History MundaneUtility / WesternAnimation

** One aspect of Kenny's immortality means that he wakes up in his bed every time he is killed, with no-one having any memory of his death. At the end of the episode, he decides to use it for Fast Travelling.

** At one point, Marco borrows Star's [[InterdimensionalTravelDevice dimensional scissors]] and starts making small portal everywhere so that he doesn't have to get up from his bed. He make a portal to the dog park, to the fridge, and to the beach. Apparently, this is a bad thing, as Hekapoo, the creator of dimensional scissors, kidnaps him and confiscates the scissors. He has to go on a sixteen-year quest to get a new pair.

** Another instance, he has heat vision that can melt any form of metal, [[http://dr-squish.tumblr.com/post/48414900966/are-you-serious-superman which he uses to shave.]] [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] though, as his hair is probably stronger than any Earth metal (''that's'' why he's always so well coiffed).

-->'''Superman:''' You mean Santa did.

-->'''Butter robot:''' [[MachineMonotone What is my purpose?]]
-->'''Rick:''' You pass butter.
-->'''Butter robot:''' [looks down at hands] [[MachineMonotone Oh my god.]]

** His crowning moment is probably turning himself into a sentient pickle... to get out of going to ''family therapy''. Naturally all manner of HilarityEnsues, culminating in him fighting off {{Renegade Russian}}s and Creator/DannyTrejo, and finally ending in an EnemyMine with a huge explosion and helicopter escape. [[spoiler:He ''still'' ends up at therapy]].

-->'''Kenny:''' Well, I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed. ''(pulls out a pistol and shoots himself in the head)''

** At one point, Marco borrows Star's [[InterdimensionalTravelDevice dimensional scissors]] and starts making small portal everywhere so that he doesn't have to get up from his bed. He make a portal to the dog park, to the fridge, and to the beach. Apparently this is a bad thing, as Hekapoo, the creator of dimensional scissors, kidnaps him and confiscates the scissors. He has to go on a sixteen-year quest to get a new pair.

** He can also listen to [=CDs=] without a CD-player. [[RuleOfFunny How that works is never explained.]]

* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLegendOfKorra

** Earthbending is used for a soccer like game called Earthball, and Toph uses it to make a tent and, in one episode, cheat at gambling. Omashu uses it to power a mail system and Ba Sing Se uses it to fashion together a train system.

** Lightningbending (something that only threecharacters in the original series were ever shown doing) has become so commonplace in the sequel that it is now used to run power plants. Metalbending, which only Toph could perform in the original series as she has just recently discovered it was possible, is now used ubiquitously by the police as a means of restraint and quick transportation via steel cables.

** Outside of bending, the [[MiniMecha mecha-tanks]] leftover from the Equalist coup of Republic City are used to load cargo. To their credit, they were based off of Future Industries' Forklifts (which would be designed for that express purpose).

** [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]] and Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk made microwave popcorn with Mjolnir's lightning summoning, and in another episode went to the Moon to wrestle after breaking too many things in Avengers Tower during their weekly sparring matches.

* Comicbook/{{Robin}} in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman''.
-->'''Robin:''' He gave you a radiation detector? Why don't ''I'' get a radiation detector?
-->'''Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}:''' Anyone using the Bat-computer for something ''other'' than downloading video game cheat codes? ''(raises her hand)'' Hm?
* The eponymous character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' uses his VoluntaryShapeshifting powers courtesy of ImportedAlienPhlebotinum for this almost as much as he uses them for superheroism, mostly to pull pranks on his cousin Gwen. Of course, as a large part of the series consists of Ben [[HowDoIShotWeb failing to use his powers properly]], this rarely works the way he wants. Other examples include using Grey Matter's SuperIntelligence to win a game, [=Xlr8=]'s SuperSpeed to put away stuff in his grandfather's rustbucket and repair said rustbucket, Fourarm's stature and SuperStrength to run a catch tournament, and even once several alien forms to handle multiple tasks in a farm.

* Danny from ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' once used his ghost powers to clean up the messy basement (and his flight to vacuum the walls). We have to ignore the fact that Ghost Rays ''push'' the objects in their proper place instead of blowing it up. On occasion he also used them to get to school early and [[PowerPerversionPotential enter the girl’s locker room]].

