Talk:1490: Atoms

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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"My dad FORM the dog"? Typo in the actual comic or just the wiki? 199.27.128.240 05:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)Anonymous

The actual comment, the wiki just grabs what the website has listed.--108.162.216.24 05:56, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
Generally in cases like this, it's customary to add [sic] to indicate any typoes [sic] or grammarization [sic] mistakes in the original techs. [sic]. KieferSkunk (talk) 19:55, 23 February 2015 (UTC) [sic]

plutonium = radiation exposure, or pacemaker?

Radiation exposure wouldn't give you plutonium, maybe the byproducts of its fission. I'm thinking that, whatever it is, it mutated Beret Guy in the womb, hence why he has this strange superpower.--Druid816 (talk) 06:52, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
Referencing Pink Floyd's 1970 album 'Atom Heart Mother' I think.--108.162.225.122 07:25, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

this guy sees by which elements are contained, not by which visible light? --199.27.128.172 06:14, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Are the elements actually representing their atomic symbols? Be, O, S, Z? Not sure what the metal-in-the-face comment is about.

--108.162.250.156 07:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

A deliberate BeOS reference? 141.101.99.4 14:12, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
Metal in the face might be a comment on braces, and how uncomfortable people are about having noticable ones. --

141.101.104.41 08:37, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Are there braces that aren't very noticeable? I can see adults being a little uncomfortable, but they're ocmmon enough on kids that kids aren't going to be uncomfortable with them. 108.162.215.98 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
(Dental) fillings are explicitly mentioned as a possible source of metal. --188.114.102.75 09:26, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps the plutonium is coming from his mother smoking? 141.101.99.102 08:51, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Possibly a reference to Silkwood? DaveHowe (talk) 20:36, 23 February 2015 (UTC)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States#Plutonium_experiments Andries (talk) 09:02, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

I read it as both his mother and him beeing a robot or cyborg, which she never told him. 141.101.75.77 09:30, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I rather thought it might be a Terminator 2 reference (based on the scene in which the T-1000 replaces John Connor's mother.) 141.101.99.4 14:12, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
The first thing I thought was Terminator, but in looking at their wiki there's no plutonium reference for their fuel cells, as far as I can tell (http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Fuel_cell). 108.162.215.98 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
I also assumed it was a reference to some kind of nuclear powered cyborg. Being partially composed of electronic parts could also account for his unusually high levels of Zinc and could explain why he sees people as a list of their constituent particles. 173.245.55.29 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

-- did the radiation give him those superpowers? 108.162.222.204 11:05, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

He can't distinguish Dad and Dog, so he wasn't a genious back then. So what if the Plutonium wasn't a super complex mysterium, just one of the most important things for an infant, her breasts (in this case maby big ons). 141.101.92.108 11:44, 23 February 2015 (UTC) Pietro

I agree with 141.101.80.53. Beret Guy is answering Megan's question about what is wrong with him, not being arrogant. Arrogant would be out of character for Beret Guy, but giving an unusual answer to a rhetorical question would be true to character. mwburden (talk) 12:42, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps too oddball a theory, but maybe his mom was actually a spacecraft powered by plutonium (e.g. Galileo(spacecraft)), making his father a planet and the dog a moon. 173.245.56.182 12:43, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Wouldn't the dog need to be a dwarf planet? :) 108.162.250.156 12:54, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
What would that make him? Mikemk (talk) 21:48, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

When I read the alt text the first time around, I read it as platinum and figured Randall meant an IUD... perhaps that was a typo on his part as well (much like the "form" typo mentioned above)? Can't figured out another reasonable plutonium explanation. --Canned Soul (talk) 14:28, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

If you Google "plutonium in IUDs" you get some interesting results.  Perhaps early copper IUDs contained a small amount of incidental plutonium?108.162.216.191 19:26, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

I like the plutonium experiments reverence, but are strongly against the suggestion in the explanation that Pu is not found in nature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium#Occurrence Do NOT diss Oklo! Oklo is badass! Tier666 (talk) 15:23, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Not sure if it's an inspiration, but this is an example of people not knowing what common human experiences they are missing (see: http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/03/17/what-universal-human-experiences-are-you-missing-without-realizing-it/). Also, "or she was the victim of unethical medical experimentation. Thus the probable reason for his abnormality." is ridiculous - no amount of medical experimentation will cause this. The probable reason for his abnormality is magic. 108.162.241.17 15:35, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Agree: I removed "Thus the probable reason for his abnormality." 141.101.98.217 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

I believe that the "Too Much Zinc?" - is an answer to what might be wrong with him, not a retort to Megan's tone. In fact, zinc is linked to eyesight, see for instance https://www.nei.nih.gov/news/pressreleases/101201 and other sources, and this "zinc overdose" might be believed by white beret guy to relate to his "super-human" eyesight? 141.101.80.53

The link to the UPPU club (You Pee Pu) appears to be broken. EDIT: fixed now, thanks whoever fixed it. 108.162.249.181 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Did anyone else notice that this is the second comic in a row about elementary particles? I suspect a series coming up. Mikemk (talk) 21:48, 23 February 2015 (UTC)