History Main / HadTheSillyThingInReverse

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', Luigi ends up smashing one of his karts in a kart race thanks to doing this.

* There are countless HilariousOuttakes taken from film and TV productions showing actors behind the wheel attempting to drive forward but going backwards instead. And at least one Darwin Award.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin: The Secret of the Unicorn'', Captain Haddock takes aim at the villain with a bazooka... and promptly takes out the dam behind them.

* ''Series/TopGear'' did this in a season 15 episode with on of their Cheap Car segments. One of the cars, a Mercedes-Benz [=190E=] Cosworth, had a slightly different gearbox setup than usual, and on the show, was always shown reversing at first in whatever tasks were set for it. Even explained and lampshaded by the vehicle's driver, James May, that it had a dog-leg first gear (as opposed to left and forward, it was left and back).

* In the fourth episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', Spike and Bumblebee have just finished spying on the Decepticons and learned their EvilPlan. Bumblebee transforms into car mode [[EpicFail and then drives himself backwards off the cliff onto the surprised Decepticons]]. [[WhatAnIdiot Just how bad a driver are you when you forget that the car is in reverse when]] ''[[WhatAnIdiot you're]]'' [[WhatAnIdiot the car?]]

* Among the countless mockeries heaped on the first President George Bush's Vice President, Dan Quayle, was the occasion when Quayle toured a military gunnery range and held a RPG launcher (a.k.a. a bazooka)... backwards.

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', the heroes are attempting to escape from a doomed city in Klatch but cannot get the magic carpet they have stolen to start. Despite repeated and more urgent repetitions of the operating word "Up!" it refuses to do anything. Finally the Wizzard Rincewind comes out of his sulk, assesses the situation, and intones the command "Down!" At which the carpet takes off. When the others ask how he did it, Rincewind replies that he paid attention to the spatial co-ordinate logic of the situation.
-->"You rolled it out upside-down".

* In "[[Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor The Time of the Doctor]]", a [[ItMakesSenseInContext wooden Cyberman]] threatens the Doctor with an arm-mounted flamethrower. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver on the Cyberman to no apparent effect, then explains that his device was set to make the Cyberman's own weapon fire backwards. The Cyberman promptly flips its weapon around to point in the opposite direction, only to incinerate ''itself'' instead of the Doctor when it tries to kill him. The Doctor then admits to the burning wreckage that his screwdriver doesn't affect wood.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E45Superdoo Superdoo!]]", two inept alien criminals are scheming to recover their stolen power crystal. One of their plots involves destroying the summer camp with an alien bazooka; unfortunately, the one holding the bazooka is holding it backwards, and it ends up blasting the forest behind them instead.

* This gag is re-used in a ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathMatch'' episode where Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones compete as their MIB characters against the stars of ''Series/TheXFiles''
* Speaking of ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'', in one episode where a HumongousMecha (piloted by the band 98 Degrees) goes out of control and starts wrecking the city, Wrestling/SteveAustin brings out an enlarging ray and tells Nick to use it on him so he can bring down the Mecha himself. Unfortunately, Nick points it backwards and hits Jessica Simpson instead. (Fortunately, she manages to do the job just as well.)

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsDroids'': In "Race to the Finish" Tig Fromm declares that our heroes won't get away, and that his own damaged hyperdrive is working just fine. As soon as he activates it, though, his shuttle jumps into hyperspace backwards.

* Often done intentionally as insurance scams; by backing into the car behind them so it looks like the scammer was rear-ended, exploiting the fact that the rule of thumb is that the car behind is at fault. Less prominent now due to the increased prevalance of dash cams.

* ''Film/IndependenceDay'': Creator/WillSmith's character at first, accidentally, when piloting the captured UFO. He then turns the control instructions upside down and retapes them to the dashboard.

* In ''Film/SomeLikeItHot'', Josephine (Tony Curtis) is trying to impress Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) by showing her 'his' yacht (it actually belongs to someone else). They get in the motorboat used as the tender for the yacht, but he can only get it to work in reverse.
* ''Film/ThoroughlyModernMillie'' had this when Millie is attempting to drive Grayson's car for an escape.
-->'''Miss Dorothy:''' No, ''forward,'' dear, ''forward.''

* A running gag in ''Film/AustinPowers''; in the first movie, he gets a vehicle stuck in an impossible position while trying to back up. In the sequel, he knocks over every possible object around him just trying to go forward.
* Justified in ''Film/{{Critters}}'', in which the alien bounty-hunters have no clue how a car works and only succeed in making it go in reverse. The driver naturally looks over his shoulder when he starts it a second time, only to have it move forward.
* In ''Film/MovingViolations'', the bad cop's squad car suffers a mechanical fault after a collision, forcing him to drive backward during the concluding car chase. As he's losing his temper, he proceeds to ''deliberately'' back up into someone's garden and through a brick wall.

