Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Changed line(s) 1,188 (click to see context) from:
[[WMG:[[center:[[AC:This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1619092290093094800&page=1#comment-1 under discussion]] in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13222107430A61495000&page=1#1 Trope Repair Shop]].]]]]]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tonka_Tough_3_9597.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:This is why Tonka is the TropeNamer.]]
->''"Whoever did this was strong. This is 340 pounds of Tonka-tough steel."''
-->-- '''Leela''' on finding an L-shaped block bent into a straight line, ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E6BendlessLove Bendless Love]]"
A toy, usually 1970s/1980s vintage, that is considered so tough, it could survive a nuclear war (almost). It may suffer for countless years at the hands of [[KidsAreCruel a destructive brat]], but will only suffer minor scuffs and breakages in the process. It will still look relatively unharmed after a [[FateWorseThanDeath 10-year stay in someone's dust-filled unheated closet located above a very greasy snackbar]]. Better yet, in the hands of a collector, it will often clean up so well after such an event that it will look almost new. Sometimes it will be [[TheRemake reissued]], and will then kick the ass of later [[WellIntentionedReplacement more accurate products]]. Usually, it isn't a very realistic and/or accurate representation of its subject, but this should not distract from its most important quality: [[SuperToughness its toughness]].
Of course, there's a good reason for these toys' sheer durability: they ''have'' to be capable of withstanding play by rough children who may not have a good grasp on how to take care of their belongings; otherwise, the end result will result in a lot of unhappy, crying children and angry parents who want refunds at best and lawsuits arising from injured children at worst.
However, there'll still be a risk of the toy breaking, so we ask that if you are willing to preserve your favorite toy for years to come (especially scratch-free), don't throw your toys off the Burj Khalifa or run them over with a monster truck, and leave their indestructibility to test in accidents.
May also be applied to other nearly indestructible items, such as certain vintage computer systems (e.g. UsefulNotes/GameBoy).
Compare MadeOfIndestructium, which is mainly for fictional items with the same reputation.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Cars]]
* Pre-2000 Toyota cars and trucks are well-known for being cheap, relatively easy maintenance, and being damned hard to kill. [[http://fortune.com/2014/10/27/want-to-drive-the-worlds-most-reliable-car-try-a-toyota/ Even some of their later trucks and cars are amazingly durable]], to the point where even the fellows from ''{{Series/Top Gear|UK}}'' [[https://youtu.be/GVqQw1OCMXg tried (and failed) to kill a Toyota Hilux (Toyota Tacoma in N. America)]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_(vehicle) The down side to this is that]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War they are very popular as improvised infantry vehicles.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzKuCVY2pfs In March 2017, Toyota partnered with Tonka to create a life-size Tonka Hilux truck.]]
** The 1997 Toyota Corolla also enjoys this reputation; car enthusiasts usually view it as bland, slow and boring, but incredibly cheap and indestructible.
* Volvo enjoys a similar reputation, particularly their iconic [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_200_Series 200 Series.]]
* Buick is generally the American equivalent to Japan's Toyota and Europe's Volvo in reputation for sheer reliability, with fellow General Motors marque Oldsmobile having enjoyed a similar reputation before GM consolidated.
** It helps that Buick's V6 engine, later developed into the GM 3800 V6, generally outlasts the cars it's built around and can easily survive over 300,000 miles of wear and tear, and supercharged L67 variants are common engine swap candidates.
*** There's even one mechanic story about a GM 3800 surviving a several-mile trip to the shop with ''no oil pan or filter'' after a lousy oil change job from a different shop, leaking like a sieve, expecting the worst, and finding that the engine still had ''no traces of metal particles or shavings despite the lack of oil.''
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Computers]]
* The government can't afford to buy armor when you're in tour in hostile territory? No problem, just make sure you always have your [[https://na.panasonic.com/us/computers-tablets-handhelds/computers/ Panasonic Toughbook]] with you.
* UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} machines made by Yamaha appear to be completely indestructible. It's not unheard of them surviving ''decades'' in the Soviet high schools with no apparent wear.
* There are military grade computers that can survive being run over, dropped in water, being out in the desert and still work fine afterwards. Some can even be in close proximity to explosions and still be completely functional. Many are fitted with Thermite self-destruct charges as that's pretty much the only reliable way to destroy it without also destroying everything else.I
* A couple of illustrative details from ROLM Corp. Mil-Spec: Cooling air INTAKE temp Max was 90 C. Then there was the amusing "300 pound hammer" test.
* Tandem Computers made this their mission. Every single piece of kit in their machines had redundancy. Their computers ''exceeded'' five nines of uptime--that's less than five-and-a-half minutes of downtime ''a year''. They even had the ability to upgrade their software without shutting any of it down. When the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993, an entire basement full of Tandem Computers suffered blast damage. Just the basement, though: the computers had only fallen over. They were fine.
* The cases of [=NeXT=] computers were massive hunks of die-cast magnesium that also doubled as the CPU heat sinks, and they were darned difficult to damage so long as they weren't set on fire -- and even ''that'' was difficult, as ''[=NeXTWorld=]'' senior editor Simson Garfinkel found out in 1993 when [[https://simson.net/hacks/cubefire.html he tried to set one ablaze for a photo shoot.]]
* Vintage IBM keyboards up to the Model M are not only coveted for their tactile mechanical key action, but ludicrous durability due to construction around [[MadeOfIndestructium a steel plate and PBT plastics]] (which are more durable than ABS for keycap texture). Unicomp still [[https://www.256kilobytes.com/content/show/2084/all-other-keyboards-are-trash-a-complete-history-of-ibms-model-m-keyboard produces modern variants of the Model M]] using the very tooling that IBM sold off decades ago. The kicker? The Model M is actually a cost-reduced version of their [[https://deskthority.net/wiki/IBM_Model_F Model F]] and older beam-spring keyboards, the main difference being that the M uses membrane switching instead of contactless capacitive switching for the keys, yet many Model [=Ms=] still survive to this day!
** It's also not unheard of for users to use these IBM keyboards as an ImprovisedWeapon. As someone once said, the Model M will break ''you'' before you break it!
** It will also break your floor if you drop it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Data Storage]]
* UsefulNotes/FlashMemory is this, compared to other forms of data storage. Kid-friendly toys almost exclusively use it and stories abound of thumb drives being lost in the wash, sat on, dropped in freezing snow, found in [[{{Creepypasta}} desolate areas]], etc.
** Unlike earlier hard drives and magnetic tape storage systems, flash memory doesn't have to worry about losing information from magnets. Any magnet strong enough to disrupt flash memory would be strong enough to pull the iron out of your blood.
* [[UsefulNotes/CompactDisc CDs]] were initially marketed this way. They are incredibly forgiving, being still playable even after suffering all kinds of abuse, thanks to the error correction technology the discs use. There are still two things which can render them unusable, [[HumansAreMorons both due to operator error]]:
** Excessive amount of scratches due to improper storage, no envelope, leaving them in the player for months and so on, until one quarter of the disc surface is matted out;
** [=CD=]-rot due to improper storage, exposure to variations in temperature, degradation due to light and so on. Infrequently encountered in RealLife in reasonable stored [=CDs=], there are discs recorded in [[TheNineties 1995-1996]] which are still perfectly readable. Note that this mainly applies to ''burned'' [=CDs=], ''pressed'' ones (i.e. the kind you buy with music/data already on them) are more or less immune to this particular form of damage.
** The way optical disks are built is that the underside can be scratched all to hell as long as they aren't deep enough to go to the data side. Otherwise some polishing will fix it and the disk can be read.
* [[http://vr-zone.com/articles/panasonics-new-sd-cards-are-nearly-indestructible/39899.html Here's]] a list of what punishment Panasonic's latest SD cards can take.
* Similar to [=CDs=], vinyl records were marketed as virtually indestructible, compared to shellac records which could shatter.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* Multiple companies producing gear for musicians make sure their products are properly constructed. Some examples include Fender showing that their guitars remain in tune even after being treated like they're expendable, or Danish TC Electronic (which produces Effects-Pedals for guitars and basses) doing everything in their power to destroy the pedals before they're painted. And yes, that means ''everything''. This includes storing them over-night in a pressure-tank that could probably create diamonds out of coal, setting them on fire, then freezing them and vice-versa and more... The pedals that are constructed properly get to be painted. The rest are put in another enclosure, and go through the test again. And before they even get this far, they go through multiple professional gear-testers, who all have to vouch for how the Potentiometers and foot-switches "feel" to use.
* Fender guitars are known for laughing off being dropped on the floor from stage height, whereas Gibson headstocks (the part of the guitar that the tuning keys are attached to, also called the peghead) will crack or break off at the slightest provocation.
* The Soviet "Ural" electric guitar is best known for three things: [[TheAllegedCar its crappy sound]], its enormous weight, and [[MadeOfIndestructium its legendary toughness]]. To use it as a self-defence implement against groups of hostile ''[[GangBangers gopniks]]'' and play it as if nothing happened the next day, without any change in its (admittedly atrocious) sound was ''the norm'' in the day.
* The La Baye 2x4 is known for its odd shape and the fact that Bob Mothersbaugh of [[Music/{{Devo}} Devo]] has thrown his second one several times (once on Josh Freese while he was drumming, and another time when he ''threw it at an amplifier and broke it'') yet it was always back for another show.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Phones]]
* Motorola's RAZR series. Able to survive anything, from dipping (returned to normal functioning after just one day drying) to being thrown from the third floor window -- if you're lucky enough not to crack the screen. Metal case certainly helps.
** More generally, this tends to apply to quite a lot of older phones - you can throw them from the third floor and they'll be fine.
** The popular [=StarTAC=] line from the late 90's, the RAZR's spiritual predecessor, also qualifies. Motorola even stated this in the user manual; the phone would work even after receiving case-deforming hits.
** A rancher called the cell phone company to report a lost/destroyed phone. He had dropped it in the pasture and heard his ''cow'' ringing.
** There is, however, one exception. The HINGE on the Motorola is a bit troublesome. If it's open, it can be broken with sufficient force. If it's closed, nothing can harm it.
*** This leads to another weakness. If the hinge weakens, something trapped inside can quite easily break the screen by pushing against it.
* [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/indestructible-nokia-3310 Nokia 3310]] model cell phone. It might be your ChildhoodFriend for TheNineties kids, but this phone... Takes beating, getting wet, ''can be used as ice hockey puck'' and the damn thing still works.
** It can be put through a washing machine without any damage at all.
** The 3310 can only be destroyed [[MemeticMutation in the fires of Mordor]].
** A construction worker demolishing the Seattle Kingdome dropped his Nokia 252 from the upper deck onto ''solid concrete'' - the only adverse effect was a cracked screen.
** Indeed, the screen is the only weak point of the thing. The rest could be used as frickin' body armor.
** The Nokia Lumia 920 Smartphone is also remarkably sturdy. In fact, someone once tried to find out just what it would take to make the glass-screen break. A giant hammer? Doesn't scratch it. Nail-gun? Nope. Dropping it from 50 meters above the ground? Nothing. ''Duct-taping it to a rocket on New Year's Eve and launching it from the top of a 100-meters tall building, aiming it to make sure it'll land on concrete on the ground''? Still no scratch to the screen! The phone itself got a few minor scratches from hitting the pavement while on fire from the fireworks but that's all.
** One Nokia model from circa 3310 era was advertised as sturdy enough to be used to drive nails.
** Drop it in the sea, pick it up the next morning, take the battery and SIM card out and leave them in the airing cupboard overnight and they'll all work just fine the morning after.
** Someone decided to try and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB7MnrESM1g&t=1s charge their Nokia phone with 1 million volts]], and it still works.
* Western Electric's [[http://www.beatriceco.com/bti/porticus/bell/telephones.html telephones]] during the days when the Bell telephone company (which would later be led by WE's owner, AT&T) reigned supreme. One part of the quality control series was to drop the phone ten feet onto a concrete floor, after which it had to make and receive a call (although cosmetic damage could be excused). Part of the reason why these telephones were made to such high standards of durability was because Bell monopolized both the telephone and the telephone line market. They made most of their money from the lines, and so the phones didn't need to come with an expiration date in them to ensure you'd need to buy from them constantly. Once Bell was broken up due to its massive monopoly, the phone manufacturing responsibilities were transferred to companies whose only way of making money was to introduce planned obsolescence into their products. Many of Bell's original phones are still in use today, often with superior sound quality to modern phones.
* Smartphone cases deserve a special mention, as they are designed to not only last for long periods of time under tough conditions but also keep a fragile device safe while doing the same. Some brands take to this ridiculous extremes, one brand literally dropping an [=iPad=] with their case from 100,000 ft with no damage to the [=iPad=] or case.
** Though perhaps not the the extreme of the above, Honeywell makes devices built for retail work. They are very rugged, and will survive many a drop.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Toys]]
* The Tonka Mighty Dump Truck was advertised as being virtually indestructible through the course of normal play, and damned near impossible to break ''outside'' of normal play. In one memorable advertisement for the truck, they had an elephant step on it, as seen at the top of this page. The truck was fine. Think about it... an eight-pound toy truck that could hold several tons of elephant foot and not break. This toughness extended (and still extends) to pretty much the entire Tonka brand, regardless of the toy. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oGjFGFA1OA A British advert]] depicted a Tonka truck and a real full-size truck being pushed over a cliff - with the full-size truck ending up a crumpled write-off and the Tonka truck still intact.[[note]]This is at least partially an example of the SquareCubeLaw in action. Because the toy is so much smaller, it is not crushed by its own weight and actually has a higher strength to weight ratio. [[/note]]
** According to Creator/{{Hasbro}} (who now owns the Tonka toyline), there are currently seven people around the world who, because of the Tonka guarantee, receive a lifetime supply of free merchandise because they ''somehow'' managed to destroy a Tonka toy through the normal course of play. Whenever a claim is made on the guarantee, Tonka sends out a team of investigators to make sure the toy in question wasn't destroyed intentionally (by detonating it with explosives, for example), or by extraordinary means that don't count as "normal play" (like accidentally running it through a machine press, for example). For Tonka, the Tonka Tough guarantee is SeriousBusiness.
* Fischer Technik construction toys are made from super tough nylon, are either so hard ''or'' so flexible they can't be broken, and will usually survive 30 years of play and storage with only minor yellowing.
* Franchise/{{LEGO}} bricks, and by extension its Duplo subbrand. Those things are NighInvulnerable to your average 10-year-old, and when trodden on, [[AgonyOfTheFeet will deal significantly more damage to you than you do to it]].
** Thirty-year-old white bricks will yellow slightly, but colored bricks will be indistinguishable from new ones.
** Also very dog-resistant.
** The ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}''[=/=]''Toys/HeroFactory'' socket joints are an aversion because they are infamous for shattering with very little effort (especially when lime-coloured). However, the newer ''Hero Factory'' sockets beginning from the 2.0 line are pleasingly tough. Also, a lot of the earlier pieces, like those in ''Toys/{{Slizer}}'' and ''Toys/RoboRiders'' were fairly strong as well, and it wasn't until the designers changed the sockets' outer rim that they became so brittle.
** Using your teeth to separate two bricks that refuse to come apart is a bad idea. Your teeth will break before the bricks do. That is why you can actually ''buy'' these things called Brick Separators. As for taking apart non-traditional pieces (like the early ''BIONICLE'' heads)? [=MOCists=] have designed several types of separating-constructions for almost every individual case.
** [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20578627 Turns out a single LEGO brick can withstand 950 pounds of force before breaking.]]
