An archive dedicated to Adult Swim bumps, forgotten locations, strange messages, and quiet television memories.

What is an Adult Swim bump?

An Adult Swim bump, short for “bumper,” is a brief segment shown between programs and commercial breaks on Adult Swim.

Many of the most memorable bumps featured simple white text over a black background, while others used photographs of ordinary streets, buildings, landmarks, and people. They were usually paired with instrumental music and only stayed on screen for a few seconds.

Some bumps announced what was coming on next, while others included jokes, strange messages, viewer mail, behind-the-scenes comments, or images that seemed to have no explanation at all.

Because they were so short and often aired late at night, many of them felt almost dreamlike. You could see one once and then spend years trying to find the image, song, or location again.

This archive focuses on the bumps that stayed with me—the music, the photographs, the places they were taken, and the memories I attached to those few seconds of television.

Adult Swim bump screenshot ENTRY 001

Owls only.

Adult Swim Bump Archive • 2006

A quiet bike route?? of an Owl and the words only underneath it. It might be a turning lane.

Location San Diego, California, United States
Coordinates 32°43'00.5"N - 117°09'48.8"W
Date Aired Exact date July 15, 2006
Music J Dilla - Welcome to the show.
[adult swim] Owls only bump.

I remember seeing this bump for the first time—or really, hearing it for the first time—back in March of 2008. So when I checked BumpWorthy and saw that the listed airdate was July of 2006, I was genuinely confused.

Maybe the picture itself was taken around that time, but I clearly remember being up late in 2008, probably on MySpace, when this bump came on.

This has always been one of my favorite Adult Swim bumps. The song, mixed with the image of an owl sitting on a random street, creates this strange late-night feeling that has stayed with me for years. It feels quiet, mysterious, and a little eerie in the best way.

What is funny is that I did not even notice the trees in the background until just the other day. I had looked at this image so many times, but somehow they never stood out to me before.

Owls have always been special to me. I consider them my spirit animal, and I have collected a lot of owl-related things over the years, including necklaces, bracelets, and other little items. That is actually where the name “Owls Only” came from. It felt like the perfect name for this shrine.

Visiting the exact location where this photo was taken is somewhere on my bucket list. It is located in downtown San Diego, although the area does not look the same anymore.

And one of my favorite facts about the bump is that the owl was never actually there.

It was photoshopped into the picture.

Honestly, that only makes me love it more.

View Original Bump
Adult Swim bump GIF ENTRY 002

Park Bump.

Adult Swim Bump Archive • 2006

An image of a quiet street in downtown San Diego, California.

Location 1100 Fourth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
Coordinates 32.716806 - 117.163556
Date Aired Jul 15, 2006
Music J Dilla - Waves
Park Bump. [adult swim]

Like the one beside it, this bump was photographed somewhere in downtown San Diego, California, just a short distance from the location featured in the “Owls Only” bump.

The listed coordinates may need to be adjusted slightly, since the photograph appears to have been taken from inside—or possibly on top of—a nearby building rather than directly from street level.

Another fun fact: what looks like a park in the image is not actually a park at all. It is just another ordinary street framed in a way that makes the area feel much quieter and more open than it really is.

I also came across a theory on Reddit that whoever took both photographs may have been in San Diego for Comic-Con in 2006. The two locations are extremely close to one another, and the convention center is located just outside the area shown in the “Owls Only” bump.

There is no official confirmation that Comic-Con was the reason these photos were taken, but considering the timing and how close the locations are, it definitely feels possible.

View Original Bump
Adult Swim bump screenshot ENTRY 003

//MINATO-KU// TOKYO 12.27 AM

Adult Swim Bump Archive • 2004

An image of the Tokyo Tower located in Minato-ku, Japan.

Location Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Coordinates 35.658581, 139.745438.
Date Aired July 2, 2004
Music Psyche Origami - Eye Dector
Part of the bracket Japan collection in 2004. [adult swim]

I remember seeing this bump for the first time one summer night in 2004. The song immediately captured my attention, but the visual was not far behind. There was something about the image of Tokyo Tower glowing against the night that completely fascinated me.