---> '''Leela:''' ''You're getting a massive dose of radiation!''\\

** And, of course, in "Less Than Hero" in which they gain actual superhero-like superpowers, Leela's reaction is to say that "I'll be able to pack my day with twice as many humdrum activities!" Later in the episode, Fry, Leela, and Bender are [[HostageForMacguffin forced to steal a gem for a supervillian to rescue Leela's parents]]. After delivering it, the villain, the Zookeeper, has his hawk fetch the gem from Bender's hands and bring it to him... from a distance of about five feet. Fry lampshades the trope.
---> '''Fry:''' That seemed unnecessary.
** TheHypnotoad is arguably the most powerful being on the planet, and could rule the world if he so chose. Instead he uses his powers to get himself a sitcom and win pet contests.

* In the second season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}, Hilda's mother convinces [[HouseFey her house's Nisse]] to let her use [[EldritchLocation Nowhere Space]] as extra cupboard space.

* Jake the Dog in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' gets enormous use out of his [[RubberMan stretchy powers]], and there are few episodes where he doesn't find some new application. His hands morph into a bottle opener or a key, he shrinks so Finn can carry him, he enlarges to provide an impromptu rain shield or simply to make walking large distances easier, extending limbs mean nothing is out of his reach, and the pranks he can play are quite elaborate, to name just several examples.

* In the ''[[Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar]]'' franchise, almost every bender with a decent amount of screen time has done this. Keep in mind that elemental bending is something that a large portion of this world's population can do, and having it applied to mundane use is hardly surprising. On one occasion Iroh ''blew his cover'' by Firebending a cup of tea to warm it up.
** Other good examples from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
*** Earthbending is used for a soccer like game called Earthball, and Toph uses it to make a tent. Omashu uses it to power a mail system and Ba Sing Se uses it to fashion together a train system.
*** Firebending makes a handy torch, and is useful for metalworking. Although the Fire Nation's SteamPunk tech is usually powered by coal-based fire, in a pinch, you can also Firebend it directly.
*** [[spoiler:Fire Lord Sozin]] once used Firebending to redirect the heat out of a lava flow, cooling it down so it would harden.
*** Waterbending makes sailing a breeze. Surfing, too. [[spoiler:And makes practical submarines possible almost a hundred years before their time.]] It also has potential industrial cutting applications, though we've only seen that once, when Aang and Katara used a very fast-moving stream of water to cut through what appeared to be an inch-thick steel I-beam.
*** Airbending finds use for everything from launching cakes to providing ''every single Air Nomad'' with the ability to use their gliders for flight.
*** Over the course of the show, we see a special technique for each of the types of bending. Fire is lightning, Water is bloodbending, and Earth is metalbending. What's the special new air technique, you ask? It's the Air Scooter. That ball Aang uses just to get around all the time.
*** A combination of water and earthbending provides liquid filtration.
*** One episode has Toph use her earthbending to cheat at gambling and ''commit insurance fraud.''
** TheRoaringTwenties setting of SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' gives us even more examples:
*** Lightningbending (something that [[OldMaster only]] [[TheHeavy three]] [[BigBad characters]] in the original series were ever shown doing) has become so commonplace that it is now used to run power plants. Metalbending, which only Toph could perform in the original series as she has just recently discovered it was possible, is now used ubiquitously by the police as a means of restraint and quick transportation via steel cables.
*** Firebending is mentioned to be used in the making of car engines.
*** Korra once uses the [[SuperMode Avatar state]] as a "booster rocket" in an airbending race. Granted, Tenzin calls it out as a gross misuse of power.
*** Outside of bending, the [[MiniMecha mecha-tanks]] leftover from the Equalist coup of Republic City are used to load cargo. To their credit, they were based off of Future Industries' Forklifts (which would be designed for that express purpose).
*** Season 3 featured a society of metalbenders under the leadership of Suyin Beifong, Toph's other daughter and Lin's half-sister, which has a city made of metal from construction by the bending itself, as well as using the bending for arts and acupuncture.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' got a lot of mileage out of this trope. The third episode of the series opens with Comicbook/TheFalcon using his high-tech combat flight suit to arrive at a mission briefing on time.

*** Subverted, since using an actual lightning bolt to cook popcorn is pretty impractical.

*** In a nod to this, in a later episode he is referred to as "the inventor of supertoast".
** Not to mention Zim himself, who put Dib into a complete virtual reality world and allowed him to virtually grow to old age...in order to get Dib to admit to having ''thrown a muffin'' at him.
*** And then he uses a massive cannon with a barrel nearly as big as Dib's head... to shoot another muffin (albeit at enough force that it left him limping) as revenge.
*** and Zim's robotic legs, very useful in battle, have lasers and energy shields build in, are first used to...get up to the sofa.

