explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2826: Gold

2023-09-09T16:02:11Z

172.69.134.6:

{{comic
| number = 2826
| date = September 8, 2023
| title = Gold
| image = gold_2x.png
| imagesize = 695x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It can be expensive to hire a professional spectroscopist for your wedding, but the quality of the spectra you get is worth it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a single married neutron stars! Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic depicts an often unheard explanation of why {{w|gold}} is a common {{w|wedding ring}} material; that humans chose it due to its symbolism in reference to its creation. Gold, as the comic states, is most commonly created in the merge of {{w|neutron star}}s; something which could be seen as a "marriage". However, it's likely that the original use of gold in wedding rings was before the discovery of how it was created {{citation needed}}, thus creating the joke of the comic.

Wedding receptions sometimes have a ''theme'', which is used to style the decorations and activities of the party. If the couple has a shared interest in something in popular culture (especially if this is how they met), they might use that as the theme. [[Megan]] suggests that "Binary Neutron Star Merger" would be a fun theme; this would probably only be true for astronomers or cosmologists{{citation needed}}. [[Cueball]] adds that an activity at such a wedding would be ejecting the bouguet at relativistic speeds; this is a reference to the traditional activity of the bride throwing her bouquet into the crowd, and whoever catches it is predicted to be the next to get married. The energy of neutron stars causes material to be ejected at a high fraction of the speed of light, giving them enormous amounts of energy based on Einstein's Theory of Relativity. If you caught such a bouquet at rest relative to the merger point, you would be destroyed by the energy, so everyone tries not to catch it in that fashion.{{citation needed}}

Continuing with the cosmological theme, the title text suggests that the wedding photographer would be a spectroscopist. {{w|Spectroscopy}}, which determines the composition of materials by splitting its light into a spectrum and analyzing the wavelengths that are strong and those that are missing, is a common way to study {{w|stars}}, {{w|nebulae}}, and other astronomical phenomena.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Cueball holding sparkling (likely gold) (also likely wedding) ring]
:Cueball: It kinda makes sense that we use gold for wedding rings.

:[Frame shifts to Cueball's head]
:Cueball: Because a lot of the universe's gold was probably produced by R-process nucleosynthesis when pairs of neutron stars spiraled together and merged.
:Cueball: So gold exists because two neutron stars got married.

:[Megan walks in from side towards Cueball]
:Megan: "Binary neutron star merger" would be a fun wedding theme.
:Cueball: Everyone has to try '''''not''''' to catch the relativistically-ejected bouquet.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]

Talk:2603: Childhood Toys

2023-05-28T22:59:25Z

172.69.134.6: /* Similar idea */

Tarzan would thrive commuting by tire swing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.69.68.170 ([[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.170|contribs]]• [[User_talk:172.69.68.170|talk]]) 22:11, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

