History Main / PopCulturalOsmosis

* The story of ''UsefulNotes/AnastasiaNikolaevnaRomanova'' is most well known in the west by the [[WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}} numerous]] [[WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfAnastasia animated]] and [[Film/{{Anastasia}} live]] [[Creator/GoldenFilms adaptations]] [[Creator/DingoPictures of]] [[Film/AnastasiaOnceUponATime the]] [[Theatre/{{Anastasia}} story]] (all of which romanticize the story and the vast majority end with Anastasia alive). This is to the point that [[DidAnastasiaSurvive it became one of the most famous unsolved mysteries]] until the discovery of the bodies of the Romanov family. The story goes that Anastasia, through any number of means, escaped the [[UsefulNotes/RomanovsAndRevolutions execution of her family]] due to any number of reasons (hid in a cart, spared by a soldier, saved by a servant, etc). In most of these tales, she lost her memory, and eventually went by the name "Anna Anderson". One day she recovered her memory, went to her surviving grandmother Olga, and would regain her memory. The truth of this story is much more somber, as Anastasia and her entire family were executed in Yekaterinburg on an estimated date of July 16th, 1918. This was the result of a long-running series of political problems plaguing Russia, most of which were blamed on [[UsefulNotes/NicholasII Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov]] (Anastasia's Father) and his incompetency as a ruler. Additionally, Anna Anderson is believed to have been a mentally unwell woman who ''believed'' she was Anastasia along with, at one point, being claimed to be Tatiana Romanov. DNA testing in the 21st century would further prove, without debate, that Anderson was never Anastasia and had no blood relation to the Romanovs. Furthermore, it is known her name was ''not'' Anna Anderson, but rather Franziska Schanzkowska, and that she was German. Even more saddening, the bodies of the Romanovs would be uncovered in 1991, ending the question of Anastasia's survival once-and-for-all.

* Most people who live outside of the United States or Canada tend to believe that ''Creator/ChuckECheese'' is a fictional stand-in restaurant in media, due to how frequently it's been mentioned by works produced in the United States. Some of these people will be surprised when told that the restaurant in question actually exists.

* Several slogans from old radio commercials live on as catch phrases in WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoons, while virtually nobody remembers their actual origins. Examples are: "Turn off that light!" (referring to air raid warden during World War II), "Was this trip really necessary?" (referring to a slogan used to encourage people not to take unnecessary trips to free up gas and rubber for the war effort and to free up space on trains to ferry troops to their duty locations.), "B.OOOOOOO!" (referencing a Lifebuoy soap commercial against body odor) and "Aha! Something new has been added!" and "So round, so firm, so fully-packed. So free and easy on the draw" (referencing Lucky Strike cigarettes).
* Alka-Seltzer had middling sales when first introduced, up until advertisement was made with the now-ubiquitous familiar sound of '''two''' tablets put into a glass of water and starting to fizzle while dissolving. This made the product tremendously popular, so much that consumers forego the fact that only ''one'' tablet is needed at a time, and the fact that the company sells the antacid in pouches of two tablets doesn't quite help.

** "Manga" is the Japanese word for comics, and "anime", the word for animation. The ''whole'' spectrum for both forms of media.[[labelnote:(!)]]--The terms apply even to American media; in technical terms, for the Japanese, ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' comics are "manga" and [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney's]] ''{{WesternAnimation/Cinderella}}'' is "anime"--[[/labelnote]] However, outside of Japan, "manga" and "anime" are the terms referring to Japanese-made works in particular. As such, if a non-Japanese states that they have a preference for said media to a Japanese individual, it's highly likely that the Japanese doesn't take this as meaning "Japanese media" because of the neutrality of the terms.
** The term "doujinshi" is applied to fan-made works of all kinds, including hentai doujinshi (or H-doujinshi for short). However, a great portion of non-Japanese readers are under the impression that '''''all''''' ''doujinshi are H-doujinshi'', which is not the case at all, due to the fact that the term was introduced abroad referring to the H portion.

** Even the most casual anime fan knows about ''Dragon Ball''...only whenever someone hears the name Son Gokū, ''very few'' people are going to ever going to think about the original Monkey King from ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' over the iconic Saiyan protagonist, [[BilingualBonus since Son Gokū is the Japanese rendering of the Chinese name Sun Wukong]]. This expands to many other works that involve the usage of Wukong's name in that form of Japanese rendering (also ranging to Japanese dubs of any original ''Journey to the West''-based media), which only shows how a majority of people are rarely associated with the original works and/or drama adaptations. It's to the point that in a nutshell, where people don't realize that ''Dragon Ball'''s version of Wukong/Gokū was based off another prior monkey character with the same exact name (孫悟空), and that the name Wukong/Gokū (悟空) is actually a common Buddhist name.
** ''Dragon Ball'' itself gets this from Americans and other English speakers. Many people outside of Japan aren't aware that ''Dragon Ball Z'' wasn't the first series in the franchise, and this was especially true in its heyday. This is mostly thanks to the widely-popular and {{memetic|Mutation}} English dub of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' from the '90s, which set itself apart from [[Manga/DragonBall earlier parts of the story]]. The Japanese and English versions of the show were initially very different, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks with mixed reception]]. A common derisive stereotype among fans of the Japanese original is that dub fans ''only'' know and love the early, less faithful version the franchise, when in reality the newer uncut dubs from Creator/{{Funimation}} are much more popular, and most modern English-language ''Dragon Ball'' material is fully uncensored and far more faithful to the Japanese original.

** To many people outside of Japan, Anpanman will forever be associated with Music/{{BTS}}, as they sung a song about the character being a hero.
** "Baikin" is a common Japanese word meaning "germs". But if you look up that word in Japanese, most of the results show Baikinman from this show. It got to the point where the association of the word "baikin" with the character lead to him starring in a commercial for a germ-removing air conditioner aired in the early 2000s.

* Thanks to many biopics about Creator/LeonardoDaVinci, painter Andrea Mantegna is nowadays better known as Da Vinci's mentor than for his own work.
* To many art fans, Jean-Paul Marat is remembered more for Creator/JacquesLouisDavid's striking painting than the actual historical character. The work has in fact done a lot to transform a very radical politician into an innocent victim.

** Speaking of ''The Muppets'', many 90s kids think the Beach Boys song "Kokomo" was written for the ''It's Not Easy Being Green'' VHS or ''Muppet Beach Party''. And then there were people who thought that the music video itself was only a VHS-exclusive short on several Disney tapes and not a promotion for another video, which also happened with the Music/ParachuteExpress "Doctor Looney's Remedy" music video on ''WesternAnimation/AGoofyMovie''.
* Music/ModestMussorgsky's ''Music/NightOnBaldMountain'' has unfortunately become known as either a general theme music for a comic nemesis, the escape from the Witch's castle in ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', or the near final segment in ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'' that scarred generations of children.

* A lot of comic book characters are much better known world wide from full length cartoon or movie adaptations than they from their original source material. In fact: this is literally the case with everyone of them: either in Europe (''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'', ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}''), the US (every superhero character, save Superman) or Japan (lots of manga comics are much better known as ''anime'' cartoons).

* ''WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck'' (& Co.), and ''The Disneyverse'' in general, are simply ''filled'' with retold classics, movie and music references and the like, providing lots of kids their first contact with Greek myths, Shakespeare's plays, classical history, etc.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheThreeLittlePigs'' cemented the idea in many people's mind that "Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs" are all individual characters and that none of them get eaten by the Big Bad Wolf. In the original story they have no individual personalities and the first two are eaten by the wolf. Many people will also automatically start singing "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" whenever the story is mentioned.
** ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'': Since this film came out, many adaptations of ''Literature/SnowWhite'' have turned the dwarfs into individual characters and have the prince kiss Snow White back to life. In the original fairy tale the dwarfs were not individualized and Snow White was saved when the prince accidentally dropped the coffin, causing the apple she ate to fall out of her throat. Another change in story is that the Evil Stepmother actually attempted to poison Snow White three times, with her third attempt being the poisoned apple.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' made the role of Jiminy Cricket as Pinocchio's conscience much more central to the story. In the original novel Jiminy is only a minor character, who gets squashed accidentally by Pinocchio even before he leaves the house. The majority of the book didn't even make the film.

** ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'': Many people expect the Prince fighting a dragon at the end, which is a scene added by the Disney version, not present in the original.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'': The general public instantly thinks of this movie whenever ''Literature/TheJungleBook'' is brought up in conversation. Never mind the fact that this film has barely anything to do with the original story, except for the fact that Mowgli is indeed raised by wolves and that the characters' names are the same. For instance, Creator/RudyardKipling's novel Baloo is a serious character and Kaa is a friend of Mowgli.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'': While lots of people criticize the movie for being not faithful to the [[Myth/GreekMythology original myths]], it does reference some of them. The twelve labors are shown during the montage, and the whole premise has some similarity to titanomachy/gigantomachy. The former features titans, and the latter has Hercules. The battle with cyclops references both titanomachy and Literature/TheOdyssey. That being said, the whole "coming of age" story of the movie has nothing to do with the myths, and most of the characters were changed dramatically. Hades was never an antagonist to Hercules, Hera was never his loving mother (or a mother at all), and Megara was his wife... which he killed along with their children, thanks to Hera messing with his mind. Yeah, greek heroes were not very "heroic" by today's definition.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'': Dumbo's name is a pun on the 19th century circus elephant Jumbo, something that not many people nowadays remember now.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': Probably not many children nowadays will be aware that when the Genie encourages Aladdin while barking and waving his fist he briefly transforms into TV presenter [[Series/TheArsenioHallShow Arsenio Hall]]. Outside of the USA virtually nobody.

* When ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'' came out, eagle-eyed viewers liked to point out the "{{Easter egg}}" in ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' where David Kawena (the boyfriend of Lilo Pelekai's older sister Nani) is seen wearing Maui's fish hook as a necklace. The internet was quick to point out that this was the equivalent of thinking that every character that wear a cross or crucifix in movies is in reference for ''Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist'', never mind the fact that ''Lilo & Stitch'' predates ''Moana'' by fourteen years.
* Surprisingly averted with the usage of "We Go Together" from ''Film/{{Grease}}'' in ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretLifeOfPets'', with most fans of the film (most of whom are children) claiming they knew what the song being played was as soon as it begun in the scene. It helps that ''Grease'' is one of the most popular choices for school musicals, that many of the parents of said children grew up watching the 1978 film adaptation of the musical, and that ''Secret Life of Pets'' happened to premiere a few months after Creator/{{FOX}} televised a successful live production of ''Grease''.

* Many people outside of Japan believe that ''Hyokkori Hyoutanjima'' was a ShowWithinAShow made for the movie ''Anime/OnlyYesterday''. It was an actual puppet show on NHK in the 1960's, when the childhood sequences of said film take place, but [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes most episodes of the show are very hard to find]], which could have lead to this confusion. And when people don't associate it with this film, they'll associate it with [[Music/HelloProject Morning Musume's]] cover of the theme song.

* It's impossible to list all the comic books, novels, fantasy horror movies, roleplaying games, video games, fantasy/Sci-Fi art and music videos that feature blatant rip-offs, allusions, homages, parodies or additions to Creator/HPLovecraft's Franchise/CthulhuMythos tales.

** And that obscure little work of fiction got a ShoutOut in the episode "Smile Time" of Series/{{Angel}}, with a purple stuffed thing that communicates via a horn on its face named Ratio. It's likely you didn't get the joke.

* "Ask not for whom the bell tolls." You've heard that pithy phrase, usually said when someone else is in trouble, but who said it? How about "No man is an island" ? Well, they both came from the same paragraph of the same essay, but missing the context.

** This reference has become somewhat coloured by various transformations into a dirty schoolyard-esque song, such as those known by Nanny Ogg in the ''Discworld'' novels. All that need be known (and is indeed given) is that the opening lines are 'The boy stood on the burning deck/His name was Henry Rollocks' and that it starts out 'harmless enough'.

* Most of Creator/LewisCarroll's songs and rhymes in the ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' books were parodies of once-common Victorian standards which, with the exception of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and the possible exception of "The Spider and the Fly", are considered obscure trivia by most modern readers.

* Used for a joke in the ''Literature/ConfederationOfValor'' series. The Taykan species are SpaceElves. Thanks to popcultural osmosis from humans, they're well aware of their physical similarity to classical elves and apparently find the comparison amusing: Torin Kerr once met a di'Taykan named [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Celeborn]].

** The show has also made certain historical and cultural characters more notable among geeks who watch the show, but mostly as part of a surreal sketch that has little to do with whom they actually were.
** Alan Whicker is nowadays better known from the Python sketch "Whicker's World" than as an actual TV presenter who had a travel show under that very name.

* ''Series/IronChef'' fans may not realize the original theme music, and indeed much of the incidental music, was from the movie soundtrack for ''Film/BackDraft''.

* ''Series/SpittingImage'': This show featuring puppet versions of famous celebrities has also caused some MemeticMutation. Today many people in the UK remember UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher more as in their grotesque villainous puppet versions than as Real Life people. A good example is Thatcher beating up members of her cabinet in many sketches, which a lot of people almost assume she did.

* ''Series/TheNoddyShop'': Many characters on this show spoof popular celebrities, leading some people in the target demographic to believe that they were original ideas. For example, Johnny Crawfish is based off Creator/JohnnyCarson and Bonita Flamingo is based off Carmen Miranda.
* Some fans of ''Series/TheNanny'' often believe that the character of Lamb Chop was specifically made for one episode of the show, when she actually was a real character who dates back to the 1950's and was popular at the time the series aired, due to the character having [[Series/LambChopsPlayAlong her own show]] at the time.

** The same thing is beginning to happen with ''Series/DonkeyHodie''. For instance, many people tend to believe that Purple Panda is an original character and should have be named Sancho Panda to fit with the ''Literature/DonQuijote'' pun when he originated on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', and searching for the Fred Rogers song "I Like To Take My Time" on Google has the ''Donkey Hodie'' version recommended as a result before the original.

* ''Charlie Hebdo'' was already half a century old and mostly known in France and/or to readers of adult comics. It was only in January 2015 when they suddenly became notorious worldwide. Unfortunately, it had more to do with the deadly terrorist attack on the headquarters of the magazine, which resulted in several deaths. As a result, ''Charlie Hebdo'' brings up more associations with Muslim terrorism, religious fanaticism and the right for freedom of speech than the actual ideology and content of the magazine. Most people have never read an issue and thus have only a vague notion what the magazine is about.

* A large proportion people hearing ''In the Hall of the Mountain King'' by Edvard Grieg, written for a scene in Creator/HenrikIbsen's play Theatre/PeerGynt would not know that it wasn't originally:

* ''Film/SinginInTheRain'' did this to most of the songs in the movie, most notably the title tune which was a standard song to be sung by aspiring actors in film in the '20s, '30s and '40s.
* Music/{{Kesha}}'s "Take it Off" is a pop version of "The Streets of Cairo" (usually associated with snake-charming in pop-culture).

* The nursery tune "Pop! Goes The Weasel" was originally a piece of ''dance'' music that was popular in London dance-halls and American stage acts in the 1850s, and as a playground singing-game for kids dancing in circles. Nowadays, it's irrevocably associated with Jack-in-the-Boxes, to the point where such a toy playing any ''other'' tune feels like a SubvertedTrope.

* "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" has become such a popular standard that some first time viewers of ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' will laugh when the characters sing this song, because they assume the Pythons are simply covering a well known song. In reality it was completely written by Python member Creator/EricIdle.
* In Brazil, "[[https://youtu.be/PTomUb3r1m0 Il Guarany]]" is forever associated with a statal news radio program that plays on week nights. Even if the show [[https://youtu.be/nBiuPklo8Hk now uses]] [[{{Narm}} somewhat laughable]] "[[SuspiciouslySimilarSong updated versions]]".

