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* JamesBond fights a bad guy in an Italian glass museum in ''{{Moonraker}}''. It goes like you'd expect.
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* JamesBond Film/JamesBond fights a bad guy in an Italian glass museum in ''{{Moonraker}}''.''Film/{{Moonraker}}''. It goes like you'd expect.
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** Averted in [[DrNo Dr. No]]: "That's a Dom Perignon '55, it would be a pity to break it."
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** Averted in [[DrNo Dr. No]]: ''Film/DrNo'': "That's a Dom Perignon '55, it would be a pity to break it."
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** And then later in the movie, he underestimates the structural integrity of his house's roof after coming home from a successful Mk 2 suit flight test, crashes through the upper floor, through a grand piano, through the lower floor, and butt-first ''right'' onto the car he singed earlier during his boot/gauntlet flight test. After one of his barely competent helper bots [[BrickJoke sprays him down with fire retardant]], he just slowly lays his head on the wreck out of tired exasperation.
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* Played with in ''[[IndianaJones Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'', where Henry Jones inadvertently brains his son with what appeared to be a Ming dynasty vase. He was initially more concerned about the loss of the artifact than the damage to Indy's skull (hey, he ''is'' an archaeologist), but on closer examination was relieved to discover it was a fake.
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* Played with in ''[[IndianaJones Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'', ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', where Henry Jones inadvertently brains his son with what appeared to be a Ming dynasty vase. He was initially more concerned about the loss of the artifact than the damage to Indy's skull (hey, he ''is'' an archaeologist), but on closer examination was relieved to discover it was a fake.
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[[folder: Web Original]]
* In the sixth episode of ''WebOriginal/EchoChamber'', Tom wears a FunTShirt that says this, and depicts [[UpToEleven the Hindenberg crashing into the Titanic]].
* In the sixth episode of ''WebOriginal/EchoChamber'', Tom wears a FunTShirt that says this, and depicts [[UpToEleven the Hindenberg crashing into the Titanic]].
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* In the sixth episode of
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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' Korra blows up a 2000-year old device for teaching airbending out of frustration.
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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS1E2ALeafInTheWind A Leaf in the Wind]]" Korra blows up a 2000-year old device for teaching airbending out of frustration.
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** You can also use Greasemonkey to fix the links.
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* Try following an outgoing link on this very wiki:
-->"Sorry, but we can no longer support outbound links from the wiki articles. Malicious and inappropriate links are somtimes entered faster than we can clean them out."
** You can follow the link from that page, but it has a warning that the link may not be appropriate or family friendly. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking It, Tropers]].
-->"Sorry, but we can no longer support outbound links from the wiki articles. Malicious and inappropriate links are somtimes entered faster than we can clean them out."
** You can follow the link from that page, but it has a warning that the link may not be appropriate or family friendly. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking It, Tropers]].
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-->'''Trexler''': You see, this is why. This is why we can't have nice things! Barry! You asshole!
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-->'''Trexler''': [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmZ3Cvekt14 You see, this is why. This is why we can't have nice things! Barry! You asshole!asshole!]]
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* In ''AvatarTheLegendOfKorra'' Korra blows up a 2000-year old device for teaching airbending out of frustration.
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* In ''AvatarTheLegendOfKorra'' ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' Korra blows up a 2000-year old device for teaching airbending out of frustration.
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* In ''AvatarTheLegendOfKorra'' Korra blows up a 2000-year old device for teaching airbending out of frustration.
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** The exact phrase was used as a running joke in ''FriskyDingo''. When the line cropped up again in ''{{Archer}}'', a show with the same creators and writers, it may have been a cross-over gag. Not that it wasn't still funny: "*sigh*. *This* is why. This is why we can't have nice things! Barry! You ass!"
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** The exact phrase was used as a running joke in ''FriskyDingo''. When the line cropped up again in ''{{Archer}}'', a show with the same creators and writers, it may have been a cross-over gag. Not that it wasn't still funny: "*sigh*. *This* funny.
-->'''Trexler''': You see, this is why. This is why we can't have nice things! Barry! Youass!"asshole!
