History Main / TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket

* 5-Minute Crafts and other life hack channels often play this straight in their videos. Often they set up a hack by showing an actor hopelessly fumble with the normal way of doing something, but immediately know how to use the unconventional and often impractical hacked method. One sketch shows a woman give up at scooping pickled eggs out of a jar because her spoon's too short, then decide to use two spoons tied together to reach the eggs (when it would be easier to just tilt the jar).

-->'''Narrator:''' If you don't know how to operate a blanket... chances are you're a few chromosomes shorts of human.

* 5-Minute Crafts and other life hack channels often play this stright in their videos. Often they set up a hack by showing an actor hopelessly fumble with the normal way of doing something, but immediately know how to use the unconventional and often impractical hacked method. One sketch shows a woman give up at scooping pickled eggs out of a jar because her spoon's too short, then decide to use two spoons tied together to reach the eggs (when it would be easier to just tilt the jar).

* 5-Minute Crafts and other life hack channels often use this approach in their videos, showing an actor hopelessly fumble with the normal way of doing something, but immediately know how to use the unconventional and impractical method they pitch. One sketch shows a woman give up at pulling pickled eggs out of a jar with a spoon because her spoon's too short, then decide to use two spoons tied together to pry the eggs out (when it would be easier to just tilt the jar).

* In an early [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiy2Yj0r1Rs "Têtes à claques"]] video, the amazing power of the "Willi Waller" (an ordinary potato peeler) is contrasted with the difficulty of peeling potatoes with one's fingernails (0:49).

* Adding "Thanks, Obama!" to gif examples of these has become [[{{Memes/Politics}} a political meme]], due to a (real or perceived) tendency for Republicans to blame ''everything'' on him.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9T0p4e2_Cg A Day in the Life of DarkSydePhil,]] a skit by WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}} fans, parodies [[LetsPlay/TheKingOfHate Phil's]] inability to perform basic actions in games as well as his tendency to blame said games for his own incompetence by applying the same thing to real life actions such as starting up a car, unlocking an [=iPad=] or even eating pasta with a fork.

* Parodied in an infomercial featuring Dr. Nick and Troy [=McClure=] from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', which opens with Troy demonstrating a juicer by first awkwardly squeezing an orange against his forehead for a few seconds before telling his audience that "Until now, this was the only way to get juice from an orange." Immediate cut to Homer who is, of course, in the middle of [[WhatAnIdiot actually making]] [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike juice this way]].

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

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[[folder:Films — Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'', the 2005 FracturedFairyTale take on ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'', Kirk Kirkkendall is an actor trying out for a Paul's Bunion Foot Cream commercial. When told over the phone he has received the part and is being summoned back tomorrow to perform in front of their client, the director instructs Kirk to go out to the woods, and cut down a tree. He emphasizes, "Don't ''act'' like a woodsman, ''be'' a woodsman." So Kirk goes off into the woods with an axe and makes several attempts to cut down a short tree for practice, but his attempts are so pathetic that he looks like the world's worst lumberjack:
##First, he tries holding the axe by the axe blade itself, hitting the handle against the side of the tree and pretty much looking like a complete idiot (and only by miracle not severely cutting his hands).
##Then he tries ramming the blade vertically into the side of the tree like he's trying to split the tree down the middle.
##Lastly, he tries uprooting the tree, using the axe and one of his feet as leverage.
##He only becomes competent once he reads ''[[ParodiesForDummies Chopping for]] [[SelfDeprecation Actors]]'' ("Discover Your Inner Woodsman!").
##Now that he's read up how to properly operate an axe, he goes on a tree cutting spree with his small axe, destroying birds' nests and peoples' cars like a madman. This works out well... on small trees at least, and some trees that take no more than three or four swings. But when he gets to a very big tree at least five feet in diameter, his option is to swing repeatedly at the tree despite being fully aware that it won't fall with one swing. Cut to several hours later, and the tree is just balancing precariously on a small amount of bark like someone just took a giant bite out of it. That's when Kirk hears a scream from the cottage at the bottom of the hill he's standing on. As he's going down to investigate the noise, the tree gives way. A person wanting to take down a redwood tree that large would likely drill explosive charges into the sides and detonate them.
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* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': [[FatIdiot Patrick Star]] is often depicted as such whenever he gets an actual job. In "Big Pink Loser," he can't even sweep the floor or open a jar without [=SpongeBob=] coaching him through it, and in "Pat No Pay," when forced to WorkOffTheDebt for Mr. Krabs, even the simplest tasks, like garbage disposal or putting away ice cubes, are too difficult for him.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' has Fry needing two tries to push a BigRedButton, somehow managing to poke next to it on his first attempt.

* Adding "Thanks, Obama!" to gif examples of these has become [[{{Memes/Politics}} a political meme]], due to a ([[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment real or perceived]]) tendency for Republicans to blame ''everything'' on him.

