3323: Meteor Fear

Meteor Fear

|< < Prev #3323 (November 11, 2026)

Title text: Don't worry--even though small and potentially deadly meteors hit the ground all the time, statistically you're actually much more likely to die from a rare large one that destroys your whole area!

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Explanation

This is one of 70 incomplete explanations: This page was created by a sort of rare medium sized meteor. Don't remove this notice too soon. You can help by editing the explanation!

In the comic, Cueball seems to have been approached by Hairy who is afraid of being hit by a meteor. Cueball attempts to reassure Hairy by telling him that meteors are not likely to hit him (which is true, being estimated at a 1 in 1.6 million lifetime chance), but then, counter-intuitively adds that other disasters are much more likely to kill him, which leads to Hairy being more afraid, not less, in an example of the "Assurance Backfire" trope. The text below the comic elaborates that Cueball, or perhaps Randall himself, needs to work on his strategies to reassure people, indicating that they do this often. This could be a behavior that Cueball has had before, like in 674: Natural Parenting.

The title text adds further, saying that rather than a more common small meteor hitting Hairy that it's far more likely for a disaster sized meteor to completely wipe out his area, again failing to make Hairy feel safer or reassured.

Transcript

This is one of 45 incomplete transcripts: Don't remove this notice too soon. You can help by editing the transcript!

[Cueball is standing to the left of Hairy, who is significantly shorter than him.]

Cueball: You don't need to be scared of meteors!

Cueball: There are so many natural disasters that are statistically much more likely to kill you.

Cueball: I mean, just off the top of my head, there's...

[Caption below panel]:

I need to work on my strategies for reassuring people.

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Discussion

Only 10 comics until 3333! Resu (talk) 20:02, 11 November 2026 (UTC)

Hi. I am not going to edit this cause I'm in the middle of class, but an empty explenation107.1.219.44 20:04, 11 November 2026 (UTC)

i just changed a ton of stuff, it's my first edit and someone should probably kill it with fire--what's a signature? (talk) 20:26, 11 November 2026 (UTC)

I added a bit more, linking to another comic(This is TicTac 2 but forgot to sign in) This is my first proper major edit to an explanation, so its probably terrible as well107.1.219.44 20:32, 11 November 2026 (UTC)

someone should add how likely each thing is to happen.--what's a signature? (talk) 20:28, 11 November 2026 (UTC)

idk if that's possible 107.1.219.44 20:33, 11 November 2026 (UTC)

to review on my perv comment, I mean like it could be erratic, and more common sometimes and sometimes less (this is just a guess)TicTac_ :P (talk) 20:37, 11 November 2026 (UTC)

Hi, I am not mother tongue, so maybe I am seeing something that could only function in my language, however speaking of meteors, there is that “off the top of my head” that seems a pun… Vdm (talk) 20:50, 11 November 2026 (UTC)

not trying to be rude, but I don't think that's a pun, I think its just what he thinks of right now TicTac_ :P (talk) 20:53, 11 November 2026 (UTC)
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