How are a bicycle, scooter or wagon toys, or childlike. They're actually designed for commute and children aren't even allowed on scooters. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 22:45, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
:Wagon doesn't mean station wagon. Google "toy wagon" to see what he's referring to. And electric scooter is a motorized version of a common child's toy. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:56, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
::I didn't actually assume a station wagon, was thinking of the thing usually pulled by horses. And doesn't the fact that a 'toy wagon' exists suggest that a regular wagon is not a toy? And I thought a scooter was more like a motorized bicycle rather than a toy, like a motorcycle, but slower. And at least here, you'd need to be at least 16 years old and get a permit to drive one. Funny how the same word borrowed in a closely related language can suddenly carry such different meanings. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 23:17, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
:::Since the heading says "childhood toys", I think we're supposed to understand that he means a toy wagon. And the comic shows the kind of scooter he's talking about, not a motorized bike. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:27, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
::::Here in the UK, there are:
::::*Push-along-scooters (childs toys, steel-tubing, often red and blue painted/trimmed, maybe pink for girls) that you one-leg along. Around the turn of the millenium, the craze arrived for 'adult' versions (I got one!), mostly in bare and sturdier aluminium.
::::*The motorised vehicle that might also be called a 'moped' (such terms might be considered defamatory, by the proud owner of a Lambretta, etc, depending upon era and exactly which type of motored two-wheeler you're describing)
::::*Mobility scooters, i.e. four-wheel (sometimes three) electrical vehicles sometimes barely a seat/handlebars on a moving platform, others almost like a quad-bike (esp. off-road capable ones)
::::*Now (well, since the last few years) the illustrated kind that is electrically-powered version of the sturdier push-alongs.
::::...though (as I appended in a link), except for some very limited and controlled trial-schemes, it is actually ''illegal'' to use electric 'executive' scooters (the last category). Both on roads and pavements (i.e. sidewalks). They are not considered roadworthy, for the former, and riding on the pavement is illegal for various vehicles (including bicycles, though few know/care this). There's no special provision for the use of cycle-lanes (on-road) or cycle-paths (shared/split pavements, or bridlepath-level trails). The only place an otherwise unregulated electric-scooter can be ridden is 'private land'. Which means you'd have very little chance of commuting upon your own scooter, legally, only the sanctioned for-hire ones.
:::::I was in Austin, TX a few months ago, and companies like Lime Bike had pods of electric scooters (like the one in the comic) for rent on the streets. So the legality is very location-dependent. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:03, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
::::::This is a description of the situation in the UK (see link I put in main explanation), although the sanctioned rental schemes mentioned are the explicitly legal exception for the UK, in explicitly served areas... as long as you have a driver's licence and follow other rules. Looking at the US legality, it's probably as patchwork as you'd expect with federal/state/local laws doing their usual uncoordinated things... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.64|172.70.86.64]] 14:34, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
::::(There's no such restrection on e-bikes, except for a theoretical maximum speed/power before they should be considersd motorbikes rather than electrified-mopeds. They are as welcome on the roads as bicycles (which largely depends upon the motorists and their prejudices/impatience), and similarly as illegal to ride on pavements (though of course people do that!)...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 12:30, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
:Is this possibly a cultural difference? At least in the USA, I have definitely seen kids (maybe not much younger than 10, but still) using electric scooters. Wagons and bikes are definitely associated more with kids in the USA as well, because, unfortunately, cars are seen as the only "real," most viable, and most independent form of transport. (As I have heard others say, bikes are just what you use until you get a car.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.251|172.70.114.251]] 01:31, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
::Presumably. This puzzled me a lot too. Bicycles aren't remotely 'toys', nor are scooters really -- and I'm assuming here this don't mean scooters in the sense of a small motorbike. EDIT: as is obvious from the actual cartoon. [[User:Zoid42|Zoid42]] ([[User talk:Zoid42|talk]]) 08:49, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
:::In some areas of the US, bicycles are used solely for pleasure and exercise, not for actually getting anywhere. Partially because there isn't anything worth going to within an easy biking distance, and partially because the entire road system and the people who use it are often openly hostile to bicyclists.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.13|172.70.174.13]] 09:25, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
:It's surprising to see bikes listed as toys and not automobiles. Makes it seem like some new conservative meme has snuck into Randal. Weird comic for sure. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.251|172.70.114.251]] 21:24, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
::Not all the things listed are really toys, it's more that there are versions made for children, and you might well have had them as a child. You do not get automobiles aimed at children (with a few expensive exceptions), so that's why they are not in the list. The closest would be pedal cars and go-karts - I think they are the more notable exception. I would totally commute to work on an electic go-kart if I could. [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 09:13, 8 April 2022 (UTC)
::Yeah, I'm a bit surprised at the surprise being caused by bikes as toys. Obviously a bicycle is a type of transport, but little kids play on bikes. A little bike, for going out and playing on with with little-bike-owning little friends. Maybe not a 'toy' in a strict sense, but a thing used for for playing, which can - in an adult context - be used for transport. It's kind of the whole point of the cartoon - a gradient of successfully repurposing childish playthings for transport, starting - naturally - with childish versions of forms of transport at the successful end, moving through the increasingly ridiculous. "Toy" accuracy isn't really the point. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 11:42, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
:::Toy automobiles ''are'' on the list, of course. The {{w|Hot Wheels}}... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.64|172.70.86.64]] 13:00, 8 April 2022 (UTC)

