History Main / OnlyTheKnowledgableMayPass

* Inverted in {{Illumintus}}. Robert Drake spends a considerable amount of time and effort trying to force his way into TheIlluminati by demonstrating his knowledge of the AncientConspiracy.

* In Disney/{{Tangled}}, the guard captain is tweaked with demands for a password during the rescue.

* In RickRiordan's ''TheHeroesOfOlympus'' novel ''The Mark Of Athena'', the [[spoiler:ghosts of Mithritic initiates]] think they have this. Annabeth does indeed have some of their secrete knowledge, but bluffs through the rest, notably added by her ability to make guesses based on the room's decor.

* ''CallOfCthulhu''. In several published adventures, using your CthulhuMythos knowledge when speaking to cultists allows you to pass yourself off as one of them, which can considerably increase your life expectancy.

Unlike OnlySmartPeopleMayPass, you can not figure this one out from the clues; you have to have learned it. (Occasionally, the Genius can manage to figure it out, but it will always take him serious time and effort, and it's not always possible even for him.) This is, if they did it right. Sometimes they were clumsy. Conversely, an OnlySmartkPeopleMayPass riddle may turn into this if the answer is too insane or difficult.

In TheInfiltration, it is a frequent point of failure -- but if you do have the knowledge, it lets you in entirely.

Unlike OnlySmartPeopleMayPass, you can not figure this one out from the clues; you have to have learned it. (Occasionally, the Genius can manage to figure it out, but it will always take him serious time and effort, and it's not always possible even for him.) The AncientTradition, the AncientConspiracy, etc. take it very seriously.

* In ''GirlGenius'', [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080917 Violetta inverts it]], thinking that Moloch's ability to get into the rafters shows he must have been trained or have some secret knowledge. He assures her that he knows he doesn't want to get munched on by the thing below them.

* In the ''{{Futurama}}'' episode "Fear of of Bot Planet", two characters [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain in disguise]] must prove they are robots by passing such a test:

Perhaps you know the truth of how the city fell, three centuries ago. Perhaps you know the secret ritual of WhiteMagic -- or Black Magic. Perhaps you know the way through the labyrinth. Perhaps you know ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow. Perhaps you just know the secret handshake, or that ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish. But if you can prove it, any of these are proof that you should be taken seriously: you are in the in-group, of those who know this esoteric knowledge.

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* In ''MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', there was a bridge nobody could pass without correctly answering the guardian's questions. Those who failed were thrown down the abyss. King Arthur broke the curse when he was asked a question about swallows and asked which kind of swallow. Not knowing the answer, the guardian was HoistByHisOwnPetard.

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* In medieval times, masons needed a way to know whether other masons really knew their stuff, since they traveled a long way on jobs, failures of skill could be disasterous, and it was really hard to check with those who taught them. Their solution was ''secret rituals'' -- only a skillful mason would be taught them, so knowledge proved his skill. (The true origin of the Freemasons.)

* In ''MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', there was a bridge nobody could pass without correctly answering the guardian's questions. Those who failed were thrown down the abyss. King Arthur broke the curse when he was asked a question about sparrows and asked which kind of sparrows. Not knowing the answer, the guardian was HoistByHisOwnPetard.

* In ''Frankenstein: The College Years'', Doctor Lipzigger's computer security demands, in addition to a keycard he bequeathed to the protagonists, the answers to two questions: One about chemistry, the other about ''StarTrek''. It was meant so that only the protagonists may unlock it.

* In the ''{{Futurama}}'' episode "Fear of of Bot Planet", two characters [[DefinitelyNotAVillain in disguise]] must prove they are robots by passing such a test:

* In ''MontyPyhton and the Holy Grail'', there was a bridge nobody could pass without correctly answering the guardian's questions. Those who failed were thrown down the abyss. King Arthur broke the curse when he was asked a question about sparrows and asked which kind of sparrows. Not knowing the answer, the guardian was HoistByHisOwnPetard.

Unlike OnlySmartPeopleMayPass, you can not figure this one out from the clues; you have to have learned it. (Occasionally, the Genius can manage to figure it out, but it will always take him, and it's not always possible even for him.) The AncientTradition, the AncientConspiracy, etc. take it very seriously.

* To anyone who has ever forgotten a code or password to access an account, this trope applies.

** Basic courtesy? It's a dorm, not a bank vault.