Hammerspace
Hammerspace (also known as malletspace) is an imaginary extradimensional, instantly accessible storage area in fiction, which is used to explain how characters from animation, comics, and video games can produce objects out of thin air. Typically, when multiple items are available, the desired item is available on the first try or within a handful of tries.
This phenomenon dates back to early
Origins
The phenomenon of a character producing plot-dependent items seemingly out of thin air dates back to the beginning of animated shorts during
The term itself originates from a gag common in some
Another series that may have contributed to the term is City Hunter. One of the lead characters in City Hunter—Kaori—makes extensive use of the "transdimensional hammers" as they are sometimes called, as they are one of the two main running gags in the series; the other is the extreme lecherousness of the other main character—Ryo—which almost invariably leads to the use of said hammers. The City Hunter hammers also require more explaining in terms of storage, as they are often considerably larger than the characters themselves, and thus more likely to inspire questions like, "Where did she get that from!?" At the very least, City Hunter predates Ranma ½ by two years, and already had an extensive fanbase.
Another series that made extensive use of hammerspace was
In other media
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Games
The oldest use of hammerspace in games is probably the
The theory of hammerspace can also be applied to many other
Many comical adventures make gags on space in item inventories. In
In some non-humorous cases, hammerspace may be recognized as a seemingly normal in-universe phenomenon. Characters from the Kingdom Hearts series are capable of materializing weapons from thin air and making them disappear again, notably in the case of main character Sora and his Keyblade, though it's implied that they are stored as magic in the wielders' hearts.
Although there are numerous examples from the genre, hammerspace usage is not just limited to adventure games. In The Sims 2,The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, the Sims make extensive use of hammerspace, regularly pulling items out of their back pockets which could not possibly fit there. Examples include rakes, hairdryers, watering cans and bags of flour.
Similarly, in the sandbox game Minecraft, a player character can carry thousands of tonnes of material such as gold in the character's inventory without encumbrance, as if an empty inventory were the same as a full one. In reality, even one block of most materials in Minecraft would weigh hundreds or thousands of kilograms, and the player can carry up to a little under 64,000 blocks in their inventory. Since some blocks can be converted into multiple blocks of another type, it is possible to carry enough material to build an entire city in one's inventory invisibly.
Hammerspace is also used frequently in fighting games. In the Super Smash Bros. games, Princess Peach is said to pull a Toad out of hammerspace for a blocking move. In the Punch-Out!! series many characters can pull out objects from hammerspace.
Live-Action Television
- Bill Smith, a character on The Red Green Show (played by series co-creator Rick Green), regularly employs hammerspace in the "Adventures With Bill" segments. Bill is often seen pulling large objects—hammers, saws, bicycles, weightlifting equipment, camping equipment, sports gear, and the like—out of his trousers.
- In the British sci-fi series Doctor Who many objects are shown to be "bigger on the inside", most notably the TARDIS, although the Doctor has also stated that pockets on their clothes are similar due to Time Lord technology.
- An example of hammerspace working in reverse is Odo, the chief of security from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Odo is frequently seen shapeshifting into much smaller objects, such as birds, drinking glasses, small animals, etc, but with no corresponding increase in mass. What actually happens to Odo's extra mass is never revealed.
Film
- The character of Harpo Marx is often seen retrieving large numbers of items from his seemingly bottomless coat pockets.[3]
- Curly Howard of the Three Stooges similarly would have tools or other objects in the lining of his jacket, as in, for example, In the Sweet Pie and Pie.
- The title character of the All That sketch Baggin' Saggin' Barry spends the entirety of his sketches pulling whatever item is required at the moment, regardless of its size, from his baggy pants.
- The character of Jerry Steiner in the TV show Parker Lewis Can't Lose possessed the same capacity, often using it to feed Larry Kubiac with raw fish he pulls out of his infinite pockets.
- In Pirates! Band of Misfits, the Pirate Captain is known to stash various items inside his beard, including an umbrella, an alarm clock and his pet dodo, Polly.
- In The Mask film, Jim Carrey's character The Mask produces numerous items from pockets during a fight scene for comic effect.
- Mary Poppins's carpetbag easily holds a floor lamp, a hat stand, and other such outlandish items, and their removal from the bag is used for comic effect, and to establish her as a somewhat magical entity.
- In Ramona Flowerspulls a hammer from hammerspace to fight.
- Within the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), which can store excessive amounts of loot in its pouch; and Hermione Granger's small handbag, which contains vast quantities of items that she can retrieve on demand.
- In Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Jack Horner carries around a magical bag that stores an excessive amount of tools and weapons,
- In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Miguel O'Hara mentions hammerspace explicitly when he observes the renaissance universe Vulture pulling a spare set of wings from seemingly nowhere; this is accompanied by a little box at the bottom of the screen defining the term.
Notes
- The term "hammerspace" is often used synonymously with "magic satchel"; however, hammerspace is an actual extra dimension where items are stored, whereas a magic satchel uses magic to either contain these items or to access hammerspace itself.
- More often than not, non-animated occurrences in film or television are explained as a plot hole rather than hammerspace access, and dismissed due to suspension of disbelief. Examples include the live-action Highlander TV series, where the sword-wielding Immortals often have their weapons readily available despite their lack of a suitable container or article of clothing in which to carry a concealed sword.
References
- ISBN 9781317679554.
- ^ "Okashina Okashi - Strange Candy - Thursday, February 1, 2001". strangecandy.net.
- ISBN 9781476601496. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
The contents of Harpo's pockets go beyond what is physically possible, thus moving him into trickster's realm, which is supra-normal or the realm of the surreal
- Hidden Objects: The Hammerspace Phenomenon. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.