Portable hole
Encyclopedia
In various works of fiction, such as cartoons and Dungeons & Dragons
, a portable hole is a device that can be used to contravene the laws of physics. It generally resembles a circular cloth which is placed on a surface to create a hole. If placed on a wall, for example, the user could crawl through the hole and come out on the other side of the surface. In another instance, if the hole was placed on the ground, the user might be able to insert objects into it or allow others to fall in, as if he or she had dug a hole. The exact method in which the device works, including the depth (or length) of the hole, is largely dependent on the work of fiction.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, a portable hole is a device that can be used to contravene the laws of physics. It generally resembles a circular cloth which is placed on a surface to create a hole. If placed on a wall, for example, the user could crawl through the hole and come out on the other side of the surface. In another instance, if the hole was placed on the ground, the user might be able to insert objects into it or allow others to fall in, as if he or she had dug a hole. The exact method in which the device works, including the depth (or length) of the hole, is largely dependent on the work of fiction.
Notable appearances
- Portable holes are sometimes created and used in Looney TunesLooney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
cartoons, including such variations as foldable doorways. One entire cartoon ("The Hole Idea", animated and directed by Robert McKimsonRobert McKimsonRobert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
and released in 1955) depicts the invention of the portable hole by one Calvin Q. Calculus and is apparently the portable hole's first appearance on screen. One Roadrunner cartoon involved the use of "liquid hole", a black tar-like substance that came in a bottle. When poured on a surface, it dried into a portable hole with the consistency of a circle of cloth. A similar product, "instant hole", appeared in The Ant and the AardvarkThe Ant and the AardvarkThe Ant and the Aardvark is a series of 17 theatrical short cartoons produced at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and released by United Artists from 1969 to 1971.-Production:...
short "Hasty but Tasty". On an episode of Tiny Toon AdventuresTiny Toon AdventuresSteven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
, Montana MaxMontana MaxMontana "Monty" Master Max is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is one of the main characters on the show. and also one of the main antagonists of the show. Monty is voiced by Danny Cooksey. Montana Max is a young, brown haired, male...
runs a factory that creates "donut holes", q.e. portable holes, which he and Plucky DuckPlucky DuckPlucky Allen Duck is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is also the titular character in Gary A. Lewis's Plucky Duck in the Summer Job. He is arguably the third main character on the show after Buster and Babs. Plucky is voiced by Joe...
(as "the Toxic Revenger") use in a battle until spillage of "the donut hole formula" creates a hole so large that the factory itself falls into it. - In the Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasyFantasyFantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing gameRole-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, a portable hole is a magic itemMagic item (Dungeons & Dragons)In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it. These may act on their own or be the tools of the character in whose hands they fall into. Magic items have been prevalent in the game in every edition and setting, from the...
that contains a small pocket universe. It behaves very similarly to a bag of holdingBag of holdingA bag of holding is a fictional magical item in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, capable of containing objects larger than its own size. Since its introduction, it has appeared in other roleplaying games and media.-Description:...
. - In the computer game DisneyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's Toontown OnlineToontown OnlineDisney's Toontown Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by The Walt Disney Company and billed as the first such game intended for kids and families. Designed for children as young as seven, but teens and adults also play this, the depth of the game's content has drawn...
, players can move, or, teleport to a new location by pulling holes from their pockets and jumping into them. - Portable holes are one of the "hazard" weapons in the game Cel DamageCel DamageCel Damage is a video game for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube. It was developed by Pseudo Interactive and published by Electronic Arts. It was released as Cel Damage Overdrive for the PlayStation 2....
. - In the film Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
, rather than a cloth, portable holes seemed to be made of a rubberRubberNatural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
-like material, and have the depth of a gramophone recordGramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
while being manipulated or held. The hole is used for laughs in the first half of the movie, and later on when the hero uses one at a critical moment to create a gap in a giant horseshoe magnet which is pinning him down. - A portable hole plays a key role in Jack VanceJack VanceJohn Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
's "Liane the Wayfarer", published in The Dying EarthThe Dying EarthThe Dying Earth is a 1950 collection of fantasy short stories by author Jack Vance. It is the first book in the Dying Earth series. It was nominated for the Retro Hugo in 2001.-Stories:*Turjan of Miir*Mazirian the Magician*T'sais...
in 1950. - Various devices in DoraemonDoraemonis a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise...
act as portable holes. - In King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone TomorrowKing's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone TomorrowKing's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow is the sixth installment in the King's Quest series of adventure games produced by Sierra Entertainment...
, Prince Alexander solves many problems with the use of a "hole in the wall" he finds on the Isle of Wonder. - In Yellow Submarine, RingoRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
picks up a hole he finds in the "Sea of Holes", stretches it, places his head and climbs into it, then folds it up (which apparently deactivates it until unfolded) and puts it in his pocket, leading to his classic line of dialogue "I've got a hole in me pocket". He later uses the hole to save Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band from an anti-music globe that they are trapped in, and, according to the live-action epilogue, gave half of the hole to the Nowhere Man. - One of Terry GilliamTerry GilliamTerrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
's cartoons in Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
has the police using a large portable hole in the road to catch criminals, they fall in, then the hole is taken to the lockup and thrown upon the ceiling causing the criminals to fall out. - There is a comic character called Horrible Hole which is a living portable hole. Similar characters include The SpotSpot (comics)The Spot is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and appearing as an enemy of Spider-Man. He was created by Al Milgrom and Herb Trimpe. Ohnn first appeared unnamed in Spectacular Spider-Man #97 and became The Spot in the following issue #98.-Fictional...