* The album cover of ''Music/UnfinishedMusicNo1TwoVirgins'' has become infamous thanks to the image of Music/JohnLennon and Music/YokoOno posing in the nude. It is also frequently shown in documentaries about Lennon, Yoko Ono and Music/TheBeatles, pops up in lists of controversial album covers and has been spoofed and parodied countless times. But the younger generations who may recognize the image may not even be aware it's not just a photograph, but an actual album. Needless to say that even those who ''know'' this have hardly ever listened to it, left alone more than once.

* Music/MollyHatchet may remind more people of a Southern Rock band than then notorious prostitute who murdered her clients.

* The band Music/OryxAndCrake will sound original, unless you're familiar with Margaret Atwood's novel of the same name.

* Belgian indie rock band Creature With The Atom Brain has quite some fans, most of them unaware that the band was named after a song by Roky Erickson who, in his turn, was inspired by a 1955 B-movie called Film/CreatureWithTheAtomBrain.

* Many websites claim that Redfoo's "Juicy Wiggle" was written specifically for ''[[Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip]]'', when the song actually came out ten months before that film's release.
* A joke current in the 1930's illustrates how much OlderThanTheyThink this trope is: It defined a "highbrow" as "Someone who can hear the ''William Tell'' Overture by Rossini and ''not'' think of Series/TheLoneRanger."

* Many gods from Myth/GreekMythology are far more famous under their Roman names today. It gets to the point that even in stories specifically set in Ancient Greece the characters will still be addressed under their Roman names, because people are more likely to recognize characters like Heracles, Eros and Poseidon, for instance, as Hercules, Cupid and Neptune. This isn't helped by the fact that some English translations of ''Literature/TheIliad'' and ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' will use Roman names instead of their original Greek ones.
* Similarly, hearing the names Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn, Pluto, Uranus and Venus will make people wonder whether you are referring to the planets in our solar system.

* The entire concept of the RiddlingSphinx tends to be a hodgepodge of the Greek and Egyptian sphinxes, which in myth were about as different as night and day with the only similarity being that they were [[BeastWithAHumanFace human-faced lions]] (and even ''then'', Egyptian sphinxes often had a head of a ram). In myth the Greek sphinx was one single monster sent by Hera that would ask a riddle of anyone attempting to enter Thebes, killing them if they failed, and was ultimately bested by Oedipus. The Egyptian sphinx was a myriad of creatures that were seen as deities and protectors, and were depicted as male and female. In the media, almost every sphinx will be Egyptian in appearance but behave like a Greek sphinx, and often appear as simply a massive winged lion with no human features whatsoever.

** The line "Henry! Hééééééén-RY!" and the answer "Coming, mother!" referenced Radio/TheAldrichFamily.

* Various bits from the works of Creator/WilliamShakespeare have been quoted, parodied, imitated and plagiarized too many times to count. Particularly notable are cases in which Hamlet's "[[DrivenToSuicide To be or not to be]]" soliloquy is confused with the "Alas, poor Yorick" one, leading to an actor reciting the former while holding the prop skull that belongs in the latter. There's a fair amount of BeamMeUpScotty at work, too: "Alas poor Yorick, I knew him" often has a "well" added to the end in pop culture.
** Orsino's opening line of "If music be the food of love, play on," from ''Theatre/TwelfthNight'' is often assumed to be quite romantic and/or demonstrative of a love of art. Very few include the rest of the quote: "Give me excess of it; that surfeiting,/The appetite may sicken, and so die."
** A particularly egregious example is the way in which Juliet's speech "Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" usually has a spurious comma added after the "thou", completely changing the meaning. "Wherefore" actually stands in the same relationship to "therefore" as "where" does to "there"; it doesn't mean "where", it means "why". Juliet is not wondering where Romeo is as commonly supposed, but is speaking to him and asking the reason for his name. (Sounds weird the first time you hear it, but it becomes clear what she means: "Why did the man I fell in love with have to be Romeo Montague, probably my father's last choice on earth of son-in-law?")

** 'Now is the winter of our discontent' is often said as a negative rather than the happy occasion it is 'made glorious summer by this sun of York"

* Actor Gustaf Gründgens' famous performances as Mephisto, with sinister stark white make-up, black eye shadow and sharply upturned eyebrows, have definitely influenced later despictions of the devil in visual media.

* Some people believe that the Harry Nilsson song "One" originally came from ''Series/SesameStreet'', when the song actually came out '''three years before said show'''. However, it was referenced on an episode of ''Late Night With Jimmy Fallon'' when Franchise/TheMuppets were guest stars.

* The phrase "bụi đời" means vagrants, street children, or simply homeless people/homelessness. Act 2 of ''Theatre/MissSaigon'' has the song "Bui Doi", in which it's used as a specific term for the Amerasian children of Vietnamese mothers and American GI fathers. Thanks to this trope, the term Bui-Doi is now in common use to refer to these children but only in the West. It never had any racial connotations in Vietnamese - the equivalents for what the lyricists meant are con lai ("mixed-race child(ren)"), người lai ("mixed-race adult(s)"), or, specifically, "Mỹ lai" ("American mixed-race").

** [[https://67.media.tumblr.com/682f3a4d0f49eb7d67ae18e3fd685e73/tumblr_nin69wetK31rhh3j5o1_500.jpg This particularly nightmarish picture]] of a girl being eaten by a giant monster is frequently associated with creepypastas and other scary internet material, even being ranked #1 on [=TheRichest=]'s list of [[http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-shocking/15-disturbing-images-you-shouldnt-see-in-the-dark/ "15 Disturbing Images You Shouldn't See In The Dark"]]. What many people don't know is that the image is actually of a scene in a haunted house that was featured at Hollywood's HHN in 2011. The house was called ''La Llorona: Villa De Almas Perdidas'', and the scene in question is of an over-sized La Llorona eating a girl that's desperately trying to cling on to her bed.

* This has become a huge problem for {{Roguelike}}s as a whole. Up until the mid-2000s, "roguelike" had a very specific meaning among those that knew it, referring to a niche group turn-based, tile-based dungeon crawling affairs that traced their origins to mainframes in universities and in many cases still preserved the original text-mode graphics. But then games such as ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'', ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'', and ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'' were compared to them, which snowballed into many, many games that incorporate permanent death and randomly generated levels to be referred to or even ''refer to themselves'' as "roguelikes", regardless of their actual gameplay. This has since become the most popular definition, leaving an entire genre without an unambiguous name.
** Though the term 'Roguelite' muddies it up further: It's definition (more-or-less "A roguelike where ''some'' manner of progress is retained between runs") encompasses many of the "new roguelikes", but not ''all'' of them...

* You've heard the ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' theme song, right? Well, turns out it's actually a Russian folk song called "Korobeiniki", and is only really associated with ''Tetris'' outside of Russia. The association is so strong, the otherwise public domain song has become a trademark of ''Tetris'' within the video game industry.

* The main character in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' is named Red. But he's often called Ash (Satoshi in Japan[[note]]after the de facto creator Satoshi Tajiri[[/note]]) by people more familiar with the anime. Similarily, his rival Blue is referred to as Gary (Shigeru in Japan[[note]]likely after the [[Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto other Shigeru]][[/note]]).

