History Main / OnionTears

* In ''WesternAnimation/ShrekFourD'' (the UsefulNotes/ThreeDMovie that plays at Ride/UniversalStudios), newlywed Fiona is crying because her carriage is an onion. It's also referenced in the original ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' movie during the "ogres are like onions" scene -- Donkey suggests, "They make you cry!", as one of the possible connections.

* Mentioned in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'', where the LemonyNarrator uses peeling an onion as a metaphor for reading his tragic books-- as you peel off more and more papery layers, tears flow from your eyes. In TheFilmOfTheBook, Count Olaf does something akin to the anime fake-crying mentioned -- he turns around and squirts eyedrops into his eyes, which the audience sees but the person being fooled apparently doesn't.

* Remember Oliver North (American politics, 1980s)? Creator/DaveBarry joked of him that "his eyes moist, he gestured patriotically with his hand and knocked over his bottle of Revlon Eye Moistener."

* [[http://www.explosm.net/comics/2235/ This]] ''Webcomic/CyanideAndHappiness'' comic either subverts the trope or plays it straight in an unusual way... with C&H you can never be too sure.
* [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004674 This]] page from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' has Dave being pelted with onions while being cooked by crocodiles, with expected results.
* In [[http://thinkbeforeyouthink.net/?comic=20100507-onions this]] ''Webcomic/ThinkBeforeYouThink'' comic, Julia tries to explain her tears by saying she was cutting up onions, which leads to a complex chain of lies.
** It happens later with Brian [[http://thinkbeforeyouthink.net/?comic=20120113-invisible-onions here]].
* Subverted in [[http://www.amazingsuperpowers.com/2008/07/onions/ this]] ''Webcomic/AmazingSuperPowers'' comic.
* Defied in [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/this-is-incredible this]] ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' strip. A man rubs a fresh onion over his eye to demonstrate how "not-sad" he is when his teenage daughter is distraught over her favorite band's favorite member leaving. [[spoiler:The last panel shows that the onion really did irritate his eye, and the father faked his reaction just to mess with his daughter.]]
-->'''Father:''' ''Such'' a good dad.
** In [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/onions another comic]], a scientist genetically modifies an onion so it can't make people cry. A woman cuts it up to test and finds that it works. She's so overcome by the wonders of science that [[{{Irony}} she starts crying]] TearsOfJoy.

* The heroine of ''Webcomic/GourmetHound'' invokes this trope on the very first page, chopping a comically large pile of onions in a deeply unconvincing attempt to [[SandInMyEyes pretend she isn't crying]] over the recent changes at her favorite restaurant.
* In Webcomic/RunawayToTheStars it [[https://jayeaton.site/Art/RttS/Comics/OilAndWater turns out]] some aliens are susceptible to onion tears as well, and it’s a bad idea to grate onions in microgravity unless your eyes have a protective layer of oil.

* On an early episode of ''Series/ThePaperChase,'' a scene opens with a close-up of Hart weeping as he describes how mean Prof. Kingsfield is; camera pulls back to show him chopping up a bunch of onions.

* [[https://youtu.be/lARePEQLsZo?si=_tqFFIbiJ7hj0p_6 Discussed in]] ''[[WebVideo/Game theory Food Theory]]''.

* Creator/FoxNewsChannel commentator Glenn Beck spoofed his tendency to tear up on camera in a video showing an intern dabbing Vicks Vap-O-Rub under his eyes. Yes, the video ''is a joke''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ShrekFourD'' (the UsefulNotes/ThreeDMovie that plays at Ride/UniversalStudios), newlywed Fiona is crying because her carriage is an onion. It's also referenced in the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' movie during the "ogres are like onions" scene -- Donkey suggests, "They make you cry!", as one of the possible connections.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'' episode "Crying Smurfs", Papa Smurf's fomula accdiently spilled on an onion. When Greedy is about to cut an onion to slices for his salad, a strong smell comes up to his eyes -- causing him to start crying. Later, Smurfette and other smurfs (except Hefty and Papa) started crying after having the salad, which caused the village to be [[CryingARiver flooded with tears]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode "Crying Smurfs", Papa Smurf's fomula accdiently spilled on an onion. When Greedy is about to cut an onion to slices for his salad, a strong smell comes up to his eyes -- causing him to start crying. Later, Smurfette and other smurfs (except Hefty and Papa) started crying after having the salad, which caused the village to be [[CryingARiver flooded with tears]].

** A vintage cartoon has him and Bluto trying to cheer up a bawling Swee'Pea. Naturally it escalates into fighting, and while Bluto is pummeling Popeye like a speed bag, Popeye reaches for a can of spinach, and grabs a can of onions instead. Very soon, Popeye, Bluto, and Olive [[EverybodyCries are all wailing loudly]], which causes Swee'Pea to laugh uproariously. (Canned onions are cooked already and would be about as likely to make you cry as a Patton Oswalt routine.)