Editing 826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)

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| date      = November 26, 2010
 
| date      = November 26, 2010
 
| title    = Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)
 
| title    = Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)
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| before    = ''Explainxkcd note: Don't try and click on this image to see the exhibits. Visit [http://www.xkcd.com/826/ the actual comic] instead''
 
| image    = guest week zach weiner smbc.png
 
| image    = guest week zach weiner smbc.png
 
| titletext = Guest comic by Zach Weiner of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. When I was stressed out, Zach gave me a talk that was really encouraging and somehow involved nanobots.
 
| titletext = Guest comic by Zach Weiner of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. When I was stressed out, Zach gave me a talk that was really encouraging and somehow involved nanobots.
 
}}
 
}}
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{{TOC}}
 
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*To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|826|original comic}}.
 
  
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==Explanation==
 
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This comic is drawn by a guest webcomic artist, Zach Weiner (now Weinersmith), following the theme of "Guest Week". Zach is the author of the webcomic [http://www.smbc-comics.com/ Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]. The [http://www.xkcd.com/826/ original comic] is interactive. It will show images of the exhibits (see below) by clicking on them.
 
  
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The entire comic is a hypothetical "{{w|Smithsonian Museum}} of Dad-Trolling, an entire building dedicated to deceiving children for amusement." It is a common occurrence that curious children will ask simple questions about science to their parents, such as, "Daddy, why is the sky blue?" and a parent could respond, "Well Susie, the sky is blue to match your dress."
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==List of tasks to make explanation complete==
  
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''Guest Week'' was a series of five comics written by five other comic authors. They were released over five consecutive days (Monday-Friday); not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.<br>
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{{incomplete|See below.}}
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The five comics are:
 
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*[[822: Guest Week: Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content)]]
 
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*[[823: Guest Week: David Troupes (Buttercup Festival)]]
 
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*[[824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)]]
 
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*[[825: Guest Week: Jeffrey Rowland (Overcompensating)]]
 
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*[[826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)]]
 
  
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#Not all sections are explained.
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#The explanations of some sections are incomplete, not explaining the punchlines, or inconsistent in style of explanation.
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#Not all of the popups are fully explained.
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#Cross reference explanations to Wikipedia where possible.
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#Locations of hotspots are missing?
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#Review for grammar.
  
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===Hall of Misunderstood Science===
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==Explanation==
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Each exhibit is a display set up to reinforce the false, sarcastic, or exaggerated answers to typical questions that children may ask their parents about scientific topics. The answers given involve just enough information that the child may be satisfied with the answer and repeat it to others while maintaining the irony for adults that the answers are obviously misleading or false. These explanations may be given because the parent does not know how to explain the topic.
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This comic is guest drawn by Zach Weiner, author of the webcomic [http://www.smbc-comics.com/ Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]. It's interactive, so you'll have to see the [http://www.xkcd.com/826/ original comic].
  
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<gallery widths=432px heights=285px>
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The entire comic is a hypothetical "{{w|Smithsonian Museum}} of Dad-Trolling, an entire building dedicated to deceiving children for amusement." That explains it pretty well.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_27.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that basilisks exist, and that they live under your bed. The {{w|basilisk}} is a mythological reptilian monster that was described as having the ability to kill other living things with its gaze. This story might be believed by children because children often imagine that a monster or a dangerous creature is hiding under the bed at night, and verifying that the basilisk is under the bed and might kill the child would likely terrify the child.
 
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_26.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that "In my day" molecules did not exist, and everything was just atoms. Molecules are chains of atoms, and therefore more complex than atoms. This story might be believed by children because old people often tell unbelievable and questionably credible "In my day" stories about how different, or in this case less complicated, things when they where younger. This story may sound no less credible than these stories to a child. Like most "In my day" stories there is at least a grain of truth. The word atom has changed its meaning over time; at one time all discovered molecules were called {{w|atomism|atoms}}, as when they were modified their properties change. Also, according to the {{w|Big Bang}} theory, there was a period billions of years ago when the universe contained no molecules, yet still contained atoms.
 
  
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_25.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that magnets are only attracted to each other when they are teenagers. This is an inside joke that the child is not in on about how there is a loss of sexual desire in adults. This story might be believed because magnets are seen as mysterious and possibly magical by children.
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===Hall Of Misunderstood Science===
 +
Each exhibit is a display set up to reinforce the false answers to typical questions that children may ask their parents about scientific topics. The answers given involve just enough information that the child may be satisfied with the answer and repeat it to others while maintaining the irony for adults that the answers are obviously misleading or false.
  
