Editing 2669: Things You Should Not Do
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This comic references various questions submitted | + | This comic references various questions submitted to be used in the [[what if|''what if?'']] blog/books. In particular, promoting [[Randall]]'s new book, ''What if? 2'' (released 6 days after the date of this comic publication). This comic has a list of things not to do, an extension of a previous list, and is purportedly things Randall discovered as he was doing research for his book. A visit to the [https://what-if.xkcd.com/archive/ What If? archive] shows the titles, publishing date, and a thumbnail for each article. Many of the acts described under the "new" section of the list are depicted in these thumbnails (see table below); others are references to examples or hypotheticals explored within the articles. The entries are all in order of their appearance in the book. |
The title text says that Randall is tempted to tell people that all the things in the book were things that he actually tried to do, not that he calculated the solutions for their problems. Many of the questions and answers in his new book are impossible to attempt in real life.{{citation needed}} | The title text says that Randall is tempted to tell people that all the things in the book were things that he actually tried to do, not that he calculated the solutions for their problems. Many of the questions and answers in his new book are impossible to attempt in real life.{{citation needed}} | ||
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|Feed your cat treats that are the exact shape and texture of a human hand | |Feed your cat treats that are the exact shape and texture of a human hand | ||
|N/A | |N/A | ||
− | |This probably runs the risk of | + | |This probably runs the risk of the cat attempting to eat your hand, instead of a cat treat. |
|- | |- | ||
! colspan="4" | New! | ! colspan="4" | New! | ||
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|Lean over a geyser vent and try to look down into it | |Lean over a geyser vent and try to look down into it | ||
|Geyser | |Geyser | ||
− | |Geysers shoot steam and hot water upward. If a person were to lean over the geyser and look down during an eruption, they would be struck in the face by this hot liquid and gas mixture and severely injured or killed. | + | |Geysers shoot steam and hot water upward. If a person were to lean over the geyser and look down during an eruption, they would be struck in the face by this hot liquid and gas mixture and severely injured or killed. This is a reference to the question from ''What-If? 2'' (called, appropriately enough, "Geyser"), in which it is asked what might happen to a person if they stood on top of the Old Faithful geyser as it erupted. |
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|156,817 | |156,817 | ||
|Fly a hot-air balloon over a firing range | |Fly a hot-air balloon over a firing range | ||
|[https://what-if.xkcd.com/81/ Catch!] | |[https://what-if.xkcd.com/81/ Catch!] | ||
− | |A hot air balloon could present an irresistible target to the people firing their weapons at the range. The balloon could be shot and you could fall to your death | + | |A hot air balloon could present an irresistible target to the people firing their weapons at the range. The balloon could be shot and you could fall to your death. |
|- | |- | ||
|156,818 | |156,818 | ||
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|Fill a lava lamp with actual lava | |Fill a lava lamp with actual lava | ||
|[https://what-if.xkcd.com/122/ Lava Lamp] | |[https://what-if.xkcd.com/122/ Lava Lamp] | ||
− | |A {{w|lava lamp}} is a glass lamp, which contains a wax mixture inside, and heats so that the wax rises and falls. Putting actual lava inside a regular lava lamp would most likely cause the lamp to melt and the glass to shatter, not to mention handling lava is very dangerous.{{ | + | |A {{w|lava lamp}} is a glass lamp, which contains a wax mixture inside, and heats so that the wax rises and falls. Putting actual lava inside a regular lava lamp would most likely cause the lamp to melt and the glass to shatter, not to mention handling lava is very dangerous.{{citation needed}} However, in this entry, Randall says it would be fairly easy to find a material that would be able to handle the heat of the lava and thus this would be rather anticlimactic. |
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|156,823 | |156,823 | ||
|Drink the blood of someone with a viral hemorraghic (''sic'') fever | |Drink the blood of someone with a viral hemorraghic (''sic'') fever | ||
|[https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol] | |[https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol] | ||
− | |Drinking someone else's blood is a bad idea unless you are a vampire. If someone has a {{w|viral hemorrhagic fever}}, it is much worse, as they have a very serious and likely deadly disease which can be transmitted by sharing bodily fluids, such as blood. Drinking blood is the theme of this answer | + | |Drinking someone else's blood is a bad idea unless you are a vampire. If someone has a {{w|viral hemorrhagic fever}}, it is much worse, as they have a very serious and likely deadly disease which can be transmitted by sharing bodily fluids, such as blood. Drinking blood is the theme of this answer. |
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|156,824 | |156,824 | ||
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[[Category:Cats]] | [[Category:Cats]] | ||
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]] | [[Category:Comics with lowercase text]] | ||
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