** Full-grown adults stepping on them will have no effect on the piece, no matter how small. Indeed, the tiniest square pieces are well known to be usable as substitute {{Main/Caltrops}} for their ability to perfectly blend in with carpeting and inflict serious damage to the first bare foot that discovers their hiding spot.
* Creator/FisherPrice Little People and Imaginext toys. Creator/DaveBarry once riffed that Fisher Price toys are so tough because they're made of a mysterious plastic-like substance from another planet. Furthermore he sees no reason why we can't make indestructible cars by enlarging Fisher Price toys and adding real engines and seats.
** The playsets themselves are nearly indestructible as well, even to rambunctious three year olds.
* Most ''Toys/HotWheels'' cars count as well. These small 1:64 scale model cars that typically run for slightly less than $1 USD are deliberately designed to take a beating. No matter how many times you crash them, the most damage they'll receive is a few barely noticeable paint scratches.
* The Takatoku [[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross VF-1]]. [[SuperpowerfulGenetics By extension]], all later VF-1 toys based on the same mold qualify: Matsuhiro VF-1J, Bandai's 1980s VF-1's, Bandai's early 2000s VF-1 reissues, Bandai's late 2000s VF-1 reissues and [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Jetfire]].
* Bandai's mid-1990s Anime/{{Macross 7}} 1/65 VF-17 and VF-19 releases and their 2001 reissues.
* Tonka's ''[[WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGoBots Gobots]]'' toys.
* Most of Bandai's ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/KamenRider'' toys.
* Bandai's vinyl figures of ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'', ''Film/{{Gamera}}'', and the ''Franchise/UltraSeries''.
* Quite a few ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' toys are well known for the fact that they simply refuse to be destroyed, including the 1987-1988 toy releases, which started using tougher, thicker plastic than many of the earlier Diaclone-based toys, and several of the later ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' era toys, where the use of ball and socket joints as well as thick hinges meant that they could survive much tougher play. The main issue for those particular toys tends to be losing small, independent parts rather than damage or destruction of the toy. Other toys, however, are known to break at the drop of a hat, ''[[UpToEleven especially]]'' the ones that suffer from the dreaded [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gold_Plastic_Syndrome Gold Plastic Syndrome]] (which fortunately disappeared after 2007).
** The 1984-1986 releases were often made of diecast metal. Those waves' Optimus Prime and Megatron still have a lot of surviving specimens in decent quality. The Autobot Cars and Decepticon Seekers, as well as Decepticon Triple Changers such as Blitzwing and Astrotrain, are also incredibly sturdy. This can vary, though; the die-cast was tough, but the plastic was low-quality (meaning the die-cast could actively damage it) and the primitive transformations often left parts missing or stressed the aforementioned plastic. And with die-cast metal being phased out in 1986 to lower production costs, this leads to even more issues. G1 toys in some condition are innumerable; G1 toys in good condition are much harder to find. Shockwave is easily the worst offender, as the combination of weak plastics, metal parts, and complex mechanisms means he has a habit of shearing himself to bits.
*** Also [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' when the Ark proves to be nearly impervious to damage, and the assembled Maximals make remarks about it being "die-cast construction".
--->'''Optimus Primal''': It's a lost art.
** The younger-kid-oriented lines, like Fast Action Battlers, Gravity Bots, Cyber Slammers, the Throttlebots from 1987, and anything from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersGoBots'' and ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBots'' are made of thick, solid blocks of plastic that are virtually indestructible.
* Various lines of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' train toys can stand up to a child's railway adventures. The ERTL models were made of the same material as the engines on the show; surviving crashes from a great height with little more than a few scuff marks. The TOMY models are also as durable as you'd expect from a good train model.
** A typical TOMY model takes a beating: it can be dropped from a vast height, it can be submerged in water, it can be frozen, ''it can be used as an ice hockey puck'' and the damn thing still works.
** The Wooden Railway models are also pretty hardy. Though the paint may chip or fade, the bodies themselves are very hardy, and restoring old Wooden Railway products can be a fun DIY project
* Both the 1987 and 2003 lines of Creator/PlaymatesToys' ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' action figures.
* Tickle Me Elmo. There's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYGhmJD9LKc an infamous video]] of one of the [=TMX=] models being ''set on fire''. The toy continued giggling and doing it's typical motions for several minutes even after the head and half of the body had burnt away.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games - Nintendo]]
Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s systems (both console and handheld) are famous for this. It's often joked that they are made from "[[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Nintendium Nintendium]]". Nintendo has gone on record as saying that, in the case of the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, they would refuse to develop any DS prototype further until it could survive a 1.5 meter or 5 feet drop ten times without any loss in functionality, as mandated by Creator/SatoruIwata himself. A similar philosophy probably went into making the other Nintendo consoles as well.\\
\\
One note before we start listing the individual systems: you're going to see a lot of examples of water submersion. All of these examples are of immersion in ''clean, fresh'' (like tap or rain) water. Before you get cocky and think you can drop your UsefulNotes/GameBoy in the water at the beach, know that salt water does not behave the same way, and ''will'' corrode the electronics. It won't happen ''immediately'', but it ''will'' kill your system. Now, with that out of the way....
* The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]:
** Have you ever tried to destroy any cartridge of the Famicom, the original Japanese version of NES? They have even thicker plastic and are able to shrug off a ''truck'' riding over them, unlike the (comparatively) flimsy American cartridges. The console itself is no less tough, although in this case its flat, streamlined shape helped as well. Nintendo cartridges in general survive washing machines just fine. The most that'll happen is the label coming off; dry them and they'll work just like on day one.
** Nintendo of Japan finally stopped repairing the Famicom after 20 years. In other words, they expected the console to last 20 years.
** The NES Controllers are made tough so that they can [[NintendoHard handle frustrated NES players]]. Their long cords could theoretically allow them to be used as [[ImprovisedWeapon makeshift]] [[EpicFlail flails]].
** The cartridge batteries. Twenty years later, it ''still'' remembers all the save data from back then, even after 15 or more years without being used. And the spiel in the instruction manual for pretty much every game says it should last five.
** The console has been proven to be so resilient to damage that it's even found its way onto [[Wrestling/{{ECW}} Extreme Championship Wrestling]].
** Averted, however, by the Famicom Disk System add-on, which has been known to have drive belt issues-- and since the storage medium was floppy disks, naturally you had to be careful with them so you didn't accidentally erase the data.
* The [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] cartridges are legendarily tough, but the SNES system can take a beating as well. Water dropped in the system? No problem. Accidentally dropped it down a set of stairs? Still works. Run it over with a car by accident while moving? The SNES shrugs it off with ease. One SNES and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' cartridge survived a fire that destroyed the rest of the house it was in!
* In his design paradigm for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, Creator/GunpeiYokoi decreed that among other things, a good handheld should be durable because it will be carried around a lot. The tales below are testaments to his success:
** Nintendo's early testing included throwing Game Boys from a three story building.
** There are many stories of them surviving being thrown from apartment windows, run over by cars, flushed in toilets...
** There is a Game Boy that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBeTXPaewMo survived a bombing in the Gulf War]]. (It is the page image for MadeOfIndestructium.) Now, the original screen was bacon-crispy and had to be replaced, but the circuitry survived. It's still running, playing ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'', and is currently housed in Nintendo's store in NYC for the world to see.
** A couple of LetsPlay people [[ElementalRockPaperScissors decided to test]][[labelnote:*]]To explain, the methods of damaging the cartridge correspond to several of the elemental types of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. The process is [[http://lparchive.org/Pokemon-Blue/Science/ detailed on this page]][[/labelnote]] whether the old Game Boy cartridges live up to the reputation. Throwing and hitting it didn't even leave a mark. Dirt jammed into it while it's in the Game Boy? No problem. Covering the contacts in alcohol and running magnets over it? Didn't bother it. Dunking it in water finally made it fail to start. So they dried it out by ''burning a hole through the cartridge''. ''They BURNED the electronics inside the cartridge''. Also failed to start. So they waited an hour and came back to it. Presumably, the Nintendium just laughed at them as it started right up. The most fitting part? The cartridge was of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Red]]''.
** In a letter from a 1999 issue of ''Magazine/NintendoPower'', one boy had lost his UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor in the garage, only to find it 3 months later sitting in a puddle of used oil. After carefully disassembling and cleaning it, it was able to work like brand-new, if a bit worse for wear. The editor recommended to all readers to not allow your systems to be submerged in any liquid for safety's sake, but also that this sounded entirely plausible.
*** Another letter from a different owner in a later issue had them claim that they had left their Game Boy Color out in the backyard to be exposed to the elements and the changing seasons for a year. They found it, cleaned it, and managed to boot it up and resume play on their copy of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Silver]]'', and yes, the save data was still perfectly fine.
** ''Magazine/ElectronicGamingMonthly'' did an article about the then-new UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, in which the writer and their friends did all manner of abusive things to it, including ''flushing it down a toilet''. After drying out for three days, the white GBA resumed working as though nothing ever happened, earning it the nickname Jesus from the staff.
*** This is referenced in the [[https://youtu.be/1otj2Tkqgjw original video]] for the Music/FooFighters' "Times Like These", in which (at 48 seconds) a girl throws her GBA at the band from the top of a bridge, and it lands a ways from Dave Grohl, unscathed.
*** Its first ProductFacelift, the Game Boy Advance SP, has an equally strong reputation for being impossible to destroy, the only weak point being the hinges. Nintendo was apparently using a prime lode of Nintendium for that generation.
** Unfortunately averted by the cartridges themselves; while the casing is as tough as you'd expect from a Nintendo cartridge, the save batteries have a habit of wearing out after about a decade, meaning that the game is essentially unplayable until the battery is replaced and the save data is most likely lost.
* The UsefulNotes/Nintendo64:
** The Nintendo 64 once took a shotgun blast at point-blank range. There's a big gap in the casing but it works just fine.
** On an episode of Carlos Mencia's show, ''Series/MindOfMencia'', a dwarf was smashing old electronics with a large sledgehammer. Everything was smashed to bits in one go, save for a Nintendo 64. It took two strikes before any visible cracks formed in the case, and a third strike before the casing began to dent.
** One story told that once, a ''ceiling'' fell on a Nintendo 64. The only thing that happened to it was that the reset button got stuck. Other than that, it was as good as new.
** Averted, sadly, with the Nintendo 64 control stick. It was built in such a way that the plastic quickly wore itself down from the rotation (the original ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' being a frequent offender), resulting in a loose stick with extreme center play. It's also possible after the stick is sufficiently worn out for it to be accidentally pushed down into the controller, where it gets stuck and can no longer be used at all. On the other hand, it uses optical encoders instead of potentiometers like later Nintendo controllers, which are significantly more durable and precise due to their contactless nature. It's a shame that the mechanical gimbal and pivot assembly can't hold up compared to the sensors.
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, that goofy purple lunchbox:
** The top of the disk case is a weak point, but with the open button taped down, the system will survive most anything.
** One unit was demonstrated to survive being bludgeoned with bats, thrown like a ball, and towed on pavement by a moving car. It still worked.
** There are also stories of people using a [=GameCube=] and controller as an ImprovisedWeapon in self defense against a knife-wielding street mugger, with no lasting damage to the GCN.
** In an ''Series/XPlay'' segment called "Webb of Destruction", Morgan Webb attempted to destroy a UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, an UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} and a [=GameCube=]. She performed three destructive stunts: dropping a weight on each system, hitting each console with a sledgehammer, and dropping each system from a height. After each stunt, the systems were tested to see if they still worked. The [=GameCube's=] lid quickly snapped off, but this had no effect on its functionality, and it was the last console to be able to play games, or indeed to start up at all. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioWnoOjP9IA Take a look.]]
*** The show references this further when it mentioned the next [[Franchise/StarWars Death Star]] will be made of the hardest material known to man: used Game Boy Advances.
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS:
** The DS has a slightly less reputable history, most especially the DS Lite, which was prone to hinge problems. The joint just below the R button can weaken and snap very easily, leaving a broken R button (which most games use as a major button) or a free swinging topscreen. Then, it only takes one clumsy drop just right for the screen to snap out of the right side and the wires on the left to be strained enough to render the topscreen almost unusable. All editions of the DS were prone to the L and R buttons occasionally going haywire. By the time of the XL, these had mostly been rectified, which carried over to the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]].
** GB, GBA, and DS cartridges have all gone through their share of washers and driers and continued working without an issue. In many cases even the cartridge labels are still intact.
** As detailed in [[http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Pokemon-HeartGold-Version-SoulSilver-Version/Iwata-Asks-Pokemon-HeartGold-Version-SoulSilver-Version/4-The-Power-of-Science-is-Staggering-/4-The-Power-of-Science-is-Staggering--226003.html one installment]] of ''Iwata Asks'', the DS game ''Walk with me! Do you know your walking routine?'' (''Personal Trainer: Walking'' in North America) came packaged with a pedometer called the Activity Meter. Tsunekaz Ishihara lost his while walking his dog, only to find it a month later, covered in mud and submerged in a puddle. Of course, it still worked perfectly.
** It's been demonstrated that even if the upper screen is removed entirely, the DS is still a perfectly functional Game Boy Advance.
** Another DS was known to have survived a trip up Mount Everest, up to altitudes that caused other electronic equipment to stop working.
* The UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}:
** The Wii Remote originally had a rather weak wrist strap, which led to a number of Remotes getting embedded in walls or [=TVs=]. Nintendo quickly updated its production with sturdier straps, but not for the Wiimote's protection: for the protection of ''everything else!'' Notice that in all those humorous pictures of embedded remotes, it is always the wall or TV that is damaged, not the remote. Later models of the Wiimote come with a rubber sleeve that is perhaps best described as a bumper.[[note]]The amount of TV damage is probably not helped by the console launch happening around the same time easily ruined flatscreen [=TVs=] started overtaking CRTs, which were covered in glass that may as well have been bulletproof.[[/note]]
** Referenced in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. After the first battle, your room looks like a tornado just hit it, but if you examine the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, you'll find that there's not even a scratch on it.
* The UsefulNotes/WiiU, despite being a commercial failure, is also Tonka Tough as well. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIQpKh9ma88 This video]] demonstrates the durability of the Wii U gamepad by dropping it from various angles. The end result: Nintendo still has it.
* The UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS:
** Your 3DS fell out of your pocket and slammed right on a concrete sidewalk? No problem! You will need to inspect your 3DS for a good minute before you locate the tiny dent of the direct impact point. You will not even lose data if it was on standby because it will have shrugged off the fall without even turning off. You may have damaged the sidewalk, though, but that's the city's problem.
** And it has been tested that a Nintendo 3DS can survive, with no damage, being kept in the left jacket pocket of the coat of a driver that hits a stationary vehicle at 35 miles per hour. However, the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable can as well.
** A [[http://imgur.com/a/AqVH9 3DS]] was ''set on fire'' and then extinguished with water. [[https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/2uo5r/my_3ds_was_in_a_fire_last_night_still_works/ It still runs]].
** A [=NeoGAF=] [[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=783075 thread]] details the story of a user whose 3DS went through a laundry machine and survived practically unscratched after few days of letting it dry inside a bag of rice.
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch:
** One [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8QCFNAgPDo YouTube channel did a drop from 1000 feet in the air]]. Thanks to the left Joy-Con taking the brunt of the landing impact, the main unit managed to survive.
** While the complaints of screen scratches on the Switch may dent Nintendo's reputation for durability, it should be noted that making the screen digitizer surface out of plastic instead of glass makes it effectively ''shatter-proof.'' Adding a tempered glass screen protector easily handles scratch resistance while not interfering with the dock, not to mention that you can easily peel it off and replace it with another if it does crack. Now go out and see how many people use smartphones with cracked screens because they couldn't afford the repairs, and you can thank Nintendo for making a ''practical'' portable device that can survive a drop.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBVyF0I2Ruo A Nintendo Switch managed to still function to the point a triangle-shaped hole was fully cut through it.]]
