The Big Bang Theory: 10 Times Penny Was Smarter Than The Guys
Penny is often the punching bag for the gang's jokes on The Big Bang Theory. She's seen as the "normal" one in the group who doesn't have a college education and never seems to understand what her group of friends is talking about. However, Penny gets a lot of heat with zero acknowledgment of when she's the sharpest one in the room.
Penny isn't a dumb character; she's just not as educationally advanced as her husband and friends. She has smart moments on the show that often go unnoticed. From sports to animals to how to act in public, Penny deserves more credit.
10 She Taught Sheldon How To Be More Relatable On Camera
When Sheldon had Penny over his apartment to be a guest on his YouTube show, Fun With Flags, she stopped production to remind Sheldon to loosen up. As the show's host, Sheldon should aim to be more relatable and comfortable on camera. He told Penny that people commented that his "delivery was robotic." Penny encouraged him to face her during the episode and have a real conversation instead of facing the camera. And much to Sheldon's surrpise, her advice helped.
9 She Taught Sheldon & Leonard About Pop Culture
In an attempt to find out who was smarter between Sheldon and Leonard, Penny had a series of pop culture questions for them to answer. Both men had no idea what Penny was talking about but she knew the answers like the back of her hand.
From The Brady Bunch to rock music, Leonard and Sheldon were clueless. It was in this scene that proved Penny had strengths that were the guys' weaknesses.
8 Battle Of The Sexes
In the sixth season, Penny and Amy went head to head with Sheldon and Leonard for a round of the battle of the sexes. The teams went against each other in math, pop culture, physical activity, spelling, and beyond. The boys thought they would blow the girls out of the water but that wasn't the case.
Penny beat Sheldon in spelling, long division, wrestling, a game of Hangman, and beyond. But did she get the respect she deserved after this epic win? Nope!
7 She Taught Sheldon How To Act
When Sheldon started teaching at Caltech, he realized it wasn't as easy as he thought. His students weren't engaged in his lectures and he came off as cold. To warm up to the class, Sheldon asked Penny for acting lessons.
When Sheldon said, "And action!" Penny taught him that "action" is said in movies, not during improv. Sheldon was impressed by Penny's knowledge and the fact that she taught him something new. He wasn't very good at improv, which only proved how good Penny was.
6 She Taught Them How To Fish
When Howard geared up for a fishing trip with Bernadette's dad, he went to Penny for some help. As a Nebraska native who grew up on a farm, Penny was comfortable with the life and death of animals and had a strong stomach. The gang bought a fish and Penny taught them how to hook and gut a fish. Hilariously, the guys were disgusted by the entire act. They were even more disturbed when the fish they cut open was riddled with eggs.
5 She Opened Sheldon's Mind On String Theory
Sheldon had been working with string theory and dark matter for years. It was the one thing that kept him up at night. In one scene, Penny stopped by Sheldon's apartment while he was trying to find a new area to study and she ended up opening his eyes to something new.
With Penny's help, Sheldon realized that he could refocus his energy on string theory being organized by sheets. Doing this could allow for more possibilities. Without Penny breaking down the effortlessness of literal string, Sheldon never would have had this breakthrough.
4 She Beat Leonard At Chess
Penny wasn't always interested in playing games or reading comics with the guys but she was interested in chess. In one scene, Leonard taught Penny how to play and assumed he would wipe the floor with her. But much to his surprise, she beat him. Leonard was so confused by Penny's win that he couldn't admit to her that she had won. She didn't even know all the names of the pieces but she still beat Leonard!
3 Penny Found The Comet, Not Raj
In the 11th season, the gang went up to the rooftop of their building to see Mercury, but shockingly, when Penny looked in the telescope, she found something different — a comet. Raj denied her findings and told her it wasn't a comet but after further investigation, she was right.
The next day, Penny found out that Raj took full credit for the comet and left Penny's name off the discovery. Penny was devastated because she felt like she had a worthwhile contribution to science and Raj ruined that opportunity. The point is, Penny found the comet, not Raj.
2 She Understood Sports
When it comes to sports Leonard, Howard, Raj, and Sheldon know nothing. Sheldon knew about football by growing up in Texas but that was about it. Penny knew about football, fishing, ping pong, and probably every other sport — especially since her dad called her "slugger". Leonard tried learning football to fit in with Penny and her friends but he wasn't interested enough to keep pretending. When it came to body strength and sports, Penny had the upper hand.
1 The Scavenger Hunt
When Raj put together a scavenger hunt for his friends, no one wanted to be paired with Penny because they assumed she wouldn't be smart enough to dissect the clues. But as it turned out, Penny did better than Leonard, Howard, and Amy. Partnered with Sheldon, Penny was the one who found out the first clue led to the comic book store, the clue behind the door at the lab, and fled to the laundry room for the last clue. If one thing is for certain, it's that Penny is underestimated.