Talk:Exploding sheep

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Articles for deletion This article was nominated for deletion on 5/5/2007. The result of the discussion was keep.
Famicom style controller This article is within the scope of WikiProject Video games. For more information, visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
Stub This article has been rated as Stub-Class on the assessment scale.
VG To-do:

Contents

[edit] Needs an Edit

It seems like this article is protected from being edited but that is a grave mistake, because there are real life examples of sheep exploding, not just in games. For instance, at Vimy Ridge, the site of a famous WWI battle which is now a Canadian historical site, there are unexploded munitions in the ground so in order to keep the grass cut sheep are used, and sure enough occasionally a sheep will set of an unexploded munition and get blown up. I think this should also be included in this article, someone please help!

The article isn't protected, but it is an article about "a meme commonly found in American and British computer games". If real instances of exploding sheep are relevant to that, then by all means, add it -- or if real sheep exploding is sufficiently notable to have an encyclopedia article, create one and add a disambiguation page. But see the bits below about Thomas Hardy's exploding sheep first. — mendel ☎ 18:54, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] In Favor of Exploding Sheep

This might be belated, but I'd like to vote in favor of keeping the exploding sheep and promise to link future pages to it. 208.120.100.221 04:47, 11 May 2007 (UTC)J. Bier

[edit] Why?

There's something missing from the article: why would people think of exploding sheeps in the first place?

I heard that when ruminants die, grass ferments in their stomach, leading to high concentration of methane! As a consequence, the bodies may explode under certain circumstances. Is that true? David.Monniaux 10:43, 26 Apr 2004 (UTC)

2. Also need to correct the bit at the bottom. I'm a member of Exploding Sheep Productions the 'British company' mentioned at the bottom of the article. Just to let you know we aren't a company and we don't organise conventions! We are a voluntary technical crew who work on not-for-profit Sci-Fi and Media conventions. But thanks for the mention - we were chuffed!!

[edit] Save from deletion?

Still needs work but at least it reads like an article now. It'd be nice to get a date for the Karnak skit, and nicer still to draw some harder connections between the movie and novel, and movie and games (I doubt the games were influenced by the novel). Should probably list the games chronologically.

Other possibilities:

The font's creator (?) attributes the font name to the screensaver.

A forum post calls Bad Taste "Jackson's first exploding sheep" (emphasis mine). Did he use them again later?

 — mendel 03:23, Mar 29, 2004 (UTC)

I also seem to remember some exploding sheep in a Monty Python's Flying Circus episode. The details are hazy to me, except that the sheep (and possibly other farmyard animals) were exploding in the background while quite unrelated action was going on in the foreground. The running gag eventually terminated as the protagonists went past a sign saying 'Zoo' and the sound of numerous explosions was heard off. DJ Clayworth 18:20, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Thomas Hardy

Where's the "exploding" sheep in Hardy? - Nunh-huh 03:57, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Funny you should ask, I was about to link [1] over here for later use! Protagonist's sheep suffer pasture bloat disease at the beginning of chapter 21 — mendel 04:04, Mar 29, 2004 (UTC)
And if you're dying to read Hardy's work on this topic yourself, see [2] :) — Nyxie 04:09, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC)
They seem to be dead sheep yes. But not "exploded". They die intact, rather than in bits. - Nunh-huh 04:23, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Well, they're not dying the way sheep really die from pasture bloat (slow suffocation) -- they're dying immediately and jumping in the air. So we know that Hardy misunderstood pasture bloat in someway; my reading is that the specific misunderstanding was that the methane was causing their stomachs to explode. I can't think of what other misunderstanding of a stomach rapidly filling with methane would lead to sheep popping up in the air. (I don't think there's combustion -- just explosion from expansion.) I can dig for corroborating interpretations if necessary; for now, [3] is a Poetry Review review (of an unrelated work) which talks about "the story of the exploding sheep" as if it's something every schoolchild learned once, which makes me think mine isn't a new reading. Were the entry about Thomas Hardy it ought to be clearer, but here it's just making a passing note that the meme probably didn't start with that instance of explosive sheep. I'd have tucked it inside were the entry not roughly chronological. — mendel 06:07, Mar 29, 2004 (UTC)
And yet... the sheep don't explode. I'd suggest removing this section. The mild frisson it gives you to discover that it is possible to pretend that Hardy is in some way related to the exploding virtual sheep of Warcraft or the stunningly detonated sheep of the bonus levels of Myth II, as you shoot them with your blunderbus should be foregone in order to not misinform your reader that there is an actual connection between sheep with gas and exploding sheep in video games. -- Nunh-huh 06:20, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC)~ (P.S.:then next game: Death of the memes. -- Nunh-huh 06:20, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Works for me -- without more corroboration it's just a factoid anyhow. Still, jumping in the air! — mendel 13:54, Mar 29, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Monty Python

Aren't there a whole load of Monty Python episodes where various creatures (including sheep) spontaneously explode? Mark Richards 00:45, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I wouldn't be surprised, even tho all i'm coming up with at the moment is the penquin on top of the TV; is this in the "Burma!" ("Sorry; I panicked.") sketch?

--Jerzy(t) 14:40, 2004 Apr 21 (UTC)

[edit] Failed vote for deletion

This page was listed on Votes for deletion on March 26, and consensus was to keep. The expressed opinions can be found here. — mendel ☎ 01:04, Apr 2, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Exploding sheep in Bad Taste

Regarding the exploding sheep in Bad Taste, it does not explode unprompted. The character Oz fires an RPG at the alien overlord, misses, and the shot continues onwards to hit the sheep.

Indeed, so why didn't you change it? Oh well, I have done it for you now.

[edit] TFD

[edit] TfD nomination of Template:Exploding organisms

Template:Exploding organisms has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for Deletion page. Thank you. — DropDeadGorgias (talk) 20:03, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Removing memetics category

I am removing the memetics category from this article since you learn no more about the article's contents from the category and v.v. Since so many things may be memes we should try to keep the category closely defined in order to remain useful. Hope you're okay with that. The link to meme would be enough I suggest. Facius 10:44, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Someone want to look into Overlord?

Word is on the Overlord (2007 video game) talk page that there are exploding sheep in that game too. I played the game and don't remember any, so I'm not adding a reference myself. Coanda-1910 (talk) 09:30, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Canadian War memorial in flanders

At the Canadian war memorial in Flanders, the surrounding area around the monument was left 'as is' after the war, and was never swept for unexploded munitions. It's covered in craters and no one is allowed on it because of mines and exploded shells, the grass is kept short by grazing sheep. It has been known for the sheep to explode occasionally when they step on mines. This hasn't happened recently, but apparently was not uncommon in the decades immediately after the war. I don't know if anyone can find a source for this but if one is, I think its a perfect example of real life exploding sheep. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.107.201.145 (talk) 22:17, 6 April 2008 (UTC)