History Main / HappyFunBall

* From the [[http://skippyslist.com/list/ 213 things Skippy is no longer allowed to do in the U.S. Army]], "Claymore mines are not filled with yummy candy and it is wrong to tell new soldiers that they are."

[[quoteright:320:[[Series/SaturdayNightLive https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Happy_fun_ball.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:[[TropeNamer Accept no substitutes!]]]]

* ''Manga/InuYasha'': If it's a simple-looking orb you're looking for, look no further than the [[DismantledMacGuffin Shikon no Tama (Jewel of the Four Souls)]], which is the size of a large marble. Sealed within it are the souls of a demonic horde and priestess trapped in an eternal battle. Even a tiny shard of it can make give a demon or human a powerful upgrade, and the first time we see it it's represented as a tacky key-chain. [[spoiler: It's eventually revealed to be the true [[UltimateEvil villain]] of the series, manipulating even [[BigBad Naraku]]]].

Aww... [[KillerRabbit nothing that cute could be dangerous]]. Until it comes cutely to life and uses its precious widdle claws to rip your face off. [[GrostequeCute Adorably.]]

Aww... [[KillerRabbit nothing that cute could be dangerous]]. Until it comes cutely to life and uses its precious widdle claws to rip your face off. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Adorably.]]

* Creator/SquareEnix games are filled with "weapons" that are [[ImprobableWeaponUser otherwise harmless objects]]. The trend started in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' with harps, books and bells; ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' added the paintbrush, dice, and cards; ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' contributed the megaphone and comb; ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' had forks (really big forks, but still...); and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' contained dolls and blitzballs (basically lumpy soccer balls). The ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series gave you the option of using items such as tarot cards or an abacus to attack.
** Have you ever been smacked in the head by a football at close range? That ''hurts''.
** Those blitzballs have to be freaking heavy to stay both stay underwater and move like they do when someone takes a shot, their value as weapons are somewhat understandable with some logic.
** Don't forget about the strongest optional boss in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', Ozma. It is a giant floating ball that spins...and casts Meteor, among other things.
*** The idea is that summons in the game are [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve given form by the people who believe in them]]. Ozma is "the forgotten summon", hence it's lost any shape it once had and become a blob of raw power.
** Books are weird. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' you simply bop enemies on the head with them. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' it's a ranged weapon where you read a paragraph or two and your target [[BrownNote flinches in pain]].
** There's a literal one in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. The superball item deals a fair bit of damage when thrown.
** ''Another'' literal example is the recurring Mover enemy. Despite appearing as little red spheres with eyes, they tend to be among the most powerful regular enemies, coming in groups of three to facilitate their devastating "[[CombinationAttack Delta Attack]]". On the other hand, the rewards if you ''do'' defeat them are [[MetalSlime well worth the trouble]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/RocketMonkeys'' episode "B.A.L.L." the monkeys are tasked with delivering the eponymous B.A.L.L. (Ballistic and Lethally Loaded), which is an actual ball. They have to refrain from playing with it or it will explode.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood Great Molasses Tidal Wave]] in Boston in 1919.

* The TropeNamer comes from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gzDC-2ZO8I the "Happy Fun Ball" sketch]] on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. It's a [[MyLittlePanzer kid's toy]] with an [[NoProductSafetyStandards increasingly bizarre disclaimer]], containing warnings such as "[[HyperDestructiveBouncingBall May suddenly accelerate to unsafe speeds]]", "If Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke, seek shelter and cover head", "Happy Fun Ball is being shipped to Saudi Arabia and is being dropped by our troops on Iraq," and the immortal "[[DoNotTauntCthulhu Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.]]"

* Tom Foolery, from the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' is an {{Expy}} of both the Joker and the Toyman. While he's a capable hand-to-hand fighter and a nimble acrobat, his greatest weapons include things like yo-yos with razor sharp jacks, robotic, machine-gun toting teddy bears, model airplanes carrying micro-missiles, and a bouncy explosive ball that he even calls HappyFunBall.

** Paper is a major fire hazard. It is both easy to ignite and burns with extreme heat. These properties allowed it to melt the steel beams inside the Twin Towers.

* ''VideoGame/Undertale'' has Flowey. he is a flower, he looks very nice. He is also a genocidal maniac who may or may not be dimension-hopping. Also this is a game where even scary-looking things usually turn out to be nice. This makes the revelation of Flowey's true nature quite terrifying indeed.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''VideoGame/Undertale''has Flowey. he is a flower, he looks very nice. He is also a genocidal maniac who may or may not be dimension-hopping. Also this is a game where even scary-looking things usually turn out to be nice. This makes the revelation of Flowey's true nature quite terrifying indeed.

* At the SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse, there's a deviser codenamed Knick-Knack who makes these all the time. We've seen a fake 'Harry Potter' wand which has been turned into a real laser weapon, suspicious snow globes, lava lamps that are now attack devices a la 'Rover' of ''Series/ThePrisoner'', and a conch shell with ''something'' inside it that you don't want to know about.

*** In 2015, an explosion killed 15 people and injured hundreds more at a 'color festival' in Taiwan, when colored powder thrown into a crowd of party-goers ignited.

** Come to think of it, almost everything in the Warehouse is a happy fun ball/artifact of doom. Some... not so much, like the Aztec idol from the first episode.

* The ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episode "[[Recap/FireflyE10WarStories War Stories]]" has Zoe explain why she always cuts her apples up with a knife before eating by telling a story from the war. They were in trench warfare, and were running low on food. Their lack of food came up while talking with the enemies in the other trenches, and shortly afterwards apples started falling into their trenches. Apples with micro-grenades in them.

Sometimes, horrifically dangerous objects are obvious; nasty-looking {{spikes|OfVillainy}}, painted [[DarkIsEvil dark and foreboding colors]], covered in SchmuckBait, and generally like something straight from a 12-year old's ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' game. However, sometimes it looks like a cute kitten statue.

-->'''Cave Johnson''': Oh, in case you got covered in that repulsion gel, here's some advice that the lab boys gave me: Do ''not'' get covered in the repulsion gel. We haven't entirely nailed down what element it is, yet, but I'll tell you this, it's a lively one, and it does not like the [[BodyHorror human skeleton]].

* Square-Enix' video games are filled with "weapons" that are [[ImprobableWeaponUser otherwise harmless objects]]. The trend started in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' with harps, books and bells; ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' added the paintbrush, dice, and cards; ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' contributed the megaphone and comb; ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' had forks (really big forks, but still...); and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' contained dolls and blitzballs (basically lumpy soccer balls). The ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series gave you the option of using items such as tarot cards or an abacus to attack.