1503: Squirrel Plan

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Squirrel Plan

Title text: [Halfway to the Sun ...] Heyyyy ... what if this BALLOON is full of acorns?!

Explanation

These particular squirrels are ambitious but misguided, like the characters in the myth of Icarus and Daedalus (it should be noted that Randall does not see it that way, as seen in the bottom of "Interplanetary Cessna"), or the Tower of Babel. The squirrels' understanding of astrophysics is lacking,^{[citation needed]} regarding the distance to the Sun and appropriate transportation to reach it in addition to the need to resist the sun's heat and exist in the vacuum of space. Their belief that the Sun is made of acorns reflects their uniquely acorn-focused worldview, a reference to the tendency of real-life squirrels to gather and store acorns as winter food, as well as their single-minded dedication to overcoming obstacles (even elaborately-constructed obstacle courses) for the sake of obtaining nuts.

The title text reveals that "halfway to the Sun," 75 million kilometers from all known acorns in our universe, the airborne squirrel seems to jeopardize the entire mission because he wants to test if the balloon itself is full of acorns. Basic observational skills will tell anyone that acorns are not lighter than air,^{[citation needed]} but the idea follows the logic stated by the squirrels: If the Sun, being so magnificent, must be full of acorns, then a balloon powerful enough to take a squirrel to the Sun must also be powered by something amazing, like acorns. Obviously, neither the Sun or balloons are filled with acorns.^{[citation needed]} That we know of..... Maybe those squirrels were onto something.

Usage of balloons for space travel is a prominent motif in early science fiction; see, for example, "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall" by Edgar Allan Poe.

Transcript

[There are three squirrels. One is suspended from a balloon. The other two are sitting on the ground, looking up at it.]

Squirrel to the right: Once you've chewed a hole in the Sun, shoot the balloon to fall back to earth, then pull the parachute ripcord to land.

Squirrel tied to balloon: Are you sure it's full of acorns?

Squirrel to the right: Look how bright and magnificent it is! What else could be in there?

Trivia

• It is commonly believed that real squirrels use their tails as parachutes, although as yet "there have been no observational studies on the aerodynamics of free-falling squirrels."
• In the real world helium balloons cannot escape the stratosphere. Perhaps the squirrel only thinks he's halfway to the Sun. Or maybe the acorns in the balloon are pushing on the quantum vacuum virtual plasma.
• The "shooting a hole in the balloon" is based on Larry Walters, who actually flew in a lawn chair suspended below a large cluster of helium balloons, using a pellet gun to shoot out balloons to descend. Featured in What If: Falling With Helium.

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Discussion

Reminds me of the Ice Age squirrel Mikemk (talk) 06:02, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Also reminiscent of the star wars scene in Kingmen 108.162.249.162 06:16, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Um ya, like why didn't those balloons have a pressure release valve instead of blowing up? A relatively cheap device could have aided that character immensely.Jarod997 (talk) 12:47, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Clunky prototype? (And/or they want the maximum amount of elevation. Any presseure release valve would give a safe(r) ceiling of operation lower than the "just before the pop" one they theoretically have, as is. It's still a design-flaw, though, if there's no effective warning of balloon failure, and you're now left swinging on the other, on-the-edge-of-failing, one. And now with only half the lift. Yeah, clunky. Yeah, I've thought about this a little, already.) 141.101.98.192 13:06, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Though as soon as the first balloon popped you'd start loosing altitude - due to half of your lift disappearing. So the question comes up - how did the second balloon pop? ;) And as a side note - if you catch the pan around the control room right after our hero dispatches the nerd villain, you'll see a corpse with a head. Jarod997 (talk) 13:27, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Obviously there was a squirrel... ;) 141.101.98.192 21:40, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

I think the squirrels are just a vehicle for the joke, which is poking fun at "obvious" conclusions based on personal beliefs. 108.162.249.162 06:48, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Absolutely - the current first line of explanation fails, as squirrels being stupid is not a joke. 141.101.99.49 07:18, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

"...due to the expansion of the acorns inside." I love you guys. 141.101.104.89 07:57, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

We know 108.162.216.39 08:54, 25 March 2015 (UTC)BK201

This comic puts me in mind of the simplistic plot points and devices of a lot of modern scifi movies ... poking fun at them the same way as "Scorcher" from Tropic Thunder does ...--198.41.239.38 09:30, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

