As the teacher handed back our graded exams, the kid next to me muttered, “Great.”

In Star Wars, the audience knows that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father, but Luke doesn’t learn this until Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

A prisoner spends months digging an underground tunnel leading out of his cell. His plan is flawed, though, and he ends up emerging in the warden’s backyard, where he is promptly caught and returned to prison with additional time added to his sentence.

Even though a young couple dreamed of having a wedding amid beautiful flowers and butterflies at a nearby park, they were also worried that rain would ruin the event. Ultimately, they decided to have the wedding at a local banquet hall instead. Sure, the hall wasn’t very pretty, but at least they knew their guests would be comfortable, regardless of the weather. Halfway through the reception on the Big Day, the building’s ceiling sprinklers malfunctioned, drenching the guests and ruining the food and decorations; outside, it was clear and sunny.

In The Truman Show, a 1998 movie starring Jim Carrey, the main character doesn’t realize he’s living inside a TV show, but everyone else around him, including the audience, knows the truth.

One of my cousins used to constantly complain on social media about the uselessness of social media, but then she was “friended” on Facebook by a former classmate, a young man who eventually became her husband. They’ve been happily married for years.

On a TV talk show, viewers are told the real reason why a guest has been brought onto the show. He mistakenly thinks he’s there to talk about his job at a coffeeshop, but he’s really there to be gifted a full college scholarship.

Fahrenheit 451, a novel about the dangers of censorship (the banning of books/information), is one of the most-often banned books in the U.S.

A police station was robbed.

Before their televised debate began, one politician sneered, “Good luck,” as her opponent crossed in front of her, walking toward the stage.

Brian, a professional carpenter, was hosting a party at his house when his upstairs deck started to wobble. The wood posts, he later discovered, were being eaten away by termites. He ended up rebuilding the entire structure.

In the book Holes, the reader is told by a disappointed Stanley Yelnats that “there is no lake at Camp Green Lake.”

Brian, a professional carpenter, was hosting a party at his house when his upstairs deck started to wobble. The wood posts, he later discovered, were being eaten away by termites. He ended up rebuilding the entire structure.

“I’m sorry, sir, but this flight has been delayed by three hours,” the airline clerk explained to my uncle. “Awesome,” he replied.

Monster’s Inc. is a corporation run by monsters. Their job is to scare children, but the audience knows that they are the ones who are afraid of the children.

Poor Steve was feeling down because none of his friends wished him a happy birthday at school that day. On his way home from school, he got a call from his mom telling him to stop at the neighbor's to pick up a package that was accidentally delivered to the wrong house. When Steve arrived and rang the bell, all of his friends and family jumped out from behind the furniture and yelled, "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" This is an example of what type of irony?

After Susan turned in her test, the teacher saw all of the questions she didn't answer, turned to her, and said, "Looks like someone really studied for the test!" This is what type of irony?

William Eno, “Father of Traffic Safety,” invented the stop sign, crosswalk, traffic circle, one-way street, and taxi stand, but he never learned to drive. What type of irony is this?

The only losing basketball coach in University of Kansas history is James Naismith—the man who invented basketball in 1891. What type of irony is this?

The first man to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel died after slipping on an orange peel. What type of irony is this?