explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:829: Arsenic-Based Life

2024-11-24T13:34:45Z

172.70.134.161: wikihow editor

What a waste of good poison, the food at conferences usually does that on it's own anyways. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:27, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Maybe it is to be noted that in the comic, "serve cocktails and hors d'oerves" should have been written "serve cocktails and hors d'œuvres"? [[Special:Contributions/194.254.109.166|194.254.109.166]] 15:14, 24 October 2013 (UTC)
:I do not talk French but my dictionary tells me that "d'œuvre" (without the trailing ''s'') is correct. Thanks for your hint, explanation is updated.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:41, 24 October 2013 (UTC)
::"Hors d'oeuvres" is English; ''"hors d'œuvre"'' (with a ligature and without the trailing ''s'') is French. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.84|173.245.50.84]] 12:53, 29 January 2014 (UTC)
:::I am dumbfounded at the pronounciation part of the explanation. Do you really pronounce it with the "r" sound before the "v" sound? Why would you do that? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.102.216|141.101.102.216]] 15:24, 27 December 2014 (UTC)
:::: Basing my pronunciation on what I heard in the TV series ''Bewitched'', I get something like /ɔːˈdɜːv/. In a rhotic accent, this would be /ɔ:ɹˈdɜːɹv/. [[User:RyanofTinellb|RyanofTinellb]] ([[User talk:RyanofTinellb|talk]]) 01:18, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
:::::None the less angicised it is pronounced ordurves. Arsenic is a pick-me-up in low doses and widely used at one time to show off horses, especially at sales. Many people died through its abuse in the good old days. Many creatures exist on poisonous habitats. On one Nat Geo show they had bison in Yellowstone eating arsenic rich vegetation in winter.
::::::Here's the wikiHow article: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Event-Entertaining [[User:Agusbou2015|Agusbou2015]] ([[User talk:Agusbou2015|talk]]) 20:25, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

I have heard there is a grass in Amlwch's old copper quarry that can grow in copper rich soil that kills everything else.
Not sure how true any of that is but plenty of creatures live in extreme heat and pressure environments. [[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 21:33, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

My recollection, as an active wikiHow editor in 2010, is that while wikiHow had articles about parties and events, there was no article by that title when this comic was published. It was created ''Malamanteau'' style after the comic was brought to the attention of the wikiHow community. Since wikiHow unfortunately no longer makes article history available to the public, I checked it from my inactive account. The article was created on Dec 3 with an explicit instruction to lace the drinks with arsenic, nominated for deletion 2 days later for "inaccuracy", and remade on Dec 27 in a safe and mostly serious form, retaining the quoted line from the comic as the 7th of 8 steps. As of 2024, it still exists in a substantially similar form to that version, but is marked as a stub which hides it from search engines and most readers. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.161|172.70.134.161]] 13:34, 24 November 2024 (UTC)

787: Orbiter

2022-02-15T19:18:55Z

172.70.134.161: /* Explanation */ Updated Link

{{comic
| number = 787
| date = September 1, 2010
| title = Orbiter
| image = orbiter.png
| titletext = Normally, the Shuttle can't quite safely reach the orbital inclination required to pass over both those points from a Canaveral launch, but this is an alternate history in which either it launches from Vandenberg or everyone hates the Outer Banks.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about disputed territories and {{w|Low Earth orbit|low Earth orbits}}.

In the early days of manned spaceflight and also the {{w|Space Shuttle}} the communication to the {{w|Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center|mission control center}} in Houston required many ground stations all around the Earth. Each station could provide a link for only a few minutes and there were still gaps between them. After 1989/90, when the geostationary {{w|Tracking and data relay satellite|TDRS}} system became fully operational, these ground stations became obsolete.

