History Main / PlungerDetonator

* ''TheThing''. The remaining crew members set up dynamite charges to blow up the base, with a detonator to set them off. Unfortunately the title monster grabs it before they can use it, but TheHero improvises.

* In ''[[{{Tintin}} Destination Moon]]'', a plunger detonator is used to remotely destroy the rocket [=X-FLR6=].

* Two bad guys attempt to use this on a bridge that the titular car is passing over in ChittyChittyBangBang. Implausibly, the explosives don't explode, but the detonator itself does, resulting in AshFace.

* Three of the castle destruction cutscenes in ''SuperMarioWorld'' featured Mario/Luigi jumping on a plunger detonator. One worked as expected. One caused the castle to launch like a rocket. The third [[WheresTheKaboom seemed to fizzle until Mario/Luigi got close]].

* Doesn't ''UnrealTournament'' have this on the Overlord assault level? I might be wrong on this one, though.

[[LooneyTunes http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Detonator_6550.jpg]]
[[caption-width:446:[[AcmeProducts Acme]] detonators, for all your demolition needs.]]

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!!Examples:

[[AC:{{Advertising}}]]
* In at least one Federated Superstores commercial from the 1980's, Fred Rated (Shadoe Stevens) uses one.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* In the ''AchilleTalon'' album "La Traversée du Disert", a demolition worker uses one to set off charges in a stone quarry--where, unbeknownst to him, the protagonists have ended up. He is prevented in the nick of time from pressing the plunger, only to sit on it by accident the next minute.
* The bass tuba in ''The Hoffnung Symphony Orchestra'' has a plunger detonator attached and a "go" light standing near.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* ''{{Patton}}''. During the Battle of the Bulge a German soldier uses one to detonate some explosives and start an avalanche onto an American column. Combines HollywoodHistory with DidNotDoTheResearch because no such incident ever happened and real German detonators used a clockwork mechanism using a handle that ''turned''.
* ''TheThing''. The remaining crew members set up dynamite charges to blow up the base, with a detonator to set them off. Unfortunately the title monster grabs it before they can use it, but TheHero improvises.
* ''BattleOfTheBulge'' (1965). A group of US [=MP=]s (actually German paratroopers in disguise) are pretending to rig a bridge behind American lines for demolition while actually holding for their own army. Part of their act includes having two men ostentatiously hook up a detonator while other men pretend to rig charges. Everyone is fooled until the squad of U.S. Army engineers actually assigned to blow the bridge arrives and immediately protests such a clear (and stupid) violation of basic safety procedures and get shot dead for their trouble.
* ''BlazingSaddles''. Sheriff Bart tries to use one to detonate the explosives in the fake Rock Ridge and blow up the villains, but it doesn't work. The Waco Kid has to set them off with a shot from his revolver.
* Pretty sure it was used in ''TheVillain''. (But that's rather expected, since that movie was largely a live-action cartoon.)

* ''[[{{Ptitle2tyh4gpfa5lj}} Ocean's Eleven]]'': When Reuben's old building is blown up.
* One is a big part of a major scene in ''TheBridgeOnTheRiverKwai''. In fact, what happens at the end with it is actually another DeadHorseTrope. Going to use a spoiler tag: [[spoiler:The dying guy falling on the Plunger Detonator is a DeadHorseTrope]].
* ''The Bridge At Remagen'' has the Germans use a plunger detonator to try to demolish the eponymous bridge to prevent it from being captured, only to have it fail because the wires were damaged in the fighting. Also counts as a CriticalResearchFailure since the German army didn't use this type of detonator as noted above.
* I remember the protagonists using the modern ones in ''Tremors 2'' - explosives strapped to remote-control cars which they got the land-sharks to eat before blowing them sky high.
* In the opening scene of ''Film/TheParty'' [[PeterSellers Hrundi V. Bakshi]] rests his foot on the handle of one of these to tie his shoelace, causing the premature demolition of a film set.
* The Dragon uses one of these to blow up a train in the ''JonahHex'' movie.
* Pretty sure I recall Professor Fate using one of these in ''TheGreatRace'', but I can't recall the specific instance.
* A couple of these show up next to a rack of hand grenades in an early scene in ''The Ipcress File''. Palmer pushes the handle of one down, presumably to see if it's connected to anything.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In ''[[McAuslan The Sheikh and the Dustbin]]'', GeorgeMacDonaldFraser tells of a piece of outside-the-box thinking used by an eccentric brother officer to put down a riot in Egypt circa 1945: He wired up a plunger to an (empty) crate and parked the crate on a bridge in full view of an angry mob that was about to cross it. As soon as the plunger was raised ready for "blasting", the crowd dispersed with extreme alacrity.

