History Main / CartoonBomb

This actually has a basis in history: before the mid-19th century, contact or proximity fuses for detonating explosive payloads had yet to be developed. The only means by which an explosive shell or bomb could be feasibly detonated from a distance was by a slow-burning match cord. In Western militaries, these weapons often took the shape of an iron sphere with a match cord sticking out of one end, and the cartoon bomb ''is'' actually [[AluminumChristmasTree a realistic representation of such ammunition]]. The resemblance to cannonballs is not coincidence; they were often designed to be fired out of cannons, or rather carronades, mortars or howitzers. (The "bombs bursting in air" from the traditional US song "[[NationalAnthem The Star-Spangled Banner]]" were of this variety.) A skilled bombardier could estimate how long it would take for the bomb to fly to the assumed target and cut the fuse to appropriate length so that the bomb would explode exactly at the desired moment.

This actually has a basis in history: before the mid-19th century, contact or proximity fuses for detonating explosive payloads had yet to be developed. The only means by which an explosive shell or bomb could be feasibly detonated from a distance was by a slow-burning match cord. In Western militaries, these weapons often took the shape of an iron sphere with a match cord sticking out of one end, and the cartoon bomb actually ''is'' [[TruthInTelevision a realistic representation of such ammunition]]. The resemblance to cannonballs is not coincidence; they were often designed to be fired out of cannons, or rather carronades, mortars or howitzers. (The "bombs bursting in air" from the traditional US song "[[NationalAnthem The Star-Spangled Banner]]" were of this variety.) A skilled bombardier could estimate how long it would take for the bomb to fly to the assumed target and cut the fuse to appropriate length so that the bomb would explode exactly at the desired moment.

This actually has a basis in history: before the mid-19th century, contact or proximity fuses for detonating explosive payloads had yet to be developed. The only means by which an explosive shell or bomb could be feasibly detonated from a distance was by a slow-burning match cord. In Western militaries, these weapons often took the shape of an iron sphere with a match cord sticking out of one end, and the cartoon bomb actually ''is'' [[AluminumChristmasTrees a realistic representation of such ammunition]]. The resemblance to cannonballs is not coincidence; they were often designed to be fired out of cannons, or rather carronades, mortars or howitzers. (The "bombs bursting in air" from the traditional US song "[[NationalAnthem The Star-Spangled Banner]]" were of this variety.) A skilled bombardier could estimate how long it would take for the bomb to fly to the assumed target and cut the fuse to appropriate length so that the bomb would explode exactly at the desired moment.

* Bob-Ombs in ''Film/SuperMarioBros''. They're ''tiny,'' about the size of a golf-ball, yet they're the most feared weapon in all of Dinohattan. Mario pulling one out of his work belt is enough to send a large crowd of people [[OhCrap running in a blind panic!]]

As Cartoon Bombs generally tend to appear in cartoons and comics, they usually tend to not do any serious damage -- at least to characters. They may cause damage to their inanimate surroundings, but usually, the worst a victim within the blast range suffers is ClothingDamage and AshFace, both of which are usually healed by the next scene. As a result, when a Cartoon Bomb is seen in a work, it tends to be more of a slapstick prop as opposed to a deadly weapon. Despite these bombs being very old-fashioned, they're prominently used in many video games, since the black-ball with sparky fuse is very iconic and quickly recognized by players.

* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': In the book ''Le Grand Duc'', the Russian anarchist assassin is shown throwing these all along the path of the Grand Duke and his adjutant. [[spoiler: Naturally, they all fail.]] The anarchist is then heard to yell ''Неудача!'' ("[[BilingualBonus Fail!]]") every time he fails.

* ''Webcomic/MountainTime'' occasionally underscores bizarre Aesops (such as "Don't rush to conclusions when [[http://mountaincomics.com/2010/07/22/we-are-the-future-so-you-dont-have-to/ identifying bricks]]" or "Never question a [[http://mountaincomics.com/2011/09/01/mountain-time-292/ constricted cowboy]]") with scenes depicting a cartoon bomb using various methods to kill a cartoon steak.

* ''Webcomic/SquareRootOfMinusGarfield'' features them in a few strips - one [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=265 blows up a pool]] [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=818 and Garfield himself]], to say nothing of the aptly titled [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=298 "A Bomb"]].

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Diane, Charlotte, and Andrea find themselves fighting a spider-vampire [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2154 wielding six such bombs at once]].

* A Finnish fireworks gadget, ''Tykinlaukaus'' ("Cannon Shot") is a tennis ball size spere of black styrofoam with black powder inside. Equipped with a thread fuse, it is intended to look exactly like the cartoon bomb.

* ''Film/BatmanTheMovie'' has a hilarious scene revolving around trying to dispose of one of these. Oh, Batman. Because asking a nun to get out of your way [[WhatAnIdiot is apparently more difficult than not]] running a bomb all around town when you have no idea when it's going off!

