1578: Squirrelphone - Revision history

172.69.58.195: improved the explanation for why the joke is funny

2025-02-03T13:58:02Z

improved the explanation for why the joke is funny

141.101.99.79: /* Explanation */ As the relevent statement suggests a degree of squirrel autonomy in the resolving action, making it a more neutral term than "putting"...

2024-02-22T00:48:48Z

‎Explanation: As the relevent statement suggests a degree of squirrel autonomy in the resolving action, making it a more neutral term than "putting"...

1234231587678 at 23:04, 21 February 2024

2024-02-21T23:04:35Z

FaviFake at 10:27, 22 May 2023

2023-05-22T10:27:36Z

FaviFake: Fixed broken link (was a redirect)

2023-05-22T10:26:47Z

Fixed broken link (was a redirect)

172.70.91.75: /* Explanation */ punc

2022-12-14T20:30:22Z

‎Explanation: punc

Uranium233: Added a need for a citation

2022-12-14T17:58:58Z

Added a need for a citation

172.70.126.232: /* Explanation */ It's not an allusion to "squirrelmail." or vampires. Not everything is a cultural reference. Also some of you probably don't remember this, but the beeping "off the hook" noise from a phone is not because it's cordless or needs to charge

2022-11-29T16:17:41Z

‎Explanation: It's not an allusion to "squirrelmail." or vampires. Not everything is a cultural reference. Also some of you probably don't remember this, but the beeping "off the hook" noise from a phone is not because it's cordless or needs to charge

Theusaf: Reverted edits by Donald Trump (talk) to last revision by CRLF

2022-05-26T19:59:28Z

Reverted edits by Donald Trump (talk) to last revision by CRLF

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Donald Trump: Reverted edit by anti-crap user

2022-05-26T19:03:54Z

Reverted edit by anti-crap user

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@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 "Squirrelphone" is a {{w|Compound (linguistics)|compound word}} combining "{{w|squirrel}}" and "{{w|phone}}".
-In this comic, we see a squirrel pretend to be a telephone, only to bite [[Cueball]] when he tries to pick it up and use it as one. This is humorous because a living squirrel is not an appropriate creature to maintain a phone call.{{Citation needed}}
+In this comic, we see a squirrel pretend to be a telephone, only to bite [[Cueball]] when he tries to pick it up and use it as one. This is humorous because a living squirrel making a ringing sound is completely absurd, but when [[Cueball]] attempts to lean into this absurdity by answering, the comic subverts your expectations with the more realistic outcome of being bitten.
 The sounds the squirrel makes correspond to the tones that the terminals make when you use the POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) in the US:

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 The sounds the squirrel makes correspond to the tones that the terminals make when you use the POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) in the US:
 *When someone else calls you and the receiver of your phone is on the hook, the phone makes loud and long "riiing riiiing" tones. This is the case in the first frame of the comic.
-*If a phone is left off hook without use for too long (referenced in the title text), an {{w|off-hook tone}} is played. This is to alert anyone present that the phone is off-hook. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls. Once on-hook, the receiver can be picked up again to dial. In this case, this means putting the squirrel back on the stump.
+*If a phone is left off hook without use for too long (referenced in the title text), an {{w|off-hook tone}} is played. This is to alert anyone present that the phone is off-hook. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls. Once on-hook, the receiver can be picked up again to dial. In this case, this means having the squirrel back on the stump.
 [[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] are a recurring theme in xkcd. They also appear in ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'', where it has for instance been used as a cute animal to replace a drawing of something scary or unpleasant like in the articles ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol]'' or ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism]''.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 The sounds the squirrel makes correspond to the tones that the terminals make when you use the POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) in the US:
 *When someone else calls you and the receiver of your phone is on the hook, the phone makes loud and long "riiing riiiing" tones. This is the case in the first frame of the comic.
-*If a phone is left off hook without use for too long (referenced in the title text), an {{w|off-hook tone}} is played. This is to alert anyone present that the phone is off-hook. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls. Once on-hook, the receiver can be picked up again to dial.
+*If a phone is left off hook without use for too long (referenced in the title text), an {{w|off-hook tone}} is played. This is to alert anyone present that the phone is off-hook. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls. Once on-hook, the receiver can be picked up again to dial. In this case, this means putting the squirrel back on the stump.
-[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] have been used frequently in xkcd, also in ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'', where it has for instance been used as a cute animal to replace a drawing of something scary or unpleasant like in the articles ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol]'' or ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism]''.
+[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] are a recurring theme in xkcd. They also appear in ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'', where it has for instance been used as a cute animal to replace a drawing of something scary or unpleasant like in the articles ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol]'' or ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism]''.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 *If a phone is left off hook without use for too long (referenced in the title text), an {{w|off-hook tone}} is played. This is to alert anyone present that the phone is off-hook. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls. Once on-hook, the receiver can be picked up again to dial.
-[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] have been used frequently in xkcd, also in ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'', where it has for instance been used as a cute animal to replace a drawing of something scary or unpleasant like in ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol]'' or ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism]''.
+[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] have been used frequently in xkcd, also in ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'', where it has for instance been used as a cute animal to replace a drawing of something scary or unpleasant like in the articles ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol]'' or ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism]''.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 *If a phone is left off hook without use for too long (referenced in the title text), an {{w|off-hook tone}} is played. This is to alert anyone present that the phone is off-hook. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls. Once on-hook, the receiver can be picked up again to dial.
-[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] have been used frequently in xkcd, also in [[what if]], where it has for instance been used as a cute animal to replace a drawing of something scary or unpleasant like in [http://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol] or [http://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism].
+[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] have been used frequently in xkcd, also in ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'', where it has for instance been used as a cute animal to replace a drawing of something scary or unpleasant like in ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol]'' or ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism]''.
 ==Transcript==