History Main / WhatWereYouThinking

* These exact words are used in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' when the Tendos, particularly [[BewareTheNiceOnes Kasumi]], [[WhatTheHellHero call Genma out]] for taking his son to the cursed training ground of Jusenkyo. To the annoyance of some readers, though, this is only in the very first chapter of the manga, and nobody so much as raises an eyebrow when Genma later reveals he taught Ranma the [[HarmfulToMinors Nekoken]] because he was too lazy to read the next page, [[NowYouTellMe which warned]] that the technique [[SanityHasAdvantages invariably drove trainees insane]] and was [[UselessUsefulSpell too stupid to use, anyway]]. [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Although]], it's entirely possible that people stopped asking this of him because they realized [[WhatAnIdiot it just wouldn't do any damned good.]]
* Yuna Roma Seiran gets this from the ORB military officers in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', for hiding war criminal Lord Djibril in ORB and denying it, then acting all surprised when ZAFT sees through his obvious lies and invades in full force. Apparently, he thought that since ORB had successfully hidden [[CoolShip the Archangel]] from them two years ago, but not even in anime do politics bend to the RuleOfCool...
* In ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', Kaname tends to yell this whenever Sousuke does something insane. More often than not, he proceeds to explain the ridiculously complicated terrorist plot that he foiled to justify his actions. Sometimes the plot is even real.

* In the first story of the ''FanFic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', Danny says this to Sam after he learned she duplicated his accident to get herself ghost powers. However, Sam counters that it was her choice to make.
* In ''Fanfic/FrozenHearts'', [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 Elsa asks this of Anna]] after she [[spoiler:introduces her to a disguised, albeit repentant, Hans]], and gets upset enough to temporarily [[PowerIncontinence lose control]] of [[AnIcePerson her powers]].
* In ''FanFic/TimeAndAgain'', Naruto quotes the trope verbatim when, after having it finally [[ObliviousToLove spelled out for him]] that Hinata is in love with him, he realises that [[spoiler:in the BadFuture [[PeggySue he came back from]] she'd been in love with him all along as well, but had never told him, even when he would have happily married her himself to save her from the loveless marriage to [[DomesticAbuse an abusive asshole]] that had been [[ArrangedMarriage arranged for her]]]].
* In ''Fanfic/MegaManStarNetwork'', Chaud asks [[LeeroyJenkins Lan]] this when he went to Wilshire Hills to go after Cain without contacting him.

* In the ''Fanfic/SuperRWBYSisters'' story RWBY Partners in Time [[spoiler:King Dedede asks this question to the heroes upon discovering that Mario and the rest of the group had rebuild the Cobalt Star which released Elder Princess Shroob. Seeing as he and Kirby have experience in accidentally releasing ancient evils it seems justified.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/HappyFeet'': Gloria asks a version of this after she discovers that him singing to her at the mating season is really him lip-synching and letting someone else sing (Mumble can't sing).
-->'''Gloria:''' Mumble, what could you possibly be thinking?\\
'''Mumble:''' I...I don't know what else to do!

* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'': Dominic Toretto asks this of Jesse after he races Johnny Tran for pink slips.
* The captain asks ''Film/CoolHandLuke'' what he thought defacing parking meters would get him. Luke replies that, [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy being drunk at the time, he probably wasn't thinking.]]

* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Lucius Fox meets with Coleman Reese, who says that he's figured out that Bruce Wayne is Batman and wants $10 million a year for the rest of his life to stay quiet.
--> "{{Let me get this straight}}: You think that your client, one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world, is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. [[BullyingADragon And your plan is to blackmail this person]]? Good luck."

* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'':
** [[TurnInYourBadge Elliot Stabler]] frequently hears this: when he drove a paranoid-schizophrenic to a breakdown to get information, when he tried to convince the parents of a girl beaten up by his friend's son not to testify, when he made his daughter's DUI disappear, the infamous "What possessed you to tell the shrink in your psych evaluation that you fantasized about killing suspects?!" Or the time when he told the father of a murdered girl that the Suspect might [[KarmaHoudini get away with it]]...
** Captain Cragen also said this to Olivia Benson when she gave a reporter confidential information about an investigation involving Anthrax.
** Fin Tutuola heard this from John Munch and his ex-wife in the episode when he handled a case against his son poorly.
* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' Adam Schiff does this to Jack [=McCoy=] when he cuts a very favorable deal for a mob hit man in "House Counsel" because he wants to beat the mobster's attorney, who happens to be an intense rival of [=McCoy's=] from law school.
-->'''Schiff:''' What are we running here, Benny's Bargain Basement? Today's special - cop to four murders, and serve only five years.\\
'''[=McCoy=]:''' I didn't think--\\
'''Schiff:''' You didn't think because the blood was too busy rushing from your brain to somewhere south of the border!
* A lot of people screamed this at Mohinder from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' when he [[spoiler: injected himself with a SuperSerum he'd invented mere hours ago from studying a woman who cries death, while outside in a bad part of town. And also wanted to ''distribute it to the general public'', despite the fact that a remarkable proportion of those with powers kill people a lot or even try to destroy the world]].

%% Zero content example: * ''Series/DoctorPhil'', anyone?

* Used in an episode of ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris'', in which Julius is laid off and has to take care of the house, cooking, and cleaning while Rochelle tries to find a job. After being insulted by Rochelle for most of the episode, Julius makes the mistake of saying that taking care of the house, which Rochelle usually does, isn't that hard. Cue Rochelle, who is known for cursing people out, launching a positively ''horrifying'' hour-long tirade that had Julius cowering in the corner, ending with Rochelle yelling "HAVE YOU ''LOST'' YOUR MIND!??!"
* Used in ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'' when a [[TooDumbToLive minor member of a]] [[CannibalClan gentleman's club]] of... [[MacGuffin purveyors of Special Stuff]] (which makes even [[ImAHumanitarian human flesh]] seem upstanding and moral) run by [[TheButcher Hilary Briss]] decides to bring his wife to a secret meeting:
-->'''Briss''' Right... now we're all finally convened. As my special customers, you'’re no doubt aw...\\
''[Maurice's wife enters]''\\
'''Eunice''' Hiya, I was just parking the car.\\
'''Briss''' Right, Eunice! An unexpected pleasure! Sam, would you like to get Eunice a drink?... Maurice... do you have a moment?\\
''[Briss leads him to one side]''\\
'''Briss''' Are you out of your [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] mind?
* Pops up in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' on occasion, such as Joel to Crow for letting [[EvilTwin Timmy]] on board, or (much later) Crow to Mike after he's [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds just blown up his third planet]].

* Late in the ''Band of Brothers'' miniseries, Easy Company passes some surrendering Germans traveling in the other direction, troops marching and officers on wagons. Webster leans out of a troop transport and starts berating them: "You stupid bastards, look at you! You have ''horses''! ''What were you thinking?!''"
** For added irony, they are on the autobahn. The Americans in trucks on the road, the Germans walking the other way in the median.

* ''Series/{{ER}}''. Carol to Doug when he shows up at her apartment drunk, uninvited and unannounced, disrupting her romantic evening with her boyfriend.
* In the pilot episode of ''Series/CornerGas'', Oscar does this when he sees Brent do some changes to the gas station, namely the introduction of video rentals. Oscar does not take this well.
-->'''Oscar:''' What, are you in show business now? The gas business not good enough for you? You've gotta be [[Series/TheEdSullivanShow Ed Sullivan]]? (''imitates Ed Sullivan'') "We've got a great shoooo! We've got a really big shoooo!" What the hell are you thinking?\\
'''Brent:''' [[NonSequiturDistraction I'm thinking your Ed Sullivan needs work]].

* In ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 3'', Max thinks about asking this of Giovanna and [[spoiler: the now deceased]] Marcello, but stops and reminds himself that his long list of failures gives him no right to criticise.

* In ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'', [[MissionControl Bain]] [[OhCrap gets nervous]] when he realizes what the gang's stealing this time around.
-->'''Bain:''' Vlad, smashing malls is one thing. Stealing tiaras is one thing. [[spoiler:But nukes?!]]

* In ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'', [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000803c you built dangerous robots and let the bad guy take them to conquer the world.]] Followed by the {{Stock Phrase|s}}.

