Line #10 Main/GravityIsAHarshMistress


1	%%
2	%%
3	%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end.
4	%%
5	%%
6	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=o4a482hbhthjpyu6s5nhp9mj
7	%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
8	[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wile_coyote_1005.jpg]]]]
9	[[caption-width-right:300:[[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Watch out for the foist step. It's a lulu!]]\
10	(NowYouTellMe.)]]
11
12	->''"I know this defies the law of gravity, but, eh... You see, I never studied law."''
13	-->-- '''WesternAnimation/BugsBunny''', ''WesternAnimation/HighDivingHare''
14
15	Sometimes gravity doesn't work. Or doesn't work immediately. Or evenly. Or ''fairly''. This takes the following forms:
16
17	* '''Gravitational Cognizance:''' A character will not fall [[PuffOfLogic until they realize they should be falling]]. For example, running unknowingly off the edge of a cliff -- or walking on the underside of a diving board. Especially dense or focused characters may need to [[ReminderOfImpossibility have another character point out their vulnerability]]. This will also likely happen when someone tells them, "DontLookDown!"
18	** An occasional variant has a character, upon realizing their situation, desperately start scrambling ''back'' where they came from, often managing to reach the original ledge before gravity can notice. Some characters may even be able to run all the way across to the other side without gravity affecting them, as long as they're not made aware of their physics-defying adventure.
19	** In some platforming video games, this is an ''[[InvokedTrope actual]]'' ''[[ExploitedTrope game]] [[AntiFrustrationFeature mechanic]]''. Often dubbed "Coyote Time" in honor of poor Wile E. Coyote himself, the concept is an aid to make platforming a little less frustrating and feel a bit better to control by allowing players an almost imperceptible amount of time to jump even after they've gone off a ledge (the period where players more often than not don't realize they've already gone off the ledge before they pressed the jump button to begin with), making timing jumps a bit more forgiving.
20	* '''Creeping Gravity:''' Also known as Gravity Waves. Gravity will affect a character's body in sections i.e. legs, then torso and finally head. The character will demonstrate neither tissue damage nor pain as a result of this distortion, only on hitting the ground.[[note]][[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiyMuHuCFo4 This happens in real life]] (with the effects of gravity propagating away from where an object's support is suddenly removed), and this phenomenon is particularly pronounced on elastic bodies; this is not to be confused with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghettification a completely different effect that happens due to the tidal forces caused by massive gravitational gradients]].[[/note]]
21	* '''Varying Gravity:'''
22	** On more than one occasion in some cartoons, a character who was falling to earth gently via parachute was handed an anvil... by another character who was falling at the exact same rate... and immediately went into a terminal velocity plunge.
23	** Characters will fall faster than a dense object -- ensuring that the object lands on them. ''Everything falls faster than an anvil''.
24	** Sometimes gravity will even shift around the relative positions of objects. For example, a character and an anvil are falling side-by-side, when suddenly the anvil starts falling a bit slower and moves laterally so it is now directly above the character's head.
25	* '''Dramatic Gravity:''' Reactions can vary depending on how gravity can be suspended. One example is a character will be suspended from the gravity just enough time to give one last comment to your opponent. Said gravity can also be suspended while a badly spooked character bobs up and down in mid-air while screaming.
26	* '''Out on a Limb:''' Gravity is less powerful than other physical forces, including friction, tension, torsion and all the rest. Static electricity appears to be the most powerful physical force. This allows objects to be stacked on top of each other across an unlimited space or height, maintaining stability even if the branch or beam they are standing on is sawed in half, so long as the pieces are touching. This also allows characters to balance an unlimited number of objects in their hands.
27	* '''Counter-intuitive Gravity:''' Items which should fall don't, when items that shouldn't, ''do''.
