History Main / CueTheFlyingPigs

* In ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', this trope appears in the backstory. Whitmore reveals to Milo that he and Milo's grandfather Thaddeus had had a [[TheBet bet]]: If Thaddeus ever found the elusive Shepherd's Journal, Whitmore would not only finance the expedition to find Atlantis, but he'd also kiss him full on the mouth. Whitmore then shows Milo a [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/2/2b/Whitmore01.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170704231849 photo]] of himself and Thaddeus, both looking thoroughly {{squick}}ed out.

* Many expected Wrestling/VinceMcMahon, ever the ControlFreak chairman who works non-stop and gives everything that he can do to Wrestling/{{WWE}}, to stay working until his death. And yet, July 22, 2022 was the day that no one in the wrestling community expected as Vince announced his ''retirement'' from WWE. Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon will take over his position as the new chairwoman of the company while the position of booker and head of creative has been given to none other than '''''Wrestling/TripleH''''' himself. The [=McMahon=]-Helmsley era has truly began now.

* There's a Bush's Baked Beans [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwby5MIeyz0 ad]] where Duke asks Jay, "Are you ever going to let me sell the secret family recipe?" Jay replies, "Sure, when pigs fly". GilliganCut to Duke talking to a pig with improvised wings getting ready for takeoff: "Now, just buzz around the house a couple of times and that should do it."

* Inverted in Dante's ''Inferno'': Satan is imprisoned in ice. When it melts, it's gonna get bad.

* ''[[VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam and Max Beyond Time and Space]]'': In "What's New, Beelzebub?" Sybil says that they'll be serving ice cream in Hell before she lets Max conduct her wedding. Near the end of the game, both these things happen, in that order (thanks to Sam and Max escaping from a pit in the depths of Hell using Santa's sleigh, which had the side effect of causing Hell to magically freeze over). Max also gets the Nobel Peace Prize, while Sam lets Max have the phone and seriously considers working harder to lose weight. Oh, and the [[EldritchAbomination Shambling Corporate Presence]] is finally making progress at work.

* Similarly, the localization company ''Creator/XSEEDGames'' tweeted a picture of a flying pig shortly before the release of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Trails in the Sky SC]]'' following a very TroubledProduction translating the sequel, four-and-a-half years after the release of the first game.
* Creator/BlizzardEntertainment celebrated the release of a long-awaited patch for ''VideoGame/DiabloII'', with [[http://www.delorian.net/Wallpapers/DiabloII/HellFrozenOver-text-1024x.jpg a wallpaper]] featuring the Chaos Sanctuary frozen over, and Diablo himself leaning over a campfire to keep himself warm.
* A conversation in ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'' has a soldier claiming that swine will take wing before soldiers dabble in black magic, and his friend retorting that with a Grimoire's power, a sow could outfly a falcon. It later turns out that the Cardinal, as well several soldiers under his employ, are proficient in the Dark Arts.

* ''[[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1 Donkey Kong Land]]'' [[InvokedTrope invokes this trope]] with the [[{{Feelies}} Guidebook]] talking about how people shouldn't invoke the flying pigs, and then introduces a [[LiteralMinded Flying Pig enemy]] [[SelfDeprecation Hogwash]].
* In the heaven-and-hell sim ''VideoGame/Afterlife1996'', one of the disasters than can strike is Hell Freezes Over. The description reads "Once in a long while, little pieces of Hell freeze over. No one’s sure why this happens, but many Demons attribute the phenomena to [[TakeThat honest politicians, surprisingly strong dramatic performances by Madonna, and the occasional Rose Bowl appearances of Stanford and Northwestern]]." In gameplay terms it essentially freezes a chunk of your buildings temporarily and causes idle demons to pass the time and filling unzoned space by making giant unremovable snowmen that only fade when things thaw.
* Early in ''Companions of Xanth'', after an InfoDump about Literature/{{Xanth}} and magic, still skeptic Doug sarcastically remarks that he just saw a pig fly. Nada replies that [[ComicallyMissingThePoint the migration season hasn't started yet]], and he must be mistaken.

* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'', during a cutscene, late in the game, Edna comes to visit Zaveid to ask him why he was killing hellions. "Well, well, Edna coming to see me. Should I be scanning the skies for pigs?"

