Electrified Bathtub: Difference between revisions

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== Comic Books ==

* ''[[The Far Side]]'' once had a guy who kept [[Too Dumb to Live|his pet electric eel]] in the bathroom, where it could easily fall into the bathtub if knocked over.

* In ''[[Young Justice (~~Comic Book~~)|Young Justice]]'', it's revealed that Secret was originally killed by this method.

* In ''[[Young Justice (comics)|Young Justice]]'', it's revealed that Secret was originally killed by this method.

* In ''[[Fido Dido]]'', a character has an idea while taking a bath, causing an [[Idea Bulb]] to appear over her head. Just then a [[Inner Monologue|smaller version of her]] appears, and says, "Hey, that's dangerous!" so the bulb disappears, and is replaced with a flashlight. "That's better."

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* Used in the under-appreciated classic [[Troma]] film ''[[Buttcrack]]''.

* ''[[Diary of the Dead]]''. The nerdy character experiences this as a zombie tackles him and pushes him into the tub while he's using a blow drier to dry his hair. Strangely, the electricity doesn't disturb the security camera that's watching him the whole time. Also, it wasn't like the shock could hurt him anymore, since he ''was'' in the middle of being mawed by a zombie anyway.

* This was how Debbie Jellinsky attempts to kill Fester in ''[[The Addams Family ~~(TV)~~|Addams Family Values]]''. Fester being ''Fester'' (the TV series had him lighting a bulb in his mouth, a gag actually used here), it doesn't work.

* This was how Debbie Jellinsky attempts to kill Fester in ''[[The Addams Family|Addams Family Values]]''. Fester being ''Fester'' (the TV series had him lighting a bulb in his mouth, a gag actually used here), it doesn't work.

** Leads to [[Fridge Logic]] when she later tries to kill him with an electric chair. (Especially since Fester would in the TV series strap himself in one to "recharge".

*** And Wednesday electrocuted Pugsley in the first film.

* Bill Murray attempts suicide by tub and toaster in ''[[~~Groundhog Day (Film)|~~Groundhog Day]]''. Like with [[Groundhog Day Loop|all his other suicide attempts]], he gets better.

* Bill Murray attempts suicide by tub and toaster in ''[[Groundhog Day]]''. Like with [[Groundhog Day Loop|all his other suicide attempts]], he gets better.

* Chucky does it to his girlfriend in ''[[~~Childs~~ Play (~~Film~~)|Bride of Chucky]]''.

* Chucky does it to his girlfriend in ''[[Child's Play (film)|Bride of Chucky]]''.

** In an earlier draft of the original ''[[~~Childs~~ Play (~~Film~~)|Childs Play]]'' this was how the babysitter was suppose to die

** In an earlier draft of the original ''[[Child's Play (film)|Childs Play]]'' this was how the babysitter was suppose to die

* Mel Gibson's character in ''[[What Women Want]]'' is almost killed by this, but instead ends up with the power to read the minds of women.

* The teaser to ''[[~~Goldfinger (Film)|~~Goldfinger]]'', including the very expected [[Bond One-Liner]]:

* The teaser to ''[[Goldfinger]]'', including the very expected [[Bond One-Liner]]:

* Done in ''[[The Ring]]''.

** Particularly noteworthy, since rather than just drop an active, mundane electronic device into a bathtub, he sets up a rather complicated metal harness connected to ''numerous'' devices, steps into the bathtub, and then switches it on. The result is also more realistic, as it causes the lighting to intermittantly short out, and much convulsion and a ''lot'' of blood.

* One character in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's ''[[Delicatessen]]'' has a penchant for [[Rube Goldberg Device]] suicide attempts, one culminating in an Electrified Bathtub.

* According to [[Word of God]], this later happens to the man who spends the whole of ''[[~~The Truman Show (Film)|~~The Truman Show]]'' watching TV in the bath.

* According to [[Word of God]], this later happens to the man who spends the whole of ''[[The Truman Show]]'' watching TV in the bath.

