Editing Talk:794: Inside Joke

I believe the reference to the ladder is the origin of the 'Monk Jump over the Wall Soup', where a monk (who is not allowed to eat meat) broke his meditation to escape from the monastery as he smelt the delicious food cooking on the other side. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha_Jumps_Over_the_Wall#Origin

In this case, the ham seller comments that his products are so delicious that 'even the monk nearby is climbing over the wall to get some ham', after being remarked that his product was too expensive.

[[Special:Contributions/131.111.141.12|131.111.141.12]] 11:48, 29 May 2013 (UTC)Justin
:Added the last line to the explanation [[User:Ad1217|Ad1217]] ([[User talk:Ad1217|talk]]) 19:13, 16 May 2014 (UTC)


Assuming Randall Munroe had a specific reference in mind, it could just as well be a reference to Saint John Climacus, known as "John of the ladder". AD 525-606. His book "the ladder" was widely circulated and concerns steps to an ascetic life. The roman catholic church celebrate him during the fasting season, when one is not to eat meat. 

The joke here is then that "monk out back with a ladder" can mean both "so climb in the rear window and steal some" and "The monk's here with a copy of the book "the ladder", go convert to free ascetism if money and meat is too much for you"  [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.237|141.101.98.237]] 12:11, 19 January 2015 (UTC)
:Wouldn't the shopkeeper say "The Ladder", not "a ladder" then? -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 22:45, 30 March 2015 (UTC)
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 The joke here is then that "monk out back with a ladder" can mean both "so climb in the rear window and steal some" and "The monk's here with a copy of the book "the ladder", go convert to free ascetism if money and meat is too much for you"  [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.237|141.101.98.237]] 12:11, 19 January 2015 (UTC)
 :Wouldn't the shopkeeper say "The Ladder", not "a ladder" then? -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 22:45, 30 March 2015 (UTC)
-It is absolutely ludicrous to try to find the meaning or reference in this comic. Randall attempted to come up with something which was incomprehensible. That's the whole point. If he'd thought for a moment there was an actual ''known origin'' or explanation for this ham joke, he would immediately have changed it to something else. I mean, come on. XKCD ''itself'' is a random, meaningless string [[https://www.dcta.net/paycitation/ citation needed] -☃]. Will edit. [[User:AmbroseChapel|AmbroseChapel]] ([[User talk:AmbroseChapel|talk]]) 23:52, 17 September 2017 (UTC)
-:Au contraire, 'xkcd' itself is neither random nor meaningless - quite the opposite, in fact.
-:Add the positions of each of its letters and what number do you get? Please refer to <u> The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</u> for further insight, enlightenment, and the answer to the "Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything". [[User:TCMits|TCMits]] ([[User talk:TCMits|talk]]) 18:11, 24 January 2023 (UTC)
-::[[xkcd#Meaning_of_.22xkcd.22|Word Of God denies this]], and other interesting coincidences. But I'm also sure he doesn't want to stop personal headcanon, either. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.206|172.71.178.206]] 19:33, 24 January 2023 (UTC)