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]
* [[TheMuppets Crazy Harry]] loved these.
* The ''{{Mythbusters}}'' use these occasionally, with an arming device for safety, but usually just go with a BigRedButton.
* ''YoungIndianaJones'': I seem to remember a scene where Indy had to put the plunger back into such a detonator just in time or something.
* Often used by our saboteur heroes on''[[HogansHeroes Hogan's Heroes]]'' when time bombs were not sufficient. In one case they even got their Nazi 'captor' to press the plunger himself, under the impression that he had loaded the tunnel with fake dynamite while pretending to be one of the Allies.
* On ''Richard Hammonds Blast Lab'', the losing team has to press down a plunger to blow up their prizes.
* Several episodes of the US version of ''{{Distraction}}'' featured the winning contestant having to push down a plunger that would randomly blow up one of his or her prizes for each question missed in the final round.
* {{Nickelodeon}}'s ''Wild and Crazy Kids'' used these on occasion, most memorably to blow up sandcastles.
* TheMonkees occasionally tried to use one, by clipping two alligator cables to whatever they were trying to blow up, then pushing the plunger on a hand-sized box, at which point something ''else'' would blow up.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Used in ''RedDeadRedemption'' once or twice.
* There's a used one in one of the ''{{Submachine}}'' games, surrounded by soot and bits of clothing.
* Used in the ''HalfLife'' demo, "Uplink", and in the ''HalfLife: Blue Shift'' expansion in the "Power Struggle" level.
* Doesn't ''UnrealTournament'' have this on the Overlord assault level? I might be wrong on this one, though.
* In the XboxLiveArcade version of ''SettlersOfCatan'', one of the [[EmoteAnimation emote animations]] shows a player using one of these to blow up the dice. The AI sometimes uses it when it has a run of particularly bad rolls.
* In ''SeriousSam'' series, it can be found in a few places. It's a trigger marker by default though.
* ''{{Blood}}'' includes this on the "Thin Ice" secret level.
* Three of the castle destruction cutscenes in ''SuperMarioWorld'' featured Mario/Luigi jumping on a plunger detonator. One worked as expected. One caused the castle to launch like a rocket. The third [[WheresTheKaboom seemed to fizzle until Mario/Luigi got close]].
* In the Glitter Gulch Mine level of ''[[{{Banjo-Kazooie}} Banjo-Tooie]]'', Banjo and Kazooie could transform into a detonator. Its explosions were self-damaging but [[NonFatalExplosions not necessarily fatal]].

[[AC:WebComic]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* A staple accessory of ''LooneyTunes'' characters, especially Wile E. Coyote.
* ''JonnyQuest'' TOS episode "The Quetong Missile Mystery". The guards use these to detonate underwater mines to blow up intruding boats. At the end the BigBad suffers a KarmicDeath when he shoots one of the guards, who falls on the detonator and detonates a mine under the BigBad's boat.
* On ''TheSimpsons'' Sideshow Bob's brother Cecil uses one of these to try to blow up Springfield Dam.

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As often as not, a comedic character attempting to use it results in WheresTheKaboom? Alternatively, a comedic character may accidentally set it off early (or during the moment of relief after an explosive crisis has been averted) by absently sitting or leaning on the handle.