* In ''[[The Astronauts Wife|The Astronaut's Wife]]'' (''[[~~Rosemarys~~ Baby]]'' [[Recycled in Space|with aliens]]), the wife of one of the astronauts commits suicide this way, after her husband dies of a stroke. When the main character confronts her alien-possessed husband, she's standing with her feet in water dripping down from the sink, preparing to commit suicide the same way... {{spoiler|and after confirming that he's been possessed, water pours down from above, as she's left the tub and sink on the other floor on, causing him to be electrocuted instead}}... [[It Makes Sense in Context]]. But too bad {{spoiler|this frees up the alien to possess her instead}}.

* In ''[[The Astronauts Wife|The Astronaut's Wife]]'' (''[[Rosemary's Baby]]'' [[Recycled in Space|with aliens]]), the wife of one of the astronauts commits suicide this way, after her husband dies of a stroke. When the main character confronts her alien-possessed husband, she's standing with her feet in water dripping down from the sink, preparing to commit suicide the same way... {{spoiler|and after confirming that he's been possessed, water pours down from above, as she's left the tub and sink on the other floor on, causing him to be electrocuted instead}}... [[It Makes Sense in Context]]. But too bad {{spoiler|this frees up the alien to possess her instead}}.

* One of the traps in ''[[Saw]] V''.

* In ''[[The Royal Tenenbaums]]'', Etheline is concerned about her daughter, Margot, watching TV in the bath. Margot ''does'' at least have the TV tied up so it doesn't fall in.

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* A bizarre variation occurs in ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105434/ Snake Eater 3]'': Soldier (Lorenzo Lamas) electrifies a biker perp's ''toilet bowl'', killing the biker as he relieves his bladder. [[Groin Attack|Ouch!]]

* Done with a dildo in ''[[Slumber Party Massacre III]]''.

* During the prison riot scene in ''[[Watchmen (~~Film~~)|Watchmen]]'', Rorschach kills one of the inmates by breaking a toilet on him and then letting the water reach an exposed wire near the wet guy.

* During the prison riot scene in ''[[Watchmen (film)|Watchmen]]'', Rorschach kills one of the inmates by breaking a toilet on him and then letting the water reach an exposed wire near the wet guy.

* The same principle is used is ''[[Wristcutters a Love Story]]'', except instead of throwing an appliance into liquid, Eugene throws liquid (a beer) onto an appliance (his guitar) for a rock'n'roll suicide. Works just as well, apparently.

* The same principle is used is ''[[Wristcutters: A Love Story]]'', except instead of throwing an appliance into liquid, Eugene throws liquid (a beer) onto an appliance (his guitar) for a rock'n'roll suicide. Works just as well, apparently.

* In ''[[Stay Tuned]]'', while the main characters are stuck as cartoon mice and being chased after a robotic cat, they lead it into a bathtub and throw a hair drier into it.

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* In the [[The Dresden Files|Dresden]] novel ''Blood Rites'', an actress is nearly killed when a huge industrial light falls into the puddle created after a burst of scalding water causes her to fall through and break a glass shower door. Yes, someone was trying to kill her.

* William F. Buckley Jr at one time when he needed a murder method for his [[Blackford Oakes Series]] discussed methods with an electrical expert. I believe the letters did speculate the actual use of a bathtub. However in the end, in ''Stained Glass'' it was an electric booby-trap inside a cathedral that was undergoing a massive restoration (and thus had plenty of stray wiring to blame) that did the deed. It's been a long time since I read the letter I am referring to so I am not sure I am accurate.

* In ''[[Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas]]'', Dr. Gonzo asks Raoul Duke to do this during the high point of [[Jefferson Airplane]]'s "White Rabbit," believing that it will get him the ultimate high. Raoul flings a grapefruit instead (though he doesn't bounce it off his head like in the movie), unplugs the radio (leaving it to run on its harmless batteries), and then gets the hell out before Dr. Gonzo can realize what happened. When he gets up the nerve to check, Gonzo's started to come down from his trip.