28	** The traditional case is a character chased up a tree and out onto a limb, as above. It is reasonable for them to trust their weight to a branch while the chaser is cutting through it, because sawing the branch off will make the ''tree'' fall. The section being removed (and the character on it) remains suspended in mid-air while the rest of the item (plus whatever object or structure had been supporting it) falls, [[BottomlessPit presumably forever]].[[note]]This could be because [[RecursiveReality It's Turtles All the Way Down.]][[/note]] Diving boards and bridges are also prone to this effect. This is also why [[CirclingSaw sawing a hole in the floor from below someone's feet]] may not pan out the way you expect.
29
30	The trope is named for a line from ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'', riffing on the title of the novel ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'' by Creator/RobertAHeinlein, which is in turn a play on the sailors' saying [[SpaceIsAnOcean "The sea]] [[WoodenShipsAndIronMen is a harsh mistress"]], which [[OlderThanFeudalism probably goes back]] to Literature/TheBible "The Law is a harsh master" ([[Literature/BookOfRomans Romans]] 7, 1-6).
31
32	Compare PuffOfLogic, another trope about how realizing something should happen causes it to happen. See also GravityIsOnlyATheory, VariableTerminalVelocity, NotTheFallThatKillsYou, GravitySucks. Gravity as a "power" that is easy to create is covered by ArtificialGravity and GravityMaster.
33
34	----
35	!!Examples:
36
37	[[foldercontrol]]
38
39	[[folder:Advertising]]
40	* A variation can be found in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVZZkSk7y08 this 1991 ad]] for Nissin Cup Noodles. The moa jumps out of the way before the humans reach it, leading to them running off the cliff; then, when the moa stomps its foot, they fall.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Animation]]
44	* ''Animation/GGBond'': In a Season 5 episode, GG Bond emerges from a bathroom rocket flying through the air and doesn't notice for a few seconds that he's not standing on anything, only falling when he does realize he's in midair.
45	* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': In Season 2 episode 21, Big M. jumps through an open window to escape from the Supermen's dorm. Big M. doesn't realize he's too high up in the building to land safely until Little M. points this out, at which point the slow-motion jump is interrupted by him falling to the ground abruptly.
46	* ''Animation/MotuPatlu'': In "Pilot Training", Motu runs off the flying car and into the air to grab his mango from a bird that has taken it. Motu does not realize he's in midair until the bird motions toward the ground to indicate this, and he falls only after realizing this.
47	* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'': In ''Pleasant Goat Sports Game'' episode 4, Dark Handsomey and White Handsomey fall for a trick from Wolffy and Wolnie that involves them being sent through a fake stadium that's actually a cardboard cutout, leaving them walking over the edge of a cliff. It takes them a few seconds to notice they're standing in midair, at which point they actually fall to the ground.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
51	* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheIslandOfMiraclesAnimalAdventure'' have Nobisuke accidentally walking off a cliff while trying to hide from the villains, and staying in mid-air for a few seconds until he realize he's not touching anything. Then he drops. But luckily [[OUtOfTheFryingPan a sleeping saber-toothed tiger is there to break his fall]].
52	* In ''GO-GO Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}!'' episode 7a, when Mametchi and co are traversing the maze-ified Tamagotchi School, Miraitchi walks out of a doorway and onto thin air for a couple of seconds before noticing and quickly running back through where she came, colliding into the others when she does.
53	* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademiaTheEnchantedParade'': Akko and Sucy, while flying a broom in tandem to avoid the giant's hands, manage to evade its attacks by rapidly climbing upwards... only to find that the giant has swatted their broom away from them.
54	* Some episodes of ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' have this trope occurring at one point. Even the bonus clips from the Japanese version of ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon'' aren't safe; during the bonus clip after the episode where Nebby is introduced, Ash's Pikachu notices Nebby crawling towards the edge and leaps to grab Nebby, only to overshoot his jump, leaving poor Pikachu floating in midair for a good few seconds, then flailing and screaming before gravity finally takes hold of Pikachu and sends him crashing to the ground, much to Nebby's enjoyment.
