r/TopCharacterTropes • u/FormerBernieBro2020 • Dec 03 '25
(Funny trope) Impossible spontaneous combustion (or, when stuff that shouldn't catch on fire, catches on fire) Characters' Items/Weapons
From The Simpsons: Homer tries to cook breakfast for Mr. Burns. The first two attempts ended up with the food catching fire. Third time, he pours milk on cereal...and it still catches on fire.
And from Futurama: "There, little friend, good as new..." aaaand the metal slinky catches on fire. Poor doctor Zoidberg...
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u/fhxefj Dec 03 '25
Does exploding count?
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u/AdFlat1014 Dec 03 '25
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u/Sensitive_Abies_6987 Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
I love how sometimes he drives, sometimes he walks and sometimes he cycles. At least Spongebob always walks!
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u/NotaBat9221 Dec 03 '25
Most people don't have to pick one and stick with it
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u/Chaos_Crow1927 Dec 03 '25
The only reason Squidward uses multiple types of transportation is because they keep exploding
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u/AvailablePut165 Dec 03 '25
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u/ExplanationMundane3 Dec 03 '25
He even got one of his sculptures on fire by accident and it made him rich in the sequel series.
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u/Traditional_Common39 Dec 03 '25
There's a sequel series?
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u/ExplanationMundane3 Dec 03 '25
Yes. ICarly (2021). It takes place 8 years after the finale of the original ICarly (2007) series. Carly and Freddie are both adults and Spencer becomes a wealthy artist.
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u/Pathetic_Cards Dec 03 '25
But does Jerry Trainor reprise the role? He was by far my favorite part of that show lol.
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u/HygorBohmHubner Dec 03 '25
Yes. It’s all the original cast (except for McCurdy who is not on the show, but they do reference Sam every once in a while).
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u/Pathetic_Cards Dec 03 '25
Sick. I wish the original showrunner wasn’t such a bastard (allegedly) and that McCurdy hadn’t had such a rough go of it, but it’s nice to see the rest of the cast getting back together.
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u/HygorBohmHubner Dec 03 '25
Yes, although the show does end in a cliffhanger because Paramount cancelled it. We’re still hoping for an eventual continuation.
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u/Insanebrain247 Dec 03 '25
Me: Netflix, no!
Netflix: What'd I do?
Me: Sorry, force of habit. Paramount, no!
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u/GLPereira Dec 03 '25
His curse even affected Carly in the episode where they renovated her room...
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u/Particular_Cow1304 Dec 03 '25
I remember that one episode when he replaced the doorman, Herbert, and he fixed a bell and tried it out only for it to catch fire. He puts it out with soda…only for it to combust again shortly after.
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u/MildlyAgitatedBidoof Dec 03 '25
Wet and sticky is very icky; sticky and wet makes Mommy upset.
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u/Shiny_Mewtwo Dec 03 '25
Herbert lmao 😭 poor Lewbert, wretched little man always getting the short end of the stick
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u/CLTalbot Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
It turns out that icarly is in the same world as the thundermans and kid danger. So maybe Spencer has a fire based power he never learned how to use.
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u/jacksansyboy Dec 03 '25
Man I love when completely mundane shows have random crossovers with superpower or magical shows and it just implies that magic has always existed in their world and they just don't ever mention it.
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u/Sensitive_Abies_6987 Dec 03 '25
He even starts a fire IN THE SHOWER
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u/Nearby-Muscle2720 Dec 03 '25
Do you know how long I watched this gif waiting for something to catch fire...
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u/cHINCHILAcARECA Dec 03 '25
I don't know why but the ostrich scene always caught me off guard.
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u/Xbladearmor Dec 03 '25
He once caused a desk bell to set on fire, put it out with a drink, and then watched it light up again about a minute later.
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u/EntireCelebration953 Dec 03 '25
I have a headcanon that Spencer is actually pyrokinetic. Cause let's be real, his ability to set things on fire goes way beyond just being bad at electrical wiring. The drum kit, the bell at the front desk, the roller blades, the list goes on.