* In October 2019 Denise Kirby, a DUI lawyer from Kansas City, was told that a case she was scheduled to defend was set for February 3, 2020, and she asked to reschedule that trial because she said that she would be in Miami on that date to watch the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Kansas City Chiefs]] play in the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl. The courtroom laughed, as the NFL season wasn't even halfway done and the Chiefs, while looking promising with a young atheltic quarterback in Patrick Malhomes, hadn't been to a Super Bowl in fifty years; nonetheless, the judge said that if they did make it she would be granted continuance. Lo and behold, the Chiefs make it to the Super Bowl after beating the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game on January 19, Kirby [[https://www.google.com/amp/s/abovethelaw.com/2020/01/chiefs-lawyer-super-bowl/%3famp=1 filed the pleading]] for the continuance, and it was granted. Presumably she spent February 3 partying all night after the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', this trope appears in the backstory. Whitmore reveals to Milo that he and Milo's grandfather Thaddeus had had a [[TheBet bet]]: If Thaddeus ever found the elusive Shepherd's Journal, Whitmore would not only finance the expedition to find Atlantis, but he'd also kiss him full on the mouth. Whitmore then shows Milo a [[http://caps.pictures/200/1-atlantis-1080p/full/atlantis-disneyscreencaps.com-1316.jpg photo]] of himself and Thaddeus, both looking thoroughly {{squick}}ed out.

* In ''Film/NannyMcPhee'', Mrs. Blatherwick mentions "it'll be snow in August before ____" a few times throughout the story. In the end, when Mr. Brown decides to [[spoiler:marry Evangeline instead of Mrs. Quickly]], Nanny [=McPhee=] summons up [[SnowMeansLove a sudden snowfall]], leaving her to marvel at the fact that it is, in fact, the last day of August. The sequel has actual flying pigs for the same effect.

* Seen [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_391.php in this]] strip from ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures''.
** Note that Fluffy is sitting in a [[VisualPun handbasket]].
*** That is a BrickJoke referencing [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_225.php this page]]

* As seen on [[Quotes/CueTheFlyingPigs the quotes page]] this was invoked by WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic for his review of''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie'', when he found out that [[TheVoiceless Tom and Jerry]] ''talked'' in it.

* In a [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] issue of ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]] ComicBook/SteveTrevor and Etta Candy are arguing about the impossibilities involved in catching the "[[NaziNobleman Gentleman Killer]]". Within a handful of pages Di ends up riding a winged flying pig.

* ''Fanfic/SouthOfOz'': Provides the page quote for it. West requested to find her mother with Ozma's permission. He said yes, but warned that it might be fruitless. Later on, [[spoiler:West and Glinda not only got to Tamaria, but also got her out of Isolation Island, a place once deemed unsurvivable.]] When Ozma heard of this, this conversation occurs...

'''West:''' No, surprisingly enough. Anyway, [[spoiler: she is currently resting in Ev.]]

* Subverted in ''Film/AngelsInTheOutfield''. Roger's dad tells him that he'll take him out of foster care and they'll be a family again "when the Angels win the pennant", meaning never (the Angels were in last place in the standings at the All-Star Break, a little past the halfway point of the season). Roger [[InnocentInaccurate takes it literally]] and [[AchievementsInIgnorance makes it happen]] with the aid of supernatural beings. [[TearJerker/AngelsInTheOutfield His dad leaves him in the custody of the state anyway.]] [[spoiler:It gets DoubleSubverted at the very end when Roger and J.P. get adopted by the Angels' manager George Knox, who had become a ParentalSubstitute over the past few months covered by the movie, the night after the Angels do win the pennant; ExactWords come into play because Roger's prayer about wishing for the Angels baseball team to win the pennant never specified that the family he wanted out of it had to include his biological father.]]

* On ''Series/FamilyMatters'' when Laura [[RelationshipUpgrade finally agrees to go out with Steve]], Steve throws his hands up and triumphantly declares "Hell has frozen over!"
** At some earlier point in the series, After one of the many, many, many, many, ''MANY'', times Steve broke something of Cal's, Carl got even more ranty than usual, saying that Steve would only ever be allowed in that room again when He, Carl, explicitly says he can. ''"AND DO YOU KNOW WHEN THAT WILL BE, STEVE?!" "...When Hell freezes over?" "WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER, AND THE DEVIL GIVES FREE SLEIGH RIDES!!"''

