History Main / FauxToGuide

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' did a few PSA's like this, the most notable being the Fire Safety PSA. [[TooDumbToLive Don't take their advice if you want to live]].

* [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/how-to-make-sushi How to Make Sushi,]] as depicted by Molg H.

[[caption-width-right:300:[-[[StatingTheSimpleSolution In that case...]] [[JudgeABookByItsCenter what do all the other pages say?]]-]]]

[[caption-width-right:300:[-[[StatingTheSimpleSolution In that case...]] what do all the other pages say?-]]]

-->'''Daisy:''' [[ActuallyPrettyFunny Well played, Princess...]]

** In "Sworn to the Sword", Steven reads a book titled, "How to Talk to People" [[AmusinglyShortList with only two steps]]. Step 1: Think of what you want to say. Step 2: Say it.

** Pre-Python, John Cleese starred as the host of a short called "How to Irritate People".

* ''Wiki/{{Uncyclopedia}}'' has [[http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Category:HowTo its own series of these]]. Including [[AuthorExistenceFailure how to saw your own head off with a chainsaw]].

* Tim Conway's straight-to-video ''Dorf on Golf''.

* Also some of the Pete Smith shorts were How Tos. (How to prepare a meal for guests at the last minute.)

* [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/how-to-make-sushi How to Make Sushi,]] as depicted by Molg H.
--> '''1.''' First, gently roll the rice and salmon inside the nori, and... ''(sushi is rolled incorretly, spilling outside of the nori)''\\

* It's possible to make one of these in the ''VideoGame/Fallout3''. When working with Moira, you can give her "evil" answers when she asks how your exploits went. Popular answers include heavy radiation poisoning actually feels quite good, and is healthy for you, and that disarming a mine is surprisingly easy if you just step on it. Needless to say, the resulting survival guide ends up being a how-to guide for killing yourself.

* ''Webcomic/BasicInstructions'' (as seen above) runs on this. The advice text is usually genuine, while the pictures usually show it applied badly.

* The main schtick of Mark Erickson's [[https://www.youtube.com/user/infinitesolutions Infinite Solutions videos]]. They're all played just straight enough that the occasional [=YouTube=] comment will still ask if the Empire State Building really ''does'' offer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvF_nxXJO5s Firearm Fridays]], or correct his assertion that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brdmnUBAS00 electrical tape conducts electricity]].

* ''WebOriginal/HowToHero'' is this for people who want to be superheroes.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' did a few PSA's like this, the most notable being the Fire Saftey PSA. [[CompletelyMissingThePoint Don't take their advice if you want to live]].

* The [[ShowWithinAShow Book Within A Book]] ''Witchhunting for Dumb People'' in ''Discworld/{{Wintersmith}}'' is actually a very useful and helpful book ... if you're a witch who wants a village full of dumb people to let you have a good night's sleep and wake you with a cup of tea in the belief this will rob you of your powers, rather than [[BurnTheWitch burning you]].

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* The Robert Benchley "How To" shorts from the 1930s and 1940s (''How to Eat,'' ''Film/HowToSleep'', etc.).

[[folder:Theater]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** In the episode "Sworn to the Sword", Steven reads a book titled, "How to Talk to People" [[AmusinglyShortList with only two steps]]. Step 1: Think of what you want to say. Step 2: Say it.

* Troy [=McLure=] from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has apparently done a few of these. In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E7BartsInnerChild Bart's Inner Child]]", he introduces himself on ''[[ShowWithinAShow Adjusting Your Self-O-Stat]]'' with "[[MadLibsCatchPhrase You might remember me from]] such self-help videos as ''Smoke Yourself Thin'' and ''Get Confident, Stupid''."

* ''Literature/HowToBeASuperhero'' was part this, part satire of SuperHero tropes.
** Similarly, inversely, there is also ''How To Be A Villain''.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Sworn to the Sword", Steven reads a book titled, "How to Talk to People" with only two steps. Step 1: Think of what you want to say. Step 2: Say it.
** Another example from "Log Date 7 15 2" sees [[spoiler: Peridot]] reading a book entitled "JOKES! How to Make People Laugh Around You Instead of Feel Bad".

Compare {{Mockumentary}}, LittleKnownFacts, TropesForDummies, FauxtivationalPoster, FauxDocumentary, {{Sabotutor}}, AntiAdvice.

* In ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'', "the process" pokes fun at the occasionally-formulaic nature of [=SBEmails=] as Strong Bad shows the viewers how to "answer emails like a true Strong Bad".

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

-->'''Guide:''' Cut the blue wire.
-->'''Hawkeye:''' ''*Cuts wire.*''
-->'''Guide:''' [[CueCardPause But first]] [[OhCrap remove the fuse.]]

