Line #57 Main/MundaneWish


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9	[[quoteright:200:[[Webcomic/{{xkcd}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mundane_wish_9.jpg]]]]
10	[[caption-width-right:200:[[AltText Reportedly, double-walled inflatable balls like this exist somewhere. Now to find that place.]]]]
11
12	->'''Calvin:''' A sandwich?!? What kind of stupid wish is ''that?!'' Talk about a failure of imagination! ''I'd'' ask for a trillion billion dollars, my own space shuttle, and a private continent!\
13	''[cut to kitchen]''\
14	'''Hobbes:''' ''[eating a sandwich]'' I got ''my'' wish.
15	-->-- ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''
16
17	With a puff of smoke, Alice the Genie appears! Solemnly, she tells Bob that because of his tireless efforts in browsing TV Tropes for nineteen hours straight, she will [[MakeAWish grant him one wish]] -- ''anything at all.''
18
19	Bob, after a moment's thought, wishes for a bag of potato chips.
20
21	Mundane Wish is the trope when a character, given the opportunity to choose any reward without restraint, intentionally picks something simple and commonplace. While this may be done simply for comedy, it is often used to establish the practical or humble nature of the wisher -- such as if Bob simply doesn't ''want'' or ''need'' anything grand, or doesn't even think to ask for such. Alternately, Bob may wish for something simple in order to counteract [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the backfire potential]] of a [[LiteralGenie literal]] or JerkassGenie, or maybe just to test the genie's power. In non-magical settings, it may show [[TheCynic cynicism]] about whether grander wishes are likely to be granted.
22
23	Typically appears in stories featuring magic ([[ClarkesThirdLaw or a similar substitute]]), but can also appear in non-magical situations, like an Emperor offering an open-ended reward to a hero or a conversation between friends.
24
25	This trope is closely related to WastefulWishing, but differs in intent -- WastefulWishing is when a request is mundane because the wisher was being frivolous or made a mistake. A Mundane Wish, in contrast, is ''intentionally'' chosen because that's all the wisher wants.
26
27	Related to BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and SoldHisSoulForADonut. Subtrope of ThreeWishes, evoking the first law. See MundaneUtility and MisappliedPhlebotinum. Someone who wants a mundane prize but isn't simply being offered it has a HumbleGoal. A wish of this type may be created by an IndubitablyUninterestingIndividual. Compare and contrast LudicrousGiftRequest.
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29	----
30	!Examples:
31
32	[[foldercontrol]]
33
34	[[folder:Advertising]]
35	* The Tim Tam genie ads were based on this premise: people would wish for a packet of Tim Tams that never ran out.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
39	* ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'': When the goddess Belldandy shows up in UnluckyEverydude Keiichi's room to grant him a wish and emphasizes that he can wish for ''anything'' including unlimited wealth and total world destruction, Keiichi merely wishes [[MagicalGirlfriend for a beautiful woman like her to stay with him forever]]. Granted, he made such a mundane wish largely because he thought she was just pranking him, but he repeatedly makes it clear throughout the series that he doesn't regret his wish at all and wouldn't wish for something else if given the chance to take it back.
40	* ''Anime/CarnivalPhantasm'' (a parody of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''):
41	** When Shirou and Saber win the Holy Grail Grand Prix and are offered a wish from the Holy Grail, all they ask for is [[spoiler:the money they spent on the race (their vehicle was coin-operated) to be returned to them.]]
42	** In another episode, an oblivious Berserker destroys every other Servant while shopping for batteries and receives the Grail in the form of a water heater, which he presents to Ilya. [[spoiler:However, since Berserker didn't get the right brand, the Grail interprets Ilya's demand for the batteries as her wish. Neko-Arc then gives her a single battery and disappears with the Grail. To add insult to injury, it wasn't the right brand either.]]
43	* ''Manga/DragonBall'':
44	** Emperor Pilaf has finally gathered the seven Dragon Balls, and is so overcome as he begins to make his wish to the dragon for the title of ruler of the world, but he stammers a bit. Oolong the anthropomorphic pig takes the opportunity to leap between Pilaf and the dragon and wish for women's panties (the world's most comfortable pair of underwear in the broadcast version of the dub). It would have been WastefulWishing except that the wish saved the world (Oolong finished his sentence first, so that's the wish Shenron granted) and [[LovableSexManiac Oolong was very happy with what he got]].
45	** Commander Red is eventually revealed to want the Dragon Balls to wish [[TheNapoleon to be taller]], as he believes his height makes it impossible for him to earn the respect of his men (not realizing that he already does). Upon hearing this, Staff Officer Black, [[EvenEvilHasStandards enraged that he wasted so many resources on such a petty wish]] (not to mention many lives that were lost stubbornly underestimating Goku on the grounds that he's "just a kid"), shoots him dead.
46	** Again spoofed near the end of the battle with Buu. Vegeta has a plan to defeat Buu, but it requires two wishes from the Namekian Dragon to work. Once those wishes are granted, Dende asks Vegeta what his third wish is, and Vegeta responds "A new pair of boots. Size 10." Dende realizes he's joking, which is good, since they do come up with a use for that third wish later.
47	** Discussed with Yamcha twice. At the start of the series, he expresses an interest in using the Dragon Balls to wish away his fear of women. Puar calls this out as a waste, but Yamcha defends his reasoning that everything else he wants he can obtain by his own effort, but overcoming this phobia is beyond him. Later, when the heroes have a spare wish to burn at the end of the Cell Saga, Yamcha asks if no one else can come up with a better idea if he could wish for a diamond necklace his girlfriend has been asking for. When Krillin uses the wish to remove the bombs from Androids 17 and 18 (itself probably an example, as Bulma removed Android 16's bomb and likely could have done the same for the others) he apologizes to Yamcha for taking the wish. Yamcha laughs it off, saying he was kidding and of course, they aren't going to use Shenron's power for something so trivial.
