History Main / PuttingOnMyThinkingCap

* Sen, [=DekaGreen=] in ''[[SuperSentai Dekaranger]]'' thinks better when he's upside down. They actually kept this in ''PowerRangersSPD''.

* ''{{House}}'': House has several such methods, including bouncing his ball in his office as he stares at his whiteboard. He does these things with such frequency that when he is unavailable other people try them out to force an epiphany. It doesn't work. Cuddy once tried bouncing his ball for inspiration and it hit her foot and rolled off.

* ''{{Saki}}'':

'''Examples:'''

* L in ''DeathNote'' claims that if he doesn't sit in the odd way he does, his reasoning ability drops by forty percent.

* ''{{Naruto}}'': Shikamaru's hand movements and sitting position.

* In [[TheMovie the movie adaptation]] of The HitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox has a literal thinking cap, that keeps his brain powered by lemons once his second head is removed.

* In the {{Discworld}} novel ''[[Discworld/MenAtArms Men at Arms]]'', Detritus the troll gets a literal thinking cap, in the form of a clockwork fan attached to his helmet that lets him cool his brain off (trolls think better in cold weather).

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' has the Headband of Intellect.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theater ]]

* William Barfée from the ''{{The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee}}'' is noted for spelling out the words on the floor with his foot before saying them aloud. He sings a song about it.

[[/folder]]

* ''StargateAtlantis'': Rodney sometimes resorts to fingersnapping and head bobbing.
* BBC's ''{{Sherlock}}'', like his literary counterpart plays the violin and uses [[SetttingUpdate nicotine patches]] instead of smoking, and also stops eating when he's figuring out a case. This can go on for days.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''AceAttorney'': All playable characters in the series have their own thinking pose.
* ''TheSims2'' has an actual Thinking Cap, a baseball hat with a light bulb. Wearing it will make you learn skills and complete intellectual activities ''very fast''. [[YesButWhatDoesZataproximetacineDO Side effects may include falling unconscious, losing previously obtained skill points, ending up with the cap welded to your head, and fulfilling one or more Fears. Consult your aspiration meter before use]].
* In the ''{{Fallout}}'' series, most hats give a bonus to Perception. Perception governs skills like Energy Weapons, Explosives and Lockpicking. So if there's a puzzle involving lasers, bombs and tumblers, you might well need a thinking cap. [[BoozeBasedBuff Or Absinthe]].

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* The Noodle Dance from ''PB&J Otter''.
* ''FamilyGuy'': Peter Griffin has his Thinking Grenades.
* ''SouthPark'': When Towelie wants to think, he gets high (unfortunately, the ideas he comes up when he's high only inevitably get him into trouble).
* In Fleischer Studios' ''Betty Boop'' shorts, Grampy has a literal thinking cap, essentially a mortarboard with a blinking {{Idea Bulb}}.
* In his silent cartoons, ''FelixTheCat'' paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.
* Parodied in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', where Sokka is desperately looking for something to replace his missing boomerang as his icon and begins insisting on wearing his detective hat and using his bubble pipe while sleuthing.
* ''TheRenAndStimpyShow'': "I'd better put on my patented Stuponetron helmet."
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}}'': Jackie's catchphrase is "Make room! I gotta pace!" She gets annoyed if anyone else steals it. The other characters have their own habits; Inez stands on her head, and Matt plays with his yo-yo. Overlapping with CharacterTics in Digit's case is the eyeball on his cap which [[IdeaBulb sometimes flashes red]].
* In ''TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron'', Jimmy has his "Think, think, think!" bit. Then it shows us his brain and a few tidbits from earlier (in case you forgot them) that usually help him solve...whatever.\\
\\
In a Jimmy Neutron/ FairlyOddParents crossover, Timmy Turner attempts to do this, only to give up half-way with a tired "[[AttentionDeficitOohShiny Okay, bored now]]".
* BugsBunny puts on his thinking cap to get an idea to rid the island of Japanese Soldiers in the wartime Merrie Melodie cartoon, 'Bugs Bunny [[YellowPeril Nips the Nips]]'.

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* Agatha from ''GirlGenius'' hums or plays a tune she invented when she wants to think. Judging by Von Mekkan's reaction, it's possible that ''[[InTheBlood every single member of her family]]'' did that. Judging by her uncle's reaction, it's an instinctive act linked to being a MadScientist. Which makes sense, considering [[spoiler:the family name is from heterodyning, the generation of new frequencies by mixing, or multiplying, two oscillating waveforms. Which is what she's doing]].
* Hannah from ''[[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com Jayden and Crusader]]'' has a [[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com/2010/02/08/page-147/ thinking cap]] that her boyfriend [[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com/2009/07/04/page-124/ stole for her from Uncle Sam!]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]

* ''CalvinAndHobbes'': Calvin once built a [[LiteralMetaphor literal]] thinking cap out of one of his ubiquitous cardboard boxes, some thread, and a colander.
* ''FoxTrot'': Jason wore an "external brain" (a cap resembling the surface of a brain) while helping Paige with her homework. However, it's pretty clear that he was just doing it to jerk her chain.

