3131: Cesium - Revision history

68.187.4.2: ~~~~~

2026-05-11T16:03:12Z

~~~~~

23.93.205.248: /* Explanation */

2026-05-10T23:26:03Z

‎Explanation

82.132.236.33: /* Explanation / A wikiformat bullet-list would be made by using ""s at the start of each line. Not even sure that was intended, though, and looks ok as three normal paragraphs. Or at least two normal paragraphs and the last one being far more surreal.

2026-05-01T15:53:16Z

‎Explanation: A wikiformat bullet-list would be made by using "*"s at the start of each line. Not even sure that was intended, though, and looks ok as three normal paragraphs. Or at least two normal paragraphs and the last one being far more surreal.

Ninojin3DD: /* Attracting the attention of all of the above */

2026-05-01T14:00:45Z

‎Attracting the attention of all of the above

2402:1980:982:BEED:20B6:1FF:FEC4:B0A: Added Wikipedia link and removed archive.ph link (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Archive.today_guidance for why)

2026-04-26T03:25:51Z

Added Wikipedia link and removed archive.ph link (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Archive.today_guidance for why)

82.132.236.236: /* Explanation / Spelling (and added link), plus correcting what I think was an on-screen typing error (the L key is so* close to the backspace, for me, so assuming it was supposed to be "all" to make most gramatical sense of that "a").

2026-03-17T17:05:14Z

‎Explanation: Spelling (and added link), plus correcting what I think was an on-screen typing error (the L key is *so* close to the backspace, for me, so assuming it was supposed to be "all" to make most gramatical sense of that "a").

180.75.233.197 at 13:21, 17 March 2026

2026-03-17T13:21:16Z

2A09:BAC2:4D98:270F:0:0:3E4:24: /* Attracting the attention of the International Mathematical Olympiad */

2025-12-05T16:32:57Z

‎Attracting the attention of the International Mathematical Olympiad

130.76.187.33: /* Transcript */ not really related

2025-12-04T02:33:04Z

‎Transcript: not really related

KelOfTheStars!: Fixed a bit of odd grammar and context

2025-10-12T21:40:11Z

Fixed a bit of odd grammar and context

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:03, 11 May 2026
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	Also a possibility is a potion that would make sheep baa Morse code to airplanes.		Also a possibility is a potion that would make sheep baa Morse code to airplanes.
		+
		+	You could also stand outside all of their headquarters’ and make a big racket, thus reciving attention from all of them, though not necessarily at the same time.

	==Transcript==		==Transcript==

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ==Explanation==
-{{w|Cesium-137}}, or Cs-137, is a radioactive {{w|isotope}} of {{w|Caesium|cesium}} (officially spelled 'caesium', internationally). This comic was posted the day after the {{w|FDA}} posted an [https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-public-not-eat-sell-or-serve-certain-imported-frozen-shrimp-indonesian-firm advisory] about frozen shrimp sourced from an Indonesian firm because {{w|2025 radioactive shrimp recall|the shrimp were near materials contaminated with Cs-137 during shipment}}. A sample of breaded shrimp was confirmed to have been contaminated.
+{{w|Cesium-137}}, or Cs-137, is a radioactive {{w|isotope}} of {{w|Caesium|cesium}} (officially spelled 'caesium', internationally). This comic was posted the day after the {{w|FDA}} posted an [https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-public-not-eat-sell-or-serve-certain-imported-frozen-shrimp-indonesian-firm advisory] about frozen shrimp sourced from an Indonesian firm because {{w|2025 radioactive shrimp recall|the shrimp were contaminated by Cs-137}} for reasons that were unknown at the time of this comic's release. A sample of breaded shrimp was confirmed to have been contaminated.
