1746: Making Friends
Explanation
This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Still not much. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks. |
Turkey vultures are a type of bird of prey which feeds on carrion. They are known to identify and circle weak, injured, or dying animals so they can eat them. They are not known to care about cool facts about space, and getting to know them will not necessarily make them your friends[citation needed]; however, smelling of decaying meat would be likely to attract them. It should be noted that while smelling of decaying meat will attract turkey vultures, it will drive away most other potential friends.
The title text is a reference to an old saying that "A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet". However, Cueball's mother seems to have altered the statement enough that it becomes nonsense.
Transcript
- [Cueball and Ponytail walking]
- Ponytail: Making friends is so much harder once you're out of school. Everyone's so busy. And how do you even meet people?
- [Cueball raises his arms]
- Cueball: Here's what I do: I pretend to be weak and injured, and wait for others to start circling, hoping to take my food, shelter, and nutrients.
- [They stop walking. Cueball raises his arms, Ponytail turns to him]
- Cueball: Then, before they can descend, I start telling them cool facts about space until they like me. Bam, friendship!
- Ponytail: This explains a lot.
Discussion
Does something like this happen in one of the Star Wars films? *headscratch* --162.158.150.228 06:32, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
- I guess I can take that to mean you don't know what he's talking about? It's too bad I'm going to bed now, this is finally a comic where I'm early enough to provide the explanation AND I understand the comic enough to do so! LOL! The method Cueball is suggesting in the second panel is how animals (or a person) might try to lure in a/many vultures, mostly in cartoons. Vultures are notorious for feeding on dead bodies, and for flying in slowly-descending circles above a dead body they find (presumably to ensure the body IS dead and abandoned by whatever animal might have killed it) before feeding from it. If an animal or human wanted to trap or hunt a vulture, pretending to be dead or about to die on your own would be the way to do it. Actually, the other day I was reading a joke where an oversexed rooster was doing exactly this, attempting to lure in some vultures by pretending to be dead.
- The joke here obviously being that humans don't tend to act like vultures. The alternate behaviour - taking Cueball's things instead of eating him - seems to me to be a nod towards video games where you exhibit such vulture-like behaviour, retrieving useful supplies from dead bodies you find (and create), such as in the Assassin's Creed games. - NiceGuy1 108.162.219.73 08:01, 14 October 2016 (UTC) I finally signed up! This comment is mine. NiceGuy1 (talk) 03:19, 13 June 2017 (UTC)
- "Humans don't tend to act like vultures"? Did you never saw an ad for refinancing loans? -- Hkmaly (talk) 13:53, 18 October 2016 (UTC)
- I said "don't TEND to", :) Hey, if you want people acting like vultures, I believe I gave the best example, and the one which most fits the comic: looting dead bodies in games like Assassin's Creed. :) - NiceGuy1 162.158.126.227 03:32, 19 October 2016 (UTC) So's this! NiceGuy1 (talk) 03:19, 13 June 2017 (UTC)
- "Humans don't tend to act like vultures"? Did you never saw an ad for refinancing loans? -- Hkmaly (talk) 13:53, 18 October 2016 (UTC)
My daughter's friend, on starting at high school, was telling me she was making new friends. My response: Cool! They're teaching robotics. Mlv (talk) 09:48, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
- When I read the title of this comic (before reading the actual content) I fully expected it would be a play on "making friends," with Cueball actually building robots.
- Although I'm a little disappointed that it turned out otherwise, at least the replacement was worth it! 108.162.215.220 16:15, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
- I think you two just wrote Making Friends, Part 2, LOL! I think this needs to exist as an xkcd! :) - NiceGuy1 162.158.60.23 02:59, 15 October 2016 (UTC) I finally signed up! This comment is mine. NiceGuy1 (talk) 03:19, 13 June 2017 (UTC)
- I thought of the same thing too, after seeing the robot-building version of "making friends" in an early episode of MLP Loops - was surprised that the phrase wasn't taken literally. --172.68.11.36 00:33, 19 October 2016 (UTC)
- I think you two just wrote Making Friends, Part 2, LOL! I think this needs to exist as an xkcd! :) - NiceGuy1 162.158.60.23 02:59, 15 October 2016 (UTC) I finally signed up! This comment is mine. NiceGuy1 (talk) 03:19, 13 June 2017 (UTC)
Am I the only one that sees Cueball's strategy as "I act like a nerd until I attract people (who want to [steal my lunch money]) and then I act like a nerd (by talking sciency) until they're my friends"? This, of course, relies on stereotypes (and a somewhat dual/split meaning of "nerd"), but seems to fit pretty well. Taking it one step further, it could be described as "[I'm a nerd.] I be myself, and eventually I make friends." Which is actually a rather valid plan. So I must retract my statement, because Cueball is never that practical. ;-) 108.162.215.220 16:15, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
"Also how do they steal his shelter, unless this refers to his clothing, the shelter would usually be seen as normal peoples houses, which is rather hard to take." Just steal his house keys? --172.68.54.126 17:11, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
If anyone is familiar with RvB this reminded me a bit of "Caboose's guide to making friends". I don't think it is a direct reference to that as he is not literally building friends.XFez (talk) 18:06, 12 February 2017 (UTC)