-->'''Trexler''': You see, this is why. This is why we can't have nice things! Barry! You
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* JackieChan has subversions in several of his movies. Somebody tosses a priceless Ming vase at him. He knows it's priceless. And so he spends the entire fight beating up the bad guy while doing [[JuggleFu aerobatics with his own body and the vase]] so it doesn't break. It's a martial arts prowess DishDash, essentially. And when the fight is over, he puts the vase back. And, in a DoubleSubversion, something else breaks it.
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* JackieChan has subversions in several of his movies. Somebody tosses a priceless Ming vase PricelessMingVase [[RushHour at him. him.]] He knows it's priceless. And so he spends the entire fight beating up the bad guy while doing [[JuggleFu aerobatics with his own body and the vase]] so it doesn't break. It's a martial arts prowess DishDash, essentially. And when the fight is over, he puts the vase back. And, in a DoubleSubversion, something else breaks it.[[FailureIsTheOnlyOption it gets shot]].
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* ''GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', even more so than the movie series it's based on. Especially so in the Museum level, where the Proton Packs threaten to destroy priceless historical artifacts (unless the museum owners [[GenreSavvy cunningly switched those artifacts with worthless replicas).
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* ''GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', even more so than the movie series it's based on. Especially so in the Museum level, where the Proton Packs threaten to destroy priceless historical artifacts (unless the museum owners [[GenreSavvy cunningly switched those artifacts with worthless replicas).replicas]]).
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* ''GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', even more so than the movie series it's based on. Especially so in the Museum level, where the Proton Packs threaten to destroy priceless historical artifacts (unless the museum owners [[GenreSavvy cunningly switched those artifacts with worthless replicas).
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[[folder: Web Original ]]
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[[folder: Web Original ]]
Original]]
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Example: Vampires and werewolves are at peace with one another. Bob the werewolf is dating Alice, the princess of vampires, but one day decides to have an affair with Carol the werewolf. Alice, the beloved princess, decides to commit suicide in a fit of despair. [[FurAgainstFang I'm sure you can guess]] [[FeudingFamilies what happens next]].
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Example: Vampires and werewolves are at peace with one another. Bob the werewolf is dating Alice, the princess of vampires, but one day decides to have an affair with Carol the werewolf. Alice, the beloved princess, decides to commit suicide in a fit of despair. [[FurAgainstFang I'm sure you can guess]] [[FeudingFamilies what happens happens]] [[{{Twilight}} next]].
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minor edit \"Alice\" instead of \"the Alice\"
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Example: Vampires and werewolves are at peace with one another. Bob the werewolf is dating the Alice, the princess of vampires, but one day decides to have an affair with Carol the werewolf. Alice, the beloved princess, decides to commit suicide in a fit of despair. [[FurAgainstFang I'm sure you can guess]] [[FeudingFamilies what happens next]].
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Example: Vampires and werewolves are at peace with one another. Bob the werewolf is dating the Alice, the princess of vampires, but one day decides to have an affair with Carol the werewolf. Alice, the beloved princess, decides to commit suicide in a fit of despair. [[FurAgainstFang I'm sure you can guess]] [[FeudingFamilies what happens next]].
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* In the first {{MedalOfHonor}} game one of your missions takes place in an old salt mine where the nazis have stashed art and scultptures they've looted. Have fun wrecking them, the very thing you're supposed to be preventing the nazis from doing.
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** In TheMovie, while watching ThisIslandEarth, a character complains about blowing out some electronic components, and Mike quips "Oh, we can't have nice things!".
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* In {{Archer}}, episode "Job Offer", Malory Archer throws a hissy fit when her son leaves ISIS, breaking all the nice things in her office. They use the line again at the end of the episode, and in the next one, Dial M for Mother, when Archer bleeds on [[RunningGag the carpet]].
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* In {{Archer}}, ''{{Archer}}'', episode "Job Offer", Malory Archer throws a hissy fit when her son leaves ISIS, breaking all the nice things in her office. They use the line again at the end of the episode, and in the next one, Dial M for Mother, when Archer bleeds on [[RunningGag the carpet]].
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* The exact phrase was used as a running joke in ''FriskyDingo''. When the line cropped up again in ''{{Archer}}'', a show with the same creators and writers, it may have been a cross-over gag. Not that it wasn't still funny: "*sigh*. *This* is why. This is why we can't have nice things! Barry! You ass!"
