History Main / WaterWakeup

* In ''Film/QuigleyDownUnder'', Marston forces his mooks to stay awake when it looks like Quigley is planning something all night long. One of those methods is throwing a bucket of water in one’s face.

* ''Film/TheAwfulDrOrloff'': After reading Wanda's note, Inspector Tanner hunts out the drunkard Jeannot in the tavern, and demands that he guides him to Orloff's castle. Jeannot is falling down drunk, but[[SuddenlySober sobers up instantly]] when Tanner throws a pitcher of water in his face.

The next thing he (or we) know is that he's somewhere else -- and soaking wet, because whoever roused him decided to do it by throwing a bucket of cold water into his face.

** The comedic version shows up in the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl first movie]], as Captain Jack Sparrow and Will wake Gibbs this way. Then Will dumps a second bucket of water on Gibbs, and says "That was for the smell." To clarify, Gibbs was sleeping in a pigpen. After hearing Will's reason, he just looks surprised and nods.

* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}} Sun & Moon'', when Mimikyu hexes Meowth, Jessie and James dump water on him to revive him. He swallows a good bit of it, and briefly thinks he's drowning. But then he [[SecurityCling tightly hugs both]] because of the NearDeathExperience Mimikyu's hex put him through.

* In Creator/IainBanks's ''Whit'', after offers of coffee and threats of excommunication fail, Isis successfully wakes up her hungover half brother Zebediah by the graduated series of containers method. First the sleeper is drenched with a thimbleful of water, which is followed by the contents of an egg cup, a tea cup, a pint glass and finally a bucket.

* One of multiple ''[[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]]'' comics that involved Jimmy getting superpowers ended this way. Jimmy is doing a trick that involves being submerged under water. Unfortunately, he realizes to his horror that his powers are on the verge of disappearing, leaving him about to drown. Upon wakening, [[CrashingDreams he realizes the water was actually from a pitcher]] that Superman used to wake him after he overslept on a work day.

* In ''Literature/TheStoryOfTheYouthWhoWentForthToLearnWhatFearWas'', after the Youth sleeps in on his wedding day, his bride-to-be throws a bucket of cold water on him to wake him up.

* ''Fanfic/ThePowerOfTheEquinox'': After Dusty Joy [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere flees]] the hallway in which Dimmed Star appears as a creepy moving stain, the sleep-deprivated maid falls asleep in the gardens. When her boss Peach Seed finds her, he wakes her up by splashing her with water from a nearby pond.

* ''Series/UltramanTaro'' does this to a ''kaiju'', of all things. One episode involves Veron, the harmless monster pet to an alien boy-band called the Space Boys crashing into Tokyo while drunk on ''sake'', where it goes on an unintentional rampage while intoxicated and tapdancing to music. The final battle had Ultraman Taro using the King Bracelet to summon a ''giant'' bucket of water (one large enough to be held by an Ultra) and splashing its contents on Veron, waking him up, at which point the embarrassed monster quickly leaves and is never seen again.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* It should go without saying this works in real life. As non-aquatic animals, humans have a sensation when suddenly submerged or doused that makes them prepare to swim for their life to avoid drowning. This is why a cold shower (or a shower in general, or even just washing your face) works so well at waking people up.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS9qCVPE1v4&feature=relmfu This Prank.]] (WARNING: The video is [[NotSafeForWork NSFW]] due to language.)
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtSPQIK15uc This girl]] has water poured onto her and she wakes up saying [[WakingNonSequitur "Hello"]]?
[[/folder]]

* In one strip of ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'', when the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Wicked Witch of the West]] is sleeping, her flying monkey minions decide to do this to wake her up, with the comic's caption reading that the monkeys inadvertently [[ImMelting ended the Witch's reign]].

* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. In "Long Shot", an assassin tries to shoot Cowley while he's taking a shower. Fortunately Cowley has been forewarned, leaving the shower running while he knocks out the assassin from behind. Bodie and Doyle then wake the assassin up by dunking his head under the still-running shower.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', when Esmeralda lies unconscious from smoke inhalation. Quasimodo tries to revive her by spooning water onto her face, but it doesn't work, and Quasimodo [[DisneyDeath assumes she's dead.]] Fortunately, she revives a few moments later as Quasi is [[CallingTheOldManOut confronting Frollo.]]

* ''Series/CowboyBebop2021''. In "Callisto Soul", Faye Valentine apparently crashes her spacecraft doing a HeroicSacrifice, but we then get a POV shot of [[LickedByTheDog Ein licking her face]]. Faye is suitably disgusted.

* ''The Head''. One of the Winterers locks the others outside in the Antarctic winter, but someone is able to get inside and choke him unconscious so they can open the door. He's woken by an understandably pissed-off colleague rubbing snow in his face.

This generally means that Bob has fallen into the hands of people who don't care much about his comfort, and that [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique imminent interrogation]] of the not-very-nice sort is coming. (If Bob is in a cell, StrappedToAnOperatingTable, or tied to a chair, that's a pretty good sign that there's worse to come.) But it can also be done by friendly characters -- to wake Bob quickly in an emergency, to attempt to jolt him back to his senses when he's panicking or delirious, or simply [[PlayedForLaughs for laughs]]. Bonus comedy points if Bob comes awake on his own but the other character pitches the water in his face ''anyway''.