Slip N Slide doesn't need to be downhill. It's common to use a running start and then leap onto it, then slide to the end. But this method only works for a few yards at most, so for commuting you'd need to keep getting up to run to the next one. We'd need a network of them on every street. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:35, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
:I feel a ski-lift-like system would be helpful for sliding uphill. Or perhaps some sort of high-flow fan.
:I like bicycling everywhere, & I despise unnecessary commuting by ''any'' means, but I'd strongly consider just about any job that made it easy for everyone to commute there by Slip'N'Slide... Can we get home by zip-line?
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 00:21, 7 April 2022 (UTC)

A road made of trampolines could actually be extremely useful for short-distance commutes since you go a lot faster. [[User:N-eh|N-eh]] ([[User talk:N-eh|talk]]) 00:19, 7 April 2022 (UTC)

This is not exactly new. With special praise to the Pogo Stick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGQBu_cqzn8

Given a choice between a big wheel (tricycle), unicycle, or a toy wagon (https://www.classicredwagons.com/radio_flyer_classic_red_wagon_18_c_p10.htm) as the only allowed ways to commute, I think the vast majority would toss their stuff in, use it as a scooter uphill and level, then sit in it and gleefully zoom downhill. I’d even take stilts or a pogo stick over a unicycle. In fact, I don’t see how a unicycle qualifies as a childhood toy at all. I’ve seen children using everything else mentioned, but I’ve never seen a unicycle for sale anywhere, and I’ve never seen anyone successfully ride one who wasn’t a professional acrobat.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.7|172.69.33.7]] 17:11, 7 April 2022 (UTC)

:I've seen plenty of non-acrobats riding unicycles. I used to ride in a 2 day 150 mile bicycle ride for charity every year, and each year there were several people on unicycles. [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 13:26, 8 April 2022 (UTC)

::”Several” on unicycles out of how many, and how many of them did you ask their occupation? If you mean, say, five unicycles out of two thousand bicycles, it wouldn’t surprise me if all five were professional acrobats using the unicycles as a stunt to market their skills. I tried to find the charity ride you mentioned, by searching for SONAGURHAI (some other newspaper’s annual great unicycle ride halfway across Iowa) but every search engine I tried fell flat on its face. Almost as if.... they were trying to ride unicycles. :) I stand by my assertion but if you have a link with pictures and/or interviews with non-acrobats about it, I’ll concede the possibility.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.33|172.70.178.33]] 23:40, 9 April 2022 (UTC)

This strip reminds me of the Ripping Yarns episode: "Across the Andes By Frog". Although the characters in the episode didn't actually ride frogs, their progress across the mountain range was limited to the speed at which the poor amphibians could hop. Needless to say, the high altitude and low temperatures were another limiting factor. I can't remember whether they were eventually successful. [[User:Beechmere|Beechmere]] ([[User talk:Beechmere|talk]]) 02:07, 8 April 2022 (UTC)Beechmere