(a Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
villain) and DoormanDoorman (comics)Doorman is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe that first appeared in the pages of the Avengers West Coast in 1989.-Fictional character biography:...
, a mutantMutant (Marvel Comics)In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
member of the Great Lakes AvengersGreat Lakes AvengersThe Great Lakes Initiative, originally known as The Great Lakes Avengers , are a fictional superhero team that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters were first introduced in West Coast Avengers vol. 2, #46 , and were created by John Byrne.-Publication history:The team...
. - In episode 695 of the Final FantasyFinal Fantasyis a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
-based comic 8-Bit Theater8-Bit Theater8-Bit Theater is a completed sprite comic created by Brian Clevinger, and published in 1,225 episodes from March 2, 2001 to June 1, 2010. One of the most popular web comics, it won the Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards for best fantasy comic in 2002...
, Fighter, after buying some items and a portable hole with Red Mage, decides to work "smarter, not harder", and put all the items into the portable hole. He then proceeds to fold the portable hole into itself. - In the 1988 film They LiveThey LiveThey Live is a 1988 science fiction/horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym Frank Armitage ....
, directed by John CarpenterJohn CarpenterJohn Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
, the hero Nada (Roddy PiperRoddy PiperRoderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
) is saved from certain death by an assault of riot police/aliens when his sidekick Frank (Keith DavidKeith DavidKeith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
) accidentally activates a temporary and portable escape portal with an alien's wristwatch. - In the animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series One PieceOne Pieceis a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 64th volume released as...
, a villain known as Blueno has the ability to create doors on any surface, including the air. - In Kingdom of LoathingKingdom of LoathingKingdom of Loathing is a browser-based, multiplayer role-playing game designed and operated by Asymmetric Publications, including creator Zack "Jick" Johnson and writer Josh "Mr. Skullhead" Nite. The game was released in 2003...
, a combat item called a "plot hole" is captured from probabilityProbabilityProbability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
giantsGiant (mythology)The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
, a portable hole which is used as a land mineLand mineA land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
, reducing an enemy's health by twenty, and confusing one. - In an episode of Ed, Edd n EddyEd, Edd n EddyEd, Edd n Eddy is an original animated television series created by Danny Antonucci and produced by Canadian-based a.k.a. Cartoon. It premiered on Cartoon Network on January 4, 1999. Ed, Edd n Eddy was one of Cartoon Network's longest running and most successful franchises and the longest-running...
entitled "1+1=Ed", Eddy falls through a hole in the ground which causes him to appear in the sky off-camera, where he then falls through the hole in a recursive loop. This continues until Ed picks up the hole, leaving Eddy to crash onto the now-solid ground. Ed uses the hole for a couple gags then eventually rolls it up and keeps it. Later in the cartoon, Edd and Eddy fall into a manhole, and Ed, believing it to be another portable hole, says "Don't worry guys! I'll just pick up the hole again!" and proceeds to excavate the entire manhole entrance tube from the ground. - In Alan CoxAlan CoxAlan Cox is a British computer programmer who formerly maintained the 2.2 branch of the Linux kernel and continues to be heavily involved in the development of the Linux kernel, an association that dates back to 1991...
's AberMUDAberMUDAberMUD, pronounced , was the first popular open source MUD, named after the town in which it was written, Aberystwyth. The first version was written in B by Alan Cox, Richard Acott, Jim Finnis, and Leon Thrane based at University of Wales, Aberystwyth for an old Honeywell mainframe and opened in...
, a portable hole could be used to carry equipment. - In the novelizations of E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
, the lead characters' mother hears them discuss a portable hole. At first she thinks it might be some sexual reference, but when she realizes what it is, she thinks that it might be good to hide in one sometimes. - The video game Portal features a gun that shoots portals similar to holes.
- The cartoon series Channel Umptee-3Channel Umptee-3Channel Umptee-3 was a Saturday morning animated television series created by Jim George and produced by Norman Lear that aired on The WB in 1997. Ogden Ostrich, Sheldon S...
features a character named Holey Moley, who carries several portable holes and uses at least one in every episode. - In the Disney series around Winnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
, Gopher has portable holes. - In many of The SimsThe SimsThe Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity...
games, if a person trying to leave your property is trapped in a room with no doors, one will take out a portable hole and use it to teleport out. - In the game World of WarcraftWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
, A new 24 slot bind on equip bag sold by Shattrath's socialite extraordinare, Haris Pilton called Portable Hole was introduced in patch 3.3. - The knuckerholes in Dragon TalesDragon TalesDragon Tales is an American animated pre-school children's television series chronicling the adventures of two siblings, Max and Emmy and their dragon friends Cassie, Ord, Zak, Wheezie, and Quetzal...
work in this manner, moving from place to place throughout Dragon Land and serving as tunnels to varying locations for anyone that jumps into one.
See also
- WormholeWormholeIn physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
s allow for transport through non-euclidean space. - Portals are a similar concept used in science fiction and fantasy.