History Main / EatTheEvidence

* Used in a Golden Pie advertisement that riffed on ''Series/{{Dragnet}}''.

* One episode of ''Series/{{Cops}}'' showed a suspect trying to eat a stash of marijuana he was hiding in his car. However, the police caught him before he could finish his impromptu meal.

* In ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'', when [[BigBad Araya Souren]] asks how Lio Shirazumi will hide the body of his first murder, he responds by EATING THE BODY IN '''THREE HOURS'''.

[[folder: FolkTales]]

* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' Series 4 episode 2: Blackadder shoots a carrier pigeon to avoid receiving orders to attack from his Commander. Unfortunately, it turns out the message the pigeon was carrying was that it is now a capital offence to kill a carrier pigeon, so Blackadder decides to eat the evidence for lunch.

** In "Doublemeat Palace", Buffy suspects that the fast-food chain's burgers are [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies made from people]]. Unfortunately, she doesn't tell Xander the reason she left a hamburger on the table -- she wanted Willow to analyse it -- in time to [[IAteWhat stop him from eating it]]. Fortunately, he left enough crumbs behind for Willow to determine that the big secret behind the Doublemeat Palace is that [[spoiler: all of their "meat" is cellulose-based -- they're selling veggie burgers, with a little real meat flavouring.]]
** In "Dead Things", Warren kills a woman by accident, then suggests the Trio summon a demon large enough to devour her corpse. Andrew points out that the only thing he can think of that could do that would be uncontrollable, and go for them first.

* In a mystery-style sketch on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', Fielding the Butler, played by Gorgon Heap, ate the evidence that he killed Lord Bottomley - including the detectives investigating the murder.

* Subverted in an episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', when Garak is leaving the station for a prolonged period of time, and he decides to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2q2ySAOyqo toy with his friend]], Doctor Bashir:
--> '''Garak:''' If you go into my quarters and examine the bulkhead next to the replicator, you'll notice there's a false panel. Behind that panel is a compartment containing an isolinear rod. If I'm not back within 78 hours, I want you to take that rod... and eat it.\\

-->'''Rufus''': (''police sirens in the background'') Good news is, I snagged the ring, Bobby.\\
'''Bobby''': Tell me that ain't...\\
'''Rufus''': Yeah, Yeah, you have three guesses and one of them it ain't the paramedics...\\
'''Bobby''': (''rolls eyes'')\\
'''Rufus''': I gotta stash this ring.\\
'''Bobby''': Well, don't swallow it.\\
'''Rufus''': Right. (''{{Beat}}'') I'm swallowing it, Bobby!

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E1E2Spyfall "Spyfall"]], an [=MI6=] agent on an airplane, after photographing a piece of paper with a secret message she was just passed, eats the message... just before she is attacked by an alien entity.

* ''Fanfic/FamilyGuyFanon' has - while Lois gives the family a LongList of chores in "A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas" - Chris show the rest of the family a picture he drew of Lois while she's talking that portrays her as a naggy bitch. [[ActuallyPrettyFunny The family laughs at this]] until Lois gets suspicious and Chris does the trope to avoid getting in trouble.

* On the other hand in ''Film/FortApacheTheBronx'' (1981) a policeman does the same trick and ''doesn't'' get away with it.

* Sun Tsu in ''Literature/TheArtOfWar'' tells of a spy who's given battle plans written in silk that's enclosed in a ball of wax. The spy is instructed to swallow the ball and proceed to a location, sneaking past the enemy; once there, the ball will pass through his digestive system and out the other end. The spy doesn't know it, but the plans are phony and his whereabouts are leaked to the enemy so they will capture him and [[BluffTheEavesdropper think the phony plans are real]].