In this comic [[Cueball]], the main controller at mission control, is planning the next check-in with the Space Shuttle (also called orbiter), which is set to occur at [https://www.google.com/maps/place/32%C2%B000'00.0%22N+35%C2%B030'00.0%22E/@-1.9607689,-49.5389658,3z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d32!4d35.5?hl=en 32.0N 35.5E], approx 20 miles north-east of Jerusalem, over the hotly contested {{w|Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Israeli-Palestinian territories}}. Frank and the other off-screen character start to dispute the ownership of this geographical location, and rather than becoming involved in an argument, Cueball decides to change the check-in location to [https://www.google.com/maps/place/35%C2%B012'00.0%22N+96%C2%B036'00.0%22W/@7.0800073,-69.7878505,3.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d35.2!4d-96.6?hl=en 35.2N 96.6W], approximately 50 miles east of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which he considers to be a neutral, non-disputed location. Unfortunately, Frank is being a dick, and he then starts to make the claim that {{w|Greer County, Texas|part of Oklahoma in fact should belong to Texas}}.

In the title text [[Randall]] incorrectly states that the orbiter would require a different orbit to reach both Palestine and Oklahoma, which cannot be achieved from a launch at {{w|Kennedy Space Center|Cape Canaveral}}. Thus, Randall proposes that the comic exists in an alternate history in which the Space Shuttles launch from {{w|Vandenberg Space Force Base|Vandenberg}}. This is a reference to the plans to launch shuttles from there before the {{w|Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Challenger accident}} occurred. After Challenger was lost, the Vandenberg missions were scrapped and Cape Canaveral became the sole launch site for the Space Shuttle. Another possibility in this alternate history is that the rules forbidding orbital launches from Cape Canaveral to a northern direction don't exist, because nobody likes the {{w|Outer Banks}} (which would be in the flight path) and thus don't care about space debris falling on them.

Randall's incorrectness was discussed in many forums and probably based on the wrong assumption that the inclination cannot be higher than the latitude of the launch site (28° at Cape Canaveral). But this is only the optimal inclination, actually all shuttle launches to the {{w|Mir|Mir station}} and the {{w|International Space Station}} did reach an inclination of 51.6°, with the cost of some payload mass. And following the ISS at [http://heavens-above.com/orbit.aspx?satid=25544 Heavens above] when it moves over Israel to the south it will pass over Texas approximately an hour later. Nevertheless this orbit is not possible at the first orbit after a launch in Cape Canaveral.

The title text doesn't mention the region south of Iceland from the beginning of the comic. This is roughly at 64° North or less (if more south) and the distance from the highest possible orbital inclination of 57° from the Cape is 780 km. But even 1,000 km south of Iceland is only the Atlantic Ocean and the nearest landmass is still Iceland, which could explain this vague location.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Okay, people. The orbiter is passing south of Iceland. The next scheduled check-in will be at 32.0N 35.5E, over the Palestinian territories.
:Off-screen character: You mean over the state of Palestine?
:Frank (off-screen): You mean over Israel?
:[Frameless beat panel.]
:Cueball: I've rescheduled the check-in for 35.2N 96.6W, over Oklahoma.
:Frank (off-screen): You mean occupied North Texas?
:Cueball: Dammit, Frank.

==Trivia==
*There was also a typo in the title text: It was written ''Vandenburg'' instead of ''Vandenberg''. This was later fixed.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Space]]

1490: Atoms

2022-02-14T22:56:02Z

172.70.134.161: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1490
| date = February 23, 2015
| title = Atoms
| image = atoms.png
| titletext = When I was little I had trouble telling my dad apart from the dog. I always recognized my mom because she had a bunch of extra plutoniums in her middle. I never did ask her why...
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows another quirky and fantastical ability of [[Beret Guy]].

In this comic, [[Megan]] is preparing a sample of what appears to be some mineral for {{w|elemental analysis}}. It seems to be some kind of {{w|silicate}} containing a small amount of {{w|iron}} (a common example of this would be {{w|red sandstone}}), and she is running a test to see if it contains {{w|beryllium}} (a rarer element whose best-known natural form is as a component of {{w|emerald}}). Such analyses typically involve many instruments and steps to prepare the sample. However, Beret Guy seems to be able to identify all the elements the substance is composed of just by eyeballing it, making him perhaps the perfect elemental analysis instrument.