55	** The Rising Volt Tacklers in ''Anime/PokemonHorizonsTheSeries'' got their name when Captain Pikachu used Volt Tackle to jump high enough to get a great view of the horizon. On his Charizard, Friede asks Cap how he plans to get down. On cue, Cap starts falling and Friede catches him in midair.
56	* ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'':
57	** It should not have taken several minutes to fall down a three story elevator shaft. Right, episode 12?
58	** In Episode 64, there should not have been nearly enough time for the Savior Star Dragon to catch both Crow and Jack before they hit the water.
59	* In ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' the group is teleported into the forest zone several hundred feet up in the air. There's more than enough time for Shoutmon to swim in the air. They don't realize that they're in the air until one of them decides to look down, ''then'' gravity kicks in. Funnily enough it kicks in seperately for each character.
60	* An episode of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' does this where Usagi tries to shove Rei into the pool but misses and finds herself hanging in mid-air for a few seconds; just before she plops into the water.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Comic Books]]
64	* A ''ComicBook/MonicasGang'' story had Nimbus coming home to find his brother Nick Nope, whose name indicates he [[CommanderContrarian loves behaving differently]], suddenly walking on the ceiling as he decides it has more room. Once Nimbus reminds him that due to gravity, he shouldn't even be there, Nick Nope crashes to the ground.
65	* ''ComicBook/SuperMarioAdventures'':
66	** The Mario Bros. emerging out of a pipe whose exit is in a cloud.
67	--->'''Luigi:''' ''Yikes!'' Where's the ''bottom?''\
68	'''Mario:''' ''Every'' pipe has its ''fitting!''
69	** In true ''Super Mario World'' style, when Yoshi gobbles a blue shell, he sprouts wings. The Bros. hop aboard, but in the fray, they lose track of Bowser's rocket. Mario and Luigi start arguing, and Mario asks Yoshi for his opinion. Bad idea.
70	* ''ComicBook/SuskeEnWiske'': In "Het Eiland Amoras" (Amoras Island) and "Het Wondere Wolfje" (The Miraculous Wolfy), people only fall when they notice the ladder beneath them has disappeared.
71	* ''ComicBook/TheThrillingAdventureHour'': ''Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars'' opens as Sparks is about to fall ''upwards'' due to the local ArtificialGravity being disabled.
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Fan Works]]
75	* ''Fanfic/{{Contraptionology}}'': In Chapter 12, [[spoiler:Discord]] goads Applejack, while the latter in the middle of a contraptionology relapse, into claiming a nice flat stretch with no clutter or obstructions as a workspace. Several hours later, while in the middle of sketching out plans, she realizes that this spot is so nice and clear because it is open air off the edge of a cliff. When she asks why she has not fallen yet, he remarks that it would not have been funny. Now, however, it is hilarious, and down she promptly goes.
76	* ''Fanfic/TheManyWorldsInterpretation'': Penny discovers this when, via HEX and the Travelling Engine, she becomes the First Woman On The Moon. Failing to take the lower gravity into account, she takes a step and is flung against the force-bubble generated by the Engine, thus [[Franchise/TheHitchHikersGuideToTheGalaxy sustaining a small bruise to her upper arm]]
77	* ''Fanfic/SorrowfulAndImmaculateHearts'': Discussed during a SeinfeldianConversation in "Gone Fishing". Clark says he isn't usually conscious of how his flying ability operates, and describes it with the words "I just don't fall", and Bruce responds by accusing of being a cartoon character who doesn't fall until he learns about gravity.
78	* Most of the variations can be found in the short story ''Star Trek meets the Roadrunner''
79	* Lampshaded by Christopher in ''Fanfic/SupermanAndMan'' when he attempts to fly:
80	-->"Good Lord," he breathed. He looked below him. Nothing there. Like a Warner Brothers' cartoon character, standing on nothing without harm. Better not visualize that too much, because they always started to fall when they figured out where they were.
81	* ''Fanfic/UniverseFalls'': In "Three's a Crowd", Steven and Dipper fuse into Stepper in mid-air when Steven's levitation powers accidentally kick in, and Stepper falls to the ground as soon as he realizes he's several feet above the ground. Justified, in that Steven hasn't gotten a handle on his new power, and certainly not using it when fused with another person.
