History Main / AGoodOldFashionedPaintWatching

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E3TooManyPinkiePies "Too Many Pinkie Pies"]], this -- a literal watching-paint-dry test -- is how the other Mane Five determine who the real Pinkie is. The fakes can't stand not having fun for so long, but the real, more complex Pinkie Pie (who suggested the idea) can withstand anything if it means she won't be made to leave her friends.

* Wrestling/JeffHardy once mocked [[Wrestling/JohnMorrison Johnny Nitro]] by saying he would rather watch paint dry than watch him wrestle. [[NotHyperbole Jeff later showed he wasn't kidding]].

* In "Literature/ItsAGoodLife," television night in Peaksville involves everyone pulling up chairs and staring avidly at a television set that ''isn't turned on''. (Not that turning it on would help, there being no electricity.) It's a ''good'' thing that most of the inhabitants of Peaksville agree that it's better than any television they've ever seen.
** Most folks in Peaksville would undoubtedly prefer that TV night, or anything else involving going anywhere near Anthony's house, was rather less interesting than it can sometimes be... though they wouldn't be caught dead thinking that it wasn't ''good'' the way it is. Or, at least, if they were caught thinking that, they would be dead. They hope.

** Garfield also finds the idea of cow tipping moronic.

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' Granny and Nanny comment on how there is too much "making your own entertainment" these days, they never had time for it when they where young. Nanny certainly did make her own entertainment, though. [[ReallyGetsAround With the help of many handsome young men.]]

* During the ''Series/{{X-Play}}'' review of ''VideoGame/DrakeOfThe99Dragons'', Adam Sessler is so bored by the game that he actually watches paint dry as filler. And seems wildly entertained by it in comparison to the actual game.

[[caption-width-right:350:Fun for the whole [[MesACrowd magically cloned family!]]]]

* ''Series/StormHawks'': In "Royal Twist", Piper (involuntarily) swaps places with Princess Peregrine in a PrinceAndPauper plot. She discovers that the Princess's duties consist of a never ending stream of mindless activities designed to keep her busy and out of affairs of state. One of these activities is judging a paint drying competition.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' Granny and Nanny comment on how there is too much "making your own entertainment" these days, they never had time for it when they where young.\\
\\
Nanny certainly did make her own entertainment, though. [[ReallyGetsAround With the help of many handsome young men.]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''
** Jon's rural brother loves watching his clothes spinning inside the washing machine.
** Garfield also finds the idea of cow tipping moronic.
** Jon's family is also excited seeing a white mouse. Garfield remarks: "These people need a TV."
* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide''
** A pre-television family is sitting on and around a couch, all staring at a blank wall.
** Another one shows cavemen trying to play RockPaperScissors before scissors and paper were invented. Every round they play ends in a tie.
* In a ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' comic strip, Walt talks about leaving {{Woodstock}} because it was raining and going to paint his grandmother's kitchen (which he seems to have preferred).
[[/folder]]

** One of the most exciting pastimes in Grandpa's retirement home is sitting at the window of the rec room watching a tree.\\
\\
Keep in mind that this is one of many gags about how bleak and depressing retirement homes are and how there is basically nothing to look forward to.

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''
** Jon's rural brother loves watching his clothes spinning inside the washing machine.
** Garfield also finds the idea of cow tipping moronic.
** Jon's family is also excited seeing a white mouse. Garfield remarks: "These people need a TV."
* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide''
** A pre-television family is sitting on and around a couch, all staring at a blank wall.
** Another one shows cavemen trying to play RockPaperScissors before scissors and paper were invented. Every round they play ends in a tie.
* In a ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' comic strip, Walt talks about leaving {{Woodstock}} because it was raining and going to paint his grandmother's kitchen (which he seems to have preferred).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' Granny and Nanny comment on how there is too much "making your own entertainment" these days, they never had time for it when they where young. Nanny certainly did make her own entertainment, though. [[ReallyGetsAround With the help of many handsome young men.]]

** One of the most exciting pastimes in Grandpa's retirement home is sitting at the window of the rec room watching a tree. Keep in mind that this is one of many gags about how bleak and depressing retirement homes are and how there is basically nothing to look forward to.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' Granny and Nanny comment on how there is too much "making your own entertainment" these days, they never had time for it when they where young.\\
\\
Nanny certainly did make her own entertainment, though. [[ReallyGetsAround With the help of many handsome young men.]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''
** Jon's rural brother loves watching his clothes spinning inside the washing machine.
** Garfield also finds the idea of cow tipping moronic.
** Jon's family is also excited seeing a white mouse. Garfield remarks: "These people need a TV."
* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide''
** A pre-television family is sitting on and around a couch, all staring at a blank wall.
** Another one shows cavemen trying to play RockPaperScissors before scissors and paper were invented. Every round they play ends in a tie.
* In a ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' comic strip, Walt talks about leaving {{Woodstock}} because it was raining and going to paint his grandmother's kitchen (which he seems to have preferred).
[[/folder]]

** One of the most exciting pastimes in Grandpa's retirement home is sitting at the window of the rec room watching a tree.\\
\\
Keep in mind that this is one of many gags about how bleak and depressing retirement homes are and how there is basically nothing to look forward to.