48	** Subverted in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. After winning the Universe 6 & 7 tournament, Beerus uses the Super Dragon Balls (powered by the God of Dragons and capable of granting '''any''' wish with no restrictions), to make a wish. Bulma asks what he wished for, and Berus replies that he asked for a comfier bed. Bulma calls him out on wasting the wish, but it's revealed what Beerus actually wished for: [[spoiler:Universe 6's Earth, rendered desolate a long time ago by its human inhabitants, being restored and brought up to a state of development and culture on par with Universe 7's Earth, largely so that its cuisine would be available to the God of Destruction in Universe 6, his brother Champa. He claims he only did it so he could hold the favor over Champa's head.]]
49	** Android 17's wish were he to win the Tournament of Power, provided by the almighty Super Dragon Balls? He wants a boat he can use to take his family on vacation (he thinks it would be funny to use something that powerful for a wish that mundane). [[spoiler:When,17 actually does win as the last man standing, to everyone's surprise, he instead uses his wish to restore all the erased universes (an outcome that Grand Zeno actually foresaw and planned for). He still gets his boat though, implied to have been via Bulma and her insane wealth... only for her to do him one better and gets him a full-blown cruise liner!]]
50	** ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' has a pair of equally petty wishes: Bulma has been gathering the Dragon Balls for a wish to be five years younger. Why only five? Because she doesn't want the change to be too obvious. Meanwhile, Frieza wants the Dragon Balls [[TheNapoleon to be five centimeters taller]]. Because he wants to be taller but not make it too obvious.
51	** By the time of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperSuperHero'', this trope is being invoked deliberately. After Frieza stole the Dragon Balls from Bulma's safe in ''Broly'', Capsule Corp. opted to "enhance" their security by instead gathering the Balls and immediately blowing the wishes on whatever comes to mind, hence disabling and scattering them for a year each time. And as in ''Broly'', a lot of said wishes involve Bulma asking for minor cosmetic upgrades.
52	* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''Anime/MetalFightBeyblade'': When the WBBA held a tournament promising to grant any wish to whoever won, Ginkga commented he intended to wish for [[TrademarkFavoriteFood a hamburger]].
53	* ''Manga/FrierenBeyondJourneysEnd'': One of the rewards for successfully becoming a first class mage is "the privilege", the opportunity to ask Serie, [[TheArchmage a millennia-old elf and the most powerful magic user alive by a considerable margin]], to teach them ''any'' spell she knows. As one of her nicknames is "The Living Grimmoire", there are a multitude of extremely powerful spells to choose from. When [[spoiler: Fern, Frieren's apprentice]] successfully passes the exam to become a first class mage, she requests to learn... a spell for doing the laundry. Serie is less than impressed by this request, though Frieren approves of it, in part ''because'' it annoys Serie.
54	* ''Manga/NagasareteAirantou'': In the anime version of a story the characters find a genie that will grant 7 wishes. The wishes end up being: mame daifuku, "give me a second to think about it", "the previous wish didn't count", some candy, catch Chikage, release me, a cup of tea. Also, the purpose of finding the genie was to reverse the spell Chikage put on the whole island.
55	* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'':
56	** Since Madoka can't think of anything to wish for but wants to help Mami as a MagicalGirlWarrior, they decide to ask Kyubey for a cake feast. The idea was that they would have a party to celebrate their partnership and Kyubey would provide the food for it.
57	** It turns out that [[spoiler:in the first timeline, Madoka]]'s wish was to save a random kitty that got run over.
58	** In contrast to most of the series' Magical Girls, most of the Pleiades Saints in ''Manga/PuellaMagiKazumiMagica'' deliberately chose wishes that would act as stepping stones for what they wanted to achieve instead of wishing for them outright to lessen the EquivalentExchange penalty the bigger wishes often result in.
59	** Side material indicates that another magical girl ''did'' wish for a cake... a cheesecake to share with her dying mother in the hospital. Aww. While many fans assumed that that magical girl [[spoiler:[[DespairEventHorizon became the witch Charlotte]] upon realizing she could have wished to ''save her mother'' instead]], ''VideoGame/MagiaRecordPuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSideStory'' reveals that [[spoiler:Nagisa knew full well she could have saved her mother but wished for the cheesecake to spite her out of retaliation for being abused]].
60	* In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', Kunō gets three wishes from the Wishbringer during the Wishing Sword arc. He finds this a problem since he's already "Gorgeous, brilliant, rich and has a great personality." However, he also recognizes that he now has the power to conquer the world. His three wishes turns out to be: Beating Ranma in a fight once, a date with the pigtailed girl, a small statue to celebrate said date. Other candidates for his wishes include: a date with Akane (while he's about to start his date with Ranma), catching Ranma during a playful game of chase, create a café, bigger boobs for Ranma, find Ranma (not recognizing male Ranma as the pigtailed girl).
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Comic Books]]
64	* One of the ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' shorts had a gag where Archie wishes he had a million dollars and Reggie wishes he had a ''billion'' dollars. Jughead meanwhile spots an ad for 50 cent hamburgers and wishes for a couple quarters.
65	* [[DealWithTheDevil When various villains from DC were offered anything for their souls by the demon Neron]], ComicBook/TheJoker wished for a box of Cuban cigars. It's up for debate as to whether this was wasted or not, as there is no doubt that Joker was going to Hell anyway, and he makes it clear they were good Cubans.
66	* ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'': A disguised Ellie summons the demon Buer, offering him the chance to take Constantine's soul. Buer is delighted, but points out that per the rules, he ''has'' to give something. Ellie acquiesces, then tells him to make a cheese sandwich, pointing him towards the kitchen.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
70	* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'':
71	** In a Sunday strip, Calvin asks Hobbes what he'd wish for; Hobbes says he wants a sandwich. Calvin doesn't understand why and wishes for enormous wealth. Hobbes gets his wish, and Calvin obviously does not. Another strip has Calvin ask a similar question, to which Hobbes replies that he'd wish for "a big sunny field to lie in." Calvin is aghast at how mundane this is, but then observes Hobbes sleeping in the grass. "Actually, it's hard to argue with someone who looks so happy."
72	** In one comic, Calvin is writing up his massive Christmas wish list to Santa, and he asks Hobbes what he wants Santa to give him for Christmas. Hobbes can't think of anything he wants, because, as he says, "I've got a good home and a best friend. What more could a tiger want?" Calvin only pities his lack of imagination.
