Editing 499: Scantron

{{comic
| number    = 499
| date      = November 3, 2008
| title     = Scantron
| image     = scantron.png
| titletext = Also, after all the warnings about filling in the bubbles completely, I spent like 30 seconds on each one.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a take on the instructions "Remember to use a #2 pencil on the Scantron" that most modern students in the US have heard many, '''''many''''' times, a warning that seems unnecessary to many because #2 pencils are the most common type of pencil, and most students wouldn't have any other kind. {{w|Scantron}}s are standardized {{w|Machine-readable data|machine-readable papers}} used by students to answer multiple-choice tests. Often, the instructor will remind students to use a #2 pencil, which is a US classification of {{w|pencil hardness}} and equivalent to the {{w|Pencil#Grading_and_classification|HB}} term that is used in Europe. #2 pencils use a medium-hardness graphite considered ideal for Scantron use because the graphite is soft enough to leave a dark mark but hard enough to not smudge, both aspects that improve the performance of machine-readable paper. [[Miss Lenhart]] seems to have given her class one of these tests. 

The joke is that the student used a #3 (or 'H') pencil, which has a slightly harder graphite rating, as opposed to the #2. Instructors and examiners usually place great emphasis on using a #2 pencil, as if not using one would lead to dire consequences, but without explaining why. The comic jokingly suggests that these consequences would include causing the grading machine to explode, <s>killing</s> seriously harming people nearby and leaving a bloody mess.

The title text refers to the instruction to "fill in all the bubbles completely." This again improves the performance of machine-readable paper. The student states that he spent an inordinate amount of time making sure his markings were perfect because he had been warned so many times to do so, but five seconds is usually enough.

==Transcript==
:[A classroom scene. There are two desks, and the front one is occupied by the student. Miss Lenhart stands panel right facing the student.]
:Miss Lenhart: Okay class, I've turned in your exams for grading. Now—
:Student: Miss Lenhart?

:[View is now simply student in desk and teacher. The student is holding a pencil. Miss Lenhart looks horrified.]
:Student: I used a #3 pencil instead of a #2. Will that mess anything up?
:Miss Lenhart: You '''WHAT?'''

:[Miss Lenhart stands leaning forward, covering her face and the back of her head and notably ruffled hair, in front of an off-panel right explosion. The unseen speaker is off-panel right.]
:''AIEEE''
:'''''BLAM'''''
:Unseen speaker: OH GOD!

:[The student and Miss Lenhart are on the left. The student looks shocked, and Miss Lenhart is now covering her face with both hands. The unseen speaker is still off to the right.]
:Unseen speaker: Oh god! I've never seen so much blood!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]