explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1557: Ozymandias

2015-07-29T05:44:20Z

173.245.50.145:

Look upon this comment and despair!

So... [http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Planepacked Planepacked]? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.145|173.245.50.145]] 05:44, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

1256: Questions

2014-12-18T18:49:51Z

173.245.50.145: Section 5

{{comic
| number = 1256
| date = August 26, 2013
| title = Questions
| image = questions.png
| titletext = To whoever typed 'why is arwen dying': GOOD. FUCKING. QUESTION.
}}
A larger version of the picture can be found [http://xkcd.com/1256/large/ here]
.
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Many questions unanswered.}}
{{w|Google}}, a rather popular internet search engine, has a feature known as [https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/106230?hl=en autocomplete] that guesses at search queries before they are fully typed out. These guesses are generally made based on popular searches by other people. From time to time, a particularly strange or hilarious one may be found, as is evidenced in this comic.

The largest pictured questions are: "Why are there slaves in the bible" and "Why are there ants in my laptop".

All of the questions in the comic are "why" questions, so many of them are predicated on false assumptions, such as "Why are there pyramids on the moon".

Regarding the title text: in the Peter Jackson films of {{w|The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy}}, Arwen becomes sickly for unspecified reasons as the plot advances, apparently giving Aragorn a more personal reason to fight. The only explanation given is by Elrond, who says "As Sauron's power grows, her [Arwen's] strength wanes." This subplot is entirely absent from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings|original novels}}.

From [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167260/faq#.2.1.21 IMDB]: <blockquote>
Arwen, like her father (and brothers) is considered to be a Half-Elf, the result of a union between an Elf and a mortal human. The Half-Elven of Middle-earth get a choice, to remain immortal and return to the West (Valinor) or to become mortal and to die as humans do. Elrond chose to remain an Elf. Arwen (like her uncle Elros) chooses to become mortal in order to wed and remain with Aragorn. Elrond senses this; this is what he means when he says that Arwen is dying. It is the same as in The Last Unicorn, when the unicorn is given the form of a human woman and can feel that she is no longer immortal ("I can feel this body dying all around me"). According to Tolkien, though, after Aragorn dies in the year 120 (Fourth Age), Arwen returns to Lórien, where she dies by choice the following winter. </blockquote>

==Selected answers==
The tables below have been created so as to split the comic into almost entirely arbitrary blocks, which have then been identified with similarly arbitrary numbers. As a general rule, section numbers work top to bottom, then right to left.
===Illustrated Panels===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
|Why aren't my arms growing?||Arms stop growing because longer arms would not be a very useful way to spend resources, and therefore your DNA tells your body not to grow your arms any more.
|-
|Why are there ghosts?||There is no hard evidence of ghosts.
|-
|Why are there squirrels?||Squirrels exist because they fit their biological niche better than any other species.
|-
|Why is sex so important?||Sex is important because it is the primary method of reproduction in many different species.
|-
| Why aren't there guns in Harry Potter? || In the {{w|Harry Potter}} universe, Muggle technology (human inventions) are often looked down on by wizards - the majority of half-blooded wizards like Harry won't touch one, let alone a wizard extremist like {{w|Voldemort}}. Not only does any Muggle device more complex than a wristwatch interfere with magical artifacts, but wands are usually more versatile than most guns; a revolver can't shoot lightning or summon items or teleport its user. Finally, while Harry himself may or may not consider using firearms due to his Muggle upbringing, ''Harry Potter'' is a children's book (which usually doesn't include guns) set in the United Kingdom (which has stricter gun laws than, say, the United States).
|-
|-
|}

===Section One===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why do whales jump? || To the whale, it's like going into outer space!
|-
|Why are witches green? || See {{w|Wizard of Oz}}.
|-
|Why are there mirrors above beds?|| Often, these are used by couples to view themselves during coitus.
|-
|Why do I say Uh?||See ''[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/06/the_odd_body_language_fillers/ Why do we say 'um', 'er', or 'ah' when we hesitate in speaking?]''.
|-
| Why is sea salt better? || The question likely refers to the difference between common {{w|Fortified table salt}} and usually more expensive sea salt. While the major part of both of these is sodium chloride (NaCl) the idea behind the claim is the different composition mostly in regards to trace elements of sea salt compared to "normal" salt. Table salt's composition is often influenced by a country's health department and thus addition of trace elements is regulated. While these regulations are based on scientific studies there remain to be debates concerning the additions, such as iodine.
|-
| Why are there trees in the middle of fields? || Many images of fields contain singular trees in the middle of them. While there exist such trees it is likely an artistic choice to give a more pleasing or aesthetically satisfying image compared to just a field. In modern agriculture those would in fact be quite troublesome since they are a hindrance to large machines used and a new tree would be unlikely to grow in a constantly worked field.
|-
| Why is there not a Pokémon MMO? || {{w|Pokémon}} is a popular franchise, spanning game consoles, anime series, a trading card game, and many other things. Among fans, it is a frequent topic of discussion why a Pokémon {{w|massively multiplayer online game}} has not been officially announced by the series' developers {{w|Game Freak}}, as they often [http://www.dorkly.com/comic/52546/be-careful-what-you-wish-for predict] that such a game would be extremely popular, and bring in massive revenue for the company. However, if Game Freak were to develop a Pokémon MMO the MMOs would be strong competition against the console games and therefore reducing the Pokémon demographic significantly.
|-
|Why is there laughing in TV shows? || Sitcoms were once filmed with an audience, so the actors could respond to their reactions. That's the historical reason why there were laughs in TV shows. The tradition continues, with the difference that now the laughter mostly comes from recorded tapes. See {{w|Laugh track}}.
|-
|Why are there doors on the freeway?|| Highway/freeway {{w|noise barrier|noise barriers}} sometimes have doors in them to allow workers access to both sides of the barrier.
|-
|Why are there so many svchost.exe running?||See {{w|svchost.exe}}.
|-
| Why aren't there any countries in Antarctica? || {{w|Antarctica}} is the southern most continent and is by large covered in ice and in general pretty cold. While it is a regular target of tourists and researchers it also lacks native human inhabitants. At the moment, the territorial claims concerning Antarctica are mostly handled via the {{w|Antarctic Treaty System}}. In short there are a few countries who claim certain parts of the continent as their own in theory but so far it is considered neutral territory and most maps don't concern themselves with displaying the (in some regards disputed) territorial claims because they do not matter at this point in time. If there are ever any worthwhile resources discovered, this might change.
|-
|Why are there scary sounds in Minecraft?|| To add atmosphere and to give players hints when there is a dark cave nearby. See [http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Ambience Minecraft Wiki].
|-
|Why is there kicking in my stomach?||See ''[http://www.webmd.com/baby/fetal-movement-feeling-baby-kick Feeling Your Baby Kick]''. Here, ''stomach'' means ''abdomen''.
|-
|Why are there two slashes after http?||See ''[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1220286/Sir-Tim-Berners-Lee-admits-forward-slashes-web-address-mistake.html Sir Tim Berners-Lee admits the forward slashes in every web address 'were a mistake']''.
|-
|Why are there celebrities?||There are certain people who are more respected and well-known than other people, whether it be because of their acting career, major advancements to science, or a sex tape.
|-
|Why do snakes exist?|| The question is rather general and likely based on a widespread dislike for the reptilians. Be it due to their appearance, their spread, or the danger a few snakes pose to humans (often due to being venomous) many people have a dislike for snakes and would prefer them to not exist (similar to spiders).
In regards to "why do snakes exist on earth?": Because evolution. Snakes fill a gap in the ecosystem as predators and hunt different species, including vermin. Snakes are in that regard similar to many other predatory animals. The question on why snakes developed with their distinct streamlined shape is still debated but {{w|snakes|likely it either provided an advantage when burrowing or swimming}}.
|-
|Why do oysters have pearls?||{{w|Creation of a pearl|From Wikipedia}}: <blockquote>Pearls are formed inside the shell of certain mollusks as a defense mechanism against a potentially threatening irritant such as a parasite inside the shell, or an attack from outside, injuring the mantle tissue. The mollusk creates a pearl sac to seal off the irritation. Pearls are commonly viewed by scientists as a by-product of an adaptive immune system-like function.</blockquote>
|-
|Why are ducks called ducks?||See {{w|Duck#Etymology}}. {{W|wikt:duck|According to Wiktionary}}, the noun ''duck'' can be traced back to the {{w|Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic}} word {{w|wikt:Appendix:Proto-Germanic/dūkaną|''dūkaną''}} ("to dive, bend down"), and, in turn, the {{w|Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European}} {{w|wikt:Appendix:Proto-Indo-European/dʰewb-|''dʰewb-''}} ("deep, hollow"), which is the origin of the verb ''to duck''. The link between the noun and the verb comes from ducks' tendency to dive under water for short periods of time.
|-
|Why do they call it the clap?||An old folk remedy for {{w|gonorrhea}} was to clap on the sides of the penis.
|-
|Why are Kyle and Cartman friends?|| The question relates to the TV show {{w|South Park}}. Both are children living in the small titular town in Colorado. Cartman is widely accepted to a be very bad person, one of his many character flaws being his antisemitism. Kyle on the other hand is a Jew. However, both, along with two other kids, Stan and Kenny, are the core focus of the show (or used to be) and to some extent are considered to be friends. While there are episodes which show Cartman being not entirely a horrible person and him holding Kyle in a position of at least a worthy adversary, most of the time the question should be "Why is anyone friends with Cartman?" However, they most likely remain "friends" because they are in the same class at school and are therefore "forced" to be around one another.
|-
|Why is there an arrow on Aang's head?||{{w|Avatar: The Last Airbender#Characters|Aang}} is the main character of the TV series {{w|Avatar the last Airbender|Avatar - The last Airbender}} and features as part of a large body spanning tattoo an arrow on his head. These tattoos are made to replicate the markings of one of the shows fictional animals, the air bison which are regarded as the original air benders. They are given to human air benders once they attain the status of masters. Because Aang acquired this status very early in life he was already tattooed accordingly.
|-
|Why are text messages blue?||This likely refers to imessage chat being blue. These messages are blue when sending a message to another apple device.
|-
|Why are there mustaches on clothes?||Because some people buy them. Mustaches, especially handlebar-style mustaches, were a popular fad at the time of this comic.
|-
|Why are there mustaches on cars?||Fuzzy pink mustaches are used to designate cars in the {{w|Lyft}} service.
|-
|Why are there mustaches everywhere?||See {{w|Movember}}
|-
|Why are there so many birds in Ohio?||
|-
|Why is there so much rain in Ohio?|| {{w|lake_effect|Lake-effect}} rain develops in the same manner as lake-effect snow.
|-
|Why is Ohio weather so weird?||See {{w|Lake-effect snow}}.
|-
|}

