Although many aspects of Thoth society and personality are still mysterious, they are avid consumers of Terran animated films and seem to be in awe of certain characters, most notably Warner Brothers’ “Road Runner” and to a lesser extent Universal’s “Woody Woodpecker”. There are obvious reasons for their love of these characters; they are vaguely similar in body form to the Martians, and some of the behaviour shown in these cartoons looks a little like the fast erratic movement of a Martian. Within months of the first cartoon screening on Mars it was noticed that Martians had begun to use the word-sound “beep-beep” for extra emphasis.

It was initially thought that the Thoth might be worshipping these characters as gods, but there is ample evidence that they understand the animation process, and realise that the characters are human creations. In 2076 a Thoth known as Ch’tiiiiir visited Earth; while in Washington it gave the Smithsonian Institute seventeen pictures which were eventually deciphered as a crude “storyboard” outline for a film based on the characters, in which Wile E. Coyote chases the Road Runner to Mars, falls into a series of traps based on peculiarities of the Martian environment, and is ultimately eaten by a Dream Beast, which he sees as an attractive female coyote. The Institute contacted Warner Brothers and arranged to have the aimation made, with Ch’tiiiiir witnessing the production process from beginning to end. The cartoon was popular enough that several sequels have been made, and on any given Saturday morning it’s likely that at least one will be shown on one of the children’s television programs. This has helped to reinforce the idea of the Martians as the friends of humanity.

the experienced Venusian frontiersman is very careful with the flame-pistol.
   It has to be charged with a diamond, a cheap black one, of course, but still an item to consider. The crystal, when fired, gives up all its energy in one terrific blast that roars out like a lightning stroke for a hundred yards, incinerating everything in its path.
[parasite planet]

who'd risk firing a flame-pistol indoors? It would simply blow out one wall of the building.
[ibid]

He was cornered between the monster and an impenetrable tangle of vegetation, so he did the only thing left to do. He snatched his flame-pistol and sent a terrific, roaring blast into the horror, a blast that incinerated tons of pasty filth and left a few small fragments crawling and feeding on the debris.
   The blast also, as it usually does, shattered the barrel of the weapon. He sighed as he set about the forty-minute job of replacing it—no true Hotlander ever delays that—for the blast had cost fifteen good American dollars, ten for the cheap diamond that had exploded, and five for the barrel. Nothing at all when he had had his xixtchil, but a real item now. He sighed again as he discovered that the remaining barrel was his last; he had been forced to economize on everything when he set out.
[ibid]

Inferno burst. The tiny diamond, giving up all its energy in one terrific blast, shot a jagged stream of fire that filled the canyon from wall to wall and vomited out beyond to cut a fan of fire through the bleeding-grass of the slope.
   Idiots' Hills reverberated to the roar, and when the rain of debris settled, there was nothing in the canyon save a few bits of flesh...
[The Mad Moon]