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Transmogrifier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A transmogrifier is a fictional device used for transforming one object into another object. "Transmogrifier," as well as its varients "transmogrify" and "transmogrification" were terms coined by Bill Watterson in Calvin and Hobbes.
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The transmogrifier is a fictional device invented by Calvin of Bill Watterson's comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. It is capable of transmogrifying any object into any other object.
The first transmogrifier Calvin invents consists of an upside-down cardboard box (first appeared March 23, 1987) with the word "transmogrifier" handwritten on the side in marker. A dial on the side of the box may be pointed towards one of several settings, also marked on the box in marker. More settings can be added by simply writing them around the dial. A button initiates the transmogrification process, turning the thing under the box into whatever is indicated on the dial always accompanied by a loud "zap!" sound when activated. Calvin used his transmogrifier to great effect in the comic strip, transforming himself into a tiger, dinosaur, elephant and other animals.
Calvin made subsequent improvements upon the transmogrifier technology, turning the box into a duplicator (by turning it on its side and writing "duplicator" on the side) and a time machine (by turning the box upright and writing "time machine" on the side). He also produced an improved, portable transmogrifier, which was incorporated into his water pistol. (This latter invention was once used as a button icon in a paint program for the Apple Macintosh, and the operation, which randomly mixed pixels, was named transmogrify.)
In the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, the transmogrifier is a device that the crew of Red Dwarf find on a drifting spacecraft in the episode DNA. When the crew investigate, they find a DNA modifier, the transmogrifier. The Cat fiddles with it and manages to change Lister into a chicken, then a gerbil, and back to human. Then, Kryten is caught in the DNA modifier and he becomes human. Life as a human, though, is less interesting to Kryten than aspiring to be human and he returns to his mechanoid state, after killing the Mutton Vindaloo Beast (Curry Monster) with Leopard Lager.
MOGware makes a video game content pipeline called Transmogrifier or MOG
On the online world of Neopets, a Transmogrification Potion is a morphing potion used specifically to turn pets into Mutant pets.
In the The Sims video game, a transmogrifier is a downloadable program that can let you create your own objects.
In the MMORPG GuildWars, during the Hallowe'en 2006 event, it was possible to obtain a reward called Transmogrifier Tonic that gave any character that used it the temporary shape of a candycorn person. This effect lasted a maximum of 50 minutes.
| Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson |
|---|
| Characters |
| Calvin | Hobbes | Secondary characters | Calvin's alter egos |
| Terms and objects |
| Recurring themes | Horrendous Space Kablooie | Transmogrifier |
| Other |
| Calvin and Hobbes in translation | List of Calvin and Hobbes books |