History Main / PunishmentDetail

* This tends to happen to Donald a lot when he's seen in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'', seeing as he messes up a lot while in the Navy.

[[folder: Multiple Media]]
* In just about any work put into an office setting, being put in charge of [[YouGetMeCoffee getting everyone else coffee]] or other refreshments can be used as this, especially when it's being framed as a deliberate snub/form of exclusion.
---> '''Boss''': We have important things to discuss. While we're doing that, you can go get everyone some coffee, Bob.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In the ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series Tavi gets assigned with measuring and evaluating all the latrines after calling his immediate superior out selling for selling the legion's supplies on the black market.

* ''Literature/CHERUBSeries'' - Performing menial (though always necessary) cleaning jobs on [[SpySchool Campus]] is among the most common way of punishing [[TeenSuperSpy CHERUB agents]] for misconduct.

** However, in some cases these tasks will go to the NewMeat instead of people on Punishment Detail.
** KP, or Kitchen Patrol, is a common form of military punishment in media (classically taking the form of PeelingPotatoes). In Real Life, it's not nearly as common as it once was.
*** Hilariously enough, the Russian Army has always considered KP a reward rather than a punishment. Sure, PeelingPotatoes is boring and monotonous, but so is, say, tank tread maintenance. KP is far less physically demanding, is done in a nice warm kitchen rather than a snowdrift somewhere and gives you ample opportunity to beg or steal a wide variety of edible goodies.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has "[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040116 grease trap duty]]" (on an airship).

* Being assigned to [[WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers Operation Rusty's Blanket]] was a punishment for Brock Samson.

* When [[OggyAndTheCockroaches Oggy]] is once mistakenly enrolled, the [[ButtMonkey angry drill sergeant]] [[MimeAndMusicOnlyCartoon yells at him, pointing at the latrines]] and hands him a toothbrush. [[ImpossibleTaskInstantlyAccomplished Seconds later, the WC are squeaky-clean.]]
* AngelaAnaconda is always being assigned to clap erasers after school by her teacher (mostly because said teacher doesn't like her). She has actually [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower developed a special talent for eraser-clapping!]]

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'': "Thanks to your new friend Ping, you men will spend this evening cleaning up [[PunctuatedForEmphasis every. single. grain. of. rice.]]" Of course, this wasn't just assigned randomly; the men had just gotten in a massive FoodFight and needed to clean it up anyway.

* In ''PoliceAcademy 2'' Mahoney and his partner are assigned to the inside of the Lincoln Tunnel (or some other traffic tunnel), ostensibly in case there are any civilians who need help but actually as punishment, being forced to breathe the traffic fumes and such.
* Will Stockdale in ''No Time For Sergeants'' is assigned to latrine detail, but he takes to the job and gets them ship-shape.

* Tyrion Lannister from ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' gets put in charge of managing the sewers in Casterly Rock, since he's horribly unpopular. In something of a subversion, Tyrion goes on to make the sewers incredibly more efficient than they used to be.

* In the first episode of ''{{Reaper}}'', Sam's boss decides to punish him the for the damaging the store by assigning him to the Gardening Department (where he has to pile forty pound sacks of dirt all day). Fortunately, the Devil arranges it so that his love interest is there to keep him company.

* In ''TheLastCastle'', Irwin is ordered by the Warden to move a massive pile of rocks from one end of the prison yard to the other. When that doesn't break his will, Irwin is subsequently told to move all the rocks back to their original position.

A common subversion is to have the person being punished actually wind up enjoying the work, and maybe even doing the job well enough to earn some amount of respect from their superiors.

* The Minister of Culture in season 2 of ''Series/SlingsAndArrows'' was the Minister of Health until she spoke out against her own party, and clearly would still rather be -- her reaction to Richard coming to her with a grant proposal for the New Burbage theater festival is to point out how many cancer victims' lives could be saved with the amount of money he's asking for.

* ''Series/{{JAG}}: In "Boot", Meg Austin, while undercover as a Marine private, is assigned sanitary duty.

->'''[[ThePoliticalOfficer Commissar]] Literature/CiaphasCain:''' I know these ones a bit too well.[...] Hochen, Nordstrom, Milsen, Jarvik, and the inevitable Gunner Erhlsen. Tell me Erhlsen, are you planning to make latrine orderly a full-time career?\\
'''Erhlsen:''' [[DeadpanSnarker We serve the Emperor as our talents direct.]]
-->--[[Literature/CiaphasCain "Sector Thirteen"]]

* TheSims Military career track has references to this, including a chance card where the player's active Sim can impose the punishment detail themselves: make the recruits march in their underwear, or replace their rifles with baguettes? There's also a parody SoundOff in the Recruit description: I don't know but I've been told, scrubbing latrines gets mighty old!

* TheSims Military career track has references to this, including a chance card where the player's active Sim can impose the punishment detail themselves: make the recruits march in their underwear, or replace their rifles with baguettes?

** He occasionally wonders if his aide Jurgen's faith leads him to believe every order, including latrine duty, is passed down from the Golden Throne itself. Then again, Cain has noted that the GodEmperor has a preculiar sense of humor...

* ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' is fond of handing these out instead of harsher punishments (to reenforce the illusion of a The Men First attitude), particularly to soldiers who've watched his back (or at least he likes to give them the impression he does to encourage them).

* ''CiaphasCain'' is fond of handing these out instead of harsher punishments (to reenforce the illusion of a The Men First attitude), particularly to soldiers who've watched his back (or at least he likes to give them the impression he does to encourage them).

* In ''Webcomic/CodeNameHunter'', to punish him for some unauthorized spying in Astoria[[note]]Breaking into [[EvilChancellor Headmaster Cedric's]] office, which was fully justified but would have damaged Britain diplomatically if he'd been caught[[/note]], Hunter is pulled off front-line duty and given a four-week reassignment to Maintenance.

PeelingPotatoes is a subtrope about a specific type of Punishment Detail. Closely related to ReassignedToAntarctica, which is about being moved to an undesirable location as a form of punishment. If the unpleasant task comes along with a promotion, the character might have been KickedUpstairs.