Editing 1378: Turbine

{{comic
| number    = 1378
| date      = June 6, 2014
| title     = Turbine
| image     = turbine.png
| titletext = Ok, plan B: Fly a kite into the blades, with a rock in a sling dangling below it, and create the world's largest trebuchet.
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|wind turbine}} uses wind to rotate its blades in order to generate electricity. It is visually very similar to an (electric) {{w|Mechanical fan|fan}} which however does the exact opposite: it uses electricity to rotate its blades in order to generate wind. The complementary nature of these two machines was previously highlighted in [[1119: Undoing]].

The punchline of this comic is a {{w|pun}} on the other meaning of the word "{{Wiktionary|fan}}" which qualifies someone as liking or supporting something (here, an idea). [[Megan]] suggests to have the turbine blow air at her so she could lift off with a kite, something which would be conceivable with a huge fan, but is impossible here precisely because the turbine is not a fan and therefore can't generate wind. So the ({{w|Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphically}}-speaking) turbine's response is twofold: 1) it's a turbine and not a huge fan, which makes the idea impossible, and 2) probably for this very reason, it doesn't like the idea - i.e. it is not a fan of the idea.

The title text alternatively suggests building a makeshift {{w|trebuchet}}. The idea is that when the kite's string gets tangled in the turbine's blades, the kite will be spun around and it will fling the attached rock (this setup is more similar to a {{w|Trebuchet#Traction trebuchet|traction trebuchet}} than to the more common counterweight trebuchet).

==Transcript==
:[Megan is talking to a wind turbine.]
:Megan: I'll hold up a big kite, and you blow air at me until I lift off!
:Megan: What do you think of that idea?
:Wind turbine: I'm not a huge fan.

==Trivia==
*In [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]] the wind turbines are also alive, but somewhat more dangerous than just being ironic.
*In [[1119: Undoing]], Cueball highlights the differences between a wind turbine and a fan.
*Trebuchets has been the subject of the comics [[382: Trebuchet]] and [[1160: Drop Those Pounds]], and they were also part of the story in [[1190: Time]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Trebuchet]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Kites]]
[[Category:Wind turbine]]