** And, of course, in "Less Than Hero" in which they gain actual superhero-like superpowers, Leela's reaction is to say that "I guess our lives will be full of even more humdrum activity now!" Later in the episode Fry, Leela, and Bender are [[HostageForMacguffin forced to steal a gem for a supervillian to rescue Leela's parents]]. After delivering it, the villian, the Zookeeper, has his hawk fetch the gem from Fry's hands and bring it to him... from a distance of about five feet. Fry lampshades the trope.

* In the first ''[[WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle Peabody and Sherman]]'' segment, Peabody reveals that he built [[TimeMachine the Wayback Machine]] because his apartment wasn't big enough for Sherman to run around in.
** In the film, he built it to teach his son Sherman about history.
** And in the ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'' story ''Rue Brittania'', Boris Badenov uses a guillotine to slice bread.

* The title characters of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' frequently use their powers for other things when they're not fighting crime or monsters, such as cleaning their room. However the most frequent use of their ability of flight is used to simply get around. There is hardly a time they aren't floating around rather than walking.
* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'':
** In one episode, Clark accidentally drops his pencil under his desk and, after making sure no one's looking, quickly lifts the entire desk over his head to retrieve it.
** Another instance, he has heat vision that can melt any form of metal, [[http://dr-squish.tumblr.com/post/48414900966/are-you-serious-superman which he uses to shave.]] [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] though, as his hair is probably stronger than any Earth metal (''that's'' why he's always so well coiffed).
* ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'': Coop abused his mecha's abilities at every possible opportunity, usually just for rather mundane things. That's not counting all the times he's just showing off because he's bored. The show also used this trope from the other direction. Even though he's in a giant mech with enough firepower to destroy planets and can ''fly at interstellar speeds'', he still has to deal with things like traffic and annoying drivers. In one episode, Megas got ''towed'' and Coop had to jump through all the hoops, including retaking the driver's exam, to get back a giant robot that could smite the world with the press of a button.
** To a lesser extent, Megas's "control center" was made from a [[CoolCar 1970 Plymouth Barracuda]], which is still fully functional. Jamie uses it to pick up chicks.
* In ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'', the Xiaolin Dragons occasionally use their Shen Gong Wu to do their chores. For example, Clay using the Third Arm Sash for sweeping. The monks also use their elemental powers at one point for the arduous and life-affirming task of...[[MundaneMadeAwesome cleaning the dishes.]] And then there's the time they used their powers to throw a pool party.
** Played with when they gain the Shard of Lightning, an item that stops time around the users, allowing them to accomplish many tasks in the blink of an eye. They do all their chores in about five seconds. When Master Fung sees them finished, he wipes the smiles off their faces by saying that they're so efficient, they can do even more chores today.

* In the first season of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', Sari used her key for fixing/powering up anything she thought might be amusing. This tapered off during the second season, although she still used it to pirate cable.
** The Autobots themselves frequently use their abilities to repair the city, and once took out a bunch of trash. This is a debatable example, as civilian usage was more or less what they were made for.

* In ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', Leonardo's swords, in addition to slicing up bad guys, are also used to slice up pizza. In the original movie, he does so in such a manner that each slice lands on one of the Turtles' plates -- except for the last one, which lands on Splinter's head.
* Everyone in ''WesternAnimation/GalactikFootball'' uses their incredible superpowers to play soccer. This is rigidly enforced by a Jedi Council, who are worried Galactic war will break out otherwise.
* Magic in ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' is used for the mundane all the time, such as levitating objects, cutting or cleaning a dress, cleaning trash and pollution, or painting a room.
* Danny from ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' once used his ghost powers to clean up the messy basement (and his flight to vacuum the walls). We have to ignore the fact that Ghost Rays ''push'' the objects in their proper place instead of blowing it up. On occasion he also used them to get to school early and [[PowerPerversionPotential enter the girl’s locker room]].