* On ''Series/{{Alice|1976}}'', whenever Flo disagreed with someone, she would only agree that whatever it was the other person said would happen "when donkeys fly!".
** Her second replacement Jolene Hunnicutt[[note]]Her first was Belle Dupree, who was played by the actress who played Flo in [[Film/AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore the original movie.]][[/note]] also did this ("When pigs wear perfume!").
* ''Series/{{Lucifer}}''. Chloe Decker tells Lucifer she'll sleep with him when Hell freezes over. Lucifer replies, "I can arrange that actually!" They do eventually have sex in season five and the morning after Lucifer takes the opportunity to tease her for her earlier comment on the matter.

** As of ''Wrestling/{{Backlash}} 2016'', he's the WWE World Champion. Just to reiterate: the man who, once upon a time, was impossible to imagine competing in the Wrestling/RoyalRumble is now '''one of the top guys in the company'''.
** And as of Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura winning the 2018 Wrestling/RoyalRumble and picking him as his WM opponent? We get '''AJ vs. Nakamura main-eventing Wrestling/WrestleMania'''.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''

* ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}''

* As seen on [[Quotes/CueTheFlyingPigs the quotes page]] this was invoked by WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic for his review of the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' movie, when he found out that [[TheVoiceless Tom and Jerry]] ''talked'' in it.
* WebVideo/TheIrateGamer Dick Tracy review features an unexpected guest star... that being WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd himself, meaning that the two shows have officially done a video game review crossover together.

-->--''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

->'''Ozma:''' Did any pigs fly when you came back?\\
'''West:''' No, Surprisingly enough.
-->-- ''Fanfic/SouthOfOz''

* ''Fanfic/TheresMoreMagicOutThere'': After Chloe apologized to Marinette for how she treated her in the past and the latter seeing that the former is making a genuine effort to reform, Tikki comments that Chloe could have a heart of a hero after some time. Marinette playfully replies that she'll consider it when werewolves, vampires, or witches exist. [[DramaticIrony The premise of the fanfic is that many of Marinette's classmates are secretly monsters or magic users, including Juleka (vampire), Alix (witch), and Chloe (werewolf)]].

** "Fool Coverage", ends with one big parade of the trope. WesternAnimation/{{Daffy|Duck}} is trying to convince WesternAnimation/{{Porky|Pig}} to buy insurance. In the process, Daffy runs into mishap after mishap, and this convinces Porky to sign. He then says all he needs to get a million dollars is to get a black eye. Daffy then notes that the policy [[ImpossibleInsurance has a list of impossible conditions]] (no pigs, but there is a stampede of wild elephants). Cue Daffy's chagrin when ''every single one'' of the conditions occur...''including'' the one he made up on the spot (one baby zebra).

* Series/SpittingImage considered a flying pig was a more likely prospect to manifest than a pleasant, modest and amenable [[AmoralAfrikaner South African]]

-->'''Shilling''': What are the chances she takes out that bitch instead of [Snow]?\\
'''Jade''': Katniss Everdeen, doing something her puppet masters haven’t approved of? I think you give her too much credit. … If Katniss Everdeen has an original thought for once, I’ll take back everything I've ever said about her after three martinis. But look at her. [[EmptyShell Her wings are clipped. She’s as much a corpse as we are]]. No, Shilling, I don’t think we can be expecting any more miracles from Katniss Everdeen.\\
''<<Katniss shoots her arrow at Coin instead of Snow>>''\\
'''Jade''': Well, I have a new best friend.

--> He has his world, I have mine. As far as I know, these worlds will go on forever, circling each other like the binary planets in Erastus's book, locked in a tidal stare, with nothing short of a catastrophic asteroid hit to move them. The next spring, I reap Primrose Everdeen.

