History Main / TheMunchausen

* ''Film/SinbadTheSailor'': Sinbad regales a skeptical audience with tales of his voyages, and [[FramingDevice begins to tell the tale of his latest voyage to Daryabar,]] [[LargeHam hamming it up magnificently.]] At the end of the movie he showers his audience with coins and jewels he retrieved from Daryabar, proving he was not merely boasting of his adventures.

* The "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch from ''At Last the 1948 Show'' (and later performed by Creator/MontyPython), which revolved around the four tile men sitting around and talking about their pasts, each trying to one-up the other in just how difficult and tragic their backgrounds were. After one of them finally won:

** For example, "Big Game Hunting" concerns an invention that can control animals via brain interfacing. A wildlife photographer shanghais its creator into finding and controlling [[spoiler:a giant squid. Both the photographer and the inventor die -- [[WaferThinMint when the brain controller blows a fuse]], allowing the squid to run amok.]]

* ''WebOriginal/SCPFoundation'': SCP-1867, AKA Lord Theodore Thomas Blackwood. He will always try to turn any conversation into one about his adventures, which are largely impossible. However, he also provided evidence, in the form of a collection of undiscovered life and technology being kept at a property belonging to one "Lord Blackwood". It's still questionable if he really did any of it, or even if he is the real Lord Blackwood, because SCP-1867 is a telepathic sea slug.

* Richard "the Iceman" Kuklinski is a dark version. After getting a life sentence for several murders, Kuklinski lured news reporters into three separate interviews and quite a lot of media attention by claiming to be a prolific mob hitman. He told dozens of stories of bizarre and colorful assassination methods while working as the strong right arm of the mob. He even claimed to have killed Jimmy Hoffa. The trouble is that almost none of his stories can be verified with fact, and his ties to the mafia seem to be almost nonexistent. He apparently just liked to kill time by making up stories to reporters. That didn't stop numerous books, television specials and a [[Film/TheIceman feature film]] to be made about him.

* Richard "the Iceman" Kuklinski is a dark version. After getting a life sentence for several murders, Kuklinski lured news reporters into three separate interviews and quite a lot of media attention by claiming to be a prolific mob hitman. He told dozens of stories of bizarre and colorful assassination methods while working as the strong right arm of the mob. he even claimed to have killed Jimmy Hoffa. The trouble is that almost none of his stories can be verified with fact, and his ties to the mafia seem to be almost nonexistent. He apparently just liked to kill time by making up stories to reporters. That didn't stop numerous books, television specials and a [[Film/TheIceman feature film]] to be made about him.

* The Italian comic book ''Lupo Alberto'' has Enrico La Talpa, who, for a while, annoyed the protagonist with tales of his adventures in WorldWarII on both sides. Depending on the occasion, he fought as a member of the SS, an Italian soldier detached with Rommell (who apparently stole his wallet) and an aviator of the US Army Air Force. Years later Alberto remarked that Enrico isn't trustworthy by evoking his tale of having fought the PunicWars in the ''air force''... And Enrico confirmed, inventing a tale of him fighting alongside Scipio the African and the Red Baron on the spot.

* TomBaker's barking mad sea captain character from ''{{Series/Blackadder}} II'', who constantly insults Blackadder for being unmanly. When Blackadder finally decides to call him on it ("I bet those legs never got sheared clean off by a mast in a storm!" "Well, neither have yours!"), the captain reveals that he is indeed legless. The rest of it is BS, tho.

* In WhiteWolf's ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'', [[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse the Ratkin]] have an entire caste called the Munchmausen. They specialize in exploring the Deep Umbra (the most remote parts of the spirit world), where things can get '''very''' strange, and they have the inherent ability to tell one elaborate, improbable lie each day that their audience automatically believes.

* The Doctor from ''Series/DoctorWho'' will go on and on about meeting Benjamin Franklin, Einstein, Pablo Picasso and more. To a stranger, he's insane. [[TimeTravel He really isn't.]]

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Münchhausen Baron Münchhausen]] (that's the correct German spelling!), or to give his full name, Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, Freiherr von Münchhausen (1720-1797), himself was a real man who came back from fighting the Turks in in the Russian Army (1740-1741) full of impossible stories. While the first book wasn't published until 1785 (in English!), it attempted to reproduce the stories and style found in Münchausen's original boasts. Most famous are probably the story how he rode a cannonball, or how he pulled himself and his horse from a swamp -- by his own hairs.