* ''WesternAnimation/WordGirl'' villain Tobey, who makes robots the size of skyscrapers for the sole purpose of destruction, finds that his creations apparently also like to paint. And play hopscotch. And shield the elderly from the sun.
* The eponymous character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' uses his VoluntaryShapeshifting powers courtesy of ImportedAlienPhlebotinum for this almost as much as he uses them for superheroism, mostly to pull pranks on his cousin Gwen. Of course, as a large part of the series consists of Ben [[HowDoIShotWeb failing to use his powers properly]], this rarely works the way he wants. Other examples include using Grey Matter's SuperIntelligence to win a game, [=Xlr8=]'s SuperSpeed to put away stuff in his grandfather's rustbucket and repair said rustbucket, Fourarm's stature and SuperStrength to run a catch tournament, and even once several alien forms to handle multiple tasks in a farm.
** It happened less so in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'', but he starts doing it again in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', where he is seen using Brainstorm's SuperIntelligence to ''win a golf match''.
* While not super-powers per se, ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' often uses Wade's super-techno crime-fighting gadgets for mundane things like homework.
** In particular, one that had to be pre-emptively defied was the super suit from ''[[WesternAnimation/KimPossibleMovieSoTheDrama so the drama]]'', which had to be written out because it was a complete StoryBreakerPower, and Kim had every intention of using it from everything to foiling her normal rogue's gallery (which would be complete overkill) to cats up trees.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', the Titans regularly use their powers for whatever reason.
** Raven is so comfortable with her telekinesis that she's never seen physically opening a door, sometimes skipping the door altogether and just phasing through the wall. She also once used her epic magic powers, that could destroy the universe if used incorrectly, to give Beast Boy a wedgie.
** Starfire flies ''everywhere'', usually when excited she'll just forgo walking to dance in the air.
** Cyborg used his superhuman strength to pick up a sofa so he could find the remote once.
** Beast Boy has tried to use his powers to pick up chicks, with negative results. He's also turned into a dog just to nap on the sofa.
** While Robin himself never does, the others take advantage of his absence during a training trip to raid his room so that they can check out all his cool gadgets. He comes home to find the Titans using his weapons to cut a pizza.
* Every episode that is now created for ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' is done with incredibly advanced computer technology. Lampshaded by the creators of the show when they said: "It's like building a sandcastle with a bulldozer."
** One aspect of Kenny's immortality means that he wakes up in his bed every time he is killed, with no-one having any memory of his death. At the end of the episode, he decides to use it for Fast Travelling.
-->'''Kenny:''' Well, I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed. ''(pulls out a pistol and shoots himself in the head)''
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3'', Mario and co. get in a fight with the Koopalings over a wizard's lost GreenLanternRing wand. When the wizard retrieves it at the end, he reveals that he only uses it to roast weenies.
* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', Aquaman uses his "talking to fish" powers to get a soda. The fish wasn't pleased.
** And God has lightning bolts and telekinesis. He uses these powers to get chicks. Or at least tries to.
** {{Jesus|WasWayCool}} used his powers to turn water into funk and improve his golf game.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Dr. Orpheus has used his magical powers to cook frittatas.
** Orpheus's master sometimes uses his powers of transformation for this. For example, he once made himself look like Orpheus's ex-wife so he could stare at her ample cleavage in the mirror (also to mess with Orpheus but mostly the first thing). He also prefers the form of a three-headed dog because it allows him to enjoy triple autofellatio.

* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' occasionally had characters use [[SkySurfing zipboards]] as chairs.
* In the first ''[[WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle Peabody and Sherman]]'' segment, Peabody reveals that he built [[TimeMachine the Wayback Machine]] because his apartment wasn't big enough for Sherman to run around in.
** In the film, he built it to teach his son Sherman about history.
** And in the ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'' story ''Rue Brittania'', Boris Badenov uses a guillotine to slice bread.
* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', the Pig Talisman is found in Bavaria, where its Eye Beam power was used to melt chocolate.
** Jade often used the Talismans for normal problems, such as using the Rabbit Talisman to get to school on time.
* A crossover episode between ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' featured a group of KND operatives using a laser to cut bratwurst. Mandy, who wanted the laser for her giant robot, was not amused.

