Editing 2983: Monocaster

{{comic
| number    = 2983
| date      = September 9, 2024
| title     = Monocaster
| image     = monocaster_2x.png
| imagesize = 536x673px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = My competitors say the tiny single tiny caster is unsafe, unstable, and offers no advantages over traditional designs, to which I say: wow, why are you guys so mean? I thought we were friends!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LAPTOP-CONTROLLED HAMSTER BALL - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A caster, also spelled castor, is a small unpowered wheel attached to a swiveling base. They are typically found on carts and heavy appliances that need to be pushed around by people on a regular basis.

Randall has proposed a variant of the skateboard with only one caster on the bottom, the titular "monocaster". This may have some similarity with a {{w|Balance_board#Sphere-and-ring|"Sphere-and-ring" balance board}}, or other types, though these provide limited locomotion potential. He claims this fills an untapped hole in the market, which is filled with plenty of vehicles with one large wheel like unicycles, or multiple small wheels like roller skates, but none with only a single small wheel.

The joke depends on the caster's obvious impractically in this role: the hole in the market was open ''for a reason''. A single caster is effectively useless, forcing all the weight of a person on a single swiveling point. The rider has no way to propel themselves besides pushing off the ground, and will almost certainly lose their balance immediately upon trying. The other designs on the market were all designed specifically to solve this problem: the unicycle's larger wheel and pedal drive make balancing in motion much less dangerous, while multi-wheeled vehicles give more points of contact with the ground.

The title text extends the joke by listing the disadvantages mentioned above, but not providing a rebuttal.

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

:[A chart picturing many wheeled vehicles with a caption below the chart window. The vertical axis is labeled "Wheel Diameter", logarithmic from 1cm to 5m. The horizontal axis is labeled "Number of wheels", logarithmic from 1 to 16. From top left to bottom right, there is a person with a cap, seated in a circle, labeled "1920s monowheel", a monster truck with a skull and a lightning bolt on the side, a lorry (truck), a Cueball on a unicycle moving back and forth, a Cueball on a bicycle, a car, a Cueball using a Onewheel, a Cueball on a child's "Big Wheel" tricycle, a Cueball on a quad, a Cueball standing on a scooter, a Cueball standing on a board with one small wheel bellow, circled and labeled with two question marks, a three-wheel scooter, a skater, a Cueball using three-wheel skates, labeled "three-wheel skates", a Cueball crouching and using skates, and a small Cueball using shoes with wheels (Heelys) moving forward.]
:Caption:  My new monocaster board fills a key gap in the wheeled vehicle market.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Skateboard]]