 Rather than being concerned about the potential health impacts, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are curious about the technical details that led to this contamination. Cs-137 is normally a by-product of nuclear reactors and is occasionally used in {{w|Food_irradiation|food irradiation}}, along with other more common uses. Cueball and Megan cannot fathom how one could unintentionally contaminate shrimp with radioactive material, let alone with just one specific isotope. Cueball then comments that his biggest culinary screw-up attracted the attention of only his local fire department, likely because he set something on fire while cooking. A real-life example of seemingly-random contamination by Cs-137 was the {{w|Goiânia accident}} in Brazil.
-The title text says that one of Cueball's (or possibly [[Randall]]'s) ambitions is to draw the attention of various organizations (the {{w|International Air Transport Association}} (IATA), {{w|International Mathematical Olympiad}} (IMO), or {{w|National Security Agency}} (NSA)) with a recipe he has butchered, either by accident or, more likely in his case, on purpose. Possessing and accidentally or intentionally releasing a radiation source like Cs-137 could get the attention of the NSA. Needless to say, it is difficult to imagine a cooking error that could be in any way brought to the attention of IATA or IMO.
+Investigators determined that the source of the Cs-137 contamination was a smelter run by PT Peter Metal Technology that appears to have smelted a sealed Cs-137 source, releasing Cs-137 into the atmosphere 1.5 miles away from the shrimp packing plant. Full details remain unknown, but it does not appear to be a mistake on the part of the shrimp company.
 A "[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recipe recipe]" means a set of instructions for making something, typically from various ingredients.  (Such as a prescription for a pharmacist, a chemical formula, or step by step instructions to perform a procedure.)  Cooking recipes are a very common example of chemical processing instructions.  To "mess up a recipe", in the sense of cooking it for oneself or a small group of others, would be unlikely to create a problem on a scale that an international agency would take note of. A recipe that was published for others to use could cause more significant problems if it led to harm to many people. This might involve ingredients that were poisonous, or preparation methods that were unsafe.

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 To attract the attention of IATA, NSA, and the IMO, it would be very difficult. You could make a meal that is fed to IMO participants, airline pilots, and has a secret national level code inside, that is slightly contaminated (to not raise suspicion beforehand). This would be very hard but possible and will attract the attention of all 3.
-•A pharmacy or chemical supplier messing up a chemical recipe and dispensing the wrong medication could affect people from the NSA, IATA and IMO, and thus attract attention from all three.
+A pharmacy or chemical supplier messing up a chemical recipe and dispensing the wrong medication could affect people from the NSA, IATA and IMO, and thus attract attention from all three.
-•a potion that would make sheep baa Morse code to airplanes
+Also a possibility is a potion that would make sheep baa Morse code to airplanes.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 To attract the attention of IATA, NSA, and the IMO, it would be very difficult. You could make a meal that is fed to IMO participants, airline pilots, and has a secret national level code inside, that is slightly contaminated (to not raise suspicion beforehand). This would be very hard but possible and will attract the attention of all 3.
-A pharmacy or chemical supplier messing up a chemical recipe and dispensing the wrong medication could affect people from the NSA, IATA and IMO, and thus attract attention from all three.
+•A pharmacy or chemical supplier messing up a chemical recipe and dispensing the wrong medication could affect people from the NSA, IATA and IMO, and thus attract attention from all three.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ==Explanation==
-{{w|Cesium-137}}, or Cs-137, is a radioactive {{w|isotope}} of {{w|Caesium|cesium}} (officially spelled 'caesium', internationally). This comic was posted the day after the {{w|FDA}} posted an [https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-public-not-eat-sell-or-serve-certain-imported-frozen-shrimp-indonesian-firm advisory] about frozen shrimp sourced from an Indonesian firm because the shrimp were near materials contaminated with Cs-137 during shipment. A sample of breaded shrimp was [https://archive.ph/ri4tv confirmed to have been contaminated.]
+{{w|Cesium-137}}, or Cs-137, is a radioactive {{w|isotope}} of {{w|Caesium|cesium}} (officially spelled 'caesium', internationally). This comic was posted the day after the {{w|FDA}} posted an [https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-public-not-eat-sell-or-serve-certain-imported-frozen-shrimp-indonesian-firm advisory] about frozen shrimp sourced from an Indonesian firm because {{w|2025 radioactive shrimp recall|the shrimp were near materials contaminated with Cs-137 during shipment}}. A sample of breaded shrimp was confirmed to have been contaminated.