I have wanted to visit this place ever since, and it is honestly one of the reasons I want to go to Japan. Out of every Adult Swim bump I have seen, this one is still my number one favorite.

The location is Tokyo Tower, one of the most recognizable landmarks in Tokyo. Even though it is already a well-known place, seeing it through this bump made it feel strangely personal to me.

Sometimes I would stay awake until three in the morning just hoping the bump would air again.

Yes, it was that serious.

At the time, I did not have a computer or any other way to look up the song and listen to it whenever I wanted. Those five to ten seconds were all I had, so every time it came on, it felt completely worth staying awake for.

View Original Bump
Adult Swim bump screenshot ENTRY 004

//CHIYODA KU// TOKYO 10.44 AM

Adult Swim Bump Archive • 2004

An image of a man in a booth.

Location Chiyoda Ku, Tokyo
Coordinates Unknown
Date Aired July 2, 2004
Music Psyche Origami - Keep Swingin
Another part of the bracket Japan collection in 2004. [adult swim]

I could not find much information about this bump at all. The image simply shows a security guard—or possibly a police officer—standing at his post.

I have always liked this one, not only because of the song, but because of how relaxed the man looks in the photograph. There is something very calm and ordinary about the moment.

I sometimes wonder whether he even knew that the picture was being taken. Maybe he did, or maybe he was completely unaware that this ordinary moment in his life would later become part of an Adult Swim bump.

That is what I find so fascinating about photographs. A single image can create an entire story, even when we know almost nothing about the person inside it.

For him, it may have been nothing more than a normal day at work. But to the photographer, he became the perfect image for this bump.

View Original Bump
Adult Swim bump screenshot ENTRY 005

//CHIYODA KU// TOKYO 01.18 PM

Adult Swim Bump Archive • 2004

An Image of a mural in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The mural is located on the side of a building and features a sun image with various other blured out images.

Location Somewhere in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Coordinates Unknown
Date Aired July 2, 2004
Music Artist: Yesterday's New Quintet - Paladium [ around the 4:37 mark.]
Another part of the bracket Japan collection in 2004. [adult swim]

I have been trying to pinpoint the exact location shown in this bump for a while now, but so far I have not been able to find it.

I am not even completely sure whether the images are real photographs or if they were somehow edited onto the side of a random building. Still, I feel like the location probably is real, especially because I was able to find a higher-quality version of the same image.

It would be really cool to visit the area and take a photograph there myself. Then again, this bump dates back to 2004, so even if I found the exact spot, it may not look anything like it did back then.

Still, if I ever find myself in Chiyoda, I would love to try searching for it.

I am also curious about the sun-like image on the building. Does it have some kind of meaning? Is it connected to a larger story or design? Or was it simply something the artist thought looked interesting?

That is part of what makes this bump so fascinating to me. The image feels like it should mean something, even though I have no idea what that meaning might be.

View Original Bump
Adult Swim bump screenshot ENTRY 006

//Chiyoda Ku// Tokyo 5:44 PM

Adult Swim Bump Archive • 2004

An image of someone in the distance walking in what looks to be a plaza or subway station.

Location Chiyoda Ku, Tokyo
Coordinates Unknown
Date Aired July 2, 2004
Music Psyche Origami - Dead Right
Another part of the bracket Japan collection in 2004. [adult swim]

It seems like I have a special love for the Chiyoda bumps, huh?

This place looks like some kind of subway station to me, although I am not completely sure. Whatever it is, it gives me such strong liminal-space vibes, and I absolutely love that.

I do not know whether it is the colors, the emptiness of the space, or the small figure standing far off in the distance, but there is something strangely nostalgic about this image.

It feels familiar even though I have never been there.

Back then, I used to daydream about finding this place one day. I still would love to track it down and see whether it looks anything like the bump now.

View Original Bump