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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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Most packaged food has an {{w|shelf life|expiration date}} that indicates when the food will probably no longer be suitable for consumption. This could be due to any number of reasons; most products will rot or grow mold after their expiration date passes, but some processed foods will "dry out" or just generally become "unpleasant" long before they spoil. The expiration date is sometimes called a "best before" or "use by" date for this reason.
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Most packaged food has an {{w|shelf life|expiration date}} that indicates when the food will probably no longer be suitable for consumption. This could be due to any number of reasons; most products will rot or grow mold after their expiration date passes, but some processed foods will dry out or just generally become unpleasant long before they actually spoil. (The expiration date is sometimes called a "best by" or "use by" date for this reason.)
  
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Some products don't list the year as part of the expiration date, on the assumption that by the time the year becomes an issue, the food will be spoiled. [[Cueball]] and his guest are encountering this issue; clearly, the yogurt has gone bad - it's raising "stink lines" and appears to have visible mold - but the expiration date only lists "May 12th" and it's currently May 7th, so Cueball reasons that it must still be good since the expiration date hasn't passed yet. Somehow, he fails to notice the terrible smell coming off of it.
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Some products don't list the year as part of the expiration date, on the assumption that by the time the year becomes an issue, the food will obviously be spoiled. [[Cueball]] is encountering this issue; clearly the yogurt has gone bad - it's raising "stink lines" and appears to have visible mold - but the expiration date only lists "May 12th" and it's currently May 7th, so the characters reason that it must still be good since the expiration date hasn't passed yet.
  
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The {{w|Gregorian calendar}} was initially adopted in the Catholic European countries in 1582 to correct the slow drift of the seasons relative to the calendar year that occurred under the Julian calendar. The Protestant and Orthodox countries were slower to adopt it. The British Empire, including the American colonies, adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752. Cueball (in a seemingly sarcastic manner) wonders whether the expiration date might have been printed under the Julian Calendar, i.e., at least just under a century prior (some nations in Eastern Europe changed from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar only around the time of the First World War).
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The {{w|Julian calendar}} is mostly the same as the {{w|Gregorian calendar}} (our current calendar) with two major differences:
  
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The {{w|Gregorian calendar}} (our current calendar) is mostly the same as the {{w|Julian calendar}} with two major differences:
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* The Julian calendar's leap years vastly overestimated the length of a year. The Gregorian calendar's leap years are much more accurate at tracking the seasons. (Contrary to popular belief, the Julian calendar ''had'' leap years, they were just incorrect.)
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* September 14th, 1752 immediately follows September 2nd, 1752 in the Gregorian calendar; there was no September 3rd-13th in that year. (At least, in most of the English-speaking world. In some countries the discontinuity might be October 4th, 1582 directly followed by October 15th, 1582.)
  
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*The Julian calendar overestimated the length of a year by 10 minutes 48 seconds or about 1 day every 128 years. The Gregorian calendar has 97 leap days every 400 years instead of 100, which reduces the error to about 1 day in 3300 years.
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The Gregorian calendar was adopted by {{w|Pope Gregory XIII}} in 1582, after scholars began noticing the drift in the solstices and equinoxes that occurred as a result of the Julian calendar's leap year tracking. By the time the British empire adopted the calendar, it was necessary to skip 11 days to reset the seasons to their correct dates, which is why the gap in September 1752 exists.
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*As each country adopted the Gregorian calendar, it was necessary to skip the appropriate number of days to realign the {{w|Vernal Equinox}} with March 21. When the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, 11 days had to be skipped, so in the English-speaking countries, September 2, 1752, under the Julian calendar was immediately followed by September 14, 1752, under the Gregorian calendar; there was no September 3–13 in that year.
 
  
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The last line spoken by Cueball may mean one of two things: either 1) he is continuing to be sarcastic toward his friend, or 2) he is genuinely considering that it may not have gone bad, despite all the clues saying otherwise.
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Cueball is bringing up the differences between the Julian and Gregorian calendars because it might make a difference in how he calculates the age of the yogurt. In reality, if the yogurt had been packaged while civilization was using the Julian calendar, it would have long ago stopped being yogurt.
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The title text is Randall's own (absurd){{Citation needed}} view: for a short period preceding the expiration date of any food, no matter how many years have passed, it suddenly becomes good to eat again. One might also wonder if the last two digits of the year were given in addition to just the day and month, and if Randall were given centuries to live, he might apply this principle centennially instead of annually.
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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:[Cueball is holding a yogurt cup at arm's length. Waves of stink are rising from it.]
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:[Cueball is holding a cup at arm's length. Waves of stink are rising from it.]
 
:Cueball: Oh God, how old is this yogurt in your fridge?
 
:Cueball: Oh God, how old is this yogurt in your fridge?
 
:[Someone speaks from off-panel.]
 
:[Someone speaks from off-panel.]
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:Friend: What's the expiration date?
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:Person: What's the expiration date?
  
 
:[Cueball holds up the cup to look at the bottom.]
 
:[Cueball holds up the cup to look at the bottom.]
 
:Cueball: May 12th, but there's no year.
 
:Cueball: May 12th, but there's no year.
 
:[From off-panel again.]
 
:[From off-panel again.]
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:Friend: It's May 7th. So it's fine.
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:Person: It's May 7th. So it's fine.
  
 
:[Now the second person is on panel, and Cueball speaks from off-panel. The second person is sitting down working on a laptop.]
 
:[Now the second person is on panel, and Cueball speaks from off-panel. The second person is sitting down working on a laptop.]
 
:Cueball: I'm not sure. When it was packaged, was civilization using the Gregorian or Julian calendar?
 
:Cueball: I'm not sure. When it was packaged, was civilization using the Gregorian or Julian calendar?
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:Friend: ''Okay,'' I'll throw it out.
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:Person: Okay, I'll throw it out.
 
:Cueball: No, it might still be good!
 
:Cueball: No, it might still be good!
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
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[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
 
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[[Category:Calendar]]
 
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[[Category:Food]]
 

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