===Section Two===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why are there male and female bikes? || {{w|bicycle|From Wikipedia}}: <blockquote>Historically, women's bicycle frames had a top tube that connected in the middle of the seat tube instead of the top, resulting in a lower {{w|Frame geometry|standover height}} at the expense of compromised structural integrity, since this places a strong bending load in the seat tube, and bicycle frame members are typically weak in bending. This design, referred to as a '''''{{w|step-through frame}}''''' or as an ''open frame'', allows the rider to mount and dismount in a dignified way while wearing a skirt or dress.</blockquote>
|-
|Why are there bridesmaids?||See {{w|Bridesmaid#Origin and history}}.
|-
|Why do dying people reach up?|| In many works of fiction dying people are regarded with an outstretched arm, grasping for unseen objects towards the sky. In all likelihood this originates in the idea of heaven as the place where (good) people go after death. People "reach for the light" which is seen when dying according to similar beliefs or possibly for already dead relatives or other associated people waiting for them. An alternative hypothesis is that they want to hug/touch their loved ones one last time.
|-
|Why aren't there varicose arteries?||Blood moves through veins due to irregular pressure from skeletal muscles combined with valves to control direction. In varicose veins these valves malfunction affecting blood flow. In arteries blood flow is produced directly from pressure caused by the heart.
|-
|Why are old Klingons different?|| {{w|Klingon Redesign|From Wikipedia}}: <blockquote>For {{w|Star Trek: The Motion Picture}} (1979), the Klingons were retconned and their appearance and behavior radically changed. To give the aliens a more sophisticated and threatening demeanor, the Klingons were depicted with ridged foreheads, snaggled and prominent teeth, and a defined language and alphabet. Lee Cole, a production designer, used red gels and primitive shapes in the design of Klingon consoles and ship interiors, which took on a dark and moody atmosphere. The alphabet was designed as angular, with sharp edges harkening to the Klingon's militaristic focus.[5] Costume designer Robert Fletcher created new uniforms for the Klingons, reminiscent of feudal Japanese armor.</blockquote>
|-
|Why is programming so hard?||Programming is the art of writing instructions for a computer to do. Since the computer has a limited set of instructions for you to use it involves a new way of thinking for many. It is also hard because the computer itself is not smart or adaptable to unexpected problems. For instance when a human is told to sort books in a shelf, he or she can do that despite there might be things in the way (he or she will just move it to the side). A computer generally just crash if it doesn't have instructions on how to deal with the unexcepted problem.
|-
|Why is there a 0 Ohm resistor?|| A resistor is usually designed to create a certain resistance, measured in {{w|Ohm}} in an electronic device. A 0 Ohm resistor seems pointless as it would only provide the same resistance as a normal cable. However, Wikipedia's {{w|Zero-ohm link}} article gives sufficient explanation.
|-
|Why do Americans hate soccer? || Soccer, or football in British English, is rather unpopular in the USA compared to most other regions of the world. Finding a particular reason behind the (dis)like for certain sports, apart from cultural spread, is difficult. One possible explanation is soccer's tendency to have far fewer points scored in an average game and a higher likelihood of draws compared to such things as American Football, basketball or baseball, which are far more popular. In how far this is a legitimate argument for regarding soccer as "less interesting" is up to debate.
|-
|Why do rhymes sound good?||The brain enjoys repetition especially in music.
|-
|Why do trees die?||Some common reasons include lack of water, lack of nitrogen in the soil and being chopped down.
|-
|Why is there no sound on CNN?||Some stations broadcast a {{w|second audio program}}, an alternative sound track that your TV can be configured to use instead of the primary program. This is intended to be used for broadcasting in an alternate language, or for {{w|Descriptive Video Service}} to make a program accessible to the visually impaired. Many programs that don't actually use SAP will still broadcast an SAP that is identical to the primary program; however, this is not required. If your TV is configured to use SAP and a particular channel isn't broadcasting SAP at that time, there won't be any sound.
|-
|Why aren't Pokémon real?||Pokémon are fantasised creatures that were designed to produce an interesting battle mechanic in a game. Some of the pokémons abilities would be impossible on earth as we know it. For instance, Magcargo is hotter than the surface of the sun<ref name="Bulbapedia Magcargo"> [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Magcargo#Trivia|Magcargo]]</ref>.
|-
|Why aren't bullets sharp?||See {{w|Terminal ballistics}}.
|-
|Why do dreams seem so real?|| Most dreams occur during a stage known as REM (Rapid Eye Movement). During REM, your brain is highly active and its wave pattern is the same as the wave patterns in a person who is awake. It should be noted that dreams can occur during other stages of sleep but most dreams that are vivid occur during the REM stage.
|-
|}

===Section Three===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why do testicles move?|| The scrotum shrinks and expands to account for temperature changes.
|-
| Why are there psychics?|| Without physics the world would cease to exist.
|-
| Why are hats so expensive?|| Hats can be expensive depending on the quality of material, size, location, and demand. A probable answer is that hats are simply difficult to make, causing high prices.
|-
| Why is there caffeine in my shampoo?|| Caffeine penetrates the hair roots, thereby protecting the hair from negative testosterone impacts and from premature hair loss.
|-
| Why do your boobs hurt?|| The most probable reason is that your bra doesn't fit correctly. It could also be a hormone imbalance or awkwardly shaped breasts.
|}

===Section Four===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why aren't economists rich? || Economists study the economy. In order to become rich, one has to take part in the economy by trading or producing goods or services.
|-
| Why do Americans call it soccer? || {{w|Association Football}} is called Soccer in the USA because {{w|American Football}} is the more popular version there.
|-
| Why are my ears ringing? || {{w|Tinnitus}}, or ringing of the ears, can result from stress, foreign objects in the ear, hearing damage, wax build up, or any other number of causes.
|-
| Why are there so many Avengers? ||
|-
|Why are the Avengers fighting the X Men || {{w|Avengers vs. X-Men}} was a 2012 Marvel crossover event that, like many other recent comic book events, had heroes fight other heroes. In this case, the {{w|Avengers (comics)|Avengers}} and the {{w|X-Men}} fought over the {{w|Phoenix Force (comics)|Phoenix Force}}, a godlike power that often possesses {{w|Jean Grey}} or her descendants (in this case, her alternate universe daughter Hope Summers). The Avengers believed the Phoenix Force is too powerful for humanity to control and wanted to contain it, while the X-Men believed the Phoenix was the messiah for mutants and could fix all of the Earth's problems.
|-
|Why is Wolverine not in the Avengers || Wolverine ''has'' been an Avenger, in some circumstances. e.g. in the {{w|The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes}} cartoon series, the episode ''New Avengers'' had Wolverine (along with Spiderman, War Machine, The Thing and Luke Cage and Iron Fist) substitute while the 'original' Avengers were unavailable to deal with the current crisis (which of course included the fate of the 'proper' Avengers). However, in general his anti-authority personality makes him a difficult team-member to field, and he has frequently disassociated himself even from the X-Men. But, in Avengers vs. X-Men (see above) Wolverine ''sided'' with The Avengers, and more modern treatments have even included the character in about as much a permanent a membership of the group as Logan is ever likely to have.

But if the question is about why Wolverine didn't appear in {{w|The Avengers (2012 film)|''The Avengers''}}, the answer is that ''The Avengers'' is being produced by Marvel/Disney, while Fox still has the rights to the X-Men and all Marvel mutants in general. Unless there is studio agreement, the two properties cannot cross, except through complicated machinations. For example, there are plans to bring Avengers mainstays Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch to both the ''Avengers'' and ''X-Men'' franchises, but only the Fox films have the right to call them the children of Magneto, and Marvel/Disney cannot even identify them on-screen as "mutants".
|}

===Section Five===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
|Why are there ants in my laptop? || Ants usually come in your laptop when there are little crumbs of food. It is advised to get screen protectors.
|-
| Why is Earth tilted? || The Earth is not tilted. Axial tilt is just a result of conservation of momentum when the Earth was formed, because not everything orbits in the same way. It is pure happenstance that Earth's axis is not normal to its plane of orbit.
|-
| Why is space black? || What we call black is the absence of light. Space is mostly empty. Whe we look at a part of space where there is nothing that can reflect the stars' light, it consequently appears black to us.
|-
| Why is outer space so cold? || Space is not cold. There is no matter in space. However, most of space has very little radiation hitting it, so a person won't recieve any energy, but will still radiate some away, resulting in a net loss of energy, colloquially "heat."
|-
| Why are there pyramids on the moon? || There are no pyramids on the moon.
|-
| Why is NASA shutting down? ||
|}

===Section <strike>Spider</strike> Six===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why are there tiny spiders in my house? ||
|-
| Why do spiders come inside? ||
|-
| Why are there huge spiders in my house? ||
|-
| Why are there lots of spiders in my house? ||
|-
| Why are there spiders in my room? ||
|-
| Why are there so many spiders in my room? ||
|-
| Why do spider bites itch? ||
|-
| Why is dying so scary? ||
|-
| Why is there no GPS in laptops? ||
|-
| Why do knees click? ||
|-
| Why aren't there E grades? ||
|-
| Why is isolation bad? ||
|-
| Why do boys like me? ||
|-
| Why don't boys like me? ||
|-
| Why is there always a Java update? ||
|-
| Why are there red dots on my thighs? ||
|-
| Why is lying good? ||
|}

===Section Seven===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why are there slaves in the bible? ||
|-
| Why do twins have different fingerprints? ||
|-
| Why are Americans afraid of dragons? ||
|-
| Why is HTTPS crossed out in red? ||
|-
| Why is there a line through HTTPS? ||
|-
| Why is there a red line through HTTPS on Facebook? ||
|-
| Why is HTTPS important? ||
|}

===Section Eight===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why are there swarms of gnats? ||
|-
| Why is there phlegm? ||
|-
| Why are there so many crows in Rochester, MN || From a Minnesota Paper, [http://www.startribune.com/local/138902104.html the Star Tribune], "Laws prevent the city from poisoning the crows". "Duffy [Steve Duffy, a co-owner of U.S. Bird Abatement Services, which has contracted with Rochester to get rid of the crows] isn't sure why Rochester has such a bad crow problem; probably a confluence of many bird-friendly conditions that has also made it a magnet for geese. He's seen worse cases, but called Rochester's situation 'hideous.'" And best of all, "The city has twice this winter hired experts to chase them off. They tried lasers and bullhorns — hey, get out of here, you crows — and even employed raptors to pick them off, one by one. That worked, for awhile." Unfortunately, they mean a {{w|bird of prey}}, not a {{w|velociraptor}}.
|-
| Why is Psychic weak to Bug || In Pokémon, Pokémon of the psychic type like Mr. Mime are weak to three types of attacks: Ghost, Dark, and Bug. The general theory is that Psychic Pokémon, relying heavily on their thoughts for attacks, are weak to fears, which ghosts, darkness, and bugs can be classified as.
|-
| Why do children get cancer? ||
|-
| Why is Poseidon angry with Odysseus? || {{w|Poseidon}} was the patron deity of the city of {{w|Troy}}, which after a 10 years siege by the Greeks fell due to {{w|Odysseus}}' list of the {{w|Trojan_Horse|Trojan horse}}. As the Greeks were returning home after the Trojan War, Oddyseus' ship accidentally landed on the island home of the cyclops Polyphemus, who imprisoned the crew and ate many of them. In order to escape, Odysseus blinded the cyclops. Poseidon, Polyphemus' father, was extremely angered by his son being blinded, so he cursed Odysseus' ship to prevent him from reaching his home in {{W|Ithaca}}. The adventures which Odysseus encountered during his quest for reaching Ithaca are the main theme of {{w|Homer|Homer's}} {{w|Odyssey}} The Odyssey also says that before sailing, the crew forgot to offer a sacrifice as was ordained.
|-
| Why is there ice in space? ||
|}

===Section <strike>Owl</strike> Nine===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why is there an owl in my back yard? ||
|-
| Why is there an owl outside my window? ||
|-
| Why is there an owl on the dollar bill? ||
|-
| Why do owls attack people? ||
|-
| Why are AK47s so expensive? ||
|-
| Why are there helicopters circling my house? ||
|}

===Section Ten===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why are there gods? ||
|-
|Why are there two Spocks? || This is probably a reference to the {{w|Star_Trek_(film)|2009 Star Trek movie}} in which the franchise was given a {{w|Reboot_(fiction)|continuity reboot}}. The modified setting is explained in-universe by time travel, with both the villain Nero and the original-timeline Spock being brought back from the 24th century to the 23rd, creating a timeline in which both older Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) and the younger Spock (played by Zachary Quinto) coexist.

