Editing 2474: First Time Since Early 2020
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | {{incomplete|Created by a FERRIS WHEEL OPERATOR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
− | This is yet another comic part of the [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] on the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}. | + | This is yet another comic part of the [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] on the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic|2020-21 pandemic}} caused by the {{w|COVID-19|coronavirus disease 2019}} (COVID-19). |
This comic is a chart that orders things based on the level of alarm that would occur if it were revealed that someone had not done a given thing since early 2020. Many of the items, but not all, are linked to new constraints due to the pandemic. | This comic is a chart that orders things based on the level of alarm that would occur if it were revealed that someone had not done a given thing since early 2020. Many of the items, but not all, are linked to new constraints due to the pandemic. | ||
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;Been to a birthday party | ;Been to a birthday party | ||
− | Going to a birthday party was a normal task before the pandemic, and it's normal to say you haven't gone to one since early 2020. | + | :Going to a birthday party was a normal task before the pandemic, and it's normal to say you haven't gone to one since early 2020. |
;Eaten at a restaurant | ;Eaten at a restaurant | ||
− | Eating at a restaurant was also common before governments instated lockdowns, but | + | :Eating at a restaurant without ordering food from it online was also common before the governments instated lockdowns, but it's ranked a little less normal by [[Randall]]. |
;Seen my family | ;Seen my family | ||
− | Seeing your family was fairly common before the governments instated lockdowns. However, there | + | :Seeing your family was fairly common before the governments instated lockdowns. However, there are emergency visits during the lockdown period. |
;Been on a plane | ;Been on a plane | ||
− | Governments around the world cancelled commercial flights during the pandemic. However, businessmen like Bill Gates used private | + | :Governments around the world cancelled commercial flights during the pandemic. However, businessmen like Bill Gates used private jet during the pandemic. |
;Gone to a movie | ;Gone to a movie | ||
− | + | :Cinema halls around the world are closed due to the pandemic. Several movies are instead released directly to TV via OTT platform. | |
;Gone to a store | ;Gone to a store | ||
− | + | :Althought many stores are closed during the lockdown period, some markets are open for essential commodities. Therefore, going to a store for the first time since early 2020 is little strange. | |
;Installed software updates | ;Installed software updates | ||
− | Regularly installing software updates is recommended, mainly for security reasons. However | + | :Regularly installing software updates is recommended, mainly for security reasons. However many people don't follow these recommendations (mostly by fear of software inconsistency or instabillity), although a delay of more than one year is quite long. Mentioning software updates is weird, because it is not directly related to the covid pandemic. On the contrary, since many people spent much more time at home and worked at home, it is all the more important to keep software up to date. |
;Eaten a vegetable | ;Eaten a vegetable | ||
− | Since vegetables are essential to a healthy diet, not eating a single vegetable in a whole year is not recommended. | + | :Since vegetables are essential to a healthy diet, not eating a single vegetable in a whole year is not recommended. Anxiety due to the pandemic, disruption of social relations, may have caused people to consume more junk food than usual. |
;Opened the fridge | ;Opened the fridge | ||
− | This is quite weird, since most people | + | This is quite weird, since most people used their refrigerator to store fresh food. Maybe Randall became anorexic because of anxiety due to the pandemic, or he stopped consuming fresh food and relied more on junk food. Moreover, most food products will alter or rot if stored in a fridge for more than one year, and become dangerous to eat. |
;Paid taxes | ;Paid taxes | ||
− | Although some people, depending on where they live and their income, may not pay taxes in an immediately obvious way, there are some taxes, such as {{w|VAT}} in many countries and {{w|sales tax}} in the | + | Although some people, depending on where they live and their income, may not pay taxes in an immediately obvious way, there are some taxes, such as {{w|VAT}} in many countries and {{w|sales tax}} in the U.S., which almost everyone would pay in the natural course of everyday life, though may not be 'obvious' in the paying, or even be extracted at source (withheld from payroll) in the simpler cases.. (Randall lives in {{w|Massachusetts}}, which does not have a VAT, but does have a 6.25% sales tax.) It is therefore strange that someone could have gone a year without paying any taxes, implying they made almost no monetary transactions in the period, nor are made (directly) responsible for any residential or property-owning taxations that might otherwise be payable to one or other layer of government. |