* Invoked in ''Film/DCCab'', when one of the cabbies covertly adjusts the hack inspector's shift lever and causes him to unintentionally back his car into a restaurant window.
* ''Film/AmericanGraffiti'': Toad, driving his friend's car, waits to drag race someone at a stoplight. He jumps the gun when the left-turn signal goes on and backs up - then when the light turns green he accelerates backwards into a car behind him.
-->'''Angry motorist:''' Excuse me. I think we've had an accident.\\
'''Toad:''' Damn it, I won't report you this time, but next time, just watch it! ''[drives off]''
* ''Film/SonInLaw'': Crawl looks back to drive in reverse, but rides the tractor forward through the fence.
* ''Film/PowerRangers2017'': When the Rangers pilot their Zords into battle for the first time, Billy's Triceratops is running backwards at top speed.
* ''Film/DiamondsOnWheels'': When Lady Truesdale starts the rally, she has her car in reverse and backs into the car behind her.
* The inverted variation (having it in drive while trying to reverse) occurs in ''Film/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkle''. After he and Rocky are gifted a car, Bullwinkle tries to back out of its parking space, but accidentally puts the car in drive instead and rams it straight into a brick wall. Unfortunately, this instance of bad driving is [[DrivesLikeCrazy not a fluke]].
* ''Film/IWasMontysDouble'': Has Jimmy do this when he is temporarily assigned to the motor pool where General Montgomery is serving in order to learn his mannerisms. Jimmy is used as a chauffeur, and has virtually no driving experience and puts the staff car straight into reverse and bashes into the car behind them.
* In ''Film/AskAPoliceman'', Sgt. Dudfoot attempts to move the Chief's Constable's car. However, when he presses the starter, he discovers Brown had left it in gear as it lurches forward and [[CarMeetsHouse through the window of Harbottle's shop]].
* Enforced in ''Film/LicenseToDrive'': Due to the damage he's done to his parent's car, Les can only go in reverse as he drives his pregnant mother to the hospital.
* In ''Film/{{Hunk}}'', drunken TV presenter Garrison Gaylord accidentally gets his jeep stuck in reverse and rockets backwards along the pier until stopped by Hunk.

Often a SubTrope of DrivingStick. Compare this to BackwardsFiringGun for a more lethal way to do something wrong. See also WiperStart, for more comedic driver incompetence, ReversePolarity, ReverseTelescopicVision, and AerosolSprayBackfire.

** First time driver Hana almost crashes her Panzer [=IV=] into the hangar's back door. She didn't even know how to start the thing a moment before, so not noticing it was in reverse is excusable.

* ''Film/AmericanGraffiti'': Toad, driving his friend's car, waits to drag race someone at a stoplight. He jumps the gun when the left-turn signal goes on, and backs up - then when the light turns green he accelerates backwards into a car behind him.

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', the heroes are attempting to escape from a doomed city in Klatch but cannot get the magic carpet they have stolen to start. Despite repeated and more urgent repititions of the operating word "Up!" it refuses to do anything. Finally the Wizzard Rincewind comes out of his sulk, assesses the situation, and intones the command "Down!" At which the carpet takes off. When the others ask how he did it, Rincewind replies that he paid attention to the spatial co-ordinate logic of the situation.
-->"You rolled it out upside down".

* A random gag in ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest'' that sometimes happens when Roger Wilco starts up his hover skimmer on Kerona. He accidentally backs it it into a wall, then drives out properly.

* Speaking of ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'', in one episode where a HumongousMecha (piloted by the band 98 Degrees) goes out of control and starts wrecking the city, Wrestling/SteveAustin brings out an enlarging ray and tells Nick to use it on him so he can bring down the Mecha himself. Unfortunately, Nick points it backwards, and hits Jessica Simpson instead. (Fortunately, she manages to do the job just as well.)

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', the heroes are attempting to escape from a doomed city in Klatch but cannot get the magic carpet they have stolen to start. Despite repeated and more urgent repititions of the operating word "Up!" it refuses to do anything. Finally the Wizzard Rincewind comes out of his sulk, assesses the situation, and intones the command "Down!" At which the carpet takes off. When the others ask how he did it, Rincewind replies that he paid attention to the spatial co-ordinate logic of the situation.

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', the heroes are attempting to escape from a doomed city in Klatch but cannot get the magic carpet they have stolen to start. Despite repeated and more urgent repititions of the operating word "up!" it refuses to do anything. Finally the Wizzard Rincewind cpmes put of his sulk, assesses the situation, and intones the command "Down!" At which the carpet takes off. When the others ask how he did it, Rincewind replies that he paid attention to the spatial co-ordinate logic of the situation.

Often a SubTrope of DrivingStick. Compare this to BackwardsFiringGun for a more lethal way to do something wrong. See also WiperStart, for more comedic driver incompetence, ReversePolarity, and ReverseTelescopicVision.

Often a SubTrope of DrivingStick. Compare BackwardsFiringGun. See also WiperStart, for more comedic driver incompetence, ReversePolarity, and ReverseTelescopicVision.

* The inverted variation (having it in drive while trying to reverse) occurs in''Film/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkle''. After he and Rocky are gifted a car, Bullwinkle tries to back out of its parking space, but accidentally puts the car in drive instead and rams it straight into a brick wall. Unfortunately, this instance of bad driving is [[DrivesLikeCrazy not a fluke]].