--> It's always the same. I try to think of some way this tiny child is going to survive, and can't think of one. There's nothing anyone can do. "PRIM!" I look up. The girl I noticed earlier runs forward, surging towards the stage. "Prim!" She screams again.... I sit forward, the brandy haze lifting a bit. There ''is'' something that can be done for Primrose Everdeen. It's never happened in Twelve, at least in my memory. Something that's utterly insane. "I volunteer" the older girl gasps. "I volunteer as tribute."

* In ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'', when the crew of the 42 are tracking down a fugitive Buzz on Trade World.

* At the end of the season 6 finale of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', [[StageMagician Trixie]] says that [[RealityWarper Discord]] can join in on her magic act "when pigs fly". Discord, being [[{{Troll}} Discord]], says "your wish is my command," before creating flying pigs under him and Trixie and sending them flying down the street.
* During an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'', [[SadistTeacher Miss Simian]] refuses to apologize to Gumball and Darwin after accusing them of something they didn't do, despite Principal Brown urging her to do so. She replies she'll apologize "when fish grow legs and walk out of the water". Darwin (who happens to be a fish with legs walking around on dry land) is about to reply, but Gumball immediately proceeds to cover his mouth.
* In the "It's the Truth" song in ''[[Creator/RankinBassProductions Pinnochio's Christmas]]'', Fox is trying to convince Pinnochio of his latest scam "Or may lightning strike me down!" Naturally, he spends the entire number narrowly dodging lightning bolts. To be fair, none of the lightning actually ''hits'' him- Cat, on the other hand, [[TheChewToy isn't so lucky.]]
* A ''[[WesternAnimation/TheDeputyDawgShow Deputy Dawg]]'' cartoon had the local dentist hiring Muskie and Vince to get Deputy Dawg over for a visit. After numerous chases, they eventually do. DD checks out just fine. He then tells how everyone should see a dentist. When he clarifies what he and the others went through as having Muskie and Vince earn their reward, the two critters brush it off as hogwash.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In "The Time Traveler's Pig", Stan has Soos modify a dunk tank so that the dunking mechanism can't be triggered. Soos does so, and claims that it would take "some sort of futuristic laser arm cannon" to actually set it off. Unfortunately for Stan, he didn't account for time travelers from the future who happen to have laser guns...

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeachersPet'', Mr. Jolly comes to Prettyboy one day reminding him how Prettyboy said, "It would be a hot day in December before I teach you how to sing." Mr. Jolly then shows Prettyboy a calendar and a thermometer to prove that it is indeed a hot day in December, to Prettyboy's irritation.

* An Italian soccer team has embraced a variation of this trope, but with donkeys instead of pigs. Verona hosts two soccer teams: Hellas Verona and Chievo Verona. In the past decades, the first team used to play in Serie A, while the second used to play in Serie B. Supporters of Hellas Verona even made a rhyme about this: ''Quando i mussi i volerà / faremo il derby in serie A / e sarà sempre così / Verona in A e Chievo in B''. Translated into English: ''When donkeys fly / we'll have a derby in Serie A / and it will always be like this / Verona in A and Chievo in B''. Cue 2001, when Chievo was promoted to Serie A and went on to actually play two derbies against Verona. At this point, Chievo itself embraced the trope, inserting the picture of a flying donkey in the team's website and getting the nickname "i mussi che vola" (="the flying donkeys"). For added irony, Helllas Verona were stuck in the bottom of the third division in 2007-08 (although Chievo spent their only season outside the top flight since 2002 then- they won Serie B easily, and have remained in Serie A since 2008, in spite of a terrible start to the 2008-09 season), but survived due to the financial predicaments of others, and, in 2011, managed two promotions in 3 years to return to Serie A and take on Chievo again.

* Subverted in ''Film/AngelsInTheOutfield''. Roger's dad tells him that he'll take him out of foster care and they'll be a family again "when the Angels win the pennant", meaning never (the Angels were in last place in the standings at the All-Star Break, a little past the halfway point of the season). Roger [[InnocentInaccurate takes it literally]] and [[AchievementsInIgnorance makes it happen]] with the aid of supernatural beings. [[TearJerker/AngelsInTheOutfield His dad leaves him in the custody of the state anyway.]] In the ''{{Website/Cracked}}'' spoof, Roger's friend J.P. quips "[[TakeThat It could be worse, he could've said the Padres!]]" [[spoiler:It gets DoubleSubverted at the very end when Roger and J.P. get adopted by the Angels' manager George Knox, who had become a ParentalSubstitute over the past few months covered by the movie, the night after the Angels do win the pennant; ExactWords come into play because Roger's prayer about wishing for the Angels baseball team to win the pennant never specified that the family he wanted out of it had to include his biological father.]]

