702: Snow Tracking

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Snow Tracking

Title text: I suppose that's more accurately a hare dryer.

Explanation

This comic is a guide to recognizing various animals by their footprints. However, the comic typically detours into strange, ridiculous or pop-culture-referencing footprints. In order:

• "Moose and squirrel" is a reference to the cartoon Rocky and Bullwinkle. Rocky and Bullwinkle were a flying squirrel and a moose, respectively, and were frequently referred to as "moose and squirrel" by the show's antagonist Boris Badenov.

• Longcat is an internet meme from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long).

• Mouse riding Bicycle is a reference to Ralph S. Mouse, a series of novels by Beverly Cleary.

• The title text is a pun on the Rabbit with a hair dryer frame.

• Legolas is a reference to the character by the same name in the Lord of the Rings trilogy of books and movies. Legolas, as an elf, was able to walk on top of snow, while the other races in his party were forced to trudge through it.

• The "Knight" panel is a chess reference, as the tracks move just like the knight piece in chess.

• The two "Kid with" frames are a reference to the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. In it, Calvin would crawl in a cardboard box to do various things. When upside down, he pretended the box was a "transmogrifier" and could turn him into something else, in this case his tiger Hobbes, whereas when on its side, the box was a duplicator and could produce multiple clones of Calvin.

• Prius is a reference to current events in which Toyota Prius's pedals have allegedly malfunctioned causing accidents. [1]

• The final frame is the Higgs Boson which is an elementary particle which has recently been detected in the Large Hadron Collider.

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect. If you see a way to improve it, edit it! Thanks.

Transcript

BACKYARD SNOW TRACKING GUIDE

[Each panel contains an overhead view of tracks through the snow, with a caption indicating the apparent source.]

[Standard paw prints through the snow.]

CAT

[Large split-toe tracks and smaller rodent tracks.]

MOOSE AND SQUIRREL

[Cat prints, but with more space between the pairs of prints.]

LONGCAT

[Two similar careening tire tracks.]

MOUSE RIDING BICYCLE

[Longer rodent tracks, with a large melted ring surrounding a point in the middle of the frame.]

RABBIT STOPPING TO USE HAIR DRYER

[No visible tracks.]

LEGOLAS

[Single deep holes with cratering.]

BOBCAT ON POGO STICK

[Round prints that suddenly turn to the right halfway into frame.]

KNIGHT

[Human footprints up to a square melting pattern, turning into animal prints.]

KID WITH TRANSMOGRIFIER

[Human footprints up to a rectangular melted area, which are then doubled to another rectangular area, which are then doubled again up to another rectangular area, which are then doubled.]

KID WITH DUPLICATOR

[Right curve on a road, with tire tracks careening out of frame.]

Out of Frame Garden Owner: MY VEGETABLE GARDEN!

PRIUS

[A series of spiraling and outwardly traveling lines extend from a point in the middle of the frame.]

HIGGS BOSON

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