2260: Reaction Maps

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Reaction Maps

Title text: If Google Maps stops letting you navigate to (Clay County District) A in West Virginia, you can try Jump, OH -> Ina, IL -> Big Hole, TX.

Explanation

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by an EMOJI OR GIF. Why is Ponytail's pun so bad for Cueball that he wishes to end the friendship over it. It is not just a joke. Any explanation for this would be great. Also might be good to include a table of the towns and some info about them? Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

This is another one of Randall's Tips, this time a Texting Tip. Randall suggests that readers send a set of driving directions as an intense / extremely annoyed response (a "Reaction Map", named after the "Reaction Face", "Reaction Gif", and other memes). The words "Reaction Map" in Chemistry refer to a diagram that shows how compounds react to form different compounds; an example can be found here.

In this comic, Ponytail texts the following car pun/joke:

You should name your new Honda Civic The Treaty of Edinburgh

Because it's a Tudor compact ["Tudor" pronounced "two-door" in some USA accents, "tyudor" elsewhere.]

The Treaty of Edinburgh was a treaty drawn up in 1560, which falls during the Tudor period of the history of England, while a compact is another word for a treaty -- hence a Tudor compact. A Honda Civic is a compact car, which has a coupé body model with only two doors (there are also hatchback and 4-door sedan versions) -- hence a two-door compact. The joke is thus a double pun on the similarity of the words "Tudor" and "two-door", as well as a pun on the words "treaty" and "compact."

Pronouncing "Tudor" as "Tyoo-dor" (i.e. without American-style yod-dropping) rather than "Too-" may hinder comprehension of this pun.

Puns rise and fall in popularity, and some people dislike them at all times. Recipients often groan, sometimes even while laughing or smiling. Because of this pun, Cueball gets so mad at Ponytail that he replies twice, first that their friendship is over and second that he hopes she falls in a lake. Both times he uses driving directions to do so because he wishes to show how mad he is by spending time finding cities with relevant names just to do it.

The list of map destinations, Truly, Saari, Toulouse, A, Friendship, This Way is a way of saying, "Truly sorry to lose a friendship this way". The list of map destinations, Hope, Yoe, Fallin Lake is a way of saying, "Hope you fall in [a] lake".

"A" is one of the three districts in Clay County WV. The others are "B" and "C".

In the title text, Randall offers a different option if "A" is removed from Google Maps, Ina (IL), to make this response: Jump, Ina, Big Hole ("Jump in a big hole".)

In 2245: Edible Arrangements, Cueball was irritated by a pun from Megan which was also themed on English history ("Vore of the Roses"), but in that strip, he evidently didn't get angry enough to send a map expressing that he would "Cancellada Arrangements" he had bought for her -- he simply told her so in person and then walked away when she kept punning.

Transcript

This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.

[Caption to the left of the comic:]

Texting Tip

Is your reaction too intense to be expressed in an emoji or gif?

Try using driving directions!

The extra research it requires shows how strongly you feel.

[A split panel, showing Ponytail texting Cueball with her text messages shown above in gray and Cueball reading the texts angrily below]

Ponytail: You should name your new Honda Civic The Treaty of Edinburgh

Ponytail: Because it's a Tudor compact

Ponytail: Get it

[Cueball replies to Ponytail, with his text messages shown above him. Ponytail's last text ("Get it") is shown. Cueball sends Ponytail a screenshot of driving directions that go through Truly, Saari, Toulouse, A, Friendship, and This Way]

[Cueball continues to text Ponytail, with his text messages shown above him. He sends Ponytail a screenshot of driving directions that go through Hope, Yoe, and Fallin Lake]

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Discussion

Damn bro, you got the whole squad laughing.

Also Cueball, if you want to react with driving directions you might as well go drive to her and punch her you coward141.101.98.40 03:26, 29 January 2020 (UTC) I can't find Jump, OH. That's right, Jacky720 just signed this (talk | contribs) 23:19, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

Apparently there's one in Kentucky, too, but if you want to use one I knew of, that'd make for an interesting route. 141.101.107.144 17:16, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

I can't find a town named "A" in Clay County WV. Is there supposed to be one? 162.158.214.136 23:35, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

Wiki sez: "Clay is a town in and the county seat of Clay County, West Virginia, United States.[6] The population was 491 at the 2010 census. It is the only incorporated town in Clay County." 162.158.214.136 23:37, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

I looked for "A, Clay County, WV" and found this. "B" and "C" also find places but "D" doesn't. It looks like Clay County is divided into A, B and C. 141.101.99.53 08:11, 28 January 2020 (UTC) Update: According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_County,_West_Virginia#Geography they rationalised their old districts into "A", "B" and "C" between 1990 and 2000.

I completely missed this one! In my defence, here in southern England ‘Tudor’ sounds much less like ‘two-door’, and ‘compact’ is much less commonly applied to cars... Gidds (talk) 23:44, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

Tip if you are doing a European version, and want to avoid F-Bombs: You can replace "Fucking" by "bad Kissing". It is "only" a 430km reroute. --Lupo (talk) 07:47, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

Does that pun actually work in US English? In UK English, Tudor and two-door have totally different vowel sounds. The former is more "tew-der". 162.158.158.179 (talk) 09:58, 28 January 2020‎ (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

It does work with my weird accent (German, officially learned british English in school, tought by a German teacher who lived a while in Australia, and refined with watching Hollywood productions, travelling Ireland (and other places, but mostly Ireland), and working with Indians, Americans and Brits in an American company...) Slight difference between how I would pronounce two and "tu" of tudor. (more or less as tju(?)) --Lupo (talk) 09:05, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

Yes, and in fact, Ford named several two-doored body styles in the interwar period "Tudor" (and, somewhat distressingly, dubbed the corresponding four-door styles "Fordor")172.69.34.160 12:03, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

So when do we get a car style called "Mordor" ? I guess the Pinto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto would qualify Cellocgw (talk) 17:02, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

H.ON.D.A.

