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| date = August 17, 2016 | | date = August 17, 2016 | ||
| title = Business Idea | | title = Business Idea | ||
− | | image = | + | | image = business_idea2.png |
| titletext = Then we move to phase two. Gas stations store fuel in underground tanks. Normally, these are inaccessible except via the pump. However, with hydraulic fracturing, we-- Wait! Come back! | | titletext = Then we move to phase two. Gas stations store fuel in underground tanks. Normally, these are inaccessible except via the pump. However, with hydraulic fracturing, we-- Wait! Come back! | ||
}} | }} | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | In this comic, | + | {{incomplete|'''Note that even though the image has been corrected to the new from xkcd here on explain xkcd, this page will continue to show the old comic 827 image for a while.''' May require further editing to meet wiki standards}} |
+ | In this comic, Cueball announces he has "an exciting business opportunity to share". After hearing discouragement from an off-panel voice, he promises that "this time it's a good one", and goes on to explain his plan. | ||
− | Cueball's plan involves the premise | + | Cueball's plan involves the premise of premium gas that is left in a petrol pump hose after a car driver fills their car up with premium petrol. He states that even if the next customer only pays for regular, that they are still getting a small amount of premium petrol. Though he does not finish saying the outline for his plan, one can assume he planned to get premium fuel at regular prices, so he could then sell it for profit. After hearing the first part of his plan, two off-panel voices announce they are leaving, clearing and correctly thinking that Cueball's idea is stupid and impractical. |
− | In reality, this would be an impossible business venture to execute. | + | In reality, this would be an impossible business venture to execute. At least in europe, there are separate pipes for different fuels. Plus, gas station likely buys premium fuel cheaper than it sells average gas... Also not only it is illegal to resell fuel without the correct licences [citation needed], but it would be difficult, bordering on impossible, to have the fuel pump run to ''just'' the premium fuel out, and driving to each petrol station would use more money to buy more fuel than any money that could be made back. |
− | [[1499 | + | Comic [[1499]] implies similar plan to extract wealth out of a small market inefficiency that, in reality, would be far too onerous to exploit. |
− | The title text is another one of Cueball's fuel-based business ventures, as he says he plans to dig up fuel stations underground fuel storage tanks, to then sell the contents of. Again, illegal | + | The title text is another one of Cueball's fuel-based business ventures, as he says he plans to dig up fuel stations underground fuel storage tanks, to then sell the contents of. Again, illegal, impractical, don't try it (though it would be much more profitable than his previous plan). The punchline is that a petrol station's underground tank is "inaccessible" from the outside, just as there are some oil deposits that are inaccessible to traditional oil production techniques because no sufficient natural flow towards a well can be obtained. In the case of oil deposits, high-pressure fluids are pumped into the rock to break it up ("fracturing") and allow the oil to reach the well. Oil tanks, on the other hand, can be made accessible by puncturing them using (presumably) hydraulically powered tools (electrical power is inadvisable in the presence of high-vapor-pressure hydrocarbons due to the significant risk of fire and explosion caused by electrical sparking). |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[Cueball is standing next to a rolled down projector screen holding a hand up towards his off-panel audience | + | :[Cueball is standing next to a rolled down projector screen holding a hand up towards his off-panel audience. It's is impossible to day if there are more than two, but also impossible to say if the person's who speaks in one panel also speaks in the next.] |
:Cueball: Thank you all for coming. | :Cueball: Thank you all for coming. | ||
:Cueball: I have an exciting business opportunity to share. | :Cueball: I have an exciting business opportunity to share. | ||
:Off-panel voice #1: Oh no. | :Off-panel voice #1: Oh no. | ||
− | :[Zoom in on Cueball's head | + | :[Zoom in on Cueball's head.] |
:Cueball: Now hear me out- | :Cueball: Now hear me out- | ||
:Off-panel voice #2: Your ideas are always the worst. | :Off-panel voice #2: Your ideas are always the worst. | ||
Line 30: | Line 31: | ||
:Off-panel voice #2: Uh huh... | :Off-panel voice #2: Uh huh... | ||
− | :[Front view of the screen with an image of a black gas pump, with the white hose snaking | + | :[Front view of the screen with an image of a black gas pump, with the white hose snaking it's way up to the black handle. And arrow points to the middle of the hose where it is at it's highest point before the turn that goes to the handle. Cueball is pointing at the hose with a stick.] |
− | :Cueball: When someone fills their car with premium gas, some of it is left in the hose, and is dispensed to the next customer even if they've only paid for regular. If we create a network of- | + | :Cueball: When someone fills their car with premium gas, some of it is left in the hose, and is dispensed to the next customer even if they've only paid for regular. If we create a network of- |
:Off-panel voice #3: I'm leaving. | :Off-panel voice #3: I'm leaving. | ||
:Off-panel voice #4: Me too. | :Off-panel voice #4: Me too. | ||
==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
− | + | *Because this comic had the same title (and filename) as comic [[827: My Business Idea|827: Business Idea]], Randall inadvertently broke both xkcd.com and explainxkcd.com when it went up. | |
+ | **The main xkcd.com site showed this comic for both numbers, while explainxkcd.com showed 827 for both. **As of 11:35am UTC Randall has fixed this by renaming the old comic to [[827: My Business Idea]]. | ||
+ | **On this page it will take a while before the new image is shown correctly, even though the error has been fixed. | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
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