Editing 1186: Bumblebees

{{comic
| number    = 1186
| date      = March 15, 2013
| title     = Bumblebees
| image     = bumblebees.png
| titletext = Did you know sociologists can't explain why people keep repeating that urban legend about bumblebees not being able to fly!?
}}

==Explanation==
This is the first comic using a [[:Category:Facts|fact]] that is not a [[:Category:Fun fact|Fun fact]].

There is an {{w|Bumblebee#Flight|often repeated legend}} that according to the laws of aerodynamics, {{w|Bumblebee|bumblebees}} cannot fly. No theories of aerodynamics or mechanics have ever claimed such a thing, and the legend likely originates from a mathematical error that appeared in a 1934 book, written by a scientist who acknowledged that the conclusion was probably wrong.

Here, [[Randall]] makes fun of the urban legend with some wordplay. "Fly" in English can refer to both flying under one's own power and the act of piloting a flying vehicle. The comic puts a bumblebee on top of a control column inside of an airplane and lets it fly the entire plane. But {{w|physicist|physicists}} are still confused and don't know how the bees are able accomplish this.

The strip also creates a fallacy that when experts can't explain something, they must not be able to understand it. In this particular case, experts are unable to explain why bees can fly airplanes because they can't fly airplanes.{{Citation needed}}

This strip could be a reference to {{w|Bee Movie}}, in which the main character, Barry B. Benson, enlists the help of other bees to land a plane with the last reserves of pollen on Earth. The opening quote of the movie repeats the Bumblebee legend, followed by saying, "The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don't care what humans think is impossible."

The title text mentions that {{w|Sociology|sociologists}} are also unable to explain why many people repeat this obviously wrong {{w|urban legend}}.

The Science fact in the comic is reminiscent of the [[:Category:Fun fact|Fun fact]] category.

==Transcript==
:Science fact:
:[A bumblebee sits on the control column in the cockpit of an airplane.]
:Physicists still can't explain how bumblebees can fly airplanes.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Facts]]
[[Category:Bees]]