History Main / HeadsTailsEdge

* ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'':
** When Rincewind is demonstrating that there is a high [[BackgroundMagicField magical field]] in the area -- flipped coins all land on their edge, aside from a few that turn into other things, and one that falls upwards.

** Then there's Cohen the Barbarian who does a variant of this when told by the gods to roll a seven on a six-sided die. [[spoiler:He throws it up in the air, cuts it in half, and has the six and one land facing up on the table.]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': a recurring metaphor through the series is "When a Targaryen is born, the Gods flip a coin." Due to centuries of inbreeding and dealing with otherworldly magic, there is a strong current of hereditary insanity that runs through the Targaryen bloodline. Normally there's no middle ground: a Targaryen ruler is either great or terrible, a just king or a mad tyrant. And then Daenerys was born. When the Gods tossed her coin, it landed on its edge. She was both great and terrible, just and monstrous, in equal measure, at the exact same time. And it would only take one final push to knock her coin over to one side or the other. [[spoiler: When that push finally came, it landed on tails, and the messianic Silver Queen became the Mad Queen after all.]]

* Wiki/{{Uncyclopedia}} has a [[http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Template:Coin template]] that simulates a coin flip. Digging into [[http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/index.php?title=Template:Coin&action=edit the code]] reveals a 1/2019 chance of landing on "edge", along with a chance of getting "down the drain".

* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJWZrkwFqy8 one Nestea ad,]] a young man on vacation spins an iced tea bottle to decide between two activities: a jungle canopy tour with some girls, or kayaking with some guys. The bottle stops halfway in between, pointing at [[spoiler:a wild-looking jungle man. [[TakeAThirdOption So he heads off with the jungle man]]]].

* ''Discworld/TheColourOfMagic'':

* Jimmy James of ''Series/NewsRadio'' once tried to pick the new news director this way, between Dave and Lisa. The first time, it landed on its edge. The second time, he flips it into the air...and just stares straight up into the air saying "now that's something spooky"

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-GFKMJwMtc&t=1m26s Let's Play Furious Mario - Episode 1]] by LetsPlay/ProtonJon, he decided to choose which path he would take by flipping a game cartridge. It landed on its corner.
* Something similar happened to LetsPlay/{{Chuggaaconroy}} in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cy3fsWchos&t=11m42s this]] episode of ''Pikmin 2'', when deciding which dungeon to enter.

* In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'''s "Twilight of the Clans" story arc, this is both [[DefiedTrope defied]] and [[InvokedTrope invoked]]. [[DefectorFromDecadence Clan Nova Cat]] made deals with the Draconis Combine, but to make their 'losses' look realistic while causing the minimum amount of losses, a series of show trials were performed between DCMS and Nova Cat forces. One such trial was down to a coin flip. The Star Colonel in charge calls 'edge'. When the DCMS commander asks why the Star Colonel made such an impossible call, the Star Colonel replies, "Imagine the honor if I had won?"

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700

[[quoteright:225:[[ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_coinflip.png]]]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': a recurring motif through the series is "When a Targaryen is born, the Gods flip a coin." Due to centuries of inbreeding and dealing with otherworldly magic, there is a strong current of hereditary insanity that runs through the bloodline. Normally there's no middle ground: a Targaryen king is either an amazingly brilliant and competent ruler, or a murderously insane tyrant. And then Daenerys was born. When the Gods tossed her coin, it landed on its edge. She was both great and terrible, in equal measure, at the exact same time. And it only took a little push to knock her coin over to one side or the other. [[spoiler: It landed on tails and she burned King's Landing to the ground.]]

* In the "Blitzgiving" episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Barney inherits the "Blitz" curse which makes awesome things happen just as he's not there to see it. He leaves the room, and the original Blitz flips a coin and it lands on its edge. It falls over just as Barney comes back.

''Series/GameOfThrones'': a recurring motif through the series is "When a Targaryen is born, the Gods flip a coin." Due to centuries of inbreeding and dealing with otherworldly magic, there is a strong current of hereditary insanity that runs through the bloodline. Normally there's no middle ground: a Targaryen king is either an amazingly brilliant and competent ruler, or a murderously insane tyrant. And then Daenerys was born. When the Gods tossed her coin, it landed on its edge. She was both great and terrible, in equal measure, at the exact same time. And it only took a little push to knock her coin over to one side or the other. [[spoiler: It landed on tails and she burned King's Landing to the ground.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'''s "Twilight of the Clans" story arc, this is both [[DefiedTrope defied]] and [[InvokedTrope invoked]]. [[DefectorFromDecadence Clan Nova Cat]] made deals with the Draconis Combine, but to make their 'losses' look realistic while causing the minimum amount of losses, a series of show trials were performed between DCMS and Nova Cat forces. One such trial was down to a coin flip. The Star Colonel in charge calls 'edge'. When the DCMS commander asks why the Star Colonel made such an impossible call, the Star Colonel replies, [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments "Imagine the honor if I had won?"]]