82	* ''Fanfic/WreckItRalph2'': Rancis, distracted by his feelings for Vanellope, slows down as he drives up a loop-de-loop. He stops at the peak -- and only then does ''Sugar Rush II''[='s=] physics engine decide to kick in.
83	* In ''Fanfic/{{XSGCOM}}'', one of the things done with transporters is beaming Sectoid engines out of their craft, resulting in them stopping in midair and falling like a rock. This is actually known as the Wile E. Coyote maneuver.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
87	* ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRunDawnOfTheNugget'': At the end of the sneak preview, the egg manages to stumble off the cliff and hang in midair for a moment to realize what has happened before falling.
88	* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'': It takes several beats after the rope bridge breaks for Kuzco and Pacha to realize they're going to fall to their death before dropping.
89	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound'': When Dinky the finch and Boomer the woodpecker are hunting Squeaks the caterpillar, Boomer breaks the branch he's standing on when pecking on the wrong side, but there's a small delay before he falls (he doesn't use his wings).
90	* ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'': Engaged in a BladeLock with Peter, Captain Hook forces his nemesis back step by step... failing to notice that they've stepped off the edge of a cliff, right over the hungry [[ExitPursuedByABear Crocodile]]. Peter, who can fly, cheerfully gestures downwards. Hook, after a moment's shock, screams and barely manages to prevent his plummet by snagging his hook on the cliffs edge.
91	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', when Mei and friends celebrate on Tyler’s roof, they jump up in celebration, and remain suspended for an extra second upon hearing to their horror that [[spoiler:they got the date of Toronto’s concert wrong.]]
92	* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': While in Toontown, Eddie escapes into a men's bathroom, which is out of order. After a few seconds of DelayedReaction, he discovers himself in open air miles high in the sky and only then plummets countless stories. And his hat stays suspended in place when he does finally start to fall, forcing him to grab onto it to keep it with him.
93	* At the end of the pilot movie of ''WesternAnimation/TheWindInTheWillows1983'', when Toad's aeroplane engine stalls out, he has a few seconds of OhCrap suspension before plummeting like a rock.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
97	* ''Film/TheBigLebowski'': The Dude has a flying dream which ends when he notices he's holding a bowling ball and promptly hurtles groundward.
98	* ''Film/HaroldAndKumarGoToWhiteCastle'': The raccoon dangles in mid-air for a bit when Harold flings it out the car window.
99	* In ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'', the spy car, flying towards "Mother", suddenly plummets out of the sky when the fuel begins running low. Just before it hits the ground, however, it suddenly screeches to a halt in mid-air about five feet above the ground. Bugs says "Huh. Out of gas," and the screen fades to black... only for Kate Haughton to exclaim that physics don't work like that. Immediately, the car slams into the ground, prompting an exasperated "Thanks, toots," from Bugs.
100	* In ''Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000TheMovie'', Mike has just pulled off (after ripping it apart) the Hubble Telescope and goes to release it "gently, like a sparrow into the night sky", only for him and the Bots to watch as it suddenly drops (complete with the sound of a wire being cut) and hurtles to Earth as a fireball. Mike {{lampshade}}s this while the Bots taught him for breaking the Hubble.
101	* ''Film/SpiderMan2'' has a non-animated example where, after Peter Parker decides to unquit being Spider-Man, he tests his powers once again by {{roofhopping}}. At first, he seems to be doing well, and he proudly proclaims "[[HesBack I'M BACK! I'M BACK!]]," but midway, gravity gives out and he plummets to the ground, [[SuperToughness luckily with only a sore back]].
102	* ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'': Worf has a Gravitational Cognizance moment after Riker says, "Computer, remove the plank."
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Literature]]
106	* In ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' flying is the art of deliberately abusing this trope. Specifically, throwing yourself at the ground and missing, and then making sure not to think about the fact that flying is impossible, or else gravity will glance in your direction and demand to know exactly what the hell you think you're doing.
