History Main / ArkhamsRazor

A trope mostly in comedic works where, when given multiple explanations for an event, the oddest one is most likely to be true. The inverse of OccamsRazor. As such, it can be summarized as "When you hear hoofbeats; think zonkeys, not horses."[[note]]Provided you don't live on the Serengeti[[/note]] The name is a take off of OccamsRazor, combined with Arkham, which refers to the fictional Massachusetts town in the works of Creator/HPLovecraft, and also to the fictional insane asylum in ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comic books. Thus, the term "Arkham" is closely tied to the idea of madness or surprise.

A trope mostly in comedic works where, when given multiple explanations for an event, the oddest one is most likely to be true. The inverse of OccamsRazor. As such, it can be summarized as "When you hear hoofbeats; think zebras, not horses."[[note]]Provided you don't live on the Serengeti[[/note]] The name is a take off of OccamsRazor, combined with Arkham, which refers to the fictional Massachusetts town in the works of Creator/HPLovecraft, and also to the fictional insane asylum in ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comic books. Thus, the term "Arkham" is closely tied to the idea of madness or surprise.

Often used as a form of BaitAndSwitch. When provided with a sufficiently improbable-sounding story, the audience, expecting OccamsRazor, writes it off only to be surprised that the outlandish possibility was correct. This often means using the audience's GenreSavvy against them, although a sufficiently GenreSavvy viewer may have been expecting ArkhamsRazor all along.

* Emerald and Neo in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' are this. The audience knew little beforehand about either character, but knew that Neo could create "illusions" somehow, that had previously been dispelled by Yang shattering them while the real Neo got away. She was later seen with an altered appearance, and seems to change her eye color repeatedly just to do so. Pressing the point that she could alter what people see was her various disguises taken during the Vytal Tournament, with her pink and brown eyes being the only hint to her identity. Thus, when presented with clear situations where someone was messing with what a character sees and hears, fans assumed it was Neo. There were the odd fans that insisted it was Mercury or more likely Emerald who had the illusion power (mainly due to one of the biggest uses of said illusions occurred to a character who was hunting Emerald down and couldn't find her), but they were promptly shouted down and considered ignorant of canon. It later turned out that Emerald ''was'' the person crafting illusions, though Neo still retains the strange reality-altering powers she had before, which have yet to be explained.

** In one strip, Marten and his girlfriend Dora take a long lunch, and return with [[SexyShirtSwitch Marten wearing some of Dora's clothes]]. Their friends immediately assume that they had done something naughty, but Marten claimed that they had been ambushed by [[AllMonksKnowKungFu Shaolin Monks]] and spilled spaghetti sauce on his clothes and needed to change at Dora's. Everyone laughs it off, but a few strips later he is proven correct when a battered monk arrives at the coffeeshop and recognizes Marten.

** Used in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', the real culprit behind the mask is usually someone who is only seen once, or has little to no connection to the subject the Mystery Inc are investigating. In fact one of villains was seen earlier is in a mascot outfit for only a few seconds.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' episode "Bubble Buddy", [=SpongeBob=] makes a bubble mannequin and [[CompanionCube acts as if he were alive]]. The others get tired of [=SpongeBob's=] antics and try to pop the bubble. But just as they are about to, Bubble Buddy suddenly comes to life and stops them, confirming that he was alive all along.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' episode "Bengeance is Mine" Ben is convinced a man named Bill Gacks is really Vilgax in disguise despite Rook's scanner confirming he isn't because it's too much of a coincidence that he closely resembles Vilgax, has a similar sounding name and just happens to be around whenever a holographic projection of Vilgax appears.[[spoiler: In this case, Ben is wrong.]]

* Thanks to a related trope, BatDeduction, some of the ComicBook/TheRiddler's riddles work this way. For a relatively grounded example, his first-ever crime used the clue "banquet," sending Batman and the police to a charity dinner. The real, and much less conventional meaning of the clue was that the Riddler had ''flooded a bank vault'' -- gotten a "bank wet" -- to defeat its pressure-sensitive locking mechanism and was looting it in scuba gear.

* In an episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' the gang is arguing about who was the most "badass" as a kid. All of their tales of [[FormerTeenRebel youthful rebellion are eventually proven false,]] except for TeamMom (and literal mom) and kindergarten teacher Lily, who painted a picture of herself as basically an {{Expy}} of [[Series/TheWire Omar]]. Naturally, at the end of the episode this is proven true.

