explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1587: Food Rule

2015-10-08T21:39:30Z

Thefoils: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1587
| date = October 7, 2015
| title = Food Rule
| image = food_rule.png
| titletext = I won't eat invertebrates, because I can fight a skeleton, but I have no idea what kind of spooky warrior a squid leaves behind.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please improve connections and smooth out flow}}
There are various {{w|Vegetarianism|vegetarian}} diets which restrict certain foods for ethical concerns. A {{w|Pescetarianism|pescatarian}} diet omits most sources of meat, but still allows for fish. One rationale for this choice is that fish have a less complex nervous system, and thus experience a narrower range of suffering when farmed. An {{w|Ovo-lacto_vegetarianism|ovo-lacto vegetarian}} will not eat meat, but may consume animal byproducts such as milk, egg, cheese, and honey. A {{w|Veganism|vegan}} diet excludes all animal products entirely. Some vegetarians choose to summarize their eating habits in one sentence, like eating "nothing that once had a heartbeat", "nothing that can have children", "nothing with eyes" or "[https://www.google.dk/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=%22nothing+with+a+face%22&hl=da&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGHP_daDK541DK548&q=%22nothing+with+a+face%22&gs_l=hp...0i22i10i30j0i22i30l4.0.0.1.642912...........0.VML4AzjfqPA#hl=da&q=don%27t+eat+anything+with+a+face nothing with a face]" - this last example being the subject of the comic.

[[Randall]] presents two rules about what can be eaten, one in the caption below the frame comic and one in the title text. He also presents a list of allowed and forbidden foods but not all of the forbidden foods matches both rules.

Randall is willing to eat food disregarding if it once had a {{w|face}} or not. But his rule in the caption states that he will not eat any food if he needs to use Google to figure out whether it came from something who had a face or not. While it's clear, at least to Randall, that a cow has a face and an apple does not, some beings are harder to classify into one of these categories. For example, the {{w|squid}} has eyes and mouth, but it would be hard to tell whether that counts as a face. This would be a problem for the vegetarian standard rule of "nothing with a face" and thus openly mocks the vegetarian rule of "nothing with a face".

The three omissions are explained by the rule given in the title text. This rule is about not eating {{w|Invertebrate|invertebrates}}. The first four items on the list are meat from four different animals of the type {{w|Vertebrate|vertebrates}} and the last three items are from {{w|Plant|plants}}. These are all OK to eat. But the middle three items are three different animals of the type invertebrates. Randall does not eat these! Specifically they all fit under the term {{w|shellfish}}, which {{w|Jews}} are {{w|Jewish dietary laws|not allowed to eat}}. However, since {{w|pork}} is also not allowed for Jews, this list is not useful for them. [Editor's Note: Who wrote this entry and what is wrong with them?]

These animals do not have any skeleton. Randall is joking about how the animals he eats might come back to haunt him, and in the case of a cow or fish (or any other vertebrates - with skeletons), he imagines that they would come back as an animated skeletal structure. Any undead creature that returns as a skeleton he believes he will be able to fight. But since he has no idea how an undead squid or oyster (or any other invertebrate) would look, he feels unprepared to fight such a spooky creature and thus declines from eating them. This may be an excuse for not eating certain invertebrate, or a mocking comment on several games where the protagonist is required to fight several animated human skeletons. [Editor's Note: No, it's not a comment on those games, why would you ever think that? Skeletons are not a unique concept This is the worst part of explainxkcd, when people try to shoehorn universal concepts into their own idiosyncratic references. Knock it off.]

Randall has previously mentioned his dislike of certain foods (namely lobster) in [[1268: Alternate Universe]].