* There is actually an entire blog dedicated to asking this question about old comics. It's even titled [[http://luchins.com/wwtt/ What Were They Thinking?]]
* Some editors in [[Wiki/TVTropes This Wiki]] tend to use this at times as a reaction... and {{Pothole}} it to this very page.

* Mike Mozart of WebVideo/JeepersMedia uses this catchphrase when he comes across a toy with a... suggestive design flaw.

* Spoofed in the ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "Cry Ed", where, after Ed drops a ''house'' on Eddy in response to Eddy's scheme to get himself injured and gain sympathy, the following exchange occurs:
-->'''Edd''': Ed! What in heaven's name were you ''thinking''?!\\
'''Ed''': Absolutely nothing, Double-Dee.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

* ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', "Mac Daddy": Bloo says this about Mac having apparently conjured up "Cheese". Mac's response: "Exactly, I wasn't thinking."
** "World Wide Wabbit" has Frankie ask this to Bloo when he starts a website based on Herriman's embarrassing "funny bunny" video that got ''20 million hits.''
--->'''Bloo:''' I just thought it was funny.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'''s Norman Osborn solidifies his GenreSavvy credentials by asking [[spoiler: his son Harry this when he learned he had been drinking the Green Goblin serum.]]
* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''

* In ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'', Cranky Kong asks this of Donkey Kong when he learns that DK has given the [[MacGuffin Crystal Coconut]] to [[BigBad King K. Rool]], being told to give up everything to know everything;
-->'''DK:''' I wanted to know all the secrets...\\
'''Cranky:''' So you gave the Coconut away to King K. Rool?! What were you thinking?!
* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', Hawkgirl chews out Fire for dropping Flash into the sea after Flash told her to do it so she could help Hawkgirl, reminding Fire that Flash can't fly. Fire feebly responds that she figured she could trust a founding member of the Justice League to have a plan, not knowing that Flash didn't have one. Fortunately, Flash was able to think of something in the nick of time. Hawkgirl immediately switched targets to Flash and [[AngerBornOfWorry furiously ordered him to never scare her like that again.]]
** In "Doomsday Sanctum", Amanda Waller asks this of General Eiling when she learns he launched a [[DisproportionateRetribution Kryptonite-tipped nuclear warhead]] at the inhabited island that Superman and Doomsday were fighting on behind her back.
* The ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' episode "Total Re-Carl" involves Frylock trying to make Carl a new body after his original one [[TurbineBlender gets liquefied by Frylock's Super Toilet]]. One of the options Frylock almost goes with is putting Carl's head on a lethal military robot, leading to this exchange:
-->'''Frylock:''' I give you the ultimate in military hardware, complete with laser cannon, indestructible titanium exoskeleton, and motion-activated plasma pulse rifles.\\
'''Shake:''' ''And you're gonna plug him in?!''\\
'''Frylock:''' ...you're right. Damn, what the hell was I thinking?
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Ike's Wee Wee", Kyle decides to save his brother Ike from being circumcised by sending him on a train bound for Nebraska. He crafts a decoy made out of butcher shop bones in an effort to trick his parents into canceling the bris. A dog follows him home and attacks the Ike doll before getting hit by a tanker truck. While his parents mourn the supposed loss of their baby, Stan and even ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards Cartman]]'' glare at Kyle for doing this.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E18MaudPie Maud Pie]]", Pinkie nearly gets killed by a dangerous obstacle course she sets up. After Maud saves her, she asks her this verbatim. Notably, it's one of the rare times Maud [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness raises her voice]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "The Lost Mattress", Mr. Krabs is sent into a coma after the loss of his old mattress, which had all of his money stored in it. At the hospital, his gurney is parked in front of a vending machine until a nurse puts him outside. An administrator comes in and says this verbatim to the head doctor, who calls for the same nurse to take care of it... [[ComedicSociopathy and she kicks Mr. Krabs down the hill]].

* [[spoiler: In the ''Fanfic/SuperRWBYSisters'' story RWBY Partners in Time King Dedede asks this question to the heroes upon discovering that Mario and the rest of the group had rebuild the Cobalt Star which released Elder Princess Shroob. Seeing as he and Kirby have experience in accidentally releasing ancient evils it seems justified.]]

