History Main / TimTaylorTechnology

[[folder:Film]]

--> Heat sinks were not made for this kind of abuse, Command! We'll melt down our cannons if we push any harder!

-->-- '''Tim Taylor''', ''Series/HomeImprovement''

* ''Series/HomeImprovement'' is the {{Trope Namer|s}}. Protagonist Tim Taylor is a handyman who's never satisfied with just fixing things. His solution to pretty much any problem is to give it ''more power''. He's perfectly capable of building things at more sensible power levels, but he just doesn't ''want'' to. This makes him the king of MundaneUtility, hooking household objects to power at levels normally reserved for NASA. Among his accomplishments:

** ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce'' takes it UpToEleven when they give Nanoha [[http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/822/nanoha72d59b071106aec23.jpg/ her own cannon and a suit of magical armor to support it.]]

'''Tupolev:''' ''*takes drag off cigarette*''... [[UpToEleven Go to one hundred five percent.]]

* ''Series/MythBusters''. RuleOfCool applies after they've busted the possible part of the myth. A human can't actually swing that hard? Ramp it up as fast as the robot arm will go. The amount of explosives used in the myth doesn't get the stated result? Then use a few blocks of C4. If the myth gets confirmed, they still ramp it up to see how far they can push it. Burning 30,000 match heads looks exactly like that viral clip? let's see what [[UpToEleven a million match heads will do!]]

* Finnish Navy corvettes "Turunmaa" and "Karjala" used Rolls-Royce Olympus gas turbines (yup, [[UpToEleven the same as in Concorde]]), and they were equipped with special governors equipped with security seals. The normal maximum speed of those corvettes was 38 kn, but they logged regularly 43 kn speeds. But when breaking the security seals and overriding the governors, the vessels could achieve 50 kn speeds - although the engines would not stand such stress for a long time.

** Also played straight by the Bugatti Veyron Supersport. When the base model Bugatti Veyron's top speed record was beaten by the SSC Ultimate Aero, Volkswagen resorted to this trope to reclaim the speed record with the Supersport - [[UpToEleven they added around 300HP to the already powerful engine (which was already rated at over 900HP!)]].

Compare UpToEleven. OvenLogic is what happens when Tim Taylor Technology is applied to cooking.

** This isn't, however, universal. [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2005-06-14 Forcing a damaged annie plant to output max power]] [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome is NOT a good idea]], to the point that it counts as an InUniverse WhatAnIdiot moment.

* ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'' Handyman Corner segments often featured Red trying to wring extra performance out of battered and old power tools and vehicles, only to cause a variety of disasters when his proejcts either backfire and work too well.

* ''VideoGame/EveOnline'' lets you, with the correct knowledge of thermodynamics, overheat just about any module of your ship that you "turn on", guns and afterburners included. Note that this is not without side effects, and you'll either need to patch up the damage overheating causes with [[FanNickname liquid duct tape]] before the module shuts down completely, or pay for repairs at a station (which is the only way to reactivate a module that's been completely burned out).

* [[DrillSergeantNasty Sarge]] of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' sees every powered bit of machinery as requiring some obscenely impratical fuel source, such as diesel or nuclear fission. Even when power cells and solar energy are far more economical and reliable, his work consistently hampers the team in battle, such as when he installed [[ElectroMagneticPulse emp]]- er, sorry, [[ItIsPronouncedTroPAY E.M.P.]] tech into the Warthog's turret, completely immobilizing the vehicle whenever it fires.

* ''VideoGame/EndlessSky'': The [[spoiler: Korath]] take this to a level Tim Taylor himself would think is a bit much.

[[caption-width-right:350:Everything must blend! [[UpToEleven EVERYTHING.]]]]

** Although in a rare inversion, the SR-71 wasn't limited by its engines, but by its skin getting overheated by compression heating. Its engines actually worked better the faster it went[[note]]The SR-71 was actually designed to work better in the air than on the ground. Engineers noted that the plane leaked fuel prodigiously on the ground, because the fuel tank was designed to expand when subjected to the high levels of heat in flight, at which point it would stop leaking (a leak on the ground is significantly less dangerous than a leak in the air)[[/note]].

** US Naval Nuclear Plants have a "Battle Short" switch which disables the automatic safeties(Read: SCRAM) on the reactor. Using it in any situation which doesn't involve inbound enemy missiles is an extremely easy way to experience a Court Martial.

** And if that doesn't work, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Large_Hadron_Collider there are plans]] to add '''EVEN MORE POWER.''' ''And'' potential plans for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Large_Hadron_Collider another one entirely]] if that fails yet.

