Editing 1713: 50 ccs

{{comic
| number    = 1713
| date      = July 29, 2016
| title     = 50 ccs
| image     = 50_ccs.png
| titletext = There's been a raccoon accident at an accordion bacchanalia! Double doses!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic presents a busy day in the clinic for doctor [[Ponytail]], who orders 50 CCs from a nurse (probably [[Megan]] who walks in front of her rather than [[Cueball]] walking away behind her), all the while everyone is hurrying along the hall. This could be a typical scenario in a busy hospital. However the pun is that the 50 CCs are not medicine but should be used to write "hiccup vaccine" 25 times.

In medicine, "CC" usually means "{{w|cubic centimeter}}", and is often called that by medical personnel. A cubic centimeter is equal to 1 ml (milliliter), so "50 CCs" usually means 50 ml of a certain medicine. In this case however, the doctor has not told the nurse to bring 50 CCs of any given medicine; instead, she needs to write "hi'''cc'''up va'''cc'''ine" 25 times, with both words containing the letter combination "cc", so she needs to write that combination 50 times.

The joke is that the 50 CCs literally means the two-lettered 'cc' fifty times.
*50 cc would be
**cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc
** just enough 'cc's to spell ''hiccup vaccine'' 25 times.

There's no conventional {{w|vaccine}} against {{w|hiccup}}s. However, performing tasks meant to distract one's self is a method to stop hiccups. Therefore the act of writing "hiccup vaccine" 25 times would itself comprise one more of those hiccup cures that never seems to work. What these techniques all rely on is that they all force one to hold one's breath, thus resetting the diaphragm from its out of sync spasms. But if Ponytail has discovered a vaccine that ''does'' cure or prevent hiccups, then it's a discovery worth reporting in medical journals and seeking grants for further study. Thus, wanting to write about it 25 times is understandable!

The title text text refers to a fictional event with four words containing "cc" (ra'''cc'''oon, a'''cc'''ident, a'''cc'''ordion, ba'''cc'''hanalia), which means she needs to write "cc" 100 times. Referring to the 50 CCs from above, this would be a double dosage.

Although the words of the sentence has been chosen based on their cc's the sentence is quite interesting in itself:
*An {{w|accordion}} is a box-shaped musical instrument with tangents like on a piano. The instrument is played by compressing or expanding the bellows. It has sometimes been accused of being a [http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/ZenLunatic82/FarSide-Accordion.jpg hellish instrument]. It has not been used in xkcd before.
*The ''{{w|Bacchanalia}}'' were Roman festivals of {{w|Bacchus}} (Roman name for the equivalent Greek wine God Dionysus). The festivals were based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek {{w|Dionysia}}.
*The animal {{w|raccoon}}, has begun to appear in {{w|Raccoon#Urban_raccoons|urban areas}} which has given rises to increasing {{w|Raccoon#Conflicts|conflicts with humans}}. A dead raccoon had thus found its way into Cueball's car in [[1565: Back Seat]] and already back in [[1025: Tumblr]] Megan has a  raccoon sex dungeon in her attic!

So here there is talk of a wine festival with music played on accordions that has had an accident involving raccoons, in addition to the need for vaccine against the hiccups.

A similar doctor Ponytail is shown in [[883: Pain Rating]] also along with Cueball and Megan and just with Megan in [[996: Making Things Difficult]].

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail in a doctor's coat, walks right while reading from a clipboard, passing Cueball walking the other way while she talks to Megan walking in front of her.]
:Ponytail: Nurse, bring me 50 CCs!
:Ponytail: I need to write "hiccup vaccine" 25 times!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animals]] <!-- Raccoons-->
[[Category:Doctor Ponytail]]
[[Category:Medicine]]