* In ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]]'', Dr. Gonzo asks Raoul Duke to do this during the high point of [[Jefferson Airplane]]'s "White Rabbit," believing that it will get him the ultimate high. Raoul flings a grapefruit instead (though he doesn't bounce it off his head like in the movie), unplugs the radio (leaving it to run on its harmless batteries), and then gets the hell out before Dr. Gonzo can realize what happened. When he gets up the nerve to check, Gonzo's started to come down from his trip.

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* In ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'', the heroes shock Cameron into reset mode (after her brief [[Face Heel Turn]] in the second-season opener) with a clock radio hidden in a baptismal font.

* A woman died in the teaser of the ''[[Six Feet Under]]'' episode "An Open Book" when her cat knocked her electric hot rollers into the tub.

* ''[[~~Randall and Hopkirk Deceased (TV)|~~Randall and Hopkirk Deceased]]'' uses this.

* ''[[Randall and Hopkirk Deceased]]'' uses this.

* Used in an episode of ''[[Psych]]''.

* In ''[[The Adventures of Superman]]'' (the 1950's TV show with George Reeves), a gullible rich person is told by a phony psychic (hired by the rich guy's heirs) that he would chase away the [[Evil Spirits]] around him if he stepped into a bathtub while holding a live electrical cable. Superman saved him (of course).

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* Happened once in ''[[CSI]]'', with the suicide variant. Or so it appears at first glance...

** And in ''[[CSI: Miami]]'', as a murder. Justified in that the circuit breaker didn't work as the victim put herb salt (?) in the bath water.

*** And in ''[[CSI ~~New York|CSI:~~ New York]]'', where... it's complicated.

*** And in ''[[CSI New York]]'', where... it's complicated.

* Subverted in ''[[Black Books]]''. Manny is making toast in the bath ([[Too Dumb to Live|while using a hair dryer at the same time]]). When he's applying the jam (which is in a soap dispenser) to the toast and attaching it to a Rube Golderberg -esque device designed to deliver it to Bernard, he accidentally knocks the hairdyer into the tub. He proceeds to take it out, comment, "That was lucky" and continue using it. There may be a radio by the bath too.

* Tested by ''[[Myth Busters]]'', who confirmed it. However, they also showed that a working Ground Fault Interrupter will cut the power to an appliance in time. Appliances without GFIs, on the other hand, will kill, which is an issue because the overwhelming majority of small appliances don't have GFIs. They didn't test GFIs built into power outlets (required for new bathroom construction by several building codes), but presumably they'd work the same way - but a murderer could simply plug the appliance into an outlet in another room using a cheap extension cord.

* In the ''[[~~Columbo (TV)|~~Columbo]]'' episode "Double Shock", the killer uses an electric mixer.

* In the ''[[Columbo]]'' episode "Double Shock", the killer uses an electric mixer.

* In the ''[[MacGyver]]'' episode "A Lesson in Evil", the Hannibal Lecter-esque Dr. Zito sets a trap for Mac by restraining a hapless victim ([[There Are No Therapists|his own therapist, who he had succeeded in convincing he was "cured"]]) in a bathtub, attaching an electric heater on top and leaving the water running.

* ''[[Oz]]''. Prison guard Claire Howell murders inmate Nikolai Stanislofsky this way, after first giving him some hand relief.

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* Shower variant in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' - Buffy is set up to shut off the water in a locker room shower just as the puddle reaches a live wire. She sees the trap and jumps out just in time, with only static-frazzled hair to show for it (which concerns her quite a bit).

** Buffy is given a malfunctioning Initiative taser in [[The Uriah Gambit]] set up by Prof. Walsh -- she throws it into a pool of water in which a demon is standing.

* ''[[Murder She Wrote]]'': "Unauthorized Obituary"

* ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'': "Unauthorized Obituary"

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== Video Games ==

* Rum Rogers Sr. in ''[[Monkey Island 2]]'' dies in a bathub thanks to his habit of bathing while eating toast. {{spoiler|In ''[[~~The Curse of Monkey Island (Video Game)|~~The Curse of Monkey Island]]'' Lechuck reveals that he killed him there, and made it look like an accident.}}

* Rum Rogers Sr. in ''[[Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge]]'' dies in a bathub thanks to his habit of bathing while eating toast. {{spoiler|In ''[[The Curse of Monkey Island]]'' Lechuck reveals that he killed him there, and made it look like an accident.}}

* In ''[[~~Bio Shock~~]]'', any Splicer in the same water will instantly die if you hit them with an electric shock. Killing a Splicer in this manner unlocks an achievement called "Toaster in the Tub".

