https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Volvox 2026-04-19T09:50:29Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1191:_The_Past&diff=31689 2013-03-29T17:04:14Z

<p>Volvox: Time Mashine business concept</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1191<br /> | date = March 27, 2013<br /> | title = The Past<br /> | image = the past.png<br /> | titletext = If history has taught us anything, we can use that information to destroy it.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> &quot;The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there&quot; is the opening line of &quot;{{w|The Go-Between}}&quot;, a novel by L. P. Hartley (1895–1972), published in London in 1953. In this comic, Black Hat notes that a country's past military tends to be less advanced than its current one, and that countries in the past had larger oil reserves as they had consumed less oil then. <br /> <br /> If a country from the past existed in its old state today, other countries would likely leap at the opportunity to exploit its oil reserves.<br /> <br /> Or: to send the modern troops of a country from today back in time to rob the oil from the countries in the past it could be profitable to invent a time mashine for just that.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Cueball and Black Hat talking.]<br /> :Cueball: Well, you know what they say. The past is a foreign country-<br /> :Black Hat: -With an outdated military and huge oil reserves!<br /> :Black Hat: ''Hmmm...''<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]</div>

Volvox