Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical short Fast and Furry-ous. In each episode, the cunning, devious, and constantly hungry coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and eat the roadrunner but is humorously unsuccessful.[8] Instead of using animal instinct, the coyote deploys absurdly complex contraptions (à la Rube Goldberg machines) to try to catch his prey. They comically backfire, with the coyote often getting injured in slapstick fashion. Many of the items for these contrivances are mail-ordered from various companies implied to be part of the Acme Corporation. TV Guide included Wile E. Coyote in its 2013 “The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time” list.