On the issue of "these things are not really considered toys" (I just did a bit of editing to that), the complication is that the (orignal) scooter ''was'' more or less a kids' thing (with occasional forays into adult transportation), even when given BMX-wheels, but then got transformed into more of a geek-thing around the year 2000 with a folding light-weight white-metal design that could be ridden by an adult. And of course people, being people, put power to them with small-ICE units. Only fairly recently did battery-electric become a viable thing to integrate, making them a 'serious'{{Citation needed}} transport option to produce. And then they re-toyed the 'adult models' to a smaller scale, to push them back to children to <s>bleed parents' wallets dry</s> give the kid the same opportunities in play as those hoopy-froods who whiz around the Google Campus/etc... ((Taking some liberties with the known history, but I know I'll never get it completely right, so never mind.)) So it all really depends upon how old you are/where you first encountered scooters (electric or otherwise) as to whether you consider them actually pretty much entirely toys or strange to be so, or somewhere fuzzily in-between. Just sayin'. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 21:58, 8 April 2022 (UTC)

I remember playing with each of these growing up, except the unicycle. Always had fun traveling by them all over town for the practical and less-practical, and across the yard or to the neighbors' with the rest (except hotwheels). As for the title text, our tetherball poles were sometimes fixed in the ground, sometimes centered in an old tire full of concrete. I imagine it's referring to the non-fixed type. Those things were so heavy at the bottom that, even with a long heavy metal pole for leverage, they were very hard to pull over, and almost balanced at 90 degrees. I imagine if someone sat on the tire of a fallen-down one, they would be able to balance it and roll. Even if not, you could probably use the tether to re-angle yourself every few feet, without touching the ground. If I can find one of those old poles in this town I moved to recently, I'll submit video evidence of me traveling across a field on one so that you can remove the [citation needed] and the word "remotely." I'm pretty sure this will still include the scrapes and bruises mentioned.
[[User:Quarteresque|Quarteresque]] ([[User talk:Quarteresque|talk]]) 06:32, 9 April 2022 (UTC)

The World Records for the distances traveled by the less-practical and impractical 'toys' are likely quite astonishing. For example, the record distance on a skateboard is [https://www.liveabout.com/skateboarding-world-records-3002809 261 miles (420 km) in 24 hours] --[[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 00:47, 10 April 2022 (UTC)

I remember when I was in elementary school (with tetherballs) I was able to ride on the tetherballs. It was fun, but I was light then... so it IS something which children use to "commute." Around a pole, that is. [[User:Eelitee|Eelitee]] ([[User talk:Eelitee|talk]]) 04:33, 10 April 2022 (UTC)

Couldn't the tetherball rotate quickly enough to make it function like a gyroscope? That might make it possible to use such a device to travel. [[User:Cwallenpoole|Cwallenpoole]] ([[User talk:Cwallenpoole|talk]]) 23:47, 11 April 2022 (UTC)

Occasionally during snowy conditions my husband would cross-country ski to his law office. Skis also come in children's sizes. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.119|108.162.221.119]] 01:30, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

== Less Practical Items ==

Hi, just saying, could someone talk about the less practical items, including:

-skateboard
-roller skates
-big wheel?
-unicycle

== Similar idea ==

[[Mathematical Symbol Fight]] is also about using common items for unusual purposes. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.6|172.69.134.6]] 22:59, 28 May 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2603: Childhood Toys

2023-05-28T22:59:08Z

172.69.134.6:

Tarzan would thrive commuting by tire swing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.69.68.170 ([[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.170|contribs]]• [[User_talk:172.69.68.170|talk]]) 22:11, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