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Imagine things are just going ''great''. Maybe the world is at peace; there are no warring factions. Everybody gets along and there is no poverty or disease or anything else that sucks. Then some asshole has to come along and ruin it for everybody else.
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Imagine things are just going ''great''. Maybe the world is at peace; there are no warring factions. Everybody gets along and there is no poverty NoPoverty or disease or anything else that sucks. Then some asshole has to come along and ruin it for everybody else.
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WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings is a subtrope, when the "nice things" in question are relationships with the artist. See also BloodstainedGlassWindows, RushmoreRefacement, BrokenTreasure, PricelessMingVase, NiceJobBreakingItHero, WhatTheHellHero, StatusQuoIsGod. Might overlap with SelfFulfillingProphecy. Tends to lead into CycleOfRevenge.
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WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings is a subtrope, when the "nice things" in question are relationships with the artist. See also BloodstainedGlassWindows, RushmoreRefacement, BrokenTreasure, PricelessMingVase, NiceJobBreakingItHero, WhatTheHellHero, StatusQuoIsGod.StatusQuoIsGod, MonumentalDamage. Might overlap with SelfFulfillingProphecy. Tends to lead into CycleOfRevenge.
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* JamesBond fights a bad guy in an Italian glass museum in ''Moonraker''. It goes like you'd expect.
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* JamesBond fights a bad guy in an Italian glass museum in ''Moonraker''.''{{Moonraker}}''. It goes like you'd expect.
** Averted in [[DrNo Dr. No]]: "That's a Dom Perignon '55, it would be a pity to break it."
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* Averted in [[DrNo Dr. No]].
** "That's a Dom Perignon '55, it would be a pity to break it."
** "That's a Dom Perignon '55, it would be a pity to break it."
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* In the original ''{{Ben 10}}'' in the course of the series -- a single summer vacation: Ben and his family managed to destroy priceless artifacts in a Washington museum, burn that boat stuck at Niagara Falls, ''and'' blow up Mt. Rushmore. And wipe out an entire Mayan pyramid.
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* In the original ''{{Ben ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' in the course of the series -- a single summer vacation: Ben and his family managed to destroy priceless artifacts in a Washington museum, burn that boat stuck at Niagara Falls, ''and'' blow up Mt. Rushmore. And wipe out an entire Mayan pyramid.
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* For the first five seasons of CanadasWorstDriver the creators received hundreds of letters from fans ''begging'' the show to stop destroying classic cars in the weekly trials. For the sixth season they destroyed a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. Que the tears of a nation of car lovers.
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* For the first five seasons of CanadasWorstDriver the creators received hundreds of letters from fans ''begging'' the show to stop destroying classic cars in the weekly trials. For the sixth season they destroyed a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. Que Cue the tears of a nation of car lovers.
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* For the first five seasons of CanadasWorstDriver the creators received hundreds of letters from fans ''begging'' the show to stop destroying classic cars in the weekly trials. For the sixth season they destroyed a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. Que the tears of a nation of car lovers.
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[[TropeName This is why we can't have nice things]].
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*** Humorously Sully says this phrase word for word during the ending of Uncharted 3. The nice thing that couldn't be had in question? '''An entire lost civilization.'''
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-->'''Malory''': This is why we can't have nice things.
-->'''Archer''': Why? Because you keep ''shooting'' them?
-->'''Archer''': Why? Because you keep ''shooting'' them?
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* Part of the reason why photos of OsamaBinLaden's corpse will not be released to the public is because of fears that it will be used as GarbagePostKid bait.
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* Part of the reason why photos of OsamaBinLaden's corpse will not be released to the public is because of fears that it will be used as GarbagePostKid bait.
bait.
** The more internet savvy or just internet-''visible'' have long been struggling to keep both good and bad material related to themselves off the internet due to GIFT. Sometimes it works, usually it doesn't.
** The more internet savvy or just internet-''visible'' have long been struggling to keep both good and bad material related to themselves off the internet due to GIFT. Sometimes it works, usually it doesn't.
