| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1342493484051720100 |
| 2 | %% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:340:[[Series/MacGyver1985 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_macgyver-multitool_7165.jpg]]]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ->''"With what?" Spencer asks. "Don't tell me you know how to make a bomb with a stick of chewing gum." Wow, the first ever [=MacGyver=] joke was actually in the first ever episode of ''[=MacGyver=]''. That's actually kind of impressive.'' |
| 7 | -->-- '''Website/TheAgonyBooth [[http://www.agonybooth.com/agonizer/MacGyver/Pilot.aspx?Page=4 recap]]''' of the first ever episode of ''Series/MacGyver1985'' |
| 8 | |
| 9 | ''[[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere Describe MacGyvering Here, with just a match, an envelope, and three ounces of rubbing alcohol.]]'' |
| 10 | |
| 11 | A character saves the day by making a gadget out of [[ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest unlikely things]], such as creating a bomb out of chewing gum, dental floss, {{duct tape|ForEverything}}, and a match. If he isn't already using the dictionary to provide the fuse, the character would realize he's a bricoleur and what he's doing is bricolage. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | The characters that do this may be {{Technical Pacifist}}s or MrFixit. TheProfessor often seems to have the right tools on hand at the right time, as well. Even a GadgeteerGenius can get into the act. Anthropomorphic characters include a ResourcefulRodent using their resourcefulness to outsmart and outwit larger and stronger opponents by making equipment out of anything they can find. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | The {{Trope Namer|s}} and most famous practitioner of the art is Angus [=MacGyver=], main character of [[Series/MacGyver1985 the show that bore his surname]], who would create said gadgets at least OncePerEpisode. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | A SubTrope of ImprovisationalIngenuity. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | [[http://dxsmac.macgyveronline.com/ Go here for a list of every MacGyver-ism.]] |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Note that the gadget has to be based on more science, creative thinking and RubeGoldbergDevice than simply, "Hey, this blunt object could hurt someone!" Look for those under ImprovisedWeapon. May involve NoodleImplements. The hero may improvise devices using surplus gear from a [[DownInTheDumps scrapyard]] or from the tools and parts in the AbandonedWarehouse they're locked up in. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Compare HomemadeInventions, BambooTechnology, and DuctTapeForEverything. When {{MacGyvering}} is exaggerated and used as a setting it's ScavengedPunk. See LockingMacGyverInTheStoreCupboard for situations in which this is used to escape confinement. MeritBadgesForEverything is when [=MacGyvering=] is institutionalized and parodied at the same time. |
| 24 | ---- |
| 25 | !!Examples: |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 28 | |
| 29 | [[folder:Advertisements]] |
| 30 | * Played for laughs in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhRvG7px3Mo this]] Mastercard commercial, which explains where [=MacGyver=] gets all his common household items. |
| 31 | [[/folder]] |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 34 | * ''[[Literature/{{Anpanman}} Soreike! Anpanman]]'' |
| 35 | ** In the second episode, after Baikinman defeated Anpanman with his cloud, three rabbit kids (Pyonkichi, Usao, and Usako) saw Anpanman on a tree and he needed a way to get back to Uncle Jam's bakery since his head got bumped. They decided to take apart their unicycles to created a tricycle for him to get there. |
| 36 | * Shogetsu from ''Manga/{{Dazzle}}'' got a can of mackerel for lunch... but NoCanOpener. So, with a few tools he got from the school's kitchen and science lab and the graphite from a pencil, he made a welding torch in the hopes that it would open the can. It did, but sadly, it also burned the mackerel. Oh, and Rahzel and Fay both had can openers. |
| 37 | * This trope is played on a larger scale in the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' metaseries. It's not uncommon for mechanics to see their big ace in the hole Mobile Suit get beat up and are unable to fully fix it, so they gotta patchwork it or make brand new suits out of what they have left. |
| 38 | ** In various sidestories set during ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam''[='s=] One Year War, it wasn't unusual to see Zeon come up with various variants for their aging Zaku IIs, especially once Zeon leaves Earth and hunkers down in space. |
| 39 | ** Shirou Amada from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam''. His team uses highly limited production RX-79(G) Gundam Ground Types made from leftover high-spec parts of the namesake RX-78, so spare parts for repairs are limited. Unfortunately, his mobile suit gets turned into a heap of junk. So, rather than use the spare parts (which weren't enough anyway), he salvaged parts from normal military vehicles such as jeeps, helicopters, and tanks to rebuild his RX-79(G) into the Ez-8, which surprisingly performs ''better'' than the RX-79(G). His fellow teammate, Karen Joshua, got away a little bit easier as they attach a RGM-79(G) GM Ground Type head to her suit, creating the nicknamed "GM Head". |
| 40 | ** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'', the Zeta Gundam gets its head blown off by the Hamma-Hamma in battle. Since they didn't have a spare Zeta head, they're forced to slap on an old Zaku II head, making the "Zeta Zaku" until they can go and get an actual head. Whenever the "Zeta Zaku" shows up in video games, it tends to have very poor stats. |
| 41 | ** In ''Manga/MobileSuitCrossboneGundam: The Steel Seven'', the Crossbone Gundam X-1 Kai Kai "Skull Heart" is badly damaged in battle. It's hauled off to SNRI for repairs, who are forced to use spare parts from the X-3 to repair it, creating the X-1 "Patchwork". |
| 42 | *** A later entry, ''Shin Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam: Dust'', features numerous Mobile Suits created this way during the Space Warring States Era due to the state of the world and colonies in the post-''Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam'' era. These "Mixing Build" suits are effectively made out of Mobile Suits dating back all the way to the One Year War. |
| 43 | ** In ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'', when the Gundam X is heavily ravaged in combat with the Bertigo, the crew of the Freeden is unable to fully repair the suit, thus create the Gundam X Divider using various spare parts they had collected. As it fixed various flaws the original Gundam X had, it was much superior that the old Gundam X |
| 44 | ** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00: Second Season'', Setsuna F. Seiei creates the Exia Repair through a bunch of crude repairs, such as a basic cockpit door and a Flag eye where the Exia lost its eye. Unlike other examples, the Exia Repair's poor maintenance meant that it was going to get its ass kicked until Setsuna was rescued by his old allies in Celestial Being. |
| 45 | ** In ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters'', Sei Iori and Tatsuya Yuuki use various Gunpla to make their main models operational enough for one last battle before [[TheMagicGoesAway the Plavsky Particles run out completely.]] |
| 46 | ** In the manga ''Gundam Build Fighters Document'', we have the Shuffle Gundam. It's a strange Frankenstein Monster-style mishmash of various parts comprised of the Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee's head and left arm (adjusted for use on the right arm), the Hazel Custom's upper torso, lower torso and backpack, the Blitz Gundam's left arm, the GM Spartan's right leg, the GM Cold District's left leg and the RX-78-2 Gundam's beam rifle. |
| 47 | ** In ''Anime/GundamBuildFightersTry'', with both Team Try Fighters and Team Celestial Sphere preparing for a sudden death match and Try Fighters down to just a damaged Try Burning Gundam, Yuuma uses the remaining functional parts of the fallen Lightning Gundam Full Burnern and Star Winning Gundam to fix up the Try Burning and fight. |
| 48 | * ''Literature/HeavyObject'': |
| 49 | ** Qwenthur is an engineering student who is quite skilled when it comes to improvising weapons and tools with limited resources. Havia is no slouch himself, though he usually only gets to show off when separated from Qwenthur. Their most ridiculous feat involved destroying an Object with bedsheets, milk, and lemons. |
| 50 | ** This isn't exclusive to the main characters either. Ayami organized her mechanics to build an improvised flamethrower to fry powered armor troops while a group of unarmed astronauts used work lights to fatally distract armed soldiers. Even enemies display this, such as an ice-locked enemy warship which assembled an ice cutting blade from radar equipment. |
| 51 | * Rena in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', builds a homemade bomb by blocking the school's gutter with a base-ball, pouring gasoline in said gutter, and setting a cook-timer to ignite the explosive gas and blow up the school (in which she has also poured a generous amount of gasoline). [[spoiler:It's only thanks to [[TrapMaster Satoko]] that Keiichi can find the bomb and defuse it in time.]] |
| 52 | * In the English dub of ''Anime/LupinIIIByeByeLibertyCrisis'', Inspector Zenigata theorises Lupin probably stole the Statue of Liberty using only a bobby pin and a piece of string. |
| 53 | * Taichi Hiraga-Keaton in ''Manga/MasterKeaton'' does stuff like stopping bulldozers with soapy water, defusing bombs with chocolate, and turning a lamp and oil paint into a bomb set off by a light switch. |
| 54 | * In ''Manga/SpyXFamily'', a survivor from one of Yor's missions tries to kill her with an improvised bomb made from a restaurant's storage room supplies, but Anya stops him by making the bomb first after reading the instructions from his mind, using peanuts as shrapnel. |
| 55 | * Yusei from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', in episode 88, disarmed a high tech battle royal collar with a nail. |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 59 | * Creator/AlanMoore's ChildProdigy character Jack B. Quick takes this to parodic heights. |
| 60 | -->''Genetically re-constructing Spark-plug using only ingredients in toilet cleaner, aspirin and dad's hemorrhoid ointment is a longshot, but I have to try!'' |
| 61 | * ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': |
| 62 | ** Batman has pulled this off several times, usually on those rare instances when he is without his UtilityBelt. |
| 63 | ** Likewise, the Joker has demonstrated enough chemistry skill to create assorted neurotoxins, explosives and slippery agents from the contents of a janitor's closet. |
| 64 | * In an early issue of the third ''ComicBook/BlueBeetle's'' original run, the Peacemaker is able to make a knock-out gas using ordinary items from a convenience store. |
| 65 | -->'''Brenda:''' You made nerve gas from common ''kitchen items''?\ |
| 66 | '''Peacemaker:''' Also used anti-freeze and road salt. Let’s not exaggerate. |
| 67 | * In ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe Special Missions]]'' #13, having lost the explosives necessary for the mission, DemolitionsExpert Lightfoot jury-rigs a fuel-air explosive out of some foodstuffs he finds in an abandoned bunker and the detonators he still had. [[ShownTheirWork The method he describes would actually work]] and the comic obscures the art so the reader [[AndSomeOtherStuff cannot see what he is actually doing]]. |
| 68 | * Mocked, inevitably, in ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'''s spoof of ''Series/MacGyver1985''. [=MacGyver=] remarks that the [[LockingMacGyverInTheStoreCupboard the room the bad guys have locked him in]] has nothing he can use to escape, to which the woman with him points out that the room is full of explosives. He complains about the indignity of having to actually use explosives as explosives instead of improvising. |
| 69 | * In a ''ComicBook/MortadeloYFilemon'' story, Filemón tells Mortadelo about an art counterfeiter who could replicate Modigliani paintings using just tomato juice, egg yolks and a brush. |
| 70 | * While trapped in the Nightmare dungeon in the second story-arc of ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'', Rainbow Dash muses that Daring-Do would make a bomb out of duct tape and Applejack's hair to escape. |
| 71 | * ''ComicBook/TheSimpsonsFuturamaCrossoverCrisis'': |
| 72 | ** In Springfield, Farnsworth decides to make a walk signal more efficient by using a gum, a coat hanger, a broken watch, and tin foil. The result is that the walk signal can project a hologram of a pretty lady who wears nothing but a two-piece swimsuit. |
| 73 | ** By using pinking shears, an [=MP3=] player attuned to the correct vibrational frequency, and a shiny control knob attached to it, that is how Farnsworth is able to bring ''Simpsons'' characters from their comic into New New York. |
| 74 | * ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villain the Vulture once escaped Riker's Island by destroying the wall of his cell using a tractor beam made from a headset radio, using his expertise in the field of electromagnetics. Then, as the alarms were going off, he flew from away with wings tinkered together from bedsheets, wooden rods, and duct tape; he knew they'd only last a few minutes, at most, but luckily for him the crooks he had hired to have a boat waiting were there. |