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_24.png|In this exhibit the plaque on the statue of Jesus claims that {{w|snow}} is composed of Jesus' {{w|dandruff}}. This story might be believed because some children take the expression that {{w|rain}} is "God's tears", and this would be a logical extension.
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<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
−
 
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_27.png|The basilisk is a mythological reptilian monster that was described with the ability to turn other living things to stone with its gaze.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_20.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that the reason that there are only four components of {{w|DNA}} is because there where only four letters back then. The following letters describe the {{w|nucleotides}} that make up DNA chains: "G" {{w|guanine}}, "A" {{w|adenine}}, "T" {{w|thymine}}, and "C" {{w|cytosine}}. This story might be believed by children as DNA can be thought as an instruction set to build life. Instructions contain words, and therefore the letters G, A, T, and C can be thought of as the letters that the words in the instructions are made from.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_26.png|The figure speaking about molecule display is displaying a common trope attributed to elderly men in that they complain about developments that change the way the view or interact with the world. Historically, though it was understood that matter was made up of small particles it was a common misnomer to refer to these particle as atoms.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_25.png|The magnet exhibit alludes to a loss of sexual desire in adults that while perceived may not be true.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_23.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that you are more vulnerable to the {{w|Bogeyman|boogie man}} when you are sleeping. "The Boogie Man" is a common legend used to scare young kids; he typically hides in closets and underneath beds, and attacks sleeping children. This story might be believed by children as some believe in the boogie man.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_24.png|Jesus' dandruff as snow refers to a common idiom in English that rain is "god's tears" and proposes a humorous and irreverent extension of the saying.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_20.png|The letters associated with DNA are related to the nucleotides which make up the chains, they are guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine. The commonality of the abbreviation disguises the link to the names of the nucleotides and gives rise questions regarding the letter choices.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_22.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that water increases its size to frighten {{w|predator|predators}}. {{w|Ice}} is less dense than liquid {{w|water}}. This is an unusual property as most materials are more dense in solid form. This might be believed by a child because many animals appear to increase their size to frighten away other threatening animals. A {{w|rhinoceros}}, although not traditionally a predator, would be a predator of water.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_23.png|The sleep exhibit reinforces common fears by accentuating the aspect of vulnerability associated with sleep. "The Boogieman" is a common and generic ghost/monster name used by people telling ghost stories to young kids; he typically hides in closets and underneath beds, and attacks sleeping children.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_22.png|Water is less dense as a solid than it is when in liquid state. This is an unusual property as most materials are more dense in solid form. The exhibit falsely explains the phenomenon by linking it to a defense mechanism employed by prey species to deter predators. A rhinoceros, though fierce and territorial, is not a predator.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_21.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that {{w|antimatter|anti-matter}} is composed of half {{w|ant}} and half matter. The prefix ''{{Wiktionary|anti-}}'' means "the opposite of", but also can sound like ''ant-y''. The suffix ''{{Wiktionary|-y}}'' would make ''anty'' a neologism meaning "having the quality of or involving ants". Children might believe that matter involving ants could in fact be composed of both ants and matter. Antimatter is also referenced in [[683: Science Montage]],  [[1621: Fixion]] and [[1731: Wrong]] as well as being the subject of the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' ''{{what if|114|Antimatter}}''. It was also mentioned in another ''what if?'': ''{{what if|79|Lake Tea}}''.  
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_21.png|The anti- in anti matter is a prefix in English which means "the opposite of" referring to the fact that antimatter is made up of oppositely charged particles from regular matter. This is a partial homonym to species of insects commonly called ants.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
 
===Regrettable Pranks: An Interactive Experience===
 
===Regrettable Pranks: An Interactive Experience===
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This section holds falsehoods that a dad might use to frighten his children. Fear is often used to discourage children from disobeying their parents. It is an interactive experience, so visitors can try something for themselves, then learn the frightening fact it indicates.
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This section holds falsehoods that a dad might use to frighten his children. It is an interactive experience, so visitors can try something for themselves, then learn the frightening fact it indicates.
  
 
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
 
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_19.png|In this exhibit the sign claims that helium makes your voice higher because you are about to explode. Helium makes your voice high-pitched, because sound travels faster in helium than in air (79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen), and it does not explode because it is a noble gas; although it could rupture containers in accordance with the {{w|combined gas law}}, which governs the relationship between pressure, temperature and volume: i.e. if a balloon is over-inflated or exposed to heat, it will burst. This story might be used by parents to discourage children from inhaling helium. This story might regrettably convince a child that they are dying after they inhale helium. On the other hand, it can be dangerous to inhale helium from a gas container if the pressure is too high. So maybe better scared than dead.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_19.png|Helium makes your voice high-pitched, which visitors are told is a sign they are about to explode.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_18.png|Your middle finger is always longer than the others, so this test will always tell visitors they are an alien half-breed.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_18.png|In this exhibit the sign claims that if your middle finger is longer than all the others, you are an alien half-breed. For almost all people the middle finger is longer than all the others. This story might be used by parents to tease their children. This story might regrettably convince a child that one of their parents is an alien, and therefore not to be trusted. Another possibility is that everyone is an alien half-breed, and therefore, their progeny are also alien half-breeds.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_16.png|Cherries are a common ingredient in Jello cups, but the exhibit implies that the cherry is actually a rabbit brain.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_17.png|
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_16.png|In this exhibit the sign claims that one of the cups of {{w|Jell-O|Jello}} had a rabbit brain instead of a cherry. Cherries are a common ingredient in gelatin based deserts. One cup is missing and in the hands of the child, possibly eaten. This story might be used by parents to tease their children, or discourage them from eating more dessert. This story might regrettably convince a child that they ate the brain of a small cute fluffy animal.
 