* The One-Upper on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. I remember one sketch where she claimed to be best friends with Liza Minelli and a tomato. After the rest of the cast storms off in disgust, guess who enters?

* The One-Upper on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. I remember one sketch where she claimed to be best friends with Liza Manelli and a tomato. After the rest of the cast storms off in disgust, guess who enters?

* The "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch from ''At Last the 1948 Show'' (and latter performed by Creator/MontyPython), which revolved around the four tile men sitting around and talking about their pasts, each trying to one-up the other in just how difficult and tragic their backgrounds were. After one of them finally won:

* Kieran of ''VideoGame/FireEmblem: PathOfRadiance'' takes any opportunity to mention one of his grand (and most definitely false or ''at least'' grossly exaggerated) exploits, such as the time he fought the Giant Whippoorwill of Southern Crimea (a RunningGag has the listener interrupting him before he can even say the location). He persistently believes these stories are well known even though his reputation never precedes him.
* Girl Stinky from Telltale's ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' games. Grampa Stinky too, though he's more likely to be telling the truth.

He's been everywhere, seen everything, done it all and more. Given any chance, he'll tell you all about it, whether you want him to or not. His adventures may be [[TallTale blatantly impossible]], or simply impossible to believe, but he rarely shuts up about them, and generally reacts badly to anyone openly doubting him. This character may be crazy, [[SelfServingMemory deluded]], a ConMan, or a compulsive liar. Often the listener to [[OccamsRazor dismiss his tales]], and then find out that TheMunchausen was [[CassandraTruth telling the truth]] [[ArkhamsRazor all along]].

* Baron Münchhausen himself. First published in 1781, this is OlderThanRadio.

** The story about him throwing a silver dollar across the Potomic was untrue too; such coins did not even exist during his lifetime. This was acually an exaggeration of an earlier story told by Martha Washington's grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, to illustrate the Washington's well-known strength, which claims that he threw a piece of slate across the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Historians assert that he could possibly have done this, but it was never verified.

* Surely Dill Harris from ''ToKillAMockingbird'' is one. Even though he's just a kid.

** The story about him throwing a silver dollar across the Potomic was clearly a lie too; such coins did not even exist during his lifetime.

* George Washington may have never told a lie, but he seemed to be fond of tall tales. His favorite song was said to be "The Derby Ram", an English folk song about a ram of titanic proportions and the problems involved in killing and butchering it. The famous tree story, cutting down a cherry tree and admitting it to a grateful father, a lie made up by Washington's biographer (Mason Weems) after his death.

* Mr. Satan on ''Manga/DragonBall Z''.

* Ducky, the M.E. on ''{{Series/NCIS}}''. Subverted at least half the time by Gibbs cutting him off before he can get out more than "This reminds me of..." and the beginning of a really weird-sounding NoodleIncident.

He's been everywhere, seen everything, done it all and more. Given any chance, he'll tell you all about it, whether you want him to or not. His adventures may be [[TallTale blatantly impossible]], or simply impossible to believe, but he rarely shuts up about them, and generally reacts badly to anyone openly doubting him. This character may be crazy, [[SelfServingMemory deluded]], a ConMan, or a compulsive liar. The most common [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] of this is for the listener to [[OccamsRazor dismiss his tales]], and then find out that TheMunchausen was [[CassandraTruth telling the truth]] [[ArkhamsRazor all along]].

The MilesGloriosus is a subtrope where [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu his own prowess]] is the central part of his tales -- and [[DirtyCoward he's lying]].

* Dos Equis' mascot is Advertising/TheMostInterestingManInTheWorld!
* Old Spice also has taken this turn, starting with Advertising/TheManYourManCouldSmellLike

* In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist: [[TheMovie Conqueror of Shamballa]]'', [[FishOutOfWater Edward Elric]] tells fantastic stories about his exploits as a boy to residents of Munich. Everybody thinks he's just plain [[CloudCuckooLander messed up in the head]], but since this is Fullmetal Alchemist and the guy telling the stories is [[{{Badass}} Edward Elric]], they're all ''absolutely true''.
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' has the minor anime-only character Toramasa Kobayashi, an old man with a tendency for such tall tales, making the good old days of Fūrinkan High School sounds like some Samurai movie. Ranma is rather skeptical, but [[KidSamurai Tatewaki]] is quite enthused by the stories.

* George Washington may have never told a lie, but he seemed to be fond of tall tales. His favorite song was said to be "The Derby Ram", an English folk song about a ram of titanic proportions and the problems involved in killing and butchering it.