To confirm this, Megan asks Beret Guy what he sees when he looks at her face, expecting that a normal person would describe the arrangement of colors and features that they see. Since Beret Guy sees the atoms Megan is composed of (mostly {{w|Composition_of_the_human_body|oxygen, carbon and hydrogen}}) he only notices the unusual atoms. In this case he sees the metal atoms her {{w|Dental_restoration#Materials_used|dental fillings}} are composed of. This shows his "atomic vision" extends beyond the surface of the substances. Megan finds this bizarre and asks Beret Guy what is wrong with him. He states that he has always suspected he contains too much {{w|zinc}}, which he believes makes people think he is weird, thus missing Megan’s point: what is weird is not Beret Guy’s elemental content, but his ability to apparently see everything as atoms sorted by element.

High zinc intake ({{w|Zinc toxicity|zinc toxicity}}) can cause nausea, vomiting, pain, cramps and diarrhea. It also reduces copper absorption, which affects the immune system. However, it does not grant superhuman sensory abilities.{{Citation needed}} That is solely a function of [https://coppermind.net/wiki/Tin tin].

The comic continues the theme of Beret Guy’s naive misunderstandings of scientific terminology turning to be literally true. In a previous [[1486: Vacuum|comic]] his misinterpretation of the notion of energy in the vacuum resulted in him gaining significant superpowers.

In the title text, the concept is taken even further: Beret Guy found his dad indistinguishable from a dog. This is likely because all mammals are essentially made of the same basic elements. Absent a distinguishing element from either his dad or the dog, they would appear to be the same. He could, however, apparently distinguish his mother because she contained {{w|plutonium}}. This is a very unusual occurrence that cannot possibly occur naturally in humans.{{Citation needed}} Some possible explanations are:
#She had an {{w|Radioisotope thermoelectric generator|RTG}}-powered pacemaker (a few hundred were made in the 1970s).
#She lived near Los Alamos during the second world war and was a member of the [http://warisboring.com/articles/the-scientists-who-pee-plutonium/ UPPU club (translated as “You pee Pu!”)]. Alternatively, she could have been exposed to another source such as {{w|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.
#She was one of {{w|The Stepford Wives}} robots.
#She was the victim of some unidentified, unethical medical experimentation.
It is also possible that the presence of plutonium in his mother may be the source of his own differences: radioactive exposure (in this case, potentially in utero) is a common source of super powers in comic books and other fiction (though unfortunately, this does not work in real life{{Citation needed}}).

It's not clear whether his mother's plutonium is related to his "too many zincs". One explanation for Beret Guy having too much zinc could be that his mother's plutonium changed into zinc through the process of {{w|radioactive decay}}.

Beret Guy’s mother containing plutonium is probably intended as a whimsical explanation of his powers, since it is a [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ILoveNuclearPower trope in fiction] for radioactivity to cause superpowers.

It is worth noting that the verbs "recognized" and "had" in the title text are written in past tense. This presents the possibility that Beret Guy's mother passed away due to {{w|radiation sickness}} from exposure to the radiation originating from the plutonium in her middle. This possibility is further evidenced when Beret Guy adds "I never did ask her why...", indicating that he may no longer have the opportunity to do so.

The English physicist {{w|Henry Moseley}} discovered the law relating the {{w|atomic number}} of elements with their {{w|characteristic x-ray|characteristic x-rays}} when bombarded by free electrons, providing physical evidence for the {{w|periodic table}}, the {{w|Bohr Model}} of the atom and the concept of {{w|atomic number}}. In doing so he developed a method of identifying elements in a substance by bombarding them in a vacuum with electrons and using {{w|x-ray diffraction}} methods to measure the resulting X-rays. A famous French chemist brought him a complicated mixture of {{w|Rare Earth element|Rare Earth elements}}, many of which had only recently been discovered, to test his method. Within a short time, Mosley amazed the chemist by identifying all the elements by number using his method and referring to his chart to name them. This comic may therefore be subtly alluding to this method by suggesting that Beret Guy's eyes can fire electrons at anything he looks at and "read" the resulting X-ray radiation, giving him the ability to identify the composite elements in a similar manner.