-->'''Crow:''' (reading from bomb instruction manual) "Cut the blue wire."
-->Joel cuts the wire, and gets silly-stringed in the face.
-->'''Crow:''' "But first, cut the red wire. Got you, scrawny man." (gets a glare from Joel) But that's what it said!
** Other instructions included "Most very kindly, find the Lookie Switch which is nice and sitting there with green label which leaves you singing" and "Carefully disregard and do not do the very wrong thing or much confusion will result...with sparks, flowers and loud report on some models."

[[folder:Magazines]]

[[folder:Stand Up]]
* One Creator/GeorgeCarlin comedy routine consisted of a list of nonsensical "how-to" books, including "How to Annoy Everyone" and "How to Kill a Rat With an Oboe".
* Creator/BrianRegan has a bit making fun of how the pop-tart microwave & toasting instructions start out by telling the person to open the packet.
** He even pokes fun at the fact that the microwave instructions for pop-tarts is to cook it on High for ''three seconds''.
-->'''Regan''': If you have ''that'' little time in the morning, [[SkewedPriorities you need to rethink your life]].
[[/folder]]

* TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: ''The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer''. A tactical manual so chock-full of propaganda, misinformation, misunderstandings and outright lies, no-one in-'verse thinks of it as anything other than a glorified roll of toilet paper.

-->'''Player:''' (forlornly, as her character surveys a bewildering array of buttons) What clearance are the instructions for the Handy-Dandy Traitor Disintegrator, Friend Computer?\\
'''GM:''' (as Friend Computer) Good news, citizen! Instructions have been located for the Handy-Dandy Traitor Disintegrator. [-[[SideEffectsInclude Some material in the instructions may have been redacted by order of Internal Security.]] [[OfferVoidInNebraska Offer may be void in Sector FKU.]]-] (Hands the player a piece of paper)\\

* It's possible to make one of these in the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''. When working with Moira, you can give her "evil" answers when she asks how your exploits went. Popular answers include heavy radiation poisoning actually feels quite good, and is healthy for you, and that disarming a mine is surprisingly easy if you just step on it. Needless to say, the resulting survival guide ends up being a how-to guide for killing yourself.

** As does ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids''.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* ''WebAnimation/RoseOfVersaillesAbridged'': "Hello, Maria Theresa here, with your new rule for writing a Period Anime."

* ''[[http://www.cracked.com/article_14782_so-youve-been-pushed-naked-out-plane.html So You've Been Pushed Naked Out of a Plane]]''.
* [[http://u63r.deviantart.com/art/how-to-be-a-furry-31135582 How To Be a Furry]] ([[http://www.vivisector.org/archive/tutorial/ mirror]])
* Destructoid's [[http://www.destructoid.com/ten-golden-rules-of-online-gaming-64474.phtml Ten Golden Rules of Online Gaming]] teaches you how to be the stereotypical JerkAss portrayal of the average person playing an online shooter. Accurate, but not something you should aspire to.
** Encyclopedia Dramatica's "tips" on playing ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' follow a similar route, explaining exactly what ''not'' to do.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ2_avaK_W4 A Beginner's Guide To Faking Your Death On The Internet]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMFDs-NmeHM A Beginner's Guide To Commuting]] are satirical instructional videos for, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Exactly What They Say On The Tin]].

* ''Wiki/{{Uncyclopedia}}'' has [[http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Category:HowTo its own series of these]]. Including [[AuthorExistenceFailure how to saw your own head off with a chainsaw]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fUi1EYq6Rs How To Boil Water The EASY Way]], a humorous-but-serious account of how autism can affect self-care skills.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' did a few PSA's like this, the most notable being the Fire Saftey PSA. [[CompletelyMissingThePoint Don't take their advice if you want to live]].
--> [[MemeticMutation "What am the sky? How does eat food?"]]
* Video series TheJapaneseTradition usually includes a little bit of fact in each video, but not too much.
* ''Website/{{Everything2}}'' has quite a few, including (but not limited to):
** Detailed [[FauxToGuide instructions]] on how to [[BlackComedy gather]] [[http://everything2.com/title/Pixie+dust#DonJaime pixie dust]].
** [[http://everything2.com/title/How+To+Become+a+Mighty+Pirate How to become a mighty pirate]].
** [[http://everything2.com/title/How+to+Write+Bad+Poetry How to write bad poetry]].
* In ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'', "the process" pokes fun at the occasionally-formulaic nature of [=SBEmails=] as Strong Bad shows the viewers how to "answer emails like a true Strong Bad".

* ''WebOriginal/HowToHero'' is this for people who want to be superheroes.