Difference between revisions of "212: Brain"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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(Explanation)
(Explanation: & added reference to The Swiss Family Robinson)
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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
Growing up, many children (especially boys) grow a fascination with tree houses. Tree houses are a child's own special place to do stuff away from their parents, have some autonomy, perhaps form a club.
+
{{w|The Swiss Family Robinson}} (German: Der Schweizerische Robinson) is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812. In the novel, a shipwrecked family builds a tree house as good as a normal house complete with library and mechanical contraptions (presumably for automation).
  
The obsession with tree houses usually fades once a child reaches his teenage years, but of course some of us never grow up.
+
Growing up, many children (especially boys) grow a fascination with tree houses. Tree houses are a child's own special place to do stuff away from their parents, have some autonomy, perhaps form a club. The obsession with tree houses usually fades once a child reaches his teenage years, but of course some of us never grow up. Being an adult geek/scientist who still enjoys childish things, Randall wants to build a sophisticated tree house rather than a simple one, taking the theme from above mentioned novel.
  
 
The title text makes reference to the regular [[xkcd]] joke about how terrifying {{w|Velociraptors}} from the movie {{w|Jurassic Park}} are. But they never can reach a tree house, just because it's too high as you can see here [[87: Velociraptors]].
 
The title text makes reference to the regular [[xkcd]] joke about how terrifying {{w|Velociraptors}} from the movie {{w|Jurassic Park}} are. But they never can reach a tree house, just because it's too high as you can see here [[87: Velociraptors]].

Revision as of 12:44, 3 August 2013

Brain
The rest is fear of raptors.
Title text: The rest is fear of raptors.

Explanation

The Swiss Family Robinson (German: Der Schweizerische Robinson) is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812. In the novel, a shipwrecked family builds a tree house as good as a normal house complete with library and mechanical contraptions (presumably for automation).

Growing up, many children (especially boys) grow a fascination with tree houses. Tree houses are a child's own special place to do stuff away from their parents, have some autonomy, perhaps form a club. The obsession with tree houses usually fades once a child reaches his teenage years, but of course some of us never grow up. Being an adult geek/scientist who still enjoys childish things, Randall wants to build a sophisticated tree house rather than a simple one, taking the theme from above mentioned novel.

The title text makes reference to the regular xkcd joke about how terrifying Velociraptors from the movie Jurassic Park are. But they never can reach a tree house, just because it's too high as you can see here 87: Velociraptors.

Transcript

[Picture of Brain. Line points at a highlighted point.]
Section that is devoted, no matter where I go in life, to planning the ultimate tree house*.
*Oh man, it would be like Swiss Family Robinson, but with multiple trees connected by... hey come up to my room and see the blueprints!


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Discussion

I wonder if the brain is colored blue because it contains the 'blue'print for the tree house. Biohazard (talk) 12:51, 3 August 2013 (UTC)

The brain is oddly shapec, but the treehouse area seem to overlap the audio cortex13:37, 28 August 2014 (UTC)

"Hey, come up to my room..." Could be a generic pickup line (probably not a very effective one, but that's part of joke.) Mountain Hikes (talk) 21:48, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

It could instead be a reference to the fact that kids often invite other kids to their room to hang out or discuss things, as that's often the only private place kids have in the house, carrying on the idea of how childlike his constant desire to build a treehouse is --GeekKat (talk) 23:24, 4 November 2018 (UTC)

Are we sure about "But they could never reach a tree house"? I think velociraptors were able to climb trees. (New Scientist) DownGoer (talk) 17:14, 26 June 2023 (UTC)