73	* A ''Frumpy the Clown'' comic had the eponymous sarcastic clown and a kid encounter a wizard who claimed he could give them whatever would "make [their lives] complete." Frumpy immediately wishes for the first Music/{{ABBA}} album on vinyl and a watermelon. While the kid complains that he could have wished bigger, Frumpy quips that he doesn't trust little men with wands.
74	* ''ComicStrip/PhoebeAndHerUnicorn'' begins with a 9-year-old girl's wish that the unicorn she just freed would be her best friend. (It's a Mundane Wish compared to her first suggestions of "infinity wishes" or "infinity dollars.")
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
78	* There's an old Arab tale about a man who got a wish from a genie in a bottle. He only asks that his net never come up empty of fish. He gets his wish and does well for the rest of his life.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Fan Works]]
82	* Some of reasons members of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''[='s=] Cult of the Damned have for joining in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6423427/1/ Frostblood]]'' are rather mundane over all. One wanted to be a mage but wasn't talented enough for Dalaran or rich enough to afford an apprenticeship. Another wanted to see everything the world had to offer and decided living forever was the best way to achieve that.
83	* After learning [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Xander]] is a half-genie in ''[[https://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-31047-4/Sithicus+Situational+Eros.htm Situational Eros,]]'' Faith wishes for a never-ending pack of cigarettes. His mother notes it's a good wish as Xander doesn't fully know how to use his powers so a simple wish like that would be hard for him to mess up.
84	* ''Fanfic/ZeroNoTsukaimaSaitoTheOnmyoji'': Saito asks Princess Henrietta for a house after he [[IOweYouMyLife saves her life]]. Normally such a thing wouldn't be that mundane but it's established as just about the only thing he can't ask for a noble title due to not risking his life while saving hers.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
88	* During the climax of ''WesternAnimation/WishDragon'', the Big Bad's goons make such wishes with the titular dragon; Tall Goon wishes for enough puppies to open a pet store, and Short Goon wishes for longer legs. At the end, they're shown to be perfectly happy with the results.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
92	* ''In the Beginning'', the Prequel Film of ''Series/BabylonFive'', we get an exchange where Londo offers a young Centauri noble any one wish, topping it off with the ArcWords "What do you want?" The boy answers "Tell me a story!" Londo, obliging, wryly notes that the boy [[CallBack did far better on that]] [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor question than he did]].
93	* ''Film/BattleBeyondTheStars'': Gelt is a ProfessionalKiller who used to charge a high price for his work, but now he's living in the ruins of a GhostPlanet ReducedToRatburgers because there's nowhere he can safely spend his wealth, having made so many enemies. He agrees to help Shad just to have a square meal and a place to hide. After Gelt gets killed in battle, Shad orders him buried with a full course meal, to keep his side of the bargain.
94	* In the 2000 remake of ''Film/{{Bedazzled\|2000}}'', when the [[HotAsHell Devil]] tells Elliot to make a wish so [[GodTest she can prove that she's genuine,]] he asks for a Big Mac and a large Coke. They ride the bus to UsefulNotes/McDonalds and buy one (with his money).
95	-->"There's no such thing as a free lunch."
96	* In the 1967 original ''Film/{{Bedazzled\|1967}}'', it's a Frobisher & Gleason raspberry-flavored ice lolly, gotten the same way. [[spoiler:Later, when Stanley is in a fix and can't wish his way out, the Devil points out that the ice lolly counted as one of the seven wishes he's now used up. To rub it in, he pays Stanley back the sixpence, telling him "Now we're even!"]]
97	* A very un-politically correct joke Rocco tells in ''Film/TheBoondockSaints'' has three men (one each Black, Hispanic, and White) each granted one wish; the black man and the hispanic man each wish for their fellow blacks and hispanics to be back in their home countries and not in America, and when the white guy realizes that this means there are no more blacks or hispanics in America, he happily just asks for a coke.
98	* In the 1937 adaptation of ''Literature/ThePrinceAndThePauper'', Creator/ErrolFlynn's character refuses to believe that the StreetUrchin he's helping is really the heir to the throne. When the prince insists that no-one is allowed to sit in his presence, but allows the granting of a royal favour in thanks for his help, he says, "I wish to sit in the presence of the king!" which allows him to get on with eating his meal. This becomes a BrickJoke at the end of the movie when he enters the throne room and sees the PrinceAndPauper, but can't tell if their plan has worked and the real prince is restored. He finds out just by grabbing a chair and sitting down on it. As outraged courtiers go to throw him out the prince stops them, saying this man has permission to sit in his presence.
99	* A non-magical version appears in ''Film/{{Sneakers}}''. The team has been confronted by a group of armed NSA agents who want the Box, and is making demands in exchange for turning it over. Carl's demand is the phone number of one of the women holding a gun on him. He gets it because she's flattered that he could have anything and just wants her number, so she gives it to him herself.
100	-->'''Carl:''' The [[AmazonChaser young lady with the Uzi]], is she single?\
101	'''Bishop:''' Carl... Excuse us. ''[takes him aside]'' This is the brass ring. You gotta think bigger thoughts.\
102	'''Carl:''' I just want her telephone number.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Jokes]]
106	* The joke where three soldiers in Afghanistan[[note]]Older versions of the joke involved three different races, but it can more or less include any three different kinds of people[[/note]] find a magic lamp and are each offered a single wish from the genie:
107	-->'''American Soldier:''' I wish me and all my American comrades were back home.\
108	''[the American vanishes]''\
109	'''Canadian Soldier:''' That's a good idea. I wish me and all my Canadian comrades were back home.\
110	''[the Canadian vanishes]''\
111	'''Afghani Soldier:''' So all the Americans ''and'' all the Canadians are gone? I'll have a Pepsi, please.
112	* Three soldiers of UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte -- a German, a Pole and a Jew -- have fought well in battle, and he decides to grant each of them a wish.