* Emerald and Neo in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' are this. The audience knew little beforehand about either character, but knew that Neo could create "illusions" somehow, that had previously been dispelled by Yang shattering them while the real Neo got away. She was later seen with an altered appearance, and seems to change her eye color repeatedly just to do so. Pressing the point that she could alter what people see was her various disguises taken during the Vytal Tournament, with her pink and brown eyes being the only hint to her identity. Thus, when presented with clear situations where someone was messing with what a character sees and hears, fans assumed it was Neo. There were the odd fans that insisted it was Mercury or Emerald who had the illusion power, but they were promptly shouted down and considered ignorant of canon. It later turned out that Emerald ''was'' the person crafting illusions, though Neo still retains the strange reality-altering powers she had before, which have yet to be explained.

* Shows up at several points in the works of Creator/G

* Used in almost every episode of ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo''. During TheSummation, every suspect is listed... and the one character who isn't listed for whatever reason (too unlikely, had an alibi, or just plain the writers didn't feel like including them) is invariably the culprit.
** Also used in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', the real culprit behind the mask is usually someone who is only seen once, or has little to no connection to the subject the Mystery Inc are investigating. In fact one of villains was seen earlier is in a mascot outfit for only a few seconds.

* Thanks to a related trope, BatDeduction, some of the The Riddler's riddles work this way. For a relatively grounded example, his first-ever crime used the clue "banquet," sending Batman and the police to a charity dinner. The real, and much less conventional meaning of the clue was that the Riddler had ''flooded a bank vault'' -- gotten a "bank wet" -- to defeat its pressure-sensitive locking mechanism and was looting it in scuba gear.

* In the movie ''Film/TrueGrit'' (1969), Mattie makes repeated reference to her lawyer "J. Noble Daggett". She pulls out his name every time she wants something done, threatening legal action against those who get in her way. After about the fifth time, Rooster and [=LeBoeuf=] express scepticism as to whether this "Lawyer Daggett" even exists, and the audience might be inclined to agree with them. But at the end of the film a little man in glasses walks into Rooster's room, and introduces himself as lawyer Daggett himself!

* Like the ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' example in Western Animation, the real culprit of most of ''Literature/TheBoxcarChildren's'' later installments is invariably whichever suspect is not actually suspected by the title heroes.

* Similarly, one episode of ''Series/{{Psych}}'' has a body found in the ocean with what looks like large teethmarks. While the police posit ideas like a shark, or an unusual knife, "psychic" detective Shawn immediately says a dinosaur did it. No prize for guessing who was right. When he explains his logic ''after'' the ColdOpening, it actually makes sense. The fact that it's completely ridiculous is what throws people off, and the chain of events that led to said injuries and death is convoluted and bizarre, but his initial deduction was spot-on and perfectly reasonable.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' episode "Bubble Buddy", [=SpongeBob=] makes a bubble mannequin and [[CompanionCube acts as if he were alive]]. The other get tired of [=SpongeBob's=] antics and try to pop the bubble. But just as they are about to, Bubble Buddy suddenly comes to life and stops them, confirming that he was alive all along.

See also: InfallibleBabble, CassandraTruth. Often overlaps with TheCuckoolanderWasRight, AccidentalTruth, or RefugeInAudacity. May be the basis of a BrickJoke. Compare ImpossiblyMundaneExplanation, where an explanation floated by a character is dismissed for being too mundane, and AluminumChristmasTrees, which is an example of how this can happen in real life.

** Toyed with with doctor who was always incorrectly literal. Telling the family "He's all right" when in fact he was saying [[spoiler: He's "all right" because a seal bit off and ate his left hand.]]

* Often played non-comedically in ''Series/{{House}}''. In medical jargon, an unexpected diagnosis is referred to a "[[http://house.wikia.com/wiki/Zebra zebra]]". Justified, in this case, because dealing with the zebra cases is [[AnthropicPrinciple the entire reason for House's department]] ''existing''. They only get the weird cases that the regular doctors can't figure out, similar to how Franchise/SherlockHolmes probably didn't deal with many conventional crimes that Scotland Yard was able to deal with on their own.