** However, one area that the toughness does ''not'' extend to is the joysticks on the Joy-Cons, which have been known to suffer from drift-- even the newly released Switch Lite apparently suffers, and there's currently a class-action lawsuit in progress over the issue.
* Toys/{{amiibo}} are seemingly indestructible as well. When Website/ScrewAttack did an amiibo cockfight (amiibos fight each other in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', and the loser forfeits their amiibo to be destroyed), two of the items used to destroy them (a sledgehammer and a blender) actually broke while trying to destroy one. Other testers have reported the Amiibos surviving prolonged submersion, oven temperatures, and being run over by a car. IGN also reported a Kirby Amiibo being immune to anything short of "pliers, a hacksaw and a ''lot'' of willpower".
* [[spoiler:An impersonator of]] Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime explains - in a manner that suggests that he can't decide if he's Billy Mays or the Power Thirst announcer - the hard work and dedication that goes into making Nintendo products so durable in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G1M5Mk2cVI this video.]]
* ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' once did a special where they published reader-submitted stories of Nintendo games, systems, and peripherals going through all manners of abuse and surviving anyway.
** Arguably the best story in that section came from a Hawaiian reader, who'd had his original Game Boy half-melted by close-range exposure to lava. The buttons and control pad were slagged, but the machine would still turn on and the speakers still worked.
* The durability of Nintendo consoles is referenced in the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' series, a video game series featuring MoeAnthropomorphism of video game consoles and companies. The character Blanc, who is meant to represent Nintendo home consoles, has the highest defensive stats of any playable character; her younger sisters, Rom and Ram (who collectively represent the DS family of systems), are not so durable, possibly as a reference to the more fragile nature of the original DS and DS Lite.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games - Others]]
* Not only Nintendo, but UsefulNotes/Atari2600 cartridges are also incredibly durable, to the point of being submerged in a lake long enough for the label to be demolished (making identification of the game impossible), fished out sometime in the mid 90's, and still remaining perfectly playable.
** In 2014, Microsoft excavated the legendary ''VideoGame/ETTheExtraterrestrial'' cartridges ''crushed'' then buried in the New Mexico desert back in 1983 for the documentary ''Atari: Game Over''. They still play.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Miscellaneous]]
* Timex watches, especially those manufactured in the 40s, 50, and 60s, were advertised as being nearly impossible to break, and they were. In one memorable commercial, they strapped a Timex watch to a boat's propeller and took it out for a spin in a swimming pool. Sure, the watch's ''band'' separated after about 10 minutes, but the watch itself kept running as if it had spent a peaceful day in a dresser drawer. Their slogan wasn't "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" for nothing.
* Hats made by Tilley Endurables are exactly what the company name implies. One of their favorite stories to tell is about a zookeeper whose Tilley hat was eaten by an elephant. Three times. He just waited for it to come out the other end, washed it, and kept using it.
* Lawn-Boy lawnmowers are renowned among hobbyists for their durability, particularly models with two-cycle engines. There are plenty of decades-old examples that still run like they're brand new, and it usually takes very little effort to restore a non-running mower to working order.
* Glock took a similar angle when advertising their pistols. They famously subjected the guns to cartoonishly extreme endurance tests, such as submergence in sea water for several months, to build a reputation for reliability.
** Creator/FPSRussia has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ENZioGLjMI Glock torture test video]] which starts out with the gun frozen in a block of ice, which he gets out by shooting it with another pistol. Then he tries to get all the ice out of the inside by hammering nails into wood with it, shooting it some more, and putting it in a wood stove for several minutes. The Glock was still fine, if a bit stiff. The only thing it didn't survive was having a pound of explosives detonated underneath it. Even then, there were still a couple of usable parts that could be salvaged.
* The products from Creator/WilliamsElectronics are not as tough as any of the other objects on this list, but they were able to create the illusion of such: Williams had a patent (and, unlike most of their other ones, they still own it) in which if a mechanical part broke down, other mechanical parts' duties are redistributed such that it would appear the machine was still working fine. This was particularly handy with their {{pinball}} machines: Parts break down frequently, and Williams got an edge over its competitors due to this principle's sheer lastability, allowing operators to continue to make money for years, even decades, after their machines had come out, with little to no maintenance. This trait would come back to [[GoneHorriblyRight bite them hard]]: By TheNineties, there were so many still-working Williams pinball machines in existence that Williams had trouble selling to operators, as most were already satisfied with what they had. The model simply could not function under the shrinking arcade presence in the west either, and Williams had to leave the market in 1999. Williams's system is still in use in their gambling machines, however--learning their lesson with pinball, Williams instead rents out its slot machines and video poker machines so they could continue to make money for as long as the machines remained in working condition.
* Numatic's "Henry" series of vacuum cleaners are reputed to be ''incredibly'' tough and to have extreme longevity; the company themselves brag about Henrys lasting ''decades'' in use, claiming "11 million made and most still in use today", and the independent Which? magazine ranks them as amongst the most reliable, if not ''the'' most reliable. [[note]]The reasons for this are simple: 1. Many Henrys are built for and used in commercial premises like hotels and restaurants, so they ''need'' to be built to withstand daily usage and being carted around everywhere; 2. Henrys are built to such simple designs with so few mechanical parts - more or less just a motor connected to a hose with a bag on the end - that there is very little that can actually go wrong with them; 3. The human name and presence of a cheerful smiling face on most models makes people instinctively less likely to mistreat them - it's not just "the hoover", it's "Henry".[[/note]]
[[/folder]]
----
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tonka_Tough_3_9597.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:This is why Tonka is the TropeNamer.]]
->''"Whoever did this was strong. This is 340 pounds of Tonka-tough steel."''
-->-- '''Leela''' on finding an L-shaped block bent into a straight line, ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E6BendlessLove Bendless Love]]"
A toy, usually 1970s/1980s vintage, that is considered so tough, it could survive a nuclear war (almost). It may suffer for countless years at the hands of [[KidsAreCruel a destructive brat]], but will only suffer minor scuffs and breakages in the process. It will still look relatively unharmed after a [[FateWorseThanDeath 10-year stay in someone's dust-filled unheated closet located above a very greasy snackbar]]. Better yet, in the hands of a collector, it will often clean up so well after such an event that it will look almost new. Sometimes it will be [[TheRemake reissued]], and will then kick the ass of later [[WellIntentionedReplacement more accurate products]]. Usually, it isn't a very realistic and/or accurate representation of its subject, but this should not distract from its most important quality: [[SuperToughness its toughness]].
Of course, there's a good reason for these toys' sheer durability: they ''have'' to be capable of withstanding play by rough children who may not have a good grasp on how to take care of their belongings; otherwise, the end result will result in a lot of unhappy, crying children and angry parents who want refunds at best and lawsuits arising from injured children at worst.
However, there'll still be a risk of the toy breaking, so we ask that if you are willing to preserve your favorite toy for years to come (especially scratch-free), don't throw your toys off the Burj Khalifa or run them over with a monster truck, and leave their indestructibility to test in accidents.
May also be applied to other nearly indestructible items, such as certain vintage computer systems (e.g. UsefulNotes/GameBoy).
Compare MadeOfIndestructium, which is mainly for fictional items with the same reputation.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Cars]]
* Pre-2000 Toyota cars and trucks are well-known for being cheap, relatively easy maintenance, and being damned hard to kill. [[http://fortune.com/2014/10/27/want-to-drive-the-worlds-most-reliable-car-try-a-toyota/ Even some of their later trucks and cars are amazingly durable]], to the point where even the fellows from ''{{Series/Top Gear|UK}}'' [[https://youtu.be/GVqQw1OCMXg tried (and failed) to kill a Toyota Hilux (Toyota Tacoma in N. America)]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_(vehicle) The down side to this is that]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War they are very popular as improvised infantry vehicles.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzKuCVY2pfs In March 2017, Toyota partnered with Tonka to create a life-size Tonka Hilux truck.]]
** The 1997 Toyota Corolla also enjoys this reputation; car enthusiasts usually view it as bland, slow and boring, but incredibly cheap and indestructible.
* Volvo enjoys a similar reputation, particularly their iconic [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_200_Series 200 Series.]]
* Buick is generally the American equivalent to Japan's Toyota and Europe's Volvo in reputation for sheer reliability, with fellow General Motors marque Oldsmobile having enjoyed a similar reputation before GM consolidated.
** It helps that Buick's V6 engine, later developed into the GM 3800 V6, generally outlasts the cars it's built around and can easily survive over 300,000 miles of wear and tear, and supercharged L67 variants are common engine swap candidates.
*** There's even one mechanic story about a GM 3800 surviving a several-mile trip to the shop with ''no oil pan or filter'' after a lousy oil change job from a different shop, leaking like a sieve, expecting the worst, and finding that the engine still had ''no traces of metal particles or shavings despite the lack of oil.''
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Computers]]
* The government can't afford to buy armor when you're in tour in hostile territory? No problem, just make sure you always have your [[https://na.panasonic.com/us/computers-tablets-handhelds/computers/ Panasonic Toughbook]] with you.
* UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} machines made by Yamaha appear to be completely indestructible. It's not unheard of them surviving ''decades'' in the Soviet high schools with no apparent wear.
* There are military grade computers that can survive being run over, dropped in water, being out in the desert and still work fine afterwards. Some can even be in close proximity to explosions and still be completely functional. Many are fitted with Thermite self-destruct charges as that's pretty much the only reliable way to destroy it without also destroying everything else.I
* A couple of illustrative details from ROLM Corp. Mil-Spec: Cooling air INTAKE temp Max was 90 C. Then there was the amusing "300 pound hammer" test.
* Tandem Computers made this their mission. Every single piece of kit in their machines had redundancy. Their computers ''exceeded'' five nines of uptime--that's less than five-and-a-half minutes of downtime ''a year''. They even had the ability to upgrade their software without shutting any of it down. When the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993, an entire basement full of Tandem Computers suffered blast damage. Just the basement, though: the computers had only fallen over. They were fine.
* The cases of [=NeXT=] computers were massive hunks of die-cast magnesium that also doubled as the CPU heat sinks, and they were darned difficult to damage so long as they weren't set on fire -- and even ''that'' was difficult, as ''[=NeXTWorld=]'' senior editor Simson Garfinkel found out in 1993 when [[https://simson.net/hacks/cubefire.html he tried to set one ablaze for a photo shoot.]]
* Vintage IBM keyboards up to the Model M are not only coveted for their tactile mechanical key action, but ludicrous durability due to construction around [[MadeOfIndestructium a steel plate and PBT plastics]] (which are more durable than ABS for keycap texture). Unicomp still [[https://www.256kilobytes.com/content/show/2084/all-other-keyboards-are-trash-a-complete-history-of-ibms-model-m-keyboard produces modern variants of the Model M]] using the very tooling that IBM sold off decades ago. The kicker? The Model M is actually a cost-reduced version of their [[https://deskthority.net/wiki/IBM_Model_F Model F]] and older beam-spring keyboards, the main difference being that the M uses membrane switching instead of contactless capacitive switching for the keys, yet many Model [=Ms=] still survive to this day!
** It's also not unheard of for users to use these IBM keyboards as an ImprovisedWeapon. As someone once said, the Model M will break ''you'' before you break it!
** It will also break your floor if you drop it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Data Storage]]
* UsefulNotes/FlashMemory is this, compared to other forms of data storage. Kid-friendly toys almost exclusively use it and stories abound of thumb drives being lost in the wash, sat on, dropped in freezing snow, found in [[{{Creepypasta}} desolate areas]], etc.
** Unlike earlier hard drives and magnetic tape storage systems, flash memory doesn't have to worry about losing information from magnets. Any magnet strong enough to disrupt flash memory would be strong enough to pull the iron out of your blood.
* [[UsefulNotes/CompactDisc CDs]] were initially marketed this way. They are incredibly forgiving, being still playable even after suffering all kinds of abuse, thanks to the error correction technology the discs use. There are still two things which can render them unusable, [[HumansAreMorons both due to operator error]]:
** Excessive amount of scratches due to improper storage, no envelope, leaving them in the player for months and so on, until one quarter of the disc surface is matted out;
** [=CD=]-rot due to improper storage, exposure to variations in temperature, degradation due to light and so on. Infrequently encountered in RealLife in reasonable stored [=CDs=], there are discs recorded in [[TheNineties 1995-1996]] which are still perfectly readable. Note that this mainly applies to ''burned'' [=CDs=], ''pressed'' ones (i.e. the kind you buy with music/data already on them) are more or less immune to this particular form of damage.
** The way optical disks are built is that the underside can be scratched all to hell as long as they aren't deep enough to go to the data side. Otherwise some polishing will fix it and the disk can be read.
* [[http://vr-zone.com/articles/panasonics-new-sd-cards-are-nearly-indestructible/39899.html Here's]] a list of what punishment Panasonic's latest SD cards can take.
* Similar to [=CDs=], vinyl records were marketed as virtually indestructible, compared to shellac records which could shatter.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* Multiple companies producing gear for musicians make sure their products are properly constructed. Some examples include Fender showing that their guitars remain in tune even after being treated like they're expendable, or Danish TC Electronic (which produces Effects-Pedals for guitars and basses) doing everything in their power to destroy the pedals before they're painted. And yes, that means ''everything''. This includes storing them over-night in a pressure-tank that could probably create diamonds out of coal, setting them on fire, then freezing them and vice-versa and more... The pedals that are constructed properly get to be painted. The rest are put in another enclosure, and go through the test again. And before they even get this far, they go through multiple professional gear-testers, who all have to vouch for how the Potentiometers and foot-switches "feel" to use.
* Fender guitars are known for laughing off being dropped on the floor from stage height, whereas Gibson headstocks (the part of the guitar that the tuning keys are attached to, also called the peghead) will crack or break off at the slightest provocation.
* The Soviet "Ural" electric guitar is best known for three things: [[TheAllegedCar its crappy sound]], its enormous weight, and [[MadeOfIndestructium its legendary toughness]]. To use it as a self-defence implement against groups of hostile ''[[GangBangers gopniks]]'' and play it as if nothing happened the next day, without any change in its (admittedly atrocious) sound was ''the norm'' in the day.
* The La Baye 2x4 is known for its odd shape and the fact that Bob Mothersbaugh of [[Music/{{Devo}} Devo]] has thrown his second one several times (once on Josh Freese while he was drumming, and another time when he ''threw it at an amplifier and broke it'') yet it was always back for another show.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Phones]]
* Motorola's RAZR series. Able to survive anything, from dipping (returned to normal functioning after just one day drying) to being thrown from the third floor window -- if you're lucky enough not to crack the screen. Metal case certainly helps.
** More generally, this tends to apply to quite a lot of older phones - you can throw them from the third floor and they'll be fine.
** The popular [=StarTAC=] line from the late 90's, the RAZR's spiritual predecessor, also qualifies. Motorola even stated this in the user manual; the phone would work even after receiving case-deforming hits.
** A rancher called the cell phone company to report a lost/destroyed phone. He had dropped it in the pasture and heard his ''cow'' ringing.
** There is, however, one exception. The HINGE on the Motorola is a bit troublesome. If it's open, it can be broken with sufficient force. If it's closed, nothing can harm it.
*** This leads to another weakness. If the hinge weakens, something trapped inside can quite easily break the screen by pushing against it.