==Transcript==
:[Megan stands at a table and is preparing a sample for some kind of analysis in a device, when Beret Guy walks in.]
:Beret Guy: What’re you doing?
:Megan: Testing a sample for beryllium.
:Beret Guy: That? Yeah, there’s a bunch of berylliums.
:Megan: How do you know?

:[Megan turns to Beret Guy who takes the sample and looks at it.]
:Beret Guy: Look at it! See? Tons of oxygens and silicons, a few irons but definitely some berylliums too! Can’t you see them?

:[They continue to talk.]
:Megan: No, I can’t see a list of the atoms in a thing by looking.
:Beret Guy: How do you tell what things are?

:[Zoom in on Megan.]
:Megan: This is ridiculous. Look at me. What do you see?
:Beret Guy (off-panel): You have tons of metal in your face. Lots of fillings, I guess?

:[Megan stares at Beret Guy who takes a looks at his own arm.]
:Megan: What’s '''''wrong''''' with you?
:Beret Guy: Too many zincs? I’ve always worried I had too much zinc and everyone thought I was weird.

==Trivia==
*In the original version of the comic there was a typo in the title text, ''form'' instead of ''from'':
**I had trouble telling my dad apart '''form''' the dog.
Could possibly explain [[452: Mission]] if he believes all carbon based objects to be scones.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]

1490: Atoms

2022-02-14T22:51:48Z

172.70.134.161: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1490
| date = February 23, 2015
| title = Atoms
| image = atoms.png
| titletext = When I was little I had trouble telling my dad apart from the dog. I always recognized my mom because she had a bunch of extra plutoniums in her middle. I never did ask her why...
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows another quirky and fantastical ability of [[Beret Guy]].

In this comic, [[Megan]] is preparing a sample of what appears to be some mineral for {{w|elemental analysis}}. It seems to be some kind of {{w|silicate}} containing a small amount of {{w|iron}} (a common example of this would be {{w|red sandstone}}), and she is running a test to see if it contains {{w|beryllium}} (a rarer element whose best-known natural form is as a component of {{w|emerald}}). Such analyses typically involve many instruments and steps to prepare the sample. However, Beret Guy seems to be able to identify all the elements the substance is composed of just by eyeballing it, making him perhaps the perfect elemental analysis instrument.

To confirm this, Megan asks Beret Guy what he sees when he looks at her face, expecting that a normal person would describe the arrangement of colors and features that they see. Since Beret Guy sees the atoms Megan is composed of (mostly {{w|Composition_of_the_human_body|oxygen, carbon and hydrogen}}) he only notices the unusual atoms. In this case he sees the metal atoms her {{w|Dental_restoration#Materials_used|dental fillings}} are composed of. This shows his "atomic vision" extends beyond the surface of the substances. Megan finds this bizarre and asks Beret Guy what is wrong with him. He states that he has always suspected he contains too much {{w|zinc}}, which he believes makes people think he is weird, thus missing Megan’s point: what is weird is not Beret Guy’s elemental content, but his ability to apparently see everything as atoms sorted by element.

High zinc intake ({{w|Zinc toxicity|zinc toxicity}}) can cause nausea, vomiting, pain, cramps and diarrhea. It also reduces copper absorption, which affects the immune system. However, it does not grant superhuman sensory abilities.{{Citation needed}} That is solely a function of {{https://coppermind.net/wiki/Tin|tin}}.

The comic continues the theme of Beret Guy’s naive misunderstandings of scientific terminology turning to be literally true. In a previous [[1486: Vacuum|comic]] his misinterpretation of the notion of energy in the vacuum resulted in him gaining significant superpowers.

In the title text, the concept is taken even further: Beret Guy found his dad indistinguishable from a dog. This is likely because all mammals are essentially made of the same basic elements. Absent a distinguishing element from either his dad or the dog, they would appear to be the same. He could, however, apparently distinguish his mother because she contained {{w|plutonium}}. This is a very unusual occurrence that cannot possibly occur naturally in humans.{{Citation needed}} Some possible explanations are:
#She had an {{w|Radioisotope thermoelectric generator|RTG}}-powered pacemaker (a few hundred were made in the 1970s).
#She lived near Los Alamos during the second world war and was a member of the [http://warisboring.com/articles/the-scientists-who-pee-plutonium/ UPPU club (translated as “You pee Pu!”)]. Alternatively, she could have been exposed to another source such as {{w|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.
#She was one of {{w|The Stepford Wives}} robots.
#She was the victim of some unidentified, unethical medical experimentation.
It is also possible that the presence of plutonium in his mother may be the source of his own differences: radioactive exposure (in this case, potentially in utero) is a common source of super powers in comic books and other fiction (though unfortunately, this does not work in real life{{Citation needed}}).