How are a bicycle, scooter or wagon toys, or childlike. They're actually designed for commute and children aren't even allowed on scooters. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 22:45, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
:Wagon doesn't mean station wagon. Google "toy wagon" to see what he's referring to. And electric scooter is a motorized version of a common child's toy. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:56, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
::I didn't actually assume a station wagon, was thinking of the thing usually pulled by horses. And doesn't the fact that a 'toy wagon' exists suggest that a regular wagon is not a toy? And I thought a scooter was more like a motorized bicycle rather than a toy, like a motorcycle, but slower. And at least here, you'd need to be at least 16 years old and get a permit to drive one. Funny how the same word borrowed in a closely related language can suddenly carry such different meanings. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 23:17, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
:::Since the heading says "childhood toys", I think we're supposed to understand that he means a toy wagon. And the comic shows the kind of scooter he's talking about, not a motorized bike. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:27, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
::::Here in the UK, there are:
::::*Push-along-scooters (childs toys, steel-tubing, often red and blue painted/trimmed, maybe pink for girls) that you one-leg along. Around the turn of the millenium, the craze arrived for 'adult' versions (I got one!), mostly in bare and sturdier aluminium.
::::*The motorised vehicle that might also be called a 'moped' (such terms might be considered defamatory, by the proud owner of a Lambretta, etc, depending upon era and exactly which type of motored two-wheeler you're describing)
::::*Mobility scooters, i.e. four-wheel (sometimes three) electrical vehicles sometimes barely a seat/handlebars on a moving platform, others almost like a quad-bike (esp. off-road capable ones)
::::*Now (well, since the last few years) the illustrated kind that is electrically-powered version of the sturdier push-alongs.
::::...though (as I appended in a link), except for some very limited and controlled trial-schemes, it is actually ''illegal'' to use electric 'executive' scooters (the last category). Both on roads and pavements (i.e. sidewalks). They are not considered roadworthy, for the former, and riding on the pavement is illegal for various vehicles (including bicycles, though few know/care this). There's no special provision for the use of cycle-lanes (on-road) or cycle-paths (shared/split pavements, or bridlepath-level trails). The only place an otherwise unregulated electric-scooter can be ridden is 'private land'. Which means you'd have very little chance of commuting upon your own scooter, legally, only the sanctioned for-hire ones.
:::::I was in Austin, TX a few months ago, and companies like Lime Bike had pods of electric scooters (like the one in the comic) for rent on the streets. So the legality is very location-dependent. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:03, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
::::::This is a description of the situation in the UK (see link I put in main explanation), although the sanctioned rental schemes mentioned are the explicitly legal exception for the UK, in explicitly served areas... as long as you have a driver's licence and follow other rules. Looking at the US legality, it's probably as patchwork as you'd expect with federal/state/local laws doing their usual uncoordinated things... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.64|172.70.86.64]] 14:34, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
::::(There's no such restrection on e-bikes, except for a theoretical maximum speed/power before they should be considersd motorbikes rather than electrified-mopeds. They are as welcome on the roads as bicycles (which largely depends upon the motorists and their prejudices/impatience), and similarly as illegal to ride on pavements (though of course people do that!)...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 12:30, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
:Is this possibly a cultural difference? At least in the USA, I have definitely seen kids (maybe not much younger than 10, but still) using electric scooters. Wagons and bikes are definitely associated more with kids in the USA as well, because, unfortunately, cars are seen as the only "real," most viable, and most independent form of transport. (As I have heard others say, bikes are just what you use until you get a car.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.251|172.70.114.251]] 01:31, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
::Presumably. This puzzled me a lot too. Bicycles aren't remotely 'toys', nor are scooters really -- and I'm assuming here this don't mean scooters in the sense of a small motorbike. EDIT: as is obvious from the actual cartoon. [[User:Zoid42|Zoid42]] ([[User talk:Zoid42|talk]]) 08:49, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
:::In some areas of the US, bicycles are used solely for pleasure and exercise, not for actually getting anywhere. Partially because there isn't anything worth going to within an easy biking distance, and partially because the entire road system and the people who use it are often openly hostile to bicyclists.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.13|172.70.174.13]] 09:25, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
:It's surprising to see bikes listed as toys and not automobiles. Makes it seem like some new conservative meme has snuck into Randal. Weird comic for sure. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.251|172.70.114.251]] 21:24, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
::Not all the things listed are really toys, it's more that there are versions made for children, and you might well have had them as a child. You do not get automobiles aimed at children (with a few expensive exceptions), so that's why they are not in the list. The closest would be pedal cars and go-karts - I think they are the more notable exception. I would totally commute to work on an electic go-kart if I could. [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 09:13, 8 April 2022 (UTC)
::Yeah, I'm a bit surprised at the surprise being caused by bikes as toys. Obviously a bicycle is a type of transport, but little kids play on bikes. A little bike, for going out and playing on with with little-bike-owning little friends. Maybe not a 'toy' in a strict sense, but a thing used for for playing, which can - in an adult context - be used for transport. It's kind of the whole point of the cartoon - a gradient of successfully repurposing childish playthings for transport, starting - naturally - with childish versions of forms of transport at the successful end, moving through the increasingly ridiculous. "Toy" accuracy isn't really the point. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 11:42, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
:::Toy automobiles ''are'' on the list, of course. The {{w|Hot Wheels}}... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.64|172.70.86.64]] 13:00, 8 April 2022 (UTC)

