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Comic Books
"If the thought of it seems crazy, you weren't crazy enough to begin with."
Comic Strips
Walt: That's just crazy enough to work!
Connie: I agree with the first three words in that sentence.
Connie: I agree with the first three words in that sentence.
— Zits
Fan Works
Captain Jay Yim: Lieutenant Kanril, are you insane?!
Lieutenant Kanril Eleya: It worked, didn't it?
Lieutenant Kanril Eleya: It worked, didn't it?
— From Bajor to the Black, Part II
"Our main area of expertise lies in the field of practical insanity, or! In more common parlance... Applied. Bullshit."
— Jeremiya Cross, This Bites!
Film — Animated
Astrid: What are you going to do about it?
Hiccup: Probably something stupid.
Astrid: Okay, but...you've already done that.
Hiccup: Then something crazy.
Astrid: That's more like it.
Hiccup: Probably something stupid.
Astrid: Okay, but...you've already done that.
Hiccup: Then something crazy.
Astrid: That's more like it.
Film — Live-Action
Trinity: Neo... no one has ever done anything like this.
Neo: That's why it's going to work.
Neo: That's why it's going to work.
Will Turner: This is either madness, or brilliance.
Captain Jack Sparrow: It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide.
Captain Jack Sparrow: It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide.
Lord Beckett: You're mad.
Captain Jack Sparrow: Thank goodness for that, because if I wasn't, this'd probably never work.
Captain Jack Sparrow: Thank goodness for that, because if I wasn't, this'd probably never work.
"You're both nuts. This whole plan is nuts. It can't work. I am totally in."
— Max, Scandal Sheet
Literature
"The plan is insane. You are insane.... I'll need some pants."
—Ehren, Captain's Fury
"There's something broken in your head, Calderon. You do all your thinking sideways."
— Antillar Maximus, Princeps' Fury, on Tavi
Kitai: I must go to him.
Fidelias: He's alive?
Kitai: Yes. For now. And... pleased with his own cleverness, may The One help us. Quick. What is the absolute worst place in this valley one could go? The most insanely suicidal place to be found? The place where only a great fool would venture—and only an insane fool would follow?
Both: Garados.
Kitai: He is there.
Fidelias: He's alive?
Kitai: Yes. For now. And... pleased with his own cleverness, may The One help us. Quick. What is the absolute worst place in this valley one could go? The most insanely suicidal place to be found? The place where only a great fool would venture—and only an insane fool would follow?
Both: Garados.
Kitai: He is there.
—First Lord's Fury, also describing Tavi
"Totally mad. Utter nonsense. But we'll do it because it's brilliant nonsense."
— Ford Prefect, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
"Nitwit ideas are for emergencies. You use them when you've got nothing else to try. If they work, they go in the Book. Otherwise you follow the Book, which is largely a collection of nitwit ideas that worked."
—Jack Cargill, The Mote in God's Eye
Live-Action TV
"'Out-of-the-box' is where I live."
— Kara Thrace, Battlestar Galactica (2003)
"Prepare for turbulence."
— Admiral William Adama, from Battlestar Galactica (2003), commencing what must have been the most insane rescue plan in the history of the twelve colonies.
The Tenth Doctor: General, we have a plan!
The Eleventh Doctor: We should point out that it's a fairly terrible plan.
The Tenth Doctor: And it almost certainly won't work.
The Eleventh Doctor: I was happy with "fairly terrible".
The Eleventh Doctor: We should point out that it's a fairly terrible plan.
The Tenth Doctor: And it almost certainly won't work.
The Eleventh Doctor: I was happy with "fairly terrible".
— The Doctors discusses their plan to save Gallifrey from certain destruction, from the episode "Day of the Doctor", Doctor Who
Maggie: You actually expect this to work?
Hardison: No, you're supposed to say "Wow, that's just crazy enough to work!"
Sophie: Incredibly, chance does seem to bend itself to his bizarre machinations.
Hardison: No, you're supposed to say "Wow, that's just crazy enough to work!"
Sophie: Incredibly, chance does seem to bend itself to his bizarre machinations.
— Leverage, on Nate
Col. Jack O'Neill: Everyone who thinks this is absolutely an insane plan, raise your hands. Come on, get 'em up.
(Everyone in the room raises their hands, including Maj. Samantha Carter, who came up with it.)
Maj. Gen. Hammond: Keep those hands raised, people, because the next question is, who's going to make this happen?
(a little later)
Jack: I just wanna state, for the record, that this is the wackiest plan we've ever come up with.
Sam: Wackier than strapping an active stargate to the bottom of the X-302?
Jack: Oh yeah.
Sam: Wackier than blowing up a sun???
Jack: (walking out of the room) Yep!
Sam: (considers for a moment) He's probably right.
(Everyone in the room raises their hands, including Maj. Samantha Carter, who came up with it.)
Maj. Gen. Hammond: Keep those hands raised, people, because the next question is, who's going to make this happen?
(a little later)
Jack: I just wanna state, for the record, that this is the wackiest plan we've ever come up with.
Sam: Wackier than strapping an active stargate to the bottom of the X-302?
Jack: Oh yeah.
Sam: Wackier than blowing up a sun???
Jack: (walking out of the room) Yep!
Sam: (considers for a moment) He's probably right.
— Stargate SG-1, "Fallen"
Video Games
"My grandpa used to say, 'If it's stupid, but it works, it's not stupid'."