| 75 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Spectacular jailbreaks based on his [=MacGyvering=] skills are a huge part of pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|OnInfiniteEarths}} MadScientist Lex Luthor's character. In his appearance in the short-lived ''The Joker'' comic, he improvises a jetpack out of a couple of bottles of pop and some paint flakes. Another story has him consider that it has reached the point where his guards won't allow him to have ''anything'' other than a pad of paper and a pen. He knows perfectly well how to turn to the ink, metal, plastic, wood pulp, and glue into a high explosive to blast his way out... but he would never ''do'' that, because then they wouldn't let him have a pen and paper anymore. |
| 76 | * ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' tends to resort to this after being kidnapped by the villain-of-the-week. Interestingly, while they're still ingenious a lot of his inventions are surprisingly plausible. |
| 77 | * Subverted in the "Frightful" arc of ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' when zombie Mr. Fantastic convinces the soldiers guarding the Frightful Four's cell that he's built a teleporter out of stuff lying around the cell and they promptly disappear. Turns out Zombie Invisible Woman had just made them all invisible so that the guards would open the cell to investigate, whereupon they were eaten. |
| 78 | %%* Basically the mutant ability of Forge in ''ComicBook/XMen''. |
| 79 | [[/folder]] |
| 80 | |
| 81 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 82 | * ''[[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/finding-the-path-worm-au.321619/ Finding The Path]]'' Taylor does a LOT of improvising, due to the fact that she holds the Path to Victory. Common household items -- such as a stress ball, a permanent marker, and a tissue box -- in her hands make her capable of taking out [[spoiler: the Wards, the Undersiders, Amy, and Glory girl]] ''all at once''. |
| 83 | %%* Brad and Matt from ''Fanfic/{{FREAKINGENSOKYO}}'' solve many of their problems this way. |
| 84 | * In chapter 38 of ''Fanfic/TheGreatAlicornHunt'', Applebloom manages to make a BeeBeeGun as part of a plan to deal with a rampaging chaos being, out of random machine parts said chaos being broke. |
| 85 | * In ''FanFic/MyStupidReality'' [[Manga/DeathNote Light]] modifies a cheap laptop to work better with pieces ripped out of L's refrigerator. [[TruthInTelevision Somewhat grounded in reality]], believe it or not; the heat-exchanger from a fridge would be powerful enough to counteract a hell of a lot of overclocking. |
| 86 | * ''Fanfic/TheSecretReturnOfAlexMack'': Samantha Carter improvises a maser from items lying around the International Space Station [[spoiler: to cook the alien organism infesting her]]. It helps that she has Terawatt to provide the power. |
| 87 | * ''Fanfic/ThingsIAmNotAllowedToDoAtThePPC'': Rule 256 is a subversion, reminding agents that they aren't Series/{{MacGyver|1985}} and thus can't repair their consoles with items such as ballpoint pens, rubber bands, sweat socks, and knitting needles. Then it says GadgeteerGenius Makes-Things is likewise incapable of similar feats. |
| 88 | [[/folder]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | [[folder:Films -- Animated]] |
| 91 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'', this is what makes a Master Builder: they have sufficient imagination to be able to pull out any Lego blocks around them and make whatever they need. [[spoiler: FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you realise the 'Master Builders' are simply just the boy in the real world building whatever his mind thinks of for that particular part of the narrative he's telling. Anything that ISN'T a standard Lego build is a 'Master Build' in that case.]] |
| 92 | * ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'': Apparently, Dr. Cockroach can build a super-computer out of a pizza box, two cans of hairspray, and a paperclip. On screen, he manages to build what appears to be a nuclear bomb out of Legos (he asks Susan if she has uranium) in his spare time, and a rocket-powered, wheel-steered tram car in less than ten minutes. |
| 93 | [[/folder]] |
| 94 | |
| 95 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 96 | * Owen, the protagonist of ''Film/TheAggressionScale'', is like a sociopathic teenage [=MacGyver=] when it comes to turning common household items into lethal weapons. |
| 97 | * Also TruthInTelevision: ''Film/{{Apollo 13}}'' features a scene where a group of engineers have to figure out a way to make the command module's air filters fit into a port it's way too big for, using only the spare materials inside the lunar module. We later see the stranded astronauts rigging up the devised solution, which includes a sock, a plastic baggie, and duct tape, among other things. |
| 98 | * In ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney'', Station builds a pair of robot versions of Bill and Ted out of things they got from raiding a hardware store. ItMakesSenseInContext. |
| 99 | * Jason Bourne of ''Film/TheBourneSeries'' has a talent for this. The stand-out example is probably him blowing up a building through the use of a toaster and a newspaper. |
| 100 | * In ''Film/CastAway'', Chuck finds himself stranded on a remote island with several [=FedEx=] packages full of stuff that initially looks worthless in his current setting, like a taffeta party dress (used for a fishing net), a pair of ice skates (which make handy axeheads when tied to a stick) and lots of videocassettes (whose videotape innards can be woven into some handy rope). There was also one package, the one he used to float to the island, that he never opened. [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19138_7-hotly-debated-movie-questions-that-totally-have-answers.html According to one draft of the script,]] it contained [[spoiler:two bottles of salsa verde and a note]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj3esvJv33M In the [=FedEx=] commercial parodying it,]] it held [[spoiler:a satellite phone, a GPS locator, fishing pole, water purifier, and seeds]]. |
| 101 | * Vintage example: In the 1952 swashbuckler-spoof ''Film/TheCrimsonPirate'', rebel townsfolk cobble together a hot-air balloon, cart-mounted cannons, a proto-gatling gun, and a ''flamethrower'' from old barrels, wagon wheels, wickerwork and some stolen long guns. |
| 102 | * ''Film/DawningOfTheDead'': When Alex and Christian end up trapped in a supply closet by a horde of zombies, they use a floor waxer, some wood, and nails to make a device to grind the zombies into mince meat. |
| 103 | * In ''Film/DisturbingThePeace'', Dillon rigs up an explosive booby trap that kills one the bikers using items he finds in the hardware store. |
| 104 | * ''Film/HalfBaked'' had some fun with this: |
| 105 | -->'''Thurgood Jenkins:''' The [=MacGyver=] Smoker is a very handy guy to have around, especially when it comes to reefer. |
| 106 | -->'''[=MacGyver=] Friend:''' Hey, man, we're out of papers.\ |
| 107 | '''[=MacGyver=] Smoker:''' All right. Then get me a toilet paper roll, a corkscrew and some tin foil.\ |
| 108 | '''[=MacGyver=] Friend:''' We don't have a corkscrew.\ |
| 109 | '''[=MacGyver=] Smoker:''' All right. Then get me an avocado, an ice pick and my snorkel.\ |
| 110 | [Friend looks at him funny]\ |
| 111 | '''[=MacGyver=] Smoker:''' Trust me, bro. I've made bongs with less. Hurry up! |
| 112 | * ''Film/HollowMan'' has one character [=MacGyver=] an electromagnet from a defibrillator and a drawer handle to open a locked walk-in freezer. |
| 113 | ** ''Film/ScaryMovie'' ''2'' parodies that scene by having Cindy use various things (including a can of peanuts and a Slinky) to make a bulldozer. |
| 114 | * In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny'', Indy uses Teddy's chewing gum to plug the leak in the radiator of the tuk-tuk. |
| 115 | * ''Film/IronMan'' movies: |
| 116 | ** In ''Film/IronMan1'', Tony Stark creates a revolutionary way of generating huge amounts of power and a bulletproof power suit whilst captured by terrorists and only some scrap weapons parts at his disposal. |
| 117 | ** In ''Film/IronMan2'', he reconfigures his house and uses it to create a new element even more powerful than the one he revolutionized in ''Film/IronMan1''. |
| 118 | ** In ''Film/IronMan3'', he even manages to make several homemade non-lethal weapons out of products bought at a hardware store, which he then uses to storm into the villains' hideout with maximum efficiency. |
| 119 | -->“You’re a mechanic, aren’t you? So build something!” |
| 120 | * The pickup-mounted HarpoonGun with which Jack Sr. takes on the Creeper in ''Film/JeepersCreepers2'' is bodged together from a post-hole driver, winch, other bits of farm equipment and one of the creature's own knives. |
| 121 | * In the Cuban film ''Film/JuanOfTheDead'' the gang decides their only option to survive the ZombieApocalypse is to escape to Florida. Their flotation device is no mere raft; they attach empty oil drums to a convertible and build a ramp with ''dead bodies'' to jump into a wall and to the sea. |
| 122 | * ''Film/JuliaX'': Using junk she finds in the abandoned school, Julia is able to whip up both a means of taking down The Stranger and of signalling her sister. |
| 123 | * ''Film/{{Kukushka}}'': Veikko is chained to a rock, and frees himself with creative use of his minimal supplies. |
| 124 | * ''Film/{{Mallrats}}'': Silent Bob is said to have a knack for this kind of thing. |
| 125 | -->'''Jay:''' He won the science fair in eighth grade by turning his mom's vibrator into a CD player usin' some chicken wire an' shit. Motherfucker's like [=MacGyver=]. No, motherfucker's better than [=MacGyver=]! |
| 126 | * The LockAndLoadMontage in ''Film/NightOfTheDemons2009'' features Maddie improvising weaponry (twisting a bed spring round her knuckles, shoving mails into shotgun shells, etc.) to take advantage of demons' WeaksauceWeakness of rust. |
| 127 | * In the Danish ''Olsen Banden'' (''Film/TheOlsenGang'') films, the leader, Egon Olsen, always makes heist plans that can be done using careful timing and everyday household objects. |
| 128 | * In ''Film/ThePeopleUnderTheStairs'', Fool does this to lure Daddy into a trap, embedding coins in the sides of lit candles so they'll drop as the wax burns away, making it sound like he's around the corner counting them. |
| 129 | * In ''Film/{{Preservation}}'', Wit makes a needle out of wire from the car's ignition and uses dental floss as thread to [[SelfSurgery sew up her scalp wound]]. |
| 130 | * In ''Film/RevengeOfTheNerds II'', the nerds get dumped on a desert island and have to find their way off it using their brains. In one of the most hilariously implausible scenes in the movie, one of them builds a metal detector out of coconuts, sand and seawater, leaving even his companions dumbfounded. |
| 131 | * TruthInTelevision, according to the man's autobiography: in ''Film/TheRightStuff'', Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier with the help of a sawed-off broom handle. |
| 132 | * Creator/AngelinaJolie's rocket launcher in ''Film/{{Salt}}'', built from a swivel chair and cleaning chemicals. |
| 133 | * The ''Franchise/StarTrek'' example below is satirized (with so many other Star Trek tropes) in ''Film/GalaxyQuest''; with Tim Allen's Kirk-like character fighting a giant rock monster in a barren rocky valley. |
| 134 | -->'''Guy:''' I know! You can make a weapon, look around you, [[ImprovisedWeapon can you construct]] some sort of rudimentary [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathe_(metal) lathe?]]\ |
| 135 | '''Jason:''' A ''lathe?!?'' '''Get off the line, Guy!''' |
| 136 | * Common in the ''Film/{{Tremors}}'' films and series, whenever they run out of ammo and need to improvise defenses against the latest Graboid life-cycle stage or MonsterOfTheWeek. |
| 137 | * ''Film/UnderTheBed'': Neal and Paulie make a weapon to fight the monster under Neal's bed by taping a bunch of flashlights to a broom. |
| 138 | * Bimba, comes up with an elaborate contraption to burst the boulder that's blocking the road in ''Film/TheWagesOfFear''. |
| 139 | * In ''Film/WhoAmI1998'', Creator/JackieChan improvises a rear-wheel hub into a grindstone (with the wheel off) to make a tool to puncture a coconut to insert a tube to hydrate a snakebite victim with [[ShownTheirWork coconut milk]]. |
| 140 | * This trope is invoked in ''Film/ZackAndMiriMakeAPorno:'' "You give me a two popsicle sticks and a rubber band and I'll find a way to fuck it, like a filthy [=MacGyver=]!" |
| 141 | [[/folder]] |
| 142 | |
| 143 | [[folder:Franchise]] |
| 144 | * Hunter of ''Toys/EverAfterHigh'' can be very resourceful, and rather quick about it. |
| 145 | [[/folder]] |
| 146 | |
| 147 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 148 | * The characters in most Creator/CormacMcCarthy novels. Could be considered AuthorAppeal. |
| 149 | ** One example is GeniusBruiser [[BigBad Judge Holden]] in ''Literature/BloodMeridian''. During a {{flashback}} to when the gang first met him, he saved them from [[InjunCountry an army of Apaches]] by leading the gang to a volcano and making gunpowder from scratch (as a ShoutOut to ''Literature/ParadiseLost'') from volcanic rock, bat guano, and the gang's urine among other things. |
| 150 | * In ''Literature/CircumferenceOfDarkness'', the main character is locked in a barn along with some friends. Using a broken tractor, some copper tubing, and some other random items, he builds a fully functional [[AwesomeButImpractical giant tesla coil]] inside the barn. This also leads to a YouHaveFailedMe moment from the mooks responsible by their boss. |
