History Main / ImprobableCover

* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'', Indy survives a nuke by hiding in a refrigerator. The (explicitly labeled) lead lining excuses him not getting radiation poisoning, but everything else...

* In the ''Series/{{Castle}}'' two-parter "Tick, Tick, Tick..." and "Boom!", Beckett survives her apartment being blown up by diving into her bathtub just as the bomb went off. More justified in this case since her tub is one of those old cast iron jobs.

* ''Film/{{Predator}}'' and ''Film/{{Predator 2}}''. In the first film Dutch lives through a small nuclear (?) explosion at close range because he ducked behind some cover. In the second film Lieutenant Harrigan survives the exhaust blast of a Predator ship taking off by doing the same thing.

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* In the first season finale of ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' Dale and Andrea survive the explosion of the [=CDC=] by flattening themselves against a pile of sandbags.

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* ''Film/IndependenceDay'': Pretty much every time there's an explosion that the heroes escape, they do so by this trope.
** The most blatant is the tunnel one: Jasmine, her son and the dog hiding in a maintenance room inside the tunnel could be plausible... [[ArtisticLicensePhysics if not for the door that remains open with a wall of fire running through and somehow not entering the room]].

* 1920s ''bon vivant'' Harry Crosby was an ambulance driver during WW I. On the way to the front, his ambulance was hit by a German shell and blown to small pieces. Crosby was completely unscratched. It's likely it messed his head up, though.

* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'', Indy survives a nuke by hiding in a refrigerator.

* The AI of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' takes a page from [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy The Ravenous Blugbatter Beast of Traal]]; if you can't see it, it can't see you. This means [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0WqAmuSXEQ a paint can counts as cover]].

Of course, as the Series/{{Mythbusters}} showed this can be TruthInTelevision. The shockwave produced by explosions is one of their most dangerous elements as it can cause significant internal damage. Even a flimsy barrier can potentially blunt the shockwave's power enough to avoid outright fatal injuries. At the same time there is no guarantee that the barrier will do enough or prevent death due to flames and shrapnel.

* ** [[https://youtu.be/OQk5Qw8hHGA Footage of a journalist in the September 11 attacks ducking behind a car to shield himself from the smoke and rubble.]]

* ** [[https://youtu.be/OQk5Qw8hHGA Footage of a journalist in the September 11 attacks ducking behind a car to shield himself from the smoke and rubble.

* Subverted, in ''Film/Tremors2Aftershocks'', when Earl tosses a bomb in an attempt to kill a Shrieker, it lands [[spoiler: in the bed of a truck packed with explosives. When the others hide behind a nearby building, Burt shouts at them to "Keep running!". They look at Earl, who replies "Burt knows his bombs". After quite a bit more running, they find a ditch, which, combined with the distance, provides sufficient cover.]]

* True of most "heavy" weapons in ''Franchise/MassEffect'', including rocket launchers, anti-materiel rifles, and grenades: all of them are stopped by the flimsiest of cover. However, in ''Mass Effect 3'', enemies have [[ArtificialBrilliance learned to throw grenades behind your cover]] -- and you can return the favor by grabbing [[{{BFG}} a heavy sniper rifle]] and sniping enemies ''through'' cover.

* The AI of ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}'' takes a page from [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy The Ravenous Blugbatter Beast of Traal]]; if you can't see it, it can't see you. This means [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0WqAmuSXEQ a paint can counts as cover]].

* Against advanced ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}'' AI, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0WqAmuSXEQ the only thing you can do is hide]].

* During 9-11, a few survivors were found inside the debris pile. Most had been trapped in the bottom six floors of the stairwells, which had somehow remained partially intact.

* ''Film/DantesPeak'': Harry, Mayor Wando and her kids escapee the eruption of the titular volcano by hiding in a mine.

* Nuclear blasts are strange things, sometimes a person can be vaporized while someone standing right next to them survives simply because of a wall. This is mainly because that the heat flash of a weapon will travel like light, areas in complete shadow are completely shielded, even if quite close to ground zero. Sure the wall itself would easily be obliterated by the following blast wave but the point still stands.

Sister trope of ConcealmentEqualsCover. Also see BulletproofHumanShield. Contrast OutrunTheFireBall.