* WesternAnimation/{{Static|Shock}} uses his powers to grab his keys and charge his father's razor.
** He can also listen to [=CDs=] without a CD-player. [[RuleOfFunny How that works is never explained.]]
* Comicbook/{{Robin}} in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman''.
-->'''Robin:''' He gave you a radiation detector? Why don't ''I'' get a radiation detector?
-->'''Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}:''' Anyone using the Bat-computer for something ''other'' than downloading video game cheat codes? ''(raises her hand)'' Hm?
* Jake the Dog in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' gets enormous use out of his [[RubberMan stretchy powers]], and there are few episodes where he doesn't find some new application. His hands morph into a bottle opener or a key, he shrinks so Finn can carry him, he enlarges to provide an impromptu rain shield or simply to make walking large distances easier, extending limbs mean nothing is out of his reach, and the pranks he can play are quite elaborate, to name just several examples.
** Marceline the Vampire Queen uses her flight power almost solely to surpass the tedious issue of standing and walking, while her shapeshifting is ''only'' used for [[ItAmusedMe scaring people]].
** "In Five Short Graybles", Princess Bubblegum uses all of her scientific technology from growth formulas, teleportation device, and even magic to make a sandwich. Though in her defenses it was the "perfect sandwich".
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan,'' [[DishingOutDirt Sandman]] used his powers to [[PetTheDog build a magnificent sand castle]] for a little girl.
** Peter himself uses his webs for relatively mundane tasks, like quickly cleaning his room (and, of course, the whole photography thing). For that matter, Harry [[spoiler:uses his father's PsychoSerum]] just to improve his grades and football skills.
* In an episode of the 90's ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' cartoon, Wolverine uses his claws [[http://tsuidark.tumblr.com/post/10009997262/x to slice cold cuts for his sandwich.]]
** {{ComicBook/Colossus}} is introduced earning a quick buck doing demolition work.
* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice,'' we see members of the Flash family using their powers for tasks such as clearing the dishes (Barry) and cleaning out the ice cream when nobody's looking (Wally). Zatanna and Megan both can also use their powers (magic and shapeshifting, respectively) to change their outfits.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' episode "Parents", Elise uses her sword-fighting skills to chop lettuce.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeamUmizoomi'' could be considered ''living'' versions of this with things like delivering mail, making milk, or grocery shopping.
** When he's not solving mighty math problems, Geo is making food or toys out of shapes.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieThePearlPrincess'', Lumina uses her color-changing pearl powers to style hair and tails, and Madame Ruckus uses her tentacles to style hair.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' got a lot of mileage out of this trope. The third episode of the series opens with Comicbook/TheFalcon using his high-tech combat flight suit to arrive at a mission briefing on time.
** [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]] and Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk made microwave popcorn with Mjolnir's lightning summoning, and in another episode went to the Moon to wrestle after breaking too many things in Avengers Tower during their weekly sparring matches.
*** Subverted, since using an actual lightning bolt to cook popcorn is pretty impractical.
** Comicbook/{{Hawkeye}} uses his ImprobableAimingSkills to annoy his teammates by bouncing things off their heads, build sandwiches by tossing ingredients back over his shoulder without looking, and clean house at boardwalk carnival games.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Mixels}}'', thanks to their FusionDance abilities, Mixels have a tendency to Mix for fixing any problem they have, be it assembling sandwiches, changing a light bulb, or performing in a talent show.
** Select other characters use their base abilities for mundane reasons as well. Zorch uses his SuperSpeed for his job as a mailman, and the Electroids use their electric-tipped body parts as flashlights in blackouts.
* Ian Peek in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' has a belt that makes him immaterial and partially invisible. He uses it to spy on celebrities for his gossipy TV show. Well, ''used'' it, [[AFateWorseThanDeath at least...]]
* ''Toys/EverAfterHigh'':
** Raven uses her fearsome sorceress powers to carry luggage.
** The most prominent effect of Bunny's supernatural luck is that she is never late for anything, ever. Fate just conspires to make it that way. Naturally, she has gotten very zen about making appointments.
** In Poppy's [[AllThereInTheManual diary]], she describes using a shrinking potion to fit everything she owns in one suitcase.
* Valerie Frizzle has an apparently-sentient [[WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus magic school bus]] that can fly through space at FTL speeds (to Pluto and back within a single school day!) while supporting human passengers, maintain operating temperatures and breathable atmosphere while submerged in lava or stomach acid, travel through time without causing nasty paradoxes, shapeshift, shrink to microbial or molecular levels, turn into HardLight, etc., and always automatically transforms or supports its passengers safely. She uses it to teach third-grade science class at a public school.
* [[WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty Rick Sanchez]] created a miniature universe and taught its first sentient inhabitants the ability to generate electricity, then mooched off their electricity generation... to power his car.
** In an earlier episode, Rick is eating breakfast and the butter for his pancakes is a few inches out of reach, so he builds a robot with enough sentience to ''have an existential crisis'' when Rick tells it what it was built for.
-->'''Butter robot:''' [[MachineMonotone What is my purpose?]]
-->'''Rick:''' You pass butter.
-->'''Butter robot:''' [looks down at hands] [[MachineMonotone Oh my god.]]
** For that matter, Rick often uses his portal gun for mundane purposes, like going to a universe where daylight savings time was never invented so he could grab some pizza before the pizza joint closed, or fetching more Fig Newtons for Ice-T.
** His crowning moment is probably turning himself into a sentient pickle... to get out of going to ''family therapy''. Naturally all manner of HilarityEnsues, culminating in him fighting off {{Renegade Russian}}s and Creator/DannyTrejo, and finally ending in an EnemyMine with a huge explosion and helicopter escape. [[spoiler:He ''still'' ends up at therapy]].
* There exists a giant toy store in the show ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' called Toy Palace. Among its stock of toys for sale is a ''working time machine''.
* In the end titles of ''WesternAnimation/MiltonTheMonster'', Milton uses a guillotine to slice lunch meat for his pet pirahnas.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In an episode where Marge joined the Springfield police department, Homer used her pepper spray to season his food. He enjoys it even though it causes his eyes to swell and tear up in pain.
** In one Halloween episode Homer uses a pair of telepods to allow him to get beer from the fridge without having to get off the couch. Marge draws the line when he tries to use it so that he doesn't need to actually go to the bathroom to relieve himself.
* In "Runaway Robot" from the animated ''Literature/IfYouGiveAMouseACookie'', it's revealed that Cat has invented a mobile robot with a vaguely human-like appearance, which is powered by cupcakes and can be controlled by remote control. It... makes breakfast, then washes the dishes, and can also dance.