Another possibility is that the question refers to the episode {{w|Mirror,_Mirror_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)|"Mirror, Mirror"}}, which mostly takes place in an alternate universe populated by ruthless versions of most of the characters (including Spock).
|-
| Why is Mt Vesuvius there? ||
|-
| Why do they say T minus? ||
|-
| Why are there obelisks? ||
|-
| Why are wrestlers always wet? ||
|-
| Why are oceans becoming more acidic? ||
|-
| Why is Arwen dying? ||
|-
| Why aren't my quail laying eggs? ||
|-
| Why aren't my quail eggs hatching? ||
|-
|Why aren't there any foreign military bases in America? || ''Further information: {{w|United States military deployments}}''This is a very interesting question, albeit one likely based on a regional misunderstanding. Presumably, this question is asked by Americans who assume that the existence of {{w|Category:Military facilities of the United States by country|U.S. military bases abroad}} is a general trend among countries, as opposed to being the rarity that it is. In fact, {{w|List of countries with overseas military bases|only a handful of other countries}} have military bases outside of their borders, and the three—{{w|France}}, the {{w|United Kingdom}}, and {{w|Russia}}—that have more than one or two are all countries that, like the United States, {{w|Allies of World War II|were on the winning side of World War II}}, have {{w|List of countries by military expenditures|massive military expenditures}}, and have {{w|United Nations Security Council veto power|UN Security Council vetoes}}. In other words, only the most militarily elite countries have bases overseas. The U.S. is unique, however, in that it has far more overseas bases than any other country (and, pretty much, far more of anything else than any other country, when it comes to the military), and in that {{w|List of United States military bases|it has bases in several other highly-industrialized nations}}, including {{w|List of United States Army installations in South Korea|South Korea}} and the United Kingdom, and, most notably, the World War II {{w|Axis powers}}: {{w|List of United States Army installations in Germany|Germany}}, {{w|United States Forces Japan|Japan}}, and {{w|List of United States Army installations in Italy|Italy}}. France, Russia, and the U.K.'s bases, on the other hand, are almost all within areas that they previously controlled.These bases can be controversial in some countries, while in others they are a major source of economic and political stability. The U.S. traditionally justifies their presence as a necessary and crucial element in its efforts to promote peace domestically and worldwide. Despite their major role in {{w|U.S. foreign policy}}, and in the general political structure of the globe, the American public often largely ignores them, and they rarely become a major political issue (apart from an occasional mention by {{w|Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian presidential candidates}}).So, essentially, the absence of foreign military bases within the U.S. is primarily because there aren't really any other countries in a position to place bases there. Ironically, although no battles in the traditional sense have been fought within the U.S. since the {{w|U.S. Civil War}} and the U.S. mainland has seen {{w|Mainland invasion of the United States|almost no military action}}, foreign air force bases might have been useful on September 11, 2001. (The {{w|attack on Pearl Harbor}} in 1941 was 18 years before Hawaii became a U.S. state.)There are, however, foreign troops stationed at some continental US military bases. For example RAF (British Royal Air Force) 39 Sqn and 361 Sqn at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada flying Reaper and Predator drones. But this are not foreign military bases, they are just guests.
|}

===Section Eleven===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why are my boobs itchy? ||
|-
| Why are cigarettes legal? ||
|-
| Why are there ducks in my pool? ||
|-
| Why is Jesus white? ||
|-
| Why is there liquid in my ear? ||
|-
| Why do Q tips feel good? ||
|-
| Why do good people die? ||
|-
| Why are ultrasounds important? ||
|-
| Why are ultrasound machines expensive? ||
|-
| Why is stealing wrong? ||
|}

===Vertical Questions===
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer
|-
| Why is there hell if god forgives? ||
|-
| Why aren't there dinosaur ghosts? ||
|-
| Why do iguanas die? ||
|-
| Why is GPS free? ||
|-
| Why are trees tall? ||
|-
|Why are there female Mr. Mimes? || {{w|Mr. Mime}} is a Pokémon introduced in the first generation of the games, and despite its name, it can be either of a male or female gender. As the Pokémon was introduced before the concept of [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Gender gender in Pokémon games], it is likely that the people in charge of translating its Japanese name (Barrierd) did not take this into account during the process.
|-
| Why is there lava? ||
|-
| Why is YKK on a zippers? || YKK Group is the name of a large group of Japanese manufacturing companies, which among other things manufacture a lot of zippers.
|-
| Why is life so boring? ||
|-
| Why aren't there dinosaur ghosts? ||
|-
|Why is there no king in England? || ''Note: For simplicity's sake, "England" here is being read as "United Kingdom." The various name changes, mergers, and splits of kingdoms are complicated.''The basis for this question is that for the past several hundred years, there has almost always been a queen in England, the sole exceptions being when the king has not had a wife. However, there is a distinction between being the queen of England (that is to say, {{w|List of British monarchs|a monarch}}) and being the {{w|queen consort|queen ''consort''}} of England: The former refers to a woman who {{w|Succession to the British throne|succeeded to the throne}} in her own right, becoming sovereign, while the latter refers to the wife of the king. Both roles, though, are commonly referred to as "Queen of England," creating the impression that there is always such a person. The logical question, therefore, is why {{w|Elizabeth II}}'s husband, {{w|Prince Philip|Philip}}, is not considered the king of England. The answer lies in Britain's system of {{w|male-preference cognatic primogeniture}}, which causes the monarch of England to usually be a man, not a woman. As a result of this, British laws were generally built around the presumption that the monarch would be a man, and that said man would be married to a woman, [[223: Valentine's Day|comic 223]] be damned. Since the creation of the modern British throne in 1707, only two women have reigned as queen in their own right; it just so happens that these two women have been two of the most famous and longest-reigning monarchs in world history, {{w|Queen Victoria}} and Queen Elizabeth II. This fact may add to people's enhanced perception of the lack of a British king. Victoria and Elizabeth's respective consorts, {{w|Albert, Prince Consort|Albert}} and Philip, have been styled as princes—Albert as {{w|Prince Consort}} and Philip as "{{w|British prince|Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland}}." Both were explicitly granted their titles by their wives, though Albert was already a prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Philip had previously been a prince of Denmark and Greece, but had renounced both titles before marrying Elizabeth.The title {{w|king consort}} also exists, but has never been used in the United Kingdom.Notably, should {{w|Prince Charles}} succeed to his mother's throne, it has been announced that his wife, {{w|Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall|Camilla}}, will be styled as {{w|princess consort}}, ''not'' as queen consort, just as she has declined the title {{w|Princess of Wales}}, which is strongly associated with Charles's first wife, {{w|Princess Diana|Diana}}. Assuming that Charles succeeds, this means that Britain will not have anyone referred to as "queen," after decades of not having anyone referred to as "king."
|-
| Why do I feel dizzy? ||
|-
| Why are dogs afraid of fireworks? ||
|-
| Why are there weeks? ||
|}

<references/>

==Transcript==
:[This strip is a rectangular word cloud, titled 'Questions found in Google autocomplete'. Embedded in the cloud are 5 single panels, with illustrated questions. These are described at the end. Questions are given in roughly columnar order. None of the questions have question marks.]

:Questions found in Google Autocomplete

:Why do whales jump
:Why are witches green
:Why are there mirrors above beds
:Why do I say uh
:Why is sea salt better
:Why are there trees in the middle of fields
:Why is there not a Pokemon MMO
:Why is there laughing in TV shows
:Why are there doors on the freeway
:Why are there so many svchost.exe running
:Why aren't there any countries in antarctica
:Why are there scary sounds in Minecraft
:Why is there kicking in my stomach
:Why are there two slashes after HTTP
:Why are there celebrities
:Why do snakes exist
:Why do oysters have pearls
:Why are ducks called ducks
:Why do they call it the clap
:Why are Kyle and Cartman friends
:Why is there an arraow on Aang's head
:Why are text messages blue
:Why are there mustaches on clothes
:Why are there mustaches on cars
:Why are there mustaches everywhere
:Why are there so many birds in Ohio
:Why is there so much rain in Ohio
:Why is Ohio weather so weird
:Why are there male and female bikes
:Why are there bridesmaids
:Why do dying people reach up
:Why aren't there varicose arteries
:Why are old Klingons different
:Why is programming so hard
:Why is there a 0 ohm resistor
:Why do Americans hate soccer
:Why do rhymes sound good
:Why do trees die
:Why is there no sound on CNN
:Why aren't Pokemon real
:Why aren't bullets sharp
:Why do dreams seem so real
:Why aren't there dinosaur ghosts
:Why do iguanas die
:Why do testicles move
:Why are there psychics
:Why are hats so expensive
:Why is there caffeine in my shampoo
:Why do your boobs hurt
:Why aren't economists rich
:Why do Americans call it soccer
:Why are my ears ringing
:Why are there so many Avengers
:Why are the Avengers fighting the X men
:Why is Wolverine not in the Avengers
:Why are there ants in my laptop
:Why is Earth tilted
:Why is space black
:Why is outer space so cold
:Why are there pyramids on the moon
:Why is NASA shutting down
:Why is there Hell if God forgives
:Why are there tiny spiders in my house
:Why do spiders come inside
:Why are there huge spiders in my house
:Why are there lots of spiders in my house
:Why are there spiders in my room
:Why are there so many spiders in my room
:Why do spider bites itch
:Why is dying so scary
:Why is there no GPS in laptops
:Why do knees click
:Why aren't there E grades
:Why is isolation bad
:Why do boys like me
:Why don't boys like me
:Why is there always a Java update
:Why are there red dots on my thighs
:Why is lying good
:Why is GPS free
:Why are trees tall
:Why are there slaves in the Bible
:Why do twins have different fingerprints
:Why are Americans afraid of dragons
:Why is there lava
:Why are there swarms of gnats
:Why is there phlegm
:Why are there so many crows in Rochester, MN
:Why is psychic weak to bug
:Why do children get cancer
:Why is Poseidon angry with Odysseus
:Why is there ice in space
:Why are there female Mr Mimes
:Why is there an owl in my backyard
:Why is there an owl outside my window
:Why is there an owl on the dollar bill
:Why do owls attack people
:Why are AK47s so expensive
:Why are there helicopters circling my house
:Why are there gods
:Why are there two Spocks
:Why is Mt Vesuvius there
:Why do they say T minus
:Why are there obelisks
:Why are wrestlers always wet
:Why are oceans becoming more acidic
:Why is Arwen dying
:Why aren't my quail laying eggs
:Why aren't my quail eggs hatching
:Why aren't there any foreign military bases in America
:Why is life so boring
:Why are my boobs itchy
:Why are cigarettes legal
:Why are there ducks in my pool
:Why is Jesus white
:Why is there liquid in my ear
:Why do Q tips feel good
:Why do good people die
:Why are ultrasounds important
:Why are ultrasound machines expensive
:Why is stealing wrong
:Why is YKK on all zippers
:Why is HTTPS crossed out in red
:Why is there a line through HTTPS
:Why is there a red line through HTTPS on Facebook
:Why is HTTPS important
:Why are there weeks
:Why do I feel dizzy
:Why are dogs afraid of fireworks
:Why is there no king in England

:[We see Cueball from the torso up, with arms outstretched.]
:Cueball: Why aren't my arms growing

:[Megan stands with a grey ghost on either side of her.]
:Megan: Why are there ghosts

:[Beret Guy stands, looking at a squirrel.]
:Beret Guy: Why are there squirrels

:[Cueball stands.]
:Cueball: Why is sex so important.