−
 
 
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_17.png|In this exhibit the sign claims that monsters will eat you if you do not make your bed. In some stories monsters specifically prey on children. This story might be used by parents to encourage children to make their beds. This story might regrettably convince a child that there are monsters under their beds and frighten them so they can not sleep.
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
 
===Concessions===
 
===Concessions===
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This area holds concession stands, which sell food. There are misleading names on each stand. The pop-outs in this section are based on jokes parents tell their children to frighten them about food.
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This area holds concession stands, which sell food. There are misleading names on each stand.
  
 
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
 
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_15.png|In this exhibit the marquee announces the name of the concession stand as KFP. The parent claims that the "P" stands for phoenix, and the operator adds "also ponies". KFP is a parody of Kentucky Fried Chicken ({{w|KFC}}), a popular fast food chain which specializes in fried chicken. A phoenix is a mythical bird that throws it self into a fire and later rises from the ashes. This story might be believed by children because phoenixes are birds and a fried one may look similar to a chicken.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_15.png|KFP - a parody of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), a popular fast food chain which specializes in fried chicken.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_14.png|Ground beef - a pun on the name. Ground refers to both the floor and the past tense of grind.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_14.png|In this exhibit the marquee announces that the concession stand sells {{w|ground beef}} and further explains that ground beef is beef that is found on the ground. The word "ground" here refers to the floor or dirt, but can also be the past tense of the word "grind". This story might be believed by children because the words are spelled and pronounced the same.
+
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_13.png|Eyes cream - wordplay once more. Ice cream sounds exactly like eyes cream when spoken, hence the 'how did you think it was spelled?'
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_13.png|In this exhibit the marquee announces that the concession stand sells {{w|ice cream}} and claims that ice cream is really spelled eyes cream, and always composed of eyeballs. This story might be believed by children because the words "eyes cream" sounds similar to "ice cream".
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
 
===Conservatory of Poorly Remembered History===
 
===Conservatory of Poorly Remembered History===
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Each exhibit is a display set up to reinforce the false, sarcastic, or exaggerated answers to typical questions that children may ask their parents about history. The answers given involve just enough information that the child may be satisfied with the answer and repeat it to others while maintaining the irony for adults that the answers are obviously misleading or false. These explanations may be given because the parent does not know how to explain the topic.
+
This section perhaps refers to how poorly understood world history is in America. It is interesting to note that African and Australian history is completely omitted, while European and Asian history are at least referenced to.
  
 
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
 
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_11.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that {{w|Genghis Khan}} achieved his victories by using dragons. Genghis Khan was a Mongolian conqueror who conquered almost all of Asia and much of Europe founding the {{w|Mongol Empire}}, and creating the largest continuous land empire in history. This story might be believed by children because some children associate magical and other fantastic elements with the past instead of fantasy.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_11.png|{{w|Genghis Khan|Genghis Khan}} - a Mongolian conqueror.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_12.png|{{w|Crimean War|Crimean War}} - an European Conflict.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_12.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that the {{w|Crimean War}} was a war on crime. The Crimean War is an often forgotten Eastern European conflict between Russia and a European coalition (including France, which the comic also pretends doesn't exist) with aims to stop Russia's expansion. This story might be believed by children because adding an "a" to a people group sometimes is used to create a country name, making Crimea sounds similar to a nation of criminals. Also worth noting is that the criminal depicted in the mural appears to be the {{w|Hamburgler}}, a McDonald's mascot.  
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_10.png|{{w|The Renaissance|The Renaissance}} - a cultural movement in Europe.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_3.png|Star Wars - fiction is often treated as fact by children, or referred to as such by adults to children, either accidentally or purposefully.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_10.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that wizards were in control during {{w|The Renaissance}}. The Renaissance is a cultural movement in Europe that took place after the Dark Ages. This story might be believed by children because some children associate magical and other fantastic elements with the past instead of fantasy.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_9.png|France - this further parodies the ignorance of countries outside of America, since most people know that France exists.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_3.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that {{w|Star Wars}} is actual history. Star Wars is a fantastical science fiction movie. This story might be believed by children because the movie begins "a long time ago in a galaxy far away", and some children associate magical and other fantastic elements with the past instead of fantasy.  The "veteran" presented here appears to be wearing a fake beard as part of his costume.
 
