History Main / MisappliedPhlebotinum

* While many of the artifacts contained by the Wiki/SCPFoundation are dangerous, a number of them are quite useful. The Foundation is aware of this, and those objects safe enough to be used without harm they ''do'' put to use in various capacities. They haven't released these things to the public largely because they want to be sure they understand the underlying mechanisms of how exactly they work first.

** It can be argued that the Foundation itself is actually and example of this trope; Its capabilities and achievements include billions of dollars in yearly budget and millions of highly skilled personnel, full, unquestioning cooperation from almost every national government on Earth, access to Lovecraftian secrets about the fundamental nature of the universe, permanent human settlements on Luna and Mars if not beyond, faster-than-light travel, applied reality manipulation and straight-up magic, however baring a few particularly malevolent entities all of this wealth and power is instead spent on preserving a fragile and quite vaguely defined notion of [[{{Masquerade}} consensus reality]]. This often leads the Foundation to supress the scientific advancements it itself had made (there is even evidence that it had attempted to crack down on atomic fission or 3D printing before deciding to mark them as non-anomalous) in spite of the mountains of empirical research and experimentation that should by any reasonable measure be more than enough to make them acceptable to the mainstream.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Myne's PastLifeMemories from modern-day Japan are subject to this after some of the most powerful people in her duchy become aware of them. Several factors play into this:

** Averted in the case of replicators; TheFederation as depicted is an example of a moneyless socialist society, sometimes regarded as a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_scarcity post-scarcity economy]]. Federation citizens do still work, but they do so to 'better themselves' and contribute to society. From the Next Generation series onwards, replicators make everything you need - for an energy input. In a normal space opera you might need some [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief suspension of disbelief]], {{Obvious Rule Patch}} or [[HandWave handwaving]] to explain why replicators don't cause the economy to collapse, however, in a post-capitalist utopian society, the problem doesn't exist.
*** The replicators also get more and more limited as the franchise goes on. For instance you can replicate food, but a homecooked meal or restaurant will taste better. It's also inefficent enough that in early seasons of ''Deep Space Nine'' Bajor was struggling with famines, even though they have both replicators and Federation foreign aid. Torpedoes are manufactured traditionally and stored on ships until use, not replicated as needed. Even the Federation is criss-crossed by trade lanes as goods are moved from one side of the galaxy to the other, and a few races build their [[ProudMerchantRaceGuy whole]] [[IntrepidMerchant culture]] around the fact that trade is still important. (As one ''Star Trek'' producer put it, a society that can replicate a starship is a society that doesn't ''need'' starships.)
** Another case is the holodeck. One may assume there are people who have taken to just living permanent lives of leisure in a holodeck, but again, they aren't shown on-screen because that would be boring. Recurring character Reginald Barclay's ongoing struggle with "holo-addiction" points out why you don't want that sort of thing going on when you're supposed to be busy exploring the galaxy and [[BoldlyComing making friends with aliens]].

* A plot point in ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters''. Plavsky Particles are harmless radiation that can cause specific types of plastic to move around as though they were motorized vehicles and create energy beams, shields, and all sorts of other neat stuff. They're also cheap enough that buying a small particle-emitting table for one's household, while a bit of a luxury item, isn't out of the price range of a middle-class family. This technology is used '''exclusively''' for simulating Gundam battles with model kits. Nils Nielson's entire motivation is that he has asked the question "Wait, what? Can't this tech do a hell of a lot more?" and is trying to find ways of expanding the uses for the technology.

* The Valkyria in ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' have the power to channel the energies of [[GreenRocks Ragnite]], which can and does almost anything, from lighting the streets to healing the wounded to powering the vehicles. The ability to control that energy could be a huge boon to the world if anyone [[IdiotPlot had a lick of common sense.]] Or if ''Valkyria Chronicles'' wasn't [[{{Anvilicious}} so dedicated]] to its [[BrokenAesop message that racism is bad unless you're a Valkyria.]]