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;Washed my hands | ;Washed my hands | ||
− | One of the main pieces of advice during the pandemic was to wash one's hands, frequently. Even in normal circumstances, washing hands is a good idea to remain hygienic, | + | One of the main pieces of advice during the pandemic was to wash one's hands, frequently. Even in normal circumstances, washing hands is a good idea to remain hygienic, and not do so for a year would be disgusting to most people, and a good way of catching diseases. |
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;Seen another person | ;Seen another person | ||
− | Despite the restrictions, most people will have seen another person during the pandemic | + | Despite the restrictions, most people will have seen another person during the pandemic. |
;Seen a ghost | ;Seen a ghost | ||
− | The fact that the speaker apparently has seen a ghost, both now and presumably before early 2020 (else they would simply say it was the 'first time' they saw a ghost) is unusual. | + | The fact that the speaker apparently has seen a ghost, both now and presumably before early 2020 (else they would simply say it was the 'first time' they saw a ghost) is unusual. |
;Served as a decoy | ;Served as a decoy | ||
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;Sighted land | ;Sighted land | ||
− | Most people live on land, | + | Most people live on land, so sighting land should not be unusual, even during a pandemic. The fact that someone has gone over a year without sighting land suggests they have been lost at sea for the duration. There are several reported cases of ships' crews refused permission to disembark, due to local restrictions and/or because their scheduled relief were unable to embark, but the unluckily held-on persons forced to remain beyond their originally planned obligations should never have been left permanently beyond any tantalisingly unreachable view of the shore. |
Taken more literally, it could simply mean that the person remained indoors and did not look outside, or that the person was temporarily blind. | Taken more literally, it could simply mean that the person remained indoors and did not look outside, or that the person was temporarily blind. | ||
;Checked the news | ;Checked the news | ||
− | If someone has not checked the news since early 2020, they will likely be in for a shock upon checking. Noting that this could possibly (if increasingly absurdly) still apply to someone like | + | If someone has not checked the news since early 2020, they will likely be in for a shock upon checking. Noting that this could possibly (if increasingly absurdly) still apply to someone like [[2396:_Wonder_Woman_1984|ponytail]]. |
− | ;Checked on the customers in the | + | ;Checked on the customers in the escape room |
− | The implication is that the customers in question have been trapped in the escape room since early 2020. Most escape rooms are not equipped to support a person for that length of time, so unless the customers actually escaped, they would likely not have survived. | + | The implication is that the customers in question have been trapped in the escape room since early 2020. Most escape rooms are not equipped to support a person for that length of time, so unless the customers actually escaped, they would likely not have survived. |
;Contracted a novel bat virus | ;Contracted a novel bat virus | ||
− | As a 'novel bat virus' is what kicked off the whole pandemic, contracting another one may send the whole world into a | + | As a 'novel bat virus' is what kicked off the whole pandemic, contracting another one may send the whole world into a repeat of the pandemic. |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
+ | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
: [Heading:] | : [Heading:] | ||
− | : "This is actually the first time I've _____ since early 2020." | + | : "This is actually the first time |
− | : [Below | + | : I've _____ since early 2020." |
− | : | + | : [Below showing a vertical arrow with the words "normal" and "alarming" at the top and the bottom of the arrow respectively. At the right side of the arrow showing a long list of text starts with a traingle.] |
− | : | + | : ◀been to a birthday party |
− | : | + | : ◀eaten at a restaurant |
− | : | + | : ◀seen my family |
− | : | + | : ◀been on a plane |
− | : | + | : ◀gone to a movie |
− | : | + | : ◀gone to a store |
− | : | + | : ◀installed software updates |
− | : | + | : ◀eaten a vegetable |
− | : | + | : ◀opened the fridge |
− | : | + | : ◀paid taxes |
− | : | + | : ◀washed my hands |
− | : | + | : ◀seen another person |
− | : | + | : ◀seen a ghost |
− | : | + | : ◀served as a decoy |
− | : | + | : ◀sighted land |
− | : | + | : ◀checked the news |
− | : | + | : ◀checked on the customers in the escape room |
− | + | : ◀contracted a novel bat virus | |
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} |