Cartoon Physics 101: What is Hammerspace?

It's time for a little lesson in cartoon physics. You probably don't know what hammerspace is, or at least you aren't familiar with the term. However, you will probably know what I'm talking about once I explain it. The definition of hammerspace is "a fan-envisioned, extradimensional, instantly accessible storage area in fiction." Or in simple terms it's when a cartoon character, like let's say Bugs Bunny, somehow pulls a mallet out of his pocket, even though the mallet is too big to fit in his pocket. Bugs Bunny didn't actually reach into his pocket, he actually reached into another dimension, hammerspace, to grab the item.

You've probably seen the use of hammerspace quite often in cartoons, especially in Warner Brother cartoons. Cartoon characters are often pulling guns, disguises, bombs, anvils and mallets out of nowhere. However, hammerspace is not just found in Loony Tunes.

Hammerspace can also be found in the popular cartoon Transformers. One of the most well known characters on Transformers is the leader of the Decepticons Megatron. Megatron in his human-like form is the size of a giant robot but he can then transform into a gun small enough to fit in one of the other Decepticons' hands. The reason this is possible is because when Megatron transforms the additional mass goes into hammerspace.

Hammerspace is also useful in explaining many video game aspects. In the video game Final Fantasy VII Cloud carries a sword that is pretty much bigger than he is. So when Cloud isn't wielding his sword where can he possibly put it? Cloud doesn't have a place on him that a sword that big could actually fit so the only possible explanation is that when Cloud isn't wielding his sword it is in hammerspace.