Editing 2702: What If 2 Gift Guide

The comic is a gift guide matching the interest of the receiver with a gift.

| Engineering || The platinum cylinder formerly used to identify the kilogram || This is an object of historical relevance of which only six exist, making it a very expensive or illegal gift.

| Biology    || The genomes of the scientists who headed the human genome project || The "International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium," as the {{w|Human Genome Project}} team was known, involved scientists from twenty institutions in six countries. In the US, it was initially led by DNA structure co-discoverer {{w|James Watson}} who was succeeded by {{w|Francis Collins}}. In the UK, the project was led by {{w|John Sulston}}. The teams from other countries' institutions were less prominent and performed substantially less work on the initial sequencing. Gene sequence donor identities were protected so neither donors nor scientists could know whose DNA was sequenced. More than 70% of the reference genome produced by the project came from a single anonymous male donor from Buffalo, New York. None of the project scientists contributed to the donor pool; nor have any of them announced that they had their genomes sequenced independently.

| Physics    || A beam of neutrinos delivered through the earth by the LHC || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrino Neutrinos] interact very weakly with other particles, to the point that they almost always pass straight through matter completely unaffected. This means that particle accelerators can send neutrinos to any other point on Earth by aiming the particle beam into the ground, and the neutrinos pass straight through the Earth. This point is referenced in [https://what-if.xkcd.com/73/ What If? 73]. The low interactivity of neutrinos would also mean that the recipient would be unable to perceive their gift, making this a poor present for anyone except the small proportion of physics aficionados who already have a neutrino detector on-hand.

| Animals    || Surprise wildlife encounter (gift-wrapped box with a bobcat inside) || This is a reference to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Bobcats xkcd's rich history of mailing boxed bobcats to people]. This gift would place the recipient in a perilous situation, and, although definitely a wildlife encounter, is not a good gift{{Citation needed}}.

| Law        || A vacation to that area of Idaho where you can commit crimes with impunity due to a court district boundary error || This refers to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_Death_(Yellowstone) "Zone of Death"], a 50-square-mile area of Yellowstone National Park that is in the physical boundaries of Idaho, but in the legal jurisdiction of Wyoming. Because a jury in the United States must be composed of residents of the same district ''and'' state in which the crime was committed, but no one lives in this small area of a National Park, anyone who committed a crime here could not possibly receive a trial, and thus could not legally be punished for said crime in any circumstance. This is an interesting legal loophole, but going to this area does not provide any more value than hearing about it, and could scare your law-enthusiast friend.

| Chemistry  || A necklace of element samples whose symbols spell out the recipient's name (note: names like "Katherine" and "Brandon" may cause radiation accidents.) || Novelty necklaces are a common and innocuous gift, and using element symbols in place of the same letter is a common gimmick, such as in the title of Breaking Bad. However, making an object out of whatever element sample corresponds to someone's name could have unpredictable results - some elements in their pure form are too brittle or have too low a melting point for such an application, and some are unsafe. "Katherine" would be made from Potassium (highly reactive), Astatine (rare, '''radioactive''' and has a short half-life), Hydrogen (gaseous at room temperature, flammable), Erbium, Iodine (sublimes into a gas at room temperature), and Neon (gaseous at room temperature). "Brandon" would be made from Boron, Radium ('''radioactive'''), Neodymium, Oxygen (gaseous at room temperature), and Nitrogen (gaseous at room temperature).  The problems with element samples could be partially alleviated by allowing compounds rather than pure elements, but the radioactivity would still be a problem, and neon does not form compounds and as such is always gaseous.

| Puzzles    || Two goats and a new car || This is a reference to the the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem "Monty Hall problem"], in which a game show contestant can win only one of the three items. (See [[1282: Monty Hall]] for another cartoon inspired by this problem.) This gift places the recipient within a puzzle which is typically discussed hypothetically, rather than happening in real life. Although a new car is a ''great'' gift, goats are only useful to people with specific professions.

The problem that the recipient would have would likely be how to transport the two goats - it'd be difficult to fit both into a compact car at once, but one can't be left behind unattended.

| Technology  || Cybiko® wireless handheld computer for teens (2000) || This device was referenced in [https://xkcd.com/2699/ one of last week's comics], so Randall seems to have a temporary fixation on it. While an interesting example of the history of communication technology and coming from a time when experimentation was common and standards were few, it isn't very useful now, because it is no longer supported, has a communication range of 100 meters (sending text messages via radio) and one can only use it to communicate with users of the same device. However, technology enthusiasts could find it interesting as a collectors' item, so by all means it is one of the most plausible gift ideas on this list.

| Space      || Webb telescope personal photoshoot || The Webb telescope belongs to NASA, the ESA and the CSA, and is currently very far from Earth. It is designed to capture distant space objects in previously unseen detail. It is not designed to photograph nearby objects of human size, assuming that that is what photoshoot implies. These circumstances make it both an impossible and impractical gift. Furthermore, unless the recipient of the gift is able to travel a long way from Earth, Webb would have to point at the warm Earth and expose its optics to the Sun, permanently crippling the telescope.[https://webb.nasa.gov/content/about/faqs/faqLite.html This is forbidden by NASA.] On the other hand, a gift experience of being allowed to to take your own snapshot of Webb in position, perhaps with a [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10442913/James-Webb-Space-Telescope-seen-Earth-settles-orbit.html robotic telescope], might be an attractive gift to a space enthusiast!  

| Literature  || Stephen King's writing desk (he's still using it so you'll have to fight him) || {{w|Stephen King}} is an author lucky enough to have legendary status while still alive. The desk of an author that has died would become an object of historic significance and would likely be either kept for exhibition or auctioned by their respective estate, but as Stephen King still writes, his desk, while valuable, cannot be subjected to the same.

| Philosophy  || Out-of-control trolley || This is another gift that places the recipient in the situations that they like discussing hypothetically. This refers to the {{w|trolley problem}}, which places stress on the person forced to make the decision, and exists to make them examine their morals. Facing someone with the hypothetical problem is already not a good gift, but forcing them to live through it in real life is a terrible gift. (See [[1455: Trolley Problem]] for another cartoon inspired by this problem.)

| Psychology  || A nice gift with a note saying you don't expect anything in return || This is perhaps the most viable option on this list. This gift plays a psychological game on the recipient, reminding them of the nature of favors and bringing giving something into return into the question. This would cause them stress, making it a bad gift, but a psychologist would hopefully understand it to be a joke.

| (Title text) Babies or literature but not both || Baby shoes || This is a reference to the six-word story [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale:_baby_shoes,_never_worn For sale: baby shoes, never worn] which is often attributed to Ernest Hemingway. Someone who likes babies could enjoy baby shoes in their own right. Someone interested in literature would see the reference to a famous work. But someone who understands the reference would possibly also be sad if they simultaneously actually liked babies (since the story implies the seller was expecting a baby but there was an accident).