I first heard about the word Schadenfreude on Boston Legal – one of my favorite television shows.
“Schadenfreude” is the title of a Boston Legal episode wherein character Alan Shore (James Spader) uses the term in explaining why some defendants are convicted of an unrelated crime after having engaged in culturally unacceptable or possibly illegal activities.
Schadenfreude is a malicious feeling of pleasure in another person’s misfortune.
Read more on Schadenfreude on Wikipedia.