 Rather than being concerned about the potential health impacts, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are curious about the technical details that led to this contamination. Cs-137 is normally a by-product of nuclear reactors and is occasionally used in {{w|Food_irradiation|food irradiation}}, along with other more common uses. Cueball and Megan cannot fathom how one could unintentionally contaminate shrimp with radioactive material, let alone with just one specific isotope. Cueball then comments that his biggest culinary screw-up attracted the attention of only his local fire department, likely because he set something on fire while cooking. A real-life example of seemingly-random contamination by Cs-137 was the {{w|Goiânia accident}} in Brazil.

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:05, 17 March 2026
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	There could be a secret code hidden in the ingredients of a recipe, and if the code affects the whole nation, this could attract the attention of the NSA. However, a much harder way is to have a similar incident with the shrimp, but at a much larger scale and possibly affecting a lot of different foods, if this threat is big enough, the NSA will investigate if there are people purposely doing this.		There could be a secret code hidden in the ingredients of a recipe, and if the code affects the whole nation, this could attract the attention of the NSA. However, a much harder way is to have a similar incident with the shrimp, but at a much larger scale and possibly affecting a lot of different foods, if this threat is big enough, the NSA will investigate if there are people purposely doing this.

−	The NSA could also be a interpreted as the UK's National Sheep ~~Accociation~~. In this case, a that would be needed would be to mess up a recipe so that it poisons a large amount of British sheep.	+	The NSA could also be a interpreted as the UK's {{w\|National Sheep Association}}. In this case, all that would be needed would be to mess up a recipe so that it poisons a large amount of British sheep.

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ====Attracting the attention of the NSA====
 There could be a secret code hidden in the ingredients of a recipe, and if the code affects the whole nation, this could attract the attention of the NSA. However, a much harder way is to have a similar incident with the shrimp, but at a much larger scale and possibly affecting a lot of different foods, if this threat is big enough, the NSA will investigate if there are people purposely doing this.
 ====Attracting the attention of the International Mathematical Olympiad====

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 A recipe to attract the attention of the IMO is much harder to imagine. Randall's best chance might be to cause an incident with some mathematically interesting property that inspires a math puzzle to be written about it. Another possibility is some person is trying to give answers to a person in the Olympiad by giving the person a recipe with the answers as a secret code inside, thus attracting the attention of the IMO. Causing food poisoning at a math Olympiad would likely attract the attention of the IMO, though that would require working for the IMO as a caterer or at some restaurant near the location where the Olympiad is held. However, these are most probably all on purpose or would be not allowed to be served for reasons unrelated to IMO and it would be very unusual to accidentally make these recipes. About a week prior to the publication of this comic, [https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/math-question-viral-elementary-school-bobby-seagull-b2807395.html a botched "math exercise" about baking that lacked an actual question] went viral and was reported on by traditional media, but it happened at an elementary school, completely unrelated to the IMO.
-Alternatively, in the process of preparing the recipe, Randall might find a way to develop a new form of geometry, topography, etc. which overturns long-held beliefs in mathematics. Accidentally doing something like that (say, proving [[2939: Complexity Analysis|P=NP]], like when [[704: Principle of Explosion|Cueball derived his friend's mom's phone number]]) is common in XKCD.
+Alternatively, in the process of preparing the recipe, Randall might find a way to develop a new form of geometry, topology, etc. which overturns long-held beliefs in mathematics. Accidentally doing something like that (say, proving [[2939: Complexity Analysis|P=NP]], like when [[704: Principle of Explosion|Cueball derived his friend's mom's phone number]]) is common in XKCD.
 ====Attracting the attention of all of the above====

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:33, 4 December 2025
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	[[Category:Physics]]		[[Category:Physics]]
	[[Category:Math]]		[[Category:Math]]
−	~~[[Category:Smartphones]]~~