— James Parnell, Evolve
"Only you could hatch such a brilliant scheme, Robin. Who else would desert half our vessels and turn them into flaming cannonballs? And there was still enough room on the remaining ships for all our troops. It was so simple, and yet the Valmese never saw it coming. They never considered anyone might be willing to sacrifice half a fleet..."
— Flavia, Fire Emblem: Awakening
"This strategy makes no sense at all, which is exactly why I think it may work."
— Hubert, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, after seeing Count Bergliez shatter a mountain with his fists to get around Claude's ambush
Cortana: I know what you're thinking, and it's crazy.
Master Chief: So? Stay here.
Cortana: Unfortunately for us both, I like crazy.
Master Chief: So? Stay here.
Cortana: Unfortunately for us both, I like crazy.
— Halo 2
"Coach, that is the stupidest idea I have ever agreed with."
— Nick, Left 4 Dead 2
Heavy: Doctor! Are you sure this will work?
Medic: Ha Ha, I have no idea!
Medic: Ha Ha, I have no idea!
— Team Fortress 2, Meet the Medic
, shortly before the Medic deploys his Ubercharge.
, shortly before the Medic deploys his Ubercharge. Visual Novels
"It was far too ridiculous to be called a tactic. A plan based on deflecting Reinhard Heydrich's most powerful attack was pure insanity by that virtue alone."
"You plan to cross-examine an orca!?"
— Judge, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destiniesnote
Webcomics
"That's not a remotely sound basis for anything."
"No, no, no. This is so stupid, it's completely foolproof."
— Red Mage, 8-Bit Theater, on his latest plan
Black Mage: Y'know, it's been too long since I had a headache. So, Red Mage, enlighten us. How can a plan that makes no sense work?
Red Mage: One simple reason: it makes too little sense to fail.
Black Mage: What.
Red Mage: Most plans are critically flawed by their own logic. A failure at any step will ruin everything after it. That's just basic cause and effect. It's too easy for a good plan to fall apart. Therefore, a plan with no attachment to logic cannot be stopped. The success or failure of any given step will have no impact on the macro level.
Black Mage: That's so stupid I can't even see straight anymore.
Red Mage: Now imagine what'll happen when physics tries to figure it out!
Black Mage: Seriously, this hurts.
Red Mage: One simple reason: it makes too little sense to fail.
Black Mage: What.
Red Mage: Most plans are critically flawed by their own logic. A failure at any step will ruin everything after it. That's just basic cause and effect. It's too easy for a good plan to fall apart. Therefore, a plan with no attachment to logic cannot be stopped. The success or failure of any given step will have no impact on the macro level.
Black Mage: That's so stupid I can't even see straight anymore.
Red Mage: Now imagine what'll happen when physics tries to figure it out!
Black Mage: Seriously, this hurts.
"This has a small, but fascinating, chance of actually working! Let's do it!"
— Agatha Heterodyne, Girl Genius
"Maxim 43: If it's stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you're lucky."
—Schlock Mercenary, "The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries"
"Things are rarely just crazy enough to work, but they're frequently just crazy enough to fail hilariously."
Web Original
"If Milli Vanilli happened today, they would be caught by the third comment on their first YouTube video. However, two decades ago, it was the kind of scheme that seemed doable. They got away with it long enough to win a Grammy and somehow even kept it going after the real singer, Charles Shaw, told reporters the truth. To solve that, Farian gave Shaw $150,000 in hush money, and suddenly he had no idea what those reporters were talking about. In 1990, that was totally an option. In this age of recorded everything, you'd have to be a conservative politician to try something that retarded."
— Seanbaby
Web Video
Funky: Here it is, dudes! Mellow yellows that will make ya' hair grow where you didn't know ya' could grow hair!
Diddy: That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. So in other words, it'll probably work. GET MUNCHIN'!
[45 minutes later]
Donkey Kong: [groans]
Diddy: I don't think it worked.
Diddy: That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. So in other words, it'll probably work. GET MUNCHIN'!
[45 minutes later]
Donkey Kong: [groans]
Diddy: I don't think it worked.
Hi, I'm Gandhi, and if Britain doesn't get the hell out of India, I'm going to starve myself in public.
[Britain immediately leaves]
Wow, that worked?
[Britain immediately leaves]
Wow, that worked?
Huey: I bet [those Bob-ombs] would be strong enough to destroy that black paint tank! Plus, it'll be REALLY fun.
Skawo: (as Mario) And incredibly dangerous, downright foolish, noisy, potentially lethal, and kinda rude. I'm all in.
Skawo: (as Mario) And incredibly dangerous, downright foolish, noisy, potentially lethal, and kinda rude. I'm all in.
Western Animation
"Sometimes crazy works."
— Optimus Primal (on two separate occasions), Beast Wars
Bow: Ready to do something that probably won't work?
Glimmer: Always.
Glimmer: Always.
Patrick: We should take Bikini Bottom, and push it somewhere else!
Squidward: That idea may just be crazy enough... TO GET US ALL KILLED!
Squidward: That idea may just be crazy enough... TO GET US ALL KILLED!
"You're mad—both of you! Which might just get you through this."
— Bigwig, animated adaptation of Watership Down, "The Shadow of Efrafa"
Miscellaneous
"We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question that divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct."
— Niels Bohr, after hearing the proposition for Quantum Physics
"If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid."
— Murphy's Laws of Combat