| 151 | * Ragnar Benson has written multiple books on how to make deadly weapons from stuff lying around the house. These are ''encrusted'' with warnings that doing so before the DayOfTheJackboot will land you in prison, hospital, or the morgue. |
| 152 | * ''Literature/BoredNothingToDo'': The two boys who are trying to fight their boredom decide to build a life-sized working airplane. They get the parts for it around the house, including... |
| 153 | ** Wheels from a bicycle and baby buggy. |
| 154 | ** Wires from a fence and the [=TV=] antenna.[[note]]This book was published in 1978, when [=TV=]s had these.[[/note]] |
| 155 | ** Mom's sheets for cloth. |
| 156 | ** The engine from the car. |
| 157 | ** Wood from another fence. |
| 158 | ** Door hinges. |
| 159 | ** Windshields from the windows. |
| 160 | ** A clothesline for rope. |
| 161 | * ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' is not only a '''[[FakeUltimateHero Hero of the Imperium!]]''' but apparently also the [=MacGyver=] of the [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} 41st millennium]]; in ''Death or Glory'', while escaping from a large mass of pursuing Orks, he takes shelter in an abandoned warehouse. Using [=AdMech=]-sanctioned cleaning fluids in a non-sanctioned way (apparently learned from pulling pranks back at the schola), he constructs a firebomb in a truck to go off in the Orks' faces when they follow it, and another bomb to blow up any Orks who burst in the building's back door. The second one is powerful enough to drop the warehouse roof. |
| 162 | * Abbe Faria from ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' has managed to create several tools over his years in solitary confinement, which come in handy when he accidentally tunnels into Edmond Dantes' cell and decides to pass the time instructing him in various subjects as they work to escape. |
| 163 | * In ''Literature/DearMrHenshaw,'' Leigh does this to try to catch whoever's been swiping his lunch items. He doesn't [[KarmaHoudini figure out who it is,]] but he ''does'' make a pretty cool, if [[AwesomeButImpractical incredibly loud and bulky,]] lunchbox burglar alarm. |
| 164 | * ''{{Literature/Dopamine}}'' has Danny jerry-rigging his way out of most of the jams he gets himself into. |
| 165 | ** Danny's field modification of the HERF gun to turn it into "the world's most overpowered barbecue lighter." |
| 166 | ** The improvised thermostat for the bacterial incubator he builds with Tina. |
| 167 | * '' Literature/EmilyTheStrangeStrangerAndStranger'': Emily was very capable. She even explains it to another character. |
| 168 | --> I accidentally duplicated myself using a device I built from items I found in a junk store dumpster. |
| 169 | * ''Literature/FutureHistory'' involves a [[WrenchWench starship engineer]] whose [[TheSparkOfGenius spark of genius]] is doing things like using a polishing rag to interrupt a circuit in order to finish repairs faster than would be otherwise safe, or inventing [[InvisibilityCloak completely new technology]] from systems that were never meant to work together, on the fly! |
| 170 | * ''Literature/JustSoStories'': In ''How the Whale Got His Throat'' a [[LostAtSea castaway sailor]] gets SwallowedWhole by a whale. Once he's inside its stomach he causes [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth a commotion]] to convince the whale to release him. But before he leaves he takes out his jackknife and uses it to fashion his suspenders and his raft into a makeshift grate. When he walks out of the whale's mouth he then jams that grate into the back of it's throat. [[JustSoStory And so from that day on whales could only eat the tiniest of fish.]] |
| 171 | * In the ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' novel ''Literature/TestOfMetal'', Tezzeret performs an impromptu heart surgery on himself in a bare cave with no tools. Not even [[Film/IronMan a box of scraps]]! It takes him less than ten minutes. |
| 172 | * In ''Literature/MARiiMO'', the titular robot's design involves a lot of parts cannibalized from other machines, like smartphone processors and hearing aids. Tammy builds the prototype for her face from a polycarbonate cereal bowl. |
| 173 | * ''Literature/TheMartian'', a story about an astronaut stranded on Mars who has to figure out how to survive, involves pretty much constant [=MacGyvering=], as the protagonist has to figure out how to repurpose all his gear for a long-term stay. He takes the hydrazine that was supposed to be a fuel source and burns it with oxygen to make water. He then uses one of his departed fellow crewmember's EVA suits as a cistern to hold the water. He also manages to re-establish communications with NASA, using [[spoiler: the long-abandoned Pathfinder probe and its Sojourner rover.]] From there on, NASA works to support Watney by experimenting with duplicates of whatever gear Watney has on hand on Mars, since the unmanned supply ship they sent to Mars to help him take months to reach him [[spoiler: and the supply ship is destroyed in an accident on launch anyways.]] |
| 174 | * Lofty of ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'' improvises a bomb from various kitchen supplies, the active ingredient being [[StuffBlowingUp flour]]. |
| 175 | * ''Literature/TheMysteriousIsland'', where a few people build a civilization on a remote island with nothing but two watches and a metallic dog collar. |
| 176 | * In the Creator/IsaacAsimov short story ''Literature/RobotAL76GoesAstray'' a robot designed for mining on the moon ends up in Virginia and builds a mining rig out of scrap, powered by two D-cell batteries. Unfortunately a nearby human, freaked out by it all, tells the robot to destroy the machine and "forget it" and so the design is lost. |
| 177 | * ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': |
| 178 | ** The character Violet uses her skills as an inventor to create gadgets off-the-cuff with available materials, often in dire situations. |
| 179 | ** And Klaus gets his turn in ''The Miserable Mill''. |
| 180 | * ''Literature/WetDesertTrackingDownATerroristOnTheColoradoRiver'': "Hoover-Two" is a makeshift dam made out of sandbags on top of Hoover Dam, to hold back more water and prevent Davis and Parker dams downstream from overtopping. |
| 181 | [[/folder]] |
| 182 | |
| 183 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 184 | * ''Series/{{Angel}}'' has Fred do this sort of thing a few times through the course of the series. |
| 185 | ** Fred builds a contraption that is either something lethal based on catapults, or a machine to make toast. [[spoiler:It decapitates via flying blades.]] |
| 186 | ** One other time, it's to defend herself against Wesley in the episode "[[Recap/AngelS03E06Billy Billy]]" when a demon so evil that ''Lilah'' [[EvenEvilHasStandards kills the demon]] poisons Wesley with violent and misogynistic emotions. |
| 187 | * Second only to the {{Trope Namer|s}} in fame would be ''Series/TheATeam'', who would consistently be imprisoned by villains who would inexplicably lock the 'Team in a warehouse (or other location) full of enough PVC piping, broken-down all-terrain vehicles, used engine parts, and potentially-explosive material to ensure that they could (after an ATeamMontage) build a makeshift tank, equip themselves with heavy artillery (usually consisting of the aforementioned PVC piping and explosive chemicals), stockpile massive amounts of ammunition, and still have enough material left over to escape from captivity via a very large, door-breaking (if not violently building-destroying) explosion. |
| 188 | * In the ''Series/BabylonFive'' episode "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E19GreySeventeenIsMissing Grey 17 is Missing]]", Garibaldi makes use of a steam line and some bullets he had in his pocket to make an impromptu gun to kill a monster running loose on the level in the title. |
| 189 | * ''Series/BreakingBad'': |
| 190 | ** Walt and Jesse are left stranded in the wilderness when their RV's battery dies. They eventually are able to construct a new battery out of coins, bolts, brake pads, and their meth-making chemicals. |
| 191 | ** Then there's the episode where Walt creates a bunch of smoke bombs that look exactly like meth, or the pilot episode, where he creates a poison-gas bomb on the fly, while two guys are trying to make him teach them his method at gunpoint. |
| 192 | ** Then near the end of the first half of the fifth and final season Walt finds himself strapped to a pipe in an office. He has somewhere he needs to be, [[RaceAgainstTheClock pronto.]] He takes two wires, grits his teeth, and brings them together to make a circuit, burning his plastic cuffs, (and a bit of his skin, too.) |
| 193 | ** In the finale, [[spoiler:an [[MoreDakka M60 machine gun]] and a car engine]] are used to make a remote-activated automated turret that kills six people: [[spoiler: five of the seven Aryan Brotherhood members and [[TakingTheBullet Walt himself]]]]. |
| 194 | ** In the prequel series ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', Mike manages to evade a tail using just a stick of gum, which he feeds into a ticket machine in the parking lot so that it breaks and causes a traffic jam after he drives away. Mike also interviews in a parking ramp for a position of escorting a man selling stolen pharmaceuticals to a drug dealer, competing with another man who is heavily armed, demonstrating his superiority by disarming the other candidate. In general Mike's mere presence and confidence that he can master a situation with the resources at hand are more important than any weapons or tools he brings to the scene. |
| 195 | * Mike Westen of ''Series/BurnNotice'' does this constantly, either preparing at home or in the field. He has particular expertise with cell phones. His friends Fiona and Sam has also demonstrated some competence in this area. The narration provided by Michael often explains that this is part of his training as a spy since it is assumed that operatives will rarely have access to actual 'spy gear' and will have to improvise from readily available items. |
| 196 | * Australian Aboriginal show ''Series/BushMechanics'' is built around this trope -- the first episode sees the protagonists claim an ancient car and [=MacGyver=] it into (barely) working order out of scraps from a car yard and fix it up along the way using garbage, trees and an axe. When they stop for tea and find they're out of matches, one makes a fire the way "the old folks" taught him...with jumper leads and the car battery. |
| 197 | * {{Defied|Trope}} by Beckett in the ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'' episode "Last Call". Before exploring a hidden passageway under a bar, Castle rigs up a torch by placing a roll of toilet paper in the cup of a plunger and soaking the paper with liquor. |
| 198 | -->'''Beckett:''' What are you doing, Castle?\ |
| 199 | '''Castle:''' We're going to need light. ''[lights a match to ignite the liquor-soaked toilet paper]''\ |
| 200 | '''Beckett:''' ''[blows out match, pulls out a flashlight]'' We're also going to need breathable air. ''[hands Castle an electric lantern]''\ |
| 201 | '''Castle:''' ''[muttering to himself]'' A torch would have been more fun. |
| 202 | * In an episode of ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', Casey handcuffs Chuck to a counter in a frozen yogurt shop (long story). After failing to get the ActionGirl to come free him, he freezes the chain with some kind of nefarious yogurt device and breaks it in two. His quip afterwards was something along the lines of "all those years of watching [=MacGyver=] finally paid off." |
| 203 | * ''Series/{{CSI}}'': |
| 204 | ** In one episode, Gil Grissom's crime lab kit is stolen while he's up in the middle of nowhere alone investigating a murder. Instead of filling out a form with the local police ([[DirtyCop who stole the kit]]) or requesting a new one from the lab in Vegas ([[RaceAgainstTheClock time is of the essence, especially with said dirty cop]]) he uses items he buys at a home maintenance supply shop as a makeshift kit. |
| 205 | ** Catherine does it once too, when she fears that she'd been raped in "Built to Kill", though it's more like the first ''CSI: NY'' example below with using stuff on the scene than it is Grissom's. |
| 206 | * ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': |
| 207 | ** In "[[Recap/CSINYS02E11 Trapped]]", Danny is stuck in a panic room and has to improvise with super glue, a coffee pot, a cd case and several other items the victim had stockpiled. He even calls Stella "Miss [=MacGyver=]." |
| 208 | ** When the lab is stormed by drug lords in "[[Recap/CSINYS03E24 Snow Day]]", Mac builds a bomb and laser trip wires out of stuff on hand. |
| 209 | ** While in Greece without either of their kits, Mac and Stella improvise a way to test evidence for elemental properties using one of her earrings, water from the town fountain, and things they borrow from locals. |
| 210 | ** Sheldon uses sulfuric acid from a recyclable battery to weaken a bar of a cell he and an inmate are locked into during the prison riot in "[[Recap/CSINYS06E19 Redemptio]]". |
| 211 | * In ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'': |
| 212 | ** In "[[Recap/DiagnosisMurderS2E19NakedBabes Naked Babes]]", Ty is able to craft a set of cradles that rock for the newborn quadruplets out of some drawers, round objects at the ends of said drawers, and some wire hangers to rock them/hold the babies' bottles |
| 213 | ** In "[[Recap/DiagnosisMurderS3E5MurderOnTheRun Murder on the Run"]], Mark and Jesse craft a device to help George's lung inflate using a water bottle, the tubing of a stethoscope, and the tubing of a ball point pen. |
| 214 | * The Doctor in ''Series/DoctorWho'' does not carry a gun (though he has used them on occasion), and often cooks up homebrew super-tech. |