* [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/indestructible-nokia-3310 Nokia 3310]] model cell phone. It might be your ChildhoodFriend for TheNineties kids, but this phone... Takes beating, getting wet, ''can be used as ice hockey puck'' and the damn thing still works.
** It can be put through a washing machine without any damage at all.
** The 3310 can only be destroyed [[MemeticMutation in the fires of Mordor]].
** A construction worker demolishing the Seattle Kingdome dropped his Nokia 252 from the upper deck onto ''solid concrete'' - the only adverse effect was a cracked screen.
** Indeed, the screen is the only weak point of the thing. The rest could be used as frickin' body armor.
** The Nokia Lumia 920 Smartphone is also remarkably sturdy. In fact, someone once tried to find out just what it would take to make the glass-screen break. A giant hammer? Doesn't scratch it. Nail-gun? Nope. Dropping it from 50 meters above the ground? Nothing. ''Duct-taping it to a rocket on New Year's Eve and launching it from the top of a 100-meters tall building, aiming it to make sure it'll land on concrete on the ground''? Still no scratch to the screen! The phone itself got a few minor scratches from hitting the pavement while on fire from the fireworks but that's all.
** One Nokia model from circa 3310 era was advertised as sturdy enough to be used to drive nails.
** Drop it in the sea, pick it up the next morning, take the battery and SIM card out and leave them in the airing cupboard overnight and they'll all work just fine the morning after.
** Someone decided to try and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB7MnrESM1g&t=1s charge their Nokia phone with 1 million volts]], and it still works.
* Western Electric's [[http://www.beatriceco.com/bti/porticus/bell/telephones.html telephones]] during the days when the Bell telephone company (which would later be led by WE's owner, AT&T) reigned supreme. One part of the quality control series was to drop the phone ten feet onto a concrete floor, after which it had to make and receive a call (although cosmetic damage could be excused). Part of the reason why these telephones were made to such high standards of durability was because Bell monopolized both the telephone and the telephone line market. They made most of their money from the lines, and so the phones didn't need to come with an expiration date in them to ensure you'd need to buy from them constantly. Once Bell was broken up due to its massive monopoly, the phone manufacturing responsibilities were transferred to companies whose only way of making money was to introduce planned obsolescence into their products. Many of Bell's original phones are still in use today, often with superior sound quality to modern phones.
* Smartphone cases deserve a special mention, as they are designed to not only last for long periods of time under tough conditions but also keep a fragile device safe while doing the same. Some brands take to this ridiculous extremes, one brand literally dropping an [=iPad=] with their case from 100,000 ft with no damage to the [=iPad=] or case.
** Though perhaps not the the extreme of the above, Honeywell makes devices built for retail work. They are very rugged, and will survive many a drop.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Toys]]
* The Tonka Mighty Dump Truck was advertised as being virtually indestructible through the course of normal play, and damned near impossible to break ''outside'' of normal play. In one memorable advertisement for the truck, they had an elephant step on it, as seen at the top of this page. The truck was fine. Think about it... an eight-pound toy truck that could hold several tons of elephant foot and not break. This toughness extended (and still extends) to pretty much the entire Tonka brand, regardless of the toy. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oGjFGFA1OA A British advert]] depicted a Tonka truck and a real full-size truck being pushed over a cliff - with the full-size truck ending up a crumpled write-off and the Tonka truck still intact.[[note]]This is at least partially an example of the SquareCubeLaw in action. Because the toy is so much smaller, it is not crushed by its own weight and actually has a higher strength to weight ratio. [[/note]]
** According to Creator/{{Hasbro}} (who now owns the Tonka toyline), there are currently seven people around the world who, because of the Tonka guarantee, receive a lifetime supply of free merchandise because they ''somehow'' managed to destroy a Tonka toy through the normal course of play. Whenever a claim is made on the guarantee, Tonka sends out a team of investigators to make sure the toy in question wasn't destroyed intentionally (by detonating it with explosives, for example), or by extraordinary means that don't count as "normal play" (like accidentally running it through a machine press, for example). For Tonka, the Tonka Tough guarantee is SeriousBusiness.
* Fischer Technik construction toys are made from super tough nylon, are either so hard ''or'' so flexible they can't be broken, and will usually survive 30 years of play and storage with only minor yellowing.
* Franchise/{{LEGO}} bricks, and by extension its Duplo subbrand. Those things are NighInvulnerable to your average 10-year-old, and when trodden on, [[AgonyOfTheFeet will deal significantly more damage to you than you do to it]].
** Thirty-year-old white bricks will yellow slightly, but colored bricks will be indistinguishable from new ones.
** Also very dog-resistant.
** The ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}''[=/=]''Toys/HeroFactory'' socket joints are an aversion because they are infamous for shattering with very little effort (especially when lime-coloured). However, the newer ''Hero Factory'' sockets beginning from the 2.0 line are pleasingly tough. Also, a lot of the earlier pieces, like those in ''Toys/{{Slizer}}'' and ''Toys/RoboRiders'' were fairly strong as well, and it wasn't until the designers changed the sockets' outer rim that they became so brittle.
** Using your teeth to separate two bricks that refuse to come apart is a bad idea. Your teeth will break before the bricks do. That is why you can actually ''buy'' these things called Brick Separators. As for taking apart non-traditional pieces (like the early ''BIONICLE'' heads)? [=MOCists=] have designed several types of separating-constructions for almost every individual case.
** [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20578627 Turns out a single LEGO brick can withstand 950 pounds of force before breaking.]]
** Full-grown adults stepping on them will have no effect on the piece, no matter how small. Indeed, the tiniest square pieces are well known to be usable as substitute {{Main/Caltrops}} for their ability to perfectly blend in with carpeting and inflict serious damage to the first bare foot that discovers their hiding spot.
* Creator/FisherPrice Little People and Imaginext toys. Creator/DaveBarry once riffed that Fisher Price toys are so tough because they're made of a mysterious plastic-like substance from another planet. Furthermore he sees no reason why we can't make indestructible cars by enlarging Fisher Price toys and adding real engines and seats.
** The playsets themselves are nearly indestructible as well, even to rambunctious three year olds.
* Most ''Toys/HotWheels'' cars count as well. These small 1:64 scale model cars that typically run for slightly less than $1 USD are deliberately designed to take a beating. No matter how many times you crash them, the most damage they'll receive is a few barely noticeable paint scratches.
* The Takatoku [[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross VF-1]]. [[SuperpowerfulGenetics By extension]], all later VF-1 toys based on the same mold qualify: Matsuhiro VF-1J, Bandai's 1980s VF-1's, Bandai's early 2000s VF-1 reissues, Bandai's late 2000s VF-1 reissues and [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Jetfire]].
* Bandai's mid-1990s Anime/{{Macross 7}} 1/65 VF-17 and VF-19 releases and their 2001 reissues.
* Tonka's ''[[WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGoBots Gobots]]'' toys.
* Most of Bandai's ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/KamenRider'' toys.
* Bandai's vinyl figures of ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'', ''Film/{{Gamera}}'', and the ''Franchise/UltraSeries''.
* Quite a few ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' toys are well known for the fact that they simply refuse to be destroyed, including the 1987-1988 toy releases, which started using tougher, thicker plastic than many of the earlier Diaclone-based toys, and several of the later ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' era toys, where the use of ball and socket joints as well as thick hinges meant that they could survive much tougher play. The main issue for those particular toys tends to be losing small, independent parts rather than damage or destruction of the toy. Other toys, however, are known to break at the drop of a hat, ''[[UpToEleven especially]]'' the ones that suffer from the dreaded [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gold_Plastic_Syndrome Gold Plastic Syndrome]] (which fortunately disappeared after 2007).
** The 1984-1986 releases were often made of diecast metal. Those waves' Optimus Prime and Megatron still have a lot of surviving specimens in decent quality. The Autobot Cars and Decepticon Seekers, as well as Decepticon Triple Changers such as Blitzwing and Astrotrain, are also incredibly sturdy. This can vary, though; the die-cast was tough, but the plastic was low-quality (meaning the die-cast could actively damage it) and the primitive transformations often left parts missing or stressed the aforementioned plastic. And with die-cast metal being phased out in 1986 to lower production costs, this leads to even more issues. G1 toys in some condition are innumerable; G1 toys in good condition are much harder to find. Shockwave is easily the worst offender, as the combination of weak plastics, metal parts, and complex mechanisms means he has a habit of shearing himself to bits.
*** Also [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' when the Ark proves to be nearly impervious to damage, and the assembled Maximals make remarks about it being "die-cast construction".
--->'''Optimus Primal''': It's a lost art.
** The younger-kid-oriented lines, like Fast Action Battlers, Gravity Bots, Cyber Slammers, the Throttlebots from 1987, and anything from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersGoBots'' and ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBots'' are made of thick, solid blocks of plastic that are virtually indestructible.
* Various lines of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' train toys can stand up to a child's railway adventures. The ERTL models were made of the same material as the engines on the show; surviving crashes from a great height with little more than a few scuff marks. The TOMY models are also as durable as you'd expect from a good train model.
** A typical TOMY model takes a beating: it can be dropped from a vast height, it can be submerged in water, it can be frozen, ''it can be used as an ice hockey puck'' and the damn thing still works.
** The Wooden Railway models are also pretty hardy. Though the paint may chip or fade, the bodies themselves are very hardy, and restoring old Wooden Railway products can be a fun DIY project
* Both the 1987 and 2003 lines of Creator/PlaymatesToys' ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' action figures.
* Tickle Me Elmo. There's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYGhmJD9LKc an infamous video]] of one of the [=TMX=] models being ''set on fire''. The toy continued giggling and doing it's typical motions for several minutes even after the head and half of the body had burnt away.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games - Nintendo]]
Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s systems (both console and handheld) are famous for this. It's often joked that they are made from "[[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Nintendium Nintendium]]". Nintendo has gone on record as saying that, in the case of the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, they would refuse to develop any DS prototype further until it could survive a 1.5 meter or 5 feet drop ten times without any loss in functionality, as mandated by Creator/SatoruIwata himself. A similar philosophy probably went into making the other Nintendo consoles as well.\\
\\
One note before we start listing the individual systems: you're going to see a lot of examples of water submersion. All of these examples are of immersion in ''clean, fresh'' (like tap or rain) water. Before you get cocky and think you can drop your UsefulNotes/GameBoy in the water at the beach, know that salt water does not behave the same way, and ''will'' corrode the electronics. It won't happen ''immediately'', but it ''will'' kill your system. Now, with that out of the way....
* The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]:
** Have you ever tried to destroy any cartridge of the Famicom, the original Japanese version of NES? They have even thicker plastic and are able to shrug off a ''truck'' riding over them, unlike the (comparatively) flimsy American cartridges. The console itself is no less tough, although in this case its flat, streamlined shape helped as well. Nintendo cartridges in general survive washing machines just fine. The most that'll happen is the label coming off; dry them and they'll work just like on day one.
** Nintendo of Japan finally stopped repairing the Famicom after 20 years. In other words, they expected the console to last 20 years.
** The NES Controllers are made tough so that they can [[NintendoHard handle frustrated NES players]]. Their long cords could theoretically allow them to be used as [[ImprovisedWeapon makeshift]] [[EpicFlail flails]].
** The cartridge batteries. Twenty years later, it ''still'' remembers all the save data from back then, even after 15 or more years without being used. And the spiel in the instruction manual for pretty much every game says it should last five.
** The console has been proven to be so resilient to damage that it's even found its way onto [[Wrestling/{{ECW}} Extreme Championship Wrestling]].
** Averted, however, by the Famicom Disk System add-on, which has been known to have drive belt issues-- and since the storage medium was floppy disks, naturally you had to be careful with them so you didn't accidentally erase the data.
* The [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] cartridges are legendarily tough, but the SNES system can take a beating as well. Water dropped in the system? No problem. Accidentally dropped it down a set of stairs? Still works. Run it over with a car by accident while moving? The SNES shrugs it off with ease. One SNES and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' cartridge survived a fire that destroyed the rest of the house it was in!
* In his design paradigm for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, Creator/GunpeiYokoi decreed that among other things, a good handheld should be durable because it will be carried around a lot. The tales below are testaments to his success:
** Nintendo's early testing included throwing Game Boys from a three story building.
** There are many stories of them surviving being thrown from apartment windows, run over by cars, flushed in toilets...
** There is a Game Boy that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBeTXPaewMo survived a bombing in the Gulf War]]. (It is the page image for MadeOfIndestructium.) Now, the original screen was bacon-crispy and had to be replaced, but the circuitry survived. It's still running, playing ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'', and is currently housed in Nintendo's store in NYC for the world to see.
** A couple of LetsPlay people [[ElementalRockPaperScissors decided to test]][[labelnote:*]]To explain, the methods of damaging the cartridge correspond to several of the elemental types of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. The process is [[http://lparchive.org/Pokemon-Blue/Science/ detailed on this page]][[/labelnote]] whether the old Game Boy cartridges live up to the reputation. Throwing and hitting it didn't even leave a mark. Dirt jammed into it while it's in the Game Boy? No problem. Covering the contacts in alcohol and running magnets over it? Didn't bother it. Dunking it in water finally made it fail to start. So they dried it out by ''burning a hole through the cartridge''. ''They BURNED the electronics inside the cartridge''. Also failed to start. So they waited an hour and came back to it. Presumably, the Nintendium just laughed at them as it started right up. The most fitting part? The cartridge was of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Red]]''.
** In a letter from a 1999 issue of ''Magazine/NintendoPower'', one boy had lost his UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor in the garage, only to find it 3 months later sitting in a puddle of used oil. After carefully disassembling and cleaning it, it was able to work like brand-new, if a bit worse for wear. The editor recommended to all readers to not allow your systems to be submerged in any liquid for safety's sake, but also that this sounded entirely plausible.
*** Another letter from a different owner in a later issue had them claim that they had left their Game Boy Color out in the backyard to be exposed to the elements and the changing seasons for a year. They found it, cleaned it, and managed to boot it up and resume play on their copy of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Silver]]'', and yes, the save data was still perfectly fine.
** ''Magazine/ElectronicGamingMonthly'' did an article about the then-new UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, in which the writer and their friends did all manner of abusive things to it, including ''flushing it down a toilet''. After drying out for three days, the white GBA resumed working as though nothing ever happened, earning it the nickname Jesus from the staff.
*** This is referenced in the [[https://youtu.be/1otj2Tkqgjw original video]] for the Music/FooFighters' "Times Like These", in which (at 48 seconds) a girl throws her GBA at the band from the top of a bridge, and it lands a ways from Dave Grohl, unscathed.
*** Its first ProductFacelift, the Game Boy Advance SP, has an equally strong reputation for being impossible to destroy, the only weak point being the hinges. Nintendo was apparently using a prime lode of Nintendium for that generation.
** Unfortunately averted by the cartridges themselves; while the casing is as tough as you'd expect from a Nintendo cartridge, the save batteries have a habit of wearing out after about a decade, meaning that the game is essentially unplayable until the battery is replaced and the save data is most likely lost.
* The UsefulNotes/Nintendo64:
** The Nintendo 64 once took a shotgun blast at point-blank range. There's a big gap in the casing but it works just fine.
** On an episode of Carlos Mencia's show, ''Series/MindOfMencia'', a dwarf was smashing old electronics with a large sledgehammer. Everything was smashed to bits in one go, save for a Nintendo 64. It took two strikes before any visible cracks formed in the case, and a third strike before the casing began to dent.
** One story told that once, a ''ceiling'' fell on a Nintendo 64. The only thing that happened to it was that the reset button got stuck. Other than that, it was as good as new.
** Averted, sadly, with the Nintendo 64 control stick. It was built in such a way that the plastic quickly wore itself down from the rotation (the original ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' being a frequent offender), resulting in a loose stick with extreme center play. It's also possible after the stick is sufficiently worn out for it to be accidentally pushed down into the controller, where it gets stuck and can no longer be used at all. On the other hand, it uses optical encoders instead of potentiometers like later Nintendo controllers, which are significantly more durable and precise due to their contactless nature. It's a shame that the mechanical gimbal and pivot assembly can't hold up compared to the sensors.
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, that goofy purple lunchbox:
** The top of the disk case is a weak point, but with the open button taped down, the system will survive most anything.
** One unit was demonstrated to survive being bludgeoned with bats, thrown like a ball, and towed on pavement by a moving car. It still worked.
** There are also stories of people using a [=GameCube=] and controller as an ImprovisedWeapon in self defense against a knife-wielding street mugger, with no lasting damage to the GCN.
** In an ''Series/XPlay'' segment called "Webb of Destruction", Morgan Webb attempted to destroy a UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, an UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} and a [=GameCube=]. She performed three destructive stunts: dropping a weight on each system, hitting each console with a sledgehammer, and dropping each system from a height. After each stunt, the systems were tested to see if they still worked. The [=GameCube's=] lid quickly snapped off, but this had no effect on its functionality, and it was the last console to be able to play games, or indeed to start up at all. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioWnoOjP9IA Take a look.]]
*** The show references this further when it mentioned the next [[Franchise/StarWars Death Star]] will be made of the hardest material known to man: used Game Boy Advances.
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS:
** The DS has a slightly less reputable history, most especially the DS Lite, which was prone to hinge problems. The joint just below the R button can weaken and snap very easily, leaving a broken R button (which most games use as a major button) or a free swinging topscreen. Then, it only takes one clumsy drop just right for the screen to snap out of the right side and the wires on the left to be strained enough to render the topscreen almost unusable. All editions of the DS were prone to the L and R buttons occasionally going haywire. By the time of the XL, these had mostly been rectified, which carried over to the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]].
** GB, GBA, and DS cartridges have all gone through their share of washers and driers and continued working without an issue. In many cases even the cartridge labels are still intact.
** As detailed in [[http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Pokemon-HeartGold-Version-SoulSilver-Version/Iwata-Asks-Pokemon-HeartGold-Version-SoulSilver-Version/4-The-Power-of-Science-is-Staggering-/4-The-Power-of-Science-is-Staggering--226003.html one installment]] of ''Iwata Asks'', the DS game ''Walk with me! Do you know your walking routine?'' (''Personal Trainer: Walking'' in North America) came packaged with a pedometer called the Activity Meter. Tsunekaz Ishihara lost his while walking his dog, only to find it a month later, covered in mud and submerged in a puddle. Of course, it still worked perfectly.
** It's been demonstrated that even if the upper screen is removed entirely, the DS is still a perfectly functional Game Boy Advance.
** Another DS was known to have survived a trip up Mount Everest, up to altitudes that caused other electronic equipment to stop working.
* The UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}:
** The Wii Remote originally had a rather weak wrist strap, which led to a number of Remotes getting embedded in walls or [=TVs=]. Nintendo quickly updated its production with sturdier straps, but not for the Wiimote's protection: for the protection of ''everything else!'' Notice that in all those humorous pictures of embedded remotes, it is always the wall or TV that is damaged, not the remote. Later models of the Wiimote come with a rubber sleeve that is perhaps best described as a bumper.[[note]]The amount of TV damage is probably not helped by the console launch happening around the same time easily ruined flatscreen [=TVs=] started overtaking CRTs, which were covered in glass that may as well have been bulletproof.[[/note]]
** Referenced in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. After the first battle, your room looks like a tornado just hit it, but if you examine the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, you'll find that there's not even a scratch on it.
* The UsefulNotes/WiiU, despite being a commercial failure, is also Tonka Tough as well. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIQpKh9ma88 This video]] demonstrates the durability of the Wii U gamepad by dropping it from various angles. The end result: Nintendo still has it.
* The UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS:
** Your 3DS fell out of your pocket and slammed right on a concrete sidewalk? No problem! You will need to inspect your 3DS for a good minute before you locate the tiny dent of the direct impact point. You will not even lose data if it was on standby because it will have shrugged off the fall without even turning off. You may have damaged the sidewalk, though, but that's the city's problem.
** And it has been tested that a Nintendo 3DS can survive, with no damage, being kept in the left jacket pocket of the coat of a driver that hits a stationary vehicle at 35 miles per hour. However, the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable can as well.
** A [[http://imgur.com/a/AqVH9 3DS]] was ''set on fire'' and then extinguished with water. [[https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/2uo5r/my_3ds_was_in_a_fire_last_night_still_works/ It still runs]].
** A [=NeoGAF=] [[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=783075 thread]] details the story of a user whose 3DS went through a laundry machine and survived practically unscratched after few days of letting it dry inside a bag of rice.
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch:
** One [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8QCFNAgPDo YouTube channel did a drop from 1000 feet in the air]]. Thanks to the left Joy-Con taking the brunt of the landing impact, the main unit managed to survive.
** While the complaints of screen scratches on the Switch may dent Nintendo's reputation for durability, it should be noted that making the screen digitizer surface out of plastic instead of glass makes it effectively ''shatter-proof.'' Adding a tempered glass screen protector easily handles scratch resistance while not interfering with the dock, not to mention that you can easily peel it off and replace it with another if it does crack. Now go out and see how many people use smartphones with cracked screens because they couldn't afford the repairs, and you can thank Nintendo for making a ''practical'' portable device that can survive a drop.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBVyF0I2Ruo A Nintendo Switch managed to still function to the point a triangle-shaped hole was fully cut through it.]]
** However, one area that the toughness does ''not'' extend to is the joysticks on the Joy-Cons, which have been known to suffer from drift-- even the newly released Switch Lite apparently suffers, and there's currently a class-action lawsuit in progress over the issue.
* Toys/{{amiibo}} are seemingly indestructible as well. When Website/ScrewAttack did an amiibo cockfight (amiibos fight each other in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', and the loser forfeits their amiibo to be destroyed), two of the items used to destroy them (a sledgehammer and a blender) actually broke while trying to destroy one. Other testers have reported the Amiibos surviving prolonged submersion, oven temperatures, and being run over by a car. IGN also reported a Kirby Amiibo being immune to anything short of "pliers, a hacksaw and a ''lot'' of willpower".
* [[spoiler:An impersonator of]] Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime explains - in a manner that suggests that he can't decide if he's Billy Mays or the Power Thirst announcer - the hard work and dedication that goes into making Nintendo products so durable in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G1M5Mk2cVI this video.]]
* ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' once did a special where they published reader-submitted stories of Nintendo games, systems, and peripherals going through all manners of abuse and surviving anyway.
** Arguably the best story in that section came from a Hawaiian reader, who'd had his original Game Boy half-melted by close-range exposure to lava. The buttons and control pad were slagged, but the machine would still turn on and the speakers still worked.
* The durability of Nintendo consoles is referenced in the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' series, a video game series featuring MoeAnthropomorphism of video game consoles and companies. The character Blanc, who is meant to represent Nintendo home consoles, has the highest defensive stats of any playable character; her younger sisters, Rom and Ram (who collectively represent the DS family of systems), are not so durable, possibly as a reference to the more fragile nature of the original DS and DS Lite.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games - Others]]
* Not only Nintendo, but UsefulNotes/Atari2600 cartridges are also incredibly durable, to the point of being submerged in a lake long enough for the label to be demolished (making identification of the game impossible), fished out sometime in the mid 90's, and still remaining perfectly playable.
** In 2014, Microsoft excavated the legendary ''VideoGame/ETTheExtraterrestrial'' cartridges ''crushed'' then buried in the New Mexico desert back in 1983 for the documentary ''Atari: Game Over''. They still play.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Miscellaneous]]
* Timex watches, especially those manufactured in the 40s, 50, and 60s, were advertised as being nearly impossible to break, and they were. In one memorable commercial, they strapped a Timex watch to a boat's propeller and took it out for a spin in a swimming pool. Sure, the watch's ''band'' separated after about 10 minutes, but the watch itself kept running as if it had spent a peaceful day in a dresser drawer. Their slogan wasn't "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" for nothing.
* Hats made by Tilley Endurables are exactly what the company name implies. One of their favorite stories to tell is about a zookeeper whose Tilley hat was eaten by an elephant. Three times. He just waited for it to come out the other end, washed it, and kept using it.
* Lawn-Boy lawnmowers are renowned among hobbyists for their durability, particularly models with two-cycle engines. There are plenty of decades-old examples that still run like they're brand new, and it usually takes very little effort to restore a non-running mower to working order.
* Glock took a similar angle when advertising their pistols. They famously subjected the guns to cartoonishly extreme endurance tests, such as submergence in sea water for several months, to build a reputation for reliability.
** Creator/FPSRussia has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ENZioGLjMI Glock torture test video]] which starts out with the gun frozen in a block of ice, which he gets out by shooting it with another pistol. Then he tries to get all the ice out of the inside by hammering nails into wood with it, shooting it some more, and putting it in a wood stove for several minutes. The Glock was still fine, if a bit stiff. The only thing it didn't survive was having a pound of explosives detonated underneath it. Even then, there were still a couple of usable parts that could be salvaged.
* The products from Creator/WilliamsElectronics are not as tough as any of the other objects on this list, but they were able to create the illusion of such: Williams had a patent (and, unlike most of their other ones, they still own it) in which if a mechanical part broke down, other mechanical parts' duties are redistributed such that it would appear the machine was still working fine. This was particularly handy with their {{pinball}} machines: Parts break down frequently, and Williams got an edge over its competitors due to this principle's sheer lastability, allowing operators to continue to make money for years, even decades, after their machines had come out, with little to no maintenance. This trait would come back to [[GoneHorriblyRight bite them hard]]: By TheNineties, there were so many still-working Williams pinball machines in existence that Williams had trouble selling to operators, as most were already satisfied with what they had. The model simply could not function under the shrinking arcade presence in the west either, and Williams had to leave the market in 1999. Williams's system is still in use in their gambling machines, however--learning their lesson with pinball, Williams instead rents out its slot machines and video poker machines so they could continue to make money for as long as the machines remained in working condition.
* Numatic's "Henry" series of vacuum cleaners are reputed to be ''incredibly'' tough and to have extreme longevity; the company themselves brag about Henrys lasting ''decades'' in use, claiming "11 million made and most still in use today", and the independent Which? magazine ranks them as amongst the most reliable, if not ''the'' most reliable. [[note]]The reasons for this are simple: 1. Many Henrys are built for and used in commercial premises like hotels and restaurants, so they ''need'' to be built to withstand daily usage and being carted around everywhere; 2. Henrys are built to such simple designs with so few mechanical parts - more or less just a motor connected to a hose with a bag on the end - that there is very little that can actually go wrong with them; 3. The human name and presence of a cheerful smiling face on most models makes people instinctively less likely to mistreat them - it's not just "the hoover", it's "Henry".[[/note]]
[[/folder]]
----
to:
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tonka_Tough_3_9597.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:This is why Tonka is the TropeNamer.]]
->''"Whoever did this was strong. This is 340 pounds of Tonka-tough steel."''
-->-- '''Leela''' on finding an L-shaped block bent into a straight line, ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E6BendlessLove Bendless Love]]"
A toy, usually 1970s/1980s vintage, that is considered so tough, it could survive a nuclear war (almost). It may suffer for countless years at the hands of [[KidsAreCruel a destructive brat]], but will only suffer minor scuffs and breakages in the process. It will still look relatively unharmed after a [[FateWorseThanDeath 10-year stay in someone's dust-filled unheated closet located above a very greasy snackbar]]. Better yet, in the hands of a collector, it will often clean up so well after such an event that it will look almost new. Sometimes it will be [[TheRemake reissued]], and will then kick the ass of later [[WellIntentionedReplacement more accurate products]]. Usually, it isn't a very realistic and/or accurate representation of its subject, but this should not distract from its most important quality: [[SuperToughness its toughness]].
Of course, there's a good reason for these toys' sheer durability: they ''have'' to be capable of withstanding play by rough children who may not have a good grasp on how to take care of their belongings; otherwise, the end result will result in a lot of unhappy, crying children and angry parents who want refunds at best and lawsuits arising from injured children at worst.
However, there'll still be a risk of the toy breaking, so we ask that if you are willing to preserve your favorite toy for years to come (especially scratch-free), don't throw your toys off the Burj Khalifa or run them over with a monster truck, and leave their indestructibility to test in accidents.
May also be applied to other nearly indestructible items, such as certain vintage computer systems (e.g. UsefulNotes/GameBoy).
Compare MadeOfIndestructium, which is mainly for fictional items with the same reputation.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Cars]]
* Pre-2000 Toyota cars and trucks are well-known for being cheap, relatively easy maintenance, and being damned hard to kill. [[http://fortune.com/2014/10/27/want-to-drive-the-worlds-most-reliable-car-try-a-toyota/ Even some of their later trucks and cars are amazingly durable]], to the point where even the fellows from ''{{Series/Top Gear|UK}}'' [[https://youtu.be/GVqQw1OCMXg tried (and failed) to kill a Toyota Hilux (Toyota Tacoma in N. America)]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_(vehicle) The down side to this is that]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War they are very popular as improvised infantry vehicles.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzKuCVY2pfs In March 2017, Toyota partnered with Tonka to create a life-size Tonka Hilux truck.]]
** The 1997 Toyota Corolla also enjoys this reputation; car enthusiasts usually view it as bland, slow and boring, but incredibly cheap and indestructible.
* Volvo enjoys a similar reputation, particularly their iconic [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_200_Series 200 Series.]]
* Buick is generally the American equivalent to Japan's Toyota and Europe's Volvo in reputation for sheer reliability, with fellow General Motors marque Oldsmobile having enjoyed a similar reputation before GM consolidated.
** It helps that Buick's V6 engine, later developed into the GM 3800 V6, generally outlasts the cars it's built around and can easily survive over 300,000 miles of wear and tear, and supercharged L67 variants are common engine swap candidates.
*** There's even one mechanic story about a GM 3800 surviving a several-mile trip to the shop with ''no oil pan or filter'' after a lousy oil change job from a different shop, leaking like a sieve, expecting the worst, and finding that the engine still had ''no traces of metal particles or shavings despite the lack of oil.''
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Computers]]
* The government can't afford to buy armor when you're in tour in hostile territory? No problem, just make sure you always have your [[https://na.panasonic.com/us/computers-tablets-handhelds/computers/ Panasonic Toughbook]] with you.
* UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} machines made by Yamaha appear to be completely indestructible. It's not unheard of them surviving ''decades'' in the Soviet high schools with no apparent wear.
* There are military grade computers that can survive being run over, dropped in water, being out in the desert and still work fine afterwards. Some can even be in close proximity to explosions and still be completely functional. Many are fitted with Thermite self-destruct charges as that's pretty much the only reliable way to destroy it without also destroying everything else.I
* A couple of illustrative details from ROLM Corp. Mil-Spec: Cooling air INTAKE temp Max was 90 C. Then there was the amusing "300 pound hammer" test.
* Tandem Computers made this their mission. Every single piece of kit in their machines had redundancy. Their computers ''exceeded'' five nines of uptime--that's less than five-and-a-half minutes of downtime ''a year''. They even had the ability to upgrade their software without shutting any of it down. When the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993, an entire basement full of Tandem Computers suffered blast damage. Just the basement, though: the computers had only fallen over. They were fine.
* The cases of [=NeXT=] computers were massive hunks of die-cast magnesium that also doubled as the CPU heat sinks, and they were darned difficult to damage so long as they weren't set on fire -- and even ''that'' was difficult, as ''[=NeXTWorld=]'' senior editor Simson Garfinkel found out in 1993 when [[https://simson.net/hacks/cubefire.html he tried to set one ablaze for a photo shoot.]]
* Vintage IBM keyboards up to the Model M are not only coveted for their tactile mechanical key action, but ludicrous durability due to construction around [[MadeOfIndestructium a steel plate and PBT plastics]] (which are more durable than ABS for keycap texture). Unicomp still [[https://www.256kilobytes.com/content/show/2084/all-other-keyboards-are-trash-a-complete-history-of-ibms-model-m-keyboard produces modern variants of the Model M]] using the very tooling that IBM sold off decades ago. The kicker? The Model M is actually a cost-reduced version of their [[https://deskthority.net/wiki/IBM_Model_F Model F]] and older beam-spring keyboards, the main difference being that the M uses membrane switching instead of contactless capacitive switching for the keys, yet many Model [=Ms=] still survive to this day!
** It's also not unheard of for users to use these IBM keyboards as an ImprovisedWeapon. As someone once said, the Model M will break ''you'' before you break it!
** It will also break your floor if you drop it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Data Storage]]
* UsefulNotes/FlashMemory is this, compared to other forms of data storage. Kid-friendly toys almost exclusively use it and stories abound of thumb drives being lost in the wash, sat on, dropped in freezing snow, found in [[{{Creepypasta}} desolate areas]], etc.
** Unlike earlier hard drives and magnetic tape storage systems, flash memory doesn't have to worry about losing information from magnets. Any magnet strong enough to disrupt flash memory would be strong enough to pull the iron out of your blood.
* [[UsefulNotes/CompactDisc CDs]] were initially marketed this way. They are incredibly forgiving, being still playable even after suffering all kinds of abuse, thanks to the error correction technology the discs use. There are still two things which can render them unusable, [[HumansAreMorons both due to operator error]]:
** Excessive amount of scratches due to improper storage, no envelope, leaving them in the player for months and so on, until one quarter of the disc surface is matted out;
** [=CD=]-rot due to improper storage, exposure to variations in temperature, degradation due to light and so on. Infrequently encountered in RealLife in reasonable stored [=CDs=], there are discs recorded in [[TheNineties 1995-1996]] which are still perfectly readable. Note that this mainly applies to ''burned'' [=CDs=], ''pressed'' ones (i.e. the kind you buy with music/data already on them) are more or less immune to this particular form of damage.
** The way optical disks are built is that the underside can be scratched all to hell as long as they aren't deep enough to go to the data side. Otherwise some polishing will fix it and the disk can be read.
* [[http://vr-zone.com/articles/panasonics-new-sd-cards-are-nearly-indestructible/39899.html Here's]] a list of what punishment Panasonic's latest SD cards can take.
* Similar to [=CDs=], vinyl records were marketed as virtually indestructible, compared to shellac records which could shatter.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* Multiple companies producing gear for musicians make sure their products are properly constructed. Some examples include Fender showing that their guitars remain in tune even after being treated like they're expendable, or Danish TC Electronic (which produces Effects-Pedals for guitars and basses) doing everything in their power to destroy the pedals before they're painted. And yes, that means ''everything''. This includes storing them over-night in a pressure-tank that could probably create diamonds out of coal, setting them on fire, then freezing them and vice-versa and more... The pedals that are constructed properly get to be painted. The rest are put in another enclosure, and go through the test again. And before they even get this far, they go through multiple professional gear-testers, who all have to vouch for how the Potentiometers and foot-switches "feel" to use.
* Fender guitars are known for laughing off being dropped on the floor from stage height, whereas Gibson headstocks (the part of the guitar that the tuning keys are attached to, also called the peghead) will crack or break off at the slightest provocation.
* The Soviet "Ural" electric guitar is best known for three things: [[TheAllegedCar its crappy sound]], its enormous weight, and [[MadeOfIndestructium its legendary toughness]]. To use it as a self-defence implement against groups of hostile ''[[GangBangers gopniks]]'' and play it as if nothing happened the next day, without any change in its (admittedly atrocious) sound was ''the norm'' in the day.
* The La Baye 2x4 is known for its odd shape and the fact that Bob Mothersbaugh of [[Music/{{Devo}} Devo]] has thrown his second one several times (once on Josh Freese while he was drumming, and another time when he ''threw it at an amplifier and broke it'') yet it was always back for another show.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Phones]]
* Motorola's RAZR series. Able to survive anything, from dipping (returned to normal functioning after just one day drying) to being thrown from the third floor window -- if you're lucky enough not to crack the screen. Metal case certainly helps.
** More generally, this tends to apply to quite a lot of older phones - you can throw them from the third floor and they'll be fine.
** The popular [=StarTAC=] line from the late 90's, the RAZR's spiritual predecessor, also qualifies. Motorola even stated this in the user manual; the phone would work even after receiving case-deforming hits.
** A rancher called the cell phone company to report a lost/destroyed phone. He had dropped it in the pasture and heard his ''cow'' ringing.
** There is, however, one exception. The HINGE on the Motorola is a bit troublesome. If it's open, it can be broken with sufficient force. If it's closed, nothing can harm it.
*** This leads to another weakness. If the hinge weakens, something trapped inside can quite easily break the screen by pushing against it.
* [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/indestructible-nokia-3310 Nokia 3310]] model cell phone. It might be your ChildhoodFriend for TheNineties kids, but this phone... Takes beating, getting wet, ''can be used as ice hockey puck'' and the damn thing still works.
** It can be put through a washing machine without any damage at all.
** The 3310 can only be destroyed [[MemeticMutation in the fires of Mordor]].
** A construction worker demolishing the Seattle Kingdome dropped his Nokia 252 from the upper deck onto ''solid concrete'' - the only adverse effect was a cracked screen.
** Indeed, the screen is the only weak point of the thing. The rest could be used as frickin' body armor.
** The Nokia Lumia 920 Smartphone is also remarkably sturdy. In fact, someone once tried to find out just what it would take to make the glass-screen break. A giant hammer? Doesn't scratch it. Nail-gun? Nope. Dropping it from 50 meters above the ground? Nothing. ''Duct-taping it to a rocket on New Year's Eve and launching it from the top of a 100-meters tall building, aiming it to make sure it'll land on concrete on the ground''? Still no scratch to the screen! The phone itself got a few minor scratches from hitting the pavement while on fire from the fireworks but that's all.
** One Nokia model from circa 3310 era was advertised as sturdy enough to be used to drive nails.
** Drop it in the sea, pick it up the next morning, take the battery and SIM card out and leave them in the airing cupboard overnight and they'll all work just fine the morning after.
** Someone decided to try and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB7MnrESM1g&t=1s charge their Nokia phone with 1 million volts]], and it still works.
* Western Electric's [[http://www.beatriceco.com/bti/porticus/bell/telephones.html telephones]] during the days when the Bell telephone company (which would later be led by WE's owner, AT&T) reigned supreme. One part of the quality control series was to drop the phone ten feet onto a concrete floor, after which it had to make and receive a call (although cosmetic damage could be excused). Part of the reason why these telephones were made to such high standards of durability was because Bell monopolized both the telephone and the telephone line market. They made most of their money from the lines, and so the phones didn't need to come with an expiration date in them to ensure you'd need to buy from them constantly. Once Bell was broken up due to its massive monopoly, the phone manufacturing responsibilities were transferred to companies whose only way of making money was to introduce planned obsolescence into their products. Many of Bell's original phones are still in use today, often with superior sound quality to modern phones.
* Smartphone cases deserve a special mention, as they are designed to not only last for long periods of time under tough conditions but also keep a fragile device safe while doing the same. Some brands take to this ridiculous extremes, one brand literally dropping an [=iPad=] with their case from 100,000 ft with no damage to the [=iPad=] or case.
** Though perhaps not the the extreme of the above, Honeywell makes devices built for retail work. They are very rugged, and will survive many a drop.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Toys]]
* The Tonka Mighty Dump Truck was advertised as being virtually indestructible through the course of normal play, and damned near impossible to break ''outside'' of normal play. In one memorable advertisement for the truck, they had an elephant step on it, as seen at the top of this page. The truck was fine. Think about it... an eight-pound toy truck that could hold several tons of elephant foot and not break. This toughness extended (and still extends) to pretty much the entire Tonka brand, regardless of the toy. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oGjFGFA1OA A British advert]] depicted a Tonka truck and a real full-size truck being pushed over a cliff - with the full-size truck ending up a crumpled write-off and the Tonka truck still intact.[[note]]This is at least partially an example of the SquareCubeLaw in action. Because the toy is so much smaller, it is not crushed by its own weight and actually has a higher strength to weight ratio. [[/note]]
** According to Creator/{{Hasbro}} (who now owns the Tonka toyline), there are currently seven people around the world who, because of the Tonka guarantee, receive a lifetime supply of free merchandise because they ''somehow'' managed to destroy a Tonka toy through the normal course of play. Whenever a claim is made on the guarantee, Tonka sends out a team of investigators to make sure the toy in question wasn't destroyed intentionally (by detonating it with explosives, for example), or by extraordinary means that don't count as "normal play" (like accidentally running it through a machine press, for example). For Tonka, the Tonka Tough guarantee is SeriousBusiness.
* Fischer Technik construction toys are made from super tough nylon, are either so hard ''or'' so flexible they can't be broken, and will usually survive 30 years of play and storage with only minor yellowing.
* Franchise/{{LEGO}} bricks, and by extension its Duplo subbrand. Those things are NighInvulnerable to your average 10-year-old, and when trodden on, [[AgonyOfTheFeet will deal significantly more damage to you than you do to it]].
** Thirty-year-old white bricks will yellow slightly, but colored bricks will be indistinguishable from new ones.
** Also very dog-resistant.
** The ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}''[=/=]''Toys/HeroFactory'' socket joints are an aversion because they are infamous for shattering with very little effort (especially when lime-coloured). However, the newer ''Hero Factory'' sockets beginning from the 2.0 line are pleasingly tough. Also, a lot of the earlier pieces, like those in ''Toys/{{Slizer}}'' and ''Toys/RoboRiders'' were fairly strong as well, and it wasn't until the designers changed the sockets' outer rim that they became so brittle.
** Using your teeth to separate two bricks that refuse to come apart is a bad idea. Your teeth will break before the bricks do. That is why you can actually ''buy'' these things called Brick Separators. As for taking apart non-traditional pieces (like the early ''BIONICLE'' heads)? [=MOCists=] have designed several types of separating-constructions for almost every individual case.
** [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20578627 Turns out a single LEGO brick can withstand 950 pounds of force before breaking.]]
** Full-grown adults stepping on them will have no effect on the piece, no matter how small. Indeed, the tiniest square pieces are well known to be usable as substitute {{Main/Caltrops}} for their ability to perfectly blend in with carpeting and inflict serious damage to the first bare foot that discovers their hiding spot.
* Creator/FisherPrice Little People and Imaginext toys. Creator/DaveBarry once riffed that Fisher Price toys are so tough because they're made of a mysterious plastic-like substance from another planet. Furthermore he sees no reason why we can't make indestructible cars by enlarging Fisher Price toys and adding real engines and seats.
** The playsets themselves are nearly indestructible as well, even to rambunctious three year olds.
* Most ''Toys/HotWheels'' cars count as well. These small 1:64 scale model cars that typically run for slightly less than $1 USD are deliberately designed to take a beating. No matter how many times you crash them, the most damage they'll receive is a few barely noticeable paint scratches.
* The Takatoku [[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross VF-1]]. [[SuperpowerfulGenetics By extension]], all later VF-1 toys based on the same mold qualify: Matsuhiro VF-1J, Bandai's 1980s VF-1's, Bandai's early 2000s VF-1 reissues, Bandai's late 2000s VF-1 reissues and [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Jetfire]].
* Bandai's mid-1990s Anime/{{Macross 7}} 1/65 VF-17 and VF-19 releases and their 2001 reissues.
* Tonka's ''[[WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGoBots Gobots]]'' toys.
* Most of Bandai's ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/KamenRider'' toys.
* Bandai's vinyl figures of ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'', ''Film/{{Gamera}}'', and the ''Franchise/UltraSeries''.
* Quite a few ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' toys are well known for the fact that they simply refuse to be destroyed, including the 1987-1988 toy releases, which started using tougher, thicker plastic than many of the earlier Diaclone-based toys, and several of the later ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' era toys, where the use of ball and socket joints as well as thick hinges meant that they could survive much tougher play. The main issue for those particular toys tends to be losing small, independent parts rather than damage or destruction of the toy. Other toys, however, are known to break at the drop of a hat, ''[[UpToEleven especially]]'' the ones that suffer from the dreaded [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gold_Plastic_Syndrome Gold Plastic Syndrome]] (which fortunately disappeared after 2007).
** The 1984-1986 releases were often made of diecast metal. Those waves' Optimus Prime and Megatron still have a lot of surviving specimens in decent quality. The Autobot Cars and Decepticon Seekers, as well as Decepticon Triple Changers such as Blitzwing and Astrotrain, are also incredibly sturdy. This can vary, though; the die-cast was tough, but the plastic was low-quality (meaning the die-cast could actively damage it) and the primitive transformations often left parts missing or stressed the aforementioned plastic. And with die-cast metal being phased out in 1986 to lower production costs, this leads to even more issues. G1 toys in some condition are innumerable; G1 toys in good condition are much harder to find. Shockwave is easily the worst offender, as the combination of weak plastics, metal parts, and complex mechanisms means he has a habit of shearing himself to bits.
*** Also [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' when the Ark proves to be nearly impervious to damage, and the assembled Maximals make remarks about it being "die-cast construction".
--->'''Optimus Primal''': It's a lost art.
** The younger-kid-oriented lines, like Fast Action Battlers, Gravity Bots, Cyber Slammers, the Throttlebots from 1987, and anything from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersGoBots'' and ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBots'' are made of thick, solid blocks of plastic that are virtually indestructible.
* Various lines of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' train toys can stand up to a child's railway adventures. The ERTL models were made of the same material as the engines on the show; surviving crashes from a great height with little more than a few scuff marks. The TOMY models are also as durable as you'd expect from a good train model.
** A typical TOMY model takes a beating: it can be dropped from a vast height, it can be submerged in water, it can be frozen, ''it can be used as an ice hockey puck'' and the damn thing still works.
** The Wooden Railway models are also pretty hardy. Though the paint may chip or fade, the bodies themselves are very hardy, and restoring old Wooden Railway products can be a fun DIY project
* Both the 1987 and 2003 lines of Creator/PlaymatesToys' ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' action figures.
* Tickle Me Elmo. There's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYGhmJD9LKc an infamous video]] of one of the [=TMX=] models being ''set on fire''. The toy continued giggling and doing it's typical motions for several minutes even after the head and half of the body had burnt away.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games - Nintendo]]
Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s systems (both console and handheld) are famous for this. It's often joked that they are made from "[[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Nintendium Nintendium]]". Nintendo has gone on record as saying that, in the case of the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, they would refuse to develop any DS prototype further until it could survive a 1.5 meter or 5 feet drop ten times without any loss in functionality, as mandated by Creator/SatoruIwata himself. A similar philosophy probably went into making the other Nintendo consoles as well.\\
\\
One note before we start listing the individual systems: you're going to see a lot of examples of water submersion. All of these examples are of immersion in ''clean, fresh'' (like tap or rain) water. Before you get cocky and think you can drop your UsefulNotes/GameBoy in the water at the beach, know that salt water does not behave the same way, and ''will'' corrode the electronics. It won't happen ''immediately'', but it ''will'' kill your system. Now, with that out of the way....
* The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]:
** Have you ever tried to destroy any cartridge of the Famicom, the original Japanese version of NES? They have even thicker plastic and are able to shrug off a ''truck'' riding over them, unlike the (comparatively) flimsy American cartridges. The console itself is no less tough, although in this case its flat, streamlined shape helped as well. Nintendo cartridges in general survive washing machines just fine. The most that'll happen is the label coming off; dry them and they'll work just like on day one.
** Nintendo of Japan finally stopped repairing the Famicom after 20 years. In other words, they expected the console to last 20 years.
** The NES Controllers are made tough so that they can [[NintendoHard handle frustrated NES players]]. Their long cords could theoretically allow them to be used as [[ImprovisedWeapon makeshift]] [[EpicFlail flails]].
** The cartridge batteries. Twenty years later, it ''still'' remembers all the save data from back then, even after 15 or more years without being used. And the spiel in the instruction manual for pretty much every game says it should last five.
** The console has been proven to be so resilient to damage that it's even found its way onto [[Wrestling/{{ECW}} Extreme Championship Wrestling]].
** Averted, however, by the Famicom Disk System add-on, which has been known to have drive belt issues-- and since the storage medium was floppy disks, naturally you had to be careful with them so you didn't accidentally erase the data.
* The [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] cartridges are legendarily tough, but the SNES system can take a beating as well. Water dropped in the system? No problem. Accidentally dropped it down a set of stairs? Still works. Run it over with a car by accident while moving? The SNES shrugs it off with ease. One SNES and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' cartridge survived a fire that destroyed the rest of the house it was in!
* In his design paradigm for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, Creator/GunpeiYokoi decreed that among other things, a good handheld should be durable because it will be carried around a lot. The tales below are testaments to his success:
** Nintendo's early testing included throwing Game Boys from a three story building.
** There are many stories of them surviving being thrown from apartment windows, run over by cars, flushed in toilets...
** There is a Game Boy that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBeTXPaewMo survived a bombing in the Gulf War]]. (It is the page image for MadeOfIndestructium.) Now, the original screen was bacon-crispy and had to be replaced, but the circuitry survived. It's still running, playing ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'', and is currently housed in Nintendo's store in NYC for the world to see.
** A couple of LetsPlay people [[ElementalRockPaperScissors decided to test]][[labelnote:*]]To explain, the methods of damaging the cartridge correspond to several of the elemental types of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. The process is [[http://lparchive.org/Pokemon-Blue/Science/ detailed on this page]][[/labelnote]] whether the old Game Boy cartridges live up to the reputation. Throwing and hitting it didn't even leave a mark. Dirt jammed into it while it's in the Game Boy? No problem. Covering the contacts in alcohol and running magnets over it? Didn't bother it. Dunking it in water finally made it fail to start. So they dried it out by ''burning a hole through the cartridge''. ''They BURNED the electronics inside the cartridge''. Also failed to start. So they waited an hour and came back to it. Presumably, the Nintendium just laughed at them as it started right up. The most fitting part? The cartridge was of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Red]]''.
** In a letter from a 1999 issue of ''Magazine/NintendoPower'', one boy had lost his UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor in the garage, only to find it 3 months later sitting in a puddle of used oil. After carefully disassembling and cleaning it, it was able to work like brand-new, if a bit worse for wear. The editor recommended to all readers to not allow your systems to be submerged in any liquid for safety's sake, but also that this sounded entirely plausible.
*** Another letter from a different owner in a later issue had them claim that they had left their Game Boy Color out in the backyard to be exposed to the elements and the changing seasons for a year. They found it, cleaned it, and managed to boot it up and resume play on their copy of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Silver]]'', and yes, the save data was still perfectly fine.
** ''Magazine/ElectronicGamingMonthly'' did an article about the then-new UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, in which the writer and their friends did all manner of abusive things to it, including ''flushing it down a toilet''. After drying out for three days, the white GBA resumed working as though nothing ever happened, earning it the nickname Jesus from the staff.
*** This is referenced in the [[https://youtu.be/1otj2Tkqgjw original video]] for the Music/FooFighters' "Times Like These", in which (at 48 seconds) a girl throws her GBA at the band from the top of a bridge, and it lands a ways from Dave Grohl, unscathed.
*** Its first ProductFacelift, the Game Boy Advance SP, has an equally strong reputation for being impossible to destroy, the only weak point being the hinges. Nintendo was apparently using a prime lode of Nintendium for that generation.
** Unfortunately averted by the cartridges themselves; while the casing is as tough as you'd expect from a Nintendo cartridge, the save batteries have a habit of wearing out after about a decade, meaning that the game is essentially unplayable until the battery is replaced and the save data is most likely lost.
* The UsefulNotes/Nintendo64:
** The Nintendo 64 once took a shotgun blast at point-blank range. There's a big gap in the casing but it works just fine.
** On an episode of Carlos Mencia's show, ''Series/MindOfMencia'', a dwarf was smashing old electronics with a large sledgehammer. Everything was smashed to bits in one go, save for a Nintendo 64. It took two strikes before any visible cracks formed in the case, and a third strike before the casing began to dent.
** One story told that once, a ''ceiling'' fell on a Nintendo 64. The only thing that happened to it was that the reset button got stuck. Other than that, it was as good as new.
** Averted, sadly, with the Nintendo 64 control stick. It was built in such a way that the plastic quickly wore itself down from the rotation (the original ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' being a frequent offender), resulting in a loose stick with extreme center play. It's also possible after the stick is sufficiently worn out for it to be accidentally pushed down into the controller, where it gets stuck and can no longer be used at all. On the other hand, it uses optical encoders instead of potentiometers like later Nintendo controllers, which are significantly more durable and precise due to their contactless nature. It's a shame that the mechanical gimbal and pivot assembly can't hold up compared to the sensors.
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, that goofy purple lunchbox:
** The top of the disk case is a weak point, but with the open button taped down, the system will survive most anything.
** One unit was demonstrated to survive being bludgeoned with bats, thrown like a ball, and towed on pavement by a moving car. It still worked.
** There are also stories of people using a [=GameCube=] and controller as an ImprovisedWeapon in self defense against a knife-wielding street mugger, with no lasting damage to the GCN.
** In an ''Series/XPlay'' segment called "Webb of Destruction", Morgan Webb attempted to destroy a UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, an UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} and a [=GameCube=]. She performed three destructive stunts: dropping a weight on each system, hitting each console with a sledgehammer, and dropping each system from a height. After each stunt, the systems were tested to see if they still worked. The [=GameCube's=] lid quickly snapped off, but this had no effect on its functionality, and it was the last console to be able to play games, or indeed to start up at all. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioWnoOjP9IA Take a look.]]
*** The show references this further when it mentioned the next [[Franchise/StarWars Death Star]] will be made of the hardest material known to man: used Game Boy Advances.
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS:
** The DS has a slightly less reputable history, most especially the DS Lite, which was prone to hinge problems. The joint just below the R button can weaken and snap very easily, leaving a broken R button (which most games use as a major button) or a free swinging topscreen. Then, it only takes one clumsy drop just right for the screen to snap out of the right side and the wires on the left to be strained enough to render the topscreen almost unusable. All editions of the DS were prone to the L and R buttons occasionally going haywire. By the time of the XL, these had mostly been rectified, which carried over to the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]].
** GB, GBA, and DS cartridges have all gone through their share of washers and driers and continued working without an issue. In many cases even the cartridge labels are still intact.
** As detailed in [[http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Pokemon-HeartGold-Version-SoulSilver-Version/Iwata-Asks-Pokemon-HeartGold-Version-SoulSilver-Version/4-The-Power-of-Science-is-Staggering-/4-The-Power-of-Science-is-Staggering--226003.html one installment]] of ''Iwata Asks'', the DS game ''Walk with me! Do you know your walking routine?'' (''Personal Trainer: Walking'' in North America) came packaged with a pedometer called the Activity Meter. Tsunekaz Ishihara lost his while walking his dog, only to find it a month later, covered in mud and submerged in a puddle. Of course, it still worked perfectly.
** It's been demonstrated that even if the upper screen is removed entirely, the DS is still a perfectly functional Game Boy Advance.
** Another DS was known to have survived a trip up Mount Everest, up to altitudes that caused other electronic equipment to stop working.
* The UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}:
** The Wii Remote originally had a rather weak wrist strap, which led to a number of Remotes getting embedded in walls or [=TVs=]. Nintendo quickly updated its production with sturdier straps, but not for the Wiimote's protection: for the protection of ''everything else!'' Notice that in all those humorous pictures of embedded remotes, it is always the wall or TV that is damaged, not the remote. Later models of the Wiimote come with a rubber sleeve that is perhaps best described as a bumper.[[note]]The amount of TV damage is probably not helped by the console launch happening around the same time easily ruined flatscreen [=TVs=] started overtaking CRTs, which were covered in glass that may as well have been bulletproof.[[/note]]
** Referenced in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. After the first battle, your room looks like a tornado just hit it, but if you examine the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, you'll find that there's not even a scratch on it.
* The UsefulNotes/WiiU, despite being a commercial failure, is also Tonka Tough as well. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIQpKh9ma88 This video]] demonstrates the durability of the Wii U gamepad by dropping it from various angles. The end result: Nintendo still has it.
* The UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS:
** Your 3DS fell out of your pocket and slammed right on a concrete sidewalk? No problem! You will need to inspect your 3DS for a good minute before you locate the tiny dent of the direct impact point. You will not even lose data if it was on standby because it will have shrugged off the fall without even turning off. You may have damaged the sidewalk, though, but that's the city's problem.
** And it has been tested that a Nintendo 3DS can survive, with no damage, being kept in the left jacket pocket of the coat of a driver that hits a stationary vehicle at 35 miles per hour. However, the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable can as well.
** A [[http://imgur.com/a/AqVH9 3DS]] was ''set on fire'' and then extinguished with water. [[https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/2uo5r/my_3ds_was_in_a_fire_last_night_still_works/ It still runs]].
** A [=NeoGAF=] [[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=783075 thread]] details the story of a user whose 3DS went through a laundry machine and survived practically unscratched after few days of letting it dry inside a bag of rice.
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch:
** One [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8QCFNAgPDo YouTube channel did a drop from 1000 feet in the air]]. Thanks to the left Joy-Con taking the brunt of the landing impact, the main unit managed to survive.
** While the complaints of screen scratches on the Switch may dent Nintendo's reputation for durability, it should be noted that making the screen digitizer surface out of plastic instead of glass makes it effectively ''shatter-proof.'' Adding a tempered glass screen protector easily handles scratch resistance while not interfering with the dock, not to mention that you can easily peel it off and replace it with another if it does crack. Now go out and see how many people use smartphones with cracked screens because they couldn't afford the repairs, and you can thank Nintendo for making a ''practical'' portable device that can survive a drop.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBVyF0I2Ruo A Nintendo Switch managed to still function to the point a triangle-shaped hole was fully cut through it.]]
** However, one area that the toughness does ''not'' extend to is the joysticks on the Joy-Cons, which have been known to suffer from drift-- even the newly released Switch Lite apparently suffers, and there's currently a class-action lawsuit in progress over the issue.
* Toys/{{amiibo}} are seemingly indestructible as well. When Website/ScrewAttack did an amiibo cockfight (amiibos fight each other in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', and the loser forfeits their amiibo to be destroyed), two of the items used to destroy them (a sledgehammer and a blender) actually broke while trying to destroy one. Other testers have reported the Amiibos surviving prolonged submersion, oven temperatures, and being run over by a car. IGN also reported a Kirby Amiibo being immune to anything short of "pliers, a hacksaw and a ''lot'' of willpower".
* [[spoiler:An impersonator of]] Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime explains - in a manner that suggests that he can't decide if he's Billy Mays or the Power Thirst announcer - the hard work and dedication that goes into making Nintendo products so durable in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G1M5Mk2cVI this video.]]
* ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' once did a special where they published reader-submitted stories of Nintendo games, systems, and peripherals going through all manners of abuse and surviving anyway.
** Arguably the best story in that section came from a Hawaiian reader, who'd had his original Game Boy half-melted by close-range exposure to lava. The buttons and control pad were slagged, but the machine would still turn on and the speakers still worked.
* The durability of Nintendo consoles is referenced in the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' series, a video game series featuring MoeAnthropomorphism of video game consoles and companies. The character Blanc, who is meant to represent Nintendo home consoles, has the highest defensive stats of any playable character; her younger sisters, Rom and Ram (who collectively represent the DS family of systems), are not so durable, possibly as a reference to the more fragile nature of the original DS and DS Lite.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games - Others]]
* Not only Nintendo, but UsefulNotes/Atari2600 cartridges are also incredibly durable, to the point of being submerged in a lake long enough for the label to be demolished (making identification of the game impossible), fished out sometime in the mid 90's, and still remaining perfectly playable.
** In 2014, Microsoft excavated the legendary ''VideoGame/ETTheExtraterrestrial'' cartridges ''crushed'' then buried in the New Mexico desert back in 1983 for the documentary ''Atari: Game Over''. They still play.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Miscellaneous]]
* Timex watches, especially those manufactured in the 40s, 50, and 60s, were advertised as being nearly impossible to break, and they were. In one memorable commercial, they strapped a Timex watch to a boat's propeller and took it out for a spin in a swimming pool. Sure, the watch's ''band'' separated after about 10 minutes, but the watch itself kept running as if it had spent a peaceful day in a dresser drawer. Their slogan wasn't "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" for nothing.
* Hats made by Tilley Endurables are exactly what the company name implies. One of their favorite stories to tell is about a zookeeper whose Tilley hat was eaten by an elephant. Three times. He just waited for it to come out the other end, washed it, and kept using it.
* Lawn-Boy lawnmowers are renowned among hobbyists for their durability, particularly models with two-cycle engines. There are plenty of decades-old examples that still run like they're brand new, and it usually takes very little effort to restore a non-running mower to working order.
* Glock took a similar angle when advertising their pistols. They famously subjected the guns to cartoonishly extreme endurance tests, such as submergence in sea water for several months, to build a reputation for reliability.
** Creator/FPSRussia has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ENZioGLjMI Glock torture test video]] which starts out with the gun frozen in a block of ice, which he gets out by shooting it with another pistol. Then he tries to get all the ice out of the inside by hammering nails into wood with it, shooting it some more, and putting it in a wood stove for several minutes. The Glock was still fine, if a bit stiff. The only thing it didn't survive was having a pound of explosives detonated underneath it. Even then, there were still a couple of usable parts that could be salvaged.
* The products from Creator/WilliamsElectronics are not as tough as any of the other objects on this list, but they were able to create the illusion of such: Williams had a patent (and, unlike most of their other ones, they still own it) in which if a mechanical part broke down, other mechanical parts' duties are redistributed such that it would appear the machine was still working fine. This was particularly handy with their {{pinball}} machines: Parts break down frequently, and Williams got an edge over its competitors due to this principle's sheer lastability, allowing operators to continue to make money for years, even decades, after their machines had come out, with little to no maintenance. This trait would come back to [[GoneHorriblyRight bite them hard]]: By TheNineties, there were so many still-working Williams pinball machines in existence that Williams had trouble selling to operators, as most were already satisfied with what they had. The model simply could not function under the shrinking arcade presence in the west either, and Williams had to leave the market in 1999. Williams's system is still in use in their gambling machines, however--learning their lesson with pinball, Williams instead rents out its slot machines and video poker machines so they could continue to make money for as long as the machines remained in working condition.