* In ''[[Bioshock]]'', any Splicer in the same water will instantly die if you hit them with an electric shock. Killing a Splicer in this manner unlocks an achievement called "Toaster in the Tub".

* During one of the [[Put Down Your Gun and Step Away|hostage situations]] in ''[[Urban Chaos Riot Response]]'', a [[Faceless Goon|burner]] will use a reporter as a human shield. When you successfully shoot him, he will fall backwards into a conveniently filled bathtub and said reporter will then drop a television on top of the guy ("Fry you bastard!") as payback.

* During one of the [[Put Down Your Gun and Step Away|hostage situations]] in ''[[Urban Chaos: Riot Response]]'', a [[Faceless Goon|burner]] will use a reporter as a human shield. When you successfully shoot him, he will fall backwards into a conveniently filled bathtub and said reporter will then drop a television on top of the guy ("Fry you bastard!") as payback.

* One of the installments of ''[[Hitman]]'' series even had this move on advertisement posters. And indeed, in one mission this is the possible, and indeed advisable for a "true", never-seen never-recognized, killer, way to assassinate one of your targets.

* ''[[Fallout]] 3'' has a few skeletons found in the bathtub, as they were likely killed upon the bombs falling, this means many of them died in the tub. However, a rare few apparently died afterwards. A few can be found with a toaster in the bathtub with them. Although really, if you're going to choose between semi-instant frying by toaster assisted suicide or waiting for your flesh to fall off from radiation, fry my problems away.

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* The Disney game ''[[Nightmare Ned]]'' has a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq0pmg0gjg8 whole song] about this. The level it appears on requires you to leap from bathtub to bathtub and avoid getting shocked in the process.

* In the 2008 version of ''[[Alone in The Dark]]'', there are some points where you have to pull electric cables out of the water so you can traverse through the area without getting zapped.

* Multiple puzzles in ''[[Half Life 2]]'' involve a large pool of water in contact with live wires. Gordon must shut off the power source or else suffer severe damage should he find himself swimming.

* Multiple puzzles in ''[[Half-Life 2]]'' involve a large pool of water in contact with live wires. Gordon must shut off the power source or else suffer severe damage should he find himself swimming.

* Using a [[Lightning Gun]] in the water in ''[[Quake (~~Video Game~~)|Quake]]'' instantly gibs the player and anyone nearby.

* Using a [[Lightning Gun]] in the water in ''[[Quake (series)|Quake]]'' instantly gibs the player and anyone nearby.

* One puzzle in ''[[Silent Hill 3]]'' has you drop a hair dryer in a sewer main to kill [[Broken Bridge|a monster guarding a bridge]].

* Played for laughs in ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]''. Raven is perfectly aware that he'll get electrocuted if he goes in a hot spring {{spoiler|because of his blastia heart}}. When Yuri brings it up to him, he simply says that it's [[Worth It]].

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* ''[[The Joker Blogs]]'': Joker murders {{spoiler|the best man at Harleen's wedding}} this way.

** It's actually a ''[[Camera Abuse|camera]]'' (still filming!) in the bathtub.

* [[~~The Nostalgia Critic (Web Video)|~~The Nostalgia Critic]]

* [[The Nostalgia Critic]]

** He chooses this method when he's [[Driven to Suicide]] during his review of ''[[The Pebble and ~~The~~ Penguin]]''.

** He chooses this method when he's [[Driven to Suicide]] during his review of ''[[The Pebble and the Penguin]]''.

** He makes another reference to the act in his "You're a Rotten Dirty Bastard" special.

{{quote| ''Is this a pep talk? Because pep talks are supposed to make you feel peppy, not make you want to take a shower with a FUCKING TOASTER!''}}