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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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{{incomplete|Created by the Meteorological Society. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
  
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A {{w|glacier}} is a wall of dense ice. Though glaciers tend to appear still, they are actually slowly moving, at a rate of around 25 cm (10 in) per day.
  
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A {{w|glacier}} is a wall of dense ice. Though glaciers tend to appear still, they are actually slowly moving, typically by around 10 inches (25 cm)/day. <!--note that the wikipedia article claims/claimed 1m/day, but its source claims the here mentioned 10in/25cm.-->
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The joke in this comic is a pun on the word "advancing". In the original context, the glacier is "advancing" or moving forward slowly. However, Beret Guy uses the fencing term {{w|Glossary of fencing|"advance"}}, which is a basic forward movement. Beret Guy attaches a fencing {{w|sabre (fencing)|sabre}} to the glacier, and then takes a defensive position. It's unclear at this time who will win.  
  
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[[Beret Guy]] and [[Knit Cap]] are facing the forward edge of a glacier. [[Knit Cap]] remarks that glaciers are amazing, mentioning the fact that though we can't see it, the ice is slowly advancing. After considering this, Beret Guy leaves, then returns with two {{w|saber (fencing)|sabres}} and a hairdryer. He uses the (apparently battery-powered) hairdryer to melt a small cavity into the glacier, which he then lodges the sabre into. The melted pocket then freezes over the sabre; Beret Guy then takes a defensive position. {{w|Glossary of fencing|"Advancing"}} is a basic forward movement in fencing, and Beret Guy appears to feel it is unfair for the glacier not to have a weapon.
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The title text refers to {{w|Excalibur|The Sword in the Stone}}, a famous sword in the legends of King Arthur, and the fact that 1% of mainland {{w|Norway}} is covered with glaciers (but 60% of the {{w|Svalbard}} archipelago, also a part of Norway).
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The title text refers to {{w|Excalibur|The Sword in the Stone}}, a famous sword in the legends of King Arthur, and {{w|Norway}}, a country known for its glaciers. In the original legend, the sword is set into solid rock, and enchanted so that only the true King could draw it out. The legend has been alluded to in a [[1521|previous comic]]. The title text might be making any of several implications about a Norwegian adaptation, including:
 
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* The sword would be set into ice, a much less reliable and more easily-bypassed substance than stone.
 
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* The sword would be set in the stone (or ice) hilt-first, meaning the true King would need to pull it out by the blade.
 
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* The true King would not remove the sword, but rather would embed it into the stone (or ice) as Beret Guy has done here. – As {{w|Terry Pratchett}} wrote: "What’s so hard about pulling a sword out of a stone? The real work’s already been done. You ought to make yourself useful and find the man who put the sword in the stone in the first place, eh?"
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
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:[Knit Cap and Beret Guy are standing to the left of a glacier.]
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:[A person wearing a knit cap and Beret Guy are standing to the left of a glacier.]
 
:Knit cap person: Glaciers are so neat. You can't see it, but this ice is slowly advancing.
 
:Knit cap person: Glaciers are so neat. You can't see it, but this ice is slowly advancing.
  
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The author of ''The Sword in the Stone'', T. H. White, was mentioned two comics ago in [[2162: Literary Opinions]].
 
The author of ''The Sword in the Stone'', T. H. White, was mentioned two comics ago in [[2162: Literary Opinions]].
  
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[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
 
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}

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