Editing 2738: Omniknot

{{comic
| number    = 2738
| date      = February 15, 2023
| title     = Omniknot
| image     = omniknot_2x.png
| imagesize = 358x288px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = The Gordian knot is an omniknot tied using every bend in the Ashley Book of Knots, and then for extra security the upper rope at every crossing is connected to the lower with a randomly-chosen hitch.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic jokes that if you have several potential {{w|knot}}s which could be tied in a given situation, rather than being forced to choose one, you can simply use all of them and create the comic's "Omniknot." The prefix omni- means "all", and so the "all-knot" is the knot containing all the other knots (...that one knows).

Knots in the middle, from top to bottom:
* {{w|Granny knot}}: A knot that easily comes undone in isolation; usually the result of an improperly tied reef knot. Based upon the visible ends of rope (followed through further knots), could technically be considered a {{w|Grief knot}}.
* {{w|Reef knot}}: Also known as the square knot, one of the most commonly tied by competent amateurs. But a poor and possibly dangerous choice as a load-bearing bend, as it has a tendency to {{w|Knot#Capsizing|'capsize'}} and untie itself, if the ropes aren't inhibited by other adjacent knots. (A "bend" is a knot that connects two ropes or lines.) Could also be described as a {{w|Thief knot}}, from the visible continuation of the 'ends' as followed through other elements of the omniknot.
* {{w|Sheet bend}}: Similar to the bowline, a popular, all-round good choice, especially if one rope is thinner than the other. If well tied, the thinner cord will cross over itself. In this case, that would be the line on the lower-right passing through the left, around it, and then under itself.
* {{w|Double sheet bend}}: A more secure version of the previous knot, especially if one rope is much thinner than the other.
* {{w|Carrick bend}}: A very good bend, especially if both ropes are both similar in kind and thickness and cumbersome to bend (such as heavy cable) into more common knots. <!-- This version, however, with the ends emerging from the same side, [...] ARGUABLE, GIVEN THAT THE VISIBLE ENDS OF THE ROPE DO NOT... REWORD THIS? -->

On the sides are {{w|bowline}}s and each rope is terminated by a {{w|figure-eight knot}}.

The {{w|Gordian Knot}} mentioned in the title text is a knot which purportedly was extraordinarily complex and nearly impossible to untie. According to legend, when Alexander the Great was faced with the knot, he simply drew his sword and cut it in half, thereby "untying" it and solving the unsolvable. The Gordian Knot is now used as a linguistic metaphor to describe a problem whose solution, rather than being to directly solve it head-on, involves working around or otherwise bypassing its apparent constraints, or simply one that is so complex as to be practically intractable.

{{w|The Ashley Book of Knots}} is an encyclopedia describing thousands of different knots. Though it is now dated, because it was written before the widespread adoption of synthetic fiber rope, it is still considered the reference in knot tying. Using all bends from the book and as many hitches would make the final result very complex indeed. Randall proposes here that this was the true origin of the mythical Gordian Knot. A "hitch" is a knot that connects a rope or line to something like a post, loop, or shackle.

In practice, it is not recommended to use overly complex knots, as they provide little in terms of additional security compared to a well-chosen simpler knot. The ease of tying and untying, especially in less than ideal conditions, is also an important factor to consider. If strength is more important than the ease of tying and untying, {{w|Rope splicing|splices}} should be considered instead of knots, as they don't weaken the rope as much.

Twitter user HollowGrin created and shared a [https://twitter.com/hollowgrin/status/1625902852387352576 colorized version] to aid tracking the ropes.

Less than a year later a knot was used in [[2880: Sheet Bend]]. The omni- prefix was used earlier in [[2653: Omnitaur]].

==Transcript==
:[Two ropes tied together with several different kinds of knots. The ropes enter from left and right. The left rope proceeds to go up where the right rope goes down. But then they interact to form five knots in the middle of the drawing. Following each rope will show the left to interweave the right rope from top to bottom, and vice versa. At the bottom the left rope swings back to where it began going up, ties a knot with itself at the start and the end of the left rope then goes to the right of this knot and ends in another small knot. Similarly the right rope goes back to the right at the top and forms a similar knot with itself, before the end of the rope goes left and ends in the same type of small knot as the left rope. There are thus five knots using both ropes, and two knots on each rope with itself, and the entire thing is yet another combined titular Omniknot, for ten knots in total. There is a caption below the panel:]
:If you know several knots and can't figure out which one to use, just tie one of each.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Fiction]]