History Main / ToothbrushFloorScrubbing

A SubTrope of WithThisHerring.

* In ''Film/AnOfficerAndAGentleman'', Mayo has to clean the floor with a toothbrush at the end of his weekend of hell after he refuses to DOR.
* The toothbrush floor cleaning punishment is shown in ''Film/LatterDays'' as a part of gay conversion therapy.

* A flashback in the first ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel has a character being forced to clean the floor with a toothbrush as punishment. When asked, he greatly exaggerates the "crime" that got him in this situation.

* The eponymous Rosa Riedl in the book by Christine Nöstlinger met her demise when she was trying to cross the road to help a Jewish storekeeper who was forced by the Nazis to remove the graffiti from his store with a toothbrush. The event was so traumatic she continued to haunt the area after her death.

* TV's ''Series/PrivateBenjamin'' had a tag at the end of an episode where the girls had to polish Capt. Lewis' jeep using Q-Tips.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Learning Curve," Tuvok orders Crewman Chell to [[RecycledInSpace degauss a transporter pad with a micro-resonator.]] Tuvok intends that Chell will learn patience from the twenty-six-hour task; Torres says it would be done in five minutes with a magneton scanner. [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary Exactly why Tuvok is doing this]] is something of an IdiotBall, as he's supposed to be giving the ex-Maquis crewmembers a crash course in Starfleet operations and protocol, not instructing at Starfleet Academy where they can spend years breaking down and reconstructing recruits. All he does is anger the trainees with what seem to be meaningless exercises.
* ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'': When Sky is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZYsPNt1zwQ punished with scrubbing the entrance with a toothbrush]], Jack joins him trying to establish a friendship with him. Sky later reveals he's scrubbing with Jack's toothbrush.

* ''Series/LostGirl''. In "Caged Fae", Bo ends up in prison with [[GirlsBehindBars obligatory]] GirlOnGirlIsHot {{fanservice}}. In one scene the corrupt female Warden has Bo dress in a skimpy outfit and scrub her floor with a toothbrush.
-->'''Warden:''' [[EatingTheEyeCandy Very nice.]] But I want you to scrub a little... slower.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/OggyAndTheCockroaches'', Oggy ends up in boot camp and the DrillSergeantNasty points him to the W.C. before handing him a toothbrush. [[ImpossibleTaskInstantlyAccomplished A few seconds later, the outhouse is bright, shiny and temple-like.]]
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'', Beej has joined the army (just go with it) and at one point is scrubbing a floor with a toothbrush--only to pause and briefly brush his ''own'' teeth with the skeevy toothbrush.
* DrillSergeantNasty magister Hulca forces Ben to scrub floors with a toothbrush in the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' episode "Basic Training".

* ''WesternAnimation/TheDayMyButtWentPsycho'': Zack's grandmother's butt makes Zack and Deuce scrub the floor with toothbrushes when she is left to babysit. Deuce uses Zack's toothbrush.

* At the end of one episode of ''WesternAnimation/IAmWeasel'', Weasel punishes Baboon by making him scrub the bathroom floor with a toothbrush. Baboon smugly [[BreakingTheFourthWall tells the audience that he's using Weasel's toothbrush]], before realizing that it's actually his own toothbrush.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'' episode "Scoop of the Century", Lumpus tries to pose as a Bean Scout and, as part of his "initiation", the other scouts make him clean the latrines with a toothbrush. At the end, it's revealed that it was his own toothbrush.
* In a bit that suffered TrailerJokeDecay, one of the punishments issued in ''WesternAnimation/{{Detention}}'' was to erase a comically-oversized blackboard with a toothbrush.
* ''WesternAnimation/SheZow'': In "Guy and Doll", Guy's principal makes him sweep up all of the sawdust in the wood shop with a very scraggly toothbrush.

* ''ComicBook/DeKiekeboes'': in a comic where Marcel Kiekeboe is drafted in the army, when the Sergeant asks him to present his toothbrush, Marcel knows it's this trope and instead of his actual toothbrush, he presents the Sergeant a duster. Unfortunately for him, the Sergeant has a spare tooth brush for soldiers who try to get out of this trope.

* In ''Film/AnOfficerAndAGentleman'', Mayo has to do this at the end of his weekend of hell after he refuses to DOR.
* Shown in ''Film/LatterDays'' as a part of gay conversion therapy.

* A flashback in the first ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel has a character punished with doing this. When asked, he greatly exaggerates the "crime" that got him in this situation.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Learning Curve," Tuvok orders Crewman Chell to [[RecycledInSpace degauss a transporter pad with a micro-resonator.]] Tuvok intends that Chell will learn patience from the twenty-six-hour task; Torres says it would be done in five minutes with a magneton scanner. [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary Exactly why Tuvok is doing this trope]] is something of an IdiotBall, as he's supposed to be giving the ex-Maquis crewmembers a crash course in Starfleet operations and protocol, not instructing at Starfleet Academy where they can spend years breaking down and reconstructing recruits. All he does is anger the trainees with what seem to be meaningless exercises.

* ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'': Ziggy, after inadvertently pushing Dr. K's BerserkButton, is made to clean the floor of the garage with one.

* The episode "Battle of the Baseball Know-It-Alls" from ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' had a scene with [[VideoGame/PunchOut King Hippo]] and [[VideoGame/KidIcarus the Eggplant Wizard]] trying to force Princess Lana to do this. Lana manages to distract them by making them demonstrate how to scrub the floor while she and UsefulNotes/GameBoy sneak off. King Hippo then recognises one of the toothbrushes as his own and brushes his teeth with it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Phineas and Ferb Get Busted", the titular characters are ordered to scrub the floor of the bathroom at the Smileaway Reformatory. They begin doing it to a rhythm, much to the chagrin of the warden.

* DrillSergeantNasty magister Hulca forces Ben to do this in the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' episode "Basic Training".

* ''WesternAnimation/TheDayMyButtWentPsycho'': Zack's grandmother's butt makes Zack and Deuce do this when she is left to babysit. Deuce uses Zack's toothbrush.

* In ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'', one of Victor's favorite punishment for the students is to scrub toilets with a toothbrush, to the point where once merely presented with the toothbrush, they already know what it is they're in for. One particular episode has the entire house get punished, forced to scrub every toilet in school with their toothbrushes.

TruthInTelevision, as a stiff-bristled toothbrush is great for grouting or small stains.

A typical punishment in the military, or otherwise strict organization, in media is scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush (possibly the offender's own), however impractical it may be. Sometimes, a person will opt to use someone else's toothbrush, especially someone they're not particularly fond of.

A SubTrope of WithThisHerring, and sometimes of PunishmentDetail.

* The episode "Battle of the Baseball Know-It-Alls" from ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' had a scene with [[VideoGame/PunchOut King Hippo]] and [[VideoGame/KidIcarus the Eggplant Wizard]] trying to force Princess Lana to do this. Lana manages to distract them by making them demonstrate how to scrub the floor while she and GameBoy sneak off. King Hippo then recognises one of the toothbrushes as his own and brushes his teeth with it.

* ''Private Benjamin'': During basic training, Judy Benjamin complains about the latrine being unsanitary and is ordered to clean it with her toothbrush. Her ''electric'' toothbrush.

* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Get Busted", the titular characters are ordered to scrub the floor of the W.C. They begin doing it to a rhythm, much to the chagrin of the warden.

* At one point in Devil's Due ''Franchise/GIJoe'' comic series, DrillSergeantNasty Beachhead tells a recruit that a cruel man would make him clean the barracks with a toothbrush, before making him clean the barracks with a ''POTATO''.

* TV's ''Private Benjamin'' had a tag at the end of an episode where the girls had to polish Capt. Lewis' jeep using Q-Tips.

A typical punishment in the military, or otherwise strict organization, in media is scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush (possibly the offender's own), however impractical it may be. Sometimes, a person will opt to use someone else's toothbrush, especially if he/she does not like the owner of said toothbrush.

* ''ComicBook/DeKiekeboes'': in a comic where Marcel Kiekeboe is drafted in the army, when the Sergeant asks him to present his toothbrush, the GenreSavvy Marcel knows it's this trope and instead of his actual toothbrush, he presents the Sergeant a duster. Unfortunately for him, the Sergeant is also genre savvy and has a spare tooth brush for soldiers who try to get out of this trope.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Learning Curve," Tuvok orders Crewman Chell to [[RecycledInSpace degauss a transporter pad with a micro-resonator.]] Tuvok intends that Chell will learn patience from the twenty-six-hour task; Torres says it would be done in five minutes with a magneton scanner. [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary Exactly why Tuvok is doing this trope]] is something of an IdiotBall, as he's supposed to be giving the ex-Maquis crewman a crash course in Starfleet operations and protocol, not instructing at Starfleet Academy where they can spend years breaking down and reconstructing recruits. All he does is anger the trainees with what seem to be meaningless exercises.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Learning Curve," Tuvok orders Crewman Chell to [[RecycledInSpace degauss a transporter pad with a micro-resonator.]] Tuvok intends that Chell will learn patience from the twenty-six-hour task; Torres says it would be done in five minutes with a magneton scanner.

* TV's ''Series/PrivateBenjamin'' had a tag at the end of an episode where the girls had to polish Capt. Lewis' jeep using Q-Tips.

* ''Film/PrivateBenjamin'': During basic training, Judy Benjamin complains about the latrine being unsanitary and is ordered to clean it with her toothbrush. Her ''electric'' toothbrush.

* In ''Film/BarbieAndTheThreeMusketeers'', Viveca, Aramina and Renee make Corinne scrub the ballroom floor with a toothbrush as punishment for the damage she did to each of them earlier in the movie when they first meet.

* In ''Film/BarbueAndTheThreeMusketeers'', Viveca, Aramina and Renee make Corinne scrub the ballroom floor with a toothbrush as punishment for the damage she did to each of them earlier in the movie when they first meet.