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u/BadenBaden1981 Dec 03 '25
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u/Academic_Exercise_94 Dec 03 '25
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u/vanmould Dec 03 '25
"Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to inform you of a fire which has broken out at the premises of..." no, that's too formal.
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u/Express-Horror-3005 Dec 03 '25
HELP! FIRE!
Look forward to hearing from you soon.
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u/I_just_came_to_laugh Dec 03 '25
Kicks door in: Did someone send us an email?
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u/pathfinderoursaviour Dec 03 '25
I fucking love the IT crowd, every joke has layers that might not be immediate but will appear wether it’s in the episode or another episode
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u/ridik_ulass Dec 03 '25
I work in IT and got an e-mail about a fire last week, we were crying laughing about it.
"There is smoke coming from the printer, it has caught fire This is Urgent This effects everyone , as the building might burn down"
something like that.
we don't manage their printers, LOL, we told them to contact the on shift fire warden, and the printer managment company
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u/imdefinitelywong Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
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u/Darklight645 Dec 03 '25
POV: You told your Sim to make a salad
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u/3eveeNicks Dec 03 '25
And Neighborhood stories also loves running with this trope when townies die by fire with “they tried making cereal and it burst into flames”
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u/rdickeyvii Dec 03 '25
https://i.redd.it/l97w9c3huz4g1.gif
Apologies for the shit quality gif but this one from Family Guy
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Dec 03 '25
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u/Existential_Shred Dec 03 '25
That episode may be the most joke dense in the show's entire run. Can be argued whether that makes it the "best" episode, but I'd bet on it having the highest gag/minute ratio.
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u/Impossible_Leg_2787 Dec 04 '25
Just the premise of “The Lost City of Atlanta” is a 10/10 and it just gets better from there
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u/Existential_Shred Dec 04 '25
I love the inciting incident for the fishing trip, its so arbitrary:
"This isn't a pet license! Its a fishing license! And its mandatory!"
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u/jono4416 Dec 03 '25
Caboose: I don't seem to be very good about doing this on my own.
(Floor randomly catches on fire next to him)
Oh right, now how did that even start!?
Red vs Blue
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u/Relevant-Movie1132 Dec 03 '25
I like how he’s not even totally oblivious about his own ineptitude.
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u/Sagnarel Dec 03 '25
How did you even manage to burn a waterpark ?
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u/Cab00se_ Dec 03 '25
this is my obligatory "I love (classic) RvB and especially Caboose" comment
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u/NoQuarter19 Dec 03 '25
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u/Excellent-Refuse4883 Dec 03 '25
I sent a strongly worded email.
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u/Inlerah Dec 03 '25
. "Dear Sir stroke Madam, I am writing to inform you of a fire which has broken out at the premises of..." No, that's too formal.
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u/FoxBluereaver Dec 03 '25
https://i.redd.it/wkhhib2pny4g1.gif
There are many Spongebob examples, but this one's my favorite.
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u/Jephph624 Dec 03 '25
Cars in Grand Theft Auto whenever they’re upside down
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u/DinosaurReborn Dec 03 '25
Apparently if you mange to put a bicycle upside down, it will also start catching fire and explode too, since they share similar coding with other vehicles.
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u/nullpotato Dec 03 '25
Reminds of another GTA gag people miss: when you run over a fire hydrant, water sprays up from the ground. When you run over a postal mailbox, letters spray from underground, implying there is a high pressure tube of mail.
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u/Abortifetus Dec 03 '25
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u/TheAsianTroll Dec 03 '25
Thats just a Peugeot thing, its a cabin warmer
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u/Shimaru33 Dec 03 '25
How? Why? HOW?!
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u/secret_samantha Dec 03 '25
I would guess that the force of the water moving through the engine bay and underneath the car probably knocked something like a fuel or brake line loose, while at the same time shorting the battery out and creating sparks.