It's not clear whether his mother's plutonium is related to his "too many zincs". One explanation for Beret Guy having too much zinc could be that his mother's plutonium changed into zinc through the process of {{w|radioactive decay}}.

Beret Guy’s mother containing plutonium is probably intended as a whimsical explanation of his powers, since it is a [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ILoveNuclearPower trope in fiction] for radioactivity to cause superpowers.

It is worth noting that the verbs "recognized" and "had" in the title text are written in past tense. This presents the possibility that Beret Guy's mother passed away due to {{w|radiation sickness}} from exposure to the radiation originating from the plutonium in her middle. This possibility is further evidenced when Beret Guy adds "I never did ask her why...", indicating that he may no longer have the opportunity to do so.

The English physicist {{w|Henry Moseley}} discovered the law relating the {{w|atomic number}} of elements with their {{w|characteristic x-ray|characteristic x-rays}} when bombarded by free electrons, providing physical evidence for the {{w|periodic table}}, the {{w|Bohr Model}} of the atom and the concept of {{w|atomic number}}. In doing so he developed a method of identifying elements in a substance by bombarding them in a vacuum with electrons and using {{w|x-ray diffraction}} methods to measure the resulting X-rays. A famous French chemist brought him a complicated mixture of {{w|Rare Earth element|Rare Earth elements}}, many of which had only recently been discovered, to test his method. Within a short time, Mosley amazed the chemist by identifying all the elements by number using his method and referring to his chart to name them. This comic may therefore be subtly alluding to this method by suggesting that Beret Guy's eyes can fire electrons at anything he looks at and "read" the resulting X-ray radiation, giving him the ability to identify the composite elements in a similar manner.

==Transcript==
:[Megan stands at a table and is preparing a sample for some kind of analysis in a device, when Beret Guy walks in.]
:Beret Guy: What’re you doing?
:Megan: Testing a sample for beryllium.
:Beret Guy: That? Yeah, there’s a bunch of berylliums.
:Megan: How do you know?

:[Megan turns to Beret Guy who takes the sample and looks at it.]
:Beret Guy: Look at it! See? Tons of oxygens and silicons, a few irons but definitely some berylliums too! Can’t you see them?

:[They continue to talk.]
:Megan: No, I can’t see a list of the atoms in a thing by looking.
:Beret Guy: How do you tell what things are?

:[Zoom in on Megan.]
:Megan: This is ridiculous. Look at me. What do you see?
:Beret Guy (off-panel): You have tons of metal in your face. Lots of fillings, I guess?

:[Megan stares at Beret Guy who takes a looks at his own arm.]
:Megan: What’s '''''wrong''''' with you?
:Beret Guy: Too many zincs? I’ve always worried I had too much zinc and everyone thought I was weird.

==Trivia==
*In the original version of the comic there was a typo in the title text, ''form'' instead of ''from'':
**I had trouble telling my dad apart '''form''' the dog.
Could possibly explain [[452: Mission]] if he believes all carbon based objects to be scones.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]

1490: Atoms

2022-02-14T22:51:06Z

172.70.134.161: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1490
| date = February 23, 2015
| title = Atoms
| image = atoms.png
| titletext = When I was little I had trouble telling my dad apart from the dog. I always recognized my mom because she had a bunch of extra plutoniums in her middle. I never did ask her why...
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows another quirky and fantastical ability of [[Beret Guy]].

