History Main / TomatoSkunkStinkCure

SubTrope of ArtisticLicenseBotany.

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[WesternAnimation/Rugrats1991 I already tried that. All it did was stain the bathtub.]]"]]

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}} I already tried that. All it did was stain the bathtub.]]"]]

* Discussed in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode, "[[Recap/RugratsS2E16ChuckieLosesHisGlassesChuckieGetsSkunked Chuckie Gets Skunked]]". After [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Chuckie gets skunked]], Chaz tries everything to get rid of the smell. Didi and Stu question Chaz if he bathed Chuckie in tomato juice or tomato paste, respectively--[[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Chaz claims he tried both, but it didn't get rid of the skunk smell and just made a mess of the bathtub]]. Bathing him in borsht did the job, though.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[" WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}} I already tried that. All it did was stain the bathtub."]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}} I already tried that. All it did was stain the bathtub."]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}} I]] already tried that. All it did was stain the bathtub."]]

A well-known North American remedy for being sprayed by a skunk is to take a bath in tomato juice--although tomato paste, tomato sauce and even just tomatoes themselves are also popular alternatives. In fiction, whenever a character is sprayed by a SmellySkunk, they'll be forced to take a bath in some kind of tomato solution.

Unfortunately, [[UrbanLegends this doesn't work in real life]], at least not in the way that most people think--at the most, tomato juice will just mask the smell instead of truly getting rid of it. There are better remedies out there than dousing yourself in tomatoes. The [[https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/skunk-spray-tomato-juice1.htm most popular recommendation,]] for those curious, is a combination of peroxide, baking soda, and liquid detergent.[[note]]This combination of chemicals breaks down rapidly and must be prepared immediately before use. It breaks down the nasty smelling sulfur compounds that are insoluble in water into odorless (and water soluble) sulfonates, which instantly puts a stop to the smell.[[/note]] This also counts as BizarreBeverageUse for juice and UnconventionalFoodUsage for paste, sauce, soup, and raw tomatoes.

* In the ''Literature/{{Fudge}}'' book ''Fudge-a-Mania'', Turtle the dog gets sprayed by a skunk, and Buzzy Tubman Senior, Sheila's grandfather, is the first to suggest making him bathe in tomato juice. Peter and Fudge's dad Warren drives away to get some, but ends up buying a special shampoo called Skunked instead, which presumably works better.

* In the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Smelly Car", Elaine's hairstylist offers tomato sauce as a backup plan to get rid of the super-strong and persistent bad smell from Jerry's car. Towards the episode's ending, she accepts it.
* ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'': Alan gets sprayed by a skunk in "Skunk, Dog Crap and Ketchup". He tries to clean himself with Herb's garden hose to no avail, so Herb suggests tomato juice. He immediately adds he doesn't have any, but he does have V8 Vegetable Juice, which may not taste like tomato juice but Alan can't smell any worse anyway. The V8 doesn't work, so they try ketchup. It doesn't work either and Alan has to leave smelling like skunk, ketchup and the dog crap he stepped in.

[[caption-width-right:350:No, it can't.]]

* Comes up every so often in ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'', with skunks showing up as recurring characters or extras every once in a while.
* This is {{invoked|Trope}} in [[https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4229 this]] ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' strip, mostly to embarrass Elliot.

* In the episode "Looking for Mr. Goodbart" of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Homer thinks he's about to catch a Stunkasan in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGo Peekimon Get]]'', but actually is approaching ang agitating a real skunk. After getting sprayed, Marge gives him a tomato juice bath. The result is that it seems to have helped, but Homer also threw vodka and celery into his kiddie pool, so it wasn't just tomato juice he bathed in.

A well-known North American remedy for being sprayed by a skunk is to take a bath in tomato juice. Tomato paste, tomato sauce, or just tomatoes themselves are also an alternative. In fiction, whenever a character is sprayed by a SmellySkunk, they'll be forced to take a bath in some kind of tomato solution.

In real life, however, [[UrbanLegends this remedy doesn't actually work]]. At most, tomato juice will mask the scent of a skunk, not get rid of it. There are better remedies out there than dousing yourself in tomatoes. The [[https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/skunk-spray-tomato-juice1.htm most popular recommendation,]] for those curious, is a combination of peroxide, baking soda, and liquid detergent.[[note]]This combination of chemicals breaks down rapidly and must be prepared immediately before use. It breaks down the nasty smelling sulfur compounds that are insoluble in water into odorless (and water soluble) sulfonates, which instantly puts a stop to the smell.[[/note]] This also counts as BizarreBeverageUse for juice and UnconventionalFoodUsage for paste, sauce, soup, and raw tomatoes.

