History Main / IdeaBulb

* A Creator/DonMartin cartoon in MAD had a brain surgeon cut open a patient's skull and find a lightbulb (in a socket attached to a cord) inside the head. When the surgeon turns the light on, the patient makes the Aha! reaction.

* In the animated series of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'', Beetlejuice gets one, but has ''no'' idea why it's there. He looks up at it and wonders if it means he's gotten an idea.

* In a ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' spinoff game starring Seriri, in one part, [[note]]Which has ''Masked Satan'' in said part.[[/note]] [[http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/HernanZh/DS/seriri3.png Seriri gets this.]]

A character thinks and thinks... then, suddenly, has a bright idea! A light bulb turns itself on directly above the character's head. Often with character pointing one index fingers upwards. Sometimes accompanied by an IdeaDing.

* A commercial for Red Bull energy drink has Thomas Edison attempting to invent the light bulb. One of his employees brings him a Red Bull, which he drinks; this trope results...and he takes the bulb and screws it into the socket.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBeatles'' cartoon "You Really Got a Hold on Me", the four are lost in a jungle with a jeep that stopped working. After applying thought Ringo gets an idea with the cliche bulb over the head image. Catch here is a huge snake appears and swallows the bulb! Then on the reptile shines a beacon every time it opens its mouth!

* ''Series/SavedByTheBell'': Zack hears that tomorrow is a Jewish holiday; a menorah appears over his head, and he decides to get excused so he can see a baseball game. (Yes, it's in live-action too.)
* Parodied by Dr. Cox in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': "[[LopsidedDichotomy Either]] this kid's [[DontTryThisAtHome got a light bulb up his butt]] or [[TooDumbToLive his colon has a great idea]]." Just to mention, this does happen in RealLife. It is ''extremely'' dangerous and often deadly, because if the bulb breaks you can die. [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle So don't do it]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': Jimmy gets an idea, and a lightbulb appears above his head, which is promptly seized by the school janitor since a light went out in the teacher's lounge.

* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story arc ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'' has a light bulb appear above SelfDemonstrating/{{Bizarro}}'s head when he figures out an easy way to explain his predicament to Supergirl. Bizarro being Bizarro, the light bulb is broken.

* Music/{{Starflyer 59}}'s "Lose My Mind":

* The [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Donald Duck comics]] "Archimede e la spedizione all'eurekannone" has the characters head to a realm inhabited by a tribe, responsible for creating brilliant ideas and spreading them all over the globe. The ideas, it turns out, all look like light bulbs when in physical form.

** In "Love is in the N₂-O₂-Ar-CO₂-Ne-He-CH₄", Professor Frink dismisses his idea bulb because it wasn't eco-friendly, with a fluorescent bulb appearing in it's place afterwards.

* Parodied by Dr. Cox in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': "[[LopsidedDichotomy Either]] this kid's [[DontTryThisAtHome got a light bulb up his butt]] or [[TooDumbToLive his colon has a great idea]]." Just to mention, this does happen in RealLife. It is ''extremely'' dangerous and often deadly, because if the bulb breaks you can die. [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle So don't do it]]. [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop Find a safe object to put up there]].

'''Harley''': ''(looks up at the bulb that appeared)'' [[LampshadeHanging Oh, it's back again...]]?

Also, this trope may have been invented in reference to a Mr. UsefulNotes/ThomasEdison having a great idea about something... what was it again?[[labelnote:*]]Oh yes! [[AreYouPonderingWhatImPondering The phonograph.]] The lightbulb? No, he [[CommonKnowledge didn't actually invent that one.]][[/labelnote]] (Or it could just be the concept of [[{{Pun}} enlightenment. Or having a bright idea.]])

-->'''Frasier:''' Niles, do you see a light bulb over my head?
-->'''Niles:''' You have an idea?
-->'''Frasier:''' ''[heavy sarcasm]'' ... [[AskAStupidQuestion No, Niles. I'm asking if there's actually a light bulb over my head]].

* In ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians 2: Patch's London Adventure'', when Thunderbolt gets an idea, he's conveniently under a sign shaped like a lightbulb.

* Played with in ''Film/HomeAlone 2''. The concierge (played by Creator/TimCurry) of the hotel where Kevin is staying gets suspicious and runs a check on Kevin's father's credit card; when he finds the card was reported stolen, a light in an alcove over his head suddenly turns on. Although given the devilish smile on Curry's face at this point, the modern, oval-shaped bulb could also (ironically) symbolise a [[HolyHalo halo]], given that the concierge is planning something dastardly.

* In the ''Series/GoodEats'' episode "Use Your Noodle 2", host Alton Brown prepares ravioli. At one point, Alton struggles with being able to secure a hand-operated pasta machine onto his kitchen counter. Unable to do so, a light bulb turns on over his head, prompting him to use a run-of-the-mill ironing board for his [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal pasta prep procedure]].

'''Harley''': ''(looks up at the bulb that appeared)'' Oh, it's back again...?

->'''Tyler!''': Harley? What the ''(caw)'' is that?!\\