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* In an episode of ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'', Pearl quotes the trope after she has a couch temporarily moved into the Satellite of Love, only to watch Mike and the 'bots bounce around and squeeze juice boxes on it.
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-->--'''Lemuel,''' ''DragonTails''
->"''My mom was one of those angry moms that gets mad at absolutely everything. Once when I was little I knocked a [[TheFlintstones Flintstones]] glass off the counter in the kitchen and my mom said, 'Well, [[PrecisionFStrike DAMMIT]], we can't have nice things!'''"
-->-- '''Paula Poundstone'''
Imagine things are just going ''great''. Maybe the world is at peace; there are no warring factions. Everybody gets along and there is no poverty or disease or anything else that sucks. Then some asshole has to come along and ruin it for everybody else.
[[TropeName This is why we can't have nice things]].
You've probably heard your mother say this once or twice. This StockPhrase turns up whenever clumsiness or stupidity once again wrecks something, especially something monetarily valuable or precious. It can also be applied to plans, historically significant things, or emotionally significant things. It's not limited to tangible objects, however.
This trope refers to the act itself and not the perpetrator, however in most cases the "crime" needs to actually have a sentient perpetrator in order to qualify. Crappy situations which are inherent and are naturally occurring with no definable source of blame on an entity of group of entities do not count; it needs a scapegoat.
A few common scenarios when it comes to WhyWeCantHaveNiceThings that ''aren't'' limited to tangible objects:
1) '''The perpetrator is selfish and/or malicious, with the full intention of ruining everyone's fun.'''
Example: Everybody always goes out on Friday night to have fun with their friends. Bob, however, does not have any friends and is extremely jealous. Bob decides to commit vandalism and general mayhem, which in turn causes the enactment of a curfew for everybody.
2) '''The perpetrator is selfish and/or malicious, but largely ignorant of the full extent of damage their actions will cause.'''
Example: Vampires and werewolves are at peace with one another. Bob the werewolf is dating the Alice, the princess of vampires, but one day decides to have an affair with Carol the werewolf. Alice, the beloved princess, decides to commit suicide in a fit of despair. [[FurAgainstFang I'm sure you can guess]] [[FeudingFamilies what happens next]].
3) '''The perpetrator is either ignorant of the outcome or innocent, instead thinking they are doing what they consider to be the right thing. This largely depends on perspective, as you'll see in the example -- because what is considered fun or nice to one person, may not be felt the same way by another. In fact, this disruption might be a godsend.'''
Example: Bob and Alice routinely make fun of Suzanne behind the teacher's back. Carol notices and decides to tell the teacher, who in turn punishes Bob and Alice and prevents future occurrences that are at Suzanne's expense. Bob and Alice's fun has been ruined.
WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings is a subtrope, when the "nice things" in question are relationships with the artist. See also BloodstainedGlassWindows, RushmoreRefacement, BrokenTreasure, PricelessMingVase, NiceJobBreakingItHero, WhatTheHellHero, StatusQuoIsGod. Might overlap with SelfFulfillingProphecy. Tends to lead into CycleOfRevenge.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]
* One of the Japanese ''{{Transformers}}'' incarnations had an archaeologist beg Optimus to avoid destroying the digging site. Guess what Optimus and the others did to it.
* Averted in ''OnePiece'', wherein the Archaeologist {{Lady of War}} Nico Robin refuses to fight in a ruined city so as not to damage anything, and has to flee to a safer place as a result. When the leader of the enemy Mooks traps her into such a confrontation, thus triggering one of Robin's very few {{Berserk Button}}s, it gets... ugly.
* During his introduction episodes, [[SoulEater Death the Kid]] ended up destroying an entire pyramid by accident. It was symmetrical, but the pharaoh living there, on the other hand...
* [[FruitsBasket Shigure]] can't even have a [[ThereWasADoor door]].
* The Phantomhive house staff in ''BlackButler'', excluding Sebastian, often does more damage than they're supposedly worth. The [[NinjaMaid maid]] constantly breaks things and mixes up wood and shoe polish, the [[ChefOfIron chef]] can't do anything but burn food and cause explosions, and the [[BadassAdorable gardener]] frequently mixes up fertilizer and herbicide. There's a [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass reason]] Ciel keeps them around, though...