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "A Penny for Your Thoughts" (starring [[TheOtherDarrin The (Original) Darrin]] Creator/DickYork) uses this: a man flips a coin, it lands on its edge, and he discovers that he's mysteriously become telepathic. At the end of the episode, he knocks the coin over and the telepathy goes away.

* In surreal French-Spanish comedy ''Charlots Go to Spain'' (a.k.a. ''Crazy Boys in Spain'', a.k.a. ''Les Charlots font l'Espagne'') The Charlots disagree reading the map and can't figure their yacht's position relative to the minefield. They toss a coin to decide where to turn. In spite of the violently jerking ship the coin firmly stands on edge and they decide to drive the yacht strait into the visible mine.

* The coin landing on its edge is a recurring metaphor for fate in the ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' series; it represents Kain's SadisticChoice in the first game to kill himself and thus doom the vampires to extinction, or watch the Pillars of Nosgoth that govern the land's health lower the world into decay as they're unable to be restored while he lives. Given that [[spoiler:the SealedEvilInACan the Pillars are keeping trapped will be released if either the vampires die out or the Pillars are corrupted]], Kain aptly states "either way, the game is rigged". The "edge" is [[spoiler:the hope that Raziel will realize he has free will and use it to break the {{Stable Time Loop}}s of the series and throw the timeline into chaos, and hopefully when the dust settles the two of them will be able to TakeAThirdOption and find a way to get the good bits of both choices. And by the end of the series, they ([[LeftHanging apparently]]) succeed]].
* [[PlayerCharacter CHARNAME]] from ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' is described as a coin on the edge by a seer, based on an in-universe story: at the birth of every person, the goddesses of good and bad luck flips a coin, the sides deciding which goddess' influence will dominate that person's life. If it lands on the edge, ''neither'' goddess has a claim and the person is truly free to forge their own path, for good or ill.

* In the ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' episode "From Fear to Eternity", Phoebe flips a coin to decide if she should cover for her boss's affair. The coin lands on its edge and Phoebe remarks, "Oh, that helped a lot".

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': A creepy school inspector (and [[Literature/NoCountryForOldMen Anton Chigurh]] expy) asks Homer to call a coin.

Put simply, a character [[HeadsOrTails flips a coin]], which lands on its edge. This generally happens for one of two reasons:

# Something is messing with the laws of probability. Weighted coins, supernatural causes, NegativeSpaceWedgie..

* In ''Film/HandsAcrossTheTable'', Fred [=MacMurray=] tells Creator/CaroleLombard that he’ll get a job (something he doesn’t want) if the coin lands on the edge. They’re on a moving bus, and it falls onto oncoming traffic. They block up traffic trying to find the coin, and it's found on its edge, because it landed in a crevice of a manhole. Hilarious HijinksEnsure indeed.

** The same principle is used to make a [[http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=UA8UAAAAEBAJ&dq=6926275 five-sided die]] -- a triangular prism shaped to have a 2/5 chance of landing on one of its two triangular "heads or tails" faces and a 3/5 chance of landing on one of its three rectangular "edge" faces, giving each a 1/5 chance.

* In the WebOriginal/WelcomeToNightVale fanfic FanFic/ExistenceIsTheMostExcitingThingOfAll, a bunch of characters try to use coin flipping for some minor decision making, but give up when every single one of them lands on the edge.

* In ''Truth or Consequences, N.M.'', the PsychoForHire played by Kiefer Sutherland, obsessed with the [[Series/TheTwilightZone Twilight Zone]] episode mentioned below, keeps flipping a coin to try to get it to land on its side. During the climax, it finally does[[spoiler: right before he's killed]].

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' episode "A Penny for Your Thoughts" (starring [[TheOtherDarrin The (Original) Darrin]] Dick York) uses this: a man flips a coin, it lands on its edge, and he discovers that he's mysteriously become telepathic. At the end of the episode, he knocks the coin over and the telepathy goes away.

* One of the methods used on ''Fringe'' to determine if there is a hole in the universe. Said holes cause the laws of probability to deteriorate, so when they toss a coin ten times (offscreen) and get edges each time, they know there's something fishy going on.

* One of the methods used on ''Series/Fringe'' to determine if there is a hole in the universe. Said holes cause the laws of probability to deteriorate, so when they toss a coin ten times (offscreen) and get edges each time, they know there's something fishy going on.

* Occurs in ''Film/MouseHunt''. The two brothers flip a coin to decide who gets the sole twin-sized bed in the house they inherited. The coin rolls across the floor to a still vertical stop. They slowly turn to look at each other, amazed... cut to them both in bed together.