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': the tuner monster [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Buten Buten]]is a walking...er flying VisualPun of this trope.

* For nearly nine years after his retirement, nobody, not even the man himself, would believe you if you said that Wrestling/{{Edge}} would wrestle again, let alone win a Wrestling/RoyalRumble and main event Wrestling/WrestleMania.

-->'''Worker 1:''' Hey, I'm going to get a lotto ticket. Want in?
-->'''Worker 2:''' Yeah, right. If you win, I'll be your pool boy.
-->'''Worker 1:''' Alright.
-->''[cut to Worker 1 lounging by a pool while Worker 2 cleans it]''
-->'''Worker 2:''' You're real literal, you know that?

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Fanfic/SouthOfOz: Provides the page quote for it. West requested to find her mother with Ozma's permission. He said yes, but warned that it might be fruitless. Later on, [[spoiler: West and Glinda not only got to Tamaria, but also got her out of Isolation Island, a place once deemed unsurvivable.]] When Ozma heard of this, this conversation occurs...
-->'''West:''' ''I bring you good news.''
-->'''Ozma:''' ''Have you managed to sort your attitude?''
-->'''West:''' ''Funny. I bring different news.''
-->'''Ozma:''' ''What is it?''
-->'''West:''' ''[[spoiler: My mother has been found and recovered.]]''
-->'''Ozma:''' ''Interesting. Where are her current whereabouts.''
-->'''West:''' ''[[spoiler: She was on Isolation Island, but me and Glinda freed her.]]''
-->'''Ozma:''' ''Did any pigs fly when you came back?''
-->'''West:''' ''No, surprisingly enough. Anyway, [[spoiler: she is currently resting in Ev.]]''

* In ''FanFic/TheVictorsProject'', Jade, the last remaining District 1 Victor and a prisoner of District 13's forces, watches Katniss's planned execution of President Snow. Her friend Shilling hopes Katniss will turn against President Coin instead, but Jade doesn't see that happening anytime soon.

* In ''Film/{{Dogma}}'' Jay propositions Bethany, and she turns him down. So he says, "What if the world was about to end?" and she agrees so he'll shut up. Fast forward all the way to the end of the movie, when Bartleby is close to unmaking reality, and Jay tries to make good on their "deal".

* In ''Film/NannyMcPhee,'' Mrs. Blatherwick mentions "it'll be snow in August before ____" a few times throughout the story. In the end, when Mr. Brown decides to [[spoiler:marry Evangeline instead of Mrs. Quickly]], Nanny [=McPhee=] summons up [[SnowMeansLove a sudden snowfall]], leaving her to marvel at the fact that it is, in fact, the last day of August. The sequel has actual flying pigs for the same effect.

* In the fourth season of ''Series/WhiteCollar,'' Neal is trying to find out [[spoiler:who killed Ellen]] by searching for the man she told him about, Sam. [[ConspiracyTheorist Mozzie]] suggests that Neal should ask for Peter's help, because Peter's FBI resources could be useful.

* On ''[[Series/{{Alice1976}} Alice,]]'' whenever Flo disagreed with someone, she would only agree that whatever it was the other person said would happen "when donkeys fly!".

* ''Series/{{Lucifer}}''. Chloe Decker tells Lucifer she'll sleep with him when Hell freezes over. Lucifer replies, "I can arrange that actually!". They do eventually have sex in season five and the morning after Lucifer takes the opportunity to tease her for her earlier comment on the matter.

'''Chloe:''' (''laughs'') Right, because I said I wouldn't have sex with you until Hell...yes, yes, you think you're very funny.

-->'''Dean:''' Yeah and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasha_grey Sasha Grey's]] gone legit.
-->'''Sam:''' Huh.
-->'''Dean:''' What?
-->'''Sam:''' Nothing...she did a [[Creator/StevenSoderbergh Soderbergh]] movie...