* Before being recruited by the Hulk to get back in [[WesternAnimation/HulkAndTheAgentsOfSMASH the hero game]], Jennifer "She-Hulk" Walters was working as a stuntwoman. Aside from her powers making it possible for her to trivially perform stunts that would be extremely dangerous or even fatal for a normal human, a director noted that since she had green skin and hair it was easy to digitally mask her out and replace her with whatever actress she was standing in for.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'':
** Star often uses her magic for this, such as summoning a sapient cloud to ride on, blasting a magical narwhal at doors to open them, and using her Mewberty SuperMode for casual flight (despite, again, already having a flying cloud). This seems common for her family; Eclipsa invented BlackMagic partly to [[LaserGuidedAmnesia to erase the memories]] of guards who caught her sneaking out of the castle, and Moon mentions at one point a spell to convince her husband to make the bed.
** At one point, Marco borrows Star's [[InterdimensionalTravelDevice dimensional scissors]] and starts making small portal everywhere so that he doesn't have to get up from his bed. He make a portal to the dog park, to the fridge, and to the beach. Apparently this is a bad thing, as Hekapoo, the creator of dimensional scissors, kidnaps him and confiscates the scissors. He has to go on a sixteen-year quest to get a new pair.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'': All the Murphy men are cursed with [[BornUnlucky absolutely horrible luck]]; anything that can go wrong, does go wrong. Milo's father puts this to work in his job as a safety inspector. All he has to do is walk into a place, and any safety violations will immediately and violently reveal themselves.
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'':
** When not in the field, Glimmer uses her powers of teleportation all the time. She frequently uses it as a way to get out of an embarrassing or awkward situation (such as a conversation with her mother), and allows her to move about Bright Moon essentially at will. She even has her bed hanging about 5 meters in the air, which becomes a problem in one episode when she loses her powers.
*** The intro shows her and Bow running up to Adora, only for Glimmer to teleport the last 3 meters.
** Bow's EstablishingCharacterMoment sees him firing an arrow into Glimmer's bedroom... containing a message for her to look outside her window.
** While Adora normally only turns into She-Ra during combat or training, she also does so to impress people. And while she's She-Ra, she'll happily make mundane use of her enhanced strength and size.
*** After she masters the ability to transform her sword into other objects, she sometimes does so for mundane purposes.
** Perfuma primarily uses her powers of plant control to make flowery decorations [[spoiler:or a topiary memorial to Entrapta]].
** Frosta is actually very good at creating ice sculptures.