*** [=MiG-25=] is basically this trope embodied. Equipped with two ''huge'' Tumanski RB-15 turbojets, it creates ''more'' thrust than [[CoolPlane Concorde airliner]]. [=MiG-25=] is known ''to have outrun air-to-air missiles'' in Israeli-Arab conflicts and reached speeds of 3.2 Mach (3920 km/h). The engines were ready for the scrap heap after that, but they were designed to be easily changed. [=MiG-25=] is manufactured from stainless steel instead of aluminium, and has extremely smooth surface[[note]]The smooth surface reduces air drag to maximize speed, and steel is structurally stronger than aluminium: it's heavier, but better able to withstand the incredible stress of high speed.[[/note]]

* In ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'', the common fan response to a rocket design not working as intended (even if "not working as intended" means "blowing up on the launch pad") is to add more boosters. That is, to simply attach more rockets to the side and/or bottom of your existing rocket. [[CrazyEnoughToWork Sometimes it works]] (if the problem really was insufficient thrust, or not enough total delta-v). [[RealityEnsues More often,]] it doesn't. But at least you'll get [[StuffBlowingUp more explosions]].

** This isn't, however, universal. [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2005-06-14 Forcing a damaged annie plant to output max power]] [[RealityEnsues is NOT a good idea]], to the point that it counts as an InUniverse WhatAnIdiot moment.

* ''Series/HomeImprovement'', [[TropeNamers naturally]]. One of Tim Taylor's most notable acts was when he put so much fuel into a barbecue grill that it achieved geosynchronous orbit. In general, his solution to any problem is to put more power in it. Whereas science fiction puts more power into laser cannons and shields, Tim Taylor is the king of MundaneUtility for power levels normally reserved for NASA. He's perfectly capable of building things at more sensible power levels, he just doesn't ''want'' to.
** This was {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in at least one case. After someone in the neighbourhood was robbed, Tim wanted to buy a security system for his home. Most uncharacteristically, he just wanted a simple system. As soon as he told his friends at the hardware shop he was getting a security system, they immediately assumed he'd go his normal route and went nuts thinking up insane measures to install. One of them announced proudly that Tim's home was going to be the first one with "[[NuclearOption first-strike capabilities]]." When he got the system home, he told his wife Jill that it was just a basic system with the minimal options. She immediately told him to go back and get a top-of-the-line system; nothing was too great, in this case. This turned out to be overkill, and they downgraded to a less elaborate setup.
** In another episode, Tim meets his old college professor who is still wondering if it was the right thing to let him pass his finals. Naturally, Tim spends the whole episode building a simple bird house (his finals) to impress him.
** In another episode, Tim and Al are on a plane coming home in a heavy snowstorm that is preventing the plane from landing. When Tim's kids turned on all the Christmas decorations that they put up under his direction for his house, the light burned through the clouds and provided enough of a beacon for the airplane to locate the runway and land. Tim wasn't able to get all the lights up without adding [[CatchPhrase MORE POWER]] to the entire system.

*** Many WWII fighters had an extra range on the throttle control, sometimes limited by a wire across the throttle slot that would stop the throttle lever from moving past until the pilot pushed hard on the throttle. This was often referred to as 'War Emergency Power' or 'WEP'. On some planes, this just allowed the engine to be run beyond the normal RPM limit; on others, it might increase the turbocharger/supercharger boost; another design would inject water, a methanol-water mixture ('MW50' in Luftwaffe use), or nitrous oxide into the intake to cool and compress the incoming air. Regardless of the method, the use of WEP was limited, either by the limits of the water or MW50 tank, or by directives on how long the increased RPM or turbo boost could be used. Use of the increased RPM or turbo boost was a strain on the engine; use of WEP in these types would be reported after landing so that the engine could be inspected for damage. Water, MW50, and nitrous injection was much less likely to damage engines when used, but the tank and piping for the injection system added weight to the aircraft, a negative factor for fighters.

* The AC Cobra was already frisky enough in 289 form, but fitted with the Ford 427 V8 it gained a reputation for outright homicidal tendancies, despite a new spaceframe chassis and coil springs. One (unfortunately? The jury may literally be out) failed to kill Bill Cosby, though had better luck with its next owner.

* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' this was the design philosophy of the ''Defiant'' class. It's essentially a set of guns strapped directly to an oversized engine. When the crew first acquires the prototype it takes a lot of work to keep the whole thing from shaking itself apart at maximum output, but once this is solved it's one of the most powerful ships in the quadrant despite being one of the smallest. Getting it to work properly involves breaking several Starfleet safety protocols; this may or may not be related to Scotty's entry above.