−
 
 
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_9.png|In this exhibit the poster claims that {{w|France}} does not exist. The adult in the comic continues to attempt to convince the children that France does not exist. This is supposed to be funny because the knowledge of France as a country is common. This may be parodying the global warming debate, a common theme in both XKCD and SMBC. It may also be a reference to the {{w|Bielefeld Conspiracy}}.  
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
 
===Rotunda of Uncomfortable Topics===
 
===Rotunda of Uncomfortable Topics===
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Each exhibit is a display set up to explain uncomfortable topics that children may ask their parents about. The answers given so that the children do not ask further questions.
 
−
 
 
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
 
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_8.png|In this exhibit the sign on the box covering up a couple in bed claims that naked wrestling is perfectly normal, but kids should never engage in it. "Naked wrestling" is a euphemism for sex. A parent may give this explanation if a child walks in on their parents having sex and they have to come up with an explanation on the spot, or they feel that the children are too young to know about sex.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_8.png|"Naked wrestling" is a common euphemism for sex if your children happen to walk in on your coitus and you don't want to ruin their innocence.
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+
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_7.png|"Alcohol is poison" - an excuse to explain away why fathers may drink unhealthily, or are addicts.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_7.png|In this exhibit the sign over the stand claims your parents drink alcohol to prevent you from drinking it as alcohol is a poison. This is technically true, as alcohol is a toxin. A parent may give this explanation to a child who asks their parents why they drink alcohol if it is bad for you, and did not want to explain the pleasurable experience of alcohol because it might encourage children to drink.
+
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_5.png|The "big tummies before babies come" obviously refers to pregnancy.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_6.png|Sidestepping around the death of a loved one is common with young children to spare them the sorrow of death; this takes it a step further by saying that the child's grandmother went to Saturn.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_5.png|In this exhibit the banner claims that mommies have big tummies because storks like chubby girls. According to some childhood stories storks deliver babies. Also, there are men who prefer heavy women; these men are often called chubby chasers. A parent may give this explanation to a child who asks why, if a stork delivers babies, their mother is changing while she is pregnant, and the parent continues to try to avoid the topic of sex.
 
−
 
 
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_6.png|In this exhibit the sign claims that grandma did not die, but is going back to Saturn. The choice of Saturn as grandma's destination is appropriate because the god Saturn was associated with aging, as in "Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age" from ''{{w|The Planets}}''. Some parents tell their children that their loved ones have gone away instead of telling them the truth, that their loved ones are dead. Going to Saturn "for revenge" is added for comic value. A parent may give this explanation to avoid causing their child pain.
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
 
===Miscellaneous===
 
===Miscellaneous===
 
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
 
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px>
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_4.png|In this exhibit the marquee claims that {{w|dinosaur|dinosaurs}} are made of bones only. The fossil record includes the imprints of the other tissues of dinosaurs including skin, nails, teeth, and feathers. This story might be believed by children because the majority of all displays of dinosaurs in museums only include bones.
+
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_4.png|The dinosaur skeleton presumably refers to how humans have never actually seen a real dinosaur and have always only seen the bones.
−
 
+
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_2.png|The Bathrooms have 3 doors.  Clicking reveals that there is one for each gender of humans, and one for "Korgmen & Spangs". This may be a reference to the Marvel alien species {{w|Korg_(comics)|the Korg}}.
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_2.png|The restrooms have 3 doors.  Clicking reveals that there the two standard gendered restrooms found in the majority of public buildings, and another one for "Korgmen & Spangs" which does not correspond to any known human trait. This could be a reference to the Marvel alien species {{w|Korg_(comics)|the Korg}}.
+
File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_1.png|The uncategorized dark green exhibit to the right is labeled "Magic eye trick that doesn't actually work". The exhibit resembles an {{w|autostereogram}}, a picture that has a hidden 3D image, but has to be looked at by forcing your eyes to focus either beyond ("wall-eyed") or in front of ("cross-eyed") the image, which many people find difficult or impossible to do. Autostereograms are commonly sold in books under the trademark "Magic Eye". Presumably the exhibit only pretends to be an autostereogram without actually being one.
−
 
 
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File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_1.png|In this exhibit the sign (which the children can not see) explains that the "{{w|Magic Eye}} poster" contains no hidden images. Magic Eye is a company that sells {{w|autostereogram}}s in books. Autostereograms contain a "hidden" three-dimensional image that can only be seen by converging one's eyes towards a point other than upon the poster itself. This takes time and many people find it difficult or impossible to do.
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
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