* This is pretty common in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' ROM hacks and Mario fan games in general since some of the more well known ones use resources from obscure Japanese [=RPGs=] people likely haven't heard of (''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa'', ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' and ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' being some examples; these had only been translated officially in recent years) and as a result some people tend to associate said resources with the fan game/hack rather than the original SNES one. Such as how many people don't know that things like the Mirage Palace and Dark Castle are from ''Trials of Mana'' and not ''VideoGame/BrutalMario'', or that the 7 Koopalings boss is a parody of the final boss in Romancing [=SaGa=] 2. This can lead to awkwardness if people assume any resources from these games are plagarised.
* Due to the importance, prevalence and market dominance of {{Creator/Nintendo}} and the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series of video games during the late 1980s and 1990s, in Latin America, clearing and finishing games was sometimes popularly referred to as "rescuing" in the games, regardless of what was being played. This was because the point and climax of most of the ''Mario'' games was, of course, to rescue the Princess. This tendency eventually subsided with time with the advent of other consoles that competed with Nintendo on the mid-late 1990s.
* Not everyone realises that virtually every significant character, all the enemy designs and much of the character backstories of ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' are taken straight from Japanese mythology.

* Likewise, many people think the opening theme (and all the game's other music for that matter) of ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'' is original and attribute it to the game. Like this [[http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00078 remix by OCRemix site founder DJ Pretzel]]. The opening is actually taken from an old Japanese children's song called ''Inu no Omawarisan''. The acknowledgement on Music/OCRemix was only added in much later.

* The enchanting tables in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' use the Standard Galactic Alphabet from ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen''. Due to the former being much more well known, it's more commonly associated with ''Minecraft''.
* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': One of the primary antagonist group is The Fatui Harbingers, with members named after the stock archetypes from CommediaDellArte. Nowadays, googling their individual names will likely link you to their Genshin version before the Commedia version.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'': ''VideoGame/FZero'' had not received a new game in the almost-20 years between ''Climax'' for the GBA and ''F-Zero 99''. As a result, many younger gamers who didn't grow up with the franchise associate the series' rep Captain Falcon with ''Smash Bros.'' more than ''F-Zero''. Some even believe he's is an [[OriginalGeneration original character made specifically for]] ''[[OriginalGeneration Smash Bros.]]'', not realizing he appeared in his own series first.

* ''WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob'': For a long while Brad used "Believe It Or Not" by Joey Scarbury as his intro music for every episode. Many people would probably be surprised that this is actually a nod to the 1980s TV series ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero'' who used it as their theme music first.

* Many famous pieces of classical music have been hijacked by Creator/WaltDisney, ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' and other (usually older) animated sequences, and are many people's only exposure to such works. Many people still have the urge to sing "Kill the Wa-bbit" along to Music/RichardWagner's "Music/RideOfTheValkyries", thanks to Elmer Fudd's memorable version in the classic WesternAnimation/BugsBunny short ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc?'' And the use of a romanticized version of the ''Pilgrims' Chorus'' when Bugs enters on horseback, dressed as Brunnhilde, and fools Elmer/Thor (he used the same entrance, music and disguise with equal success against [[ThoseWackyNazis Hermann Goerring]] in a wartime cartoon).

** ''Series/Warehouse13'', while tracking down an artifact via psychic link, the character describes hearing "Kill the Wa-bbit", to the consternation of the classical music fan on the other end.

** How many people can listen to Franz Liszt's ''Hungarian Rhapsody no.2'' and ''not'' be thinking of a cartoon at the same time?

** The name of episode itself is a shout out to the well known Bugs Bunny episode ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc'', and it also contains a parody of Elmer's infamous "spear and magic helmet" line.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' has an example in the boy from the pair of Victorian dressed StreetUrchin children who are recurring characters. They are clearly meant to evoke Creator/CharlesDickens, as his crutch is identical to that famously used by ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'''s Tiny Tim, although what the writers seem to have missed was that Tiny Tim was ''not'' one of Dickens' urchin characters. Then again, it's ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''; it was probably on purpose.
** Lampshaded again in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', as the Fungineers who designed the Moon Landing 'historical' recreation with singing whale hunters as astronauts have certainly gotten their historical facts through popcultural osmosis.

** Another one from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' is simply the ''theme song''. Most people associate it with the series, but it's actually just a slightly tweaked version of part of the Maurice Béjart ballet ''Mass for our time''. The original was written back in 1967 by experimental composer Pierre Henry and [[https://youtu.be/X7bnNkofnd0 is entitled "Psyché Rock"]].
* The "Me Love You Long Time" from the hooker in ''Film/FullMetalJacket'' have been incorrectly credited to both ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' and ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''.

** You would have a shorter list of characters who WEREN'T some example of this trope on ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' then the ones who were. To name a few: [[Music/RingoStarr Wakko]], [[Film/RainMan Runt]], the [[Film/GoodFellas Goodfeathers]] and [[Film/TheGodfather The Godpigeon]], [[Creator/OrsonWelles The Brain]], [[Creator/JerryLewis Mr. Director]], ...

** In one episode, Mr. Garrison is brought before a disciplinary committee for his actions from a previous episode. When they review just what he's done for the 3rd grade education, one of them notes he hasn't even taught the kids about Samuel Adams, leading a confused Garrison to ask "Well who cares about a guy who makes beer?!", [[LampshadeHanging referencing the fact]] that most people are probably more familiar with the alcohol brand over one of the founding fathers of the country.
** Comedian Creator/RobSchneider is slowly fading into obscurity for younger audiences and nowadays better remembered as "Rob Sssschneider" (spoken in a dopey voice) in the spoof trailers used in the episode "The Biggest Douche In The Universe".
** The "Gay Fish" song sang by Music/KanyeWest is a spoof of his song "Heartless" and is also starting to eclipse the original in the popular consciousness.

** Speaking of '' The Simpsons'', most fans of the show believe that Homer's line when he puts on a pair of lost glasses in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E10Springfield $pringfield]]", "Sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side", was originally written for the show, when it actually comes from ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. It's gotten to the point where 3 of the top 5 results that comes up when the quote is typed in on Google are related to The Simpsons, with the top related searches also being related to the line's quotation in the show.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Most younger fans of this show are completely unaware how many scenes in this program are directly lifted from other films, TV shows, animated cartoons, comics, TV commercials. The most noteworthy of these is the theme song, which begins with Peter and Lois singing in front of a piano and was lifted from the intro of ''Series/AllInTheFamily''.

* [[https://youtu.be/nKH_SxODIjg The song "Here Comes Peter Cottontail"]] which is commonly played during the spring and [[EasterSpecial Easter seasons]] actually came from the lesser known Creator/RankinBass holiday special ''WesternAnimation/HereComesPeterCottontail'' which shares the name of the song that came before it. However, a number of people would think and even believe that the song is actually about Peter Rabbit from ''Literature/TheTaleOfPeterRabbit'' which doesn't help that Peter Rabbit also has a sister named Cottontail. As a result some Americans would think that "Peter Cottontail" was [[IAmNotShazam Peter Rabbit's full name]] and the title of the book.

* Many fans of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' think that Aloysius Pig was an original character made for the TV show, when he was a spoof of comedian Kevin Meaney, who provides his voice, a fact which some didn't know about until he died 22 years after his episodes aired.

* Many historical or literary characters live on in many people's minds because of their association with the name of a fictional character, which usually has nothing to do with the real life counterpart. For examples, see NamedAfterSomebodyFamous.

* Many founders of religions have been raised to the status of being some kind of inhumanly wise, kind and perfect demigods.
* UsefulNotes/CleopatraVII[[note]]The "Cleopatra" most people are familiar with.[[/note]]: Many people imagine her as Creator/ElizabethTaylor in ''Film/{{Cleopatra}}'' (1963) which while unusually accurate to the historical record, was far more glamorous, fitting to 20th century beauty standards. At the very least she was certainly not the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman as the film most definitely implies.

* Giacomo Casanova: All the book, TV series and novel adaptations have depicted Casanova as some kind of handsome, charming, attractive young sex god. In reality he wasn't actually that good looking and it's never been said that he was a great ''lover'', just a good seducer. It also ignores many of his other endeavours, as Casanova indeed did more than just skirt chasing during his lifetime.