I'd say the squirrels are a stand-in for ancient humans. Their understanding of the world and what is obvious reflects their pre-scientific state of knowledge. Their interests as squirrels have affected their conclusions, just as humans have projected their interests on what they interpret the sun to be (source of acorns instead of a sun god). I'm pretty sure the "halfway to the sun" part refers to a point where they think they're halfway but probably aren't even close to leaving the atmosphere, drawing parallels again to ancient human assumptions (the sun and moon are small orbs that are just high in the sky). 108.162.225.80 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Alternatively, it might be referring to people assuming the sun is golden in some literal fashion. What else could the sun be made of, if it's so gloriously radiant and stuff? 108.162.216.109 13:02, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Agreed. Or possibly replace "ancient" with "superstitious" - or even nothing at all for that matter to apply to humans in general - and I'll agree with you even more. 141.101.80.70 09:47, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

I think it's also worth mentioning that the real sun is "full of" hydrogen and helium. The same is true for real squirrel lifting balloons. 108.162.230.161 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

It's possible that the comic is a commentary on the human condition, constantly reaching out for some grand goal, that is both unreachable, and even if reached is shown to be far less grand then previously thought. 108.162.210.237 15:26, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

I don't think the squirrel in the picture is actually halfway to the sun. I think the title text is a hypothetical future event, and that the description is overthinking things. 108.162.216.106 16:50, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Is it a possibility that the squirrels represent the government or similar entity? -- Mikemk (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Not quite sure i like the explanation about acorns obviously not being able to contribute to flying. Not because i think they can, but because the exact same argument could be used for a jet engine on a plane as those are also heavy. 141.101.75.53 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

maybe the acorns are pushing on the quantum vacuum virtual plasma? 108.162.241.18 23:34, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

I seriously suspect this has something to do with 1356: Orbital Mechanics 173.245.56.185 10:06, 26 March 2015 (UTC)

I think that the balloon of the title text is a reference to earth herself : the analogy must be natural to a squirrel believing the sun is an accorn field... 108.162.229.250 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

I am fairly sure this comic is to mock humanity's tendency to assume what they first think of to be fact. This could also be about religion but I probably shouldn't mention that. Too many fights. The Goyim speaks (talk) 14:18, 26 March 2015 (UTC)

I think Randall's squirrels are cute. A Montrealer 173.245.52.191 00:35, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Dropping squirrel research I haven't found. Dropping cats I found here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RtWbpyjJqrU And freefalling astronauts, too! http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VJcno_XL4RU NoniMausa (talk) 12:12, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

What scene in Kingsman: TSS is this similar to? I've seen the movie but durned if I can recall anything remotely like this comic happening in it. 108.162.216.192

Read the very first cascade of comments at the top of this page to jog your memory, perhaps? It may have been a technical sideline to the main action, at that point, but it wasn't Blink And You'd Miss It, either.... (For the record, I don't think it's an intended reference. Because all the meme really shares is the balloon bit. But I won't say it definitely isn't, either.) 141.101.98.131 18:52, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Alternate Explanation: The two landed squirrels are trying to get rid of the squirrel attached to the balloon. 162.158.74.105 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

These are squirrels from the future that can survive in a vacuum, the balloon is no ordinary one, and the sun is actually a superstructure filled to the brim with acorns... Of course, this is not the case for the moon, which is just a big rock in the earth's orbit. 141.101.96.184 (talk) 08:28, 3 January 2024 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Why is there a furry category? Furries aren't mentioned once and the anthropormorphic style here is very far from anything which could be considered canoically furry 162.158.122.17 18:01, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

There was (still is?) an editor who believed strongly that anything with (or mentioning) animals even slightly not-just-animals was "furries" territory. These squirrels or even just showing the Narnian wardrobe with no actual furriness seen on-comic, even if you consider actual (albeit talking) animals or fawns to be 'furries'.

It's debatable, and the extents to furry-culture is ill-defined/subjective, but that editor was notably persistent. My vote would be not to, but I have no influence here. 172.70.85.133 05:48, 25 September 2024 (UTC)

I've removed the furry category because it is not appropiate for this comic nor page; funny animals are not furries. If one wishes to add it back, i urge that they put reasoning in this thread. 172.64.238.33 17:48, 3 October 2024 (UTC)