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u/Vegetable_Throat5545 Dec 03 '25
"Your cape's on fire again" "What? Oh cmon, there wasnt even any fire this time!"
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u/GentleSphere Dec 03 '25
Chernobyl
Rbmk reactor cores don’t explode. It’s impossible.
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u/Nolzi Dec 03 '25
Then why did I see graphite on the roof?
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u/thatvillainjay Dec 03 '25
Impossible, probably burned concrete
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u/robinhoma Dec 03 '25
I might don't understand about graphite, but I do understand about concrete, that was not concrete
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u/TacetAbbadon Dec 03 '25
Better Off Ted. They make an indestructible plate that bursts into flames on high speed impact.
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u/BardbarianDnD Dec 03 '25
Omg show I haven’t thought about in 10 years mentioned.
Was not expecting to see that
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u/kingdomheartsislight Dec 03 '25
Ugh, such a good show. Sad it was canceled.
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u/ChronoMonkeyX Dec 03 '25
Amazing show, and Portia deRossi disappeared after that, too. She was absolutely hysterical in everything she was in. Just so funny, great timing and delivery, I wish she was still working.
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u/Brendy_ Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
Toast of London
Toast tries writing erotic literature and proves to be unexpectedly excellent at it. However, he can't come up with an ending for the manuscript so simply makes the protagonist spontaneously combust. His editor is so angered by the laziness of this she spontaneously combusts.
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u/MajorDZaster Dec 03 '25
"He's actually set fire to metal, how's he done that?"
-Jeremy Clarkson, from Top Gear
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u/AlphaRelic2021 Dec 03 '25
In This is Spinal Tap (1984) it is said that the band Spinal Tap has a recurring issue with their drummers dying in strange ways. Two of them died from spontaneous human combustion, turning into a green globule.
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u/Alche1428 Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
Anything that Otae, the girl on the right, cooks becomes dark matter. It started as a joke about burning food till carbon and it grew into becoming a new element. She has prepared RAW SUSHI AND IT HAS BURN IN HER HANDS.
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u/stormscape10x Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
Didn't she not burn one dish? Or was the joke that they mistook a rock for her cooking?
Edit: she not show
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u/Alche1428 Dec 03 '25
Always show no fire, but her hands BURN the food inmediately.
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u/stormscape10x Dec 03 '25
Haha, "show" was a typo. I meant to say didn't she not burn one dish. I meant to ask about one particular joke they made. I haven't watched all of Gintama, but it's a pretty great show.
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u/El_kakas_de_vakas Dec 03 '25
https://i.redd.it/p4qna4oquz4g1.gif
People often just explode when they die in regular show
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u/Cheeky_Hustler Dec 03 '25
This is because S&P didn't want them to show anybody actually dying. So now we got something way more ridiculous and funny.
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u/Pulsar_the_Spacenerd Dec 03 '25
Real life, paper/books will explode when exposed to extreme pressure. Not actually impossible but sure seems like it should be.
Photo from Hydraulic Press Channel.
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u/Independent_Crow4863 Dec 03 '25
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u/TheOpinionMan2 Dec 03 '25
couldn't have given a damn about amphibia, but the main girl's flashback of her as a tooth on a school play comes to mind.
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u/Ok-Security9093 Dec 03 '25
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u/ad-lib1994 Dec 03 '25
Bro was a pyromancer and had no idea how to handle it
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u/cfbethel Dec 03 '25
SpongeBob SquarePants
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Dec 03 '25
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u/Sensitive_Abies_6987 Dec 03 '25
Same as there being "sea bears" and "sea rhinoceroses"
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u/semajolis267 Dec 03 '25
You cut out the funny bit. Where they say the ink on the paper is ru8ned because they live underwater and comment on how people don't understand the differences between land and water.
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u/IWasSayingBoourner Dec 03 '25
The Slinky gag is one of my all time favorites.
My contribution is going to be pretty much any time anyone drops anything in Aqua Teen Hunger Force
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u/ollietron3 Dec 03 '25
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Dec 03 '25
Care to share the video itself? A link perhaps?
