History Main / ClapperGag

!Examples

* In ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', an elderly firefly turns on her light by clapping.

* in ''Series/{{Daybreak2019}}'', the Ghoulie-fied Miss Krumble declares that she has a key to unlock the doors to the mall, but she cannot find them. After checking all of her pockets she remembers that she attached them to a clapper, but when she does clap she can't follow the ringing sound until she realizes that it's coming from ''inside'' her: She swallowed them.

The clapper is one of the quintessential infomercial gadgets... a sound-sensitive switch that can be used to turn devices on and off, typically by clapping, although any sharp, loud sound can also do it.

Believe it or not, it's not usually a case of ProductPlacement; the product itself is rarely seen, and thanks in part to this trope, the idea is ubiquitous enough that people know what it is without needing to have their attention called to it. So much so, that many people that know this trope might not even know such a product ever existed in the first place.

* Parodied in one episode of ''LiveActionTV/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' where Sabrina checks her spellbook to see if there is a spell for turning on lights during a power outage. The spell is to say "clap on" and clap the same way you would for a real clapper light. She is all too aware how obvious this joke is.

Believe it or not, it's not usually a case of ProductPlacement; the product itself is rarely seen, and thanks in part to this trope, the idea is ubiquitous enough that people know what it is without needing to have their attention called to it. Many people that know this trope might not even know such a product ever existed in the first place.

* The premier episode of ''The Librarians'' (TNT Version), Jenkins tries to shut off the magical hologram of the planet with a clapper action. It doesn't work.

* One WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} skit was Slappy Squrriel advertising [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWKp2t3hSLg "The Slapper"]]. Also there's a CreditsGag where the Warner siblings sing The Clapper jingle.

* One WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} skit was Slappy Squrriel advertising [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWKp2t3hSLg "The Slapper"]]. Also one CreditsGag is the Warner siblings singing The Clapper song.

The clapper is one of the quintessential infomercial gadgets... a sound-sensitive switch that can be used to turn devices on and off, typically by clapping (although any sharp, loud sound can do it).

Believe it or not, it's not usually a case of ProductPlacement; the product itself is rarely seen, and thanks in part to this trope, the idea is ubiquitous enough that people know what it is without needing to have their attention called to it.

* In an old commercial for the Seattle Mariners baseball team, star player Edgar Martinez attached a Clapper to the stadium lights so that he could quickly turn them on and off for late-night practices. Predictably, this causes problems when the fans applaud at the game the next day.

* In the second ''WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs'' episode where the dogs run into the Red Riding Hood with Tourette Syndrome, the four wind up in the home of the Three Bears. They retire to the bears' beds for the night, and Red claps her hands to turn the lights out.

* In an old commercial for the Seattle Mariners baseball team, star player Edgar Martinez attached a Clapper to the stadium lights so that he could quicklybturn them on and off for late-night practices. Predictably, this causes problems when the fans applaud at the game the next day.

-->--''Film/BruceAlmighty''

The clapper is one of the quintessential infomercial gadgets... a sound-sensitive switch that can be used to turn devices on and off, typically by clapping (although any sharp, loud sound can do it).

On film and TV, the clapper is used almost exclusively for lights, and typically as a joke. Given how gimmicky the product is, people aren't expected to have them; not to mention that since the device can't distinguish between clapping and other sounds, it is very possible to set it off accidentally.

Believe it or not, it's not usually a case of ProductPlacement; the product itself is rarely seen, and thanks in part to this trope, the idea is ubiquitous enough that people know what it is without needing to have their attention called to it.

----

!Examples

[[AC:{{Advertising}}]]
* A commercial for Energizer Batteries featured the Energizer Bunny [[CommercialSwitcheroo interrupting a commercial for The Clapper]]. The Bunny's drumming caused The Clapper to turn the lights on and off in a flickering way.

[[AC:ComicStrip]]
* In a story arc in ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'', B.A. installed a Clapper so he could dramatically turn the lights off during a game to create atmosphere. Brain kept clapping his hands so he could turn the lights back on to take notes. A clapping war ensued, eventually breaking the Clapper and leaving them stuck in the dark.
* A 2003 ''ComicStrip/MotherGooseAndGrimm'' strip had [[http://www.grimmy.com/images/MGG_Archive/MGG_2003/MGG-2003-04-11.gif an elderly Aladdin attempt to get the genie to come out of his lamp by clapping his hands.]]
* Combined with DeadTVRemoteGag in ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine''. Rat hooks the TV up to the clapper so they can turn it off easily without the remote. It gets set off when Pig slaps his knee whilst laughing.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* A gag in the 2004 film version of ''Literature/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays'' used a variant of this trope that involves turning the lights on and off via whistling. This eventually leads to another gag where Jackie Chan's character whistles in astonishment, accidentally turning off the lights in the process.
* Made into a running joke in ''Film/BruceAlmighty''. It's one of [[Creator/MorganFreeman God's]] calling cards, as he (and later, [[Creator/JimCarrey Bruce]]) clap their hands as a practical (if a bit mundane) way to turn lights on and off even when there's no clapper in the room.
* Funny moment in ''Film/GardenState'', where genuine applause accidentally triggers the clapper and turns off the living room lights.
* ''Film/HotShotsPartDeux'' showcases that UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein had The Clapper installed on his manor in a quick gag.
* In ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'' the main character invented The Snapper, a gimmicky product just like The Clapper except it responds to finger snapping. It failed to catch on because "clapping is easier than snapping".
* Maid Marian uses it to turn on the lights in her room in ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights''

