1092: Michael Phelps

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Michael Phelps

Title text: [shortly] ... he ate ALL of it!?

Description

Michael Phelps is an American Olympic swimmer, which could easily be considered the "fastest swimmer": he is an impressively multiple Olympic champion, actually the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, with 18 gold medals in particular (won in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 summer Olympics).

This comic is a take on the idea that, fast as Michael Phelps may be, there is still some crazy idea that could stop him (or slow him down at least), which is to turn the water into Jello, a gelatine product, by simply dropping a huge quantity of Jello powder in the pool.

In the comic, Cueball and Megan try to get rid of Michael Phelps who is swimming in Megan's pool. As they can't catch him since he's too fast of a swimmer (and he taunts them about it), Cueball resorts to the Jello idea, bringing big boxes of Jello powder, to stop and catch him.

However, according to the title text, after having waited the time necessary for the water to turn into Jello, Cueball realizes that Phelps ate all the produced Jello. This may be a reference to the fact that Olympic athletes are used to eat LOTS of calories to keep up with their strenuous exercise regimens. Phelps specifically consumes about 12,000 calories daily^[1].

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Discussion

Jello was actually put into a swimming pool in the pseudo-science TV show "Braniacs".

I wonder whether Randall was aware of the pool experiment (http://research.cems.umn.edu/cussler/pool/). Maybe concrete would be the better choice to slow a swimmer down. BKA (talk) 08:44, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

Would Jello powder dropped in a pool solidify? Does Jello need to be boiled to solidify, or does that just speed things up? TheHYPO (talk) 13:54, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

I doubt the gelatin just added to the pool would work. It needs to be heated to dissolve, and it will melt/dissolve is reheated. But at room temperature, it gels. So I suspect dumping powdered gelatin in room temperature water would just sink. --Blaise Pascal

I don't think heat is required to dissolve Jell-o -- I think it just helps. Agitation (say, an Olympic swimming doing laps) should be sufficient. However, refrigeration helps a lot in gelling, so it'll take quite a while at room (actually outdoor) temperature. Then we have the question of Chlorine, which has a very high pH (very alkali). The acid (low pH) content of some fruits prevents gelling, so they can't be used with Jell-o. It's unclear what effect the caustic would have. --- James Curran

I like thinking that Cueball has four giant boxes of Jello mix somewhere nearby, just to be prepared. --DanB (talk) 15:17, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

It's the Hammerspace! :D --Waldir (talk) 15:48, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

Wow, I didn't know about that! I kinda feel like I'm one of the Ten Thousand today. --DanB (talk) 16:07, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

You're welcome ;) --Waldir (talk) 18:40, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

There is no time scale, maybe between the two pictures, he had enough time to buy it from a store. Hammertime ;) BKA (talk) 09:29, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

Yes, especially since xkcd characters are known to have waited a long time in the same place :) --Waldir (talk) 12:11, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

Shouldn't aggravation of the jello as it solidifies turn it back into a liquid, or at least chunky liquid. Jason.

Gee, 12000 calories! How often does he have to go to the toilet each day??

Wouldn't using custard powder be better? It would turn it into a non-Newtonian liquid. See Mythbusters and/or Brainiacs 203.26.122.12 03:56, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

I thought this comic was also a reference to Strong Bad Email #187 (http://www.hrwiki.org/wiki/winter_pool) where Strong Bad and Homestar get stuck in a pool of jello, and the king of town has to come eat them out. 174.138.210.105 03:53, 31 March 2013 (UTC)

he must've been very sick after eating the jello because of the chlorine (and it was a lot of jello) Xyz (talk) 11:45, 27 July 2013 (UTC)

Not to forget that he lost a medium to swim in. Tharkon (talk) 01:29, 27 July 2014 (UTC)

"Quirky, yet simple trick?" That sounds like an advertisement. "This man invented one weird trick for removing Olympic swimmers from your pool! Michael Phelps HATES him!" 108.162.238.144 22:33, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

I'd almost want to live in a world where that's such a common problem it's a click bait title... -Pennpenn 108.162.250.162 06:22, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

So this guy actually did all the calculations and experiments to fill a pool with proper jello if you're interested https://youtu.be/DPZzrlFCD_I

I love Mark Rober lmao Psychoticpotato (talk) 13:37, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

Also, I like the image of Michael just unhinging his jaw to eat the entire pool, with maybe some tiling too. I casually do this with Jello cups sometimes. Freaks the hell out of my friends.