* In ''The Sheikh and the Dustbin'', [=~George MacDonald Fraser~=] tells of a piece of outside-the-box thinking used by an eccentric brother officer to put down a riot in Egypt circa 1945: He wired up a plunger to an (empty) crate and parked the crate on a bridge in full view of an angry mob that was about to cross it. As soon as the plunger was raised ready for "blasting", the crowd dispersed with extreme alacrity.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In ''The Sheikh and the Dustbin'', [=~George MacDonald Fraser~=] tells of a piece of outside-the-box thinking used by an eccentric brother officer to put down a riot in Egypt circa 1945: He wired up a plunger to an (empty) crate and parked the crate on a bridge in full view of an angry mob that was about to cross it. As soon as the plunger was raised ready for "blasting", the crowd dispersed with extreme alacrity.

* ''OceansEleven'': When Reuben's old building is blown up.

* In the opening scene of ''TheParty'' [[PeterSellers Hrundi V. Bakshi]] rests his foot on the handle of one of these to tie his shoelace, causing the premature demolition of a film set.

* A couple of these show up next to a rack of hand grenades in an early scene in ''TheIpcressFile''. Palmer pushes the handle of one down, presumably to see if it's connected to anything.

* The {{Mythbusters}} use these occasionally, with an arming device for safety, but usually just go with a BigRedButton.

* ''{{Patton}}''. During the Battle of the Bulge a German soldier uses one to detonate some explosives and start an avalanche onto an American column. Combines HollywoodHistory with CriticalReseachFailure since no such incident ever happened and real German detonators used a clockwork mechanism using a handle that ''turned''.

This detonator is usually a plain square box with a plunger on top and wires attached. Although a DeadHorseTrope in RealLife, it is ubiquitous in classic WesternAnimation and frequently encountered in VideoGames and action stories set between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. In the real world these are actually called "blasting machines" because the plunger spins a little magneto (similar to the one in an old-fashioned hand-crank phone) to generate the electricity needed to detonate the explosives.

This detonator is usually a plain square box with a plunger on top and wires attached. Although a DeadHorseTrope in RealLife, it is ubiquitous in classic WesternAnimation and frequently encountered in VideoGames and action stories set between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries.

* ''{{Patton}}''. During the Battle of the Bulge a German soldier uses one to detonate some explosives and start an avalanche onto an American column.

* ''BattleOfTheBulge'' (1965). A group of [=MP=]s (actually Nazi soldiers in disguise) are pretending that they're going to blow up a bridge with one of these. A group of U.S. Army engineers happens by, notices that their wires are hooked up wrong and gets shot dead for their trouble.

* At least one WorldWarII movie has the Germans using one of these to blow up a bridge and it fails to work (most likely the wires got damaged during fighting or it was improperly wired to begin with).
** Probably Nijmegen bridge in ABridgeTooFar.

* TheMonkees occasionally tried to use one, by clipping two alligator cables to whatever they were trying to blow up, then pushing the plunger on a hand-sized box, at which point something ''else'' would bloe up.

* ''Battle of the Bulge'' (1965). A group of [=MP=]s (actually Nazi soldiers in disguise) are pretending that they're going to blow up a bridge with one of these. A group of U.S. Army engineers happens by, notices that their wires are hooked up wrong and gets shot dead for their trouble.

* ''Oceans11'': When Reuben's old building is blown up.

* On ''TheSimpsons'' Sideshow Bob's brother Cecil uses one of these to try to blow up Springfield Dam.

* In ''The Sheikh and the Dustbin'', George MacDonald Fraser tells of a piece of outside-the-box thinking used by an eccentric brother officer to put down a riot in Egypt circa 1945: He wired up a plunger to an (empty) crate and parked the crate on a bridge in full view of an angry mob that was about to cross it. As soon as the plunger was raised ready for "blasting", the crowd dispersed with extreme alacrity.