| 215 | ** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E5TheTimeMonster The Time Monster]]", he builds a "time flow analogue" out of cups, spoons, a pie pan, and other objects found in a small house. |
| 216 | ** In "[[Recap/DoctorWho2007CiNSTimeCrash Time Crash]]", the Tenth Doctor lampshades this based on the fact that the Fifth Doctor never used a sonic screwdriver after it got destroyed in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E4TheVisitation The Visitation]]". |
| 217 | --->'''Ten:''' Like, "Hey, I'm the Doctor. I can save the universe with a kettle and some string. And look at me, [[IWasQuiteAFashionVictim I'm wearing a vegetable]]." |
| 218 | ** This even extends to the TARDIS. In the earliest episodes, it's implied that he invented it himself and his granddaughter named it; we gradually learn that he actually just jury-rigged it back to functioning order, after finding it rusting away in a museum. Then stole it. |
| 219 | ** The Kahler race introduced in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E3ATownCalledMercy A Town Called Mercy]]" is described by the Doctor as being one of the most ingenious races in the galaxy, being able to build a spaceship "out of Tupperware and moss". |
| 220 | * ''Series/GetSmart''. In "Run Robot Run", 99 uses the magnet in Max's ShoePhone to pull CONTROL robot Hymie across the finish line when he runs out of power at the end of an Olympic race. Naturally the trope is spoofed at first by our IdiotHero. |
| 221 | -->'''Chief:''' We need magnetic power! |
| 222 | -->'''Max:''' And you need electricity for that, right? Have you got a key? ''(The Chief gives him his car keys)'' Have you got a kite? |
| 223 | -->'''Chief:''' Have you got a storm, [[Creator/BenjaminFranklin Ben Franklin]]?! |
| 224 | * ''Series/TheEdisonTwins'': The Twins are able to create these things. One of the cleverest and simplest is when the Twins, Paul and a rival are lost in the wood: Tom has the bright idea that since he has an AM radio and knows where a AM radio station' transmitter is, he is able to angle his radio until the internal AM radio antenna is perfectly perpendicular to the station's broadcast signal. That results in the radio facing the direction where the signal is the loudest and strongest, thus providing the direction back to civilization. |
| 225 | * ''Series/ForeverKnight''. Dr. Natalie Lambert has to revive Nick Knight in a FlatlinePlotline, so she uses rat poison, a spoon and a candle to filter out a small dose of strychnine as a neural stimulant. |
| 226 | * A contestant on History Channel game show ''Series/ForgedInFire'' created an iron forge in his backyard out of dumpster scraps (which included a satellite-tv dish) as an example for low-tech, low-income societies to be self-sufficient. Even in the well-equipped competition forge he preferred to stick with pre-modern blacksmithing techniques. |
| 227 | * In the show ''Series/FutureFood'', there is an element of this in some of the cooking methods employed. |
| 228 | * ''Series/GetALife'': In one episode, when Chris and Sharon get locked in her meat locker, Chris takes a paper clip to unlock the door, stating the trope namer as well. |
| 229 | * The Professor from ''Series/GilligansIsland'' could make a lot of things from the materials on the island, and jokes about the show made him able to make anything if he had enough coconuts... except a boat. |
| 230 | ** It's even lampshaded in Gary Larson's ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide''! |
| 231 | ** Gilligan later himself calls the Professor out on this, in one the zillions of cameos in the AffectionateParody beach party movie ''Film/BackToTheBeach''. In that film, Bob Denver plays a bartender that is explicitly the same character from ''Series/GilligansIsland'': |
| 232 | --->'''Willy Gilligan:''' You know, I lived with a guy for years. A real genius. He could take a couple of these pineapples or a couple of coconuts with some strings and wire and make a nuclear reactor. But he couldn't fix a two-foot hole in a boat. |
| 233 | * In the pilot of ''Series/TheGoodDoctor'', Shaun uses baggage handling tape and a tube from a vending machine to make a one-way valve so he can operate on a boy injured by broken glass in an airport. |
| 234 | * Real life example: Alton Brown of ''Series/GoodEats''. Basically, his credo of cooking is "the only single-purpose item in your kitchen should be the fire extinguisher". [[spoiler:And in the 10th anniversary special, he uses ''that'' to cook too.]] |
| 235 | ** The episode "Scrap Iron Chef" featured this trope heavily, as Alton was forced (in a parody of ''Series/IronChef'') to construct various cooking methods (such as a smoker) from what he found in a scrapyard. |
| 236 | * ''Series/{{Hardball}}'': After Kevin's failed trial of digital locks puts the school into {{Lockdown}} in "The Odd Couple", Mikey and Tiffany work together to fashion a fishing rod, a tennis racquet, wire hangers and [[DuctTapeForEverything duct tape]] to fashion a reaching device to [[HookingTheKeys lift the key to the override box from the caretaker's storeroom]] so they can shut the system off. |
| 237 | * In ''Series/LostGirl'' Lauren is forced to make an antidote for a Fae parasite with basic supplies. She has some medical/mystical ingredients in her back, but she says she will also need things like hairspray, sugar, baking soda, vinegar, and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick lubricating oil]]. |
| 238 | * ''Series/Lupin2021'': The protagonist goes to prison to get information about his deceased father, then fakes a suicide by hanging to get out of there via a {{bodybag|Trick}}. He survives the hanging because he built himself a safety harness using a basketball basket's net and used some meds to reduce his heartbeats to pass off as dead. |
| 239 | * ''Series/{{MASH}}'': |
| 240 | ** In "[[Recap/MashS5E8MulcahysWar Mulcahy's War]]", Father Mulcahy has to perform a roadside tracheotomy with a pocketknife and an eyedropper. |
| 241 | ** "[[Recap/MashS7E7TheyCallTheWindKorea They Call the Wind Korea]]" sees Major Winchester and Klinger reinflate a man's lung with a pocketknife, syringe, catheter, and surgical clamp. |
| 242 | ** In "[[Recap/MashS9E6AWarForAllSeasons A War for All Seasons]]", Hawkeye and B.J. rig a primitive dialysis machine using meat casings from a Toledo sausage company and a washtub ordered from Sears & Roebuck. |
| 243 | ** "Goodbye, Radar" sees Colonel Potter create a handcrank-powered Wangensteen suction machine with a few tubes, jars, and cans. |
| 244 | * In the ''Series/MastersOfHorror'' episode "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road", Ellen manages to quickly fashion a booby trap for Moonface using some sticks and her own panties. |
| 245 | * Tabby from ''Series/MonsterWarriors'' is a real gadget queen who takes ordinary household appliances and turns them into monster-blasting weaponry -- hold on to your hair diffuser around this girl! |
| 246 | * The ''Series/MythBusters'' often refer to [=MacGyver=] as their patron saint. So, for their 100th episode, they did a [=MacGyver=] special, consisting of several of Mac's myths, followed by Tory and Grant putting Adam and Jamie through their own "[=MacGyver=] obstacle course." Though both the myths were busted, Adam and Jamie managed to go three for four on the obstacle course. |
| 247 | ** No, saying three out of four does not do it justice. [[spoiler: In true [=MacGyver=] fashion, they managed to escape the first part of the obstacle course, then had to use items found at a campsite to signal for pick up by the helicopter. The original plan was that they would build a [[ImprovisedWeapon Potato Gun]], instead, they built a kite out of the same materials, plus [[ChekhovsGun the rope they were tied up with at the beginning of the segment]].]] |
| 248 | ** The one task they failed was because they lacked the scientific knowledge to develop a roll of film. The apparatus they set up would have worked had Adam been able to remember one key aspect of the process. |
| 249 | * ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': |
| 250 | ** Ziva and Tony manage to [=MacGyver=] a means of getting a cell phone signal from inside a metal shipping container, using Ziva's necklace and bits of DVD cases. |
| 251 | ** Lampshaded in another episode. When a woman [[spoiler: who has access to pretty much all iris scanners in existence is kidnapped, she eats blood pressure medicine she finds in the kidnapper's bathroom in an attempt to alter the blood vessels in her eyes, thus blocking her ability to unlock iris scanners.]] Abby's comment: "It didn't work, but A+ for the [=MacGyver=]!" |
| 252 | ** In another episode Ducky and Palmer are held prisoner by some Cuban spies and forced to autopsy their dead colleague to figure out where he had hidden a flash drive full of stolen files. The two pathologists use the cabin's stove, a cigarette, some autopsy supplies and gas extracted from the corpse's digestive tract to make a bomb that takes out one of their captors and distracts the others long enough to allow them to escape. |
| 253 | * ''Series/ThePartridgeFamily'': When the bus's engine blows a gasket in "Don't Bring Your Guns to Town, Santa", Keith creates a new one out of an old inner tube. |
| 254 | * In ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', Finch makes a [=WiFi=] antenna using a Pringles can. Root makes a cutting torch with an oxygen cylinder, spaghetti and tinfoil. |
| 255 | * Sam on ''Series/QuantumLeap'' had [=MacGyver=] moments, but only when he used his brain to make a gadget to save the day. Thus, a successful [=MacGyverist=] is different from a hero who is simply smart. |
| 256 | * The USA series ''Series/RoyalPains'' features the lead doctor utilizing "A bottle of vodka, a sharp knife, a plastic sandwich bag, a BIC pen, and some duct tape" to save the life of a hemophiliac who is bleeding internally. The girl helping him remarks [[LampshadeHanging "What are you, [=MacGyver=]?"]] |
| 257 | * Standard operating procedure for ''Series/{{Scorpion}}'', although it's usually employed as damage control and/or desperation patch-up work when their ''original'' plan, which was rather more professional and prepared for, goes disastrously wrong due to bad luck, oversight and/or sabotage. |
| 258 | * The British series ''Series/ScrapheapChallenge'', known as ''Junkyard Wars'' in the US, had two teams compete to [=MacGyver=] together some sort of machine from parts found in the junkyard each episode. |
| 259 | * ''Series/StargateSG1'': |
| 260 | ** Used explicitly as a verb in "[[Recap/StargateSG1S1E1ChildrenOfTheGods Children of the Gods]]", in which Samantha Carter refers to having been forced to "macgyver" a crucial device to make the Stargate work. The fact that Richard Dean Anderson used to BE ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'' makes this a cheeky ShoutOut (which was apparently [[ThrowItIn ad-libbed]] on-set by Creator/AmandaTapping, much to Anderson's surprise). |
| 261 | ** There's also a prank executed for the bloopers reel in "[[Recap/StargateSG1S1E17Solitudes Solitudes]]" (planned by Amanda Tapping and episode director Martin Wood) in which Carter and O'Neill are stranded in a glacier, and she laments that she's "stuck in a glacier with [=MacGyver=]" and he can't figure a way out for them. |
| 262 | --->'''Carter:''' We got belt buckles and shoelaces and a piece of gum: build a nuclear reactor, for crying out loud!\ |
| 263 | ''[[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J847OF_jZ20 RDA's face is priceless]]]'' |
| 264 | ** The one-shot Stargate in "[[Recap/StargateSG1S5E3Ascension Ascension]]" is made out of (among other things) toaster parts. |
| 265 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': |
| 266 | ** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E18Arena Arena]]", Kirk manages to build a primitive ''cannon'' out of various ingredients (bamboo, sulfur, potassium nitrate, coal, and diamond crystals) he tripped over while stranded on an uninhabited asteroid. Partly justified by the fact that the asteroid was set up by powerful aliens so the combatants could fashion their own weapons, but still, a ''cannon''... (The Chinese used similar mortars out of bamboo or ceramics centuries before Europeans made cannons out of metal.)[[note]]Busted in the ''Series/MythBusters'' first mini-myths episode. They simply could not refine the black powder by hand to a point where it would propel the crystals with anywhere near the velocity needed to wound or kill, and when they tried the same rig with ''real'' black powder, it backfired and "killed" their Kirk stand-in (played by Buster).[[/note]] |
| 267 | *** One ExpandedUniverse novel mentions that the episode was turned into a training exercise that was considered hellishly difficult, and that 90% of the people who tried Kirk's approach ended up blowing themselves up when the cannon misfired. Riker's solution was to use the makeshift cannon as a giant mine and clubbed the Gorn with a rock while it was disoriented from the blast. |
| 268 | ** [[MrFixIt Scotty]] gets a shuttle to run on the energy from phaser weapons in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E16TheGalileoSeven The Galileo Seven]]". |
| 269 | ** In "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E28TheCityOnTheEdgeOfForever The City at the Edge of Forever]]", Mr. Spock builds a computer with 1930's technology, complete with a [[RuleOfCool very cool but pointlessly energy-wasting]] Jacob's Ladder. |
| 270 | --->'''Spock:''' I am endeavoring, ma'am, to construct a mnemonic memory circuit using stone knives and bearskins. |
| 271 | ** ''Franchise/StarTrek'' does it again in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E8AFistfulOfDatas A Fistful of Datas]]". Worf, [[HolodeckMalfunction stranded in an Old West simulation]], makes a forcefield out of telegraph parts and his communicator. |
