History Main / MyopicArchitecture

* Played for laughs in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': One scene in the nuke plant involved going through several layers of increasing security to reach a control room, which was seen to also feature an ill-fitting, flapping screen door leading directly to the parking lot.

* Also, let's not forget the epic fail that was the Maginot Line. After WWI, the French were determined not to be invaded by Germany again. So they built their own quick-and-on-a-budget version of the Great Wall of China along their Northeast border. They poured tons upon tons of resources and national pride into their Maginot Line. Except... the Germans hadn't invaded by that route. They plowed through a few other countries in a somewhat roundabout route (which actually made more sense topographically), then into France from the ''north.'' So when the countries went to war again 20 or so years later, Germany took ''the exact same route as the last time'' and conquered the now-financially exhausted France.
** Not quite the EXACT same route. The French fully expected a German advance into the Low Countries, through the Belgian plain; their best divisions were deployed to meet it. The actual German attack took place at Sedan, on the hinge of the Maginot line, outflanking the French and Belgian field army from the South. Interestingly, the original German 1940 battle plan was a close replica of 1914's Schlieffen Plan, and if it had been used, the French and German mobile forces would have met (and possibly stalemated) along the Franco-Belgian border.
*** And to be fair, they worked. The Germans managed to flank them and surround them, but failed repeatedly in their attempts to take them. They had to be ''ordered to surrender'' when the French Government yielded. The commanders inside wanted to hold out, and an Italian attack on its southern counterpart had actualy been contained. The Germans just correctly realized that no matter how impregnable a fortess may be, its still immobile.

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* Played for laughs in ''TheSimpsons'': One scene in the nuke plant involved going through several layers of increasing security to reach a control room, which was seen to also feature an ill-fitting, flapping screen door leading directly to the parking lot.

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* ''{{Homestuck}}''. HB: Pry the wall from the safe. (Unfortunately, "''That notion is even more ridiculous than the last one.''")
* ''SluggyFreelance'' uses [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/971204 this trope]] [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/971208 twice]] in the Sluggy of the Living Freelance storyline.

** As for the guy who was responsible for that flaw? [[StarWarsExpandedUniverse The Emperor personally executed him.]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext The engineer went on to design the *next* Death Star as well]].

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* In ''[[Discworld/GuardsGuards Guards! Guards!]]'', Vetinari is revealed to have done this on ''purpose'': while the lock to the palace dungeon is on the ''outside'', the locking ''mechanisms'' are on the ''inside''. Would-be usurpers throw him in the dungeon expecting it to serve as an {{oubliette}}; instead, it's an impregnable fortress that he can "escape" at his leisure.

* In ''ArtemisFowl'' [[BattleButler Butler]] destroys an ancient stone doorway because it's much weaker than the modern armored door.

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* ''SluggyFreelance'' uses [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/971204 this trope]] [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/971208 twice]] in the Sluggy of the Living Freelance storyline.

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* After a long and bloody siege that they had pretty well held off up to that point, Constantinople finally fell when someone left a small supply gate open, allowing the invading army to come in.

----

* Also, let's not forget the epic fail that was the Maginot Line. After WWI, the French were determined not to be invaded by Germany again. So they built their own quick-and-on-a-budget version of the Great Wall of China along their Northeast border. They poured tons upon tons of resources and national pride into their Maginot Line. Except... the Germans hadn't invaded by that route. They plowed through a few other countries in a somewhat roundabout route (which actually made more sense topographically), then into France from the ''east.'' So when the countries went to war again 20 or so years later, Germany took ''the exact same route as the last time'' and conquered the now-financially exhausted France.
** Not quite the EXACT same route. The French fully expected a German advance into the Low Countries, through the Belgian plain; their best divisions were deployed to meet it. The actual German attack took place at Sedan, on the hinge of the Maginot line, outflanking the French and Belgian field army from the South. Interestingly, the original German 1940 battle plan was a close replica of 1914's Schlieffen Plan, and if it had been used, the French and German mobile forces would have met (and possibly stalemated)along the Franco-Belgian border.

* In ArtemisFowl [[CombatButler Butler]] destroys an ancient stone doorway because it's just some much weaker than the modern armored door.

[[AC: RealLife]]
* After a long and bloody siege that they had pretty well held off up to that point, Constantinople finally fell when someone left a small supply gate open, allowing the invading army to come in.
* Also, let's not forget the epic fail that was the Maginot Line. After WWI, the French were determined not to be invaded by Germany again. So they built their own quick-and-on-a-budget version of the Great Wall of China along their Northeast border. They poured tons upon tons of resources and national pride into their Maginot Line. Except... the Germans hadn't invaded by that route. They plowed through a few other countries in a somewhat roundabout route (which actually made more sense topographically), then into France from the ''east.'' So when the countries went to war again 20 or so years later, Germany took ''the exact same route as the last time'' and conquered the now-financially exhausted France.
** Not quite the EXACT same route. The French fully expected a German advance into the Low Countries, through the Belgian plain; their best divisions were deployed to meet it. The actual German attack took place at Sedan, on the hinge of the Maginot line, outflanking the French and Belgian field army from the South. Interestingly, the original German 1940 battle plan was a close replica of 1914's Schlieffen Plan, and if it had been used, the French and German mobile forces would have met (and possibly stalemated)along the Franco-Belgian border.
*** And to be fair, they worked. The Germans managed to flank them and surround them, but failed repeatedly in their attempts to take them. They had to be ''ordered to surrender'' when the French Government yielded. The commanders inside wanted to hold out, and an Italian attack on its southern counterpart had actualy been contained. The Germans just correctly realized that no matter how impregnable a fortess may be, its still immobile.

* [[{{Homestuck}} HB: Pry the wall from the safe.]] (Unfortunately, "''That notion is even more ridiculous than the last one.''")

* The BigBad of ''SecondSight'' eventually hides himself in a room behind a large pane of glass which, apparently, is immune to not only bullets but all of your various psychic powers. Too bad for him the ''frame'' is ordinary metal.

->''The materials used to create a lock are of utmost importance. Shoddy brass or copper will give way to a well placed kick, thereby rendering the lock itself useless. I recommend steel over iron when choosing a material. More robust materials tend to be prohibitively expensive and necessitate the door being made of similar metals. I have been chagrined to stumble across the shattered shell of a wooden chest, it's [[{{Unobtanium}} dwarven]] lock intact and still locked.''

* In ''Bachelor Party'' the hotel manager instructs the security guys to break down the door, then tells them wait, and unlocks it with his pass key.

* One of the in-game books in ''[[TheElderScrolls Oblivion]] lampshades this as it applies to locks, saying that expensive, high-quality locks don't do a whole lot of good unless you build the entire door/chest out of similarly sturdy materials, cause otherwise, the intruder can [[CuttingTheKnot just smash it]].