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Not the Clapper itself, but a similar device appears on ''Series/TheCosbyShow''. The Huxtable kids buy their father a keychain for his birthday that can be located by clapping. The kids demonstrate and repeatedly get it to work, but Cliff himself can't. He decides to hold onto it anyway because his kids gave it to him out of love. At the end of the episode, he mentions that he's gotten a little thicker over the years and pats his belly. [[BrickJoke Now, the keychain goes off.]]
* Creator/AltonBrown has one in his fruit and ale cellar in ''Series/GoodEats''.
* ''Series/HomeImprovement'', "The Route of All Evil" (S04E13). Tim and Al are repairing a gas leak. Just after Al is told all the electrics in the house have been turned off save one light that runs on a clapper, [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Tim comes up and claps]]. [[StuffBlowingUp The house promptly goes boom]].
* One episode of ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' has Bud Bundy slapped twice by an angry girl, setting off the Clapper effect with the lights.
* In a sketch on ''Not Necessarily the News'' (an [[TransatlanticEquivalent American quasi-version]] of ''Not the Nine o'Clock News'') a man installs the Clapper, then sees a commercial for the Clapper on TV. The clapping on the commercial turns his lights on and off.
* Parodied in one episode of ''LiveActionTV/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' where Sabrina checks her spellbook to see if there is a spell for turning on lights during a power outage. The spell is to say "clap on" and clap the same way you would for a real clapper light. She is all too aware how obvious this joke is.
* Once on ''Series/TheTonightShow'', Johnny Carson made a joke about the President connecting the nuclear button to the clapper. "Clap-on... all gone"

[[AC:PuppetShows]]
* In an "Abby's Flying Fairy School" segment of ''Series/SesameStreet'', Abby, Blogg, and Gonnigan are turned into fishes to look for Blogg's Slime ball collection when he accidentally drops it in the ocean. To light up a dark part of the ocean, Blogg claps against against an electric eel, even saying The Clapper's slogan while he does it.

[[AC:{{Radio}}]]
* An episode of ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'' has Eugene lose his car keys (again) in Whit's End. He then starts whistling and Whit has to explain to someone else in the shop that Eugene is doing this because Whit got him an early Christmas present: because Eugene keeps losing his car keys, Whit bought him a present to attach to his car keys that will make a noise if he whistles for them.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Gruntz}}'', this is referenced with the Black Screen curse. Curses are multiplayer items that, when picked up, cause some kind of temporary inconvenience for other players. This particular one causes other players to have their screen become completely black (except for the gruntz themselves), and the grunt who picks it up can say "Clap on, clap off!".

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* Techtales has [[http://www.techtales.com/tftechs.php?m=199901#1457 a story]] where a man complained his lights turned off whenever he tried to install a certain program. Turned out the start of the music sounded just like a clap.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* In ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', an elderly firefly turns on her light by clapping.
* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' where Spinelli has to stay with Miss Finster, Miss Finster turns off her bedroom light by clapping her hands.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' had Homer repeatedly clapping his hands in an effort to turn the lights off. Marge eventually tells him that they don't have a Clapper.

* A non-lights version appears in ''Film/TankGirl''. While the little girl Sam is held captive in the Liquid Silver resort she tricks a customer into grabbing a silver ball she has. When she claps her hands twice, the ball sends blades into the customer's hand, incapacitating him

* In an episode of ''Series/HomeImprovement'', Tim and Al are repairing a gas leak. Just after Al is told all the electrics in the house have been turned off, except for one light that runs on a clapper, Tim comes by and claps. The house promptly goes boom.

* Parodied in RobotChicken with "The Shouter", which is exactly what the name implies. The demonstrations in the commercial are either frustrated expletives or cynical declarations.

-->'''Bruce:''' You installed The Clapper?
-->'''God:''' No, but catchy jingle, isn't it? "Clap on, clap off, clap on, clap off, The Clapper!" Can't get it out of my head.

* ''Film/HotShotsPartDeux'' showcases that SaddamHussein had The Clapper installed on his manor in a quick gag.

* In the second ''TwoStupidDogs'' episode where the dogs run into the Red Riding Hood with Tourette Syndrome, the four wind up in the home of the Three Bears. They retire to the bears' beds for the night, and Red claps her hands to turn the lights out.

* The ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Have You Seen This Snail?" has Gary's new caretaker turning off her lights this way.