| 272 | ** Again in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E24EmpokNor Empok Nor]]" when Chief O'Brien manages to fashion a Tricorder into an improvised bomb to disable Garak, who was [[LetsYouAndHimFight temporarily driven to xenocide]] by exposure to a Cardassian PsychoSerum. |
| 273 | ** Again in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. B'Elanna Torres turns a phaser into shielding to seal a gap in a shuttle. |
| 274 | ** [[OverlyLongGag Again]] in the ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' two-part episode "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E19Demons Demons]]"/"[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E20TerraPrime Terra Prime]]", when Trip picks a future-tech lock using his zipper and belt buckle. |
| 275 | ** In-universe, Starfleet officers ([[TheEngineer engineers]] in particular) have this reputation. It's even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E02RocksAndShoals Rocks and Shoals]]" by a captured enemy who hopes for them to have "one of those famed Starfleet engineers who can turn rocks into replicators" so he can live the high life as a Federation POW, instead of starving on some empty rock or being butchered by his soon-to-be insane troops. |
| 276 | ** In ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', we discover that [[spoiler:Geordi La Forge had been rebuilding the destroyed ''Enterprise''-D using scavenged surplus ''Galaxy''-class parts. In fact, the entire stardrive section comes from a sister ship, the ''Syracuse'', which still has its decal markings on it]]. |
| 277 | * In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode "[[Recap/SupernaturalS02E09Croatoan Croatoan]]", Sam and Dean make explosives out of alcohol and other supplies in the medical clinic. |
| 278 | * In ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'', the team creates a chelation agent (to treat cyanide poisoning) from only chemicals available on an airplane. |
| 279 | * In one episode of ''Series/Warehouse13'' Artie releases himself from handcuffs by making an electromagnet out of a hotel iron so he can get his toolbag. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d with "I was doing this [[WhileYouWereInDiapers when [=MacGyver=] was still trapped in his crib]]!" |
| 280 | * A cross between this trope and SufficientlyAdvancedAlien, the aliens of ''Series/WarOfTheWorlds1988'' fashioned intergalactic communications, weapons, and scanning equipment out of numerous household products. |
| 281 | * When ''Series/TheWizard'' does not have a high-tech toy handy, he can also [=MacGyver=] one to save the day. |
| 282 | * ''Series/TheXFiles'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS05E04Detour Detour]]", Scully tries to open a bullet and use the gunpowder to start a fire. She does open it (what a badass!), but the gunpowder explodes in one bright flash and the wood doesn’t catch. |
| 283 | [[/folder]] |
| 284 | |
| 285 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 286 | * The ability of Starfleet engineers to do this at the drop of a hat is parodied in Aurelio Voltaire's "USS Make Shit Up": |
| 287 | -->''And if you're on a party on the starship Enterprise,\ |
| 288 | And the karaoke player just plain old up and dies\ |
| 289 | Set up a neutrino field inside a can of peas,\ |
| 290 | Hold onto Geordi's visor and sing into Data's knees!'' |
| 291 | [[/folder]] |
| 292 | |
| 293 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 294 | * Played for laughs in an early ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' sourcebook, as a pair of very efficient (but [[ThePrankster prank-prone]]) technicians repaired a lance of 'Mechs with various pieces of machinery... that included a lard rendering tank, a truck that advertised processed chicken, and metal labeled for Spam cans. Most of the Mechwarriors were [[ActuallyPrettyFunny amused]], but one went after the techs with a [[WrenchWhack wrench]]. |
| 295 | ** Given all the LostTechnology in the setting and the fact that many characters are down-on-their-luck mercenaries operating on a shoestring budget, plenty of straight examples crop up in the books as well. |
| 296 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Nearly ''everything'' ever made by tinker gnomes, from ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' setting (and spread in ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}'' 'verse) qualifies. |
| 297 | * In ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'' a [[MadScientist Genius]] can "kitbash" a Wonder together in hours, minutes, or even ''seconds'' if they're powerful or have bought the right merit. |
| 298 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Humblewood}}'': The [[RascallyRaccoon Mapach]]'s Scroungecraft racial trait lets them build simple items out of whatever resources they can scrounge from their surroundings. |
| 299 | * ''TabletopGame/HunterTheReckoning'' |
| 300 | ** Hunters have to do improvise a lot of their equipment, since, unlike the other gamelines, they have no social institutions whatsoever to lean on for support and are just random civilians who went crazy one day and were told by the voices in their heads to kill monsters. White Wolf brought some notoriety on themselves by having the Wayward creedbook include discussion of how to improvise a fertilizer car bomb, among other things. |
| 301 | ** The Terrible Swift Sword (named for the line from "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"), a special application of the Cleave Edge discovered accidentally by a member of the Avenger Creed who was also an [[FanOfThePast amateur swordsmith]] and RenaissanceFair enthusiast. Any melee weapon, however crude or clumsy -- so long as it's made by hand by the Avenger themselves -- can be imbued with a little bit of their power, allowing it to be a permanent channel for the aggravated damage done by Cleave. |
| 302 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' is not devoid of this kind of stuff either, strangely enough. [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Da orkz]] build a majority of their own inventions from random scraps of junk, including most of their firearms and vehicles. Ironically, due to the generic mindset of the whole race, most of their inventions work simply because they ''[[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve think]]'' [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve it will work]]. |
| 303 | ** Ork players have been known to construct vehicles using strategies ranging from "leftovers from other vehicles" to "grab all the spare parts, put them in a box, pour in glue, and stick wheels on whatever comes out". |
| 304 | ** Although it's not like non-Ork players don't get in on the action either. Because of [[CrackIsCheaper the price]] of the hobby, any 40k player (or indeed, wargamer) worth their salt will have a bitz box whether they are Orks, Humans, Eldar, whatever. It is the most efficient way to go about doing things and anyone who has played for a long time will have closets full of hoarded spare parts that they can cobble together into just about anything. |
| 305 | [[/folder]] |
| 306 | |
| 307 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 308 | * In ''Theatre/ComingOutOfTheirShells'', Donatello manages to make vests that cloak them from the De-Harmonic Convergence Converter using magnetic strips on the back of their American Express cards. |
| 309 | --> '''All of the Turtles:''' Don't leave home without it! |
| 310 | * ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' features the title character forging a letter that will result in the execution of his {{False Friend}}s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with various items around the ship where he's being taken to his own execution. |
| 311 | [[/folder]] |
| 312 | |
| 313 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 314 | * ''Videogame/AloneInTheDark2008'' demands that the player combine odd items (without pausing, even during battle) in a way that [[MundaneMadeAwesome would be cool yet [=MacGuyveresque=]]]. Usually, however, those brave enough to make an attempt have little success except for those who cheat and read the tips for good combinations of items, or worse, using trial and error. |
| 315 | * Technologist in ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'' can assemble explosives, chemicals, guns and various mechanical devices from random junk. This includes a device which can ''resurrect dead'' and is made from a capacitor, snake venom and three different herbs. |
| 316 | * ''VideoGame/{{Battletech}}'': Dr Farah Murad is somewhere between this trope and a [[MrFixit Ms Fixit]]. Her first notable accomplishment in the campaign is getting the battered hulk of a crashed starship powered up and ready to launch while her bodyguards were still trading shots with the bandit gang who'd taken up residence in it. The player's faction's chief Mech mechanic Yang Virtanen has his moments as well, since until you get hold of that crashed starship in an early campaign mission he's repairing and servicing battlemechs in the hold of a ''Leopard''-class DropShip, which is roughly equivalent to doing an engine-swap on a Humvee in the back of a C-130 ''in flight''. |
| 317 | * In ''VideoGame/CaveStory'', a character makes a bomb out of charcoal, "jellyfish juice" and gum base. |
| 318 | * Fotbar Laboratory in ''VideoGame/ChoroQ HG 4'' allows you to make powerful parts out of spoon, wrist strap, piece of cloth, paper bag, and others. The strongest chassis of the game is happened to be made of eraser. |
| 319 | * ''VideoGame/DarkChronicle'' has the protagonist, Max, who is able to come up with ideas and create things out off photos he takes: trash can, belt, pipe, streetlight, hospital skeleton, tree, iron maiden, etc. Also, there's even more bizarre case where he can synthesize element out of bread to upgrade his weapon. |
| 320 | * This is recurring game mechanic in the ''Franchise/DeadRising'' games from the sequel onward. |
| 321 | ** In ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'', Chuck can make a weapon out of every last thing he finds. These range from simple (Nails + Baseball Bat = Baseball Bat with Nails Through It) to creative (Knifes + Boxing Gloves = WolverineClaws) to really weird (Chainsaws + Paddle = Double Ended Polearm with Chainsaws at both ends) to just plain crazy (Gas Can + Super Soaker = ''Flamethrower.'') |
| 322 | ** In ''VideoGame/DeadRising3'', Nick can not only craft on the spot, but, being a mechanic, he can also combine vehicles to make super vehicles, some of which are even armed with special weapons. |
| 323 | * ''Franchise/DeadSpace'': |
| 324 | ** In ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'', the protagonist, Isaac, builds a [[LaserCutter plasma cutter]] (the main weapon of the series) out of a flashlight and a surgical laser. |
| 325 | ** ''VideoGame/DeadSpace3'' takes it to the next level by having Isaac craft everything involving his guns including tiny upgrade chips from tungsten, semiconductors, transducers and yes, scrap metal. The whole thing gets then turned up on [[HarderThanHard Pure Survival Mode]] where no ammo, health or stasis kit drops at all. Instead, you get resources with which to craft all that stuff yourself. |
| 326 | * Jeff Andonuts from ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' is the BadassBookworm who can make anything from a Slime Generator from a broken iron to a Gaia Beam from a broken antenna. |
| 327 | * The trapper character Jack in ''VideoGame/{{Evolve}}'' is quite skilled at this. Among his cobbled together devices are a satellite uplink and override, a motion negator, and a hybrid assault/medical droid. |
| 328 | * ''VideoGame/Fallout3'': |
| 329 | ** You can do things like make a gauntlet out of a monster's arm and a medical brace, make a nail-launching rifle out of a steam gauge assembly and a pressure cooker, or make a ''FlamingSword'' out of ''motorcycle parts and a lawnmower blade''. |
| 330 | ** By combining a leaf blower with a vacuum cleaner, you can build a cannon that launches anything you put in, from tin cans to teddy bears. or a [[http://pt.xfire.com/video/42dbe/ toaster]]. |
| 331 | * ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' [[ScavengedPunk completely revolves around this]]. Players are expected to build weapon and armor modifications, settlement defenses, robots, and repair pre-war suits of PoweredArmor with [[DuctTapeForEverything duct tape]], an alarm clock, and a couple dozen tin cans. |
| 332 | * ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': |
| 333 | ** When faced with a broken world item (fuse box, food processor, etc.), you can either go hunt for parts, or use a high repair skill to fix it. Special mention for the food processor at Camp [=McCarran=], which you can fix with a repair skill of 80 by using a paper clip, a swiss army knife and other stuff. |
| 334 | ** The Jury Rigging perk lets you repair any piece of equipment with any other piece of equipment in the same category, as opposed to needing two of the same item in order to repair without the perk. This lets you somehow repair a PowerFist with a pair of boxing gloves, a {{laser blade}}d Proton Axe with a pool cue, a high-tech stealth suit with some scraps of cloth worn by primitive tribals, Military Grade PoweredArmor with slaped together metal armor, and even Anti-material Rifles with a childs BB gun among other things. The perk's image depicts [[SeriesMascot Vault-Boy]] duct-taping a rifle and a shotgun together, while its description lampshades how nonsensical the concept is, but you still somehow manage to make do. |