A trope mostly in comedic works where, when given multiple explanations for an event, the oddest one is most likely to be true. The inverse of OccamsRazor. As such, it can be summarized as "When you hear hoofbeats; think zebras, not horses."[[note]]Provided you don't live on the Serengerti[[/note]] The name is a take off of OccamsRazor, combined with Arkham, which refers to the fictional Massachusetts town in the works of Creator/HPLovecraft, and also to the fictional insane asylum in ''{{Franchise/Batman}}'' comic books. Thus, the term "Arkham" is closely tied to the idea of madness or surprise.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'', Sheen's action figure is stolen. After ruling out all the other suspects, Jimmy quotes the original Sherlock story when he realizes the true thief must be the one they first ignored due to being too ridiculous: [[spoiler: [[NuttySquirrel a bunch of squirrels]]]].

A trope mostly in comedic works where, when given multiple explanations for an event, the oddest one is most likely to be true. The inverse of OccamsRazor. As such, it can be summarized as "When you hear hoofbeats; think zebras, not horses."[note]]Provided you don't live on the Serengerti[[/note]] The name is a take off of OccamsRazor, combined with Arkham, which refers to the fictional Massachusetts town in the works of Creator/HPLovecraft, and also to the fictional insane asylum in ''{{Franchise/Batman}}'' comic books. Thus, the term "Arkham" is closely tied to the idea of madness or surprise.

A trope mostly in comedic works where, when given multiple explanations for an event, the oddest one is most likely to be true. The inverse of OccamsRazor. As such, it can be summarized as "When you hear hoofbeats; think zebras, not horses." The name is a take off of OccamsRazor, combined with Arkham, which refers to the fictional Massachusetts town in the works of Creator/HPLovecraft, and also to the fictional insane asylum in ''{{Franchise/Batman}}'' comic books. Thus, the term "Arkham" is closely tied to the idea of madness or surprise.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'', Sheen's action figure is stolen. After ruling out all the other suspects, Jimmy quotes he original Sherlock story when he realizes the true thief must be the one he first ignored due to being too ridiculous: [[spoiler: [[NuttySquirrel a bunch of squirrels]]]].

* Thanks to a related trope, BatDeduction, some of the [[ComicBook/TheRiddler Riddler's]] riddles work this way. For a relatively grounded example, his first-ever crime used the clue "banquet," sending Batman and the police to a charity dinner. The real, and much less conventional meaning of the clue was that the Riddler had ''flooded a bank vault'' -- gotten a "bank wet" -- to defeat its pressure-sensitive locking mechanism and was looting it in scuba gear.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', it's frequently suggested, half-jokingly, that the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher must be cursed. The reader isn't invited to take this very seriously -- until Book 6 when Dumbledore reveals that it actually was cursed by Voldemort.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' episode "Bengeance is Mine" Ben is convinced a man named Bill Gacks is really Vilgax in disguise despite Rook's scanner confirming he isn't because it's too much of a coincidence that he closely resembles Vilgax, has a similar sounding name and just happens to be around whenever a holographic projection of Vilgax appears.

* In ''Literature/TheLongDarkTeaTimeOfTheSoul'', the titular protagonist inverts Sherlock Holmes' famous quote, saying "When you have eliminated all which is improbable, then whatever remains, however impossible, must be the truth." This is the person who owns an I Ching calculator that returns any answer higher than four as "a suffusion of yellow", practices zen driving (rather than just drive where you want to, find another driver that seems to know where they are going, and follow them), and claims that the perpetrator of a particularly grisly closed room murder got out by travelling to another dimension. [[spoiler: He is entirely correct about the last one.]]

-->-- ''Literature/TheLongDarkTeaTimeOfTheSoul'', '''Creator/DouglasAdams'''

* The first time we meet Tootles in the movie ''Film/{{Hook}}'', he's searching frantically for something. When Peter asks him what he's doing, he says, "I've lot my marbles!" Which Peter of course interprets metaphorically, thinking that Tootle's has gone insane. Much later in the movie, Peter learns that Tootles used to be a Lost Boy, and that he left his (quite literal) marbles behind in Neverland.

** Also used in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', the real culprit behind the mask is usually someone who is only seen once, or has little to no connection to the subject the Mystery Inc are investigating.