Talk:1503: Squirrel Plan

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)

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).

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.

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)