In fiction, whenever anyone has a position they need filled, rather than putting out a want ad or interviewing potential candidates, they'll simply grab the first person they see and force them to help. Though this is usually played for comedy, it was used seriously by Real Life navies; the practice of grabbing men off the streets and forcing them to become sailors was known as impressment. When impressment was abolished, it would later be replaced by the practice of "shanghaiing" on non-military vessels in need of able-bodied men. See also Got Volunteered. Examples of Press-Ganged include: