Difference between revisions of "3098: Trojan Horse"
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BABY BOT INSIDE A BOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}} | {{incomplete|This page was created by a BABY BOT INSIDE A BOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}} | ||
| − | This comic is a parody of the Trojan Horse story. However, instead of an entire army coming out of the horse, it's just a baby horse (called a foal) coming out. The Troys incorrectly assume the foal being hungry is an attack on the food supply because it wants to eat oats, but in reality, babies of any form need nourishment in order to grow.{{citation needed}} This indicates that the foal has been alive for long enough for its teeth to develop, so it will gradually wean itself off of its mother's milk, which is indicated by the fact that the foal has only ''begun'' to ''show an interest'' in Troy's oats. It is unclear why the people in the comic would only be suspicious of ''the foal'''s hunger, considering that its dam (mother) would also need to eat, just not as much, and they do not seem to be concerned with this. Also, it should be noted that some people are willing to spend money to buy horses even though they are aware that the horses need to eat.{{citation needed}} It is also unclear how Troy is unaware that this is normal thing for mares to do, considering that horses were common in much of Asia by this time,{{citation needed}} especially cities with militaries because cavaries were widespread at one point,{{citation needed}} and this is how all horses (and, for that matter, all members of most mammal species) are created.{{citation needed}} The people of Troy might just not know much about horses, considering that they also consider the foal to be a ''secret'' payload even though pregnant mares show externally visible signs of pregnancy (such as abdominal drooping) five months before foaling (giving birth) on average. However, as mentioned before, this raises the question of why Troy either does not use horses for things such as cavalry and plow-pulling or why its people do not know how horses are formed in spite of this. | + | This comic is a parody of the {{w|Trojan Horse}} story. However, instead of an entire army coming out of the horse, it's just a baby horse (called a foal) coming out. The Troys incorrectly assume the foal being hungry is an attack on the food supply because it wants to eat oats, but in reality, babies of any form need nourishment in order to grow.{{citation needed}} This indicates that the foal has been alive for long enough for its teeth to develop, so it will gradually wean itself off of its mother's milk, which is indicated by the fact that the foal has only ''begun'' to ''show an interest'' in Troy's oats. It is unclear why the people in the comic would only be suspicious of ''the foal'''s hunger, considering that its dam (mother) would also need to eat, just not as much, and they do not seem to be concerned with this. Also, it should be noted that some people are willing to spend money to buy horses even though they are aware that the horses need to eat.{{citation needed}} It is also unclear how Troy is unaware that this is normal thing for mares to do, considering that horses were common in much of Asia by this time,{{citation needed}} especially cities with militaries because cavaries were widespread at one point,{{citation needed}} and this is how all horses (and, for that matter, all members of most mammal species) are created.{{citation needed}} The people of Troy might just not know much about horses, considering that they also consider the foal to be a ''secret'' payload even though pregnant mares show externally visible signs of pregnancy (such as abdominal drooping) five months before foaling (giving birth) on average. However, as mentioned before, this raises the question of why Troy either does not use horses for things such as cavalry and plow-pulling or why its people do not know how horses are formed in spite of this. |
The title text suggests that the "Fall of Troy," i.e. the Greeks defeating the Trojans in the Trojan War, is actually a misunderstanding for the Foal of Troy, perhaps because Fall and Foal are spelled similarly. However, this is unlikely because the words (πτώση and πουλάρι) are not spelled similarly in Greek. (They start with the same letter, but they do not end with the same letter or share any internal letters (beyond sharing the same accent mark over different letters).) Also, it is unclear how and why a foal that hadn't even been born yet when its dam was given to Troy would have opened the gates of Troy or otherwise accounted for other aspects of the story of the Fall of Troy. | The title text suggests that the "Fall of Troy," i.e. the Greeks defeating the Trojans in the Trojan War, is actually a misunderstanding for the Foal of Troy, perhaps because Fall and Foal are spelled similarly. However, this is unlikely because the words (πτώση and πουλάρι) are not spelled similarly in Greek. (They start with the same letter, but they do not end with the same letter or share any internal letters (beyond sharing the same accent mark over different letters).) Also, it is unclear how and why a foal that hadn't even been born yet when its dam was given to Troy would have opened the gates of Troy or otherwise accounted for other aspects of the story of the Fall of Troy. | ||