** The V8 blender and the V8 rocking chair are two examples that had Clarkson's philosophies applied to them. The former was used to make a "manly smoothie" that included beef with the bones still in and a brick as ingredients. The latter rocked the test dummy they placed in the seat to pieces.

** In another episode, Tim and Al are on a plan in a heavy snowstorm that is preventing a plane from landing. When Tim's kids turned on all the Christmas decorations that they put up under his direction for his house, the light burned through the clouds and provided enough of a beacon for the airplane to locate the runway and land. Tim wasn't able to get all the lights up without adding [[CatchPhrase MORE POWER]] to the entire system.

** In another episode, a heavy snowstorm is preventing a plane from landing. When Tim turned on all the Christmas decorations he set up for his house, the light burned through the clouds and provided enough of a beacon for the airplane to locate the runway and land. Tim wasn't able to get all the lights up without adding [[CatchPhrase MORE POWER]] to the entire system.

* Stu Pickles' inventions in ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' sometime take more power than usual.

-->'''Grandpa Lou:''' Con flab it! Can't a man work in his own basement without getting barbecued?
-->'''Stu''': Okay. [[{{Understatement}} So, maybe real fire isn't the best idea for a children's toy.]]
* WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants uses this, with a ConvergingStreamWeapon, to get a stubborn stain off of a platter in the episode "The Krusty Plate". Only after the entire Krusty Krab [[StuffBlowingUp blows up]] in a ''nuclear explosion'' does the stain finally come off.

** ''IndependenceWar'': It affects maximum performance of systems just because more weapons power means that [=PBCs=] recharge faster, do more damage, and have somewhat longer range. More engine power means both greater acceleration and less time for the LDS drive to start up. More shield power means stronger and faster-recharging shields. Underpowered systems get penalized much as you'd expect. Also note that the best way to fight in this game generally involves spending the vast majority of time with maxed engine power and only going into maxed weapon power for when you've got a good shot with your [=PBCs=]; very rarely might you divert energy toward shields, since they only tend to block [=PBCs=] (in a game where you tend to have homing missiles spammed at you, each doing about 20% hull damage with the tug), and only from two directions at that.

* {{VideoGame/Fallout}}: This trope his horribly deconstructed in-universe; without micronization (the idea of making your technology work on a smaller scale), Tim Taylor Technology becomes some kind of worshipped technology during the Cold War, which results in less resources and less availability of advanced efficient technology for the public, while ruling bodies are given near-alien supertechnology and unquestioned power over the starving masses. Without a means to convert their nuclear stockpiles into basic living necessities (and nobody to tell them not to destroy the world and torture humanity for the lulz), the leaders of both superpowers proceed to nuke the world and experiment on the survivors to build a world that revolves around them. A few decades later, they are unceremoniously assassinated by the descendants of disgruntled survivors. Two hundred years later, the lack of clean, efficient technology has prevented most of the continental United States from rebuilding civilization to anything resembling pre-war society, even with nuclear-fission powered matter replicators and supersoldier creating biotechnology.

* In ''{{VideoGame/Overwatch}}'', Torbjörn's Molten Core ultimate is a TurnsRed effect, granting him enhanced armor and attack / construction speed. This comes from "overheating his personal forge", turning him red and spewing flames from his exhaust pipes.

* When the title starship of ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' has its prototype [[FrickinLaserBeams phase cannons]] installed early on, their performance was initially far beyond expectations due to sabotage. A blast meant to take out a mountain on a lifeless rock cratered an area ten times larger than intended. When the ship that performed the sabotage came back and proved resistant to the base settings, they reproduced the overload to defeat it.

* In ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', your ship has 4 power slides: Weapons, Shields, Engines, and Auxiliary. Notably, no matter how many FrickinLaserBeams or [[MacrossMissileMassacre photon torpedos]] your ship takes, just divert all power to Auxiliary and Engines to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere get to safety]] and WalkItOff. Likewise, divert all power to Weapons and BeamSpam, or just power up your DeflectorShields and go! No matter what happens, you're always barking and asking for more power. Players who choose the Engineer class eventually gain Emergency Power skills, which gives '''MORE POWER''' to ''MORE POWER''.

* ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'' Handyman Corner segments were any indication.

* ''Blog/WhatIf'' of ''Webcomic/XKCD'' has [[https://what-if.xkcd.com/13/ quite]] [[https://what-if.xkcd.com/35/ a]] [[https://what-if.xkcd.com/91/ few]] [[https://what-if.xkcd.com/119/ examples]].