113	-->'''German:''' Before the war, I had a brewery, but it was burnt down.\
114	'''Napoleon:''' You will get it rebuilt.\
115	'''Pole:''' My motherland is under the thumb of other nations.\
116	'''Napoleon:''' You will get it liberated.\
117	'''Jew:''' I like marinated herrings so much. Could I get a few of them?\
118	''[Napoleon is surprised, but promises him the herrings; later, the Jew explains:]''\
119	'''Jew:''' I don't think you'll get your brewery back, or your free Poland. But my herrings -- I may actually get them...
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Literature]]
123	* At the end of ''[[Literature/DiogenesClub Another Fish Story]]'' by Creator/KimNewman, in payment for his services Derek Leech offers washed-up BMovie actor Creator/LonChaneyJr anything he wants with [[DealWithTheDevil no strings attached]]. Chaney says Leech has already granted it by [[IKnowYourTrueName addressing him by his real name]], Creighton. Given that Leech is planning to bring about the end of the world by exploiting people's greed, he's genuinely impressed.
124	* Creator/AgathaChristie[='s=] Tuppence Beresford mentions that in her childhood she knew of a real magic well, where wishes did come true, though she ''did'' use to wish for things that were quite likely to come true.
125	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
126	** From ''Literature/TheLastHero'', when the gods of the Disc are granting requests to the heroes for preventing the destruction of the world, Rincewind asks for a blue balloon to replace one he had lost when he was six. He also speaks on behalf of the Librarian and asks for three thousand file cards, a new stamp, five gallons of ink, and a ''red'' balloon.
127	** It's a RunningGag in the City Watch books that, at the very end, whatever else the Watch may or may not be granted from Vetinari, a new dartboard is always on the list.
128	** In ''Literature/{{Night Watch\|Discworld}}'', the People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road is talking about what they hope to accomplish, and Vimes says a hard boiled egg. He says that while he's pretty sure that tomorrow there isn't going to be a great deal of Truth, Justice, Moderately Priced Love, and so on around, he might just get the egg. [[spoiler:It ends up being smashed before he can eat it.]]
129	** In ''Literature/InterestingTimes'', Rincewind asks one of the Agatean peasantry (whose main profession has been repeatedly characterised as holding a water buffalo on a string and watching it "enrich the soil", and whose views have been repeatedly dismissed by all sides in the civil war, especially the one that's supposed to be fighting for them) what it is they actually ''want''. The sheer profoundness of this question stretches out until it encompasses the entire universe... and then the man says he'd like a longer string.
130	* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' book, ''Literature/SmallFavor'', Harry Dresden calls in the favor owed to him by the Summer Court of Faerie... and asks for a doughnut. The point is, however, is ''whom'' he asks that of, namely, [[spoiler:the ImplacableMan MageKiller after his head]], and ''when''--namely, [[spoiler:a few seconds before said killer rips him to shreds and a few minutes before the bounty on Harry officially expires]]. It's revealed in the next book that this little maneuver has made Harry famous among the fae. Well, more famous, anyway.
131	* ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}: Literature/TheLostMetal'': Harmony explains to a soul who just died in an explosion that people often have a last wish, some nagging question, before they pass on. The soul asks simply: "Was that the ''biggest'' explosion a person ever made on this planet?" Harmony is bewildered that ''that'' is the soul's question, but the soul replies that all the really important things will probably be answered in the Beyond. So Harmony confirms that, yes, discounting Acts of God, that ''was'' the biggest damn explosion ever made by a person on the planet. The soul passes on satisfied.
132	* In Dani's ''One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale'', the raja is impressed by Rani's honesty in returning a handful of spilled rice to him during a time of great drought and tells her that she can ask for any reward she wants from him. Rani initially asks for just one grain of rice. The raja, surprised, urges Rani to ask for something bigger and she amends her wish to get one grain of rice first, then two grains of rice on the day after that, then four grains of rice on the third day and so on for a month. If you're aware of the mathematics of this doubling-up pattern, you'll know that [[GuileHero Rani]]'s request [[SubvertedTrope wasn't nearly as modest as it seemed to the raja at first]].
133	* A ''Series/SesameStreet'' storybook titled [[https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Bert_and_the_Magic_Lamp "Bert and the Magic Lamp"]] sees Ernie bringing home a dirty old lamp. When Bert cleans it, a genie pops out and offers him three wishes. He uses the first two on a [[TrademarkFavoriteFood bowl of oatmeal]] and a new pair of shoelaces, although in fairness, Bert does [[IncrediblyLameFun genuinely enjoy those things]]. When the genie remarks that Bert's requests are dull and suggests things like gold or a castle, Bert politely declines, although he does ask for an ornate pigeon cage with his last wish to make the genie feel better.
134	* The Nightwatcher in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' grants a single boon and curse to those who seek her out. The curse might not be proportional to the request, and the supplicant usually regrets it afterward. The only person known to not have a problem with his curse was a man who asked for help during a famine. He received a bale of fine cloth to sell, and in exchange saw the world upside-down for the rest of his life. He got used to it eventually.
135	* In one of Caroline B. Cooney's ''The Vampire's Promise'' books, the titular vampire has gifted a high school student named Devnee with beauty and brains by draining the energy out of the classmates she wished she could have the qualities of. The climax of the book comes when Devnee, intending to stop the vampire before he can force her to let him feed on another girl, learns to her horror that her mother has found him and made a wish of her own -- only to discover that her mother only wished for good weather.
136	[[/folder]]
137
138	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
139	* In ''Series/{{Angel}}'', it is revealed that a seventeen year-old Gunn sold his soul... for a ''truck''. As Fred puts it: "Oh, Charles, your soul wasn't worth air conditioning?" It's played for laughs, but the undertones are actually rather dark. At that time in his life, Gunn was maybe a notch above homeless, in a city where the homeless are basically a vampire buffet. The truck was basically the only reason he lived long enough for the bargain to matter anyway, since it turned the tide in the war between his neighborhood gang and the local vamp nest.
140	-->'''Demon:''' You will sell your future in exchange for present happiness?\
141	'''Gunn:''' What future?