* Guy Fawkes, the man who wanted to blow up the English Parliament in 1605, has changed into a popular bonfire puppet on ''Bonfire Night'' in the UK and into a world wide symbol of anarchism and rebellion since his depiction in ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'', despite the fact that this comic strip and the film adaptation have nothing whatsoever to do with the real-life Fawkes' ambitions.[[note]]Fawkes was an English Catholic and a Papist who wanted to kill the King of England by blowing up the parliament in order to place a Catholic-based government in place in subservience to the Pope.[[/note]]
* UsefulNotes/GeraldFord: President Ford occasionally fell over during televised broadcasts, yet not as much as popular culture would like you to believe. In fact, during his youth he was arguably the most athletic President of all time- the Captain for the University of Michigan who had been scouted by NFL teams. One of his football injuries caused his knee to go out unexpectedly. There's a famous film of him descending from Air Force One, stumbling on the steps and muttering ''"Damn!!"'' as he knew the cameras were on him. The image of Ford as a clumsy oaf who just bumps into stuff, trips over objects and makes almost his entire environment collapse is more a result of Creator/ChevyChase's depiction of him in ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' at the time.

* UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte: Thanks to being depicted as a pathetic dwarf in many early 19th century British newspaper cartoons, Napoleon is often depicted as such in popular culture, despite the fact that he was actually of slightly above average height, and almost certainly had no complex or envy to conquer because of it. Needless to say this comes from British propaganda hence you won't hear the tiny inconvenient fact that the British declared war on Napoleon ''first'' and broke the Peace of Amiens.
* UsefulNotes/MaximilienRobespierre is TheDandy who guillotined people and was a total psychopath during the ReignOfTerror, thanks to two centuries of consistent demonization. The real guy while seriously flawed was a deeply complex and ambiguous figure and most definitely not a dictator as the common portrayals imply. At the very least, he was definitely TheDandy and a real clotheshorse. While he was personally a man of probity and lived frugally, clothes was his one luxury.
* Music/ElvisPresley: His greasy quiff has been exaggarated as being enormously huge and long in popular culture, mostly thanks to depictions in cartoons, by Elvis imitators and groups like Music/LeningradCowboys. When you look at actual photos or archive footage you'll notice that it's actually not ''that'' grotesque.
* UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk: Popular culture tends to depict him as an insane villain who plots to overthrow the Czar and/or is some kind of immortal demon. In reality Rasputin was nothing but a debauched man who had gained the trust of the Czarina, thanks to being able to heal her son, while other doctors couldn't. [[note]]Historians speculate that Rasputin's miraculous healing of Alexei was simply down to him forcing the doctors to back off--of course the hemophiliac prince felt better when he wasn't on aspirin, a blood thinner--but it's hard to say for sure.[[/note]] He never did anything to overthrow the Czar and why would he? He had tremendous power as her advisor. The idea that he could not be murdered has been based on the anecdote that his assassins had repeatedly tried to kill him, but failed. It's more safe to assume that their failed methods of trying to assassinate him were just the result of incompetence, rather than Rasputin being invincible or something. Or that they largely made up the story for fame and/or to explain why it took them so long.
* Antonio Salieri was a 18th and 19th century composer who was very famous during his lifetime, but faded into obscurity in the decades beyond. In 1984 he suddenly became more famous again, thanks to ''Film/{{Amadeus}}'' (1984), in which he is incorrectly portrayed as the ArchNemesis of Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart. Nevertheless, the film did help renew interest in his work, which -- in many cases -- was even recorded on albums for the first time!

* William Wallace and UsefulNotes/RobertTheBruce have become more internationally famous since ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' (1996), but more as the way they are depicted in this film, which is a '''very''' far cry from actual historical events. Many people nowadays imagine Wallace as Creator/MelGibson's depiction in that film. There was actual outcry of Americanization when a statue of Wallace resembling Mel Gibson was placed in his native town. It was eventually removed. Similarly the Scottish government wanted to sue the film makers for depicting their national hero as an unconfident doublecrosser of Wallace.

* Francesco Zappa is an obscure and nowadays almost completely forgotten 18th century composer from Italy. Yet, fans of Music/FrankZappa will have heard from him as Frank Zappa recorded an album in 1984 called ''Music/FrancescoZappa''. Unfortunately many people, even Zappa fans, incorrectly think that 'Francesco Zappa' is just a pseudonym for Zappa pretending to be a baroque composer, while in reality the music on that album is all ''real'' scores written by this 18th century composer, who wasn't related to Frank Zappa at all. All Frank Zappa did was score the music on his Synclavier computer, making ''Francesco Zappa'' effectively a CoverAlbum.
* UsefulNotes/{{Tutankhamun}} (AKA King Tut): Most people remember him more for the so-called "curse" rather than his actual reign. Blame all the countless "Mummy" movies for that. Of course, there wasn't really much to remember about his reign except that it ended his father's experiment with monotheism. His fame stems pretty much entirely from the fact that he was the only pharaoh whose tomb was not emptied by grave-robbers before it was discovered by archaeologists...

* King Canute once ordered the sea to pull back, but then got splashed by the tide still coming in. This is about all present day people remember about him. They forget that Canute was actually demonstrating to his vainglorious courtiers that no man was more powerful than God (or nature) and that the famous anecdote wasn't just proof of how moronic this king supposedly was for trying to command the tide.
* UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland and UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionheart live on today more as characters in the legend of Myth/RobinHood, rather than real-life English kings. More recently, Richard the Lionheart is often portrayed as a homosexual thanks to the speculative portrayal of him in ''Theatre/TheLionInWinter'' although most scholars are skeptical about this portrayal. In fact, it is more likely that Richard and John's middle brother Geoffrey engaged in homosexual behavior, including the affair the Richard has in "Lion in Winter" with Philip II of France.
* UsefulNotes/RichardIII is considered the patron saint of the HistoricalVillainUpgrade, thanks to a century of over-the-top Tudor propaganda and Shakespeare's deliciously villainous portrayal. For centuries the one crime most historians thought Richard did commit was [[TheFateOfThePrincesInTheTower murdering his nephews]], but his defenders, known as Ricardians, have recently produced documents that they believe exonerate him. Ricardians have been [[ByronicHero stanning]] for him since at least the early 1600s and point out that he was a brave and competent military commander who went down fighting, as king made some wise legal reforms and [[StockUnsolvedMysteries his nephews' bodies were never found]]. The fact that he was an inspiration for both Tyrion Lannister and Stannis Baratheon and the extraordinary story of the discovery of his remains hasn't hurt his popularity, but the truth of the man remains elusive.

* UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria is closely associated with the phrase "We are not amused", something she never wrote down in real life. There are many historic documents where she used the term "We were very amused", though. The "We are not amused" phrase probably originated from all the photographs in which she looks deadly serious while wearing a dark dress.

* UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus is closely associated with the story how he supposedly made an egg stand upright on table by cracking its bottom half. Despite this tale still popping up in many child-oriented media there is no historical evidence Columbus ever did this, nor that he invented this trick. It's more likely that his name was just used to give the story more weight by adding one of the most well-known historical characters to it.

* UsefulNotes/MataHari has evolved into the archetypical FemmeFataleSpy who was the best in her profession. Of course, that's what all those novels, comics, films and TV adaptations would want you to believe. In reality, she was a very mediocre spy. German secret intelligence only gave her more importance and notoriety to distract the French military forces who had arrested her.
* Humanitarian activist Oskar Schindler and Nazi commander Amon Goeth owe much of their posthumous fame thanks to Creator/StevenSpielberg's [[AdaptationDisplacement film adaptation]] ''Film/SchindlersList'' of Thomas Keneally's novelization "Schindler's Ark". In actual fact, the incidents surrounding their actions were minor footnotes in a vast tragedy, and the actions taken by Schindler, while not without merit, were more typical than the film would have you believe.