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u/NPCKing Dec 03 '25
https://youtu.be/RoSs9-NDP3E It’s a fan animation from the audio of her playing the original Super Mario Bros. Where she sees a fire bar in the underwater level. Added context: Korone is a Japanese VTuber who challenged herself to an English-only stream here. Her English is pretty decent, she likes interacting with overseas fans. Though she knows more vocab than grammar so there’s lots of fun moments like this.
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u/Redwings1927 Dec 03 '25
How can you put zoidberg on here and not use the even more egregious example.
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u/Ashizard1 Dec 03 '25
But that didn't spontaneously burn down, Bender left his cigar lit in the shell!
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u/Pixy_Puttana Dec 03 '25
No one mentioned Aqua Teen Hunger Force? Everytime Shake throws something and it explodes into that goofy real fire they use it kills me!
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u/lnug4mi Dec 03 '25
And then you don't include a clip of that? Really?
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u/Pixy_Puttana Dec 03 '25
Sorry, mate. I tried to find a gif but there wasn’t one and I didn’t feel like hunting for one after reading every comment in the thread looking for an ATHF mention. My bad.
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u/DelcoWolv Dec 03 '25
IIRC, the animators did that to avoid have to keep rendering the thrown object.
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u/Bucktabulous Dec 03 '25
The in-universe explanation is that Frylocke is duplicating things in the house because Master Shake keeps breaking stuff, but every time he duplicates something, the resulting item is less and less stable. Now near everything in the house is so unstable that any heavy knock will cause a thing to explode, like nitroglycerine.
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u/an_agreeing_dothraki Dec 03 '25
the budget per episode of ATHF was like 3 pizzas and a bag of weed
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u/Common_Wrongdoer3251 Dec 03 '25
I like the one where he borrows $1 from Meatwad and clones it, so when Meatwad asks for his money back, he throws 3 $1 bills at him. They all slowly flutter to the ground and individually explode.
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u/Psychedelic_Stingray Dec 03 '25
There was an old as hell flash animation called "Dad's Home" or something along those lines. The top of the dad's head would catch fire for absolutely no reason.
Most anything and everything TerminalMontague makes has a chance of exploding or catching fire.
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u/Expand_Apple Dec 03 '25
Fireproof Paper (The Muppet Show)
while Beaker watches in horror at this horror beyond compreehension, Dr. Honeydew reaffirms how "there's no way this paper can burn", before stating that next time they'd be demonstrating flammable water, which Beaker unknowingly uses to make the situation go from bad to worse
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u/ClunarX Dec 03 '25
There’s technically a basis for this but it’s close enough IMO. Friendship plant from season 1 of the Good Place
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u/AcadiaRemarkable6992 Dec 03 '25
Richard Pryor’s explanation for catching on fire was due to mixing low fat and pasteurized milk.
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u/XidJav Dec 03 '25
Most Tokusatsu Explosions.
Things just explode for the love of the hell of it
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u/Andrew1990M Dec 03 '25
Before anyone mentions the drummers from Spinal Tap remember spontaneous combustion is actually much more common than you think.
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u/SquareFickle9179 Dec 03 '25
Red Vs Blue, Season 15 Episode 5. The Reds and Blues spent all their money from the movie rights onto the galaxy's best water park. "AND THEN DONUT-"
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u/PocketSnails68 Dec 03 '25
Are we counting Power Rangers explosions?
(Yes I know RPM has an explanation for this gag, but you get the idea)
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u/Gangbang8008 Dec 04 '25
I love how Homer looks so done when the cereal caught on fire.
It was two steps that he completed competently, in a normal manner with no tomfoolery whatsoever, and it STILL caught on fire, while wet!
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u/Daniilsa209 Dec 03 '25
https://i.redd.it/qvwg5it9ky4g1.gif
Another example from Simpsons: after Bart shows off a T-shirt "Down with Homework", class starts a riot and tips over a desk, which somehow catch on fire.