142	* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', Londo, ambassador of the Centauri, proved himself so good at his job that the Emperor had him name a wish for him to grant. Londo's wish? A ''divorce''. Specifically, divorcing two of his three wives.[[note]]Londo wanted to divorce all three, but the Emperor said he had to keep at least one of his choosing.[[/note]] {{Justified\|Trope}} by the fact that the nicest one, [[spoiler:who he eventually elects to keep when the Emperor had him choose]], has a fully-deserved fame for ''biting'', and the description below is actually ''flattering''.
143	-->''"Here. Look. These are my three wives: Pestilence, Famine, and Death. Do you think I married them for their personalities? Their personalities could shatter entire planets! Arranged marriages. Every one. But they worked out, they inspired me! Knowing that they were waiting at home for me is what keeps me here -- 75 light-years away!"''
144	* In one episode of ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Joey does a wishbone pull and is told his wish will only come true if he gets the bigger piece. He does get the bigger piece, and then it turns out that "the bigger piece" ''was'' the entirety of his wish.
145	* In ''Series/GilligansIsland'', Gilligan finds a tiki that gives him three wishes. His first wish is a gallon of ice cream, and relating his story to the Professor, accidentally wishes for a second gallon of ice cream. He finally is able to wish the castaways off the island, and the land they're standing on separates from the island and floats into the lagoon.
146	* In one episode of ''Series/IDreamOfJeannie'', Jeannie gets downright exasperated that ''most'' of Tony's wishes are mundane — but considering Jeannie's [[LiteralGenie cluelessness]] and occasional mischeviousness, it's hard to argue against him.
147	* ''Series/ImpracticalJokers'': Sal, in a challenge to have a stranger help fill out a survey, is asked what he would do with three wishes. He chose the ability to fly, to go to Long Island...then go to Long Island again.
148	* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': On the ItsAWonderfulPlot episode "It's a Bundyful Life", Al wishes for his Christmas lights to work. He immediately regrets it.
149	* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', the genie is found by a benevolent king. When offered three wishes, the king decides that he already has everything he could ever wish for, and instead uses his first wish to [[FreeingTheGenie free the genie]], letting the genie have the remaining two. Unfortunately, his generosity backfires as Regina is able to make the genie fall in love with her and convinces him to kill her husband.
150	* A non-magical example in ''Series/PersonOfInterest''. At one point in season two, Finch and Reese need help on a job and enlist the help of their old mafia enemy Elias, who they helped put away. Elias agrees to use his network to help them on condition that [[spoiler:Finch become his chess partner, because nobody else in the prison can play anywhere near as well as he can.]]
151	* ''Series/PowerRangersDinoFury'': The episode "Wishful Thinking" begins with Mucus meeting a monster who can grant any wish. She uses the opportunity to wish for a fancy hat. Then she learns he's a JackassGenie, and the spell comes with the addition of turning her into a human at no extra cost. Later on, Ollie gets one of the wish tokens, but since he doesn't believe in wishes sarcastically wishes for a hug from his mom. Which he gets, though his mom is a little confused at suddenly being transported from Japan to America.
152	* ''Series/RedDwarf'': In "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonIVWhiteHole White Hole]]", the crew discuss when in history they would choose to live if they had a time machine. Kryten chooses... a week last Tuesday.
153	-->'''Lister:''' ...Why?\
154	'''Kryten:''' Don't you remember? I did all the laundry, and then we watched TV. Wow, we won't see the like of those sorts of days again.
155	* Justified in an episode of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', when the boys investigate an apparently fully functioning wishing well and Dean wishes [[BigEater for a sandwich]]. This allows them to test out if and how the wishing well actually works in a relatively safe manner, and in fact Dean later [[spoiler:gets food poisoning, tipping them off that the wishes eventually turn bad]]. If the wish ''hadn't'' been mundane, the consequences probably would have been much worse.
156	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S2E2TheManInTheBottle The Man in the Bottle]]", the couple's first wish (out of four) is to have a pane of glass in their shop repaired, in order to [[GodTest test the genie's power]] first. The couple then proceed [[WastefulWishing to waste their remaining wishes]], but in the end console themselves with the thought that at least the glass got repaired. Guess what happens next.
157	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'':
158	** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S2E10 Time and Teresa Golowitz]]", the Prince of Darkness offers the recently deceased Bluestone the opportunity to visit anywhere in the universe at any time. He is shocked when Bluestone wishes to have sex with Mary Ellen Cosgrove at a high school party in October 1948.
159	** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S3E14 The Trunk]]", in order to test whether the titular object can really grant his every wish, Willy Gardner wishes for a jug of cool root beer. He is delighted when it appears in the trunk.
160	* Done in a ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' Scenes From a Hat gag (and also supplying the page quote for WastefulWishing).
161	-->'''Creator/DrewCarey:''' "Bad Choices to Make When Your Genie Grants You Three Wishes."\
162	'''Creator/ColinMochrie:''' Uh, two Cokes and some chips.
163	* ''Series/TheXFiles'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS07E21JeSouhaite Je Souhaite]]", Mulder encounters a genie who was originally a medieval French peasant; she encountered another genie who made her take his place after her third wish of "great power and a long life". Her first two wishes were a stout mule and a magic bag full of turnips. After noticing Mulder's "What the hell?" facial expression, the woman once again points out she was a medieval French peasant. Also, when Mulder asks her what she would like to wish for now, she says she would like to enjoy life as it is in the moment over a cup of coffee. [[spoiler:Mulder uses his last wish to turn her human and the episode ends with her fulfilling her own wish.]]
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Music]]
167	* Discussed in Music/TheLonelyIsland's "Punch You in the Jeans". As a part of their [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext unexplained]] hatred of jeans, Jorma says that if he had three wishes, he'd use all three to punch your jeans. Andy says he'd do the same.
168	* In Music/WeirdAlYankovic's song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05av9iJvgiQ "Everything You Know Is Wrong,"]] aliens offer to transport the protagonist to any time in history. He chooses "[[MundaneUtility last Thursday night, so [he] can pay [his] phone bill on time.]]"