* Creator/MarilynMonroe lives on in the imaginations of many as a gentle DumbBlonde. That this was a result of typecasting and not who she was in real life doesn't dawn on them, nor that she was actually a very good actress who was admired and respected in France and Germany, and cited as a great comedienne.
* Most people in Europe have based much of their notion about the ancient Gauls on what they've read in ComicBook/{{Asterix}}. For instance, mention the word "druid" and everybody will envision Panoramix (Getafix in the English version). The same goes for the idea that all the Gauls had moustaches, wore winged helmets and had names that ended in "-ix".

* Similarly, the word {{Goth}} now brings to mind the stereotype of a modern subculture of people who wear a lot of black and listen to depressing music, rather than the various Gothic tribes who invaded Europe in the second quarter of the first millenium AD and were the eventual destroyers of the Roman Empire.

* Thanks to numerous pirate stories set in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfPiracy, most people see pirates as noble and adventurous rebels who have a lot of fun sailing the oceans, attacking ships, and [[BuriedTreasure burying treasures]] on {{Deserted Island}}s. In reality, they were poor sailors who turned to crime, hardly ever attacked ships violently, rarely mounted a great haul and spent all their loot as quickly as possible.

* Almost everything people think they know about the Three Kingdoms (or Sanguo) era of Ancient China is instead a piece of popular fiction, largely from the ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' (or Sanguo Yanyi). Owing to a complicated history of post-Three Kingdoms dynasties, false "historical" records and the sheer depth to which the fictionalisation of the era is ingrained in Chinese culture, very little of what is "known" matches up with reality. Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu were terrible generals, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were unremarkable warriors, Xiahou Dun was a poor commander but an important administrator, Cao Pi wasn't a tyrant, Cao Rui was a fair and progressive emperor, Sun Shangxiang wasn't named Shangxiang, etc. Important figures such as Lu Fan and Zhong Yao don't even get mentioned, let alone given due credit.

* UsefulNotes/{{Caligula}} was certainly a bad ruler--particularly after his near-fatal illness and the death of his favorite sister--but likely did not actually hew as close to the trope [[TheCaligula named for him]] as pop cultural perception would suggest. There is evidence that a lot of his crazier stunts ''were'' just that. Naming his horse consul, for example, was probably an insult to the Senate, not an actual expectation that his horse would govern (especially as by this point in Roman history, the title of consul was almost purely ceremonial--being suffect consul, which was what the horse got, meant the year would be named after you, and that's about it). Also, there's no actual proof he was sleeping with his sisters. He very obviously, and against etiquette, favored his youngest sister Drusilla[[note]]If an unmarried man was entertaining, his sister would sit in the wife's place at the table; if he had multiple sisters they were meant to take turns, but Drusilla was always given the spot. When she died he went into extremely deep mourning and had her declared a national goddess.[[/note]], which probably contributed to the incest accusations, but such talk was also bog-standard Roman political mud-slinging, so it's not exactly reliable. Basically, ancient Roman historians should never be taken 100% at face value about ''anyone'', but especially when they get as dramatic as they get about Caligula.

* Certain regions, cities and towns are only famous to the general public because of their association with a certain novel, film, song or other work of art or historical event, being the location of a famous landmark, or their association with a famous person. Some people, usually not the inhabitants of the place themselves, may even be amazed that the examples made famous by fiction actually exist.

** UsefulNotes/{{Albuquerque}}, UsefulNotes/NewMexico: The city where WesternAnimation/BugsBunny after a long period of digging tunnels "should have made a left turn." Also the city where, according to Music/WeirdAlYankovic, "the air smells like warm root beer, and the towels are oh-so-FLUFFY!" More recently it's been the setting of ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul''.

** Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: The song ''Copacabana'' by Barry Manilow... which was actually about the New York City nightclub that took its name from the neighborhood in Rio.

** Damme, Belgium: The birth place of Till Eulenspiegel according to Charles De Coster's novel ''Literature/TillEulenspiegel'', or as part of Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme's name.

** Houston, Texas, USA: Since ''Film/ApolloThirteen'', in itself based on a real life incident, it's associated with the phrase: "Houston, we have a problem."

** Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales: Yes, it is frequently used as a OverlyLongName in comedies, but this location is 100 percent real.

** Pismo Beach, California, USA: The location WesternAnimation/BugsBunny always looks when digging tunnels.

** Shaolin Temple, China: Known from countless martial arts movies.

** Sing Sing prison, Ossining, New York, USA: Is referenced a lot in comedies and cartoons, usually with a PunnyName variation.

** Van Cortlandt Park, North Bronx, NYC: This was where the infamous "CAAAAN YOU DIG IT?!" scene in ''Film/TheWarriors'' was shot.
** [[KirksRock Vasquez Rocks]] in California deserve a mention. Most people have never heard of the place, but will recognize it instantly from numerous westerns and, more notoriously, [[Recap/StarTrekS1E18Arena Captain Kirk's fight with the Gorn]].