===Items on the list===
Here is a list with explanation for each item:
*{{w|Red meat}}, includes meat from most adult {{w|mammals}}, but many people will probably think of {{w|beefsteak}} from {{w|cattle}}.
*{{w|Pork}}, is meat from from {{w|Domestic pig|pigs}}. As this is actually a type of red meat this supports that Randall was thinking of beef, when mentioning red meat above.
*{{w|Poultry}} are domesticated birds, most people will think of {{w| Chicken (food)|chicken}}.
*{{w|Fish}} covers a very large group of animals, most of them are not eaten on a regular basis, but a large group of fish are {{w| Fish as food|used as food}}.
*{{w|Shrimp}} is used to refer to {{w|Decapoda|ten-footed}} {{w|Crustacean}} and some of these are {{w|Shrimp (food)|used for food}}. In the UK they often go under the name {{w|Prawns}}.
*{{w|Oysters}} refers to a family of {{w|mollusca}} within the class {{w|bivalvia}} (i.e. body enclosed in shells consisting of two hinged parts). Most people will probably think of the {{w|Ostreidae|true oysters}} specifically the {{w|Ostrea edulis|edible oyster}}. Note that {{w| Pearl oyster}} is not a true oyster.
*{{w|Squid}} are {{w|cephalopods}} (also of the mollusca family ) with eight arms arranged in pairs and two longer tentacles. They are related to {{w|cuttlefish}} and {{w|octopuses}}.
*{{w|Fruit}} is a part of a flowering plant. Common fruits are {{w|apples}}, {{w|oranges}}, {{w|bananas}} and {{w|pear|pears}}. But in principle anything that comes from a flower is a fruit, including grains. Although in a culinary sense there is a distinction between vegetables and fruit, any part of a flower is actually a vegetable. See below and also see [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]].
*{{w|Vegetables}} are any kind of plant. But in everyday it refers to any part of a plant that is consumed by humans as food as part of a {{w|Umami|savoury}} meal. Thus excluding both fruit, {{w|Nut (fruit)|nuts}} and cereal grains. For instance a {{w|tomato}} would be seen as a vegetable due to its taste and as a fruit botanically – see the Venn diagram {{w|Fruit#Botanic fruit and culinary fruit|here}}.
*{{w|Grain|Grains}} are small, hard, dry {{w|seeds}}. Usually when mentioning these people will think of breakfast {{w|cereal}} grains. Typical grains are {{w|corn}}, {{w|rice}} and {{w|wheat}}. As mentioned above grains are botanically a fruit.

==Transcript==
:[There is a caption above a list of food with indication whether it is OK or not to eat. Below is another caption.]

:My food rule:
:{| class="wikitable" style="border: 0px;"
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Red meat
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Pork
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Poultry
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Fish
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Shrimp
| style="border: 0px; color:red;" | X
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Oysters
| style="border: 0px; color:red;" | X
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Squid
| style="border: 0px; color:red;" | X
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Fruit
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Vegetables
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Grains
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|}
:I won't eat something if I have to Google to figure out whether or not it has a face.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]

1587: Food Rule

2015-10-08T21:05:19Z

Thefoils: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1587
| date = October 7, 2015
| title = Food Rule
| image = food_rule.png
| titletext = I won't eat invertebrates, because I can fight a skeleton, but I have no idea what kind of spooky warrior a squid leaves behind.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please improve connections and smooth out flow}}
There are various {{w|Vegetarianism|vegetarian}} diets which restrict certain foods for ethical concerns. A {{w|Pescetarianism|pescatarian}} diet omits most sources of meat, but still allows for fish. One rationale for this choice is that fish have a less complex nervous system, and thus experience a narrower range of suffering when farmed. An {{w|Ovo-lacto_vegetarianism|ovo-lacto vegetarian}} will not eat meat, but may consume animal byproducts such as milk, egg, cheese, and honey. A {{w|Veganism|vegan}} diet excludes all animal products entirely. Some vegetarians choose to summarize their eating habits in one sentence, like eating "nothing that once had a heartbeat", "nothing that can have children", "nothing with eyes" or "[https://www.google.dk/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=%22nothing+with+a+face%22&hl=da&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGHP_daDK541DK548&q=%22nothing+with+a+face%22&gs_l=hp...0i22i10i30j0i22i30l4.0.0.1.642912...........0.VML4AzjfqPA#hl=da&q=don%27t+eat+anything+with+a+face nothing with a face]" - this last example being the subject of the comic.

[[Randall]] presents two rules about what can be eaten, one in the caption below the frame comic and one in the title text. He also presents a list of allowed and forbidden foods but not all of the forbidden foods matches both rules.

Randall is willing to eat food disregarding if it once had a {{w|face}} or not. But his rule in the caption states that he will not eat any food if he needs to use Google to figure out whether it came from something who had a face or not. While it's clear, at least to Randall, that a cow has a face and an apple does not, some beings are harder to classify into one of these categories. For example, the {{w|squid}} has eyes and mouth, but it would be hard to tell whether that counts as a face. This would be a problem for the vegetarian standard rule of "nothing with a face" and thus openly mocks the vegetarian rule of "nothing with a face".