| 335 | * Rikku in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', as part of her LimitBreak, she can create powerful bombs or healing items just by combining two often ordinary items. |
| 336 | * In ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance 2'', you can make some gadgets out of random items you find. For example: duct tape and a steel tube can be used to make a barrel extender for your rifle, which increases its range (though it's prone to get fired ''off'' since it's only held on with duct tape), or combining a game system, an x-ray tube, and a couple other things to make an x-ray scanner (reports of massive doses of x-ray radiation when in use are "unconfirmed"). |
| 337 | * The Infocom game ''VideoGame/LeatherGoddessesOfPhobos'' revolves around [=MacGyvering=] a machine to prevent the titular aliens from turning the population of Earth into their sex slaves out of, among other things, a pair of cotton balls, a blender, and a small white mouse. |
| 338 | * Most (if not all) of the characters in any ''VideoGame/LEGOAdaptationGame'' will automatically know what to build out of the piles of pieces lying around. |
| 339 | ** A gameplay mechanic is ''VideoGame/TheLEGOMovieVideogame'' is that Master Builders can use green circles to highlight 3 groups of parts in a green aura and throw them into a green whirlwind to reassemble them into something else. However, the parts need to be within range of the circle in order to be selected. |
| 340 | * {{Parodied|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry7LoveForSail''. When you try to combine random objects, the announcers says something along the lines of, "Larry, sometimes you try to mix two things together, but what do you always get? An ass". |
| 341 | * In ''VideoGame/LostHorizon'', when Kim makes a sarcastic comment about the apparently useless junk Fenton keeps collecting, he is able to remind her that he recently took out a German fighter plane with just a pumpkin, a bag of flour, and some water. |
| 342 | * This is Doc Hawkins' trick in ''VideoGame/{{MDK2}}''. "I've created ''[[MundaneMadeAwesome toast]]''! Delicious!" |
| 343 | * In ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'', after losing all his equipment in a fire, [[TheHero Solid Snake]] defeats [[EvilMentor Big Boss]] with a makeshift flamethrower made of a spray can and a cigarette lighter. |
| 344 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', all the player has at the beginning of the game is their bare hands and the clothes on their back. They can fashion a crafting table after chopping down a tree and processing it into planks with their bare hands, use that table and those planks to make makeshift wooden tools, use those tools to gather cobblestone, which they can then use to build a furnace and upgrade to makeshift stone tools, which they can use in turn to gather coal and iron ore... and so on. With the right raw materials and a crafting table (which can be crafted on the spot in a pinch), the player can make whatever they need almost instantly, though some recipes are very odd. |
| 345 | * Any of the ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' games in which Guybrush Threepwood has to use all manner of wacky items to save the day. One is in ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'', in which [[spoiler:you have to pour cooking oil on a guy's back so he'll get sun burnt and you can then peel off the skin on his back which just happens to have a map tattooed on to it]]. |
| 346 | * {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/NightInTheWoods''. While hanging out with Bea during a housecall to fix Mrs. Miranda's noisy furnace, Mae attempts to cobble together a fix of her own using the objects you find in the basement: a fan, a fishing pole, a badminton racket, and a garden gnome. There are a few options available, all of them look ridiculous, and [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome all of them just fall apart before you even get a chance to try it out]]. Oh, and while you were messing around, Bea already fixed the problem because she does this sort of thing for a living. |
| 347 | --> '''Bea:''' Way to go, Mae. Please don't fix anything ever again. |
| 348 | * ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'' has Osvald escaping from [[TheAlcatraz Frigit Isle]] by using magic to create a boat made of straw and ice. |
| 349 | * ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' has a habit of this: |
| 350 | ** At the end of ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheCuriousVillage'', [[spoiler:the titular character manages to build a functioning glider from some poles, drapes, and other junk. Not only can it carry three people, but he's able to thwart the villain's own sinister flying contraption with it]]. |
| 351 | ** In ''Anime/ProfessorLaytonAndTheEternalDiva'', [[spoiler:Layton manages to produce a functioning helicopter out of a bunch of odds and ends in a shack on a deserted island. As above, it carries three people and somehow works]]. |
| 352 | ** Not to be outdone, ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture'' has the good professor create a working [[spoiler:''machine gun'' out of some spare slot machine parts. He's under heavy gunfire, but when a bullet knocks the parts loose, he's only one quick puzzle away from sending the {{Mooks}} running with their tails between their legs]]. |
| 353 | * ''VideoGame/ScrapMechanic'', as the name implies, features you playing as a GadgeteerGenius mechanic who can literally build vehicles and buildings out of scrap lying about, or out of repurposed industrial equipment. |
| 354 | * One of the gimmicks of ''VideoGame/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2004'' centering around the children inventing devices from scrap materials lying around. Klaus, for example, creates a grappling hook by combining a bicycle pump, coil, and gardening tool. |
| 355 | * The weaponry of ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' is all comprised of household tools and scrap gadgets cobbled together to make weaponry: the entire Roller class is comprised of oversized paint rollers and paintbrushes, most Slosher class weapons are buckets, the L-3 and H-3 Nozzlenoses are garden hoses with their spray nozzles still attached, the Heavy Splatling is a repurposed office water cooler, the Classic Squiffer is a bottle of cleaning detergent with an extra-long nozzle, Glooga Dualies are a pair of hot glue guns, the list goes on. |
| 356 | * While it's closer to an InformedAbility rather than anything else, ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'''s Miles "Tails" Prower is reportedly capable of doing this, according to ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld''. In the same game, he [[spoiler:uses his tails as extra appendages and reprograms a roboticizing machine to let him keep his free will with nothing but a toothpick]]. This boastful exchange between him and Sonic displays to what extent Tails can do this. His boast regarding this also doubles as a referencing a NoodleIncident. |
| 357 | -->'''Tails:''' I've built a TV out of paper clips...\ |
| 358 | '''Sonic:''' Yeah...\ |
| 359 | '''Tails:''' And reprogrammed a supercomputer using dishwashing detergent and a toothpick...\ |
| 360 | '''Sonic:''' I know...\ |
| 361 | '''Tails:''' ...So look, fixing a propeller on a biplane? That's about as difficult as taking a nap. |
| 362 | * Two-Hat Jack from ''VideoGame/SunsetOverdrive'' uses his considerable [[DisasterScavengers scavenging]] and design skills to craft extremely unusual firearms. Justified in that he lives in an apocalypse, and the game is very loose on what items would make for [[AbnormalAmmo ammunition.]] The rest of the guns he sells are obviously looted from enemy corpses. |
| 363 | * ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'''s Medic literally created a device that can heal people from the brink of death to full physical health within the minute, out of a flowerpot, blender, fire hose, several gauges and malfunctioning medical equipment. The Soldier has a cobbled-together rocket launcher, Pyro a flamethrower, and Medic once more, a syringe gun that's just as cobbled together as the Quick Fix. |
| 364 | %%* The main character in the ''VideoGame/TexMurphy'' games is all about this. It's necessary to advance past dozens of puzzles throughout the games. |
| 365 | * ''Franchise/TombRaider'': The entire equipment system in ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'' and ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider'' revolves around this trope. Lara usually only receives the basic weapon of each class automatically, and everything more advanced needs to be assembled from parts she can find throughout the game. These weapons as well as other parts of her gear can then be upgraded with random pieces of scrap that need to be salvaged as well. ''Rise'' expands upon this system by introducing a wide variety of improvised weapons for Lara to craft on the fly, ranging from tin can grenades and smoke bombs over gas canister fire bombs and walkie-talkie proximity mines to rigging dead mooks with deadly poison gas traps that silently kill anyone who tries to investigate the body. And let's not forget about her arsenal of nifty special arrows up to and including cluster grenade arrows, all of which can be crafted from scavenged resources at any time as well. |
| 366 | * This is the superpower that fans have inferred Nitori of ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' to have. She lives in a MedievalStasis world, but has access to books from the real world, and is nevertheless capable of producing working machines of the modern age (or even better than modern equipment, as with her stealth suit) without access to an industrial base, education system, or any kind of energy source (until the end of the tenth game, at least). Western fans even directly state [=MacGyver=] to be her personal hero/romantic fantasy. |
| 367 | * ''{{VideoGame/Unturned}}'' is similar to ''Minecraft'' in that you start with nothing and can eventually craft and construct supplies and shelter. In particular, some weapon attachments can be improvised using some rather unorthodox materials. For instance, using two tin cans and two cans of cola (cooked over a fire, for some reason), you can make an improvised silencer called the 'Muffler'. Another example is the "Zoomifier", an improvised scope made out of a pair of binoculars and some duct tape which has a fairly high zoom level but no reticule. |
| 368 | * ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}} 8'' has the gadgeteer class. Spell casters can obviously cast spells and bards can produce similar spell-like effects when they find the proper musical instrument. Gadgeteers will be collecting odd assortments of scrap and knick-knacks to assemble devices that allow them to do the same, like a lava lamp that hypnotizes enemies. Their unique weapon, the omnigun, also functions this way: it gets more powerful as the gadgeteer gains levels because they're installing upgrades and new functions. At first model, omnigun is slow, inaccurate and uses musketballs and sling stones for ammo -- the final model is very fast, very accurate, can cause a laundry list of debuffs, and can use ''every kind of ammo''. |
| 369 | %%* Most of the challenges in ''Return to Mysterious Island'' and its sequel are this trope. |
| 370 | [[/folder]] |
| 371 | |
| 372 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 373 | * In one ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' strip, Red Mage saves the day using a portable hole, an immovable rod, a bag of holding, and an ice spell. Of course, it all takes place off-panel. |
| 374 | * A parody in ''Webcomic/AnsemRetort'': Zexion makes a new heart for Riku out of bendy straws and a Hot Pocket. |
| 375 | * Rick in ''Webcomic/BlurTheLines'' [[http://www.blur-the-lines.com/?p=45 makes a fleshlight out of an empty can and some ground chuck (meat).]] |
| 376 | * One instance of possible [=MacGyvering=] is found in the webcomic ''Webcomic/CtrlAltDel'', where the main character, Ethan, makes a bipedal, sentient robot out of a single Xbox. This robot then develops a taste for gaming and becomes another character in the comic. |
| 377 | * [[http://www.faans.com/books1-6/index.php?p=1966 These]] [[http://www.faans.com/books1-6/index.php?p=1967 two]] pages of ''Webcomic/{{Fans}}'' demonstrate [=MacGyvering=] in the field. Rico even uses the word [=MacGyvered=] to describe what happened. |
| 378 | * ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': |
| 379 | ** Agatha [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080104 has her moments.]] |
| 380 | ** Othar wrote in his log about [[http://twitter.com/Othar/status/1317066710 some]] [[http://twitter.com/Othar/status/1376637973 hardware]] he built after being marooned. |
| 381 | * In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', GadgeteerGenius Kat Donlan builds an anti-gravity device out of a thermos and wire clothes hangers. And that thing was only step one of her zero gravity protein crystal growth tank ScienceFair project. |
| 382 | * Subverted in [[http://www.housepetscomic.com/2012/03/19/the-optimal-solution/ this]] strip of ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}''. |
| 383 | * In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'', space criminal Fructose Riboflavin has a knack for building alien [[AppliedPhlebotinum supertech]] out of odds and ends. Useful, since he spends so much of his life as a perpetual fugitive. |
| 384 | * Parodied numerous times in ''Webcomic/RealLifeComics'' -- among other things, Tony has made a [[http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/000302.html quantum space-time teleportation device]] and a [[http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/021017.html trans-dimensional portal device]] out of random materials lying around. |
