237: Keyboards are Disgusting

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Keyboards are Disgusting

Title text: Alternate method: convince them to pretend it's an Etch-a-Sketch and try to erase it.

Explanation

Ever cleaned a leopard? They're filthy.

This comic refers to the fact that many keyboards, especially desktop keyboards, gather large amounts of crumbs and are rarely cleaned. In the comic, a person (probably Black Hat) tricks an unsuspecting character into lifting his keyboard up so that all the crumbs fall down onto his face. By tricking the victim into de-focusing, the prankster ensures that the victim will not notice the crumbs coming out of the keyboard until it is too late, perfecting a quality online prank.

The title text references the toy Etch A Sketch, in which you would draw lines using two knobs and shake the Etch A Sketch upside down to clear the screen. If you shook a gross keyboard upside down over you, you would get filth on you as well.

The cleanliness (or lack thereof) of keyboards is mentioned in the title text of 1395: Power Cord.

Transcript

[Hairy sits at his computer, chatting with another person.]

Chat: Wanna see an optical illusion?

Chat: Hold your keyboard up in front of you and look at the home row.

[Hairy holds the keyboard in front of him.]

Chat: Now cross your eyes a little so the 'g' and 'h' overlap.

Chat: Keeping focus, lift the keyboard over your head.

[Hairy lifts the keyboard over his head still looking at the keyboard.]

[Tiny bits of dust and skin particles fall out of the keyboard in Hairy's face.]

Hairy: Eww!

Chat: Ha ha

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Discussion

This needs to be added to Category:Comics with color but I have no idea how. 17:01, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

I can't see any color, am I blind?--Dgbrt (talk) 19:44, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

Dgbrt, look at the last panel. 131.191.68.103 08:10, 5 July 2013 (UTC)

Uhhh, the dust... so I'm blind ;) --Dgbrt (talk) 10:31, 5 July 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, the dust is very slightly coloured (dark blues, greens, and browns). Unfortunately, I don't know how to add it either.67.188.195.182 22:58, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

If anybody else can't see it, try shaking your keyboard upside down over your face. -- ‎Jolbucley (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

The eye-crossing trick has to do with the regular pattern of keys on the keyboard. By de-focusing and crossing eyes while looking at a repeated pattern (such as a keyboard), the eyes can be fooled into forming a false focus where the right and left eyes are looking at different keys, yet the brain interprets the image as if it is a stereoscopic view of the same key. Consequently, the brain's distance estimation is miscomputed and thus the keyboard appears to be vivdly focused and floating in the air above where it really is. Mountain Hikes (talk) 02:58, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

I tried this trick with my new Netbook. The effect is actually pretty impressive (especially with the € on-key). 67.188.195.182 22:58, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Tried to see the color with by shaking keyboard upside down over face. Did not work. 108.162.245.57 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Even though he's not shown, I think it's pretty safe to assume that Black Hat is on the other end of the chat. Leafy Greens (talk) 02:21, 16 November 2014 (UTC)

It can't be proved though, so adding this to 'Comics featuring Black Hat' can't be done. Beanie (talk) 10:51, 19 March 2021 (UTC)