In this comic, [[Megan]] is preparing a sample of what appears to be some mineral for {{w|elemental analysis}}. It seems to be some kind of {{w|silicate}} containing a small amount of {{w|iron}} (a common example of this would be {{w|red sandstone}}), and she is running a test to see if it contains {{w|beryllium}} (a rarer element whose best-known natural form is as a component of {{w|emerald}}). Such analyses typically involve many instruments and steps to prepare the sample. However, Beret Guy seems to be able to identify all the elements the substance is composed of just by eyeballing it, making him perhaps the perfect elemental analysis instrument.

To confirm this, Megan asks Beret Guy what he sees when he looks at her face, expecting that a normal person would describe the arrangement of colors and features that they see. Since Beret Guy sees the atoms Megan is composed of (mostly {{w|Composition_of_the_human_body|oxygen, carbon and hydrogen}}) he only notices the unusual atoms. In this case he sees the metal atoms her {{w|Dental_restoration#Materials_used|dental fillings}} are composed of. This shows his "atomic vision" extends beyond the surface of the substances. Megan finds this bizarre and asks Beret Guy what is wrong with him. He states that he has always suspected he contains too much {{w|zinc}}, which he believes makes people think he is weird, thus missing Megan’s point: what is weird is not Beret Guy’s elemental content, but his ability to apparently see everything as atoms sorted by element.

High zinc intake ({{w|Zinc toxicity|zinc toxicity}}) can cause nausea, vomiting, pain, cramps and diarrhea. It also reduces copper absorption, which affects the immune system. However, it does not grant superhuman sensory abilities.{{Citation needed}} That is solely a function of {{https://coppermind.net/wiki/Tin tin}}.

The comic continues the theme of Beret Guy’s naive misunderstandings of scientific terminology turning to be literally true. In a previous [[1486: Vacuum|comic]] his misinterpretation of the notion of energy in the vacuum resulted in him gaining significant superpowers.

In the title text, the concept is taken even further: Beret Guy found his dad indistinguishable from a dog. This is likely because all mammals are essentially made of the same basic elements. Absent a distinguishing element from either his dad or the dog, they would appear to be the same. He could, however, apparently distinguish his mother because she contained {{w|plutonium}}. This is a very unusual occurrence that cannot possibly occur naturally in humans.{{Citation needed}} Some possible explanations are:
#She had an {{w|Radioisotope thermoelectric generator|RTG}}-powered pacemaker (a few hundred were made in the 1970s).
#She lived near Los Alamos during the second world war and was a member of the [http://warisboring.com/articles/the-scientists-who-pee-plutonium/ UPPU club (translated as “You pee Pu!”)]. Alternatively, she could have been exposed to another source such as {{w|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.
#She was one of {{w|The Stepford Wives}} robots.
#She was the victim of some unidentified, unethical medical experimentation.
It is also possible that the presence of plutonium in his mother may be the source of his own differences: radioactive exposure (in this case, potentially in utero) is a common source of super powers in comic books and other fiction (though unfortunately, this does not work in real life{{Citation needed}}).

It's not clear whether his mother's plutonium is related to his "too many zincs". One explanation for Beret Guy having too much zinc could be that his mother's plutonium changed into zinc through the process of {{w|radioactive decay}}.

Beret Guy’s mother containing plutonium is probably intended as a whimsical explanation of his powers, since it is a [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ILoveNuclearPower trope in fiction] for radioactivity to cause superpowers.

It is worth noting that the verbs "recognized" and "had" in the title text are written in past tense. This presents the possibility that Beret Guy's mother passed away due to {{w|radiation sickness}} from exposure to the radiation originating from the plutonium in her middle. This possibility is further evidenced when Beret Guy adds "I never did ask her why...", indicating that he may no longer have the opportunity to do so.

The English physicist {{w|Henry Moseley}} discovered the law relating the {{w|atomic number}} of elements with their {{w|characteristic x-ray|characteristic x-rays}} when bombarded by free electrons, providing physical evidence for the {{w|periodic table}}, the {{w|Bohr Model}} of the atom and the concept of {{w|atomic number}}. In doing so he developed a method of identifying elements in a substance by bombarding them in a vacuum with electrons and using {{w|x-ray diffraction}} methods to measure the resulting X-rays. A famous French chemist brought him a complicated mixture of {{w|Rare Earth element|Rare Earth elements}}, many of which had only recently been discovered, to test his method. Within a short time, Mosley amazed the chemist by identifying all the elements by number using his method and referring to his chart to name them. This comic may therefore be subtly alluding to this method by suggesting that Beret Guy's eyes can fire electrons at anything he looks at and "read" the resulting X-ray radiation, giving him the ability to identify the composite elements in a similar manner.