*** and Zim's robotic legs, very useful in battle, have lasers and energy shields build in, are first used to...get up to the sofa
* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' uses this a lot. Violet makes herself invisible to hide from her crush at school, Dash uses his super speed to pull pranks on his teacher (moving so fast he can't be seen), and Elastigirl stretches her neck so she can look Mr. Incredible in the eye should he try to turn his back on her while she yells at him. The current page picture shows a day at the Incredible household, with Mr. Incredible lifting up a couch so Mrs. Incredible can vacuum under it, both using their super powers.
** Also inverted in one scene, when Elastigirl realizes (much to her chagrin) that despite all the cool stuff that she can do with her stretching powers, [[WeightWoe she can't change the size of her butt]].
** Bob and Dash also use their powers in father-son games of catch, with Bob throwing the ball a good couple of miles with his super-strength and Dash zipping after it to catch it.

*** A conflict once arose when Iroh was caught using Firebending to heat a cup of tea.

** Spike's magic fire breath essentially makes him a living fax machine. Oh, and he can bake cupcakes too.

* Before being recruited by the Hulk to get back in [[WesternAnimation/HulkAndTheAgentsOfSMASH the hero game]], Jennifer "She-Hulk" Walters was working as a stuntwoman. Aside from her powers making it possible to pull of dangerous stunts, a director noted that since she had green skin and hair it was easy to digitally mask her out and replace her with whatever actress she was standing in for.

---> '''Fry:''' "This show has gone downhill since the 3rd season..."

---> ({{beat}})
---> Elastigirl: (sigh)

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (of course). Aquaman uses his "talking to fish" powers to get a soda. The fish wasn't pleased.

*** Lightningbending (something that [[OldMaster only]] [[TheHeavy three]] [[BigBad characters]] in the original series were ever shown doing) has become so commonplace that it is now used to run power plants. Metalbending, which only Toph could preform in the original series as she has just recently discovered it was possible, is now used ubiquitously by the police as a means of restraint and quick transportation via steel cables.

* Before being recruited by the Hulk to get back in [[WesternAnimationHulkAndTheAgentsOfSMASH the hero game]], Jennifer "She-Hulk" Walters was working as a stuntwoman. Aside from her powers making it possible to pull of dangerous stunts, a director noted that since she had green skin and hair, it was easy to digitally mask her out and replace her with whatever actress was was doubling.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "I, Roommate", Fry uses the starship's engines to dry his hair.
--> '''Leela:''' ''You're getting a massive dose of radiation!''
--> '''Fry:''' ''...and great lift.''
** In the episode "Brannigan Begin Again", the Planet Express crew arrives at the new Democratic Order of Planets (D.O.O.P.) headquarters in orbit around the Neutral Planet, in order to deliver the oversized scissors for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Zapp Brannigan [[spoiler:destroys the entire station by attempting to]] use his ship the Nimbus' laser to cut the ribbon, instead of using the scissors.
** The professor builds a device that can see through anything. What does it get used for? Winning product contests.
** And, of course, in the episode in which they gain actual superhero-like superpowers, Leela's reaction is to say that "I guess our lives will be full of even more humdrum activity now!"

--> '''Fry:''' "This show has gone downhill since the 3rd season..."
** In another episode where Fry, Leela, and Bender stole a gem for a supervillian to rescue Leela's parents. After delivering it, the villian, the Zookeeper, has his hawk fetch the gem from Fry's hands and bring it to him...a distance of about five feet. Fry lampshades the trope.
--> '''Fry:''' That seemed unnecessary.

* In the season 2 intro of Westernanimation/WITCH, we see what the Guardians use their power for;

* ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution''has them team using their powers to rebuild the mansion, [[https://youtu.be/NyWQVqkm4gE as seen here]].

* ''[[WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution]]''has them team using their powers to rebuild the mansion, [[https://youtu.be/NyWQVqkm4gE as seen here]].

** Cornelia uses her [[GreenFingers Powers of Earth]] to cheer up her little sis by making a flower bloom.

*** Korra once uses the Avatar state as a "booster rocket" in an airbending race. Granted, Tenzin calls it out as a gross misuse of power.

** Garnet can generate electricity, but has rarely used it on screen and, until very recently, never in combat. Instead, she's used it once to power an arcade game and a second time to recharge the battery in Greg's van.