Slip N Slide doesn't need to be downhill. It's common to use a running start and then leap onto it, then slide to the end. But this method only works for a few yards at most, so for commuting you'd need to keep getting up to run to the next one. We'd need a network of them on every street. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:35, 6 April 2022 (UTC)
:I feel a ski-lift-like system would be helpful for sliding uphill. Or perhaps some sort of high-flow fan.
:I like bicycling everywhere, & I despise unnecessary commuting by ''any'' means, but I'd strongly consider just about any job that made it easy for everyone to commute there by Slip'N'Slide... Can we get home by zip-line?
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 00:21, 7 April 2022 (UTC)

A road made of trampolines could actually be extremely useful for short-distance commutes since you go a lot faster. [[User:N-eh|N-eh]] ([[User talk:N-eh|talk]]) 00:19, 7 April 2022 (UTC)

This is not exactly new. With special praise to the Pogo Stick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGQBu_cqzn8

Given a choice between a big wheel (tricycle), unicycle, or a toy wagon (https://www.classicredwagons.com/radio_flyer_classic_red_wagon_18_c_p10.htm) as the only allowed ways to commute, I think the vast majority would toss their stuff in, use it as a scooter uphill and level, then sit in it and gleefully zoom downhill. I’d even take stilts or a pogo stick over a unicycle. In fact, I don’t see how a unicycle qualifies as a childhood toy at all. I’ve seen children using everything else mentioned, but I’ve never seen a unicycle for sale anywhere, and I’ve never seen anyone successfully ride one who wasn’t a professional acrobat.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.7|172.69.33.7]] 17:11, 7 April 2022 (UTC)

:I've seen plenty of non-acrobats riding unicycles. I used to ride in a 2 day 150 mile bicycle ride for charity every year, and each year there were several people on unicycles. [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 13:26, 8 April 2022 (UTC)

::”Several” on unicycles out of how many, and how many of them did you ask their occupation? If you mean, say, five unicycles out of two thousand bicycles, it wouldn’t surprise me if all five were professional acrobats using the unicycles as a stunt to market their skills. I tried to find the charity ride you mentioned, by searching for SONAGURHAI (some other newspaper’s annual great unicycle ride halfway across Iowa) but every search engine I tried fell flat on its face. Almost as if.... they were trying to ride unicycles. :) I stand by my assertion but if you have a link with pictures and/or interviews with non-acrobats about it, I’ll concede the possibility.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.33|172.70.178.33]] 23:40, 9 April 2022 (UTC)

This strip reminds me of the Ripping Yarns episode: "Across the Andes By Frog". Although the characters in the episode didn't actually ride frogs, their progress across the mountain range was limited to the speed at which the poor amphibians could hop. Needless to say, the high altitude and low temperatures were another limiting factor. I can't remember whether they were eventually successful. [[User:Beechmere|Beechmere]] ([[User talk:Beechmere|talk]]) 02:07, 8 April 2022 (UTC)Beechmere