==Transcript==
:[Megan stands at a table and is preparing a sample for some kind of analysis in a device, when Beret Guy walks in.]
:Beret Guy: What’re you doing?
:Megan: Testing a sample for beryllium.
:Beret Guy: That? Yeah, there’s a bunch of berylliums.
:Megan: How do you know?

:[Megan turns to Beret Guy who takes the sample and looks at it.]
:Beret Guy: Look at it! See? Tons of oxygens and silicons, a few irons but definitely some berylliums too! Can’t you see them?

:[They continue to talk.]
:Megan: No, I can’t see a list of the atoms in a thing by looking.
:Beret Guy: How do you tell what things are?

:[Zoom in on Megan.]
:Megan: This is ridiculous. Look at me. What do you see?
:Beret Guy (off-panel): You have tons of metal in your face. Lots of fillings, I guess?

:[Megan stares at Beret Guy who takes a looks at his own arm.]
:Megan: What’s '''''wrong''''' with you?
:Beret Guy: Too many zincs? I’ve always worried I had too much zinc and everyone thought I was weird.

==Trivia==
*In the original version of the comic there was a typo in the title text, ''form'' instead of ''from'':
**I had trouble telling my dad apart '''form''' the dog.
Could possibly explain [[452: Mission]] if he believes all carbon based objects to be scones.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]

Talk:151: Mario

2022-02-13T17:47:36Z

172.70.134.161:

Mario is not the star, Mario's the plumber. Muahaha. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 12:24, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Am I the only person intrigued by the fact that he used European quotes («»)?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 22:21, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

Those aren't European; they're French. And I don't think he meant them to be quotation marks, they remind me of how the work "1-up" flashes on the screen in early mario games. That's a hard thing to
represent with text, so maybe that's what he was going for. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 19:07, 27 September 2017 (UTC)
:: iirc chevrons are also used in Russian. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.161|172.70.134.161]] 17:47, 13 February 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

1169: Expedition

2022-01-31T22:59:43Z

172.70.134.161: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1169
| date = February 4, 2013
| title = Expedition
| image = expedition.png
| titletext = I'm pretty sure I've logged more hours in Google Maps over the past decade than in any game.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Google Maps}} is a service provided by {{w|Google}} that offers a map of the world including satellite and aerial imagery for free. Using the {{w|scroll wheel}}, the user can zoom out to see a larger area. {{w|Lena River}} is a river in Russia, flowing into the Arctic Ocean (with a large {{w|River delta|delta}}).

Clicking on the comic leads to an online Google Maps page showing [https://maps.google.com/?ll=73.103006,126.44577&spn=0.272619,1.385651&t=h&z=10 the satellite imagery of the Lena Delta]. Travelling south up the river will lead to the city of {{w|Yakutsk}} and eventually to {{w|Lake Baikal}}.

It appears that [[Cueball]] is simply trying to explore the world without leaving his laptop or purchasing an expensive game.

Alternatively, he may be playing [http://www.Mapcrunch.com Mapcrunch], this 'game' randomizes a street view location with the goal of finding the airport.

The title text states that he apparently somewhat still treats it as a game and that he has been on it for at least a decade.

In the years since, a game called GeoGuessr has been released, with the user being put into a random location in Google Street View and asked to guess where they are in the world by analyzing clues in their environment. This often necessitates the user making their way from the middle of the wilderness to some manner of civilization, exactly as in the comic.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is at a computer.]
:''February 4th:''
:''Departed the mouth of the Lena River, heading south.''
:''It has been nearly half an hour and still no sign of civilization.''
:''The scroll wheel tempts me, but I will not cheat.''
:Click click click

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My hobby: Getting lost on Google Maps satellite

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Google Maps]]