The three omissions are explained by the rule given in the title text. This rule is about not eating {{w|Invertebrate|invertebrates}}. The first four items on the list are meat from four different animals of the type {{w|Vertebrate|vertebrates}} and the last three items are from {{w|Plant|plants}}. These are all OK to eat. But the middle three items are three different animals of the type invertebrates. Randall does not eat these! Specifically they all fit under the term {{w|shellfish}}, which {{w|Jews}} are {{w|Jewish dietary laws|not allowed to eat}}. However, since {{w|pork}} is also not allowed for Jews, this list is not useful for them. [Editor's Note: Who wrote this entry and what is wrong with them?]

These animals do not have any skeleton. Randall is joking about how the animals he eats might come back to haunt him, and in the case of a cow or fish (or any other vertebrates - with skeletons), he imagines that they would come back as an animated skeletal structure. Any undead creature that returns as a skeleton he believes he will be able to fight. But since he has no idea how an undead squid or oyster (or any other invertebrate) would look, he feels unprepared to fight such a spooky creature and thus declines from eating them. This may be an excuse for not eating certain invertebrate, or a mocking comment on several games where the protagonist is required to fight several animated human skeletons.

Randall has previously mentioned his dislike of certain foods (namely lobster) in [[1268: Alternate Universe]].

===Items on the list===
Here is a list with explanation for each item:
*{{w|Red meat}}, includes meat from most adult {{w|mammals}}, but many people will probably think of {{w|beefsteak}} from {{w|cattle}}.
*{{w|Pork}}, is meat from from {{w|Domestic pig|pigs}}. As this is actually a type of red meat this supports that Randall was thinking of beef, when mentioning red meat above.
*{{w|Poultry}} are domesticated birds, most people will think of {{w| Chicken (food)|chicken}}.
*{{w|Fish}} covers a very large group of animals, most of them are not eaten on a regular basis, but a large group of fish are {{w| Fish as food|used as food}}.
*{{w|Shrimp}} is used to refer to {{w|Decapoda|ten-footed}} {{w|Crustacean}} and some of these are {{w|Shrimp (food)|used for food}}. In the UK they often go under the name {{w|Prawns}}.
*{{w|Oysters}} refers to a family of {{w|mollusca}} within the class {{w|bivalvia}} (i.e. body enclosed in shells consisting of two hinged parts). Most people will probably think of the {{w|Ostreidae|true oysters}} specifically the {{w|Ostrea edulis|edible oyster}}. Note that {{w| Pearl oyster}} is not a true oyster.
*{{w|Squid}} are {{w|cephalopods}} (also of the mollusca family ) with eight arms arranged in pairs and two longer tentacles. They are related to {{w|cuttlefish}} and {{w|octopuses}}.
*{{w|Fruit}} is a part of a flowering plant. Common fruits are {{w|apples}}, {{w|oranges}}, {{w|bananas}} and {{w|pear|pears}}. But in principle anything that comes from a flower is a fruit, including grains. Although in a culinary sense there is a distinction between vegetables and fruit, any part of a flower is actually a vegetable. See below and also see [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]].
*{{w|Vegetables}} are any kind of plant. But in everyday it refers to any part of a plant that is consumed by humans as food as part of a {{w|Umami|savoury}} meal. Thus excluding both fruit, {{w|Nut (fruit)|nuts}} and cereal grains. For instance a {{w|tomato}} would be seen as a vegetable due to its taste and as a fruit botanically – see the Venn diagram {{w|Fruit#Botanic fruit and culinary fruit|here}}.
*{{w|Grain|Grains}} are small, hard, dry {{w|seeds}}. Usually when mentioning these people will think of breakfast {{w|cereal}} grains. Typical grains are {{w|corn}}, {{w|rice}} and {{w|wheat}}. As mentioned above grains are botanically a fruit.

==Transcript==
:[There is a caption above a list of food with indication whether it is OK or not to eat. Below is another caption.]

:My food rule:
:{| class="wikitable" style="border: 0px;"
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Red meat
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Pork
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Poultry
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Fish
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Shrimp
| style="border: 0px; color:red;" | X
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Oysters
| style="border: 0px; color:red;" | X
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Squid
| style="border: 0px; color:red;" | X
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Fruit
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Vegetables
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|-
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Grains
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓
|}
:I won't eat something if I have to Google to figure out whether or not it has a face.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]