:[We see Ponytail from the torso up.]
:Ponytail: Why aren't there guns in Harry Potter

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]
[[Category:Google Search]]

482: Height

2014-12-17T17:10:31Z

173.245.50.145: Planets grammatical fixes, basic definition for Uranus and Neptune

{{comic
| number = 482
| date = September 29, 2008
| title = Height
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = height.png
| titletext = Interestingly, on a true vertical log plot, I think the Eiffel Tower's sides would really be straight lines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Review object descriptions for grammar: Independently review heights: Include why the object is noteworthy in the object description}}
The comic is a companion piece to [[485: Depth]]. Where ''Depth'' which uses a {{w|logarithmic scale}} to view the earth, from Earth's atmosphere to the interior of a single proton, ''Height'' uses a logarithmic scale to view the universe from earths perspective, from the end of the observable universe to the grass beneath our feet.

The comic starts, at the bottom, with people walking in grass, and ends with [[Black Hat]] kicking a cat off the edge of the observable universe. Black Hat may be testing if cats always land on their feet, or may just be being a jerk, per his usual character. The top of the observable universe is the distance from which the oldest rays of light reach Earth. The {{w|Observable universe}} extends about 46 billion {{w|light years}} from earth, as shown on the top of the image.

In this cartoon most objects that are grounded in the earth are scaled logarithmically on the vertical axes and linearly on the horizontal axes, while others are scaled linearly on both axes. Displaying height logarithmically, while displaying width linearly, noticeably distorts the shapes of these terrestrial objects. The title text notes that this distortion might to convert the Eifel Tower's famous silhouette into an isosceles triangle. In other places, such as the planets, the objects appear as linearly scaled objects that are placed at their appropriate locations. If, for example, the depth of the sun where scaled logarithmically instead of linearly it would appear more egg shaped, with the flatter side facing upward.

===Objects===
All objects are sorted from bottom to top by their maximum distance from earth for objects in a solar orbit, and their current distance for others.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Distance
! Object
! Description
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| Black Hat and cat
| Black Hat kicking a cat off the top of the comic, presumably to determine whether it will land on its feet.
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | Top of observable universe
|-
| 11.3 ×1024m
| {{w|Hubble Deep Field}} objects
| Objects of extremely distant galaxies found in a long-exposure photograph by of the Hubble telescope, 12 billion light-years away.
|-
| 9.46 ×1024m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One billion light years
|-
| 2.36 ×1024m
| {{w|Great Attractor}}
| An unusual concentration of intergalactic mass.
|-
| 425 ×1021m
| {{w|Antennae Galaxies}} (colliding)
| A pair of colliding galaxies.
|-
| 23.6 ×1021m
| {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}}
| A sibling to our Milky Way.
|-
| 9.46 ×1021m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One million light years
|-
| 2.38 ×1021m
| [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cat-on-a-keyboard-in-space Cat on a keyboard in space]
| An internet meme featuring a picture of a cat sitting on a musical keyboard, superimposed on an image of space.
|-
| 1.56 ×1021m
| {{w|Magellanic Clouds}}
| These clouds are a pair of nearby dwarf galaxies.
|-
| 263 ×1018m
| Edge of Galaxy
| The edge of the {{w|Milky Way}} galaxy, the galaxy in which we reside.
|-
| 245 ×1018m
| {{w|Galactic Center}}
| The center of the Milky Way galaxy.
|-
| 61.5 ×1018m
| {{w|Crab Nebula}}
| Nebula are supernova remnants
|-
| 14.2 ×1018m
| {{w|Horsehead Nebula}}
|
|-
| 12.7 ×1018m
| {{w|Orion Nebula}}
|
|-
| 8.14 ×1018m
| {{w|Rigel}}
|
|-
| 6.08 ×1018m
| {{w|Betelgeuse}}
| The star Betelgeuse is displayed along with the location of {{w|Ford_Prefect (character)|Ford Prefect}} on his home planat which orbits Betelgeuse. Ford Prefect is a fictional character from the science fiction parody {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}.
|-
| 4.20 ×1018m
| {{w|Pleiades}}
| The Pleiades also have a derogatory remark, as per [[66: Abusive Astronomy]]
|-
| 2.90 ×1018m
| The [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Romulan_Neutral_Zone Romulan Neutral Zone]
| This marks the edge of the {{w|Star Trek}} Federation.
|-
| 931 ×1015m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The first radio broadcast was in January 1910. Since radio waves travel at the speed of light, and this was published in September of 2008 this the radio waves traveled about 98.5 light years. See {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} for a depiction of this. This is also referenced in [[1212: Interstellar Memes]].
|-
| 350 ×1015m
| {{w|Arcturus}}
|
|-
| 320 ×1015m
| {{w|Pollux}}
|
|-
| 242 ×1015m
| The edge of {{w|Federation Sector 0-0-1}}
| The sector of space assigned to Earth in {{w|Star Trek}}.
|-
| 224 ×1015m
| {{w|Iraq and weapons of mass destruction|"missing WMDs"}}
| A reference to the alleged weapons of mass destruction that where used as a pretence to mobilize the world population against Iraq, and start the Iraq war.
|-
| 81.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Sirius}}
|
|-
| 56.6 ×1015m
| {{w|Barnard's Star}}
|
|-
| 41.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Alpha Centauri}}
|
|-
| 30.9 ×1015m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One parsec.
|-
| 9.46 ×1015m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One light-year.
|-
| 15.0 ×1015m
| {{w|Oort cloud}}
| A halo of ice balls surrounding our solar system, but missing the {{w|Kupier belt}} between Neptune and the Oort cloud.
|-
| 350 ×1012m
| {{w|Bupkis}}
| Yiddish for "nothing". Only a handful of objects are known to orbit between the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud.
|-
| 55.0 ×1012m
| A comet which will destroy earth in late 2063
| To coincide with the latest biblicaly based prophesy for the [http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p971105.htm end of the world].
|-
| 19.5 ×1012m
| {{w|Voyager 1}}
| An early space probe. Distance correct as of 20th Nov 2014, click [http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/where/ here] to see NASA's live distance counter.
|-
| 16.7 ×1012m
| {{w|Pioneer 10}}
| Listed distance is an estimate based on {{w|Pioneer_10#Current_status|this information}}.
|-
| 17.7 ×1012m
| {{w|Pioneer 11}}
| By the similarity in appearance to Pioneer 10 this unlabeled probe must be Pioneer 11. Listed distance is an estimate based on {{w|Pioneer_11#Current_status|this information}}.
|-
| 14.5 ×1012m
| {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}}
| One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object}}s now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s. The "All hail Discordia!" after Eris is a reference to {{w|Discordianism}}, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek religion based around the goddess Eris. The distance is the maximum distance from earth.
|-
| 7.50 ×1012m
| {{w|Pluto}}
| One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object}}s now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s. Pluto was originally classified as the 9th planet of the Solar system. Many people was appalled when it was suddenly degraded to dwarf planet. Obviously Randall does not think much of these people thus the comment: ''Not a planet. Neener neener''. The distance is the maximum distance of Pluto from Earth.
|-
| 4.70 ×1012m
| {{w|Neptune}}
| Neptune is displayed here with its moons. Neptune is the eighth and final planet in our solar system.
|-
| 3.20 ×1012m
| {{w|Uranus}}
| Uranus is dispayed here with its moons. Uranus is the seventh planet in our solar system.
|-
| 1.67 ×1012m
| {{w|Saturn}}
| Saturn is displayed along with its moons. One of Saturn's moons, most likely Titan, is labeled as a potential location to find life. Titan is the only known moon to have an atmosphere and oceans. The oceans cannot be filled with liquid water, as it is far too cold, but are instead filled with liquid methane and ethane. Some hypothisize that life could have formed in such oceans.
|-
| 928 ×109m
| {{w|Jupiter}}
| Jupiter is displayed along with its moons. One of Jupiter's moons, most likely Europa, is labeled as a potential location to find life. Europa may be covered by a deep ocean of water found under a layer of ice many kilometers thick. Some hypothisize that life could have formed in such oceans.
|-
| 222 ×109m
| Asteroids
| The {{w|Asteroid|Asteroid belt}} contains a spaceship from {{w|Asteroids (video game)}}
|-
| 133 ×109m
| {{w|Mars}}
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits with a maximum distance of 261 million km and a minimum of 54.6 million km.
|-
| 114 ×109m
| {{w|Venus}}
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits with a maximum distance of 401 million km and a minimum of 37.7 million km.
|-
| 138 ×109m
| {{w|Mercury}}
| Mercury is the first planet in out solar system. The distance shown is the maximum distance from Earth.
|-
| 149 ×109m
| {{w|Sun}}
| The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system, around which the Earth orbits.
|-
| 16.3 ×109m
| {{w|Discovery One}}
| The Discovery One from {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey}}, referring to the quote "open the pod bay door, HAL."
|-
| 9.43 ×109m
| Planet Express
| The spaceplane is most likely the Planet Express from {{w|Futurama}}, where Fry once discussed "a big heaping bowl of salt."
|-
| 400 ×106m
| Human Altitude Record
| Achieved by the team of {{w|Apollo 13}} approximately 100km higher than the remaining Apollo missions.
|-
| 384 ×106m
| {{w|Moon}}
| The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite.
|-
| 90.4 ×106m
| {{w|Snoop Dogg}}
| A toung in cheek reffrence to a rapper notorious for smoking marijuana, is shown as having the second-highest altitude record. Someone who is taking drugs is said to be getting high.
|-
| 60.5 ×106m
| {{w|Space elevator}}
| A proposed method of transporting cargo or people into orbit, consisting of a large mass beyond geosynchronous orbit, a station at the geosynchronous point, a cable connecting it to the Earth, and a climber that can scale the cable. Space elevators are also seen in [[697: Tensile vs. Shear Strength]] and [[536: Space Elevators]].
|-
| 42.1 ×106m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | {{w|Geosynchronous orbit|Geosynchronous Orbit}}
|-
| 20.2 ×106m
| {{w|GPS (satellite)|GPS Satellites}}
| GPS satellites are used for global positioning.
|-
| 3.94 ×106m
| {{w|Lunar Lander}}
| The quote is a reference to {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} where the main character Ellie Arroway after witnessing a celestial light show up close says "Poetry! They should've sent a poet.".
|-
| 800 ×103m
| {{w|Space debris|Space Junk}}
| There is a large quantity of defunct objects in orbit around the earth. Amongst other things, this includes old satellites, rocket stages and fragments from collisions or disintegration. Space junk is also referenced in [[1242: Scary Names]] under the title {{w|Kessler syndrome}}
|-
| 422.5 ×103m
| {{w|International Space Station}}
| The ISS (International Space Station) is a multinational effort to put a research vessel in space. It is currently the largest artifical object in Earth's orbit, as well as the location of the longest continuous human presence in space.
|-
| 100 ×103m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The {{w|Edge of space|official edge of space}} as defined by the {{w|Kármán line}}
|-
| 76.0 ×103m
| {{w|Meteors}}
| Meteors are chunks of rock (usually asteroids) that burn up in the atmosphere, producing the bright light associated with them. If the are large enough to hit the ground, they become meterorites, which is why Munroe labeled them only in the upper atmosphere.
|-
| 25.0 ×103m
| {{w|High-altitude balloon|High-altitude balloons}}
| Unmanned balloons, typically filled with helium or hydrogen. The current altitude record was set in 2002 by a balloon named BU60-1 which reached 53,000m.
|-
| 16.1 ×103m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/10 ATM = 0.1 {{w|Atmospheric pressure|atmosphere of pressure}}
|-
| 12.0 ×103m
| {{w|Airliner|Airliners}}
| This is a typical cruising altitude of jet aircraft, equating to roughly 40,000 feet. (Aircraft altitude tends to be specified in feet rather than metres)
|-
| 8.84 ×103m
| {{w|Mount Everest}}
| The Earths highest mountain, located in the {{w|Himalayas|Himalayan mountain range}} in South Asia.
|-
| 8.00 ×103m
| {{w|Cory Doctorow}}
| Cory Doctorow in a balloon, a reference to comic [[239: Blagofaire]].
|-
| 6.34 ×103m
| {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia disaster}}
| The {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia}} and its seven crew were lost when it disintegrated at [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6v16AgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA7&ots=LDKQ3nsNHs&dq=shuttle%20columbia%20altitude&pg=PA7#v=onepage&q=shuttle%20columbia%20altitude&f=false approximately 63,400m] in 2003. This number is inconsistent with the height of the graph by a factor of 10 probably a mistype by Randall.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Helicopter}}
| Though the record for helicopter altitude (without payload) is 12,442m, normal flying is usually performed much lower. In the US, 6000m is into {{w|Class A airspace}}, which is restricted and requires flight under {{w|Instrument Flight Rules}}.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Cloud}}
| Though not actually labelled there are a couple of clouds shown. While different cloud types vary in height, 6000m is roughly in the middle of the height range for clouds in temperate regions [http://weatherfaqs.org.uk/node/21]
|-
| 5.49 ×103m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/2 ATM = 0.5 {{w|Atmospheric pressure|atmosphere of pressure}}
|-
| 1.78 ×103m
| [[Cueball]]
| Apparently still using Python as shown in comic [[353: Python]].
|-
| 800 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 800 meters
|-
| 800 ×100m
| {{w|Burj Khalifa|Burj Dubai}}
| Now known as the Burj Khalifa, is the tallest building in the world.
|-
| 500 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 500 meters
|-
| 400 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 400 meters
|-
| 325 ×100m
| {{w|Eiffel Tower}}
| A famous landmark in Paris, France.
|-
| 300 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 300 meters
|-
| 200 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 200 meters
|-
| 150 ×100m
| Kite
| Kite string is commonly sold in large spools; a nice thick spool will probably hold 150 meters.
|-
| 140 ×100m
| {{w|Great Pyramid of Giza}}
| One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is located in Egypt.
|-
| 120 ×100m
| {{w|Baseball|Pop Fly}}
| In Baseball a 'Pop Fly' is when the batter mis-hits the baseball, which then follows a tall arc deep into the infield where it's easy picking for the other team to catch on its way down. The highest recorded pop fly, not including those that landed in foul territory, was 172 meters.
|-
| 115 ×100m
| {{w|Redwood Tree|Redwood trees}}
| The tallest trees in the world. At 115.61m (379.3ft) {{w|Hyperion (tree)|Hyperion}}, a Coast Redwood, holds the record for the tallest tree in the world.
|-
| 100 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 100 meters
|-
| 20.0 ×100m
| {{w|Oak}}
| While oaks may grow to be in excess of 40m in height, heights of around 20m are more typical. The person in the tree saying, "Hey, squirrels!" is a reference to [[167: Nihilism]].
|-
| 16.4 ×100m
| Tallest stilts
| The tallest {{w|stilts}} recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records (as of November 2006) were 16.4 meters, or nearly 54 feet.
|-
| 13.0 ×100m
| {{w|Brachiosaurus|Brachiosaur}}
| A large genus of dinosaur.
|-
| 8.00 ×100m
| {{w|Giraffe}}
| The the tallest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown adults reaching in excess of 5m. While labelled 8m in the comic, the [http://www.big-animals.com/the-giraffe-the-worlds-tallest-animal/ record] for height is reported at 5.8m.
|-
| 1.70 ×100m
| {{w|Human height|Folks}}
| Determining an average height of the world population is fraught with complications, but as a ballpark figure 1.7m is fairly accurate.
|}