* [[Spoilers: In the ''Fanfic/SuperRWBYSisters'' story RWBY Partners in Time King Dedede asks this question to the heroes upon discovering that Mario and the rest of the group had rebuild the Cobalt Star which released Elder Princess Shroob. Seeing as he and Kirby have experience in accidentally releasing ancient evils it seems justified.]]

* [[spoilers: In the ''Fanfic/SuperRWBYSisters'' story RWBY Partners in Time King Dedede asks this question to the heroes upon discovering that Mario and the rest of the group had rebuild the Cobalt Star which released Elder Princess Shroob. Seeing as he and Kirby have experience in accidentally releasing ancient evils it seems justified.]]

'''Willow:''' ''[[TitleDrop What were you thinking?!]]'' Or were you even thinking at all?\\

'''Willow:''' ''What were you thinking?!'' Or were you even thinking at all?\\

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d In''Series/AmericasFunniestHomeVideos'' during the Daisy Fuentes season, where she gives a little speech about the three primary audience reactions: "hahahaha", "[[ShareTheMalePain owwwww...]]" and "what were they thinking?"

[[folder:Web Comics]]

-->'''Bloo:''' I just thought it was funny.

-->'''Iroh''': You never think these things through!\\

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Zuko frequently hears this from his uncle: "Of all the foolish things you've done in your sixteen years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish!", "You never think these things through!" In response to short-sighted things such as when he went through a great deal of life-threatening dangers to get the Avatar and would have died if Aang's friends hadn't come and decided to SaveTheVillain.

* ''Disney/BigHero6'' has this part after Hiro's big brother Tadashi helps him get out of a nasty incident.

* In an [[http://imagineeridan.tumblr.com/post/77899645353/imagine-eridan-watching-the-little-mermaid-because untitled]] ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' fic, this is Eridan's reaction to finding out that ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'' is Feferi's favourite movie. [[note]]They live on an alien world where the finned, sea-dwelling aristocracy rule those on land with an iron fist. Because Eridan is part of that aristocracy, he is ''horrified'' by the thought that a mermaid would give up her gills to live with a 'peasant'.[[/note]]

* In ''Fanfic/FrozenHearts'', [[{{Disney/Frozen}} Elsa asks this of Anna]] after she [[spoiler:introduces her to a disguised, albeit repentant, Hans]], and gets upset enough to temporarily [[PowerIncontinence lose control]] of [[AnIcePerson her powers]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E18MaudPie Maud Pie]]", Pinkie nearly gets killed by a dangerous obstacle course she sets up. After Maud saves her, she asks her this verbatim.

Can follow a MyGodWhatHaveIDone for a KickTheDog moment. A DealWithTheDevil is almost always followed by this, [[ViewerStockPhrases if only from the audience]]. Not to be confused with WhatTheHellHero, which has less to do with recklessness and more to do with {{kick|TheDog}}ing or [[ShootTheDog shooting the dog]], though it can overlap. If someone is asking ''himself'' (or herself) this, it's DidntThinkThisThrough.

[[folder:Web Videos]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

-->'''Commander Merai''': What were they ''thinking'', defending a [[SingleBiomePlanet water world]] with ships that can't submerge?

[[folder: Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

-->'''Gloria''': "Mumble, what could you possibly be thinking?"
-->'''Mumble''': "I...I don't know what else to do!"

-->'''Tadashi''': Are you okay?
-->'''Hiro''': Yeah.
-->'''Tadashi''': ''Then what were you thinking, you knucklehead?!''

-->'''God:''' "You made a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with the Devil]]. How dumb could you be?"

[[folder: Literature ]]

-->'''Rowanstar''': What was the mouse-brain thinking?
-->'''Mistystar''': Obviously, he ''wasn't'' thinking.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* [[TurnInYourBadge Elliot Stabler]] frequently hears this on ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'': when he drove a paranoid-schizophrenic to a breakdown to get information, when he tried to convince the parents of a girl beaten up by his friend's son not to testify, when he made his daughter's DUI disappear, the infamous "What possessed you to tell the shrink in your psych evaluation that you fantasized about killing suspects?!" Or the time when he told the father of a murdered girl that the Suspect might [[KarmaHoudini get away with it]]...

