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2296: Sourdough Starter

2020-04-30T18:31:01Z

TheCookieDoggo: capitalization

{{comic
| number = 2296
| date = April 20, 2020
| title = Sourdough Starter
| image = sourdough_starter.png
| titletext = Once the lockdown is over, let's all get together and swap starters!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Butt WITH AN EXTREMELY CONVOLUTED PARASITIC LIFE CYCLE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is another comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

Recently, because of the coronavirus, many people are forced to stay home in quarantine. Quarantines often lead to spare time that needs to be filled, and many people have turned to baking, which can usually be done entirely at home, is relatively time-consuming, and has the advantage of producing finished food, lessening the need to go out to buy food. This trend is common enough that baking supplies, including yeast, have seen a spike in demand, to the point where [https://www.foodandwine.com/news/yeast-supply-shortage-coronavirus many people have trouble finding it.]

As an alternative to yeast, consumers can grow their own sourdough starter, which is a symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria naturally found in flour. Once the starter has matured, part of it can be used to make bread or other baked good rise, while the remainder can be mixed with more water and nutrients to allow the remaining yeast and bacteria to multiply once again. Because these populations need to be maintained, it's often been a practice to trade starters from house to house, with each home using starter when they need it, then setting up the remaining starter to breed more. This has historically been a social activity, allowing people who share an interest in baking to meet, share recipes, and spend time together.

The upshot of all of this is that the coronavirus pandemic has created conditions in which yeast (and symbiotic bacteria) are being bred in larger numbers, both by companies trying to fill demand, and by individuals trying to make their own. The joke is that this outcome is, in fact, the entire purpose of the coronavirus, which is in a {{w|symbiosis|symbiotic}} relationship with yeast. The entire global pandemic, by this logic, is directed to keep humans indoors and baking so that more yeast (and bacteria) is bred. The practice of swapping sourdough starters means that they're propagated more widely, increasing and distributing the yeast population (while potentially giving the virus more opportunity to spread, as people socialize).

As Randall points out, this cycle is extremely convoluted. However, it is not unknown for {{w|parasite}}s to drive the responses of other creatures in order to propagate themselves. For example, ''{{w|Toxoplasma gondii}}'' infects mice, but can only reproduce when it infects cats. The organism has therefore adapted to infect the nervous systems of mice, making them extremely reckless, increasing their odds of being caught and eaten by cats, allowing the the parasite to move to a new host. Some flatworm parasites have very complex life cycles that involve [http://olsonlab.com/resources/Publications/2003AdvParaCribb.PDF four different host animals].

Randall has previously speculated about unusual parasitic organisms in [[2246: Christmas Presents]], in which he "concluded" that Christmas presents are parasites of Christmas trees, possibly mediated by a fungus. And in [[1664: Mycology]] a fungus infects human brains making them wish to study (and thus grow more of) this fungus.

Viruses are not organisms (lacking some of the defining features of life), and it is debatable whether they would be considered parasites. Moreover, this theory is obviously implausible for a number of reasons. The most obvious being that natural responses, particularly of viruses and simple organisms, evolve over a long time scale. SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the current pandemic, has very likely been infecting humans for less than one year, certainly not long enough to evolve such a complex set of behaviors. At the same time, a symbiotic relationship would require yeast to somehow contribute to the life cycle of the coronavirus in a meaningful way, which is unlikely when the yeast is being artificially bred in isolated containers. If however, as suggested by the title text, people getting together to swap yeast starters after the lockdown ends does cause the virus to begin spreading in humans again as a result of the social contact, then the yeast would be contributing to the life cycle of the coronavirus, in an equally convoluted way. The humor, therefore, is derived from the fact that this is a comical exaggeration, but based on cycles that actually do happen in nature.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands in front of a kitchen counter looking down at a glass jar he is holding in both hands. The jar's flat lid is lying on the table. There is another large jar farther back on the counter with a lid, with a small handle, on. In both jars there is a substance, which do stay in the same position in the jar even though Cueball tilts the jar he is holding.]
:Cueball: My sourdough starter is coming along nicely!

:[Caption below the panel]
:Theory: The coronavirus is a yeast symbiont with an '''''extremely''''' convoluted parasitic life cycle.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]

2300: Everyone's an Epidemiologist

2020-04-30T18:19:49Z

TheCookieDoggo: Made a syntax fix

{{comic
| number = 2300
| date = April 30, 2020
| title = Everyone's an Epidemiologist
| image = everyones_an_epidemiologist.png
| titletext = If enough people uphill decide to try the rolling strategy, they can make the decision for you.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ROLLING HUMAN AVALANCHE. Explanation is not made yet. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this instalment of the [[:Category:COVID-19|coronavirus series of comics]], Megan complains that the sudden rise in awareness of COVID-19 has led to many people that act as if they are experts on the issue of global policy and the virus's traits, while in fact most are just repeating what they have heard from various news outlets, which do not always get everything right. [https://thebulletin.org/2020/03/coronavirus-coverage-where-the-media-have-gone-wrong/] Cueball notes that her analogy fails to account that everyone is directly affected by the virus, meaning that everyone should be educating themselves on the topic as much as possible. Cueball however agrees with her that the people who may be saying that we need to get out of lockdown as fast as possible without seeming to consider the lives at stake are frustrating to listen to. Randall's bias bleeds through a bit here, as he seems to be oversimplifying the situation. Not many people are actually advocating for the solution he makes fun of here, but painting with such a wide brush makes it seem so.