Revision as of 05:07, 5 June 2025
| Trojan Horse |
 Title text: Ultimately, history would imperfectly record the story of the Foal of Troy. |
Explanation
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This is one of 62 incomplete explanations: This page was created by a BABY BOT INSIDE A BOT. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page! |
This comic is a parody of the Trojan Horse story. However, instead of an entire army coming out of the horse, it's just a baby horse (called a foal) coming out. The Troys incorrectly assume the foal being hungry is an attack on the food supply because it wants to eat oats, but in reality, babies of any form need nourishment in order to grow.[citation needed] This indicates that the foal has been alive for long enough for its teeth to develop, so it will gradually wean itself off of its mother's milk, which is indicated by the fact that the foal has only begun to show an interest in Troy's oats. It is unclear why the people in the comic would only be suspicious of the foal's hunger, considering that its dam (mother) would also need to eat, just not as much, and they do not seem to be concerned with this. Also, it should be noted that some people are willing to spend money to buy horses even though they are aware that the horses need to eat.[citation needed] It is also unclear how Troy is unaware that this is normal thing for mares to do, considering that horses were common in much of Asia by this time,[citation needed] especially cities with militaries because cavaries were widespread at one point,[citation needed] and this is how all horses (and, for that matter, all members of most mammal species) are created.[citation needed] The people of Troy might just not know much about horses, considering that they also consider the foal to be a secret payload even though pregnant mares show externally visible signs of pregnancy (such as abdominal drooping) five months before foaling (giving birth) on average. However, as mentioned before, this raises the question of why Troy either does not use horses for things such as cavalry and plow-pulling or why its people do not know how horses are formed in spite of this.
The title text suggests that the "Fall of Troy," i.e. the Greeks defeating the Trojans in the Trojan War, is actually a misunderstanding for the Foal of Troy, perhaps because Fall and Foal are spelled similarly. However, this is unlikely because the words (πτώση and πουλάρι) are not spelled similarly in Greek. (They start with the same letter, but they do not end with the same letter or share any internal letters (beyond sharing the same accent mark over different letters).) Also, it is unclear how and why a foal that hadn't even been born yet when its dam was given to Troy would have opened the gates of Troy or otherwise accounted for other aspects of the story of the Fall of Troy.
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i want the second revision of this page to be framed on my wall somewhere 2601:647:8500:1E09:D00F:A8A5:D9DB:2886 03:13, 5 June 2025 (UTC)
I wonder if it's worth mentioning that days prior, Ukraine pulled off a massive real life Trojan Horse type attack with disguised shipping containers and drones to destroy Russia's bomber fleets. 2A00:23C5:186:6501:C5ED:C715:4B8E:A315 06:11, 5 June 2025 (UTC)
- xkcd doesn't really reference current events unless it's science related or a massive deal 2601:647:8500:1E09:EF7:48CC:294B:D785 06:13, 5 June 2025 (UTC)
this page might be too wordy tbh 2601:647:8500:1E09:EF7:48CC:294B:D785 06:13, 5 June 2025 (UTC)
- Might!?82.13.184.33 08:59, 5 June 2025 (UTC)
- One person's "trim" is another's "missing a lot of vital and interesting subtext". And even if I thought I fully understood the comic on first glance, others may have intuited some meaning that I missed, just as they could seemingly be unaware of what I thought was important to describe.
- The fight between loquacious verbosity and laconic simplicity is rarely clear-cut, but I'd err on there being too much ('obvious' bits can be skimmed) rather than too little (unanswered questions, or even unasked questions...). Even that 'sweet spot' of "slightly too much, but at least it isn't less" is arguable, of course. 82.132.234.190 13:59, 5 June 2025 (UTC)
- There's verbosity, and then there's an entirely tangential essay on the history of the horse.82.13.184.33 14:10, 5 June 2025 (UTC)
- I'm with 82.132.234.190. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Or more trim: better to be looking at it than looking for it. In other news I'm glad the site is back, I couldn't reach it at all yesterday and I had started mourning. --DW 2607:FB91:1B37:9970:5459:BE42:2A5B:3D54 14:49, 5 June 2025 (UTC)
- There's verbosity, and then there's an entirely tangential essay on the history of the horse.82.13.184.33 14:10, 5 June 2025 (UTC)
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