* In ''TankPolice'', Buaku and the Puma Sisters break into a museum vault to steal a priceless painting kept there temporarily. The painting's owner has hired a merc squad to protect it. Said mercs apparently see no problem with using ''automatic weapons in an enclosed space filled with priceless artifacts''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Film ]]
* ''{{Godzilla}}'' has the habit of destroying various landmarks in Tokyo, both historic and modern.
* JamesBond fights a bad guy in an Italian glass museum in ''Moonraker''. It goes like you'd expect.
** There was a sword . . . with a glass hilt . . . *sobs*.
*** AwesomeYetImpractical, and kind of dumb upon further inspection.
* JackieChan has subversions in several of his movies. Somebody tosses a priceless Ming vase at him. He knows it's priceless. And so he spends the entire fight beating up the bad guy while doing [[JuggleFu aerobatics with his own body and the vase]] so it doesn't break. It's a martial arts prowess DishDash, essentially. And when the fight is over, he puts the vase back. And, in a DoubleSubversion, something else breaks it.
* Inverted in ''TheDaVinciCode'', where the heroes escape from the Louvre by holding a priceless painting hostage.
** In the screen sequel ''AngelsAndDemons'', Langdon and Vetra are out of time, and rip out a page of the priceless Diagramma to take along with them.
* ''MarsAttacks!'' has the aliens destroying earth landmarks for giggles.
* Played with in ''[[IndianaJones Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'', where Henry Jones inadvertently brains his son with what appeared to be a Ming dynasty vase. He was initially more concerned about the loss of the artifact than the damage to Indy's skull (hey, he ''is'' an archaeologist), but on closer examination was relieved to discover it was a fake.
* Parodied in ''TeamAmerica''. The titular team blows up all sorts of important landmarks every time they face off against the villains.
* In ''NationalTreasure'', NicolasCage has to steal the Declaration of Independence to prevent the villain from getting his mitts on it. Throughout the movie, he treats the document with due respect and at the end of the movie returns it to the authorities, none the worse for wear. There's an awesome scene where he's holding the Declaration, in its frame, and the bad guys break in and seem him just about to get in the elevator. Ian shoots him in the chest. Luckily, as previously mentioned, [[ChekhovsGun the Declaration is under bulletproof glass]], and Ben gets into the elevator, smirking.
* In ''Film/IronMan'', during one of the rocket boot tests, Tony ended up landing on one of his [[CoolCar very nice cars]]. Everyone with a remote interest in cars cringed.
-->'''Stark:''' OK, this is where I don't wanna be. Not the car, ''not the car''!
* Averted in [[DrNo Dr. No]].
** "That's a Dom Perignon '55, it would be a pity to break it."
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* The Doctor in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]", with a big black marker.
** Subverted in the same serial when Duggan is about to smash a chair over the butler's head.
--->"Duggan, what are you doing? Put it down! For heaven's sake, that's a Louis Quinze!"
* In the ''{{Angel}}'' episode "Disharmony", vampire Harmony rips a page out of an ancient book to dispose of her gum, causing Wesley to flip out.
-->'''Wesley:''' ''What'' are you doing?!?! This book is 12 centuries old!!
-->'''Harmony:''' Okay, so it's not like I messed up a new one.
* One of Harry Hill's sketch shows has the Brigadier from ''Series/DoctorWho'' bringing a cut-crystal bowl to UNIT HQ, only for a Cyberman to blunder into him and smash it: the Brig complains "You can't have anything ''nice'' around here."
* The final episode of the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica'''s first season features a shootout between Starbuck and a Cylon in a museum on Caprica, destroying plenty of priceless artifacts in the process. This is made even worse by the fact that due to the fact that Caprica's been nuked to hell at the beginning of the series, this might be the only museum of its kind in the entire ''world'' that's still standing.
** Through the early seasons, Captain Adama was working on a model sailing ship, but after an incident, he took out his anger by slamming his fist into it. The problem was that this was an ad lib by actor Edward James Olmos, who ''thought'' it was just a prop they provided him. It turned out to be a relatively valuable model lent to the production. Thankfully, it was insured.
