History Main / IslandHelpMessage

* In ''Webcomic/OrderOfTheStick'', Elan [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0696.html writes a message]] in the desert for Girard if he scries their location:

* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': Linda goes for a flying lesson in the "Seaplane!" episode and it turns out that the instructor likes to fake an emergency landing near a remote island then seduce his female students with a picnic of wine and cheese that just so happens to have. After the seaplane floats off, Linda makes a help message out of the wine bottles that he left from his previous visits.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'', Alex first builds a Statue of Liberty, but it burns down ([[Film/PlanetofTheApes "You maniac!"]]), and later, "HELP," but the branches from P fall, forming "HELL."

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'', the lion first builds a Statue of Liberty, but it burns down ("You fools!"), and later, "HELP," but the branches from P fall, forming "HELL."

* ''{{Castaway}}''.

* In part 2 of ''LittleBritain Abroad'', Lou spells out a large sign which reads "Help...we are in a bit of a kerfuffle."

* In one CarlBarks one page Scrooge [=McDuck=] strip had Scrooge stranded on an small island, and "Help" spelled out on piece of paper hanging on a clothesline. When help doesn't arrive, he replaces the letters with money, and suddenly, a armada of all sorts of boats (including a kayak and a submarine amongst others) appear around the island.

* There's an episode of ''TheJetsons'' wherein George and the Space Cubs of Troop 54 get stranded in the wild untamed area of the moon, and Spacely's son fires off flares that read HEPL. George reads it aloud, and the kid, realizing his mistake, fires another flare that strikes out his typo and corrects the last two letters so it does say HELP when all is said and done.

* Parodied in an episode of {{WesternAnimation/Arthur}}, when Brain and Binky are waiting to be picked up by their parents.

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* In ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'', the trio write "SOS" on the beach of the DesertedIsland they are stranded on.

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* Played straight in Creator/JoeHaldeman's early ''Franchise/StarTrek'' novel "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_Judgment Planet of Judgment]]". When Captain Kirk's survey party is trapped on a planet without means of communication, they lay out a series of symbols once used by stranded airmen to communicate with the Enterprise.

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* In the original ''Survival Kids'' game (the series that went on to become ''VideoGame/LostInBlue''), the way to get the quickest ending was to build one of these on the beach. You'd then get rescued. (It is, of course, a long ways from the Best Ending, which you need to unlock New Game Plus mode--in which your character rescues the other child on the island, befriends them, the two of you escape on a Lost Technology ship, and grow up to get married.)

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* In 2015, a 63 year-old British tourist called Geoff Keys got lost in the Australian outback. He was found after a search helicopter spotted the message "HELP 2807 -->" (the latter parts was the date and an arrow pointing in the direction he was travelling) that Geoff had carved in into the sand.

** "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I, BENDER, BID YOU HELLO! YOU DON'T KNOW ME, THOUGH YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF ME, BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT. LONG STORY SHORT... I NEED HELF"

* Played for laughs in the ''MonicasGang'' story "Sand, Sea and Surprises" where Monica and Jimmy Five get stranded on what they think is a deserted island. At one point, while Monica looks for food, Jimmy Five decides to write a message on the sand with a few twigs... and ends up forming a Monica caricature.

* In 2015, a 63 year-old British tourist called Geoff Keys got lost in the Australian outback. He was found after a search helicopter spotted the message "HELP 2807 -->" (the later parts was the date and an arrow pointing in the direction he was travelling) that Geoff had carved in into the sand.

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* In the original ''SurvivalKids'' game (the series that went on to become ''VideoGame/LostInBlue''), the way to get the quickest ending was to build one of these on the beach. You'd then get rescued. (It is, of course, a long ways from the Best Ending, which you need to unlock New Game Plus mode--in which your character rescues the other child on the island, befriends them, the two of you escape on a Lost Technology ship, and grow up to get married.)

* ''GilligansIsland'' - Upon hearing a radio broadcast that a NASA capsule is crossing the south Pacific (presumably within eyeshot of their island), the castaways try writing "SOS" in burning logs to get their attention. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption As usual]], Gilligan does something that angers the Skipper, and he chases Gilligan across the message, rolling the logs around and distorting the message. When the astronauts fly by, they see the message: "SOL", the name of the mission leader, and assume it's a "You're awesome!" message. Skipper punished Gilligan by making him write "SOS" a zillion times on a chalkboard until the Skipper felt he had enough.
* ''HogansHeroes'' - In one episode Hogan tricks Klink into calling a nighttime fallout rollcall. After all are accounted for and the men are allowed to be at ease, Klink lets the [=POWs=] have a smoke. What Klink doesnt know is that the men are arranged in the form of an arrow, the glowing cigarettes showing an American bomber overhead the correct way to go for their target.
* ''IDreamOfJeannie'' - In the pilot, spacecapsule wrecked astronaut Tony Nelson makes one, inadvertantly using Jeannies bottle as part of the last S.

* In ''PicturesForSadChildren'', Creator/DavidFosterWallace writes a [[http://www.picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=122 help message]].

[-[[caption-width-right:314:"I reject your page image and substitute my own."]]-]

* In the first ''FullMetalPanic'' story arc, Sousuke creates a large fire spelling 'A67 ALIVE' as Mithril's satellite is passing over the area so that his allies know that Angel (Kaname), Urzu 6 (Kurz), and Urzu 7 (Sousuke) are alive after being cut off from the extraction team. Tessa responds by sending Sousuke the Arbalest, which enables them to save themselves.

* In ''AxisPowersHetalia'', the trio write "SOS" on the beach of the DesertedIsland they are stranded on.

[[quoteright:314:[[Series/{{Mythbusters}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Island_Help_Message_1540.png]]]]

* Played with in AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth when Edgeworth and Kay are trapped in the kidnapper's hideout. Examining the paint causes Kay to suggests they write "HELP" in giant letters with it. Edgeworth comments that with them being in a building no one would see it, causing Kay to then suggest they set the paint on fire, so that they cause someone to think a crazy arsonist is about and call the cops. Edgeworth just shoots down this suggestion with a silence.

* In ''PicturesForSadChildren'', DavidFosterWallace writes a [[http://www.picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=122 help message]].

* In the first ''FullMetalPanic'' story arc, Sousuke creates a large fire spelling 'A67 ALIVE' as Mithril's satellite is passing over the area so that his allies know that Angel (Kaname), Urzu 5 (Kurz), and Urzu 6 (Sousuke) are alive after being cut off from the extraction team. Tessa responds by sending Sousuke the Arbalest, which enables them to save themselves.