-->'''Schiff:''' What are we running here, Benny's Bargain Basement? Today's special - cop to four murders, and serve only five years.
-->'''[=McCoy=]:''' I didn't think-
-->'''Schiff:''' You didn't think because the blood was too busy rushing from your brain to somewhere south of the border!

--> '''Briss''' Right... now we’re all finally convened. As my special customers, you’re no doubt aw…
--> Maurice's wife enters
--> '''Eunice''' Hiya, I was just parking the car.
--> '''Briss''' Right, Eunice! An unexpected pleasure! Sam, would you like to get Eunice a drink?... Maurice,…do you have a moment?
--> Briss leads him to one side
--> '''Briss''' Are you out of your [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] mind?

* Parodied by Norm [=MacDonald=] during a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' "Weekend Update" segment:
--> "Stephen J. Hawkings, the renowned astrophysicist, regarded as Albert Einstein's intellectual successor, conceded defeat this week in a wager he made six years ago with two professors of the California Institute of Technology. Hawkings incorrectly bet against the existence of naked singularities: a mathematical point in a black hole where space and time are infinitely distorted, where matter is infinitely dense and where the rules of relavistic physics break down. With all due respect to Mr. Hawkings: what the hell were you thinking? I would have taken that bet, made a quick 20 bucks!"

--> "On Wednesday, world chess champion Gary Kasparov tied Deep Blue, the IBM supercomputer that can examine two hundred million positions per second, in the fourth game of their six game series. Earlier in the week, Kasparov admitted he made a catastrophic blunder in game two when he failed to force a draw by moving rook to e8, opting instead for a Caro Kann defense that soon transposed into a Pribyl defense which, after Deep Blue moved bishop to e7, gave him the advantage with his ninth position. With all due respect to Mr. Kasparov ... What the hell were you thinking?"

[[folder: Professional Wrestling ]]

* {{Wrestling/Kane}} buried Wrestling/TheUndertaker...[[DeathIsCheap again]]. He decided to hold a funeral in respect of him...and then Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio interrupted. Now, given that Alberto had only been on Smackdown for a few months, and Kane is a veteran who ''just took out The Undertaker'', and that Alberto interrupted his "funeral" just to challenge Kane, the audience, Kane, and pretty much anyone else who may have been watching all exclaimed...
-->--"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"
** ...The funny thing is, Alberto then proceeded to [[OhCrap slap Undertaker's urn]] from Wrestling/PaulBearer's hand, dodge Kane's punch and ''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kick him across the face.]]''

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' has Mom convey an expression that says this phrase without using words to react to Jeremy's antics. Likely she doesn't say it because Jeremy will likely react with some quip.
-->'''Mom:''' What were you thinking!\\
'''Jeremy:''' Everything's cause-and-effect with you, isn't it.

[[folder: Video Games ]]
* Take an RPG, any RPG, and one character will inevitably say this to another. And most likely, the player was thinking about [[StupidityIsTheOnlyOption why they had to do that to continue.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 3'', Max thinks about asking this of Giovanna and [[spoiler: the now deceased]] Marcello, but stops and reminds himself that his long list of failures gives him no right to criticise.
* Lance Vance says this in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' after a lackey's failed attempt to blow up a coffee shop leaves behind a veritable OrgyOfEvidence.

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]
* "What were they ''thinking''!?" is one of WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd's many {{catchphrase}}s, used for an asinine flaw with a bad game.
* Mike Mozart of WebVideo/JeepersMedia uses this catchphrase when he comes across a toy with a... suggestive design flaw.

* Some editors in [[Wiki/TVTropes This Wiki]] tend to use this at times as a reaction… and {{Pothole}} it to this very page.

-->'''Phelous:''' Um...clothes...wrinkly...\\

''He reaches out and touches the plugged in iron''\\

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

-->'''DK:''' I wanted to know all the secrets...
-->'''Cranky:''' So you gave the Coconut away to King K. Rool?! What were you thinking?!

[[folder: RealLife]]

* [[Series/LawAndOrder Adam Schiff]] does this to Jack [=McCoy=] when he cuts a very favorable deal for a mob hit man in "House Counsel" because he wants to beat the mobster's attorney, who happens to be an intense rival of [=McCoy's=] from law school.