* A number of stories by Creator/HenryKuttner about a down on his luck (mostly due to constant drinking) man who becomes a BunnyEarsLawyer genius inventor when drunk but can't remember when he sobers up. Since it is generally played for laughs and his drunk self is a CloudCuckooLander, that kind of explains it.
** In the short story ''The Proud Robot'' he invented an unbelievably sophisticated singing robot with a highly intelligent (and vain) AI. The inventor couldn't get the robot to do anything he wanted because he forgot ''why'' he built it in the first place (he was drunk). In the climax, he remembers that he built it because [[spoiler:he had trouble opening a can of beer. He swore to build a bigger and better can opener; said robot is able to open beer cans with absolutely no fizz or a single drop of spilled beer]]. The ending has the inventor becoming depressed because [[spoiler:beer cans are being phased out in favor of plastic bulbs, meaning his [[DoAnythingRobot "can opener" robot]] will be "useless"]].

* Basically, every {{superhero}}. [[ReedRichardsIsUseless Name one superhero who couldn't somehow make a fortune using his or her abilities for something other than beating up another superhuman.]]

* Averted in ''Anime/CodeGeass'' with Sakuradite, a naturally-occurring substance that is an exceptionally good conductor. It's used in HumongousMecha '''and''' consumer electronics, and is the reason the why MagneticWeapons have completely replaced gunpowder, even when it comes to personal firearms, and it's implied that the world runs on clean energy because of it.

* ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'': Despite possessing an incredibly versatile technology that could be used for any number of things, the series deliberately explores both the use and misuse of technology that allows one to imprint minds and skills into human bodies. At first glance, the eponymous Dollhouse appears to be flagrantly misusing their tech to run what essentially amounts to a high-tech brothel/thieves' guild/assassination broker that manufactures tailored agents. However, as the series progresses, we see the other uses of the tech, such as [[spoiler:mass-producing hive-minded supersoldiers, and weaponized use of imprinting/wiping signals across radios/telephones as weapons of mass destruction turning everyone who picks up the phone into either a childlike Doll or a rabidly homicidal Butcher]]. Averted by Topher during the second season when he reinvents his designs for Rossum specifically so that they can't be used for any other purpose than they are designed for.

** In "Prime Factors", the Sikarians are a culture of hedonists who have a teleporter that can reach planets ''forty thousand light years'' distant, which they use exactly once in the episode - to allow one of them to go on a romantic walk with Harry Kim. They presumably use it for other things too, but apparently not for trade or diplomacy. [[note]]Naturally, because FailureIsTheOnlyOption, it's incompatible with Federation technology so that the cast can't use it to get home.[[/note]]

** In "Prime Factors", the Sikarians have a teleporter that can reach planets ''forty thousand light years'' distant, which they use exactly once in the episode - to allow one of them to go on a romantic walk with Harry Kim. They presumably use it for other things too, but apparently not for trade or diplomacy. [[note]]Naturally, because FailureIsTheOnlyOption, it's incompatible with Federation technology so that the cast can't use it to get home.[[/note]]

** In Metal Gear Solid V, Big Boss and his Outer Heaven outfit come across a ton of useful gadgets that would have changed the world.

*** An unlockable command Big Boss can use in gameplay is the ability to summon rain. Presumably this is cloud seeding technology, but regardless of the method rain comes every time without fail when this command is given. Forget about Outer Heaven as a military organization, Big Boss could market his rain technology to any country or company in the world and walk away with trillions. It can't be overstated how revolutionary the ability to summon rain on demand is; there are countless civilians all over the world that are worried about drouts and worried about crop production that would buy from Outer Heaven for top dollar.
*** An unlockable device Big Boss can use in gameplay is a teleportation device. Latch the device onto an item or an NPC in the game, and they get teleported back to Outer Heaven in an instant. Teleportation would allow Outer Heaven to corner the market on any logistics based company in the world, and they would be trillionares in no time at all.

* This gets parodied in ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' during the episode where Mr. Krabs' first dollar is covered in paint. Spongebob and Patrick are desperate to clean the paint off of Mr. Krabs first earned dollar, and try multiple methods with no meaningful results. Methods include putting the dollar in a washer, using a power scrubber, a water jet (that punches a hole through Patrick's gut...) -- all to no avail. Patrick gets frustrated with their lack of progress and yells at Patrick to stop, pointing to a computer saying "Wait Spongebob, we're not '''cavemen''' we have technology." Do they look up an answer on the Internet on how to remove the paint? Nope. Patrick slams the computer on the dollar bill repeatedly, as if that would have any greater result than the previous failures. What makes the situation even more ridiculous is that when Mr. Krabs returns he reveals an easy method to remove the paint... just spit on it and rub it off.