107	* The UrExample is used in ''Literature/ParadiseLost''. Satan flies boldly out of the gate of Hell through Chaos as he begins his odyssey to destroy Eden. The whole thing is quite dramatic until the Devil realizes he's fluttering his wings in a void without any air to fly through, causing him to drop "plumb down" thousands of fathoms like a cosmic Wile E. Coyote.
108	* The book "Sniglets", which was filled with "any word that should be in the dictionary, but isn't" had a definition for this. "Wiley's Law", which allows someone to defy gravity if they're a) in a cartoon, and b), don't look down and don't realize they're not on solid ground anymore.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
112	* ''Series/TheBookOfPooh'': In "Double Time", Rabbit places himself on an accelerated schedule to get all his chores done because he thought he lost a day (when in reality this was all Pooh's fault). At one point, he is seen in the air flying with Kessie so that he can talk with her. Kessie points out to him that he's not a bird and cannot fly, and he falls to the ground.
113	* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Partners in Crime", the Doctor tries to SaveTheVillain by telling her that from her employers' stance, she's [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness no longer needed]] and [[HeKnowsTooMuch knows too much]]. This just as she's being beamed up. She doesn't listen... until the tractor beam shuts off. She has half a second to look up, then down, then give an ''absolutely delicious'' OhCrap face before gravity takes over and she plummets to her doom.
114	* ''Series/TheGoodies''. In "The Movies", Bill Oddie is acting in a silent movie and jumps through a window, only to find himself hanging off a window ledge many stories up... until Tim and a camera crew roll past and he realises he can sit up on the wall...until he falls backwards through the window he came through.
115	* In an early episode of ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', Don "Doc" Dogoier is going through a "trial of courage" with [[Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger Kai Ozu]] in order to be granted the Great Power of the Magirangers. Said trial includes him taking a leap of faith across a large cliff. Don jumps and seems to have succeeded... only for the camera to pan away and reveal he's floating in midair, forcing Kai to grab him before he plummets to his death.
116	* ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'' loved to use this for slapstick effect, particularly on the Adventures with Bill segments.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
120	* In ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', one of Gonzo's outro stunts involves reciting the seven-times table while holding a grand piano over his head; partway through, he gets lost and stops to count on his fingers -- and the moment he realises this means he's no longer holding the piano (but not a moment before) it falls on him.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
124	* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', some Elemental Planes have "subjective directional gravity," which essentially means that "down" is whichever direction you think it is. As in the above example, some mental gymnastics make it a very effective method of getting around within those Planes.
125	* Naturally, this trope is in full effect in ''TabletopGame/{{Toon}}'', the tabletop game of golden age animated cartoons.
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:Video Games]]
129	* In ''VideoGame/ABoyAndHisBlob'', sometimes, when screeching to a halt at the edge, the Boy will suddenly stand in midair. In true cartoon physics fashion, he will gradually look down, realize his situation, and fall, usually to his death.
130	* In ''VideoGame/BrokenAge'', after Vella flies through a cloud and loses her bird she doesn't begin to fall until she can comically look below her; she then instantly drops.
131	* ''VideoGame/{{Celeste}}'': Coyote time is (ab)used in speedruns to extend Madeline's jumps or compensate for mistakes.
132	* Gravity in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' is subject to GoodBadBugs like the rest of the game. One notable bug is that thieving creatures can steal stepladders while the ladders are in use, resulting in the poor dwarf just hanging around in thin air, unable to use the no-longer-present stepladder to get down, until another dwarf enters the area and the game remembers that they're supposed to fall.
133	* The 3D version of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'' in Edge's Tale. Edge leads the Eblan Four to a supposed dead end in the crystal room when cornered by their enemy. He led them to the trap door that once opened beneath him years ago and when it gives way, the Eblan Four look down in surprise at their disappeared footing and as Edge drops calmly afterwards, they flail before dropping along with him.
