BMW Lighter

From Homestar Runner Wiki

The BMW Lighter is Strong Bad's handheld naphtha-type fire starter. It prominently displays the logo of BMW, an abbreviation of "Bayerische Motoren Werke" (Bavarian Motor Works), a German company and manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles (and originally airplanes). When the lighter was first introduced in the Homestar Runner body of work, a "real world" BMW lighter was unavailable, as The Brothers Chaps attest to on the DVD commentary for dragon. There are now several styles of BMW lighter available.

It resembles a Zippo brand lighter, a naphtha lighter that flips open and lights with the flick of a wheel, which is not actually present on Strong Bad's lighter. A real Zippo lighter also opens to the left when the logo is facing the user. Most of the time, Strong Bad's lighter opens to the right, though this isn't the case with some appearances. It's possible that the logo is on both sides of the lighter, which would explain this apparent discrepancy.

A variation on this gag appears in portrait, in which Homestar Runner uses a Saab Lighter. Also, in the chair, Lil' Strong Bad is shown using a Duplo lighter. Strong Bad uses an unmarked lighter (probably for trademark reasons) in Strong Badia the Free and Baddest Of The Bands to set fire to many objects.

Appearances

• Debut: Email guitar — Strong Bad holds it up at the end. After some time it scorches The Paper.
• Email dragon — Strong Bad uses it to burn Strong Sad's drawing of a dragon.
• Email privileges — First it is mentioned on the list of "Medallion Gold Plus Club" privileges, where it is referred to as a "Beamer Lighter." ("Beamer" is used as a general slang term for a BMW.) Then it actually appears in an Easter egg, in which The Cheat uses it to torch Homestar's guitar magazines.
• Strong Bad is in Jail Cartoon — The Cheat uses it to light a huge bundle of Fthoom-Bang bottle rockets.
• Email pom pom — Strong Bad uses the lighter during his attempt to cause Pom Pom's death, to pop him with a pin while he's on fire.
• Email other days — Strong Bad uses it to burn up Bubs' letter. Here it is first referred to as his "BMW".
• Email long pants — The Cheat uses the lighter to burn Homestar Runner's Daisy Dukes.
• Real-Live E-Mails — Strong Bad uses a real one to literally burn his new DVD.
• Email pop-up — It appears on the last page of the book as a tab.
• Email lady fan — Strong Bad uses it to burn Marzipan's arts and crafts supplies in a fiery inferno of pyrotechnics. Her hair was also burned, and the whole table was covered in ash.
• Date Nite — Strong Bad uses it to light the Fthoom-Bang rockets on the USS Flirtini.
• Email the paper — Strong Bad uses it to incinerate The Paper after it 'dies'.
• Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People — In the episodes Strong Badia the Free and Baddest of the Bands, the lighter is an inventory item. The BMW logo doesn't appear.
• Where U Goin' 2? — The Cheat uses it to do some flaming lay-up drills.

Gallery of Lighters

Second appearance	Mention	Third Appearance	Fourth appearance
Fifth appearance	Sixth appearance	Seventh appearance	Eighth appearance
Saab variation	Ninth appearance	Tenth appearance	Duplo variation
Eleventh appearance	Twelfth appearance	Thirteenth appearance