[[folder:Softwares]]

* One of these maimed Creator/HaroldLloyd early in his career. When on a photoshoot, he was handed one to hold. Thinking it was an inert prop, he jokingly lit it with his cigarette. [[StuffBlowingUp It wasn't.]] In the end, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he lost a couple of fingers on his right hand, was temporarily blinded and suffered some lacerations to his face.]][[note]]For the rest of his life, he was doing those insane stunts such as in ''Film/SafetyLast'' with ''only three fingers on his right hand.''[[/note]] He was well and truly lucky that that was the extent of his injuries. [[DontTryThisAtHome Whenever something looks like an explosive, treat it as such -- you may not be as lucky as Lloyd.]]

* One of these maimed Creator/HaroldLloyd early in his career. When on a photoshoot, he was handed one to hold. Thinking it was an inert prop, he jokingly lit it with his cigarette. [[StuffBlowingUp It wasn't.]] In the end, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he lost a couple of fingers on his right hand, was temporarily blinded and suffered some lacerations to his face.]] [[note]]for the rest of his life, he was doing those insane stunts such as in ''Film/SafetyLast'' with ''only three fingers on his right hand.''[[/note]] He was well and truly lucky that that was the extent of his injuries. [[DontTryThisAtHome Whenever something looks like an explosive, treat it as such -- you may not be as lucky as Lloyd.]]

* [=BomberNanimon=] from ''Anime/DigimonSavers''...provided you aren't watching the American dub. [=BomberNanimon=] also appeared in the card game and some of the video games, and in these media, he avoided the {{Macekre}}.

* CartoonBomb/{{Film}}

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': One such bomb appears in Season 4 episode 32. Little M. is carrying several of them, and one of them drops next to a cannon; Little M. lights the bomb instead of the cannon, causing it to blow up on he and Big M.
* In ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf: Smart Dodging'' episode 29, the wolves throw bombs at the gate to Goat Village. The bombs they use are the typical cartoon bombs that are black in color, shaped like a sphere, and have a fuse at the top.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''The Literature/AnarchistCookbook'': A caricature of "[[BombThrowingAnarchists the crazed anarchist]]" holding one of these appears at the beginning of chapter 4.
* In one of Duncan Ball's ''Selby'' books, a librarian is seen brandishing one of these bombs and threatening to blow it up. [[spoiler:Subverted because it turns out to be made out of papier mâché.]]
* In the thirteenth book of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles, Ghost Story,'' the army of ghosts uses some of these, along with the 'pineapple' grenades, when [[ItMakesSenseInContext Harry leads them to reenact the storming of Normandy Beach]].

[[folder:Magazines]]
* ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'''s "ComicStrip/SpyVsSpy".
* ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'': One of Creator/CharlesAddams' cartoons features a hobo carrying a large paper bag with a fuse sticking out asking the guy sitting next to him on a park bench, "Got a match, fella?"
* A ''Geek Monthly'' photoshoot from 2007 with ''Series/TwentyFour'' star Mary Lynn Rajskub had action photos of her holding such a bomb [[http://www.24spoilers.com/2007/03/27/mary-lynn-rajskub-geek-monthly-photo-shoot-and-interview/ (seen here at 24spoilers.com).]]

[[folder:Music Videos]]
* Music/{{Garbage}}'s video for "Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough" ended with the band performing in front of a giant metal globe with a lit fuse sticking out. However, that was just a stage prop; the real bomb was the robot clone of Shirley Manson, who had [[KissOfDeath killed]] and replaced the original.
* In Music/TheAlanParsonsProject's video for "Let's Talk About Me", the neglected wife uses this to take out her lazy husband. He unwittingly picks it up and uses it to light his cigar. Unaware of the danger, he then sets the bomb back on the table, where it rolls off and makes its way into the bathroom where the wife is hiding ... BOOM!

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'': Newt Gingrich, during his time as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, appeared as one.
* One of the most well known of the controversial Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons featured the prophet with one of these in place of his turban.

[[folder:Operating Systems]]
* The UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh used the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomb_(symbol) bomb symbol]] in its "Sorry, a system error occurred" alert box (before OS X).
** To show UsefulNotes/MacOS X's new memory system, during one demo Apple showed an application built specifically to crash — which now didn't lock up the entire OS. The application was called "Bomb.app", and featured the fuse on a cartoon bomb burning until the bomb went off.
** The old Mac program Sound Edit had a fake system error box with an exploding bomb, followed by an icon of a blown-out computer when you selected "About Sound Edit".
* The UsefulNotes/AtariST used the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Row_of_bombs row of bombs]] to indicate system crashes.
* In some UsefulNotes/{{Linux}} distributions (for example SUSE 10), the default wallpaper for "root" user is the bomb on red background. To emphasize how dangerous it is to work as a superuser.
* [[https://emojipedia.org/bomb/ There's an emoji for that.]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

