History Main / PhlebotinumAnalogy

'''Egon''': Well, let's say this twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. Based on this morning's sample, it would be a twinkie... thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds.\\
'''Winston''': That's a big twinkie.

* In ''Film/TheFly1958'', Andre Delambre takes it one step further. Not only does he use the way televisions transmit pictures through the air as an analogy for how his [[TeleportersAndTransporters teleporter]] transmits matter, he insists that since a television isn't all that fantastic or impressive ''a teleporter isn't either''. No, Andre. Those are ''really'' not the same sort of thing. At least when there's a fly in the television studio, the worst you're gonna get is live footage of the actors trying to swat it. ''Yeech''

* ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeGhostbusters'' ("It's gonna blow up real good")
** And the original ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'' movie, as seen above in the page quote. ("Tell him about the twinkie.")

* Happens regularly in ''{{Nebulous}}'', where the eponymous professor's analogies get twisted beyond the point of {{Metaphorgotten}}.

* ''Series/TheFlash2014'': In "Paxadox", Jay Garrick explains to Barry Allen that no matter how many times you try to fix things with time travel, the best you'll get is a CloseEnoughTimeline. Jay illustrates this by breaking a coffee cup. Now matter how well you try to put it back together, there will always be cracks.

* The quintessential example is, to no one's surprise, ''Franchise/StarTrek''
** One of the few times it fit was in ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Next Generation]]'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E16GalaxysChild Galaxy's Child]]", where a [[SpaceWhale larva space creature]] is feeding on the Enterprise, both because the ship's energy is compatible, and because it thinks the Enterprise is its mother. So they change the form of the energy to something incompatible, which they call, "souring the milk".
*** Later, when [=LaForge=] is retelling this incident to Scotty, Scotty uses the exact that phrase, despite [=LaForge=] (presumably) using only TechnoBabble in his explanation. [[BrickJoke In a completely different episode]] unrelated to the previous one.

** A good one is from the Doctor Who audio adventure "The shadow of the Scourge"

** One of the few times it fit was in ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Next Generation]]'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E16GalaxysChild Galaxy's Child]]", where a [[SpaceWhale larva space creature]] is feeding on the Enterprise, both because the ship's energy is compatible, and because it thinks the Enterprise is its mother. So they change the form of the energy to something incompatible, which they call, "sour the milk".

-->-- '''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'''

* WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee parodies the original twinkie analogy from ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'':

** And the original ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'' movie, as seen above in the page quote. ("Tell him about the twinkie.")

** One of the few times it fit was in a ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Next Generation]]'' episode, where a [[SpaceWhale larva space creature]] is feeding on the Enterprise, both because the ship's energy is compatible, and because it thinks the Enterprise is its mother. So they change the form of the energy to something incompatible, which they call, "sour the milk".

* In Michael Crichton's ''{{Sphere}}'', a physicist character explains gravity and black holes to some of the other characters using fruit on a table.

With as much AppliedPhlebotinum flying around, there's just as much TechnoBabble around to explain it. However, when even TechnoBabble piles on too much, it too needs to be explained away. Thus, we have the PhlebotinumAnalogy. It consists of using a simple simile to explain away something that is seemingly complex to the audience. Really, the only reason that it would be confusing to us is because nine-tenths of the time, whatever the character is explaining has been completely made up, anyway.

-->'''Drecker''': We gave the ball of death a giant cavity and now it's past the enamel! There! Fine! Okay?
-->[[BeatPanel (pause)]]
-->'''Drecker''': Oh, like I'm the only one who took a correspondence course in apt metaphors. Sheesh.
* An explanation of Deep Time's [[http://starslip.com/2008/10/31/starslip-number-904/ plan for ending the time war]] in StarslipCrisis:

* ToBoldlyFlee parodies the original twinkie analogy from ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'':

** Also in ''Stargate Atlantis'', a scientist back at SGC explains his intent to relay a transmission with an analogy to ''101 Dalmatians'' (specifically the "twilight bark" scene), as his kids love that movie. The audience completely fails to understand, so he falls back to the GondorCallsForAid sequence of ''LordOfTheRings'' instead.

* In ''{{Eureka}}'', the geniuses often use this to explain the Problem of the Week to Carter. The standard format is that one of the regulars gives a TechnoBabble explanation of what's happening, and then use the analogy when Carter admits he's no idea what they're talking about. Carter then proposes a solution based on the metaphor, which Henry or Alison translates ''back'' into TechnoBabble to provide the ''actual'' solution.

* Happens a lot in the Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}'s due to its FunctionalMagic. Much more expanded upon in FateStayNight due to the protagonist being an amateur magus himself.

* ToBoldlyFlee parodies the original twinkie analogy form {{Ghostbusters}}:

* There was such an analogy in ''{{Apollo 13}}'', spoken in Mission Control. In this case what it referred to wasn't totally made up. (That part of the script was written by John Sayles, to raise money for his own projects.)

* Despite being pretty realistic in terms of medical jargon, ''Series/{{House}}'' uses this about OnceAnEpisode; apparently it's part of House's process.

*** Later, when [=LaForge=] is retelling this incident to Scotty, Scotty uses the exact that phrase, despite [=LaForge=] (presumably) using only TechnoBabble in his explanation.

Expect LiesToChildren to show up in the examples a lot. Compare with HiroshimaAsAUnitOfMeasure when it comes to less technobabbly, much bigger things.

* While [[SmarterThanTheyLook Okabe]] can mostly keep up with [[TeenGenius Kurisu]]'s explanations on Kerr black holes and theoretical physics in ''[[VisualNovel/SteinsGate Steins;Gate]]'', Daru and [[TheDitz Mayuri]] don't quite manage to do the same. Thus, Kurisu and Okabe end up explaining physics with {{Magical Girl}}s and video games respectively.

* While [[SmarterThanTheyLook Okabe]] can mostly keep up with [[TeenGenius Kurisu]]'s explanations on Kerr black holes and theoretical physics in [[VisualNovel/SteinsGate Steins;Gate]], Daru and [[TheDitz Mayuri]] don't quite manage to do the same. Thus, Kurisu and Okabe end up explaining physics with {{Magical Girl}}s and video games respectively.

Expect LiesToChildren to show up in the examples a lot.