Editing 1243: Snare

{{comic
| number    = 1243
| date      = July 26, 2013
| title     = Snare
| image     = snare.png
| titletext = It's going in A collection of satellites skewered with pins and mounted in display boxes. Not necessarily MY collection.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic paints another one of [[Black Hat]]'s evil activities as an unlikely supervillain (who mainly uses technology).

As [[Cueball]] states, there have been some strange discoveries in the news including a gigantic ring strung with superstrong mesh, a long pole, and a gigantic {{w|winch}}. As Cueball outlines these items, Black Hat responds casually to each detail, seeming preoccupied with his computer. Cueball realizes that the pole, ring and net combination sounds like a {{w|butterfly net}}, albeit one of immense size. Given Black Hat's history of nefarious activities and the specific length of the pole (260 miles or 420 km, the same as the height of the International Space Station's orbit above Earth), Cueball infers and then accuses Black Hat of wanting to catch the {{w|International Space Station}} (ISS) by winching the pole up so that the Space Station orbit leads it to fly into the net, therefore catching it.

Black Hat does not deny the charge, but he dissimulates by saying it is not necessarily ''the'' ISS that he intends to catch, but just ''an'' international space station.  While his statement implies that it could be targeted at some other international space station, it is transparently obvious which one he is targeting since there's only one international space station in existence.{{citation needed}}  ''Any'' international space station that he can catch must be ''the'' ISS. (As for non-international space stations, the only one in orbit at the time of the comic’s publication was the Chinese {{w|Tiangong-1}}, which has since deorbited.)

The title text is a reference to how {{w|Butterfly#Collecting.2C_recording.2C_and_rearing|butterfly collections}} are usually presented. The insects are mounted in glass display cases, each skewered through the body with a pin, and labeled. The text is spoken by Black Hat, who again tries to imply that he is not to blame, as it may not be meant for ''his'' collection of satellites. Perhaps he is just catching a space station for a friend.

The real buildings may belong to these structures:
*The giant ring from the first panel may be an allusion to the {{w|Tevatron}}, a former circular particle accelerator at the {{w|Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory}} (Fermilab), east of {{w|Batavia, Illinois|Batavia}}, near {{w|Chicago}}, {{w|Illinois}}. It is a 6.86 km (4.26 miles) long ring, giving it a diameter of almost 2,2 km (1.4 miles) leaving plenty of room to catch the ISS which is "only" 108.5 m (356 ft) in the longest direction.
*Similarly, the gigantic winch in {{w|St. Louis}}, may refer to the 630-foot (192 meters) high {{w|Gateway Arch}} monument. It is the tallest man-made monument in the United States. 
**Even the rough south-north direction of this building does match to this scenario because the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7b/Map_St_Louis_to_Fermilb.png Fermilab is approx. 240 miles north of St. Louis]. However, it is an arch, not a winch.{{Citation needed}}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is talking to Black Hat. Black Hat is using a laptop.]
:Cueball: They said on the news that they found a giant ring lying in a field outside Chicago. Strung with some kind of superstrong mesh.
:Black Hat: Mhm?
:Cueball: Then they found a 260 mile long shaft connected to the ring, running from Chicago to St. Louis. In St. Louis they found a gigantic winch.
:Black Hat: Did they.
:Cueball: It sounds kind of like...
:Cueball: ...a butterfly net.
:Cueball: ...are you planning on catching the International Space Station?
:Black Hat: I'm planning to catch '''''an''''' international space station. 
:<sub>Black Hat: Not sayin' which.</sub>

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Butterfly net]]