The rolling-down-hill strategy is reminiscent of [[1217: Cells]] in that it solves the immediate problem (whether being stuck on a mountain, or having some disease) while also likely killing the patient. It may therefore be in reference to Trump's [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/23/trump-coronavirus-treatment-disinfectant widely-reported comments] that an injection of a disinfectant could cure coronavirus; such an injection would "kill" (inactivate) any virus particles it contacted, but it would also kill so many of the patient's cells as to risk the patient's life.

The {{w|Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake}} is an annual event in which people intentionally roll down a steep hill (chasing after a wheel of cheese, or a foam replica since 2013), and they do indeed reach the bottom very quickly (the cheese was known to reach speeds in excess of 70 mph) and are often injured enough to require hospitalization, although because all participants are volunteers in good health, there have been no fatalities. The May 2020 event has been canceled due to COVID-19.

Alternately, it may be a reference to the "just succumb to the problem" solution of ignoring the dangers involved in letting what happens happen. Just quickly get everyone into the valley bottom and they all (who survive) subsequently have a {{w|herd immunity}} where none of them now needs to be scared of falling any more, and can jostle against anyone else without any such issues. The titletext explains how the decision may not even be yours if those who were in more precarious positions above you now start to hit you on the way past and cause you to tumble as well

==Transcript==

[Megan and Cueball are walking with makeshift medical masks covering their lower faces.]

Megan: Ugh, everyone's an epidemiologist.

[[Category:COVID-19]]

Megan: It's like when there's a mountaineering disaster in the news, and suddenly everyone is an expert on mountain climbing safety.

Cueball: I mean, it's not ''exactly'' like that.

Cueball: If the entire world's population were suddenly stranded on mountaintops together, a lot of people would understandably be trying to become mountaineering experts really fast.

Megan: Okay, that's fair.

Megan: But I do wish they wouldn't keep going on TV and saying "According to my research on gravity, if everyone curls into a ball and rolls, we'll get to the bottom quickly!"

Cueball: Yes, that's definitely not helping.

{{comic discussion}}

2300: Everyone's an Epidemiologist

2020-04-30T18:19:00Z

TheCookieDoggo: Added citation for "the media doesn't always get everything right". Sorry if i did this wrong!

{{comic
| number = 2300
| date = April 30, 2020
| title = Everyone's an Epidemiologist
| image = everyones_an_epidemiologist.png
| titletext = If enough people uphill decide to try the rolling strategy, they can make the decision for you.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ROLLING HUMAN AVALANCHE. Explanation is not made yet. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this instalment of the [[:Category:COVID-19|coronavirus series of comics]], Megan complains that the sudden rise in awareness of COVID-19 has led to many people that act as if they are experts on the issue of global policy and the virus's traits, while in fact most are just repeating what they have heard from various news outlets, which do not always get everything right. {{[https://thebulletin.org/2020/03/coronavirus-coverage-where-the-media-have-gone-wrong/]}} Cueball notes that her analogy fails to account that everyone is directly affected by the virus, meaning that everyone should be educating themselves on the topic as much as possible. Cueball however agrees with her that the people who may be saying that we need to get out of lockdown as fast as possible without seeming to consider the lives at stake are frustrating to listen to. Randall's bias bleeds through a bit here, as he seems to be oversimplifying the situation. Not many people are actually advocating for the solution he makes fun of here, but painting with such a wide brush makes it seem so.

The rolling-down-hill strategy is reminiscent of [[1217: Cells]] in that it solves the immediate problem (whether being stuck on a mountain, or having some disease) while also likely killing the patient. It may therefore be in reference to Trump's [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/23/trump-coronavirus-treatment-disinfectant widely-reported comments] that an injection of a disinfectant could cure coronavirus; such an injection would "kill" (inactivate) any virus particles it contacted, but it would also kill so many of the patient's cells as to risk the patient's life.

The {{w|Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake}} is an annual event in which people intentionally roll down a steep hill (chasing after a wheel of cheese, or a foam replica since 2013), and they do indeed reach the bottom very quickly (the cheese was known to reach speeds in excess of 70 mph) and are often injured enough to require hospitalization, although because all participants are volunteers in good health, there have been no fatalities. The May 2020 event has been canceled due to COVID-19.

Alternately, it may be a reference to the "just succumb to the problem" solution of ignoring the dangers involved in letting what happens happen. Just quickly get everyone into the valley bottom and they all (who survive) subsequently have a {{w|herd immunity}} where none of them now needs to be scared of falling any more, and can jostle against anyone else without any such issues. The titletext explains how the decision may not even be yours if those who were in more precarious positions above you now start to hit you on the way past and cause you to tumble as well

==Transcript==

[Megan and Cueball are walking with makeshift medical masks covering their lower faces.]

Megan: Ugh, everyone's an epidemiologist.

[[Category:COVID-19]]

Megan: It's like when there's a mountaineering disaster in the news, and suddenly everyone is an expert on mountain climbing safety.

Cueball: I mean, it's not ''exactly'' like that.

Cueball: If the entire world's population were suddenly stranded on mountaintops together, a lot of people would understandably be trying to become mountaineering experts really fast.

Megan: Okay, that's fair.

Megan: But I do wish they wouldn't keep going on TV and saying "According to my research on gravity, if everyone curls into a ball and rolls, we'll get to the bottom quickly!"

Cueball: Yes, that's definitely not helping.

{{comic discussion}}