==Transcript==
:'''Top of observable universe'''
:[Black Hat is standing on top, throwing a black kitty down.]
:Black Cat: Mrowl!
:[Map of the universe from observable universe to Earth. Each area of item is labeled. Labels left to right, up to down:]
:(46 billion light years up)
::Hubble Deep Field Objects
:-One billion light years-
::Great Attractor
::Antennae Galaxies (colliding)
::Andromeda
::Holy crap lots of space
:-One million light years-
::Magellanic Clouds
::Edge of galaxy
::Galactic center
::Crab Nebula
::Orion Nebula
::Horsehead Nebula
::Romulan neutral zone
::The Pleiades, duh!
::Rigel
::Betelgeuse
::Ford Prefect
:[Three arrows are pointing up above three lines with the following label:]
:-Expanding shell of radio transmissions-
::[Above a dotted line:]
::Edge of federation sector 0-0-1
::Pollux
::Arcturus
::Missing WMDs
::Sirius
::Barnard's Star
::Alpha Centauri
:-One parsec-
:-One light year-
::Oort Cloud (?)
::Bupkis
::Comet which will destroy Earth in late 2063
::Pioneer 10
::Voyager I
::Eris (All hail Discordia!)
::Pluto (Not a planet. Neener neener.)
::Neptune
::Uranus
::Saturn
::[Two arrows point to two moons, one next to each of the planets aboe and below.]
::<-- Life -->
::Jupiter
::Asteroids
::Mars
::Venus
::Sun
::Mercury
::Spaceship Planet Express: Hey, a heaping bowl of salt!
::Spaceship Discovery One: Open the fridge door, Hal.
::Moon
::Human altitude record (Apollo 13)
::2nd place: Snoop Dogg
::Space elevator - One of these days, promise!
::Geosynchronous Orbit
::GPS satellites
::Lunar lander: In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land.
::International Space Station
::Space junk
:-Official edge of space (100 km)-
::Meteors
:-1/10 ATM-
::High altitude balloons
::Airliners
::Shuttle Columbia lost
:-1/2 ATM-
::Cory Doctrow
::Everest
::Helicopters (6000 m)
::Cueball: Woo Python!
::[A vertical scale is drawn along the right side of the picture, starting at 1 km and getting progressivly smaller and smaller.]
:1 km
:-800 m-
::Burj Dubai (~800 m)
:500
:400
::Eiffel Tower (325 m)
:200
::Kites
::Great Pyramid (140 m)
::Pop fly
::Redwood (115 m)
:100m
::Oak (20 m)
::A person in the oak: Hey squirrels!
::Tallest stilts
::Brachiosaur (13 m)
::Giraffe (8 m)
::[Megan and Cueball holding the kite are labeled:]
::Folks
:'''The observable universe, from top to bottom''''
::~On a log scale~
::Sizes are not to scale, but heights above the Earth's surface are accurate on a log scale (that is, each step up is double the height.)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

482: Height

2014-12-15T20:57:10Z

173.245.50.145: Added a descrition of meteors

{{comic
| number = 482
| date = September 29, 2008
| title = Height
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = height.png
| titletext = Interestingly, on a true vertical log plot, I think the Eiffel Tower's sides would really be straight lines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Review object descriptions for grammar: Independently review heights: Include why the object is noteworthy in the object description}}
The comic is a companion piece to [[485: Depth]]. Where ''Depth'' which uses a {{w|logarithmic scale}} to view the earth, from Earth's atmosphere to the interior of a single proton, ''Height'' uses a logarithmic scale to view the universe from earths perspective, from the end of the observable universe to the grass beneath our feet.

The comic starts, at the bottom, with people walking in grass, and ends with [[Black Hat]] kicking a cat off the edge of the observable universe. Black Hat may be testing if cats always land on their feet, or may just be being a jerk, per his usual character. The top of the observable universe is the distance from which the oldest rays of light reach Earth. The {{w|Observable universe}} extends about 46 billion {{w|light years}} from earth, as shown on the top of the image.

In this cartoon most objects that are grounded in the earth are scaled logarithmically on the vertical axes and linearly on the horizontal axes, while others are scaled linearly on both axes. Displaying height logarithmically, while displaying width linearly, noticeably distorts the shapes of these terrestrial objects. The title text notes that this distortion might to convert the Eifel Tower's famous silhouette into an isosceles triangle. In other places, such as the planets, the objects appear as linearly scaled objects that are placed at their appropriate locations. If, for example, the depth of the sun where scaled logarithmically instead of linearly it would appear more egg shaped, with the flatter side facing upward.