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* The ChestBurster scene from ''{{Film/Alien}}'' and the [[MiniMecha power loader]] scene from ''{{Film/Aliens}}'' are two of the most widely referenced and parodied moments in modern film. Even if you haven't seen the movies, you know those scenes, or at the very least the line:
--> '''Ripley''': Get away from her, [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch you bitch!]]
* The 1925 Russian film ''Bronenosets Potyomkin'', usually called ''Film/BattleshipPotemkin'' in English-language sources, is generally considered hugely influential on later cinema. There is a particular scene set on some stairs leading down to the harbour in Odessa which has been imitated several times, including in ''Film/TheUntouchables1987'' and one of the ''[[Series/PoliceSquad Naked Gun]]'' films. It is reasonable to assume that, in modern times at least, more people who are not cineasts will have seen these homages/parodies than have seen the original film.
** ''Battleship Potemkin'' is parodied with the title ''Battleship Kotemkin'' in the 1976 Italian comedy movie ''Il Secondo Tragico Film/{{Fantozzi}}'' (second of a long series based on a few corporate satire / dark humor books with protagonist [[TheChewToy accountant Ugo Fantozzi]]) and it's portrayed as overly long and overly boring artsy film. In this chapter of the Fantozzi series, one of the new executives of the company that employs Fantozzi is a fanatic cineast who forces everyone in his department to attend film screening and dicussions after work hours. When he sets up one of those screening the same night of the final European Cup football match, Fantozzi opens the debate after the screening with the iconic line "Battleship Kotemkin is crazy bulls**t!" and everyone revolts. [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity ensues]] and the exec is forced to screen loads of terrible b-movies as punishment. To this day most Italians think that ''Battleship Potemkin'' is a movie that lasts several hours, it's hard to understand and generally liked only by snobs.
** In some versions, Fantozzi and the other "revolutionaries" eventually burn the copy of the film ''Battleship Kotemkin'' and are then sentenced by the court to re-enact the Odessa stairs sequence on a weekly basis, the exec ('dottore') posing as the director and Fantozzi literally appearing as the baby in the pram.
* By now, a notable percentage of the people who reference ''Film/CitizenKane'' as a cinema classic and could recognize the opening scene from any one second of footage have actually never seen the film and wouldn't be able to identify any other line, shot or sequence from the whole movie ([[ItWasHisSled okay, maybe one]]).
** Similarly, Creator/OrsonWelles has reached more Internet notoriety through out-takes of his 1970s TV commercials where he is audibly drunk and complaining about the bad lines he has to recite. His voice too will probably have many fans of ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' think of The Brain, which was a direct vocal parody of Welles' voice.
* People these days seem to think that "KlaatuBaradaNikto" is that funny nonsense line from Sam Raimi's horror comedy ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'' (1992) (aka ''The Franchise/EvilDead 3'') or the names of three 1983 ''Franchise/StarWars'' toys. Actually, the phrase comes from the black-and white sci-fi classic ''Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951'', where the sentence is used to stop Gort, the powerful invincible robot of the alien Klaatu, from destroying the Earth as punishment for the humans killing his peaceful master.
* Many TurnOfTheMillennium Internet users will be familiar with the ''Scary Maze Game'', a ScreamerPrank presented as an UnwinnableJokeGame that ends with a girl's NightmareFace suddenly appearing with a bloodcurdling scream. Many of these same users will be unfamiliar with the girl and her origin -- Regan [=MacNeil=] from ''Film/TheExorcist''.
* As famous as the 1932 classic ''Film/{{Freaks}}'' is, many more people are familiar with the parodies and allusions to its "One of us! One of us!" scene out of context. What's more, in these parodies, the phrase often comes off as ''threatening'', the direct opposite of how it's played in the film (although the recipient sees it as such). Parodists also don't seem to remember the "Gooble-gobble" part most of the time, although that's arguably for the best.
* Due to his habit of [[SatireParodyPastiche pastiching]] rather obscure movies, Creator/QuentinTarantino is perhaps responsible for more Popcultural Osmosis than any other mainstream filmmaker.
** The light-producing suitcase in ''Film/PulpFiction'' is a homage to a similar item in the 1955 FilmNoir ''Film/KissMeDeadly''.
** When people hear Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Steet" nowadays they will probably associate it quicker with the opening scene of ''Film/JackieBrown'' rather than the movie Womack originally wrote it for: ''Across 110th Street'' (1972).
** The yellow track-suit Uma Thurman wears in ''Film/KillBill'' during the climatic fight scene against O-Ren Ishii will probably remind more people of this film than the movie this costume originally homaged: ''Film/GameOfDeath'' (people tend to associate it more with star Creator/BruceLee than the film itself). Similarly the song "Flower of Carnage" was originally used in ''Film/LadySnowblood'' and the character Gogo Yubari (played by the same actress in the same outfit) are a direct reference to ''Film/BattleRoyale''.
** The opening of ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' may lead many people into thinking it was written for this movie, while in reality it is the opening theme of Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti western classic ''Film/{{Django}}''.
** Not too many people know that "pulp fiction" is a term that has been in use long before Tarantino's film. It referred to the hard-boiled crime fiction (i.e. Phillip Marlowe and Sam Spade) that appeared in magazines made from wood-pulp paper throughout the early 20th century.
* Creator/EdwardGRobinson's distinct facial features and speech mannerisms have been used for every stereotypical mob boss in animated cartoons, including Rocky and Mugsy in WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and the Mob boss of the Ant Hill Gang in WesternAnimation/WackyRaces.
* The archetypal monocle-wearing German military officer is always a caricature of Creator/ErichVonStroheim's stock roles.
* Any imitation of Count Dracula (and often of vampires in general) nowadays is a reference to Creator/BelaLugosi's portrayal of him in the 1931 classic ''[[Film/{{Dracula 1931}} Dracula]]'', down to his Hungarian accent. Similarly any pop culture appearance of FrankensteinsMonster will be modeled after Creator/BorisKarloff's make-up in ''Film/Frankenstein1931''.
* How many are aware that WesternAnimation/BugsBunny's catch phrase "Of course you realize this means war!" was lifted from Creator/GrouchoMarx saying this in Film/DuckSoup and "Ain't I a stinker?" from Lou Costello in Creator/AbbottAndCostello.
* The voice of puppet character Mortimer Snerd by Creator/EdgarBergen likewise also inspired the dimwitted voice of many cartoon characters.
* The line "Monkeys is the cwaziest peoples" is heard in a lot of animated cartoons, but actually came from film comedian Lew Lehr's catch phrase.
* When characters in old Looney Tunes or MGM cartoons use the term "Come with me to ze casbah" they are actually referencing the 1937 film ''Film/{{Algiers}}'', where Creator/CharlesBoyer's "Pépé Le Moko" used this line. Note that people will probably not realize this, even if they HAVE seen this movie because it was only used in the trailer, which unfortunately, is [[MissingEpisode lost]].
* "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!" Despite being quoted ([[BeamMeUpScotty albeit, incorrectly]]) and parodied in pop culture for decades, most people have no idea this line is a reference to the Creator/HumphreyBogart film ''Film/TheTreasureOfTheSierraMadre'', often attributing its origins to ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' instead. However, without the understanding that the line in the latter film is intended to be a parody of the former, the joke itself does not make sense. (The actual, original quote from the film goes, "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!")
* ''Film/StarTrek2009'' has instantly recognizable [[PowerTrio characters]], themes and objects -- even for those who have never seen a ''Franchise/StarTrek'' episode in their life.
* Many people associate the line "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum." with VideoGame/DukeNukem rather than with "Rowdy" Wrestling/RoddyPiper's character in ''Film/TheyLive''.
* The Valkyries rode helicopters (Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', Music/RichardWagner's "Music/RideOfTheValkyries"). Also, the famous scene in ''Apocalypse Now'' where Colonel Kilgore says, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," is actually a lot longer than people care to remember making it a cause of BeamMeUpScotty.
* That melody that everybody associates with clown cars and elephants? The one that goes doot-doot-doodle-doo-dah-doot-doot-doo-dah? ''Enter the Gladiators'' by Julius Fucik.
-->'''Hypothetical Roman announcer at the Coliseum''': And now, in this corner, Brutus the ''Destroyer!'' (calliope music)
* Any time-lapse footage of city life is likely to be a reference to ''Film/{{Koyaanisqatsi}}'', either directly or indirectly.
* You know how the canonical sound of [[SlowLaser lasers firing]] is a sort of "pew pew pew" effect? You can thank Creator/BenBurtt, the audio designer for ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'', for that. The original sound effect was created by holding a microphone up to a taut wire while hitting the other end.
* ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'': Lots of Jason Voorhees [[{{Expy}} expies]] and parodies have [[HockeyMaskAndChainsaw a hockey mask and a chainsaw]], despite the "real" Jason not putting the mask on until [[Film/FridayThe13thPartIII the third film]] of the series, and never once using a chainsaw, which probably comes from ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre''.
* Mike Myers' line "You put the wrong [=emPHAsis=] on the wrong [=sylLAble=]" is the one and only reason ''View From The Top'' has any kind of lasting pop cultural significance. The saying itself is much older than the 2003 movie.
* ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'': Not many people could tell you the plot, but everybody knows "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine", "Here's looking at you, kid" and "Play it, Sam" (even if, due to all the parodies of that scene, they always [[BeamMeUpScotty misquote that last one]] as "Play it again, Sam"). And of course, even people who've never seen it still associate "As Time Goes By" with the film even though the song is [[OlderThanTheyThink a good decade older]].
* ''Film/GroundhogDay'': Many viewers probably assume the film makers thought up the annual event where a groundhog sticking his head up from the ground is celebrated by local people. It is, in fact, a very real tradition. Today, however, the term "Groundhog Day" has become a concept that describes a feeling of [[GroundhogDayLoop having to relive the same day over and over again]].
* The exclamation "D'oh!" is nowadays more closely associated with Homer Simpson's catch phrase in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' than Creator/LaurelAndHardy actor James Finlayson, from whom it originated.
* The theme music of ''Film/CapeFear'' (1962) will be recognized by most Simpsons fans as the {{leitmotif}} of Sideshow Bob.
* Nowadays, people are likely to associate ''Film/PaintYourWagon'' with the Simpsons episode "All Singing, All Dancing" and would probably be amazed that this 1969 film starring Creator/ClintEastwood and Creator/LeeMarvin actually exists. In reality, though, the plot is more than just characters singing and dancing about painting a wagon.
* Opening scrolls at the start of a film are now attributed to ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'', but they actually originated in the 1930s film serials ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|Serial}}''.
* The MauriceChevalierAccent is nowadays used for every French character in English-language comedy. Most people are completely unaware it all originated with Creator/MauriceChevalier's popularity in 1930s Hollywood movies. Chevalier's thick accent made him the stock Frenchman from which all other Frenchman in comedy and animation are now derived. And if they do not use that accent, they use [[Franchise/ThePinkPanther Inspector Clouseau's.]] (Creator/PeterSellers)
* Thanks to ''Film/TheShining'' the line "Hééééééére's Johnny!" has become the thing you shout when you cut your way through a door with an axe and stick your menacing face through the hole. That this line was Ed [=McMahon=]'s way of introducing Johnny Carson on Series/TheTonightShow is only remembered by older American TV watchers or by ''Series/TheNoddyShop'' viewers, since some episodes spoof this when Johnny Crawfish tells a joke.
** Also, scenes of a villain chopping through a door with an axe generally cause viewers to think of ''The Shining''. In fact, the first time it appeared in film was in ''Film/BrokenBlossoms'', a 1919 film by Creator/DWGriffith (yes, the same guy who made ''Film/{{The Birth of a Nation|1915}}'').
* Creator/PeterLorre's voice is recognizable, even to those who have never seen any of his movies. This is due (aside from his unique appearance) to his caricature being used in a number of WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes shorts.
* [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2007/aug/07/howthemuppetsmadeusallbergmanexperts This article]], referencing an utterly hilarious ''[[Series/TheMuppetShow Muppet Show]]'' [[https://youtu.be/Mqv_qYBgEk0 sketch]], is all about how parodies of Creator/IngmarBergman films are immediately recognizable, such as ChessWithDeath, even by people who have never watched any of his films.
* If you showed most people today stills from ''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'', they'd think it was some sort of Creator/TimBurton thing. See LooksLikeCesare.
* The word "inception" means the beginning or creation of something. Ever since [[Film/{{Inception}} the film]], it's more often used to describe something that's inside something else of the same nature.
* ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' - PsychoStrings and PsychoShowerMurderParody.
* Most people may recognize Pete Postlethwaite's speech at the end of ''Film/BrassedOff'' from the start of the album version of Music/{{Chumbawamba}}'s BlackSheepHit "Tubthumping".
* The infamous "YOU ARE TEARING ME APART, LISA!" line from ''Film/TheRoom2003'' was actually done as an homage to ''Film/RebelWithoutACause''. Most people don't know this, and think that it originated in ''The Room''. Additionally, the comments sections of most [=YouTube=] uploads of the ''Rebel Without A Cause'' scene are flooded with references to ''The Room''.
* Many people associate scarecrows in media with ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. A good example is [[http://www.toonarific.com/show.php?show_id=2249 this website]].
** People tend to associate the quote "How do you like them apples?" with ''Film/GoodWillHunting'', when it actually was first used in ''The Wizard of Oz''.
* Many people who've watched ''Film/{{Ted}}'' have no idea that ''[[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTeddyRuxpin Teddy Ruxpin]]'' is a real toy. Many comments on commercials (and some videos of the cartoon) for the toy have people stating something about Ted in them.
* The same thing happens with Stretch Armstrong whenever he's mentioned in films, a major example being ''Film/TheSecretLifeOfWalterMitty''.
* ''Film/AnchorsAweigh'': The scene where Creator/GeneKelly dances with Jerry from ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' is better known than the rest of the plot, due to it being featured in some many compilations of old musicals and being referenced in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' and ''WesternAnimation/MagicAdventuresOfMumfie'' [[note]] Britt Allcroft said that the "Gotta Dance, Gotta Whistle, Gotta Sing" scene was based on this scene. [[/note]].
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' has a sketch where a film crew is making a movie called ''Scott Of The Antarctic'', about the failed expedition of polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Most viewers nowadays would be amazed that there actually ''is'' a movie with that title. "Scott Of The Antarctic" (1947), which is a faithful adaptation of the actual real life tragedy, but mostly forgotten nowadays.
* The word ''avatar'' has become more well known among the general public thanks to ''Franchise/{{Avatar}}'', but most people will rather think of blue aliens ([[Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender or Airbenders]]) than what the concept actually means. (That is, when they aren't digitally literate enough to associate it with the little pictures people put near their online pseudonyms; the film's script explicitely played up the Internet associations of the term, even if it's only depicted on screen in a very loosest sense.)
* Many porn actors like Ron Jeremy, John Holmes, Traci Lords, Linda Lovelace, La Cicciolina, Lolo Ferrari... are better known as punch lines in film and TV comedies, stand-up monologues and/or comedic blogs than the number of people who actually ''saw'' one of their movies. Some of them have even moved beyond the porn, consider it an OldShame, and get tired of people bringing it up as if they're still involved with that scene.
* ''Film/TheJazzSinger'' is famous for being the first successful sound film and a milestone in cinematic history. Ask any cinephile what they know about the movie and they'll tell you it stars Al Jolson singing in {{Blackface}}. Apart from that most people, even movie fans have never seen this picture in its entirety and it's not difficult to see why. Apart from the novelty of being the first sound picture it's hardly a cinematic masterpiece and very dated. Jolson himself, by the way, was once one of the biggest singers in the world, but today he is only remembered for appearing in this movie.
* Discussed by Creator/DavidCronenberg in his DVDCommentary for ''Film/TheFly1986'': The phrase "Be afraid. Be very afraid" comes from this movie and served as its {{Tagline}}, but has been quoted so often that many people don't realize it derives from a specific work. And if kids of TheNineties ''do'' know it's from a movie, many get what movie it was wrong, thinking it originated in ''Film/AddamsFamilyValues'' (and thus missing a layer of the joke in that Wednesday is quoting a notoriously upsetting BodyHorror film).
* The BeachKiss scene from ''Literature/FromHereToEternity'' everyone mimicked or spoofed was actually an allusion to one from ''Film/TheBlueLagoon1949''. Viewers today will recognize the scene from parodies or allusions from later movies than the ones that originated it.
[[/folder]]

