https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Grendelsmumexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-04-25T12:28:58ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2164:_Glacier&diff=1754062164: Glacier2019-06-18T06:28:34Z<p>Grendelsmum: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2164<br />
| date = June 17, 2019<br />
| title = Glacier<br />
| image = glacier.png<br />
| titletext = The Norwegian adaptation of The Sword in the Stone takes things in a weird direction.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by the Meteorological Society. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A {{w|glacier}} is a wall of dense ice. Though glaciers tend to appear still, they are actually slowly moving, at a rate of around 25 cm (10 in) per day. <br />
<br />
The joke in this comic is a pun on the word "advancing". In the original context, the glacier is "advancing" or moving forward slowly. However, Beret Guy uses the fencing term {{w|Glossary of fencing|"advance"}}, which is a basic forward movement. Beret Guy attaches a fencing {{w|sabre (fencing)|sabre}} to the glacier, and then takes a defensive position. It's unclear at this time who will win. <br />
<br />
The title text refers to {{w|Excalibur|The Sword in the Stone}}, a famous sword in the legends of King Arthur, and the fact that 1% of mainland {{w|Norway}} is covered with glaciers (but 60% of the {{w|Svalbard}} archipelago, also a part of Norway).<br />
<br />
Question Randall's science on this one as the consensus is that glaciers are retreating world wide. https://skepticalscience.com/himalayan-glaciers-growing.htm<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A person wearing a knit cap and Beret Guy are standing to the left of a glacier.]<br />
:Knit cap person: Glaciers are so neat. You can't see it, but this ice is slowly advancing.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Beret Guy, who has his hand to his mouth, thinking.]<br />
<br />
:[Zoomed in, Beret Guy exits to the left of the panel.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy enters the panel from the left, carrying two fencing sabres.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy uses a blow dryer to attach one of the sabres to the glacier.]<br />
:''Whirrrr''<br />
:[Beret Guy is holding the blow dryer and looks at the sabre that is attached to the glacier.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy stands in a defensive position with sabre in hand, ready to defend against the "advancing" glacier.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
The author of ''The Sword in the Stone'', T. H. White, was mentioned two comics ago in [[2162: Literary Opinions]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>Grendelsmumhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2164:_Glacier&diff=1754052164: Glacier2019-06-18T06:28:06Z<p>Grendelsmum: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2164<br />
| date = June 17, 2019<br />
| title = Glacier<br />
| image = glacier.png<br />
| titletext = The Norwegian adaptation of The Sword in the Stone takes things in a weird direction.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by the Meteorological Society. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A {{w|glacier}} is a wall of dense ice. Though glaciers tend to appear still, they are actually slowly moving, at a rate of around 25 cm (10 in) per day. <br />
<br />
The joke in this comic is a pun on the word "advancing". In the original context, the glacier is "advancing" or moving forward slowly. However, Beret Guy uses the fencing term {{w|Glossary of fencing|"advance"}}, which is a basic forward movement. Beret Guy attaches a fencing {{w|sabre (fencing)|sabre}} to the glacier, and then takes a defensive position. It's unclear at this time who will win. <br />
<br />
The title text refers to {{w|Excalibur|The Sword in the Stone}}, a famous sword in the legends of King Arthur, and the fact that 1% of mainland {{w|Norway}} is covered with glaciers (but 60% of the {{w|Svalbard}} archipelago, also a part of Norway).<br />
<br />
Question Randall's science on this on as the consensus is that glaciers are retreating world wide. https://skepticalscience.com/himalayan-glaciers-growing.htm<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A person wearing a knit cap and Beret Guy are standing to the left of a glacier.]<br />
:Knit cap person: Glaciers are so neat. You can't see it, but this ice is slowly advancing.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Beret Guy, who has his hand to his mouth, thinking.]<br />
<br />
:[Zoomed in, Beret Guy exits to the left of the panel.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy enters the panel from the left, carrying two fencing sabres.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy uses a blow dryer to attach one of the sabres to the glacier.]<br />
:''Whirrrr''<br />
:[Beret Guy is holding the blow dryer and looks at the sabre that is attached to the glacier.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy stands in a defensive position with sabre in hand, ready to defend against the "advancing" glacier.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
The author of ''The Sword in the Stone'', T. H. White, was mentioned two comics ago in [[2162: Literary Opinions]].<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>Grendelsmum