Donkey Kong (Arcade, 1981)

The history of the exploding barrel began with Nintendo's arcade hit, Donkey Kong. In it, Mario (formerly known as Jumpman) dodges barrels thrown by the loveable ape. When those barrels meet the flaming oil drum located on the bottom left corner of the screen, they transform into fireballs. While not as cool as Half-Life 2 boom barrels, these dangerous items taught everyone that fire, plus barrel, equals death.