[[folder:Mythology]]
* Whenever [[CelticMythology Fionn MacCumhaill]] sucked his thumb, he got access to great wisdom (though this was the result of him attempting to soothe a burn on his thumb from the Salmon of Wisdom as a child).

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Swedish movie and theatrical producer Felix Alvo - http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Alvo - used to work as an acrobat, which might explain why he liked to stand on his head while pondering something (at least according to some colleagues).

* A number of the Doctors in ''DoctorWho'' - the second played music on the flute or recorder, the tenth puts his glasses on, etc. The [[DoctorWho Eleventh Doctor]] seemingly has dozens of these, particularly quick (1-2 step) back and forth pacings, slapping his own forehead, and shutting people up.

* The sentient dinosaurs of ''{{Dinotopia}}'' can think best when they move their feet, due to their original technique of writing via leaving footprints in the sand. Because of this, reading machines for dinosaurs are thread mills which move the scroll the user wants to read.

** In other comics, Gyro's thinking aid is ‘‘hitting himself on the head with a hammer!‘‘

* Likewise, ErastFandorin has his jade rosary beads to help his deductions along. They are so prominent, they even got their own origin story in a short story collection.

* In the {{Fallout}} series, most hats give a bonus to Perception. Perception governs skills like Energy Weapons, Explosives and Lockpicking. So if there's a puzzle involving lasers, bombs and tumblers, you might well need a thinking cap. [[BoozeBasedBuff Or Absinthe]].

* Agatha from ''GirlGenius'' hums or plays a tune she invented when she wants to think. Judging by Von Mekkan's reaction, it's possible that ''every single member of her family'' did that. Which makes sense, considering [[spoiler:the family name is from heterodyning, the generation of new frequencies by mixing, or multiplying, two oscillating waveforms. Which is what she's doing.]]

* ''CyberChase'': Jackie's catchphrase is "Make room! I gotta pace!" She gets annoyed if anyone else steals it. The other characters have their own habits; Inez stands on her head, and Matt plays with his yo-yo. Overlapping with CharacterTics in Digit's case is the eyeball on his cap which [[IdeaBulb sometimes flashes red]].

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* Shikamaru's hand movements and sitting position in ''{{Naruto}}''.
* Yue in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' seems to have the most going on in her head when she's calmly sipping an odd drink of some kind with a slightly blank look in her eyes. Although in dangerous situations where she has to think on her feet, she doesn't do anything in particular.
* While Nodoka of ''{{Saki}}'' is already a pretty good {{Mahjong}} player, she becomes absolutely phenomenal when she's hugging her penguin plushie, capable of figuring out plays that would bring about the highest efficiency at once.
** Almost, she's great when she's playing at home online, so hugging her plushy puts her in the same mindset.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* In older Disney comics, Gyro Gearloose had a thinking cap he'd put on when he needed an idea for an invention. The cap looked like a roof of a house, complete with a little chimney, and there was a bird's nest with three crows on top of the said chimney. The hat seems to have disappeared from the comics at some point, probably because its role as a source of inspiration was replaced by Little Helper, Gyro's robot buddy.
** It was revived in a recent comic, where he explained that he had indeed put it into storage, the reason for it was that the ideas that it gave were too random to be of much use. It's also shown that it works just as well on anyone else, and naturally DonaldDuck "borrowed" it while Gyro wasn't present to try to solve his usual money problems by coming up with some sort of a revolutionary new idea he could sell and patent. Naturally, this being [[BornUnlucky Donald]], there's only one possible outcome...[[spoiler:which results in Gyro having to save him by using the cap himself, causing him to come up with a mathematical formula that can be used to predict any future event with 100% accuracy. While he did write it down, the cleaner lady that he had hired in the beginning of the story [[StatusQuoIsGod ended up wiping the board he had written it on clean while he was away]]]]
* [[{{Nextwave}} Dirk Anger]] has some very odd rituals he engages in when he needs to concentrate, or just be alone. Some of them are intended to be potentially lethal for no easily discernible reason.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* Tom Cruise's character in ''AFewGoodMen'' -- "Where's my bat? I think better with my bat." And later that scene, "He does think better with his bat."

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* SherlockHolmes had a number of these, including smoking (in "The Red-Headed League", he explicitly rates the difficulty of a problem by how many pipefuls of tobacco he expects to get through before reaching a solution) and playing the violin.

* [[WinnieThePooh Pooh Bear]] thumps his head while saying "think think think". He also had a Thoughtful Spot, where he went specifically to do this.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' has the Headband of Intellect. What it does is anyone's guess.
** [[CaptainObvious It grants an enhancement bonus to the wearer's Intelligence score.]]

[[AC:{{Theater}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

* A number of the Doctors in ''DoctorWho'' - the second played music on the flute or recorder, the tenth puts his glasses on, etc.
** The [[DoctorWho Eleventh Doctor]] seemingly has dozens of these, particularly quick (1-2 step) back and forth pacings, slapping his own forehead, and shutting people up.