* This might be happening to ComicBook/{{Batman}}, if Website/YouTube comments are to be believed.

* Look up any Website/YouTube video for "Seasons of Love", and you will see an overwhelming number of comments about how people sang it for choir/graduation/etc. and didn't know it was from ''Theatre/{{Rent}}''.

** Speaking of [=McRolled=]: the video itself is also subject to osmosis, as it was originally a Website/NicoNicoDouga remix that was imported to Website/YouTube via the title "Ronald [=McDonald=] Insanity". The "[=McRolled=]" title was used in an edit of the video to associate it more with hyperlink pranks like Rickrolling. And thanks to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Wmju4mZEA the original commercials]] used in the video [[NoExportForYou never leaving Japan]], most just associate them with the remix (and therefore ''Touhou'') anyway.

* The slow motion walk in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' is often misattributed to ''Film/Armageddon1998'', instead of ''Film/TheRightStuff''.

** In modern times, the subject of Cleopatra's race is subject of significant debate because it's not quite known how she should be represented in media, mainly due to her being the Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, hence, Greek in origin. This would make her not nearly as exotic, as 'native' Egyptian or even as an 'African queen' as Hollywood modern tendencies would state.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'': ''VideoGame/FZero'' had not received a new game in the almost-20 years between ''Climax'' for the GBA and ''F-Zero 99''. So many modern gamers who didn't grow up with the franchise believe the series' rep Captain Falcon is an [[OriginalGeneration original character made specifically for]] ''[[OriginalGeneration Smash Bros.]]'', not realizing he appeared in his own series.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'': ''VideoGame/FZero'' had not received a new game the almost-20 years between ''Climax'' for the GBA and ''F-Zero 99'', so many modern gamers who didn't grow up with the franchise believe the series' rep Captain Falcon is an [[OriginalGeneration original character made specifically for]] ''[[OriginalGeneration Smash Bros.]]'' not realizing he appeared in his own series.

* Guy Fawkes, the man who wanted to blow up the English Parliament in 1605, has changed into a popular bonfire puppet on ''Bonfire Night'' in the UK and into a world wide symbol of anarchism and rebellion since his depiction in ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'', despite the fact that this comic strip and the film adaptation have nothing whatsoever to do with the real-life Fawkes' ambitions.[[note]]Fawkes was an English Catholic and a Papist who wanted to kill the King of England by blowing up the parliament in order to place a Catholic-based government in place in subserviency to the Pope.[[/note]]