531: Contingency Plan
| Contingency Plan |
 Title text: Kids are genetic experiments. We're just experimenting responsibly! |
Explanation[edit]
Megan comments that Cueball is force-feeding their child so many sugary drinks that the child runs the risk of developing diabetes. Cueball responds that that is the plan, since if anything were to go wrong, they'll just have to stop giving her insulin, which will kill her. Cueball then comments that he thus takes the Jurassic Park approach to parenting. Bad parenting is a recurring theme in xkcd.
Jurassic Park is a series of books and films centering on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. In particular, the park scientists give the dinosaurs lysine deficiency as a contingency plan, so that if some dinosaur were to escape, it wouldn't be able to survive in the wild. In practice, lysine can easily be obtained by eating protein-rich foods like red meat, lamb or pork.
The title text continues the theme, noting that having children is basically one big genetic experiment, and that Cueball is experimenting responsibly, by having a contingency plan, thinking ahead as to the possible consequences of his experiment.
The child interestingly cannot be seen in the crib. It may be that the sides of the crib are solid rather than barred like a traditional crib, or, more likely, Randall simply forgot to draw the child.
Transcript[edit]
- [Megan and Cueball holding a green bottle are standing beside a crib. Another green bottle is lying on the floor.]
- Megan: More sugary drinks? Are you trying to give her diabetes?
- Cueball: Yeah - then we keep her supplied with insulin unless things go wrong.
[Caption below the frame:]
- I take the Jurassic Park approach to parenting.
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I don't think the idea is that the parents would kill the child if something went wrong (that would not be responsible parenting.) I think the idea is that the child would not be able to run away from home and there would be no incentive for someone to kidnap the child, since it could not live without insulin from the parents. 213.203.138.251 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
- Given the story of Jurassic Park I think you are wrong. 184.66.160.91 16:35, 22 October 2013 (UTC)
- Agreed. 108.162.219.223 20:58, 23 December 2013 (UTC)
From what I can find, this comic is confusing type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Giving your child lots of sugar would give them type 2 diabetes, but insulin is only required to treat type 1 diabetes. 199.27.130.192 22:46, 14 March 2015 (UTC)
- Severe cases of type 2 diabetes can also be treated with insulin, but whats more important: There is no direct connection between sugar intake and developing type 2. It would be more "efficient" to feed the child with fat-products. 162.158.90.212 09:17, 20 October 2015 (UTC)
(velociraptor noise) Z1mp0st0rz (talk) 16:59, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
