2043: Boathouses and Houseboats

2018-09-07T15:56:29Z

Einstein9073: /* Transcript */ entered transcript

{{comic
| number = 2043
| date = September 7, 2018
| title = Boathouses and Houseboats
| image = boathouses_and_houseboats.png
| titletext = The <x> that is held by <y> is also a <y><x>, so if you go to a food truck, the stuff you buy is truck food. A phone that's in your car is a carphone, and a car equipped with a phone is a phonecar. When you play a mobile racing game, you're in your phonecar using your carphone to drive a different phonecar. I'm still not sure about bananaphones.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by someone on a BOATBOAT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Randall is engaging in creative linguistics again.
This time he is humorously suggesting to use a consistent naming scheme for things holding other things, the same way we call a boat holding a house a houseboat.
He is extending this to all combinations boats, houses and cars.
This would, however, be somewhat impractical, as these names do not include why one thing is on an other, and are also sometimes ambiguous: a carcar can be a tow truck as much as a car carrier.

Additionally, he is somewhat inconsistent with this himself.
He proposes to call lifeboats "boatboat", which are boats held by other boats, as opposed to boats holding other boats.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[Title:] Boathouses and Houseboats

[3x3 chart, axes labeled (this) held by (this)]

[Most entries have the common word in black, crossed out in red with the "new scheme" word in red.

[Car held by Car ] <s>Tow Truck</s> CarCar

[Car held by House] <s>Garage </s> CarHouse

[Car held by Boat ] <s>Car Ferry</s> CarBoat

[House held by Car ] <s>Mobile home</s> HouseCar

[House held by House] <s>Apartment</s> HouseHouse

[House held by Boat ] HouseBoat [green text]

[Boat held by Car ] <s>Boat Trailer</s> BoatCar

[Boat held by House] BoatHouse [green text]

[Boat held by Boat ] <s>Lifeboat</s> BoatBoat

[Caption below the chart:]
I really like the words for "boathouse" and "houseboat" and think we should apply that scheme more consistently.

[Alt Text:]
The <x> that is held by <y> is also a <y><x>, so if you go to a food truck, the stuff you buy is truck food. A phone that's in your car is a carphone, and a car equipped with a phone is a phonecar. When you play a mobile racing game, you're in your phonecar using your carphone to drive a different phonecar. I'm still not sure about bananaphones.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Language]]

51: Malaria

2018-01-12T17:26:27Z

Einstein9073: /* Explanation */ title text. dammit David

{{comic
| number = 51
| date = January 18, 2006 
| title = Malaria
| image = malaria.jpg
| titletext = The malaria party was David's idea.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic humorously considers {{w|pox parties}} as a means of preventing malaria. In these "parties," adults bring their children to deliberately expose them to a communicable disease to promote {{w|Immunity (medical)|immunity}}. This is commonly done for a childhood disease like {{w|chickenpox}} and {{w|measles}} instead of vaccination.

In this comic, we see four [[Cueball]]-like children in party hats with a balloon lying on the ground, suggesting a missing "celebrant."

Some illnesses are more serious for adults than children. For example, chickenpox is far less severe than its adult onset form {{w|shingles}}, and after contracting chickenpox, the {{w|immune system}} has developed {{w|antibodies}}, reducing vulnerability to the virus. The antibodies create immunity for a significant period of time, possibly life. However, immunity through antibody creation is not usually an effective strategy against malaria. Contrarily, once one has suffered from malaria, it can recur on its own, even after apparent healing from symptoms. Thus, having a malaria party would not be a useful exercise, as many could suffer significant illness and die.

The title text blames "David" for the party, referencing the idea of children blaming each other for an idea that turns out poorly. A malaria party is likely to have more severe consequences than, for instance, a group of 10 year olds building a ski ramp in the backyard.

===Malaria===
{{w|Malaria}} is a {{w|Mosquito-borne disease}} of humans and other animals caused by {{w|protists}} (a type of microorganism) of the genus ''{{w|Plasmodium}}''. It begins with a bite from an infected female {{w|mosquito}}, which introduces the protists via its saliva into the circulatory system, and ultimately to the liver where they mature and reproduce. The disease causes symptoms that typically include fever and headache, which in severe cases can progress to coma or death.

===Vaccination===
At the end of the 1990s, a study reported what would turn out to be made-up health threats from MMR-vaccines, which created an {{w|MMR vaccine controversy}} and lower vaccination rates, even after they were exposed as false. This made {{w|pox parties}} more popular as the "natural alternative." However, even seemingly "harmless" diseases like {{w|measles}} can have complications and side-effects, up to and including death, which are by far more common and/or more severe than the actual health risks involved in vaccination. Also none, or late immunization, may create an immunization gap through which nearly extinct diseases can reenter a population (see e.g. {{w|Epidemiology of measles}}). If this gap can be closed (or made small enough), it is possible to make a disease extinct. This was actually successfully done with {{w|smallpox}}, and is now attempted with the {{w|poliovirus}} (Causing {{w|poliomyelitis}}, also known as infantile paralysis).

==Transcript==
:[Four Cueball-like children wearing party hats, a discarded balloon is lying to the right. The first part of the text is written above the children, the second below.]
:We had a malaria party
:but it turned out not to be very much fun.

==Trivia==
*This was the 49th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[54: Science]].
**The next was [[52: Secret Worlds]].
*This comic kept its original title: "Malaria"
*It is part of the last six comics on LiveJournal which all had a title without the word "Drawing" in it.
**Five of these had exactly the same title on both sites.
**Only 11 comics have the same title on both sites.
**Apart from the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal, there were only three other comics without the word "Drawing" in the title before these last six.
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "'''Current Mood:''' ''Credit to David for this one''"
**In this version, he gave David credit. In the title text, it is more like he blames him for the idea.
*This comic was one of the last 11 comics posted on LiveJournal.
**These 11 comics were [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd|posted both on LiveJournal and xkcd]] after the [[xkcd]] site opened on the 1st of January 2006.
**The first six comics were posted on both sites on the same day. But not this one.
*For some reason, [[54: Science]] was posted before this one on LiveJournal on the 18th of January 2006, but first a week later on xkcd on the 25th of January 2006.
**So [[51: Malaria]] was released on xkcd the same day as [[54: Science]] came out on LiveJournal on Wednesday the 18th of January 2006.
**It then came out on LiveJournal three days later on Saturday the 21th of January 2006.
**The release date here on explain xkcd uses the first release date, so that is the one on xkcd.
*After the mishap with [[54: Science]], the next three comics came out on LiveJournal a release day later.
**First with the last comic released on LiveJournal, [[55: Useless]], did the two sites release the same comic on the same day again.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 49]]
[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd]]
[[Category:David]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2043: Boathouses and Houseboats

51: Malaria