134	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
135	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', despite being a fairly serious game overall, uses Gravitational Consciousness in one instance. If Link uses the Stasis rune on someone on horseback (such as a Bokoblin), the rider remains magically locked in place while the horse runs off. When the rune (and thus the magic) wear off, the rider floats in midair for a second with a visible question mark over their heads, then falls to the ground.
136	** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'', if an enemy knocks you off the edge of a bottomless pit, you hang in the air for a second before falling. The same is true for them if you knock them off the edge.
137	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': Link has a few frames before he falls into a pit (bottomless or not) so a player with extraordinary reflexes can abuse this feature with the Pegasus Boots (whose startup animation gives him temporary "invisibility" to falling) to run on thin air.
138	* One of the animations in the ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Pachislot'' arcade game features Amitie entering a door that leads to the sky and staying in place for a second or so before realizing she's not standing on anything and falling.
139	* ''VideoGame/RoadRunnersDeathValleyRally'' features every variety (most often, the Coyote falling with a BombWhistle after floating momentarily in midair) in quite a few of the end-of-level vignettes - not surprising given that it's starring two of the classic WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes characters, including one of the most famous victims of this trope. Averted during play of the levels themselves, where both the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote will fall like normal.
140	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
141	** ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' has this in the Prologue. When Mario heads to the verdana to borrow Goompa's hammer... he takes seconds to realize there is ''no'' verdana any longer for it had collasped from the house and then he falls when he realizes he has no footing.
142	** In ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', after beating Bowser in the first and penultimate battles with him, the bridge gives way along with his car. It takes a couple seconds of Bowser hanging in midair and flailing comically before gravity takes him as well.
143	** Early in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', [[HeroicMime Mario]] explains [[GoingThroughTheMotions through mime]] that the bridge to Bowser's keep collapsed... And his explanation involves stepping on thin air before jumping back.
144	* In ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'', the scene where Nate wakes up on the train includes an instance of second-hand Gravitational Cognizance. At first, as he looks groggily around, everything seems normal, but then he looks out the window and realizes the train car is hanging vertically — and it is at this point that things start falling past him, having apparently waited until he was aware of the new direction for "down".
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Web Animation]]
148	* During the ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' between ComicBook/HarleyQuinn and [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends Jinx]], the two fight while on a roller coaster in an abandoned amusement park. The coaster detrails and the two are left hanging in the air over a long drop outside of their cars. The two fall into a large tent below, laughing the whole way.
149	-->'''Jinx:''' [[CasualDangerDialogue Well, that's unfortunate.]]\
150	'''Harley:''' ''[Nods]''
151	* In the ''WebAnimation/PokemonTwilightWings'' episode "Buddy", Hop's Wooloo runs off to try and prove it can be like a Charizard. The last thing Wooloo tries to do is fly, done via jumping off a ledge of a cliff while running. Of course, Wooloo stops in midair for a good few seconds, then helplessly flails about before falling shortly after, causing it to uncontrollably roll very fast to Milo's farm.
152	[[/folder]]
153
154	[[folder:Web Videos]]
155	* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'': Vegeta asks Dr. Briefs for a ship with an artificial gravity of 500 times Earth's gravity. He and Bulma {{lampshade}} how insane the request is.
156	-->'''Bulma:''' How exactly you gonna work when your body collapses?\
157	'''Vegeta:''' Please, [[TemptingFate the prince of all Saiyans does not colla]]-- ''[collapses]''\
158	'''Bulma:''' Oh look, the prince of all ''two Saiyans'' on the ground!
159	[[/folder]]
160
161	[[folder:Western Animation]]
162	* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': In "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ed", Ed runs into Eddy, knocking both of them into the air over a large drop. Eddy is angry with Ed and doesn't notice until Edd warns the two about the "improbable alert". Eddy runs back, but he and Edd have to pull Ed back when he decides to try and jump to the other side from his levitating position.
163	%%* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}:'' This is the only trope that can make Elisa into a truly DamselInDistress. Otherwise, she's an ActionGirl of the highest '90s order.%%ZCE, unrelated tangent. Describe the trope.