===Objects===
All objects are sorted from bottom to top by their maximum distance from earth for objects in a solar orbit, and their current distance for others.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Distance
! Object
! Description
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| Black Hat and cat
| Black Hat kicking a cat off the top of the comic, presumably to determine whether it will land on its feet.
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | Top of observable universe
|-
| 11.3 ×1024m
| {{w|Hubble Deep Field}} objects
| Objects of extremely distant galaxies found in a long-exposure photograph by of the Hubble telescope, 12 billion light-years away.
|-
| 9.46 ×1024m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One billion light years
|-
| 2.36 ×1024m
| {{w|Great Attractor}}
| An unusual concentration of intergalactic mass.
|-
| 425 ×1021m
| {{w|Antennae Galaxies}} (colliding)
| A pair of colliding galaxies.
|-
| 23.6 ×1021m
| {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}}
| A sibling to our Milky Way.
|-
| 9.46 ×1021m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One million light years
|-
| 2.38 ×1021m
| [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cat-on-a-keyboard-in-space Cat on a keyboard in space]
| An internet meme featuring a picture of a cat sitting on a musical keyboard, superimposed on an image of space.
|-
| 1.56 ×1021m
| {{w|Magellanic Clouds}}
| These clouds are a pair of nearby dwarf galaxies.
|-
| 263 ×1018m
| Edge of Galaxy
| The edge of the {{w|Milky Way}} galaxy, the galaxy in which we reside.
|-
| 245 ×1018m
| {{w|Galactic Center}}
| The center of the Milky Way galaxy.
|-
| 61.5 ×1018m
| {{w|Crab Nebula}}
| Nebula are supernova remnants
|-
| 14.2 ×1018m
| {{w|Horsehead Nebula}}
|
|-
| 12.7 ×1018m
| {{w|Orion Nebula}}
|
|-
| 8.14 ×1018m
| {{w|Rigel}}
|
|-
| 6.08 ×1018m
| {{w|Betelgeuse}}
| The star Betelgeuse is displayed along with the location of {{w|Ford_Prefect (character)|Ford Prefect}} on his home planat which orbits Betelgeuse. Ford Prefect is a fictional character from the science fiction parody {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}.
|-
| 4.20 ×1018m
| {{w|Pleiades}}
| The Pleiades also have a derogatory remark, as per [[66: Abusive Astronomy]]
|-
| 2.90 ×1018m
| The [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Romulan_Neutral_Zone Romulan Neutral Zone]
| This marks the edge of the {{w|Star Trek}} Federation.
|-
| 931 ×1015m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The first radio broadcast was in January 1910. Since radio waves travel at the speed of light, and this was published in September of 2008 this the radio waves traveled about 98.5 light years. See {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} for a depiction of this. This is also referenced in [[1212: Interstellar Memes]].
|-
| 350 ×1015m
| {{w|Arcturus}}
|
|-
| 320 ×1015m
| {{w|Pollux}}
|
|-
| 242 ×1015m
| The edge of {{w|Federation Sector 0-0-1}}
| The sector of space assigned to Earth in {{w|Star Trek}}.
|-
| 224 ×1015m
| {{w|Iraq and weapons of mass destruction|"missing WMDs"}}
| A reference to the alleged weapons of mass destruction that where used as a pretence to mobilize the world population against Iraq, and start the Iraq war.
|-
| 81.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Sirius}}
|
|-
| 56.6 ×1015m
| {{w|Barnard's Star}}
|
|-
| 41.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Alpha Centauri}}
|
|-
| 30.9 ×1015m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One parsec.
|-
| 9.46 ×1015m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One light-year.
|-
| 15.0 ×1015m
| {{w|Oort cloud}}
| A halo of ice balls surrounding our solar system, but missing the {{w|Kupier belt}} between Neptune and the Oort cloud.
|-
| 350 ×1012m
| {{w|Bupkis}}
| Yiddish for "nothing". Only a handful of objects are known to orbit between the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud.
|-
| 55.0 ×1012m
| A comet which will destroy earth in late 2063
| To coincide with the latest biblicaly based prophesy for the [http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p971105.htm end of the world].
|-
| 19.5 ×1012m
| {{w|Voyager 1}}
| An early space probe. Distance correct as of 20th Nov 2014, click [http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/where/ here] to see NASA's live distance counter.
|-
| 16.7 ×1012m
| {{w|Pioneer 10}}
| Listed distance is an estimate based on {{w|Pioneer_10#Current_status|this information}}.
|-
| 17.7 ×1012m
| {{w|Pioneer 11}}
| By the similarity in appearance to Pioneer 10 this unlabeled probe must be Pioneer 11. Listed distance is an estimate based on {{w|Pioneer_11#Current_status|this information}}.
|-
| 14.5 ×1012m
| {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}}
| One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object}}s now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s. The "All hail Discordia!" after Eris is a reference to {{w|Discordianism}}, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek religion based around the goddess Eris. The distance is the maximum distance from earth.
|-
| 7.50 ×1012m
| {{w|Pluto}}
| One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object}}s now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s. Pluto was originally classified as the 9th planet of the Solar system. Many people was appalled when it was suddenly degraded to dwarf planet. Obviously Randall does not think much of these people thus the comment: ''Not a planet. Neener neener''. The distance is the maximum distance from earth.
|-
| 4.70 ×1012m
| {{w|Neptune}}
|
|-
| 3.20 ×1012m
| {{w|Uranus}}
|
|-
| 1.67 ×1012m
| {{w|Saturn}}
| Saturn is displayed along with its moons. One Saturn's moon, most likely Titan, is labeled as a potential location to find life. Titan is the only known moon to have an atmosphere, and oceans on the moon. The oceans can not be filled with liquid watter, as it is far too cold, but with liquid methane and ethane. Some hypothisize that in such oceans life could have formed.
|-
| 928 ×109m
| {{w|Jupiter}}
| Jupiter is displayed along with its moons. One Jupiter's moon, most likely Europa, is labeled as a potential location to find life. Europa may be covered by a deep ocean of water found under a layer of ice many kilometers thick. Some hypothisize that in such oceans life could have formed.
|-
| 222 ×109m
| Asteroids
| The {{w|Asteroid|Asteroid belt}} contains a spaceship from {{w|Asteroids (video game)}}
|-
| 133 ×109m
| {{w|Mars}}
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits with a maximum distance at 261 million km and a minimum at 54.6 million km.
|-
| 114 ×109m
| {{w|Venus}}
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits with a maximum distance at 401 million km and a minimum at 37.7 million km.
|-
| 138 ×109m
| {{w|Mercury}}
| This distance is the maximum distance from earth.
|-
| 149 ×109m
| {{w|Sun}}
| The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system, around which the Earth orbits.
|-
| 16.3 ×109m
| {{w|Discovery One}}
| The Discovery One from {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey}}, referring to the quote "open the pod bay door, HAL."
|-
| 9.43 ×109m
| Planet Express
| The spaceplane is most likely the Planet Express from {{w|Futurama}}, where Fry once discussed "a big heaping bowl of salt."
|-
| 400 ×106m
| Human Altitude Record
| Achieved by the team of {{w|Apollo 13}} approximately 100km higher than the remaining Apollo missions.
|-
| 384 ×106m
| {{w|Moon}}
| The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite.
|-
| 90.4 ×106m
| {{w|Snoop Dogg}}
| A toung in cheek reffrence to a rapper notorious for smoking marijuana, is shown as having the second-highest altitude record. Someone who is taking drugs is said to be getting high.
|-
| 60.5 ×106m
| {{w|Space elevator}}
| A proposed method of transporting cargo or people into orbit, consisting of a large mass beyond geosynchronous orbit, a station at the geosynchronous point, a cable connecting it to the Earth, and a climber that can scale the cable. Space elevators are also seen in [[697: Tensile vs. Shear Strength]] and [[536: Space Elevators]].
|-
| 42.1 ×106m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | {{w|Geosynchronous orbit|Geosynchronous Orbit}}
|-
| 20.2 ×106m
| {{w|GPS (satellite)|GPS Satellites}}
| GPS satellites are used for global positioning.
|-
| 3.94 ×106m
| {{w|Lunar Lander}}
| The quote is a reference to {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} where the main character Ellie Arroway after witnessing a celestial light show up close says "Poetry! They should've sent a poet.".
|-
| 800 ×103m
| {{w|Space debris|Space Junk}}
| There is a large quantity of defunct objects in orbit around the earth. Amongst other things, this includes old satellites, rocket stages and fragments from collisions or disintegration. Space junk is also referenced in [[1242: Scary Names]] under the title {{w|Kessler syndrome}}
|-
| 422.5 ×103m
| {{w|International Space Station}}
| The ISS (International Space Station) is a multinational effort to put a research vessel in space. It is currently the largest artifical object in Earth's orbit, as well as the location of the longest continuous human presence in space.
|-
| 100 ×103m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The {{w|Edge of space|official edge of space}} as defined by the {{w|Kármán line}}
|-
| 76.0 ×103m
| {{w|Meteors}}
| Meteors are chunks of rock (usually asteroids) that burn up in the atmosphere, producing the bright light associated with them. If the are large enough to hit the ground, they become meterorites, which is why Munroe labeled them only in the upper atmosphere.
|-
| 25.0 ×103m
| {{w|High-altitude balloon|High-altitude balloons}}
| Unmanned balloons, typically filled with helium or hydrogen. The current altitude record was set in 2002 by a balloon named BU60-1 which reached 53,000m.
|-
| 16.1 ×103m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/10 ATM = 0.1 {{w|Atmospheric pressure|atmosphere of pressure}}
|-
| 12.0 ×103m
| {{w|Airliner|Airliners}}
| This is a typical cruising altitude of jet aircraft, equating to roughly 40,000 feet. (Aircraft altitude tends to be specified in feet rather than metres)
|-
| 8.84 ×103m
| {{w|Mount Everest}}
| The Earths highest mountain, located in the {{w|Himalayas|Himalayan mountain range}} in South Asia.
|-
| 8.00 ×103m
| {{w|Cory Doctorow}}
| Cory Doctorow in a balloon, a reference to comic [[239: Blagofaire]].
|-
| 6.34 ×103m
| {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia disaster}}
| The {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia}} and its seven crew were lost when it disintegrated at [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6v16AgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA7&ots=LDKQ3nsNHs&dq=shuttle%20columbia%20altitude&pg=PA7#v=onepage&q=shuttle%20columbia%20altitude&f=false approximately 63,400m] in 2003. This number is inconsistent with the height of the graph by a factor of 10 probably a mistype by Randall.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Helicopter}}
| Though the record for helicopter altitude (without payload) is 12,442m, normal flying is usually performed much lower. In the US, 6000m is into {{w|Class A airspace}}, which is restricted and requires flight under {{w|Instrument Flight Rules}}.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Cloud}}
| Though not actually labelled there are a couple of clouds shown. While different cloud types vary in height, 6000m is roughly in the middle of the height range for clouds in temperate regions [http://weatherfaqs.org.uk/node/21]
|-
| 5.49 ×103m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/2 ATM = 0.5 {{w|Atmospheric pressure|atmosphere of pressure}}
|-
| 1.78 ×103m
| [[Cueball]]
| Apparently still using Python as shown in comic [[353: Python]].
|-
| 800 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 800 meters
|-
| 800 ×100m
| {{w|Burj Khalifa|Burj Dubai}}
| Now known as the Burj Khalifa, is the tallest building in the world.
|-
| 500 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 500 meters
|-
| 400 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 400 meters
|-
| 325 ×100m
| {{w|Eiffel Tower}}
| A famous landmark in Paris, France.
|-
| 300 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 300 meters
|-
| 200 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 200 meters
|-
| 150 ×100m
| Kite
| Kite string is commonly sold in large spools; a nice thick spool will probably hold 150 meters.
|-
| 140 ×100m
| {{w|Great Pyramid of Giza}}
| One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is located in Egypt.
|-
| 120 ×100m
| {{w|Baseball|Pop Fly}}
| In Baseball a 'Pop Fly' is when the batter mis-hits the baseball, which then follows a tall arc deep into the infield where it's easy picking for the other team to catch on its way down. The highest recorded pop fly, not including those that landed in foul territory, was 172 meters.
|-
| 115 ×100m
| {{w|Redwood Tree|Redwood trees}}
| The tallest trees in the world. At 115.61m (379.3ft) {{w|Hyperion (tree)|Hyperion}}, a Coast Redwood, holds the record for the tallest tree in the world.
|-
| 100 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 100 meters
|-
| 20.0 ×100m
| {{w|Oak}}
| While oaks may grow to be in excess of 40m in height, heights of around 20m are more typical. The person in the tree saying, "Hey, squirrels!" is a reference to [[167: Nihilism]].
|-
| 16.4 ×100m
| Tallest stilts
| The tallest {{w|stilts}} recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records (as of November 2006) were 16.4 meters, or nearly 54 feet.
|-
| 13.0 ×100m
| {{w|Brachiosaurus|Brachiosaur}}
| A large genus of dinosaur.
|-
| 8.00 ×100m
| {{w|Giraffe}}
| The the tallest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown adults reaching in excess of 5m. While labelled 8m in the comic, the [http://www.big-animals.com/the-giraffe-the-worlds-tallest-animal/ record] for height is reported at 5.8m.
|-
| 1.70 ×100m
| {{w|Human height|Folks}}
| Determining an average height of the world population is fraught with complications, but as a ballpark figure 1.7m is fairly accurate.
|}

