Idea bulbs

A cartoon gag where a light bulb appears over a character's head, illustrating their sudden burst of inspiration. Occasionally, a physical light source is used instead.
Idea Man idea bulb.jpg|The Idea Man
Bulb-B&EWheel.jpg| Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures ("Invent Wheel")
Bulb-B&EIsland.jpg| Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures ("On the Island")
3429 scene1b.jpg|Sesame Street Episode 3429
The Muppets comic strip 1984-10-26.jpg|
The Muppets comic strip 1986-03-16 Sunday.jpg|
Fozzie light bulb.jpg|Muppets Most Wanted
Comic strip 1983-11-13 Sunday color.jpg|
Muppets strip 1982-01-13.jpg|
The Muppets comic strip 1986-03-14.jpg|
Bulb-OscarUnited.jpg|United ad
IdeaBulb-Pancho.png|Monstruos en Red
Annual ape light bulb.jpg|Jim Henson's Muppets Annual 1980
Bulb-Rowlf.jpg|The Jimmy Dean Show(March 19, 1964)
IdeaBulb-ViewMaster.jpg|Let's Learn to Play Together
Bulb-NewYears.jpg|Sesame Street Stays Up Late
Bulb-Telly.png|Sesame Street Episode 4165
Grover Lends a Hand idea bulb.jpg|"Grover Lends a Hand"
==Audio==
The visual bulb is usually accompanied by a musical chime of some sort, such as a bell note. It has become so synonymous with the trope, that the chime is sometimes rung without the visual. Examples include:
* Each idea Big Bird gets for how to remove the snow in Sesame Street Episode 0602 is marked with a chime.
* In Episode 0604, when Cookie Monster thinks of a place he can eat his cookies in peace.
* A bell note plays for Count von Count when he can count wrong answers playing a game of "Guess Who?" with Maria in Episode 0899.
* Oscar the Grouch getting an idea for a disguise to hide from Mr. Hooper and his brother in Episode 1545.
* Ernie gets an idea for how to see past a lady with a tall hat in a 1973 Sesame Street sketch.
* Another 1973 sketch features Ernie's idea bulb chiming every time he thinks of something else to bring to the laundromat with him.
* In a 1974 story insert, The Monster's Three Wishes, Cookie Monster gets an idea. His chiming sound effect startles The Genie.
==External links==
* TV Tropes: Idea Bulb
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Category:Running Gags