164	* ''Westernanimation/GarfieldAndFriends'':
165	** One episode had Garfield pursued by a dog, including on the ceiling, until the cat asks him how he is standing upside down, given that he lacks the claws to cling in this position. The dog then realizes his violation of gravity and falls.
166	** An ''U.S. Acres'' segment analyzing ZanyCartoon tropes discussed it. First, Orson shows a clip of Roy simply falling off a cliff. Then one of this trope in full force, Booker chases a worm, walks off a cliff, but only falls when he notices he's standing on air. Then Orson mentions how in real life falling off cliffs can gravely injure people, which a Roy covered in bandages handily agrees.
167	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In "Red Light, Green Light", [[CatsAreMean Mr. Cat]] launches [[NighInvulnerable Quack Quack]] several feet into the air using a bazooka. Quack Quack enjoys the sensation of flying for several seconds until he looks down, at which point gravity suddenly takes over and he is sent plummeting to the ground below.
168	* Many cartoons (especially the older ones) will often [[PlayedForLaughs play this trope for laughs]]. This is especially true for ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' who is able to master the trope for enemies who tried to get rid of the characters, only for them to end up [[LaserGuidedKarma getting the karma they deserved]].
169	** The traditional trope is [[DiscussedTrope explained]] by [[KarmicTrickster Bugs Bunny]] in the aforementioned "High Diving Hare" short. At the end of the episode, Yosemite Sam tries to saw off the end of a diving board, with Bugs on it. However, the diving board ladder, and part where Sam is, fall down, leaving Bugs and the end floating. Bugs remarks "I know this defies the law of gravity but eh, you see, I never studied law," suggesting ignorance of the law of gravity equals it not noticing you, [[AchievementsInIgnorance thereby allowing the situation.]]
170	** The Road Runner and Coyote lampshades this trope in a cartoon where they use signs to communicate the same thing.
171	** In one short featuring Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny as preschool children, Elmer hangs over a long drop. When Bugs points out that gravity should be pulling him down, Elmer casually walks back to safety by pointing out he hadn't learned about gravity yet in school. Bugs then sneaks a book into Elmer's hands that explains the concept to him, leading to the fact that he just stepped over the edge again. This time, he drops like a stone.
172	** In an episode of the spin-off series ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', the characters [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope to pass over a gorge by stepping on thin air without looking down. Makes you wonder after a while why anyone looks down at all.
173	* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'', toward the end of "I Was a Penguin Zombie", Private, Kowalski, and Rico tackle Skipper off a rooftop after they don't believe he was telling the truth about not being a zombie, as Kowalski says, "Nice try, zombie!" Then they all get a second to realize they're not on the roof before falling down and ending up at the vet with broken flippers.
174	* The Pixar short ''[[WesternAnimation/PixarShorts Red's Dream]]'' demonstrates gravitational cognizance when the clown realizes he's no longer on Red.
175	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' invokes this at the end of "Bart the Daredevil", when Homer accidentally gets on Bart's skateboard and launches himself across Springfield Gorge, but plummets straight down at the peak of the jump.
176	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
177	** In "Snail Mail", when the plane is about to hit the ground, it stops in mid-air because [=SpongeBob=] discovers the plane ran out of gas. When Patrick refuels the tank, the plane hits the ground.
178	** In "High Sea Diving", [=SpongeBob=]'s first attempt to dive to the surface ends with him plummeting to the ground. Sandy then explains that he needs anti-gravity to dive up.
179	* ''WesternAnimation/AThousandAndOneAmericas'': After Lon fails to hold tight while riding a giant hovering arrow in the eighteenth episode, he remains suspended in the air for several seconds until he looks down, after which he begins falling. The giant arrow, which is also being ridden on by Chris and the sorcerer who summoned the magical vehicle, turns back to catch the falling dog in time.
180	[[/folder]]

Context Main / GravityIsAHarshMistress