==Transcript==
:'''Top of observable universe'''
:[Black Hat is standing on top, throwing a black kitty down.]
:Black Cat: Mrowl!
:[Map of the universe from observable universe to Earth. Each area of item is labeled. Labels left to right, up to down:]
:(46 billion light years up)
::Hubble Deep Field Objects
:-One billion light years-
::Great Attractor
::Antennae Galaxies (colliding)
::Andromeda
::Holy crap lots of space
:-One million light years-
::Magellanic Clouds
::Edge of galaxy
::Galactic center
::Crab Nebula
::Orion Nebula
::Horsehead Nebula
::Romulan neutral zone
::The Pleiades, duh!
::Rigel
::Betelgeuse
::Ford Prefect
:[Three arrows are pointing up above three lines with the following label:]
:-Expanding shell of radio transmissions-
::[Above a dotted line:]
::Edge of federation sector 0-0-1
::Pollux
::Arcturus
::Missing WMDs
::Sirius
::Barnard's Star
::Alpha Centauri
:-One parsec-
:-One light year-
::Oort Cloud (?)
::Bupkis
::Comet which will destroy Earth in late 2063
::Pioneer 10
::Voyager I
::Eris (All hail Discordia!)
::Pluto (Not a planet. Neener neener.)
::Neptune
::Uranus
::Saturn
::[Two arrows point to two moons, one next to each of the planets aboe and below.]
::<-- Life -->
::Jupiter
::Asteroids
::Mars
::Venus
::Sun
::Mercury
::Spaceship Planet Express: Hey, a heaping bowl of salt!
::Spaceship Discovery One: Open the fridge door, Hal.
::Moon
::Human altitude record (Apollo 13)
::2nd place: Snoop Dogg
::Space elevator - One of these days, promise!
::Geosynchronous Orbit
::GPS satellites
::Lunar lander: In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land.
::International Space Station
::Space junk
:-Official edge of space (100 km)-
::Meteors
:-1/10 ATM-
::High altitude balloons
::Airliners
::Shuttle Columbia lost
:-1/2 ATM-
::Cory Doctrow
::Everest
::Helicopters (6000 m)
::Cueball: Woo Python!
::[A vertical scale is drawn along the right side of the picture, starting at 1 km and getting progressivly smaller and smaller.]
:1 km
:-800 m-
::Burj Dubai (~800 m)
:500
:400
::Eiffel Tower (325 m)
:200
::Kites
::Great Pyramid (140 m)
::Pop fly
::Redwood (115 m)
:100m
::Oak (20 m)
::A person in the oak: Hey squirrels!
::Tallest stilts
::Brachiosaur (13 m)
::Giraffe (8 m)
::[Megan and Cueball holding the kite are labeled:]
::Folks
:'''The observable universe, from top to bottom''''
::~On a log scale~
::Sizes are not to scale, but heights above the Earth's surface are accurate on a log scale (that is, each step up is double the height.)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

482: Height

2014-12-15T20:20:00Z

173.245.50.145: ISS info added

{{comic
| number = 482
| date = September 29, 2008
| title = Height
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = height.png
| titletext = Interestingly, on a true vertical log plot, I think the Eiffel Tower's sides would really be straight lines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Review object descriptions for grammar: Independently review heights: Include why the object is noteworthy in the object description}}
The comic is a companion piece to [[485: Depth]]. Where ''Depth'' which uses a {{w|logarithmic scale}} to view the earth, from Earth's atmosphere to the interior of a single proton, ''Height'' uses a logarithmic scale to view the universe from earths perspective, from the end of the observable universe to the grass beneath our feet.

The comic starts, at the bottom, with people walking in grass, and ends with [[Black Hat]] kicking a cat off the edge of the observable universe. Black Hat may be testing if cats always land on their feet, or may just be being a jerk, per his usual character. The top of the observable universe is the distance from which the oldest rays of light reach Earth. The {{w|Observable universe}} extends about 46 billion {{w|light years}} from earth, as shown on the top of the image.

In this cartoon most objects that are grounded in the earth are scaled logarithmically on the vertical axes and linearly on the horizontal axes, while others are scaled linearly on both axes. Displaying height logarithmically, while displaying width linearly, noticeably distorts the shapes of these terrestrial objects. The title text notes that this distortion might to convert the Eifel Tower's famous silhouette into an isosceles triangle. In other places, such as the planets, the objects appear as linearly scaled objects that are placed at their appropriate locations. If, for example, the depth of the sun where scaled logarithmically instead of linearly it would appear more egg shaped, with the flatter side facing upward.