169	[[/folder]]
170
171	[[folder:Podcasts]]
172	* In a "Beyond Belief" segment of the ''Podcast/ThrillingAdventureHour'' titled "Djinn and Tonic", Frank and Sadie Doyle release a djinni from a bottle. They use the first wish on liquor and after that have no interest in making any further wishes. Eventually, after the djinni's union gets involved, the Doyles make two random wishes just to get rid of everyone.
173	[[/folder]]
174
175	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
176	* ''Series/SesameStreet:''
177	** In the Christmas special ''Film/ElmoSavesChristmas'', Elmo gets a magic snowglobe from Santa Claus. He uses the first wish to get a drink of water.
178	** In the show proper there was another sketch where Zoe found a genie's lamp and wasted the first two wishes on having the genie go back into the lamp and pop out again, despite the genie's insistence for a better wish. After the first two, [[spoiler:the genie said that he wished that his headache, a factor in him not wanting to keep popping out, would go away, to which Zoe says "me, too", which relieves the genie of his headache and makes him happy to pop out of the lamp again and again.]]
179	[[/folder]]
180
181	[[folder:Radio]]
182	* ''Radio/JohnFinnemoresSouvenirProgramme:'' A woman finds a magic lamp with a genie, who hurriedly introduces himself by saying she only gets one wish and cannot wish for more wishes, then strongly advises her to go for a small, tangible luxury like a sportscar, partly because he openly admits he's a JackassGenie but also because a customer survey has shown the greatest wish-to-satisfaction ratio with such things. She dismisses this as people being selfish and wishes for world peace. This backfires horribly, as he warned.
183
184	[[/folder]]
185
186	[[folder:Roleplay]]
187	* ''Roleplay/{{Glowfic}}'', with wishcoins. {{Justified\|Trope}} because wishcoins come in sizes and the smaller ones can only ''do'' mundane wishes.
188	* ''Roleplay/WeAreOurAvatars'': Upon gathering the possessions of Thor and placing them on his body, Chuck gets a wish. He promptly uses it on a very delicious strawberry milkshake.
189	[[/folder]]
190
191	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
192	* ''TabletopGame/ChuubosMarvelousWishGrantingEngine'': There's a running joke about Chuubo's habit of wishing for ice cream... [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor usually in such a way that it nearly dooms Town]].
193	[[/folder]]
194
195	[[folder:Video Games]]
196	* In a scene in ''VideoGame/TheDarksideDetective: A Fumble in the Dark'', a woman ponders what she'll ask for from a wish-granting automaton -- wealth? world peace? -- before deciding that what she most wants is a really big trifle.
197	* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'':
198	** Marisbury Animusphere stands out as one of the most sensible winners of the [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Holy Grail War]]. Instead of pipe dreams like world peace or infinite power, he just asked for truckloads of cash and the respect of his peers. This stands as one of the most successful wishes the Grail has ever granted -- [[spoiler:particularly given that despite the Grail's nigh-omnipotence, it requires that [[LiteralGenie the wisher has a clear idea of how exactly to attain their wish]]. His Servant, Solomon's, wish, was to live a normal human life, free from the weight of his power and responsibilities. It worked fine for a while, but in the end a very good case could be argued that he received only the first half of his wish ''at best'', given that the instant he was granted the human life he so desired he was also gifted with the knowledge of the darkness to come and hit humanity. He of course allied himself with Marisbury and Chaldea, a path that ended in his HeroicSacrifice.]]
199	** One of the dialogue lines for every Servant is what they would wish for from the Grail. Some of the wishes are grandiose, but some are humorously or poignantly modest.
200	* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': After the Traveler helps save the city of Liyue from a foreign plot and an ancient god, the new leaders ask what they want as a reward. Liyue is the nation of contracts; it has existed for thousands of years based on these contracts, entire generations of gods have been bound to the city's defense because they offered such a reward. The Traveler... asks for some help putting up posters for their missing sibling. Keqing accuses them of trying to look cool.
201	* After having been turned into an ottsel in the beginning of ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'', Daxter gets his chance to turn back into a humanoid in the ending for ''VideoGame/Jak3Wastelander'' as the Precursors offer to grant him a wish. He wishes for a comfortable pair of pants. Granted [[spoiler:shortly before that he had discovered that the Precursors ''are'' ottsels, so presumably the knowledge that he is a member of a legendary race borderline worshipped by his previous race rather than just a FunnyAnimal made his condition more bearable.]]
202	* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has a Summoning Chamber where you can summon demons. One of these demons promises to grant you your "deepest heart's desire", which turns out to be pies (he claims that most people really want pies, but they don't know it).
203	* At the end of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'', the Ocean King owes Linebeck a boon for his aid. Linebeck simply asks to have his ship back after it was sunk during the final battle.
204	* ''VideoGame/PathfinderKingmaker'': A series of encounter areas around Pitax chronicle the misadventures of an Academy of Arts student impersonating a cultist of Charon and trying to bind a daemon,[[note]]NeutralEvil fiend, as opposed to LawfulEvil devils and ChaoticEvil demons,[[/note]] but he always screws up the summoning and runs away leaving the real cultists to die. Why is he doing all this? Daemons stole the soul of his favorite writer and he wants to know how the series ends.
205	* Murasaki in ''VideoGame/SenranKagura[=:=] Bon Appétit'' enters the cooking tournament to get the wish-granting scroll to get herself a refrigerator.
206	* In the alternate true ending of ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}} Plus 2'', the stick offers the professor and his assistant one wish. The assistant wishes to remove the professor's hat, as she's never seen him without it.
207	* In ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'', Calypso uses the stolen power of a demon to grant the winner of the titular demolition derby any wish they desire. Some ending show that he is forced to carry out the wish no matter what it is, making Calypso abuse the LiteralGenie principle very frequently. However, some wishes fall under this, such as Sweet Tooth's wishes in ''1'' and ''3'' (for a paper bag and candy, respectively) and Hammerhead in 1 (to repair his truck's tires). Along with Cousin Ed's wish in 'Head-On'' where he just wanted his RV made in chrome so it's "shiny".