** Pre-Crisis MadScientist Comicbook/LexLuthor could become every bit as wealthy as [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] if he marketed his tech legally, but he has too much of an {{Ubermensch}} complex to even ''want'' to make a living within society's infrastructure, viewing mundane Last Man civilization itself with contempt. John Byrne's ComicBook/PostCrisis Luthor is rich, but he only sporadically does scientific jobs himself, preferring to supervise or steal the work of specialists; while he has a superior intellect and his empire is based on earlier inventions, he is mostly rich by being a mundane ruthless SOB. Modern Luthor ''combines'' the two versions elevating his intellect UpToEleven to finally CutLexLuthorACheck and establish his scientific genius as the ''source'' of his colossal wealth.

** It was [[SarcasmMode probably just a coincidence]] that they found Vegetto, [[UpToEleven the contestant whose energy reaches the mass of a black hole in Super Saiyan 3 form,]] is considered a benevolent god by the civilizations of his universe, and who [[FridgeBrilliance works for the surviving Alternate Universe versions of some of the tournament's organizers.]] It's doubtful that the organizers are worried that, say, Freeza [[RiggedContest stands a fair chance against him.]]

** Cloning is totally neglected as a source of healing severe injuries inside the Star Wars universe. It is hand waved that cloning is an expensive technology, but for people with deep enough pocket books it shouldn't be that difficult to graft cloned tissue onto scarred body parts. Vader in particular should view this solution with immense interest. His burned lungs could be replaced with cloned lungs. His 4 severed limbs could be replaced with cloned limbs. His burnt skin could be gradually replaced skin grafts from cloned skin. If the cloning technology doesn't work on individual organs, and a whole person has to be born, then the only thing that limits the user is their own morality. Someone like Vader should have no deep guilt over making clone Anakins and then murdering them so he can graft their parts onto himself, this would be a necessary evil to attain ultimate power (since his burns are what hold him back).

*** Luke's hand is covered in advanced synthetic skin, that looks indistinguishable from human flesh at a glance. This would indicate that cybernetics should be capable of making other body parts look realistically organic. Whether it's Vader, Grevious, or the non-canon robotic Starkiller, cybernetics that cover the whole body seem to be a crude mish mash of machinery and flesh. Vader is covered in bulky armor. Grevious is basically a skeletal metal frame with some organs inside his chest and head cavity. Starkiller is a robot with some decaying flesh exposed. Why wouldn't it look more like Cyberpunk 2077 in terms of realism, rather than be stuck like that.

** Cloning is totally neglected as a source of healing severe injuries inside the Star Wars universe. It is hand waved that cloning is an expensive technology, but for people with deep enough pocket books it shouldn't be that difficult to graft cloned tissue onto scarred body parts. Vader in particular should view this solution with immense interest. His burned lungs could be replaced with cloned lungs. His 4 severed limbs could be replaced with cloned limbs. His burnt skin could be gradually replaced skin grafts from cloned skin. If the cloning technology doesn't work on indivual organs, and a whole person has to be born, then the only thing that limits the user is their own morality. Someone like Vader should have no deep guilt over making clone Anakins and then murdering them so he can graft their parts onto him, this would be a necessary evil to attain ultimate power (since his burns are what hold him back).
** Cybernetic body parts exist in the Star Wars universe, but the full body conversion side of things seems more clunky in a lot of ways. Vader has a prosthetic breathing pump fused into his chest, and a series of tubes connect to his mask in order to filter air for him. In the real world we have basic lung implants that simulate the expansion of lungs, and allows a person with damaged lungs to walk around without much fuss. That's in our world, so it's really odd that Vader who lives in a science fiction universe would have to wear such a bulky cybernetic implant in order to live, when there should be a cybernetic lung that is far more advanced than anything we have on Earth.

** The "FTL as a weapon" idea is averted in ''Franchise/StarWars'' -- if a hyperdrive approaches a gravity well, it automatically shuts down and reverts the starship to realspace. Or, failing that, melts. Which pulls the starship back into realspace. The time someone gets stranded in hyperspace, we find out [[FateWorseThanDeath why there are so many safeguards]]. Also, if a ship hits a gravity well while in hyperspace, it's rather strongly implied that it will somehow be annihilated, killing all on board. The source of the gravity well in realspace would also be unharmed, because it's the "mass shadows" projected into hyperspace that cause this damage rather than a direct collision with realspace object.

