History Main / CoconutMeetsCranium

* Both WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry got hit by coconuts in the short "Surf-Bored Cat".

A character who is stranded on a DesertedIsland or other [[BeachEpisode tropical location]] will often get hit on the head by a falling coconut, if any trees are around. Although the character will usually just suffer AmusingInjuries, there are [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_coconut#Documented_occurrences many people]] who have been killed this way in real life, since coconuts are fairly heavy and trees can be tens of feet high.

* Anime/Moomin1990: In the episode where a jungle grows around the Moominhouse, a falling coconut hits the head of Moominpappa who's wearing a sun helmet. He just stands dazed for five seconds before commenting how useful the helmet is.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' games:

->''"Gahaha! That guy got hit in the head with a coconut!"''

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' and ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'': One of the job minigames in both games has you collecting coconuts. If you're not careful or really unlucky, Travis can get hit on the head with them, dazing him for a few seconds. In the second game's version, he also has to dodge the numerous bees located in the coast, and the minigame now lasts four levels.

* The French comics artist {{Creator/Gotlib}}'s most famous RunningGag involved Isaac Newton walking under falling objects or running into the subject of the day or otherwise being subject to cranial trauma, allowing him to come up with the theory of universal gravitation.

* Characters in the “Shipwrecked” expansion of ''VideoGame/DontStarve,'' need to be wary while chopping a coconut tree with an axe. The trees occasionally drop a coconut on the player’s head, dealing 20 damage.

Subtrope of AmusingInjuries. Compare PianoDrop, AnvilOnHead, DropTheWashtub, FlowerPotDrop, and TapOnTheHead.

%%* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Mr. Incredible takes out a guard with a perfect head shot from over a hundred yards away.

** This also happened to Yoshi in the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'' episode, "Party Line". This gave Mario the inspiration to make a telephone line from coconuts and vines.

A character who is stranded on a DesertedIsland will often fall victim to getting hit on the head with a coconut, if the island has one or two coconut trees. This can take place in any location you're likely to find coconut trees in, such as the jungle.

In Hawaii and other tropical areas, there are "Do not stand under the coconuts!" signs for this very reason. In real life, having a 10-pound nut fall 20 feet onto your head is genuinely capable of killing you.

Of course, coconuts are not the only fruits that can hit you on the head, apples are also most likely to bean you on the head in an homage to Sir Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity[[note]]although nowadays there's a consensus that this is just an exaggeration of the official story, which says Newton simply observed as the apple fell, and his head never cushioned the fruit's fall[[/note]]. In Southeast Asia, it is possible sometimes for durians to be substituted for the coconuts -- given their spiky shape and having heft equal to that of a standard coconut, their potential for killing when falling off trees and hitting someone on the head is quite comparable.

Of course, coconuts are not the only fruits that can hit you on the head, apples are also most likely to bean you on the head in an homage to Sir Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity[[note]]although nowadays there's a consensus that this is just an exaggeration of the official story, which says Newton simply observed as the apple fell, and his head never cushioned the fruit's fall[[/note]]. In Southeast Asia, it is possible sometimes for durians to be substituted for the coconuts - given their spiky shape and having heft equal to that of a standard coconut, their potential for killing when falling off trees and hitting someone on the head is quite comparable.

In Hawaii and other tropical areas, there are 'Do not stand under the coconuts!' signs for this very reason. In real life, having a 10-pound nut fall 20 feet onto your head is genuinely capable of killing you.