* This line is used occasionally by {{Mythbusters}} after they've blown up a car, or any other expensive machinery they've gotten their hands on. Considering that it's implied they often have to go to great lengths to acquire certain vehicles (for example, when the only snow plow they could find for a myth was one that was broken and a nightmare to fix), it's surprising this isn't said more often.
* ''Martial Law'', created by and starring Jackie Chan's friend and frequent director Sammo Hung, once had the main character, who has a JackieChan inspired fighting style, pose as an art fence trying to to sell a Ming vase. DaChief is with two detectives outside in the van, and he points out that the suspect is going to be able to tell it's not a real vase. The two detectives say it ''is'' a real vase, and Da Chief goes OhCrap as he realizes what might be about to happen. They all rush inside to save the vase, but a fight has already started. At the end of the scene, Sammo ''tosses'' the vase to Da Chief with a jaunty "See? No damage!" (Outtakes where the actor flubbed the catch reveal they had a crew member on the floor for just that possibility.)
* For [[TheDailyShow Jon Stewart]], [[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-december-15-2010/the-more-pedophiles-know Barbie dolls potentially being used by pedophiles]].
* In an episode of {{Everybody Loves Raymond}}, Ray and Robert get into a hilarious fight that involves Bugles, an ugly sweater, and a lamp at Frank and Marie's house. Said parents walk in in the middle of the fight. Marie notices the broken lamp and quotes the trope.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]
* In one ''GetFuzzy'' cartoon, Bucky breaks a baseball player figurine presumably owned by Satchel. In typical Bucky fashion he wasn't even being clumsy; he just knocked it over because he didn't like the way it was 'looking at him.' Satchel is clearly upset. Rob tells the cat and dog that "See. This is why we can't have nice things.""
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Theatre ]]
* The characters in the musical ''OnTheTown'' (and its somewhat different film version) take a trip to the Museum of Natural History, which ends with them demolishing a dinosaur skeleton.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Video Games ]]
* The final shootout in ''{{Mafia}}'' happens in an art gallery (the whole level is actually called "[[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Death of Art]]"), and a cop whom the protagonist later tells about this actually goes ballistic about how many art pieces were destroyed in it.
* In ''{{Fallout 3}}'', there are two related quests. Both involve going into the ruins of the Museum of American History to recover artifacts. You can either sell them to a group of slavers who have taken over the Lincoln Monument (and want to destroy them, so they won't be used to help rally slaves) or you can [[RightMakesMight kill the lot of them]] so a group of former slaves can move in (they will also buy the artifacts off you, and enshrine them instead). Notably, one of the pieces of equipment you can find is Lincoln's Repeater, which is a pretty useful gun.
** Also, in a way, the town of Megaton is the subject of this in "The Power of Atom" quest. The city of Megaton is a ramshackle, yet functional, bastion of humanity in the wastes, and is a monument to human survival, as it is a city built in the crater of an unexploded atomic bomb. [[spoiler:And then you can decide to blow it up, and kill everyone in the town, for [[CorruptCorporateExecutive land magistrate Allistair Tennpenny]] because he finds it an eyesore.]]
*** Not that it's anything but barely discernible in the wasteland...
* The Chicago History Museum mission in JohnWoo's ''{{Stranglehold}}'' is all ''over'' this trope. Everything from dinosaurs to terracotta statues to lost pieces of architecture gets blown to hell by gunfire as Tequila fights to save Billie [[spoiler:but she is [[OffingTheOffspring killed on her father's orders]] by [[FaceHeelTurn Tequila's former partner, Jerry]].]]
* In ''{{God of War}}'' Kratos gains experience for smashing things. This includes a lot of vases. The game is set in Ancient Greece. In his defense, they're not priceless antiques to him. On the other hand, he'd probably act just the same if they were.
* They ''are'' priceless antiques in ''TombRaider: Underworld''. That does not stop Lara casually kicking them to pieces [[strike:to show off her legs]] in hopes of finding power-ups.
* In the beginning of ''{{Uncharted}} 2'', Nathan sneaks into a museum to steal an oil lamp containing a map to the next PlotCoupon. The first thing he does upon getting said lamp is smash it to pieces on the ground.