| 385 | [[/folder]] |
| 386 | |
| 387 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 388 | * In ''[[http://www.dcr.net/~stickmak/Stories/MasksI.htm Masks]]'', there's a superpower that allows people to do this. |
| 389 | * According to [[http://trollscience.com/ Troll Science]], it seems that there is nothing that a Troll cannot achieve using only flashlights, magnets, and a complete disregard of the laws of physics. Exhibit A is this charming little [[http://trollscience.com/troll/view/8 wagon.]] |
| 390 | [[/folder]] |
| 391 | |
| 392 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 393 | * {{Parodied|Trope}} in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' when Roger uses a rock, some twigs and a piece of gum to make a SniperRifle, complete with bullets and scope. |
| 394 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', [[TheSmartGuy Rhinox]] often has to improvise with whatever spare parts are available to build new useful tech. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in "Chain of Command": |
| 395 | -->''"Make a device to extract physical molecular structure from an alien probe? Man, I gotta be a miracle worker."'' [[note]]And it works, too![[/note]] |
| 396 | * Grampy from the old ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'' cartoons usually does this. A prominent example comes from the 1936 ''WesternAnimation/ColorClassics'' short "Christmas Comes But Once a Year", wherein Grampy [=MacGuyvers=] together several Christmas toys for a group of downtrodden orphans, using nothing more than common household items. |
| 397 | * ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'': [[GadgeteerGenius Gadget]] [[WrenchWench Hackwrench]] has this as her hat. Thanks to CartoonPhysics -- not to mention a healthy dose of RuleOfFunny -- she can build practically ''anything'' using what's lying around, including a ''fully functional rocket ship out of a garbage can''. |
| 398 | * In ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', the KND's self-parodying BambooTechnology equipment mostly consists of random objects, pieces of wood, and duct tape, fondly referred to as '2x4 Technology'. It's played completely straight (and exaggerated) in "[[Recap/CodenameKidsNextDoorS5E1OperationELECTIONS Operation: E.L.E.C.T.I.O.N.S.]]"; a kid escapes from a cell by slugging Lunk (who's guarding him), stealing Lunk's bubble gum and turning the gum into a makeshift skeleton key (which, likely [[RuleOfFunny for the sake of humor]], is given the 2x4 designation [[FunWithAcronyms G.U.M.M.B.O.]] right on the spot, standing for Gooey Unlocking Mush Maximizes Break Outs). |
| 399 | * {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'' when Dave makes a megaphone out of "a squirrel, a string, and a megaphone." It's simply a squirrel tied to a megaphone. |
| 400 | -->''"You might be wondering why I tied a squirrel to a megaphone. ''[beat]'' Well, goodnight."'' |
| 401 | * Jenny 10 from ''WesternAnimation/DexHamiltonAlienEntomologist'': "Last week I made a hadron collider from a broken hairdryer and a box of paperclips..." |
| 402 | * This is a speciality of Ramon Ridley on ''WesternAnimation/{{Dogstar}}''. Amongst other things, he once constructed a functioning radio telescope out of an old satellite and a toaster. |
| 403 | * {{Parodied|Trope}} in the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS1E7BrianPortraitOfADog Brian: Portrait of a Dog]]". Peter writes a letter: "Dear [=MacGyver=], Enclosed is a rubber band, a paper clip, and a drinking straw. Please save my dog." [=MacGyver=] proceeds to fumble around with the rubber band and the paper clip and accidentally shoot himself in the eye. |
| 404 | * {{Subverted|Trope}} in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS4E11WhereNoFanHasGoneBefore Where No Fan Has Gone Before]]". Fry tries to make a bowstring out of caterpillars, but the first time he uses it the string breaks and leaves him with caterpillars all over his face and clothing. |
| 405 | * in ''WesternAnimation/GabbysDollhouse'' Baby Box is known for using craft material to make stuff that will solve whatever problem Gabby and Pandy has. |
| 406 | * Played with in ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeRenegades''. Being fugitives on the run, it's a given. Duke manages to defuse a bomb with a wad of chewing gum, but Roadblock's attempts to jury-rig an engine-cable for the truck don't go as smoothly. |
| 407 | * ''WesternAnimation/InsideJob2021'''s Reagan can put together bombs from Amazon Alexas, drones from Simon Sez's and a fully functioning laser weapon using only a gun's laser sight and her phone's circuit board (though why she doesn't just use the gun is unclear). Ironically, [[PopCulturalOsmosisFailure she has no idea who MacGyver is]]. |
| 408 | * This is the bread and butter of the titular superheroine in ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', because her Lucky Charm superpower ''requires it'' in order to be of any use. The Charm is always a random piece of junk, and Ladybug has to figure out exactly how she's supposed to use it to defeat the MonsterOfTheWeek. Fortunately, [[AwesomenessByAnalysis she's quite good at it]], and the nature of the Lucky Charm means the answer is guaranteed to work. |
| 409 | * ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'': |
| 410 | ** In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'' serial "The Return of Tambelon", the ponies are able to break out of Grogan's dungeon by using their gruel ration and Fizzy's bubble-making magic to turn a crack in the ceiling into a gaping hole that they can escape through. |
| 411 | ** In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', we're introduced to Party Favor, a stallion who can make anything out of balloons, whether it be binoculars or a bridge. |
| 412 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': [[GadgeteerGenius Mr. Cat]] once builds a cloning machine using a cardboard box, a wooden board, some wires and a pair of toilet plungers. |
| 413 | * ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': "Anyone could've made a high-powered signalling out of things found in the airport gift shop." Well, anyone's who's Kim. |
| 414 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Kipper}}'': Subverted in "The Flying Machine". Kipper and Tiger make a flying machine out of a tricycle, balloons, and winglets. It doesn't work. |
| 415 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': |
| 416 | ** In the Season 3 episode "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS3E10LongLiveTheQueen Long Live the Queen]]", Asami builds a working Sand-sailer out of the wrecked remains of an airship so she, Korra, and a group of Earth Kingdom soldiers can escape the desert (and the giant [[SandWorm sand shark]] intent on eating them). |
| 417 | ** In Season 4, Varrick makes an EMP generator out of a radio, a table leg, and a regular generator. It's strong enough to knock out at least three Earth Empire mech suits. |
| 418 | * ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'': In "Heat Wave," Tooey and Mr. Rowley manage to make a solar-powered fan out of the likes of bottle caps and a ballpoint pen. |
| 419 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' |
| 420 | ** In one gag, Homer makes a powerful bomb out of a can of soda pop and a packet of pop rocks, based on the {{urban legend|s}} about their volatility when mixed. |
| 421 | ** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E21BlackWidower Black Widower]]", Patty, Selma and Sideshow Bob watch an episode of ''[=MacGyver=]'', which concludes with this exchange: |
| 422 | --->''"Thank you, Senor [=MacGyver=], for saving our village."\ |
| 423 | "Don't thank me. Thank the moon's gravitational pull."'' |
| 424 | ** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E17KissKissBangBangalore Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore]]", guest-starring Creator/RichardDeanAnderson, he starts [[ActorAllusion doing this in]] [[ThisIsReality real life]] after Patty and Selma kidnap him from a ''Series/StargateSG1'' convention (he gets so much of a kick after escaping them [=MacGyver=]-style, he actually keeps coming back for more), such as making "[=MacGyver=]-burgers" out of Slim Jims and rubber bands. Also contains this quote: |
| 425 | --->'''Richard Dean Anderson:''' I've come up with another escape. I want you to tie me up and lock me in the trunk of your car, under the pier at low tide. All I need are these everyday objects — a toothpick, some liquor, a gun with no bullets, bullets, and three of my ''[=MacGyver=]'' writers. |
| 426 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS2E04MugatoGumato Mugato, Gumato]]", Boimler and Rutherford rig a bunch of jungle debris and spare equipment into a holoprojector so that they can do a presentation for the Ferengi on the cost-benefit ratio of mugato poaching versus a theme park-style nature preserve. |
| 427 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'': In "James and the Coaches" ("James and the Bootlace" in [[Literature/TheRailwaySeries the original book]]), James' rough riding causes the brake pipe on one of his coaches to rupture, bringing the train to a standstill. The crew covers the hole with newspaper and pressures a reluctant passenger to hand over his leather bootlaces to seal it up. It works. |
| 428 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'': PlayedForLaughs in the episode "Webworld". During a therapeutic building exercise, the AxCrazy Galvatron manages to construct a fully functional laser gun out of the ordinary materials he's given. |
| 429 | * ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'': In "Joyride", Sam uses his chewing gum to fix the controls to the X-Jet which they flew unauthorized after they're fried accidentally by Jubilee being startled by Kitty and Lance. |
| 430 | [[/folder]] |
| 431 | |
| 432 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 433 | * Brazil and Portugal are two nations whose whole philosophy is based on improvisation, and this is taught in schools. Portugal even [[http://www.cracked.com/article_17251_p2.html have a word for it]]: ''desenrascanço''. |
| 434 | ** In Brazil, the word is ''gambiarra''. And besides that, the improv way of life is usually called "Jeitinho Brasileiro", or "Brazilian (Little) Way", which is not limited to [=MacGyvering=], but also any sort of problem-solving in non-conventional ways, including amoral ones. |
| 435 | * In French, [=MacGyverish=] translates to ''[[http://www.ginandtacos.com/?p=1069 débrouillard]]''. [[http://www.lesdebrouillards.qc.ca/ And we've got a magazine teaching the virtues of ''la débrouillardise'' to little Quebecers everywhere.]] |
| 436 | ** European French call that ''système D''. A convenient way to do things without any annoying organisation. |
| 437 | *** In French ''[=MacGyver=]'' is also a short-hand for [[PersonAsVerb someone who's very débrouillard indeed]]. |
| 438 | * In a similar vein, the Egyptians have a [[NationalStereotypes stereotype]] about themselves that they can always find a way to make what they need; unconventional solutions will often be complimented as "very Egyptian." A somewhat famous example is the time a European and American documentary team was trying to figure out some element of how the Pyramids had been built with the technology of the day; they submitted the question to some modern Egyptian laborers, and within a few hours they had rigged a system of levers and ropes that would both have been possible 4000 years ago and done the job. As it turns out, this might be true of Arabs in general, judging by the jury-rigged weapons systems of Hamas and Hezbollah in the UsefulNotes/ArabIsraeliConflict, and of the Libyan rebels in [[UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring their Civil War]]. |
| 439 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bricolage Bricolage]] is a French loanword for improvisation and one of its definitions is "something constructed or created from a diverse range of available things". |
| 440 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad Jugaad]] (a word taken from Hindi which captures the meaning of finding a low-cost solution to any problem in an intelligent way) is a new way to think constructively and differently about innovation and strategy. It is extensively used in India, and is accepted as a frugal management technique. Companies in India have adopted Jugaad as a practise to reduce research and development costs. |
| 441 | * Website/{{Cracked}} has covered this in a few lists: |
| 442 | ** [[http://www.cracked.com/article_16151_5-most-amazing-real-life-macgyver-moments.html 5 Most Amazing Real Life MacGuyver Moments]] |
| 443 | ** [[http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/9-regular-objects-turned-into-insane-prison-weapons/ 9 Regular Objects Turned into Insane Prison Weapons]] |
| 444 | ** [[http://www.cracked.com/pictofacts-1324-16-thrown-together-solutions-thatd-make-macgyver-proud/ 16 Thrown-Together Solutions That'd Make [=MacGyver=] Proud]] |
| 445 | * The website [[http://www.thereifixedit.com There, I Fixed It]] archives photos of some of the more amusing attempts at this. Some of them apparently do the job; they just ''look'' humorously thrown-together. |