[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

[[folder:Theater]]

''[The cliché explodes in his face in a shower of dollar bills which Sharon drops down from the tree.]''

* Creator/BlizzardEntertainment celebrated the release of a long awaited patch for ''VideoGame/DiabloII'', with [[http://www.delorian.net/Wallpapers/DiabloII/HellFrozenOver-text-1024x.jpg a wallpaper]] featuring the Chaos Sanctuary frozen over, and Diablo himself leaning over a campfire to keep himself warm.

[[folder:Web Original]]

** We see Hell freeze over ''before'' it cuts to a half naked nerd dance around singing "I got laid! I got laid!" with a hot girl in the background saying that she thinks NerdsAreSexy.

''[A moment of [[{{Pun}} fruitless]] waiting follows.]''\\

** In "The Trial of Mr. Wolf", the Big Bad Wolf gives a heavily-biased account of the events of ''Little Red Riding Hood'' that make him look good and makes Red Riding Hood and her grandmother look bad. At the end, the Wolf is surprised to see [[JokerJury the all-wolf jury]] looking skeptical. He declares "If I'm lyin', I hope to be run over by a street car!", whereupon a street car crashes through the wall of the courtroom and runs him over. The Wolf emerges from the rubble, and sheepishly admits he ''might'' have exaggerated.

-->'''Octo:''' Aren't bad things meant to happen when pigs fly? (''cue comic slapstick'')

* Possible reference to this trope in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. The Beifong family crest is the Flying Boar, which is, well, a boar with wings. A vision of such a creature is part of what leads Aang to search for Toph. Her family crest may be a reference to how unlikely it would seem for a 12-year-old blind girl to be a master Earthbender, especially when the majority of Earthbenders shown so far were burly men. Incidentally, winged boars may be a real thing in the setting where MixAndMatchCritters abound; one episode took place on a farm with pig-chicken hybrids.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': In "Brittney's Party", [[AlphaBitch Brittney Wong]] says that she'll invite Star to her birthday party when pigs fly, so Star magically conjured up a flying pig.

'''Pig:''' Anything for you, Star. (''Brittney swats at him'') Flyin' pig don't need this.

-->'''Booster:''' These streets go on forever in every direction.
-->'''XR:''' Unless the clouds are going to open up and drop Buzz Lightyear right in our laps.
-->''(Buzz falls from above, crashes into the cockpit window, and slides off)''
-->'''Mira:''' Please tell me I'm not the only one who saw that.
-->'''XR:''' [[RetroactiveWish Why didn't I ask for money?]]

-->'''Deputy Dawg:''' If I'm not telling the truth, may the ground open up and swallow me! (''it does'')\\
'''Muskie:''' (''to Vince'') He's just sayin' that 'cause it could never happen!

* One overly complicated joke that can be found on the Internet has a graduate student answering the question of whether Hell was exothermic (releasing warmth) or endothermic (absorbing it) on his final exam, via the postulate a cheerleader had told him his freshman year, that she'd sleep with him when Hell froze over. Since he'd slept with her last week, this proved that not only did Hell exist, but it had frozen over and thus it was endothermic. There's an alternate version where, because the person ''hadn't'' slept with him, that proved that Hell was exothermic. Despite the claims that it was a real answer in a real university exam, it's not.
** The gist of the joke though is that he makes several otherwise scientific postulates, such that a soul has a certain amount of energy, and since every religion says that if you don't believe in that religion you're going to Hell i.e. everyone is going to Hell, the question becomes whether Hell is expanding faster than there are souls going into it (Hell freezes over) or it is expanding slower than the rate of souls going into it (all Hell breaks loose). Then he discards those for the punch line.

** According to a pre-2006 Russian joke: ‘At -10 degrees Celsius, heating is switched on in British homes, while Finns change into a long-sleeved shirt. At -20, Austrians fly to Málaga, while Finns celebrate midsummer. At -200, Hell freezes over and Finland wins the Eurovision Song Contest. At -273 absolute zero temperature is reached, all atom movement ceases. The Finns shrug and say: “Perkele, a bit chilly today, isn't it?”’

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': the tuner monster [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Buten Buten]]is walking...er flying VisualPun of this trope.

* [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=590 Happens]] in ''Webcomic/{{PHD}}''.