* Numatic's "Henry" series of vacuum cleaners are reputed to be ''incredibly'' tough and to have extreme longevity; the company themselves brag about Henrys lasting ''decades'' in use, claiming "11 million made and most still in use today", and the independent Which? magazine ranks them as amongst the most reliable, if not ''the'' most reliable. [[note]]The reasons for this are simple: 1. Many Henrys are built for and used in commercial premises like hotels and restaurants, so they ''need'' to be built to withstand daily usage and being carted around everywhere; 2. Henrys are built to such simple designs with so few mechanical parts - more or less just a motor connected to a hose with a bag on the end - that there is very little that can actually go wrong with them; 3. The human name and presence of a cheerful smiling face on most models makes people instinctively less likely to mistreat them - it's not just "the hoover", it's "Henry".[[/note]]
[[/folder]]
----
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
TRS notice
Added DiffLines:
[[WMG:[[center:[[AC:This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1619092290093094800&page=1#comment-1 under discussion]] in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13222107430A61495000&page=1#1 Trope Repair Shop]].]]]]]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Replacing dead link
Changed line(s) 144 (click to see context) from:
** In an ''Series/XPlay'' segment called "Webb of Destruction", Morgan Webb attempted to destroy a UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, an UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} and a [=GameCube=]. She performed three destructive stunts: dropping a weight on each system, hitting each console with a sledgehammer, and dropping each system from a height. After each stunt, the systems were tested to see if they still worked. The [=GameCube's=] lid quickly snapped off, but this had no effect on its functionality, and it was the last console to be able to play games, or indeed to start up at all. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inXT-CPWoHk Take a look.]]
to:
** In an ''Series/XPlay'' segment called "Webb of Destruction", Morgan Webb attempted to destroy a UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, an UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} and a [=GameCube=]. She performed three destructive stunts: dropping a weight on each system, hitting each console with a sledgehammer, and dropping each system from a height. After each stunt, the systems were tested to see if they still worked. The [=GameCube's=] lid quickly snapped off, but this had no effect on its functionality, and it was the last console to be able to play games, or indeed to start up at all. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inXT-CPWoHk com/watch?v=ioWnoOjP9IA Take a look.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
*** This is referenced in the [[https://youtu.be/1otj2Tkqgjw original video]] for the Music/FooFighters' "Times Like These", in which (at 48 seconds) a girl throws her GBA at the band from the top of a bridge, and it lands a ways from Dave Grohl, unscathed.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 82 (click to see context) from:
* The Tonka Mighty Dump Truck was advertised as being virtually indestructible through the course of normal play, and damned near impossible to break ''outside'' of normal play. In one memorable advertisement for the truck, they had an elephant step on it, as seen at the top of this page. The truck was fine. Think about it... an eight-pound toy truck that could hold several tons of elephant foot and not break. This toughness extended (and still extends) to pretty much the entire Tonka brand, regardless of the toy. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oGjFGFA1OA A British advert]] depicted a Tonka truck and a real full-size truck being pushed over a cliff - with the full-size truck ending up a crumpled write-off and the Tonka truck still intact.
to:
* The Tonka Mighty Dump Truck was advertised as being virtually indestructible through the course of normal play, and damned near impossible to break ''outside'' of normal play. In one memorable advertisement for the truck, they had an elephant step on it, as seen at the top of this page. The truck was fine. Think about it... an eight-pound toy truck that could hold several tons of elephant foot and not break. This toughness extended (and still extends) to pretty much the entire Tonka brand, regardless of the toy. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oGjFGFA1OA A British advert]] depicted a Tonka truck and a real full-size truck being pushed over a cliff - with the full-size truck ending up a crumpled write-off and the Tonka truck still intact.[[note]]This is at least partially an example of the SquareCubeLaw in action. Because the toy is so much smaller, it is not crushed by its own weight and actually has a higher strength to weight ratio. [[/note]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Add to Computers topic
Changed line(s) 33 (click to see context) from:
* There are military grade computers that can survive being run over, dropped in water, being out in the desert and still work fine afterwards. Some can even be in close proximity to explosions and still be completely functional. Many are fitted with Thermite self-destruct charges as that's pretty much the only reliable way to destroy it without also destroying everything else.
to:
* There are military grade computers that can survive being run over, dropped in water, being out in the desert and still work fine afterwards. Some can even be in close proximity to explosions and still be completely functional. Many are fitted with Thermite self-destruct charges as that's pretty much the only reliable way to destroy it without also destroying everything else.I
* A couple of illustrative details from ROLM Corp. Mil-Spec: Cooling air INTAKE temp Max was 90 C. Then there was the amusing "300 pound hammer" test.
* A couple of illustrative details from ROLM Corp. Mil-Spec: Cooling air INTAKE temp Max was 90 C. Then there was the amusing "300 pound hammer" test.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** The 1997 Toyota Corolla also enjoys this reputation; car enthusiasts usually view it as bland, slow and boring, but incredibly cheap and indestructible.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
-->--'''Leela''' on finding an L-shaped block bent into a straight line, ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E6BendlessLove Bendless Love]]"
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 107 (click to see context) from:
* Tickle Me Elmo. There's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYGhmJD9LKc an infamous video]] of one of the later models being ''set on fire''. The toy continued giggling even after half of the body had burnt away.
to:
* Tickle Me Elmo. There's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYGhmJD9LKc an infamous video]] of one of the later [=TMX=] models being ''set on fire''. The toy continued giggling and doing it's typical motions for several minutes even after the head and half of the body had burnt away.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 21,22 (click to see context) from:
* Pre-2000 Toyota cars and trucks are well-known for being cheap, relatively easy maintenance, and being damned hard to kill. [[http://fortune.com/2014/10/27/want-to-drive-the-worlds-most-reliable-car-try-a-toyota/ Even some of their later trucks and cars are amazingly durable]], to the point where even the fellows from {{Series/Top Gear}} [[https://youtu.be/GVqQw1OCMXg tried (and failed) to kill a Toyota Hilux (Toyota Tacoma in N. America)]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_(vehicle) The down side to this is that]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War they are very popular as improvised infantry vehicles.]]
** [[http://www.toyota.com.au/hilux-tonka/ In March 2017, Toyota partnered with Tonka to create a life-size Tonka truck.]]
** [[http://www.toyota.com.au/hilux-tonka/ In March 2017, Toyota partnered with Tonka to create a life-size Tonka truck.]]
to:
* Pre-2000 Toyota cars and trucks are well-known for being cheap, relatively easy maintenance, and being damned hard to kill. [[http://fortune.com/2014/10/27/want-to-drive-the-worlds-most-reliable-car-try-a-toyota/ Even some of their later trucks and cars are amazingly durable]], to the point where even the fellows from {{Series/Top Gear}} ''{{Series/Top Gear|UK}}'' [[https://youtu.be/GVqQw1OCMXg tried (and failed) to kill a Toyota Hilux (Toyota Tacoma in N. America)]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_(vehicle) The down side to this is that]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War they are very popular as improvised infantry vehicles.]]
**[[http://www.toyota.com.au/hilux-tonka/ [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzKuCVY2pfs In March 2017, Toyota partnered with Tonka to create a life-size Tonka Hilux truck.]]
**
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 55 (click to see context) from:
* The La Baye 2x4 is known for it's odd shape and the fact that Bob Mothersbaugh of [[Music/{{Devo}} Devo]] has thrown his second one several times (once on Josh Freese while he was drumming, and another time when he ''threw it at an amplifier and broke it'') yet it was always back for another show.
to:
* The La Baye 2x4 is known for it's its odd shape and the fact that Bob Mothersbaugh of [[Music/{{Devo}} Devo]] has thrown his second one several times (once on Josh Freese while he was drumming, and another time when he ''threw it at an amplifier and broke it'') yet it was always back for another show.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 167 (click to see context) from:
* The durability of Nintendo consoles is referenced in the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' series, a video game series featuring Moe personifications of video game consoles and companies. The character Blanc, who is meant to represent Nintendo home consoles, has the highest defensive stats of any playable character; her younger sisters, Rom and Ram (who collectively represent the DS family of systems), are not so durable, possibly as a reference to the more fragile nature of the original DS and DS Lite.
to:
* The durability of Nintendo consoles is referenced in the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' series, a video game series featuring Moe personifications MoeAnthropomorphism of video game consoles and companies. The character Blanc, who is meant to represent Nintendo home consoles, has the highest defensive stats of any playable character; her younger sisters, Rom and Ram (who collectively represent the DS family of systems), are not so durable, possibly as a reference to the more fragile nature of the original DS and DS Lite.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 126 (click to see context) from:
** A couple of LetsPlay people [[ElementalRockPaperScissors decided to test]][[labelnote:*]]To explain, the methods of damaging the cartridge correspond to several of the elemental types of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. The process is [[http://lparchive.org/Pokemon-Blue/Science/ detailed on this page]][[/labelnote]] whether the old Game Boy cartridges live up to the reputation. Throwing and hitting it didn't even leave a mark. Dirt jammed into it while it's in the Game Boy? No problem. Covering the contacts in alcohol and running magnets over it? Didn't bother it. Dunking it in water finally made it fail to start. So they dried it out by ''burning a hole through the cartridge''. ''They BURNED the electronics inside the cartridge''. Also failed to start. So they waited an hour and came back to it. Presumably, the Nintendium just laughed at them as it started right up. The most fitting part? The cartridge was of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Red Version]]''.
to:
** A couple of LetsPlay people [[ElementalRockPaperScissors decided to test]][[labelnote:*]]To explain, the methods of damaging the cartridge correspond to several of the elemental types of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. The process is [[http://lparchive.org/Pokemon-Blue/Science/ detailed on this page]][[/labelnote]] whether the old Game Boy cartridges live up to the reputation. Throwing and hitting it didn't even leave a mark. Dirt jammed into it while it's in the Game Boy? No problem. Covering the contacts in alcohol and running magnets over it? Didn't bother it. Dunking it in water finally made it fail to start. So they dried it out by ''burning a hole through the cartridge''. ''They BURNED the electronics inside the cartridge''. Also failed to start. So they waited an hour and came back to it. Presumably, the Nintendium just laughed at them as it started right up. The most fitting part? The cartridge was of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Red Version]]''.Red]]''.
Changed line(s) 128 (click to see context) from:
*** Another letter from a different owner in a later issue had them claim that they had left their Game Boy Color out in the backyard to be exposed to the elements and the changing seasons for a year. They found it, cleaned it, and managed to boot it up and resume play on their copy of Pokemon Silver, and yes, the save data was still perfectly fine.
to:
*** Another letter from a different owner in a later issue had them claim that they had left their Game Boy Color out in the backyard to be exposed to the elements and the changing seasons for a year. They found it, cleaned it, and managed to boot it up and resume play on their copy of Pokemon Silver, ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Silver]]'', and yes, the save data was still perfectly fine.
Changed line(s) 141 (click to see context) from:
** In an ''Series/XPlay'' segment called "Webb of Destruction", Morgan Webb attempted to destroy a [=PlayStation=] 2, an [=Xbox=], and a [=GameCube=]. She performed three destructive stunts: dropping a weight on each system, hitting each console with a sledgehammer, and dropping each system from a height. After each stunt, the systems were tested to see if they still worked. The [=GameCube's=] lid quickly snapped off, but this had no effect on its functionality, and it was the last console to be able to play games, or indeed to start up at all. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inXT-CPWoHk Take a look.]]
to:
** In an ''Series/XPlay'' segment called "Webb of Destruction", Morgan Webb attempted to destroy a [=PlayStation=] 2, UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, an [=Xbox=], UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} and a [=GameCube=]. She performed three destructive stunts: dropping a weight on each system, hitting each console with a sledgehammer, and dropping each system from a height. After each stunt, the systems were tested to see if they still worked. The [=GameCube's=] lid quickly snapped off, but this had no effect on its functionality, and it was the last console to be able to play games, or indeed to start up at all. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inXT-CPWoHk Take a look.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 122 (click to see context) from:
* The UsefulNotes/GameBoy:
to:
* In his design paradigm for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, Creator/GunpeiYokoi decreed that among other things, a good handheld should be durable because it will be carried around a lot. The UsefulNotes/GameBoy:tales below are testaments to his success:
Changed line(s) 124 (click to see context) from:
** There are a lot stories of them surviving being thrown from apartment windows, run over by cars, flushed in toilets...
to:
** There are a lot many stories of them surviving being thrown from apartment windows, run over by cars, flushed in toilets...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 121,122 (click to see context) from:
* The [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super NES]]:
** The SNES cartridges are legendarily tough, but the SNES system can take a beating as well. Water dropped in the system? No problem. Accidentally dropped it down a set of stairs? Still works. Run it over with a car by accident while moving? The SNES shrugs it off with ease. One SNES and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' cartridge survived a fire that destroyed the rest of the house it was in!
** The SNES cartridges are legendarily tough, but the SNES system can take a beating as well. Water dropped in the system? No problem. Accidentally dropped it down a set of stairs? Still works. Run it over with a car by accident while moving? The SNES shrugs it off with ease. One SNES and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' cartridge survived a fire that destroyed the rest of the house it was in!
to:
* The [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super NES]]:
** The SNESSNES]] cartridges are legendarily tough, but the SNES system can take a beating as well. Water dropped in the system? No problem. Accidentally dropped it down a set of stairs? Still works. Run it over with a car by accident while moving? The SNES shrugs it off with ease. One SNES and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' cartridge survived a fire that destroyed the rest of the house it was in!
** The SNES
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 172,173 (click to see context) from:
* Not only Nintendo, but Atari cartridges are also incredibly durable, to the point of being submerged in a lake long enough for the label to be demolished (making identification of the game impossible), fished out sometime in the mid 90's, and still remaining perfectly playable.
** In 2014, Microsoft excavated the legendary ''VideoGame/ETTheExtraterrestrial'' cartridges ''crushed'' then buried in the New Mexico desert back in 1983. They still play.
** In 2014, Microsoft excavated the legendary ''VideoGame/ETTheExtraterrestrial'' cartridges ''crushed'' then buried in the New Mexico desert back in 1983. They still play.
to:
* Not only Nintendo, but Atari UsefulNotes/Atari2600 cartridges are also incredibly durable, to the point of being submerged in a lake long enough for the label to be demolished (making identification of the game impossible), fished out sometime in the mid 90's, and still remaining perfectly playable.
** In 2014, Microsoft excavated the legendary ''VideoGame/ETTheExtraterrestrial'' cartridges ''crushed'' then buried in the New Mexico desert back in1983.1983 for the documentary ''Atari: Game Over''. They still play.
** In 2014, Microsoft excavated the legendary ''VideoGame/ETTheExtraterrestrial'' cartridges ''crushed'' then buried in the New Mexico desert back in
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 4,6 (click to see context) from:
->''"Whoever did this ''[bending an L-shaped block into a straight line]'' was strong. This is 340 pounds of Tonka-tough steel."''
-->--'''Leela''', ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E6BendlessLove Bendless Love]]"
-->--'''Leela''', ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E6BendlessLove Bendless Love]]"
to:
->''"Whoever did this ''[bending an L-shaped block into a straight line]'' was strong. This is 340 pounds of Tonka-tough steel."''
-->--'''Leela''', -->--'''Leela''' on finding an L-shaped block bent into a straight line, ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E6BendlessLove Bendless Love]]"
