Difference between revisions of "999: Cougars"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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| title    = Cougars
 
| title    = Cougars
 
| image    = cougars.png
 
| image    = cougars.png
| imagesize =
 
 
| titletext = If you're lying in bed tonight and you see yellow eyes glinting in your window, are you being stalked by a puma, a mountain lion, a panther, a catamount, or a cougar? Trick question--in North America, they're all names for the same species, Puma concolor! Isn't learning fun? Anyway, sleep tight!
 
| titletext = If you're lying in bed tonight and you see yellow eyes glinting in your window, are you being stalked by a puma, a mountain lion, a panther, a catamount, or a cougar? Trick question--in North America, they're all names for the same species, Puma concolor! Isn't learning fun? Anyway, sleep tight!
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Randall]] is giving reason 58 why he should not have children. We see fictitious "father [[Cueball]]" talking about the Wikipedia entry for the list of fatal cougar attacks in North America. {{w|List of fatal cougar attacks in North America|Here's}} the link so you can look for yourself.
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[[Randall]] is giving reason number 58 why he should not have children. We see fictitious "father [[Cueball]]" talking about the Wikipedia entry for the list of fatal cougar attacks in North America. {{w|List of fatal cougar attacks in North America|Here's}} the link so you can look for yourself.
  
And the reason he should not have children is the fact that he can't resist himself when learning and sharing knowledge about the world (from Wikipedia). Usually, when you have kids and you learn scary things, you should not share it with them. {{w|List of fatal cougar attacks in North America|This is the article Cueball is reading}}.
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And the reason he should not have children is the fact that he can't resist himself when learning and sharing knowledge about the world (from Wikipedia).
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When you have kids and you learn scary things, you should not share it with them. You should also not share new info in a manner that would cause nightmares, sleeplessness, or other psychological problems in your kids, as the title text suggests.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
[Parent is sitting at a computer; child is standing behind.]
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:[Cueball is sitting at a computer; a child is standing behind.]
 
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:Cueball: Whoa, ever seen Wikipedia's list of people who were attacked and killed by cougars?
Parent: Whoa, ever seen Wikipedia's list of people who were attacked and killed by cougars?
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:Cueball: Crazy how many of them were kids who were just playing outside their houses.
 
 
Parent: Crazy how many of them were kids who were just playing outside their houses.
 
  
Reason #58 I should never have children: My love of learning and sharing knowledge about the world.
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:Reason #58 I should never have children: My love of learning and sharing knowledge about the world.
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Revision as of 06:28, 21 February 2014

Cougars
If you're lying in bed tonight and you see yellow eyes glinting in your window, are you being stalked by a puma, a mountain lion, a panther, a catamount, or a cougar? Trick question--in North America, they're all names for the same species, Puma concolor! Isn't learning fun? Anyway, sleep tight!
Title text: If you're lying in bed tonight and you see yellow eyes glinting in your window, are you being stalked by a puma, a mountain lion, a panther, a catamount, or a cougar? Trick question--in North America, they're all names for the same species, Puma concolor! Isn't learning fun? Anyway, sleep tight!

Explanation

Randall is giving reason number 58 why he should not have children. We see fictitious "father Cueball" talking about the Wikipedia entry for the list of fatal cougar attacks in North America. Here's the link so you can look for yourself.

And the reason he should not have children is the fact that he can't resist himself when learning and sharing knowledge about the world (from Wikipedia).

When you have kids and you learn scary things, you should not share it with them. You should also not share new info in a manner that would cause nightmares, sleeplessness, or other psychological problems in your kids, as the title text suggests.

Transcript

[Cueball is sitting at a computer; a child is standing behind.]
Cueball: Whoa, ever seen Wikipedia's list of people who were attacked and killed by cougars?
Cueball: Crazy how many of them were kids who were just playing outside their houses.
Reason #58 I should never have children: My love of learning and sharing knowledge about the world.


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Discussion

Lesson on sometimes flawed logic: It may seem obvious to you, but if XKCD thought about this a little more I hope he would recognize that we would make the greatest father any child could hope for. XKCD could teach his child something that no school or university ever could: to simply be inquisitive and curious about the world around him just as much as XKCD is himself, that and make sure that there are no cougars and raptors in 100 mile radius of his child. - e-inspired 98.211.199.84 15:26, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

That said, he probably doesn't have a filter. Which would be disastrous in other ways besides horror. Anonymous 16:08, 5 December 2013 (UTC)

In the UK '999' is the emergency services number, i.e. our version of 911. Could that be deliberate/relevant? 172.71.242.207 02:54, 1 December 2023 (UTC)