* In the Spielberg/Zemeckis movie ''Film/NineteenFortyOne'', the lost Japanese sailors capture an American merchant. When they discover a toy compass among his merchandise, and when he notices they are very much interested in that compass (because their own is broken), he eats it immediately. The Japanese then force-feed him a laxative.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* The British Special Operations Executive during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII made code books out of rice paper so they could be eaten if necessary. The paper was thought up by Jasper Maskenlyne, a famous magician who would create dozens of gadgets for the British, including a special boot issued to commandos that contained a compass, a little map, and a garrote wire. Apparently, bedrolls made of similar paper were also used; they were soaked in vegetable oil to make them waterproof, and as an added bonus it made them taste better if you had to eat them.
* In RealLife, a man named Antonio Vasquez beat two men up with a sausage, and feed it to a dog, destroying the evidence. He was caught when he left his pants at the scene with his wallet. Despite this, the plan worked, due to the charges against him being dropped.
* Watch [[http://i.imgur.com/5eTw4.gif this man]] cleverly snatch and eat what may or may not have been a note implicating him in a bank robbery.
* In a sad but amusing incident of a man attempting this, the mortally-wounded captain of a French ship captured during the Napoleonic Wars attempted to do this to his code papers. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong set of papers and instead chewed up his own commission.
* Sun Tsu in Ancient Art of War tells of a spy who's given battle plans written in silk that's enclosed in a ball of wax. The spy is instructed to swallow the ball and proceed to a location, sneaking past the enemy; once there, the ball will pass through his digestive system and out the other end. The spy doesn't know it, but the plans are phony and his whereabouts are leaked to the enemy so they will capture him and [[BluffTheEavesdropper think the phony plans are real]].
* At various South African diamond mines there used to be (and probably still is) an X-ray machine through which all workers have to pass on leaving to ensure that they did not seek an unofficial bonus to their paycheck.
** Before X-ray machines were invented, a daily cavity search was a part of black miners' routine - the white miners just had to empty their pockets and boots.
* PlayedForLaughs with this [[http://www.offworlddesigns.com/p-546-meat-is-murder-t-shirt.aspx t-shirt design]].
* A related example, a man once tried to beat a DUI by eating his own underwear in the hopes that it would absorb the alcohol and defeat the Breathalyzer.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Brill Steve Brill]], a man famous for foraging on plants that grow in natural parks and other public places in New York and encouraging such activity, was once arrested for such activity back in 1986 due to violating "nature preservation laws", but the charges were dropped when he (naturally) ate the evidence (i.e. the plants he picked), creating a public relations debacle for the authorities. He's become the official spokesperson for natural foraging ever since and is tolerated by officials.
* A hang glider instructor whose passenger died apparently swallowed the flash memory card from an onboard video camera documenting the incident.
* More than one street dealer has won the Website/DarwinAwards (or at least a trip to the ER) [[http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/things-i-learn-from-my-patients.257985/ for doing this with their entire stash of illicit drugs]].
* A retired police chief acting with the Crimestoppers [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/17/crime-stoppers-contempt-eating-evidence_n_4981716.html eats the evidence to protect the identity an anonymous tipster]] in a drug trial after the judge ordered public disclosure of the tip, on account of there possibly being enough data to reveal the tipster's identity. [[CourtroomAntic He's currently held in contempt of court]] and may be jailed, but he says that while he is unhappy with the outcome, [[DoomedMoralVictor he is ready to be put in prison among prisoners who would doubtless want revenge so that future tipsters to Crimestoppers won't be scared off by the possibility that their identities might be revealed]].
* At least one spy in UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar resorted to this rather than let the documents they were carrying be confiscated by the enemy.
* One story about why moon cakes are served for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival revolves around the conspiracy to launch a revolt against the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty then ruling China -- the cakes would be made imprinted with coded instructions on when to launch attacks, then sent as gifts to the recipients who would then see the codes and get the signal, and then afterwards the cakes would be eaten to destroy the evidence. Thus the Yuan Dynasty fell and was replaced by the Ming.
[[/folder]]

* In one story in ''Star Wars: The Han Solo Adventures'', a skiptracer shows Chewbacca a thick warrant he has to repossess the Millenium Falcon. Chewie responds by eating it, only to be told that there are multiple copies of the warrant.

[[caption-width-right:350:He could at least have taken out of the bag first.]]

Done something unspeakable with something edible? Then there's only one way to destroy the evidence: eat it, or at least make someone else do it. EatingSolvesEverything After all.

If the evidence [[DisposingOfABody is a human body]], things become [[ImAHumanitarian rather more morally awkward]].

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': In "Knock It Off", when the girls confront Dick Hardly about using Chemical X to make knockoff Powerpuff Girls for profit, he tries to hide the bottle in his hand by swallowing it whole. [[OneWingedAngel And then...]]

** Dorothy Sayers did a similar plot thirty years earlier with Literature/LordPeterWimsey in "The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran".

** Dorothy Sayers did that exact plot thirty years earlier with Literature/LordPeterWimsey in "The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran".

* Sun Tsu in Ancient Art of War tells of a spy who's given battle plans written in silk that's enclosed in a ball of wax. The spy is instructed to swallow the ball and proceed to a location, sneaking past the enemy; once there, the ball will pass through his digestive system and out the other end. The spy doesn't know it, but the plans are phony and his whereabouts are leaked to the enemy so they will capture him and think the phony plans are real.

* The ''WesternAnimaion/LooneyTunes'' cartoon "Bunny and Claude: We Rob Carrot Patches" provides an accidental example. The sheriff lectures the titular {{Rascally Rabbit}}s instead of arresting them immediately -- which gives his horse time to eat the stolen carrots he'd planned to use as evidence.

* At least one spy in the American Civil War resorted to this rather than let the documents they were carrying be confiscated by the enemy.

* In ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', Bruce swallows the flash drive containing information he needs, not because he needs to conceal it, but because he knows he'll be HulkingOut in a matter of minutes and he needs to make sure he doesn't lose the drive. He throws it up later, good as new.

* Not quite evidence, but in an old episode of ''Series/PoliceStory'', a patrol officer, dealing with a motorist he pulled over ranting that he played golf with the Lt. Mayor and would have his job, walked over to his patrol car, pulled out his lunch box's jar of peanut butter, spread some on the motorist's (then just paper) licence, and ate it, [[RefugeInAudacity challenging the motorist to tell the Lt. Mayor that]]. At the end of the episode, his sergeant is laughingly telling the officer about this call he got from the Lt. Mayor's office.

* At the end of ''Thirteen'' (2010)[[spoiler:the protagonist is shot and the bag containing his money stolen. However [[ProperlyParanoid he's already sent the money by registered mail to his family]], so as he's dying he eats the receipts so the police won't track down the money and confiscate it as evidence.]]

* In ''ComicBook/JourneyIntoMystery'', BigEater Volstagg facetiously suggests that he could eat kid Loki. "There would be no evidence. A perfect crime!"