* [[{{Scrubs}} Dr. Cox]] holds his hands behind his head or on top of his head when thinking or frustrated.
* {{House}} has several such methods, including bouncing his ball in his office as he stares at his whiteboard. He does these things with such frequency that when he is unavailable other people try them out to force an epiphany. It doesn't work. Cuddy once tried bouncing his ball for inspiration and it hit her foot and rolled off.
* [[StargateAtlantis Rodney]] sometimes resorts to fingersnapping and head bobbing.
* BBC's {{Sherlock}}, like his literary counterpart plays the violin and uses [[SetttingUpdate nicotine patches]] instead of smoking, and also stops eating when he's figuring out a case. This can go on for days.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* All playable characters in the ''AceAttorney'' series have their own thinking pose.
* ''TheSims 2'' has an actual Thinking Cap, a baseball hat with a light bulb. Wearing it will make you learn skills and complete intellectual activities ''very fast''. [[YesButWhatDoesZataproximetacineDO Side effects may include falling unconscious, losing previously obtained skill points, ending up with the cap welded to your head, and fulfilling one or more Fears. Consult your aspiration meter before use]].

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* The Noodle Dance from ''PB&J Otter''. Or So I Heard.
* [[FamilyGuy Peter Griffin]] has his Thinking Grenades.
* When Towelie wants to think on ''SouthPark'', he gets high (unfortunately, the ideas he comes up when he's high only inevitably get him into trouble).

* In his silent cartoons, FelixTheCat paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.
* Parodied in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', where Sokka is desperately looking for something to replace his missing boomerang as his IconicIcon and begins insisting on wearing his detective hat and using his bubble pipe while sleuthing.
* [[TheRenAndStimpyShow "I'd better put on my patented Stuponetron helmet."]]
* Jackie's catchphrase on CyberChase is "Make room! I gotta pace!" She gets annoyed if anyone else steals it.
** The other characters have their own habits; Inez stands on her head, and Matt plays with his yo-yo. Overlapping with CharacterTics in Digit's case is the eyeball on his cap which [[IdeaBulb sometimes flashes red]].
* In TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron, Jimmy has his "Think, think, think!" bit. Then it shows us his brain and a few tidbits from earlier (in case you forgot them) that usually help him solve...whatever.
** In a Jimmy Neutron/ FairlyOddParents crossover, Timmy Turner attempts to do this, only to give up half-way with a tired "[[AttentionDeficitOohShiny Okay, bored now]]".

[[AC:WebComics]]
* Agatha from ''GirlGenius'' hums or plays a tune she invented when she wants to think.
** Judging by Von Mekkan's reaction, it's possible that ''every single member of her family'' did that.
*** Which makes sense, considering [[spoiler:the family name is from heterodyning, the generation of new frequencies by mixing, or multiplying, two oscillating waveforms. Which is what she's doing.]]
** Von Mekkan called it ''Hetrodyning'', and in a flashback, when Agatha showed her uncle Barry her new trick, he realized she was close to breaking through as a Spark ''at the age of four''. Just hearing the tune help's Agatha suppress the peronality implant of Lucrezia.
* Hannah from [[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com Jayden and Crusader]] has a [[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com/2010/02/08/page-147/ thinking cap]] that her boyfriend [[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com/2009/07/04/page-124/ stole for her from Uncle Sam!]]

[[AC:NewspaperComics]]
* [[CalvinAndHobbes Calvin]] once built a [[LiteralMetaphor literal]] thinking cap out of one of his ubiquitous cardboard boxes, some thread, and a colander.

[[AC:RealLife]]

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<<|CharacterizationTropes|>>

* Inspector Lunge from ''{{Monster}}'' often twitches his fingers as though typing. When asked about it, he likens his brain to a computer - by 'hitting the keys', as he puts it, he can file away new information, then he hits them again to recall it.

* The [[DoctorWho Eleventh Doctor]] seemingly has dozens of these, particularly quick (1-2 step) back and forth pacings, slapping his own forehead, and shutting people up.

* ''TheSims 2'' has an actual Thinking Cap, a baseball hat with a light bulb. Wearing it will make you learn skills and complete intellectual activities ''very fast''. [[YesButWhatDoesZataproximetacineDO Side effects may include falling unconscious, losing previously obtained skill points, and fulfilling one or more Fears. Consult your aspiration meter before use]].

** It was revived in a recent comic, where he explained that he had indeed put it into storage, the reason for it was that the ideas that it gave were too random to be of much use. It's also shown that it works just as well on anyone else, and naturally Donald "borrowed" it while Gyro wasn't present to try to solve his usual money problems by coming up with some sort of a revolutionary new idea he could sell and patent. Naturally, this being Donald, there's only one possible outcome...[[spoiler:which results in Gyro having to save him by using the cap himself, causing him to come up with a mathematical formula that can be used to predict any future event with 100% accuracy. While he did write it down, the cleaner lady that he had hired in the beginning of the story [[StatusQuoIsGod ended up wiping the board he had written it on clean while he was away]]]]