[[folder:Other]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Subverted, during TheLowMiddleAges (Ca.1300) when gunpowder was discovered in Europe, they made [[{{BFG}} big ass]] [[HandCannon hand cannons]] which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, [[BoomStick a cannon attached to a wooden base]], and hand grenades which have the same form as the "cartoon" bomb, and it has a fuse made of hemp. Now, [[FridgeLogic why is this a subversion]]?. Because they weren't made of metal, but rather [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/88/04/10/88041033a5839ce456a9aa2566d48f3d.jpg they were made]] [[FridgeBrilliance from clay]], if they were made of metal they wouldn't be able to explode, the only metal part is the caltrops that were contained in the bomb. [[http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/7617/Medieval_Grenade_1.jpg Here, take a look.]] these were used until UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar.
* One of these maimed Creator/HaroldLloyd early in his career. When on a photoshoot, he was handed one to hold. Thinking it was an inert prop, he jokingly lit it with his cigarette. [[StuffBlowingUp It wasn't.]] In the end, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he lost a couple of fingers on his right hand, was temporarily blinded and suffered some lacerations to his face.]] [[note]]for the rest of his life, he was doing those insane stunts such as in ''Film/SafetyLast'' with ''only three fingers on his right hand.''[[/note]] He was well and truly lucky that that was the extent of his injuries. [[DontTryThisAtHome Whenever something looks like an explosive, treat it as such -- you may not be as lucky as Lloyd.]]
[[/folder]]

* One of these maimed Creator/HaroldLloyd early in his career. When on a photoshoot, he was handed one to hold. Thinking it was an inert prop, he jokingly lit it with his cigarette. [[StuffBlowingUp It wasn't.]] In the end, [[RealityEnsues he lost a couple of fingers on his right hand, was temporarily blinded and suffered some lacerations to his face.]] [[note]]for the rest of his life, he was doing those insane stunts such as in ''Film/SafetyLast'' with ''only three fingers on his right hand.''[[/note]] He was well and truly lucky that that was the extent of his injuries. [[DontTryThisAtHome Whenever something looks like an explosive, treat it as such -- you may not be as lucky as Lloyd.]]

This actually has a basis in history: before the mid-19th century, contact or proximity fuses for detonating explosive payloads had yet to be developed. The only means by which an explosive shell or bomb could be feasibly detonated from a distance was by a slow-burning match cord. In Western militaries, these weapons often took the shape of an iron sphere with a match cord sticking out of one end, and the CartoonBomb actually ''is'' [[AluminumChristmasTrees a realistic representation of such ammunition]]. The resemblance to cannonballs is not coincidence; they were often designed to be fired out of cannons, or rather carronades, mortars or howitzers. (The "bombs bursting in air" from the traditional US song "[[NationalAnthem The Star-Spangled Banner]]" were of this variety.) A skilled bombardier could estimate how long it would take for the bomb to fly to the assumed target and cut the fuse to appropriate length so that the bomb would explode exactly at the desired moment.

* A Finnish fireworks gadget, ''Tykinlaukaus'' ("Cannon Shot") is a tennis ball size spere of black styrofoam with black powder inside. Equipped with a thread fuse, it is intended to look exactly like the CartoonBomb.

* Zeeky H. Bomb from ''WebVideo/TheDementedCartoonMovie''. He's also sentient and capable of talking, but the only things he ever says are, "Here I am!", "Uh..." and, most frequently, "[[TheScottishTrope Zeeky Boogy Doog]]".

* ''Manga/ToLoveRu'': Saki Tenjouin [[http://www.onemanga.com/to-LOVE-ru/84/11/ uses one]] in the sports festival.

* The opening of ''LightNovel/HaiyoreNyarkoSan W'' has a blue bomb with a pink heart get passed around between the main cast members; when it finally explodes (while Nyarko is offering it to Mahiro), it just sprays streamers everywhere.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': While the explosive in the actual comic is of a sleek silver inconspicuous design the cover for issue #47 depicts Wonder Woman and a robot duplicate fighting over a round black bomb with a lit fuse.

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]

[[folder: Operating Systems]]

[[folder: Professional Wrestling]]

[[folder:{{Toys}}]]

[[folder: Web Animation]]

[[folder: Webcomics]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Other]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

* Ash from ''Webcomic/LatchkeyKingdom'' has an affinity for explosives, and is introduced carrying a bag full of Cartoon Bombs to throw at intruders to her cave.

* These are used in ''Pinball/NoGoodGofers'', which is a given as it stars two {{Screwy Squirrel}}s.

* Subverted, during TheLowMiddleAges (Ca.1300) when gunpowder was discovered in Europe, they made [[{{BFG}} big ass]] [[HandCannon hand cannons]] which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, [[BoomStick a cannon attached to a wooden base]], and hand grenades which have the same form as the "cartoon" bomb, and it has a fuse made of hemp. Now, [[FridgeLogic why is this a subversion]]?. Because they weren't made of metal, but rather [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/88/04/10/88041033a5839ce456a9aa2566d48f3d.jpg they were made]] [[FridgeBrilliance from clay]], if they were made of metal they wouldn't be able to explode, the only metal part is the caltrops that contain the bomb itself. [[http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/7617/Medieval_Grenade_1.jpg Here, take a look.]] these were used until UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar.