History TruthInTelevision / AToC

* BitterAlmonds: But if you ''can'' smell it, you're in trouble.

* AlmightyJanitor: Plenty of people are far more dangerous/competent than their low station would suggest, and low-level employees sometimes have relationships or levels of access in the organization that give them outsized influence. . Generally speaking, pissing off a secretary is a very bad idea for those seeking employment[[note]]As a matter of fact, any interviewing guide worth its salt will usually direct its readers to make nice with the secretary.[[/note]].

* AmbiguouslyBi and AmbiguouslyGay: Not everyone who is bisexual or gay comes out of the closet. Ambiguity is required in more homophobic cultures and societies, and some people who grew up in more repressive times or have many other reasons may just hint at their sexuality with no obvious statements. There's also [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrosexual metrosexuals]].

* ArbitrarySkepticism: Because not all skeptics are total skeptics, and not all religious/spiritual/occult/etc believers are credulous and stupid or take ''everything'' on faith.

* AscendedExtra: People who aren't well-known sometimes become well-known later on, and then people look for their first appearances...

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Mental illness can significantly skew what a person thinks is right and wrong, to the point their moral constructs are completely alien and incomprehensible to anyone else. The same applies to animals. Many animals have no problems with infanticide or cannibalism.

* BaldOfEvil: Evil bald people have also existed and are also not allowed to have real-life examples listed on its page for [[NoRealLife/MoralityTropes moral reasons]].

* ChastityCouple: Some couples just don't have any sex. Whether this is due to their relationship being one of [[MarriageOfConvinence convincence]], one of the two having a STD, or even one or both of them being asexual.

* ChastityCouple: Some couples prefer to wait until marriage to have any kind of sex, be it for religious or even secular reasons. For some straight couples, for instance, it's the risk of an unwanted pregnancy before both are fully commited to the relationship.

* ChastityCouple: Some couples prefer to wait until marriage to have any kind of sex, be it for religious or even secular reasons. For some straight couples, for instance, it's the risk of an unwanted pregnancy before both are commited.

* ChastityCouple: Some couples prefer to wait until marriage to have any kind of sex, be it for religious or even secular reasons. For some straight couples at least, the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy before both are commited isn't worth the risk.

* ChasityCouple: Some couples prefer to wait until marriage to have any kind of sex, be it for religious or secular reasons, such as the risk of having an unwanted pregnancy.

* CheatedDeathDiedAnyway: A sad reality that is at least bound enough to happen universally, given the statistics on life-spans. For instance: one moment, one would survive a car accident. Later, at some point in the future, however, that same one would die from cancer.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: The nicer someone is, the worse can be their anger when triggered. Or at least it stands out more. This also applies to some animal species which are docile by nature but still have venom, claws, fangs and other dangerous parts (such as the blue-ringed octopus.)
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Sometimes "silliness" is a symptom of mental illness, and other times someone may seem silly but be employing ObfuscatingStupidity.

* {{Auction}}: They happen every day on websites such as Website/{{eBay}} and Yahoo! Auctions, and many days in auction houses. Charity auctions are also a common way of fundraising.

* AboveTheInfluence: Refusing to have sex with someone whose consent may be compromised is a sign of integrity, maturity, and not being a rapist. Refusing to have sex with someone who is wanting to do it for reasons that severely conflict with your own values or desires (e.g. you want love and they want money) is a sign of being a mature adult with a healthy approach to sex.

* TheCaligula: The TropeNamer was a [[UsefulNotes/{{Caligula}} real life historical figure]], though if he actually was this trope and to what extent, is a matter of heavy debate among historians. That said, plenty of rulers throughout history could qualify as one. Someone who could count as a modern example would be [[UsefulNotes/NorthKorea Kim Jung-Un]].

* TheCaligula: The TropeNamer was a real life historical figure, though if he actually was this trope and to what extent, is a matter of heavy debate among historians.

* BookBurning: Happens too often, along with other forms of censorship and disinformation. That said, is nearing DiscreditedTrope status, with how easy replicating information is in TheNewTens and onward.

* BreakTheHaughty: Some people go through a lot of humiliating situations, whether they're being too overconfident at best or unpleasantly arrogant at worst.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Mental illness can significantly skew what a person thinks is right and wrong, to the point their moral constructs are completely alien and incomprehensible to anyone else. The same applies to animals. Many animals have no problems with killing and eating their own kind.

* CoolLoser: This is sometimes possible to achieve via a combination of artistic or musical merit with little else redeeming in one's life and a lack of responsibility that is read as being a "bad boy" rather than helpless or pathetic. That said, it doesn't work for most people because they won't be seen as cool bad but rather irresponsible and deserving of shame.
** Its not uncommon for extremely talented and exceptionally pretty celebrities to have once been bullied before they became famous. A number of young actors who portray 'loser' protagonists can easily identify with the characters they play due to having had similar experiences, despite the fact that their looks alone make it hard to buy them as the loser.

* {{Auction}}: They happen every day on websites such as Ebay and Yahoo Auctions, and many days in auction houses. Charity auctions are also a common way of fundraising.

* UsefulNotes/BatteriesNotIncluded: Children's toys eat batteries the way kids eat candy after Halloween. Which is why Nintendo started making UsefulNotes/{{GameBoy}}s rechargeable in the 2000s. AndThereWasMuchRejoicing.
* BattleCry: Some have hypothesized they came into existence as warning or intimidation, but common through the history of warfare.

* BeardOfSorrow: While not as common as in Hollywood, lack of attention to personal care can be a sign of quite a few mental illnesses, abuse, addiction, and/or poverty. Someone who's always prided themselves in being clean-shaven suddenly no longer caring about it is one example, though obviously it could have other causes.

* TheBeautifulElite: Celebrities, supermodels, the rich in general, because they have the money to remain beautiful via optimal diets, plastic surgery, and other options - and to get in in the first place, you have to be more thin and beautiful than average and aggressively interested in maintaining said appearance.

* BoomerangBigot: Though most in RealLife tend to hate people of their own race/sexuality/gender/etc for behavior they see as stereotypical or personally offensive or attention whoring, wanting everyone to behave in "normal" ways. Many of these can be found, for example, telling African-Americans to change their names and "not sound black," or telling same-sex couples that they need to adopt traditional heterosexual [[{{Seme}} gender]] [[{{Uke}} roles]] and [[AllLesbiansWantKids aspirations]] if they want to be accepted as married. However, some people do just seem to hate people of their kind on principle. A lot of bigotry seems to be rooted in the desire [[IJustWantToBeSpecial to feel better than other people,]] but boomerang bigotry can inflate people's ego even more. It allows them to believe they have made a monumental achievement by being better than the "common X.” The later form is noticeably more common in narcissists.

* TheCaligula: The TropeNamer was a real life historical figure, though if and to what extent he actually was this trope is a heavily debated among historians. Still however, real people that fit the trope have existed through history.

* TheCaligula: The TropeNamer was a real life historical figure.

* BabysittersNightmare: Some kids are very badly behaved and give babysitters/teachers/etc. a hard time dealing with them.