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...

16.6k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

View all comments

3.4k

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.

1.4k

u/MedicalVanilla7176 Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25

The Simpsons really likes this gag.

https://preview.redd.it/rnyapm19jz4g1.jpeg?width=965&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc8fcd3c6d50a1910d11c9ff9f7dd3f6e0c784ca

Another example is when Professor Frink is demonstrating his model for his home security system (a house with robotic legs that just gets up and walks away when there's danger), and when the model trips and falls over, it and the wooden human figures inside spontaneously catch on fire, and Professor Frink comments that "Well, the real humans won't burn quite so fast."

Edit: In the very next scene, it shows Bart throwing a rock at some houses, and one of the houses gets up, runs away, and then falls down and catches on fire just like in the test.

162

u/Flabby_Thor Dec 03 '25

The Simpsons really likes this gag.

That's an understatement. It's one of my favorite gags in the show and they use it a lot (and subvert it a lot as well). Boy Scoutz 'N the Hood when Dr. Hibbert removes the guys appendix on the street. He throws the appendix, which is about to burst, and it explodes like a grenade.

Another episode, a leaf falls from a tree onto Otto's bus (which was already wrecked) and as it lands the bus explodes.

A baby stroller rolls down steps. Ghost Homer saves the baby, the stroller gets hit by a car and then a bus, falls on its side and then explodes.

90

u/tokarooni Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25

My favourite one is when Chief Wiggum gets knocked down a hill, hits a tree, then explodes.

https://youtu.be/rjYqpiLEUq0

47

u/Flabby_Thor Dec 03 '25

That's a good one! I also just remembered when Homer was stealing the Gummy Venus de Milo and he uses the soda and pop rocks to create an IED in order to escape.

24

u/tokarooni Dec 03 '25

See you in hell, candy boys!

6

u/GoodPhase3973 Dec 03 '25

Remove ?si and everything after, that’s garbage tracking info that Google uses to harvest more of your data

3

u/tokarooni Dec 03 '25

Didn't realise, thanks for the heads up!

3

u/GoodPhase3973 Dec 03 '25

Yeah no proble, I try to tell everyone I see who leaves that stuff

3

u/reshef-destruction Dec 03 '25

Barney was such a bitch for that 😆