Editing 702: Snow Tracking

{{comic
| number    = 702
| date      = February 15, 2010
| title     = Snow Tracking
| image     = snow_tracking.png
| titletext = I suppose that's more accurately a hare dryer.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a guide to recognizing various animals by their footprints. However, the comic typically detours into strange, ridiculous or pop-culture-referencing footprints. In order:

*"Moose and squirrel" is a reference to the cartoon ''{{w|Rocky and Bullwinkle}}''. Rocky and Bullwinkle were a flying squirrel and a moose, respectively, and were frequently referred to as "moose and squirrel" by the show's antagonist Boris Badenov.

*[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/longcat Longcat] is a internet {{w|meme}} from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long).

*Mouse riding Bicycle is a reference to ''{{w|Ralph S. Mouse}}'', a series of novels by {{w|Beverly Cleary}}.

*The title text is a pun on the Rabbit with a hair dryer frame.

*{{w|Legolas}} is a reference to the character by the same name in the ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'' trilogy of books and movies. Legolas, as an elf, was able to walk on top of snow, while the other races in his party were forced to trudge through it.

*The "Knight" panel is a {{w|chess}} reference, as the tracks move just like the knight piece in chess.

*The two "Kid with" frames are a reference to the comic strip ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}''. In it, Calvin would crawl in a cardboard box to do various things. When upside down, he pretended the box was a "transmogrifier" and could turn him into something else, in this case his tiger Hobbes, whereas when on its side, the box was a duplicator and could produce multiple clones of Calvin.

*{{w|Prius}} is a reference to current events in which Toyota Prius's pedals have allegedly malfunctioned causing accidents. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/global/04prius.html]

*The final frame is the {{w|Higgs Boson}} which is an {{w|elementary particle}} which has recently been detected in the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}}.

{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:BACKYARD SNOW TRACKING GUIDE

:[Each panel contains an overhead view of tracks through the snow, with a caption indicating the apparent source.]

:[Standard paw prints through the snow.]
:CAT

:[Large split-toe tracks and smaller rodent tracks.]
:MOOSE AND SQUIRREL

:[Cat prints, but with more space between the pairs of prints.]
:LONGCAT

:[Two similar careening tire tracks.]
:MOUSE RIDING BICYCLE

:[Longer rodent tracks, with a large melted ring surrounding a point in the middle of the frame.]
:RABBIT STOPPING TO USE HAIR DRYER

:[No visible tracks.]
:LEGOLAS

:[Single deep holes with cratering.]
:BOBCAT ON POGO STICK

:[Round prints that suddenly turn to the right halfway into frame.]
:KNIGHT

:[Human footprints up to a square melting pattern, turning into animal prints.]
:KID WITH TRANSMOGRIFIER

:[Human footprints up to a rectangular melted area, which are then doubled to another rectangular area, which are then doubled again up to another rectangular area, which are then doubled.]
:KID WITH DUPLICATOR

:[Right curve on a road, with tire tracks careening out of frame.]
:Out of Frame Garden Owner: MY VEGETABLE GARDEN!
:PRIUS

:[A series of spiraling and outwardly traveling lines extend from a point in the middle of the frame.]
:HIGGS BOSON

{{comic discussion}}
@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 This comic is a guide to recognizing various animals by their footprints. However, the comic typically detours into strange, ridiculous or pop-culture-referencing footprints. In order:
-*The first panel is nothing special. Just a regular cat.
 *"Moose and squirrel" is a reference to the cartoon ''{{w|Rocky and Bullwinkle}}''. Rocky and Bullwinkle were a flying squirrel and a moose, respectively, and were frequently referred to as "moose and squirrel" by the show's antagonist Boris Badenov.
-*[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/longcat Longcat] is an internet {{w|meme}} from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long).
-*"Mouse riding Bicycle" is a reference to ''{{w|Ralph S. Mouse}}'', a series of novels by {{w|Beverly Cleary}}.
+*[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/longcat Longcat] is a internet {{w|meme}} from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long).
-*The hair dryer has melted an irregular region around the rabbit. The title text is a pun on the Rabbit with a hair dryer frame, possibly an homage to {{w|Looney Tunes}}, where shows with {{w|Bugs Bunny}} would often contain a pun on the {{w|Leporidae|closely related term}} of "hare".
-*{{w|Legolas}} is a reference to the character in the ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'' trilogy of books and movies. Legolas, as an elf, was so light-footed he could walk on top of snow, while the other races in his party were forced to trudge through it.
+*Mouse riding Bicycle is a reference to ''{{w|Ralph S. Mouse}}'', a series of novels by {{w|Beverly Cleary}}.
-*The "Bobcat on pogo stick" panel is a possible reference to the character Bonkers D. Bobcat from {{w|Bonkers (TV series)}}
+*The title text is a pun on the Rabbit with a hair dryer frame.
+*{{w|Legolas}} is a reference to the character by the same name in the ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'' trilogy of books and movies. Legolas, as an elf, was able to walk on top of snow, while the other races in his party were forced to trudge through it.
 *The "Knight" panel is a {{w|chess}} reference, as the tracks move just like the knight piece in chess.
-*The "kid with..." panels are a reference to ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}'', a comic strip written by Bill Watterson. In it, Calvin has a pet tiger named Hobbes, and sometimes, a cardboard box that "transmogrifies" him to something else. In this panel we see tiger prints, meaning that Calvin became a tiger like Hobbes.
-*The same cardboard box is now tipped on its side instead of upside down in the last panel. Now it functions as a duplicator, making multiple copies of whatever is in it. Calvin goes into it, duplicates himself, and they walk and duplicate again, and the cycle repeats.
+*The two "Kid with" frames are a reference to the comic strip ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}''. In it, Calvin would crawl in a cardboard box to do various things. When upside down, he pretended the box was a "transmogrifier" and could turn him into something else, in this case his tiger Hobbes, whereas when on its side, the box was a duplicator and could produce multiple clones of Calvin.
 *{{w|Prius}} is a reference to current events in which Toyota Prius's pedals have allegedly malfunctioned causing accidents. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/global/04prius.html]
-*The {{w|Higgs Boson}} is an {{w|elementary particle}} which, at the time this strip was posted, had not yet been officially discovered (there had been detections at the Tevatron with 4 sigma certainty since the early 2000s). It was tentatively detected in March 2013 in the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}}. The “prints” in the snow in this case humorously resemble the tracks made by elementary particles following a collision of the kind used to search for the Higgs boson in a {{w|particle collider}}.
+*The final frame is the {{w|Higgs Boson}} which is an {{w|elementary particle}} which has recently been detected in the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}}.
+{{Incomplete}}
 ==Transcript==
@@ Line 40: / Line 47: @@
 :MOUSE RIDING BICYCLE
-:[Longer tracks, with a large melted ring surrounding a point in the middle of the frame.]
+:[Longer rodent tracks, with a large melted ring surrounding a point in the middle of the frame.]
 :RABBIT STOPPING TO USE HAIR DRYER
@@ Line 64: / Line 71: @@
 :[A series of spiraling and outwardly traveling lines extend from a point in the middle of the frame.]
 :HIGGS BOSON
-== Trivia ==
-* A section of this comic, along with its title text, is used as the image for {{tvtropes|AltText|Alt Text}} on TV Tropes.
 {{comic discussion}}
-[[Category:Calvin and Hobbes]]
-[[Category:Bobcats]]
-[[Category:Animals]]
-[[Category:Kids]]
-[[Category:Physics]]
-[[Category:LOTR]]