This reminds of when I worked in a place with a very slow Internet connection, but I found one solution (sort of) which required about 40 minutes to get connected, but was very fast once I was connected. I called it Hurry-ON Driving Access (HONDA). The way it worked was that I got in my Honda Civic, and drove to a place with a better Internet connection... 172.69.34.20 03:14, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

I named my Smart Fortwo "Eddie." Fortwo > 42 > Hitchhikers. And that engine was a pretty improbable size. 108.162.216.236 13:54, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

Anyone who can make a decent argument why this joke should be bad enough to end a friendship? Or could Randall just not find anything better. Did it need to be related to driving? I like the idea of answering like this, but cannot really understand why such a joke would necessitate such a fierce response...? --Kynde (talk) 13:04, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

It's kind of a cultural joke that puns are the one of the lowest forms of wit, and that especially bad or forced puns are so bad as to merit comical overreactions, such as flipping tables, throwing yourself out of a window, or expressing physical pain. It might be an internet thing, although I'm sure the sentiment pre-dates the internet. Cueball is not seriously suggesting ending their friendship - he's just suggesting that he should, as penance for the terribleness of the pun. I believe the pun doesn't have to relate to driving - Randall has just found a clever way to express disapproval that happens to use driving directions. Hawthorn (talk) 14:05, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

Possible reason: it's not that the pun itself is so bad, it's the "get it"--Ponytail (probably) knows the pun isn't very funny, *knows Cueball didn't think it was funny*, and is demanding that he acknowledge the pun. Once is nothing, but annoyance can build up. The fiftieth time someone interrupts a real conversation with a pun, and repeats the pun if nobody gives them the laugh or at least groan they want, it becomes something like "yeah, guy, we heard you. If it was funny someone would have laughed. Stop interrupting the conversation to get attention. It's not as clever as you think it is."

As someone else mentioned, it sounds like the pun only works if you pronounce Tudor incorrectly, which could repeat a trend of Americans assuming they are right without regard to other cultures, and demonstrating that they haven't valued putting any effort in to learn this. 172.69.22.236 14:52, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

I could be wrong, but it sounds decisively like you think you're right without regard for our culture! You're also lumping all Americans into a single group in your comment, which is at least inappropriate, if not worse. Ultimately, we can say it however we want to say it, and you can do the same! Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 19:35, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

That trap only lacked a large sign "please put your foot in", but you didn´t miss the opportunity anyways. ;)) --162.158.91.17 21:27, 30 January 2020 (UTC)

That is such a peculiarly British form of humor: "I'm going to say something rude, offensive, bizarre, and preferably all of the above. When you are annoyed and call my attention to it I'm going to say that it was a trap and you fell for it." The biggest problem for an American (and probably a Canadian, as well) is that the British think in ways that are so similar to us that we often forget that they really are quite a bit different. When I'm talking to someone from Puerto Rico or Japan or Germany I know that, even though they speak perfectly comprehensible American English, they have a rather different culture and different standards of what is appropriate and what is amusing. With a British person it's very easy to forget how weird you really are. (See what I did there? See how I'm calling your attention to it before the 'trap' is sprung?)172.69.63.175 18:29, 31 January 2020 (UTC)

My penny wasn't dropping, and neither was my yod, so I added some explanation about that to the main text. --IByte (talk) 13:15, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

Poe's Law. 172.70.126.211 16:45, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

Given that the Tudors descend from the Welsh "Sir Tudur" (his sons being "ap Tudur", 'ap' in P-Celtic being equivalent to 'Mac'/'Mc' in Q-Celtic, and from thence trailled the dynasty that eventually became Henry (VII) Tudor and the rest of them), the South-Walian accent renders both vowels as /i/ (or maybe /i:/ for the first), or in North Wales /y/ (like the Germanic ü?), not likw the Welsh 'w' ("bws" is the public transport vehicle). The Tudurs of Penmynydd are Northern (Anglesean) but with Ceredigion lands too (mid-Southern, and nobody can really agree whether Aberystwyth is North or South, equally difficult to get to from everywhere else!) so you can take your choice on that one! 141.101.107.144 17:43, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

FALLIN LAKE AR - Kobe?

Missing the point(e) ?

Is it just me or is the explanation missing the point that the "Reaction Maps" are the same level of pun as the original play on "Tudor" and "two door", i.e. having different words that are pronounced similarily? Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 15:44, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

I do not get that one (likely due to my bad accent, and limited vocabulary) - what is reaction maps supposed to sound like? --Lupo (talk) 06:58, 30 January 2020 (UTC)

No, I didn't mean that literally for "Reaction maps" but for what the maps are showing. :) Especially "Saari" -> "Sorry" seems to be a veeery far fetch to me. Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 09:35, 30 January 2020 (UTC)

That´s an (the?) elementary property of a *pun*, isn´t it? Because in space, no one can hear you groan. --162.158.91.17 21:27, 30 January 2020 (UTC)

Saari is impossible to get to sorry if you speak any amount of Finnish. "Truly island to lose a friendship this way" 172.69.194.5 13:36, 10 December 2021 (UTC)

I like map humor. To Randall I say: Utah Man(itoba)--108.162.241.32 12:07, 31 January 2020 (UTC) Thanks all because I missed the point so much (but I'm French originally, and my accent is surely one of the most French you can think of) 162.158.155.38 14:49, 5 February 2020 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that last one is left oriented, i.e. a received reply, but I don't wanna edit it when I can barely do this comment right 162.158.74.35 02:55, 18 September 2020 (UTC)