Let's face it, this could be TruthInTelevision for some products and indeed, some users. In reality, however, many of these products were invented specifically for the elderly and physically disabled, people who legitimately ''could'' have problems with some of these tasks; the "being too incompetent to use it" factor usually arises when the item is marketed to a general audience (needed in order to secure a big enough market to make the product profitable) and it becomes necessary to convince able-bodied people that ''they'' can't live without these products. So instead of showing the situations where the item could actually be useful, advertisements often depict smiling young actors lacking the physical and mental disorders of people who'd actually benefit from the product having an absurd level of trouble doing things the "typical" way. (Note that this can often mean that these actors are, however unwittingly, acting disabled in order to market the product to a wider audience.)

* Parodied in one of the Troy [=McClure=]/Dr. Nick infomercials from the earlier seasons of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', which opens with Troy demonstrating a juicer by first awkwardly squeezing an orange against his forehead for a few seconds before telling his audience that "Until now, this was the only way to get juice from an orange." Immediate cut to Homer who is, of course, in the middle of [[WhatAnIdiot actually making]] [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike juice this way]].

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': The commercial for the Huggy Wuvvy Tummy Bundle baby carrier begins with, "Hey, you! Sick of constantly dropping your baby?"

* ''Webcomic/{{Slackerz}}'' provides the page image.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHgM3abfa1M commercial]] ''Webvideo/Tobuscus'' made for Hot Pockets features a man too incompetent to barbecue hotdogs. At first he struggles to open the packaging, trying and failing with his hands and teeth, stabbing himself through the hand when he tries using a knife, and resorts to blasting the packaging open with a shotgun. Then he drops the hotdogs through the gaps in the grill, knocks the barbecue into the pool and takes a shrapnel wound when a propane tank explodes. Later in the commercial, another character claims that the last time he tried to make chilli dogs, he accidentally started a war in Chile.

* In one ''Series/HorribleHistories'' skit, there is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5XANcei2V4 a parody commercial]] for John Joseph Merlin Roller Skates, the first roller skates ever invented. However, due to the very slippery floor and the poor design of the skates, Merlin is constantly slipping and crashing over and over during the commercial, until he has a bloody nose and bruised right eye from all the falls he's taken.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHgM3abfa1M commercial]] ''Webvideo/Tobuscus'' made for Hot Pockets features a man too incompetent to barbecue hotdogs. At first he struggles to open the packaging, trying and failing with his hadns and teeth, stabbing himself through the hand when he tries using a knife, and resorts to blasting the packaging open with a shotgun. Then he drops the hotdogs through the gaps in the grill, knocks the barbecue into the pool and takes a shrapnel wound when a propane tank explodes.

* The Snuggie, as well as its commercials, were parodied in ''Series/ICarly'' with "The Sack".
** The Snuggie was also parodied in [[DuelingShows Dueling Show]] ''Series/SonnyWithAChance'' with the "Blarmie", the blanket with arms.
** The funny part of ''Series/ICarly'' making fun of Snuggies is that Nickelodeon advertised the Snuggie.
** Even funnier, there's something like "The Sack" that actually exists, albeit with a different purpose. There's something similar that's marketed for people who travel frequently and would prefer a protective barrier between them and filthy hotel sheets.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has mocked this many times. A good example would be the episode "Timmy 2000" when Chef tries [[https://southpark.cc.com/clips/103440/drug-free-treatment to introduce a drug-free way]] to get the children to listen without Ritalin. The result is a program known as "Be Quiet or I'll Pop You in the Mouth Again."
-->"SIT DOWN AND STUDY!" WHUMP!

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': "Hey, you! Sick of constantly dropping your baby?"

* In [[https://youtu.be/6ZwrDM3vXtw this clip]] from ''Creator/DaveGorman's Terms and Conditions Apply'', Dave shows and discusses adverts which portray people as being too incompetent to crack an egg, cook pasta and carry kitchen utensils, and has his guests create a spoof ad for an extendable shoehorn for people who struggle to put on and take off their shoes.

There are people in this world who take incompetence to an art form. You know who we're talking about: people who cannot be trusted to use scissors, cut themselves to ribbons when they try to use a potato peeler, and cannot even use a blanket without help. How can such utterly incompetent people make a living in this world?

** Another fake advertisement in the same episode starts the same way. This ad is for the Baby Death Trap, which apparently exists solely so the manufacturer can sue people who call the earlier product a "death trap" not for libel but for trademark infringement.

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--> '''Homer''': "You mean there's a ''better'' way?!"

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Let's face it, this could be TruthInTelevision for some products and indeed, some users. In fact, many of these products were invented specifically for the elderly and physically disabled, people who legitimately ''could'' have problems with some of these tasks. The "being too incompetent to use it" factor usually arises when the item is marketed to a general audience (needed in order to secure a big enough market to make the product profitable) and it becomes necessary to convince able-bodied people that ''they'' can't live without these products. Thus the actors playing the part of the incompetent are smiling young actors lacking the physical and mental disorders of people who'd actually benefit from the product. (Note that this can often mean that these actors are, however unwittingly, acting disabled in order to market the product to a wider audience.)