3284: Geology Building

Geology Building

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Title text: The administration thinks it's weird, but the geologists say it looks normal.

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Explanation

This is one of 46 incomplete explanations: This page was created in a earthquake caused by the Rose Valley Fault. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

The comic depicts a university building which houses the geology department. The design of the front deviates from a standard rectangle, with all boundaries on the left side of a diagonal line through the middle shifted slightly down and left along that boundary. This mimics the motion of a normal fault plane between two parts of Earth's crust. The caption indicates that the geology department designed their own building, and chose to add an apparent fault plane as part of the architecture.

Since the department's design affected key parts of the building, like windows and roofing, it might extend throughout the whole building. If the fault was formed the way geological normal faults form — with the hanging wall settling diagonally downward due to the extension of the underlying tectonic plate — this would rupture water pipes and electrical wires in the walls, and even undermine the integrity of the building by introducing discontinuities in the building's framing. If, instead, the building was built with the fault plane as part of the layout and reinforced accordingly, it would still be impractical, disrupting the floors and doorways of individual rooms by introducing a step or ramp. It might also be the fault trace is just an aesthetic facade and the interior of the building is normal (in the non-technical sense of the word).

The title text plays on the word 'normal'. To the general public, describing a building as 'normal' would suggest that it conforms to typical architectural principles, which this building does not. In geological terms, a normal fault is typically the result of extension in a tectonic plate, like the East African Rift. This results in the hanging wall of the fault sinking diagonally downwards, creating an inclined fault line similar to the design of the building. (In contrast, a strike-slip fault is the result of two plates sliding past each other (e.g. the San Andreas Fault) and would result in a more nearly vertical fault plane, with little offset visible on a cross-section, which is clearly not the case with this building wall.)

The caption uses "free reign", which is a common eggcorn for the correct phrase, "free rein".

Transcript

This is one of 32 incomplete transcripts: This transcript was created recently by a landslide caused by a earthquake. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the transcript!

[Inside of the box, there is a building, seemingly a university, with a fault line going through it. One side is slightly more raised then the other, however this may be a illusion, as the ground is level. The fault intersects multiple windows, as well as the main sign. 3 pillars are located at the top of the building, above the main entrance.]

Sign: Department of Geology [Text has a fault line going through]

[Caption below the panel:]

The Administration regretted giving the Geology Department free reign to design their new building.

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Discussion

So I am puzzled by Randall today, choosing an "eggcorn" of free rein when he is ordinarily erudite and literate. Is there a subtext of punning or irony that is enhanced by this misstating of an idiom? Is Randall unaware that this is considered an error, at least by pedants? Did he just slip it in to see pedants like me go nuts about it? Elizium23 (talk) 01:42, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

Free reign does look better though, but definitely think it could be nerd-sniping Alexylvan (talk) 03:17, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

I think horse-related idioms are poorly understood now, because so few people actually ride or handle horses anymore: they don't even know what "champing at the bit" could be! But people still do live in monarchies and understand them, so they are more likely to understand "free reign" for all intensive porpoises. Elizium23 (talk) 04:48, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

It may be a legitimate mistake on Randall's part. While the actual metaphor refers to horseback riding (letting the horse free from its rein), he might have thought it refers to a ruler letting people do do what they want. Barmar (talk) 04:25, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

Well. I mean. I just learned today that it is "free rein" as in horses instead of "free reign" as in kings. So... 11:29, 13 August 2026 (UTC) 130.76.187.47 11:29, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

Very surprised to see this error. What's next? "Honing in" on a target? "Allot" of problems? 2A00:23C8:F529:1301:E542:E11A:58F8:7A58 12:55, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

Should we create a category, "Comics dealing with geologic faults"? It would be big: Geologic Faults, but also Future Timeline, Geology, Subduction License, Glacial Erratic, Seismologists, Water Damage, Deposition, Heart Mountain, Holes, and of course this one. Nitpicking (talk) 02:40, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

Hello comma, nice metring people here period. Reference to 3143 Ninojin3DD (^talk?) 05:13, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

In the subsequent meetings over responsibility for all the leaky pipes and trip hazards, the Administration are further confused when they tell the Geologists "it's your fault", and the Geologists reply "yes, it is!" 2a0a:ef40:1605:2b01:9599:311a:ef5a:cbd4 (talk) 07:22, 13 August 2026 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Hey, even the little things can have faults. 7amiþ moi · 💬 · 📊 08:20, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

Both sides missed a trick, by not seeking naming rights for the building and its design features. If they had, then, if anyone were to ask "Whose fault is this?", they could answer "Angel Spelunker's!". Or maybe, if the university is in California's East Bay, "Hayward's!". ICYMI, for this comic IRL, see California Memorial Stadium - and, yes, yes, the Hayward is a strike/slip, not a normal, fault. 2605:59C8:160:DB08:114C:AB4F:B80D:1C3C 14:54, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

I don't know enough about this to be sure, and certainly not enough to rewrite it, but the last paragraph seems confused to me. Reading the Wikipedia article, it seems a normal fault is a type of slip fault. The horizontal fault being described seems like a strike-slip fault, but it doesn't appear that the distinction between that and a normal fault is related to whether the plates are moving towards or away form each other. 82.13.184.33 09:00, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

I have edited the last paragraph to make it more consistent with geological fault terminology. Faults are planes. The lines we see are where the plane intersects with the Earth's surface (or a cross-section). The terminology (normal, reverse, or strike-slip) depends on the relationship between the direction of movement — the slip — and the orientation of the fault plane within the Earth. Hopefully this helps. Waldronjwf (talk) 13:45, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

It might be worth noting in the text that "normal" as used by the geologists refers to the relative plate motion being perpendicular to the boundary between them, and away from each other. (Hence the plate on top of the diagonal fault plane falling downward; a reverse fault is when the plates move toward each other and the plate on top of the diagonal plane gets shoved upward.) But I'd feel better if someone with more knowledge of geology added that info. 163.116.145.42 14:00, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

I find no fault with this architectural design.--163.116.130.119 10:53, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

free reign

Mr. Munroe, I expected better of you. HaruruChanDesu (talk) 13:50, 13 August 2026 (UTC)
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