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''
** Jon's rural brother loves watching his clothes spinning inside the washing machine.
** Garfield also finds the idea of cow tipping moronic.
** Jon's family is also excited seeing a white mouse. Garfield remarks: "These people need a TV."
* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide''
** A pre-television family is sitting on and around a couch, all staring at a blank wall.
** Another one shows cavemen trying to play RockPaperScissors before scissors and paper were invented. Every round they play ends in a tie.
* In a ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' comic strip, Walt talks about leaving {{Woodstock}} because it was raining and going to paint his grandmother's kitchen (which he seems to have preferred).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' Granny and Nanny comment on how there is too much "making your own entertainment" these days, they never had time for it when they where young. Nanny certainly did make her own entertainment, though. [[ReallyGetsAround With the help of many handsome young men.]]

** One of the most exciting pastimes in Grandpa's retirement home is sitting at the window of the rec room watching a tree. Keep in mind that this is one of many gags about how bleak and depressing retirement homes are and how there is basically nothing to look forward to.

->'''Smokey:''' What do you think they do for entertainment in this town?
->'''Bandit:''' Oh, I don't know, sit around and watch the cars rust?

!!Examples:

[[folder: Advertising ]]

--> '''Kevin Butler''': You know what [your grandma] did for fun when she was young? She pushed a hoop with a stick.
* An old Taco Bell ad featuring RockyAndBullwinkle had the citizens of Frostbite Falls [[TakeThat so bored by traditional fast food]] (namely, Boris and Natasha's "[=McBoris=] Burgers") that they were willing to pay to watch grass grow. Then it turns out they weren't even watching ''real'' grass.

[[folder: Film ]]

* In Disney's ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'', Scuttle the seagull tells Ariel that before they discovered music, ancient humans "used to sit around and stare at each other all day. Got very boring."

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' Granny and Nanny comment on how there is too much "making your own entertainment" these days, they never had time for it when they where young.
** Nanny certainly did make her own entertainment, though. [[ReallyGetsAround With the help of many handsome young men.]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''SaturdayNightLive'' Weekend Update segments in the early 1990's would occasionally feature Dana Carvey as "A GrumpyOldMan" who would make comparisons between modern day and "his day" similarly to the Music/WeirdAlYankovic example below, always concluding his remarks with, "...and that's the way it was, and we ''liked'' it!"
* In ''Jim Henson's {{Dinosaurs}}'', there is a TV channel about ''grass growing''.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Well, they are herbivores, aren't they?]] How many cooking/food channels do we have on cable?
* ''MST3K'': DiscussedTrope. "*sigh*... Y'know, guys: this whole time, we could have been watching an apple brown."
* During the ''{{X-Play}}'' review of ''{{Drake of the 99 Dragons}}'', Adam Sessler is so bored by the game that he actually watches paint dry as filler. And seems wildly entertained by it in comparison to the actual game.

[[folder: Music ]]

* The Music/WeirdAlYankovic song "When I Was Your Age" has lyrics about not having Creator/{{Nintendo}} games as a kid and having to pour salt on snails as entertainment.
** Another song of his, "I Can't Watch This," invokes this trope literally while decrying the state of modern television: "It's about as much fun as watching paint dry!"

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]

* In ''{{Garfield}}'', Jon's rural brother loves watching his clothes spinning inside the washing machine.
** Garfield also finds the idea of cow tipping moronic.
** Jon's family is also excited seeing a white mouse. Garfield remarks: "These people need a TV."
* ''TheFarSide'' had a pre-television family sitting on and around a couch, all staring at a blank wall.
** Another one shows cavemen trying to play RockPaperScissors before scissors and paper were invented. Every round they play ends in a tie.
* In a ''{{Zits}}'' comic strip, Walt talks about leaving {{Woodstock}} because it was raining and going to paint his grandmother's kitchen (which he seems to have preferred).

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* RealLife: A History Channel episode of ''Modern Marvels'' was about paint. One man who tests paints for a paint company is required by his job to watch paint dry. He finds it interesting.