208	* In ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'' DLC ''Heart of Stone'', if you choose to side with [[spoiler:a certain GOD]], he will offer you to make a wish as a reward. Wish to be rich, and he will remark the banality of it. And let's face it, considering the impossible items he can offer you such as a never-ending flask of alcohol or never-ending horn of plenty, cold hard coin is downright mundane.
209	-->''"...Rich? Truly? Hmmm... banal, but, all right. I gave my word. You asked, and you shall receive."''
210	[[/folder]]
211
212	[[folder:Web Animation]]
213	* ''WebAnimation/VeteALaVersh'': after Darkar finds a magic lamp and given three wishes, he first wishes for his roomate Mecoboy (a humanoid made out of semen) to explode. Then he wishes for his bathroom to be cleaned. Finally he wishes for a new remote because he lost the other one. When the genie starts protesting about how stupid his wishes were, Darkar wishes instead for the genie to [[EatThat eat the exploded Mecoboy]]. The genie immediately gives him the requested remote.
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	[[folder:Webcomics]]
217	* In ''Webcomic/CaseyAndAndy'', God offers [[http://www.galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=543 them]] [[http://www.galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=544 both]] the answer to any one question of their choosing. They both ask "Why does WesternAnimation/KimPossible have a [[WantedPoster picture]] of [[DarkActionGirl Shego]] in her locker?", with Andy stating his [[LesYay own]] [[FanPreferredCouple preferred]] [[GirlOnGirlIsHot explanation]].
218	* ''Webcomic/EnnuiGo'': Max and his friends [[http://ennuigo.thecomicseries.com/comics/728 win Izzy's "Happy Family Fun Day" competition]] and are offered ''anything'' they want as a prize. After thinking about it "real hard", they decide they want... fidget spinners. Izzy is nearly off the charts of Fiction500, to the point of being a literal despot of her own island nation which she founded purely with money. She reminds them that they can have ANYTHING AT ALL, and Cricket amends that the fidget spinners should be Minecraft themed. Izzy is baffled, but buys them what they want.
219	-->'''Cricket:''' Fidget spinners are cool.
220	* One character suggests "infinite soda supply" as a use for Nancy in ''Webcomic/OwMySanity''.
221	* Parodied by ''ComicStrip/ThePerryBibleFellowship'' [[https://pbfcomics.com/comics/wishing-well here.]] A man wishes for true love at a one-wish-only wishing well, but looks disappointed after noticing everyone else's wishes were for things like a spaceship, being a superhero, or having a wheelbarrow full of money.
222	* In ''Puppy Kitten Grand Aventure'' the title characters are granted one wish each by a genie. Puppy's wish? [[http://puppykittengrandadventure.smackjeeves.com/comics/446748/indosarnian-nights-page-17 Fruit salad.]]
223	* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'':
224	** Done in [[http://xkcd.com/152/ this strip,]] where the character wishes for a human-sized hamster ball.
225	** Another ''xkcd'' [[https://xkcd.com/2193/ strip]] had a different character wish to see the worst [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Marty McFly]] costume ever made to avoid any BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor consequences.
226	--->'''Genie:''' Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?\
227	'''Girl:''' These wish things are always traps. Just show me the worst [=McFly=] and we'll call it even.
228	[[/folder]]
229
230	[[folder:Web Original]]
231	* [[http://thekettlereview.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/bosch-private-collection-twk6831.html An adventurer finds a magic lamp,]] after an eight year expedition, in the deepest mountains of Nepal. His first wish? A brand new kettle.
232	[[/folder]]
233
234	[[folder:Web Videos]]
235	* Website/CollegeHumor: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka8p7AfSdWM "Prince Harry as a Disney Prince"]], Harry-as-WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} uses his three wishes for [[ButLiquorIsQuicker two shots of Jäger and a pack of condoms]]. Jasmine is not amused.
236	* One of the ''WebVideo/RoosterTeethShorts'' has [[http://roosterteeth.com/archive/?id=1712 Geoff catch a magic fish that grants him three wishes.]] His first is for two milkshakes, one of which he spills. His second is to unspill his spilled milkshake. His last is [[spoiler:to wish it wasn't against the rules to eat a magical fish sandwich.]]
237	* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in Creator/TomSka's skit "The Wish". The girl keeps trying to [[WishingForMoreWishes wish for infinite wishes]] from a genie, but he's having none of it. So instead, she wishes for... AIDS. [[spoiler:Her plan was to have the [[BlandNameProduct Grant-a-Wish Foundation]] fulfill her wish for infinite wishes.]]
238	[[/folder]]
239
240	[[folder:Western Animation]]
241	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'':
242	** Jake has wished for a sandwich... twice (in "The Limit" and "Jake the Dog"). What makes this even weirder is that his life hung in the balance both times. Although Jake didn't actually ''get'' his sandwich wish the second time; Prismo just made him a sandwich and allowed him to keep his wish for something more important.
243	** Also from "The Limit", when the Hot Dog Knights finally get the chance to make wishes, one of them wishes for a cardboard box.
244	* In ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'', Eden actually ''refuses'' to grant her master's first wish for a sandwich (fortunately, lacking the words "I wish" in front of it) and instead talks her into wishing never to go hungry again.
245	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' movie special ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish'', Wakko wishes for [[spoiler:two ha'pennies]]! This is ''[[SubvertedTrope not]]'' WastefulWishing because [[spoiler:spending them helps revive his home town since it was simply so poor that everyone treated it like a fortune]].
246	* In the ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' episode "A Lad in a Lamp", Fat Cat's gang gain possession of a magic lamp which Fat Cat plans to use for world domination. (Unknown to them, the lamp's genie has just tricked Monty into swapping places with him.) When Mole is asked what he would wish for if he could have anything in the world, he replies "a candy bar." However, he never gets his wish. Instead, Fat Cat forces him to "wish the Rangers to their doom" and Monty, in his capacity as the genie, then tricks him into wishing for the Rangers to be "set free." In response to Mole's dimwittedness, Meps seizes control of the lamp, even though Mole still has a wish outstanding.