In real life, however, [[UrbanLegends this remedy doesn't actually work]]. At most, tomato juice will mask the scent of a skunk, not get rid of it. There are better remedies out there than dousing yourself in tomatoes. The [[https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/skunk-spray-tomato-juice1.htm most popular recommendation]], for those curious, is a combination of peroxide, baking soda, and liquid detergent.[[note]]This combination of chemicals breaks down rapidly and must be prepared immediately before use. It breaks down the nasty smelling sulfur compounds that are insoluble in water into odorless (and water soluble) sulfonates, which instantly puts a stop to the smell[[/note]] This also counts as BizarreBeverageUse for juice and UnconventionalFoodUsage for paste, sauce, soup, and raw tomatoes.

* In the ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Total Drama Action]]'' episode "Dial M for Merger", the gang needs to each defuse a trash can stink bomb. They are unsuccessful as the next scene has them bathing in tomato juice to get rid of the scent.

In real life, however, [[UrbanLegends this remedy doesn't actually work]]. At most, tomato juice will mask the scent of a skunk, not get rid of it. There are better remedies out there than dousing yourself in tomatoes. The [[https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/skunk-spray-tomato-juice1.htm most popular recommendation]], for those curious, is a combination of peroxide, baking soda, and liquid detergent.[[note]]This combination of chemicals breaks down rapidly and must be prepared immediately before use. It breaks down the nasty smelling sulfur compounds that are insoluble in water into odorless (and water soluble) sulfonates, which instantly puts a stop to the smell[[/note]] This also counts as BizarreBeverageUsage for juice and UnconventionalFoodUsage for paste, sauce, soup, and raw tomatoes.

In real life, however, [[UrbanLegends this remedy doesn't actually work]]. At most, tomato juice will mask the scent of a skunk, not get rid of it. There are better remedies out there than dousing yourself in tomatoes. The [[https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/skunk-spray-tomato-juice1.htm most popular recommendation]], for those curious, is a combination of peroxide, baking soda, and liquid detergent.[[note]]This combination of chemicals breaks down rapidly and must be prepared immediately before use. It breaks down the nasty smelling sulfur compounds that are insoluble in water into odorless (and water soluble) sulfonates, which instantly puts a stop to the smell[[/note]]

* Discussed in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode, "[[Recap/RugratsS2E16ChuckieLosesHisGlassesChuckieGetsSkunked Chuckie Gets Skunked]]". After [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Chuckie gets skunked]], Chaz tries everything to get rid of the smell. Didi and Stu question Chaz if he bathed Chuckie in tomato juice or tomato paste, respectively--[[RealityEnsues Chaz claims he tried both, but it didn't get rid of the skunk smell and just made a mess of the bathtub]]. Bathing him in borsht did the job, though.

* Discussed in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode, "[[Recap/RugratsS2E16ChuckieLosesHisGlassesChuckieGetsSkunked Chuckie Gets Skunked]]". After [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Chuckie gets skunked]], Chaz tries everything to get rid of the smell. When Didi asks him if he gave Chuckie a bath in tomato juice, Chaz tells her he tried it, but [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome it didn't get rid of the smell]] and instead permanently stained the bathtub. Stu then tells Chaz that it's better to use tomato paste, but Chaz tells him he tried that too; it didn't get rid of the smell and instead gunked up the bathtub drain. Bathing him in borsht did the job, though.

* ''Film/UnderTheSilverLake:'' Sam is being followed by a shadowy figure and runs - only to surprise a skunk enough to get him sprayed. The next scene, Sam's friend is talking to him while holding her nose while he soaks in a bath filled with tomatoes and tomato juice. [[Main/RealityEnsues The bath doesn't work well at all]], and Sam [[Main/RunningGag keeps getting asked if he's aware of his odor]] through the rest of the film.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS12E19MegStinks Meg Stinks]]", Brian dumps and bathes himself with tons of tomato juice after getting sprayed by a skunk. [[Main/RealityEnsues It doesn't work]].

* Discussed in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode, "[[Recap/RugratsS2E16ChuckieLosesHisGlassesChuckieGetsSkunked Chuckie Gets Skunked]]". After [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Chuckie gets skunked]], Chaz tries everything to get rid of the smell. When Didi asks him if he gave Chuckie a bath in tomato juice, Chaz tells her he tried it, but [[RealityEnsues it didn't get rid of the smell]] and instead permanently stained the bathtub. Stu then tells Chaz that it's better to use tomato paste, but Chaz tells him he tried that too; it didn't get rid of the smell and instead gunked up the bathtub drain. Bathing him in borsht did the job, though.

* Subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/WildKratts'' episode "Skunked!". After Jimmy gets sprayed by a spotted skunk, the crew use tomato soup as their first attempt to get rid of the smell. [[RealityEnsues It doesn't work]]. At the end, they [[ShownTheirWork correctly]] use the combination of peroxide, baking soda, and liquid detergent to finally wash off the scent.

* In the ''Literature/{{Fudge}}'' book ''Fudge-a-Mania'', Turtle the dog gets sprayed by a skunk, and Buzzy Tubman Senior, Sheila's grandfather, is the first to suggest making him bathe in tomato juice. Peter and Fudge's dad Warren drives away to get some, but ends up buying a special shampoo called Skunked instead, which presumably woks better.