Every one knows the best way to solve a complex mystery is to hang pictures and newspaper clippings on a wall and connect them with string to show the relationship between each item. At least that's true according to the movies. That familiar scene is called String Theory, and it's there to show you how widespread and complex a hidden conspiracy can be to an experienced professional investigator. On the other hand, it is also used to reveal the compulsions of a serial killer or the insane obsessions of a conspiracy theorist.
Shawn Gilmore has compiled an archive of Narrative String Theory scenes from movies, TV, comedy, books, animation, advertising, comics, art, and even the news. There are 1308 entries so far, including a scene from the documentary The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping shown at the top, and the parody that became a meme from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, above. Just when you are impressed with how many of them there are, you realize that there's a second page with the previous 900 entries. -via Metafilter
(Warning: the first link is from TV Tropes)