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* Staring at a wall, in [[http://the-qlc.com/loserz/go/298 this strip]] of ''Webcomic/{{Loserz}}''.
* Mab from ''[[{{DMFA}} Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'' is the fae kingdom's champion grass watcher five years running.
* Hannelore from ''QuestionableContent'' enjoys watching paint dry.

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* In ''WebAnimation/DeclineOfVideoGaming'', the gamers relate something about the villains' games being less fun than "watching paint dry," complete with cheering ("C'moonnnn, blue!"); watching grass grow (one watcher cheats with fertilizer); watching ice melt (with the help of flamethrowers), and the greatest insult of all-- ''[[RunningGag watching Tom burn]].''
* They play with this in ''[[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries Yu Gi Oh The Abridged Movie]]'' Where it is stated that ''Thousands of years ago people were very bored because card games hadn't been invented yet, so in order to pass the time they started killing each other with magical powers''/
** In episode 2, Yugi comments that the Card Game channel is "almost as fun as the watching paint dry channel".
* When WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic reviews ''WarriorsOfVirtue'', He said he rather watch paint dry while watching grass grow and watch a tv show about Mr.T, Hulk Hogan, and Bruce Campbell filing their taxes.

--->"A Good Old Fashioned Hole Digging, my gods it's been a while."
** One of the most exciting pastimes in Grandpa's retirement home is sitting at the window of the rec room watching a tree.
*** Keep in mind that this is one of many gags about how bleak and depressing retirement homes are and how there is basically nothing to look forward to.
* An episode from the ''WesternAnimation/VivaPinata'' cartoon was about visiting a character's old uncle at a retirement home. One of the gags used was that paint drying was actually an exciting pastime for the residents (along with the Grass channel, which featured grass growing in real time).
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'', Dexter is sent to live with an Amish family whose main recreation is churning. Dee Dee, his dippy older sister, quite prefers the recreational value of using a butter churn to other, more boring pursuits (like Space Camp).

* Literal example: both ''WesternAnimation/QuackPack'' and ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' had the main characters channel surfing, and one of the TV shows is about watching paint dry.

* In the U.K. ''[[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK Dennis the Menace]]'' cartoon, Dennis' granny jokes that before TV was invented, they all sat around waiting for TV to be invented. Her actual youth activities however (reading, hunting dodos and listening to the wireless) are little better, as far as the main character is concerned.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Candace described reading as something people did before they invented fun.

---> '''Phineas:''' What color paint? Can it be beige?
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E3TooManyPinkiePies Too Many Pinkie Pies]]", this -- a literal watching-paint-dry test -- is how the other Mane Five determine who the real Pinkie is. The fakes can't stand not having fun for so long, but the real, more complex Pinkie Pie (who suggested the idea) can withstand anything if it means she won't be made to leave her friends.

* In the U.K. ''[[DennisTheMenaceUK Dennis the Menace]]'' cartoon, Dennis' granny jokes that before TV was invented, they all sat around waiting for TV to be invented. Her actual youth activities however (reading, hunting dodos and listening to the wireless) are little better, as far as the main character is concerned.

* During the X-Play review of ''Drake of the 99 Dragons'', Adam Sessler is so bored by the game that he actually watches paint dry as filler. And seems wildly entertained by it in comparison to the actual game.

* Another song of his, "I Can't Watch This," invokes this trope literally while decrying the state of modern television: "It's about as much fun as watching paint dry!"

* When WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic reviews WarriorsOfVirtue, He said he rather watch paint dry while watching grass grow and watch a tv show about Mr.T, Hulk Hogan, and Bruce Campbell filing their taxes.

* An episode from the ''VivaPinata'' cartoon was about visiting a character's old uncle at a retirement home. One of the gags used was that paint drying was actually an exciting pastime for the residents (along with the Grass channel, which featured grass growing in real time).

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E3TooManyPinkiePies Too Many Pinkie Pies]]", this -- a literal watching-paint-dry test -- is how the other Mane Five determine who the real Pinkie is. The fakes can't stand not having fun for so long, but the real, more complex Pinkie Pie can withstand anything if it means she won't be made to leave her friends.

* [[MST3K "*sigh*... Y'know, guys: this whole time, we could have been watching an apple brown."]]

** [[FridgeBrilliance Well, they are herbivores, aren't they?]] How many cooking/food channels are there on cable?

[[caption-width-right:350:Fun for the whole [[CloningBlues magically cloned family!]]]]

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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'' episode "Father Figures", when Porky Pig joins the Father Figure Program and becomes a father figure to Henery Hawk, some of the activities he takes him on is watching paint dry and grass grow. Henery was not amused. Henery even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] how Porky's idea of fun is acting out the expression of watching paint dry.