** To be fair to Nate, he points out that the damn thing is worthless ''anyway'', having a value measured in the single digits beyond the walls of the museum.
* In the LegendOfZelda series, the average player doesn't think twice about countless pieces of family heirloom pottery Link destroys in order to take people's money, [[http://i56.tinypic.com/2rzdxci.gif as exemplified here]].
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[[folder: Web Original ]]
* In the sixth episode of ''WebOriginal/EchoChamber'', Tom wears a FunTShirt that says this, and depicts [[UpToEleven the Hindenberg crashing into the Titanic]].
* In one of the earliest stories in the ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'', a team of supervillains invades the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History intent on stealing a crystal sculpture that had been dug up in Equador. Naturally, the battle between the bad guys and the good guys destroyed ''lots'' of irreplaceable artifacts, and ended with the leader of the villain team, an alien being called [[EldritchAbomination Shadowspawn]] getting away with the sculpture while his teammates were all captured. As soon as he could, Shadowspawn shattered the sculpture in order to free up the base, which was a powerful magical artifact and his target all along.
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[[folder: Western Animation ]]
* In an episode of ''JusticeLeague'', Superman punched his (invulnerable) opponent right through the Great Pyramid of Giza.
* In the original ''{{Ben 10}}'' in the course of the series -- a single summer vacation: Ben and his family managed to destroy priceless artifacts in a Washington museum, burn that boat stuck at Niagara Falls, ''and'' blow up Mt. Rushmore. And wipe out an entire Mayan pyramid.
* ''KimPossible'' "Oh No Yono": When Monkeyfist breaks into a museum, he has his monkey ninja throw and attempt to drop valuable artifacts so that our heroes will have to catch them and he can get away.
* ''{{Futurama}}'':
-->'''Mayor:''' Thank you, mysterious heroes! The value of the Gemerald you saved is slightly greater than the cost of the damage you caused to this museum: A net gain for our great city!
* Taken seriously for once on ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''. In one of Robin's nightmares, he fought Slade to prevent him from destroying several statues. He managed to subdue him, but Slade wasn't unhappy about it--"Everything you care about, you destroy." Robin looked around at the ruins of the statues, which suddenly bore the visages of his friends, then pulled off Slade's mask and saw his own laughing face.
* Carefully averted by the ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''. Demona flung a vase at Goliath, who caught it carefully, set it down, and ''then'' gave chase.
* In the opening scenes of ''DuckTalesTheMovieTreasureOfTheLostLamp'', Launchpad manages to land his plane without crashing (though it ''is'' upside-down). However, in doing so, he utterly demolishes several ancient ruins.
-->'''Launchpad''': Coulda been worse. It coulda been something new!
* In a episode of FairlyOddParents, Timmy's Dad constantly says "Why can't I have nice things?!" after seeing all the stuff Timmy wished up from [[strike:Wal-Mart]] the Wall-to-Wall Mart. [[RunningGag He then starts saying this about everything else.]]
* In {{Archer}}, episode "Job Offer", Malory Archer throws a hissy fit when her son leaves ISIS, breaking all the nice things in her office. They use the line again at the end of the episode, and in the next one, Dial M for Mother, when Archer bleeds on [[RunningGag the carpet]].
* The exact phrase was used as a running joke in ''FriskyDingo''. When the line cropped up again in ''{{Archer}}'', a show with the same creators and writers, it may have been a cross-over gag. Not that it wasn't still funny: "*sigh*. *This* is why. This is why we can't have nice things! Barry! You ass!"
* In ''TheSimpsons'', Lisa uses the exact phrase when Homer decides the grammar robot she built for her science fair would like some beer.
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[[folder: Webcomics ]]
* Lampshaded and averted in [[http://dragon-tails.com/comics/archive.php?date=020129 this]] comic from the superhero arc of ''DragonTails'', where Lemuel looks around the museum for something to throw at the heroes to slow them down while he runs away.
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[[folder: Real Life ]]
* Part of the reason why photos of OsamaBinLaden's corpse will not be released to the public is because of fears that it will be used as GarbagePostKid bait.
[[/folder]]
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