| 446 | * One of the most useful devices in amateur telecommunications is pretty much only available in [=MacGyver=] form. The ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantenna Cantenna]]'' is a directional (meaning it has to be aimed) antenna made out of an ordinary metal can (anything from a soup can all the way up to a metal trash can will work) and some wire. Splice it into a normal antenna and you can pick up wifi from hundreds of yards away. One episode of ''The Screen Savers'' covers making a Pringles can directional antenna, and it was even taken mainstream with ''Film/WarGames: The Dead Code''. Building one can also be said to be one part of the rite of passage to becoming a real geek, particularly if you live in a dorm and need Wi-Fi from the nearby fast food joint or coffee haunt because campus Wi-Fi blocks out the services you want to use. |
| 447 | ** An alternative to the cantenna is the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WokFi WokFi]]'', built from an old cooking wok, camera tripod (or chopsticks), and again some wire. |
| 448 | ** [=MacGyvering=] is a popular pastime in the Amateur Radio community. In the US at least, federal regulations give licensed amateurs quite a bit of leeway in building and modifying their own equipment. Plenty of people have fun figuring out what random objects they can modify into communications equipment, to include one fellow who used the HVAC ducts in his house as a radio antenna. |
| 449 | * On ''Series/TheDailyShow'', Jon Stewart makes reference directly to [=MacGyvering=] when [[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-7-2009/william-kamkwamba interviewing]] William Kamkwamba, a young man from Malawi who created a functioning windmill for his village during a famine, using only, according to Website/ThatOtherWiki, "[[BambooTechnology blue gum trees,]] bicycle parts, and materials collected in a local scrapyard." |
| 450 | * During the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar, the South was strapped for cash and couldn't stand a protracted NavalBlockade, especially with the North's greater resources for building ironclads. Considering that the South's main resource was cotton, they strapped bales onto the decks of merchant ships and used them to absorb enemy fire. Thus, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton-clad Cotton-clad]] was born. |
| 451 | * Americans are known for coming up with crazy ideas that just happen to work like using human hair to soak up oil. At the Battle of Midway, the carrier ''Yorktown'' had been redeployed after improvised repairs were rushed after taking heavy damage at the Coral Sea. The ''Yorktown'' was bombed by Zeroes, but the Damage Control units not only kept her afloat, but got her back up to speed, to the point that when the Japanese bombed her again, they thought they had sunk two carriers (which would have been a far more crippling blow to the U.S., as the only other active Pacific carriers at the time were ''Hornet'' and ''Enterprise''), rather than hitting the ''Yorktown'' twice. She did sink, but not before turning the tide of the battle by means of improvised repairs and sheer endurance. |
| 452 | ** In [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror the Iraq War,]] American soldiers, lacking suitable armor for their Humvees and trucks, created what came to be called "hillbilly armor" made from scrap metal, kevlar, bulletproof glass and even plywood. [[http://www.lostiniraq.com/images/hillbilly-armor-315_640x480.jpg The result]] looks like something out of ''Film/MadMax''. |
| 453 | ** Another example from Iraq: [[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-serious-use-for-silly-string/ Using Silly String to check doors for tripwires.]] As the article mentions, this kind of improvisational thinking is taught and encouraged in the US Army. |
| 454 | * In the wake of the major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, basically everyone and their uncle came up with an idea to either A) get the oil from the water, B) fix the gushing oil pipe or C) clean the oil off the poor, helpless animals. Almost all these ideas (well, maybe not the "stop the gushing pipe" one) usually involved simple materials that could be found in either the average home, the average high school, or the average supermarket. And most of them either ''worked'' or ''would have worked'', although not on a Gulf-wide scale. |
| 455 | * The phrases "Yankee ingenuity" and "Kiwi ingenuity" refer to the tendencies of early colonists in, respectively, [[HollywoodNewEngland New England]] and UsefulNotes/NewZealand to make do with whatever was available in order to perform the task at hand, such as using a pole saw to cut brush in the absence of a machete. |
| 456 | * Nuclear physicist Ted Taylor, while waiting out a delay during a nuclear weapons test, found a parabolic mirror. He placed this outside the observation bunker and used wire to fix a Pall Mall at the mirror's focal point. When the bomb went off, the mirror focused the heat flash on the cigarette, and Ted Taylor became the first person to [[MundaneMadeAwesome light a cigarette with an atomic bomb.]] |
| 457 | * The British Home Guard was left to fall back upon its own resources in the early days, as priority had to be given to re-equipping the regular Army. Their most deadly anti-tank weapon was a sort of self-igniting MolotovCocktail, so one especially enterprising Home Guard officer designed and built a mortar from a length of old drainpipe and some black powder to launch one of these further than it could be thrown. |
| 458 | * Averted probably more times than not in Real Life. Many an ER attending and trauma surgeon has put away some retirement money from homemade [=MacGyver=] devices. The tragedy is that most lay people can scrounge together just enough information, skill, and resources to build something that gets themselves really, really hurt. What professionals have is not only the ability to build devices, but do so safely with a low margin of error. As Adam and Jamie would say, don't try this at home. They're what you call professionals. |
| 459 | * The Series/MythBusters showed a prison museum exhibit of weapons ''made'' in prison, including a gun made from the sink pipes. The same episode proved that, with enough time and the proper technique, a prisoner could build a functional, ''lethal'' crossbow out of newspaper, underwear elastic, and plastic forks and spoons. |
| 460 | ** [=MythBusters=] testing has also showed that while [=MacGyver=]'s improvised explosives like the sodium gel capsule are all chemically plausible, they aren't sufficiently powerful to do any real damage. This was likely intentional on the part of [=MacGyver=]'s producers. |
| 461 | * On the Apollo 13 mission, an oxygen tank explosion left the command module uninhabitable. Using the lunar module as a lifeboat had been discussed earlier, and the crew evacuated into the LM for the rest of the trip to the Moon and back to Earth. Among the problems they had to solve was that the carbon dioxide scrubbers were being used up too quickly, being designed for the requirements of two astronauts for 1½ days, not three for four days. There were spare canisters in the command module, but those were cube-shaped and large, not cylindrical and small as in the lunar module[[note]]The phrase "square peg in a round hole", while certainly ''apt'' to this situation, doesn't ''come'' from this situation. It originated in the early 19th century[[/note]]. Ground Control put together a team with the objective to find a way to use items available on the spaceship (and ''only'' those items) to build something to make the CM canisters usable. Using things like plastic Moon rock bags, cardboard from log book covers, space suit hoses, and ''[[DuctTapeForEverything duct tape]]''[[note]]available on every American spaceship since the Gemini Program[[/note]], they [=MacGyvered=] a working adapter. |
| 462 | * Self-injurers will often use whatever they can find to harm, if their regular razors or knives are missing. |
| 463 | * In the hands of orthopedic surgeon Angus Wallace, a coathanger, knife and fork became surgical tools and [[HealItWithBooze five-star brandy became disinfectant]] when the airplane's first-aid kit proved inadequate to treat a woman for tension pneumothorax. Using duct tape or plastic bags to temporarily seal a sucking chest wound is actually a fairly standard Macguyvering technique for administering first-aid to a sucking chest wound in the absence of proper materials. Likewise, using the outer casing of a pen as tubing for an improvised tracheotomy. Many first-aid training courses emphasize the usefulness of improvised solutions, provided you know what you're trying to accomplish. This might include things like using the victim's clothing to improvize pressure bandages, slings, or even litters. For the aforementioned sucking chest wound, soldiers are sometimes advised to consider using the plastic packaging that many components of their first aid kits are packaged in. |
| 464 | * Before 1969, there was no network link between the television stations in the North and South Islands UsefulNotes/{{New Zealand}}, which in times of crisis led to some Macguyvering to ensure the entire country could see the footage promptly. |
| 465 | ** When the ferry ''Wahine'' foundered in Wellington Harbour on April 10, 1968, the extra-tropical cyclone responsible for the ferry's demise prevented aircraft flying the footage to the South Island. Instead, a camera crew drove north to Kaikoura, within range of Wellington's transmitter, and filmed a television set broadcasting the North Island news. They then rushed the footage to Christchurch and played it over the South Island network. |
| 466 | ** The inter-island network was supposed to be completed in time for the Apollo 11 Moon landing in July 1969, but it got delayed. As a stop-gap, outside broadcast vans were strategically placed to relay the signal between the islands to ensure everyone got to see the event at the same time. And getting the footage across New Zealand was the easy part - getting it ''into'' the country was another story. With no international satellite link, the NZBC contacted the Royal New Zealand Air Force, who sent a crew in a English Electric Canberra to Sydney to pick up the film of the moon landing from the Creator/AustralianBroadcastingCorporation and then fly it from Canberra to Wellington. |
| 467 | * According to Website/TheOtherWiki, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Logie_Baird John Logie Baird]] built the first mechanical television using items including "...an old hatbox and a pair of scissors, some darning needles, a few bicycle light lenses, a used tea chest, and sealing wax and glue that he purchased." |
| 468 | * [[http://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/how-tootsie-rolls-saved-the-troops The US Army]] had to do this. During the Korean War in 1950, US troops were stuck at the Chosin Reservoir. The fuel lines of their tanks were cracked from the harsh winter cold. They were running low on ammo and called in for an ammo drop using the code name "Tootsie rolls". Because of some error, they were dropped boxes of real Tootsie rolls. While confused, they quickly realized if they chewed one Tootsie roll enough to thaw it, the roll could be made into a putty and they used them to cover the cracked fuel lines. When they refroze, they could safely drive the tanks out of there and were saved. |
| 469 | * After being stranded in the desert when his Citroen broke down, French electrician Emile Leray spent twelve no doubt grueling days taking apart the now-useless vehicle and rebuilding it into a [[http://gizmodo.com/5912640/real-life-tony-stark-turns-his-broken-down-car-into-a-motorcycle-to-escape-the-desert fully functional desertpunk-style motorcycle]] that would've brought a tear to the eye of any ''Film/MadMax'' fan. |
| 470 | * {{Ninja}}, hands down. Since most operated out of rural farming villages, majority of the time, these saboteurs and spies lacked "actual" weaponry or even the materials to make them. Many of these were mere farming implements like the ''kama'' and ''kunai'', being simple harvesting scythes and trowels. Coins could be carved into shuriken, spiky water chestnuts could be dried into {{Caltrops}}, tear gas bombs could be made from hollowed-out eggshells filled with a mix of eye irritants, the list goes on on how many of the ninja's arsenal were improvised from otherwise innocuous and commonly found objects. |
| 471 | * In UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy used the same aircraft, the Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber. A large biplane with open cockpits, it was noted in service that a particular manoevre caused the fuel tank to leak into the observer/gunner's cockpit via an open valve designed to keep air pressure constant in the fuel system. Having aviation fuel slopping around the air gunner's feet was held to be a design flaw. While the RAF grounded its fleet of Swordfish for an expensive mod, the Royal Navy's fix, a wine cork on a string, solved the leak problem and took five minutes to install. |
| 472 | * During World War II, in the Pacific Theater, the personnel stationed on small islands usually had plenty of bottles of Coca-Cola, thanks to a ''very'' aggressive program by Coca-Cola to make certain they did. However, they often lacked refrigeration, and a warm bottle of Coke just isn't very appealing. The solution? Get a bunch of ice cube trays and buckets, fill them with water, stick them in the bomb bay of a bomber, and have the pilot go up to around 30,000 feet for an hour. Plenty of ice for everyone when the plane returned. |
| 473 | * [[WordOfGod According to Masahiro Sakurai]], ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'' was programmed using a jury-rigged setup that made use of a Twin Famicom console (a Famicom variant manufactured by Sharp that combined a Famicom and a Famicom Disk System into one singular unit) and a trackball controller, with the trackball used to input values with an on-screen keyboard. |
| 474 | [[/folder]] |
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