-of-god/season-1-ep-55/viewer?title_no=95&episode_no=56 episode 56]], Hwaryun gets a vending machine to work by hitting it with the side of her palm. Khun is implied to try the same thing but only hurts his hand. Weirdly enough, it's {{justified}}, even {{Foreshadowing}}, since she's later revealed to be a Navigator with the ability to see what path will lead to the desired result.

to:

* In ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' [[https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/tower-of-god/season-1-ep-55/viewer?title_no=95&episode_no=56 episode 56]], Hwaryun gets a vending machine to work by hitting it with the side of her palm. Khun is implied to try the same thing but only hurts his hand. Weirdly enough, it's {{justified}}, {{Justified|Trope}}, even {{Foreshadowing}}, since she's later revealed to be a Navigator with the ability to see what path will lead to the desired result.
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rm. some references to the old trope namer; doesn't make sense anymore


* During the ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} in Paradise'' arc, Odie and the local mechanic are trying to get a classic car to start in order to [[ItMakesSenseInContext drop it into a volcano to appease it.]] They try every repair job they can think of, until Odie, in a classic The Fonz style, hits the carburetor with a hammer...at which point the car roars to life and takes off.

to:

* During the ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} in Paradise'' arc, Odie and the local mechanic are trying to get a classic car to start in order to [[ItMakesSenseInContext drop it into a volcano to appease it.]] They try every repair job they can think of, until Odie, in a classic The Fonz style, Odie hits the carburetor with a hammer...at which point the car roars to life and takes off.



** In ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', Geordi points out a red light on the second engine valve during Cochrane's historic warp flight. Cochrane flicks the offending light a couple times, then whacks the side of the panel. [[SubvertedTrope It stays on.]] Having failed to correct it, he just brushes it off as unimportant. Cochrane also successfully does this with a jukebox. Perhaps he's descended from the Fonz...

to:

** In ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', Geordi points out a red light on the second engine valve during Cochrane's historic warp flight. Cochrane flicks the offending light a couple times, then whacks the side of the panel. [[SubvertedTrope It stays on.]] Having failed to correct it, he just brushes it off as unimportant. Cochrane also successfully does this with a jukebox. Perhaps he's descended from the Fonz...
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most of these have minimal usage and the results seem to be largely tvtropes mirrors; one alternative name is enough


Also known as "Technical Tap", "Ape Mechanics", "Electronic Abuse", "[[Series/HappyDays Fonzarelli]] Fix", "[[Anime/CowboyBebop Spike Spiegel]] School of Repair", "[[Series/TopGearUK Clarkson]] Clang", or "Emergency Repair Procedure #1", this is a method of repairing malfunctioning devices by hitting 'em really hard. This is a case of TruthInTelevision, as many people will often do this with malfunctioning machinery, frequently with surprisingly mixed results.

to:

Also known as "Technical Tap", "Ape Mechanics", "Electronic Abuse", "[[Series/HappyDays Fonzarelli]] Fix", "[[Anime/CowboyBebop Spike Spiegel]] School of Repair", "[[Series/TopGearUK Clarkson]] Clang", or "Emergency Repair Procedure #1", this is a method of repairing malfunctioning devices by hitting 'em really hard. This is a case of TruthInTelevision, as many people will often do this with malfunctioning machinery, frequently with surprisingly mixed results.
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** At the climax of the [[Film/BackToTheFuture first movie]], Marty can't get the [[CoolCar DeLorean]] started until he despairingly hits his head against the steering wheel, at which point [[YouWereTryingTooHard the car and its equipment spontaneously roar to life]].

to:

** At the climax of the [[Film/BackToTheFuture [[Film/BackToTheFuture1 first movie]], Marty can't get the [[CoolCar DeLorean]] started until he despairingly hits his head against the steering wheel, at which point [[YouWereTryingTooHard the car and its equipment spontaneously roar to life]].
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* ''Series/{{Vera}}'': In "Home", Vera wins the trust of the young son of the VictimOfTheWeek when the VengefulVendingMachine at the hospital [[NoSnackForYou doesn't give him his chocolate]], and she hits the machine in the right way to jar the chocolate loose.
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* In ''Fanfic/PrettyCureMagicOfTheRainbow'', [[Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure Yuri]] attempts to fix a skippy CD player by kicking it.
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* In the opening of ''Film/WarGames'' one of the Air Force launch officers reports a warhead alarm on one of the missiles. The other officer tells him, "Tap it with your finger". He then taps the indicator light and it goes out, showing that the warhead was fine, it was just the alarm light was seated incorrectly.

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* In the opening of ''Film/WarGames'' ''Film/WarGames'', one of the Air Force launch officers reports a warhead alarm on one of the missiles. The other officer tells him, "Tap it with your finger". He then taps the indicator light and it goes out, showing that the warhead was fine, it was just the alarm light was seated incorrectly.



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* One issue of ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' features an old and obsolete Evronian cruiser whose antimatter alternator often makes an annoying noise until a giant-size technician uses the "standard procedure": a powerful punch. This is ultimately subverted: when the cruiser enters battle the alternator, damaged by too many hits, ''breaks down'', crippling the ship.

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* One issue of ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' features an old and obsolete Evronian cruiser whose antimatter alternator often makes an annoying noise until a giant-size technician uses the "standard procedure": a powerful punch. This is ultimately subverted: when the cruiser enters battle the alternator, damaged by too many hits, ''breaks down'', crippling the ship.ship until the technician has disassembled the alternator, identified all broken parts, replaced them, and reassembled the device (that is, ''proper'' maintenance), a process that takes hours.

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