Editing 96: Mail

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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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[[Cueball]]'s interlocutor is working their way through a list of increasingly impractical or impossible suggestions for things to send through postal mail. The pay-off is that they have already somehow sent a package of time through the mail, and this is taking a while to arrive, presumably because the amount of time it will take to reach the recipient is equal to the amount of time being sent. By the time it reaches Cueball, the time will have passed, and therefore not be of much use.
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We see [[Cueball]] on a phone with someone who sends various strange things through postal mail. The third panel is a pun on the usage of the phrase 'a lot of time.' Normally, this means that something will take a while to finish; in this case, however, it means it is literally a large quantity of time that is being sent.
  
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The reference to a 'package of time' could refer to {{w|Chronon|quantizing time}} ("discrete packets of time") - a theory that time is not continuous as particles in the {{w|quantum mechanics}}. It could be one of the big mistakes in modern science, but feels as if there's more to it, in the world of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.
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{{w|Chronon|Quantizing time}} ("discrete packets of time") is a theory that time is not continuous as particles in the {{w|quantum mechanics}}. It could be one of the big mistakes in modern science, but feels as if there's more to it, in the world of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.
  
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A no-fly list is a list of people who are not allowed to use commercial airlines for travel. In the United States, it is maintained by the {{w|Terrorist Screening Center}}. According to the title text, the person sending strange objects through mail is on a no-fly list for the {{w|United States Postal Service}} (USPS). While the USPS has a list of items banned from being shipped in the mail, which includes most consumer electronics with lithium batteries, it does not have such a list for people. This could suggest that this person has attempted to send so many strange items that USPS will no longer accept mail from him, or it could imply that they attempted, at one point, to send themselves via air mail, and have been banned from doing so again.
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The title text states that due to his habit of mailing strange things, he has been barred from sending mail through the {{w|United States Postal Service}} (USPS).
  
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This comic might be related to {{w|W. Reginald Bray}}, an Englishman from the turn of the 20th century, who was famous for [https://books.google.com/books?id=a0lxQwAACAAJ&dq=%22The+Englishman+Who+Posted+Himself+And+Other+Curious+Objects%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiT7aCB5eTMAhUlzoMKHQJPBkYQ6AEIHTAA mailing unusual objects] (including himself) to experiment with the postal system.
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A no fly list is a list of people who are not allowed to use commercial airlines for travel in the United States. It is maintained by the {{w|Terrorist Screening Center}}. Here, the person sending strange objects through mail is on the USPS no-fly-list for people. The joke here is that USPS does not have such a list for people. There is a list of items banned from being shipped by USPS, which includes most consumer electronics with lithium batteries. It could also imply that the sender attempted, at one point, to mail themselves via air mail.
 +
 
 +
This comic might be related to {{w|W. Reginald Bray}}, an Englishman from the turn of the 20th century, who was famous for mailing unusual objects (including himself) to experiment with the postal system ([https://books.google.com/books?id=a0lxQwAACAAJ&dq=%22The+Englishman+Who+Posted+Himself+And+Other+Curious+Objects%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiT7aCB5eTMAhUlzoMKHQJPBkYQ6AEIHTAA detailed link here]).
  
 
A list of the things:
 
A list of the things:
  
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*''A running chainsaw'': While a chainsaw may be mailed with appropriate precautions, a running chainsaw would be very dangerous to mail, assuming there was a constant power source.{{Citation needed}}
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A running chainsaw: While a chainsaw may be mailed with risks and precautions, a running chainsaw would be very dangerous to mail assuming there was a constant power source.
  
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*''A baby's first word'': This is a sound, and thus cannot be mailed. It could be recorded, and the recording mailed.
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A baby's first word: This is a sound, and thus can not be mailed. It can be recorded and the recording mailed.
  
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*''A blank stare'': This is abstract, and the closest to mailing it would be a picture.
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A blank stare: This is abstract, and the closest to mailing it would be a picture.
  
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*''A dizzying height'': Like the above, this is abstract. However, someone could conceivably package and mail a telescoping ladder, such that it would allow the recipient to reach a dizzying height.
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A dizzying height: Like the above, this is abstract. However, someone could conceivably package and mail a telescoping ladder, such that would allow the recipient to reach a dizzying height.
  
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*''Pi'': This is a mathematical term close to 3.141592653589793238462643383..., but it is infinitely precise and thus cannot be mailed to the full extent of its precision. However, with a compass and ruler, someone could draw a graph that would represent a line of length pi. (It would be considerably easier to mail pie, which is a homophone of pi...though also a poor substitute.)
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Pi: A mathematical term close to 3.141592653589793238462643383, but is infinitely precise and thus can not be mailed to the full extent of its precision. However someone could draw a graph with a compass and ruler, in which would be represented a line of length pi.
  
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*''Time'': This is completely abstract and cannot be mailed.{{Citation needed}}
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Time: This is completely abstract and cannot be mailed. {{Citation needed}}
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
−
:[Cueball is talking to someone through a phone.]
 
 
:Phone: Do you think I could mail a running chainsaw to someone?
 
:Phone: Do you think I could mail a running chainsaw to someone?
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:Cueball: I doubt it
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:Cueball: I doubt it.
 
:Phone: What about a baby's first word?
 
:Phone: What about a baby's first word?
 
:Cueball: Look, your obsession with sending strange things through the mail is getting out of hand.
 
:Cueball: Look, your obsession with sending strange things through the mail is getting out of hand.
−
 
 
:Phone: Can you mail a blank stare?
 
:Phone: Can you mail a blank stare?
 
:Phone: A dizzying height?
 
:Phone: A dizzying height?
 
:Phone: Pi?
 
:Phone: Pi?
 
:Cueball: ...
 
:Cueball: ...
−
 
 
:Phone: Well, did you at least get that package of time I sent you?
 
:Phone: Well, did you at least get that package of time I sent you?
 
:Cueball: I... you... no, I didn't.
 
:Cueball: I... you... no, I didn't.
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:Phone: Well, there was a lot of it, so it will probably take a while
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:Phone: Well, there was a lot of it, so it will probably take a while.
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Language]]
 
[[Category:Language]]

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