===Objects===
All objects are sorted from bottom to top by their maximum distance from earth for objects in a solar orbit, and their current distance for others.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Distance
! Object
! Description
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| Black Hat and cat
| Black Hat kicking a cat off the top of the comic, presumably to determine whether it will land on its feet.
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | Top of observable universe
|-
| 11.3 ×1024m
| {{w|Hubble Deep Field}} objects
| Objects of extremely distant galaxies found in a long-exposure photograph by of the Hubble telescope, 12 billion light-years away.
|-
| 9.46 ×1024m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One billion light years
|-
| 2.36 ×1024m
| {{w|Great Attractor}}
| An unusual concentration of intergalactic mass.
|-
| 425 ×1021m
| {{w|Antennae Galaxies}} (colliding)
| A pair of colliding galaxies.
|-
| 23.6 ×1021m
| {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}}
| A sibling to our Milky Way.
|-
| 9.46 ×1021m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One million light years
|-
| 2.38 ×1021m
| [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cat-on-a-keyboard-in-space Cat on a keyboard in space]
| An internet meme featuring a picture of a cat sitting on a musical keyboard, superimposed on an image of space.
|-
| 1.56 ×1021m
| {{w|Magellanic Clouds}}
| These clouds are a pair of nearby dwarf galaxies.
|-
| 263 ×1018m
| Edge of Galaxy
| The edge of the {{w|Milky Way}} galaxy, the galaxy in which we reside.
|-
| 245 ×1018m
| {{w|Galactic Center}}
| The center of the Milky Way galaxy.
|-
| 61.5 ×1018m
| {{w|Crab Nebula}}
| Nebula are supernova remnants
|-
| 14.2 ×1018m
| {{w|Horsehead Nebula}}
|
|-
| 12.7 ×1018m
| {{w|Orion Nebula}}
|
|-
| 8.14 ×1018m
| {{w|Rigel}}
|
|-
| 6.08 ×1018m
| {{w|Betelgeuse}}
| The star Betelgeuse is displayed along with the location of {{w|Ford_Prefect (character)|Ford Prefect}} on his home planat which orbits Betelgeuse. Ford Prefect is a fictional character from the science fiction parody {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}.
|-
| 4.20 ×1018m
| {{w|Pleiades}}
| The Pleiades also have a derogatory remark, as per [[66: Abusive Astronomy]]
|-
| 2.90 ×1018m
| The [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Romulan_Neutral_Zone Romulan Neutral Zone]
| This marks the edge of the {{w|Star Trek}} Federation.
|-
| 931 ×1015m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The first radio broadcast was in January 1910. Since radio waves travel at the speed of light, and this was published in September of 2008 this the radio waves traveled about 98.5 light years. See {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} for a depiction of this. This is also referenced in [[1212: Interstellar Memes]].
|-
| 350 ×1015m
| {{w|Arcturus}}
|
|-
| 320 ×1015m
| {{w|Pollux}}
|
|-
| 242 ×1015m
| The edge of {{w|Federation Sector 0-0-1}}
| The sector of space assigned to Earth in {{w|Star Trek}}.
|-
| 224 ×1015m
| {{w|Iraq and weapons of mass destruction|"missing WMDs"}}
| A reference to the alleged weapons of mass destruction that where used as a pretence to mobilize the world population against Iraq, and start the Iraq war.
|-
| 81.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Sirius}}
|
|-
| 56.6 ×1015m
| {{w|Barnard's Star}}
|
|-
| 41.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Alpha Centauri}}
|
|-
| 30.9 ×1015m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One parsec.
|-
| 9.46 ×1015m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One light-year.
|-
| 15.0 ×1015m
| {{w|Oort cloud}}
| A halo of ice balls surrounding our solar system, but missing the {{w|Kupier belt}} between Neptune and the Oort cloud.
|-
| 350 ×1012m
| {{w|Bupkis}}
| Yiddish for "nothing". Only a handful of objects are known to orbit between the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud.
|-
| 55.0 ×1012m
| A comet which will destroy earth in late 2063
| To coincide with the latest biblicaly based prophesy for the [http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p971105.htm end of the world].
|-
| 19.5 ×1012m
| {{w|Voyager 1}}
| An early space probe. Distance correct as of 20th Nov 2014, click [http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/where/ here] to see NASA's live distance counter.
|-
| 16.7 ×1012m
| {{w|Pioneer 10}}
| Listed distance is an estimate based on {{w|Pioneer_10#Current_status|this information}}.
|-
| 17.7 ×1012m
| {{w|Pioneer 11}}
| By the similarity in appearance to Pioneer 10 this unlabeled probe must be Pioneer 11. Listed distance is an estimate based on {{w|Pioneer_11#Current_status|this information}}.
|-
| 14.5 ×1012m
| {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}}
| One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object}}s now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s. The "All hail Discordia!" after Eris is a reference to {{w|Discordianism}}, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek religion based around the goddess Eris. The distance is the maximum distance from earth.
|-
| 7.50 ×1012m
| {{w|Pluto}}
| One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object}}s now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s. Pluto was originally classified as the 9th planet of the Solar system. Many people was appalled when it was suddenly degraded to dwarf planet. Obviously Randall does not think much of these people thus the comment: ''Not a planet. Neener neener''. The distance is the maximum distance from earth.
|-
| 4.70 ×1012m
| {{w|Neptune}}
|
|-
| 3.20 ×1012m
| {{w|Uranus}}
|
|-
| 1.67 ×1012m
| {{w|Saturn}}
| Saturn is displayed along with its moons. One Saturn's moon, most likely Titan, is labeled as a potential location to find life. Titan is the only known moon to have an atmosphere, and oceans on the moon. The oceans can not be filled with liquid watter, as it is far too cold, but with liquid methane and ethane. Some hypothisize that in such oceans life could have formed.
|-
| 928 ×109m
| {{w|Jupiter}}
| Jupiter is displayed along with its moons. One Jupiter's moon, most likely Europa, is labeled as a potential location to find life. Europa may be covered by a deep ocean of water found under a layer of ice many kilometers thick. Some hypothisize that in such oceans life could have formed.
|-
| 222 ×109m
| Asteroids
| The {{w|Asteroid|Asteroid belt}} contains a spaceship from {{w|Asteroids (video game)}}
|-
| 133 ×109m
| {{w|Mars}}
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits with a maximum distance at 261 million km and a minimum at 54.6 million km.
|-
| 114 ×109m
| {{w|Venus}}
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits with a maximum distance at 401 million km and a minimum at 37.7 million km.
|-
| 138 ×109m
| {{w|Mercury}}
| This distance is the maximum distance from earth.
|-
| 149 ×109m
| {{w|Sun}}
| The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system, around which the Earth orbits.
|-
| 16.3 ×109m
| {{w|Discovery One}}
| The Discovery One from {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey}}, referring to the quote "open the pod bay door, HAL."
|-
| 9.43 ×109m
| Planet Express
| The spaceplane is most likely the Planet Express from {{w|Futurama}}, where Fry once discussed "a big heaping bowl of salt."
|-
| 400 ×106m
| Human Altitude Record
| Achieved by the team of {{w|Apollo 13}} approximately 100km higher than the remaining Apollo missions.
|-
| 384 ×106m
| {{w|Moon}}
| The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite.
|-
| 90.4 ×106m
| {{w|Snoop Dogg}}
| A toung in cheek reffrence to a rapper notorious for smoking marijuana, is shown as having the second-highest altitude record. Someone who is taking drugs is said to be getting high.
|-
| 60.5 ×106m
| {{w|Space elevator}}
| A proposed method of transporting cargo or people into orbit, consisting of a large mass beyond geosynchronous orbit, a station at the geosynchronous point, a cable connecting it to the Earth, and a climber that can scale the cable. Space elevators are also seen in [[697: Tensile vs. Shear Strength]] and [[536: Space Elevators]].
|-
| 42.1 ×106m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | {{w|Geosynchronous orbit|Geosynchronous Orbit}}
|-
| 20.2 ×106m
| {{w|GPS (satellite)|GPS Satellites}}
| GPS satellites are used for global positioning.
|-
| 3.94 ×106m
| {{w|Lunar Lander}}
| The quote is a reference to {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} where the main character Ellie Arroway after witnessing a celestial light show up close says "Poetry! They should've sent a poet.".
|-
| 800 ×103m
| {{w|Space debris|Space Junk}}
| There is a large quantity of defunct objects in orbit around the earth. Amongst other things, this includes old satellites, rocket stages and fragments from collisions or disintegration. Space junk is also referenced in [[1242: Scary Names]] under the title {{w|Kessler syndrome}}
|-
| 422.5 ×103m
| {{w|International Space Station}}
| The ISS (International Space Station) is a multinational effort to put a research vessel in space. It is currently the largest artifical object in Earth's orbit, as well as the location of the longest continuous human presence in space.
|-
| 100 ×103m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The {{w|Edge of space|official edge of space}} as defined by the {{w|Kármán line}}
|-
| 76.0 ×103m
| {{w|Meteors}}
|
|-
| 25.0 ×103m
| {{w|High-altitude balloon|High-altitude balloons}}
| Unmanned balloons, typically filled with helium or hydrogen. The current altitude record was set in 2002 by a balloon named BU60-1 which reached 53,000m.
|-
| 16.1 ×103m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/10 ATM = 0.1 {{w|Atmospheric pressure|atmosphere of pressure}}
|-
| 12.0 ×103m
| {{w|Airliner|Airliners}}
| This is a typical cruising altitude of jet aircraft, equating to roughly 40,000 feet. (Aircraft altitude tends to be specified in feet rather than metres)
|-
| 8.84 ×103m
| {{w|Mount Everest}}
| The Earths highest mountain, located in the {{w|Himalayas|Himalayan mountain range}} in South Asia.
|-
| 8.00 ×103m
| {{w|Cory Doctorow}}
| Cory Doctorow in a balloon, a reference to comic [[239: Blagofaire]].
|-
| 6.34 ×103m
| {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia disaster}}
| The {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia}} and its seven crew were lost when it disintegrated at [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6v16AgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA7&ots=LDKQ3nsNHs&dq=shuttle%20columbia%20altitude&pg=PA7#v=onepage&q=shuttle%20columbia%20altitude&f=false approximately 63,400m] in 2003. This number is inconsistent with the height of the graph by a factor of 10 probably a mistype by Randall.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Helicopter}}
| Though the record for helicopter altitude (without payload) is 12,442m, normal flying is usually performed much lower. In the US, 6000m is into {{w|Class A airspace}}, which is restricted and requires flight under {{w|Instrument Flight Rules}}.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Cloud}}
| Though not actually labelled there are a couple of clouds shown. While different cloud types vary in height, 6000m is roughly in the middle of the height range for clouds in temperate regions [http://weatherfaqs.org.uk/node/21]
|-
| 5.49 ×103m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/2 ATM = 0.5 {{w|Atmospheric pressure|atmosphere of pressure}}
|-
| 1.78 ×103m
| [[Cueball]]
| Apparently still using Python as shown in comic [[353: Python]].
|-
| 800 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 800 meters
|-
| 800 ×100m
| {{w|Burj Khalifa|Burj Dubai}}
| Now known as the Burj Khalifa, is the tallest building in the world.
|-
| 500 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 500 meters
|-
| 400 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 400 meters
|-
| 325 ×100m
| {{w|Eiffel Tower}}
| A famous landmark in Paris, France.
|-
| 300 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 300 meters
|-
| 200 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 200 meters
|-
| 150 ×100m
| Kite
| Kite string is commonly sold in large spools; a nice thick spool will probably hold 150 meters.
|-
| 140 ×100m
| {{w|Great Pyramid of Giza}}
| One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is located in Egypt.
|-
| 120 ×100m
| {{w|Baseball|Pop Fly}}
| In Baseball a 'Pop Fly' is when the batter mis-hits the baseball, which then follows a tall arc deep into the infield where it's easy picking for the other team to catch on its way down. The highest recorded pop fly, not including those that landed in foul territory, was 172 meters.
|-
| 115 ×100m
| {{w|Redwood Tree|Redwood trees}}
| The tallest trees in the world. At 115.61m (379.3ft) {{w|Hyperion (tree)|Hyperion}}, a Coast Redwood, holds the record for the tallest tree in the world.
|-
| 100 ×100m
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 100 meters
|-
| 20.0 ×100m
| {{w|Oak}}
| While oaks may grow to be in excess of 40m in height, heights of around 20m are more typical. The person in the tree saying, "Hey, squirrels!" is a reference to [[167: Nihilism]].
|-
| 16.4 ×100m
| Tallest stilts
| The tallest {{w|stilts}} recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records (as of November 2006) were 16.4 meters, or nearly 54 feet.
|-
| 13.0 ×100m
| {{w|Brachiosaurus|Brachiosaur}}
| A large genus of dinosaur.
|-
| 8.00 ×100m
| {{w|Giraffe}}
| The the tallest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown adults reaching in excess of 5m. While labelled 8m in the comic, the [http://www.big-animals.com/the-giraffe-the-worlds-tallest-animal/ record] for height is reported at 5.8m.
|-
| 1.70 ×100m
| {{w|Human height|Folks}}
| Determining an average height of the world population is fraught with complications, but as a ballpark figure 1.7m is fairly accurate.
|}

==Transcript==
:'''Top of observable universe'''
:[Black Hat is standing on top, throwing a black kitty down.]
:Black Cat: Mrowl!
:[Map of the universe from observable universe to Earth. Each area of item is labeled. Labels left to right, up to down:]
:(46 billion light years up)
::Hubble Deep Field Objects
:-One billion light years-
::Great Attractor
::Antennae Galaxies (colliding)
::Andromeda
::Holy crap lots of space
:-One million light years-
::Magellanic Clouds
::Edge of galaxy
::Galactic center
::Crab Nebula
::Orion Nebula
::Horsehead Nebula
::Romulan neutral zone
::The Pleiades, duh!
::Rigel
::Betelgeuse
::Ford Prefect
:[Three arrows are pointing up above three lines with the following label:]
:-Expanding shell of radio transmissions-
::[Above a dotted line:]
::Edge of federation sector 0-0-1
::Pollux
::Arcturus
::Missing WMDs
::Sirius
::Barnard's Star
::Alpha Centauri
:-One parsec-
:-One light year-
::Oort Cloud (?)
::Bupkis
::Comet which will destroy Earth in late 2063
::Pioneer 10
::Voyager I
::Eris (All hail Discordia!)
::Pluto (Not a planet. Neener neener.)
::Neptune
::Uranus
::Saturn
::[Two arrows point to two moons, one next to each of the planets aboe and below.]
::<-- Life -->
::Jupiter
::Asteroids
::Mars
::Venus
::Sun
::Mercury
::Spaceship Planet Express: Hey, a heaping bowl of salt!
::Spaceship Discovery One: Open the fridge door, Hal.
::Moon
::Human altitude record (Apollo 13)
::2nd place: Snoop Dogg
::Space elevator - One of these days, promise!
::Geosynchronous Orbit
::GPS satellites
::Lunar lander: In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land.
::International Space Station
::Space junk
:-Official edge of space (100 km)-
::Meteors
:-1/10 ATM-
::High altitude balloons
::Airliners
::Shuttle Columbia lost
:-1/2 ATM-
::Cory Doctrow
::Everest
::Helicopters (6000 m)
::Cueball: Woo Python!
::[A vertical scale is drawn along the right side of the picture, starting at 1 km and getting progressivly smaller and smaller.]
:1 km
:-800 m-
::Burj Dubai (~800 m)
:500
:400
::Eiffel Tower (325 m)
:200
::Kites
::Great Pyramid (140 m)
::Pop fly
::Redwood (115 m)
:100m
::Oak (20 m)
::A person in the oak: Hey squirrels!
::Tallest stilts
::Brachiosaur (13 m)
::Giraffe (8 m)
::[Megan and Cueball holding the kite are labeled:]
::Folks
:'''The observable universe, from top to bottom''''
::~On a log scale~
::Sizes are not to scale, but heights above the Earth's surface are accurate on a log scale (that is, each step up is double the height.)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]