247	* Invoked and lampshaded in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' Norm notes there's a pattern when he gives a person ThreeWishes. The first is something useless and mundane ("The Sandwich Wish"), the second generally involves money and power, and the third is some variant of "[[ResetButton I wish I never met you!]]" when the second wish inevitably lands his master in trouble. His foresight is actually [[spoiler:his downfall, when he gives Chester a free sandwich sans wish, allowing him a third wish to hit the ResetButton]].
248	* In the ''WesternAnimation/FancyNancy'' special "Nancy and the Nice List", while Nancy wishes to have lots of wonderful presents for Christmas like a new bike, the girl Daisy she befriends only wishes to have "a nice Christmas". It comes important some time later.
249	* In the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E8BlendinsGame Blendin's Game]]", Dipper and Mabel risk their lives to give Soos a reality-bending wish so he can see his father, who was never in his life save for occasional postcards with promises to visit that were never kept. When he sees the twins are dirty and beaten up from their harrowing adventure, he uses the wish to clean them up and fix their wounds and clothing, having realized that birthdays are about being with people who care about you and his dad never really cared about him. Blendin angrily protests at this, as the wish could have given him ''anything'' with no risk of time paradoxes, before Soos reveals that he ''also'' wished for a slice of infinitely-regenerating pizza, which everyone agrees was a good wish.
250	* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' pairs this trope with TheDitz for Fred Fredburger in one episode: The only "interesting" thing he wants to do after winning a "Spend the Day with Grim" essay contest is "... to eet sum frozun yogert" (The minimum word count requirement is 500 words, so he wrote it ''ad infinitum'' on the pages of paper.)
251	* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty:''
252	** In the episode "Meeseeks and Destroy", Rick gives his family a "Meeseeks Box", which creates beings called Meeseeks that will fulfill any request the user wants and then disappear. Rick warns them to keep the requests simple since giving a Meeseek a request they cannot fulfill could have serious consequences. Beth and Summer ignore the advice and ask to be "a more complete woman" and "more popular", respectively. Jerry, on the other hand, decides to play it safe and asks to take two strokes off his golf game. This being [[ButtMonkey Jerry]], HIS wish is the one that leads to everything going to hell.
253	** In another episode, when Summer sees her boss (AKA, [[LouisCypher the Devil]]) try to hang himself, she uses a Monkey's Paw she happened to be holding at the time to make a desk light enough for her to move, the noose to be untied and for her to know CPR. The Devil then notes that those are some pretty insignificant wishes to use on such a thing.
254	** In "The Old Man And The Seat", it's revealed Jerry's greatest and wildest fantasy is to work as an appreciated blue-collar water delivery man.
255	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons:''
256	** In the second ''WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror'', Homer obtains a monkey's paw. Maggie makes the first wish and a limo pulls up. Homer starts to celebrate as the driver comes to the door. He gives her a new pacifier and then drives off. After the other wishes backfire, Homer wishes for a turkey sandwich and specifically forbids any unpleasant supernatural surprises. The wish ''still'' backfires ''[[FelonyMisdemeanor because the turkey is a little dry.]]''
257	** In the fourth ''Treehouse of Horror'' episode, Homer sells his soul to the Devil (a.k.a. Ned Flanders) for a [[SoldHisSoulForADonut donut]].
258	* In the ''WesternAnimation/SkylandersAcademy'' episode "I Dream of Ninjini", the Doom Raiders find Ninjini's bottle that she broke out of and make her grant their wishes. Broccoli Guy wishes for a best friend and gets his pet rock from his childhood, Kaos wishes that Glumshanks were with him, and Glumshanks, upset about being pulled back into Kaos' life after going on to pursue his dream of going to community college, wishes he was back where he was before.
259	* In ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventuresHowISpentMyVacation'', when Plucky and Hampton's family travel through a tunnel holding their breaths and making a wish, Plucky doesn't get his wish to be at Happy World Land due to breathing before they leave the tunnel, but the rest of them get their wish, the same one they always make, "to be a happy and loving family forever and ever".
260	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wishfart}}'': Dez often grants these, although since he can grant an endless number of wishes, the real danger is that [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor his wishes never turn out as he or the wisher desire]].
261	[[/folder]]
262
263	[[folder:Real Life]]
264	* UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat once visited Corinth. While there, according to the story, he offered the Philosopher [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes Diogenes of Sinope]], aka Diogenes TheCynic,[[note]]He famously would walk around with a lit lamp during the day searching for an honest man. He took pleasures from the simplest of things and refused luxuries of any sort. He once used a bowl to drink water from a well, but then saw a child drinking out of his hands, he decided to throw away his bowl.[[/note]] anything he wanted and, being emperor of just about everything at the time, he could have granted it. Diogenes only looked up, slightly irritated, and asked him to get out of his light. Sometimes interpreted as Diogenes showing Alexander that all his worldly triumphs couldn't compare to the wonders of nature such as the sunlight. As an alternative interpretation, Diogenes unintentionally showed Alexander the joys of simplicity, because Diogenes was happier than Alexander despite Alexander being the emperor and having anything he wanted at the snap of his fingers.
265	-->'''Alexander:''' Were I not Alexander, I would wish to be Diogenes.\
266	'''Diogenes:''' [[DeadpanSnarker And were I not Diogenes, I would also wish to be Diogenes.]]
267	* UsefulNotes/JosefStalin:
268	** There's a (likely apocryphal) story about Stalin and the author of the Soviet anthem. Stalin asked the author what he wanted in reward, a car or a dacha[[note]]A second seasonal or year-round home[[/note]]. The author asked Stalin for his pencil, explaining that Stalin's pencil holds a symbolic value for him. Stalin gave him the pencil, and the car and the dacha too.
269	** Another similar joke has Stalin asking four movie producers what they need in order to work properly. One complains about cramped surroundings -- he gets a flat. The other complains he works best outside the city, and gets a dacha. The third has a dacha, but complains it's hard to get there -- Stalin gives him a car. The fourth is hesitant, saying it's a big wish, but after Stalin insists, he asks for a copy of Stalin's book "The Questions of Leninism" with an autograph, for inspiration. He got the book... and a flat, a car, and a dacha as a bonus.
270	[[/folder]]

Context Main / MundaneWish