** Repulsion and Propulsion Gels - Gels literally capable of breaking the laws of physics by making any surface in which they are spread suddenly gain elasticity or make any object in contact with that surface ''gain momentum'' respectively. Marketed as ''dietary aids'' despite being ''horrifically toxic''.

** T Corp's singularity is [[spoiler:the ability to somehow collect and then distribute time. This is used primarily to grow and cook food in compressed time.]]

** The US military created realistic Virtual Reality technology prior to the nuclear war. The VR pod can realistically simulate all of the body's senses. Pain is so accurately simulated that if the user dies inside the simulation the pain of dying in the simulation causes a heart attack in the real world. Such technology would be able to radically revolutionize education on a variety of subjects, without the need for the real life tools needed to normally teach those subjects. Sadly, the US government only cared about using the VR technology to simulate war scenarios to train their troops, rather than apply it to civilian causes.

** The FEV (Forced Evolutionary Virus) was created by the US military in the expectation of biological, chemical, and nuclear attacks. The FEV would be cool enough if it just gave people super human strength, but Super Mutants are immune to radiation, disease, biological and chemical warfare, and provides eternal youth [[note]] Super Mutants are still alive 200 years after the nuclear war, so they are either immune to aging or just age very slowly. The only downside to extreme age is a handful of Super Mutants become completely feral and grow into the size of a tree. [[/note]] If they learned how to fix the ugliness of a Super Mutant, and prevent the insanity problem, then a Super Mutant would be a huge improvement on normal humanity.

** Power armor is expensive, but if you can get your hands on one it turns you into a walking tank. Power armor increases speed and strength immensely, and is canonically resistant to lasers, plasma, explosives, and even high caliber ammo. Any settlement with access to power armor would be able to make defense of their home trivial. The Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave are reclusive and do not share this technology with the Wasteland.
** The US military created highly realistic Virtual Reality technology prior to the nuclear war. The VR pod can realistically simulate taste, smell, touch, and sound. Pain is so accurately simulated that if the user dies inside the simulation the pain of dying in the simulation causes a heart attack in the real world. Such technology would be able to radically revolutionize education on a variety of subjects, without the need for the real life tools needed to normally teach those subjects. Sadly, the US government only cared about using the VR technology to simulate war scenarios to train their troops, rather than apply it to civilian causes.

* In Anime/{{DragonBallZ}} Goku and all of his friends have far surpassed the martial artists of Earth in every conceivable way. The occasional lip service is paid to how Goku's family has financial issues, and yet Goku doesn't simply use his god-like power to steam roll over the World Martial Arts Tournament as many times as his family needs to become financially secure. Also worth noting is that Piccolo has the power to materialize objects out of thin air using his ki, an ability that would make their need for money moot if he simply taught it to Goku and Gohan. At least with Goku, it is justified that Goku actually wants to be challenged when he fights people, so beating up weak fighters who can't use ki would be boring to him. Gohan notably was going to win the tournament at his mother's request, but Majin Buu's rampages put a quick end to that plan. Android 18 actually successfully pulled that plan off by forcing Hercule to pay her the prize money for the tournament if she threw the fight, otherwise she would humilate him in front of his fans. At least someone got their pay day for having powers.

* '''ArtificialGravity:'''
** Artificial gravity has a very wide range of tactical applications, such as accelerating the exhaust from a chemical thruster for extra speed or maneuverability, operating ridiculously powerful gravitic railguns, ripping an enemy vessel apart with conflicting gravity fields, or literally crushing [[BoardingParty boarding actions]] by simply dialing up the gravity carpeting of the room they're in by 10000%.
** Instead, AG is (almost) exclusively used only to ensure the main characters have a comfortable sense of up and down, no matter how pressing other matters might be.[[note]] There are actually some very real health risks associated with extended exposure to microgravity, however the lengths to which in-universe shipbuilders will go to avoid this is nothing short of nonsensical. [[/note]] This extends even to active combat situations, where the AG will remain running at full capacity even while the rest of the spacecraft is currently in flames or even completely depressurized. [[SarcasmMode As we all know, militaries are always keen to put personnel comfort over their own offensive or defensive capability, and would never even think of requiring its soldiers to regularly excersize in order to be able to overcome the physical stresses of deployment abroad.]]
** If your CoolStarship has a device that can generate and manipulate gravity irrespective of mass, then mounting {{Tractor Beam}}s, DeflectorShields, {{Inertial Dampen|ing}}ers and even ''engines'' may be redundant.