On the issue of "these things are not really considered toys" (I just did a bit of editing to that), the complication is that the (orignal) scooter ''was'' more or less a kids' thing (with occasional forays into adult transportation), even when given BMX-wheels, but then got transformed into more of a geek-thing around the year 2000 with a folding light-weight white-metal design that could be ridden by an adult. And of course people, being people, put power to them with small-ICE units. Only fairly recently did battery-electric become a viable thing to integrate, making them a 'serious'{{Citation needed}} transport option to produce. And then they re-toyed the 'adult models' to a smaller scale, to push them back to children to <s>bleed parents' wallets dry</s> give the kid the same opportunities in play as those hoopy-froods who whiz around the Google Campus/etc... ((Taking some liberties with the known history, but I know I'll never get it completely right, so never mind.)) So it all really depends upon how old you are/where you first encountered scooters (electric or otherwise) as to whether you consider them actually pretty much entirely toys or strange to be so, or somewhere fuzzily in-between. Just sayin'. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 21:58, 8 April 2022 (UTC)

I remember playing with each of these growing up, except the unicycle. Always had fun traveling by them all over town for the practical and less-practical, and across the yard or to the neighbors' with the rest (except hotwheels). As for the title text, our tetherball poles were sometimes fixed in the ground, sometimes centered in an old tire full of concrete. I imagine it's referring to the non-fixed type. Those things were so heavy at the bottom that, even with a long heavy metal pole for leverage, they were very hard to pull over, and almost balanced at 90 degrees. I imagine if someone sat on the tire of a fallen-down one, they would be able to balance it and roll. Even if not, you could probably use the tether to re-angle yourself every few feet, without touching the ground. If I can find one of those old poles in this town I moved to recently, I'll submit video evidence of me traveling across a field on one so that you can remove the [citation needed] and the word "remotely." I'm pretty sure this will still include the scrapes and bruises mentioned.
[[User:Quarteresque|Quarteresque]] ([[User talk:Quarteresque|talk]]) 06:32, 9 April 2022 (UTC)

The World Records for the distances traveled by the less-practical and impractical 'toys' are likely quite astonishing. For example, the record distance on a skateboard is [https://www.liveabout.com/skateboarding-world-records-3002809 261 miles (420 km) in 24 hours] --[[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 00:47, 10 April 2022 (UTC)

I remember when I was in elementary school (with tetherballs) I was able to ride on the tetherballs. It was fun, but I was light then... so it IS something which children use to "commute." Around a pole, that is. [[User:Eelitee|Eelitee]] ([[User talk:Eelitee|talk]]) 04:33, 10 April 2022 (UTC)

Couldn't the tetherball rotate quickly enough to make it function like a gyroscope? That might make it possible to use such a device to travel. [[User:Cwallenpoole|Cwallenpoole]] ([[User talk:Cwallenpoole|talk]]) 23:47, 11 April 2022 (UTC)

Occasionally during snowy conditions my husband would cross-country ski to his law office. Skis also come in children's sizes. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.119|108.162.221.119]] 01:30, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

== Less Practical Items ==

Hi, just saying, could someone talk about the less practical items, including:

-skateboard
-roller skates
-big wheel?
-unicycle

== Similarr idea ==

[[Mathematical Symbol Fight]] is also about using common items for unusual purposes. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.6|172.69.134.6]] 22:59, 28 May 2023 (UTC)

2781: The Six Platonic Solids

2023-05-28T11:26:50Z

172.69.134.6: /* Explanation */ should wikilink Plato here for comparison to Sauron lol

{{comic
| number = 2781
| date = May 26, 2023
| title = The Six Platonic Solids
| image = the_six_platonic_solids_2x.png
| imagesize = 368x370px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Plato made the solids, and five were gifted to the mathematicians. But in secret Plato forged a sixth solid to rule over all the others.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a JORB WELL DONE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic imagines an alternate reality where mathematicians discover a new {{w|Platonic solid}} beyond the [https://sites.math.washington.edu/~julia/teaching/445_Spring2013/Paper_Euler.pdf exactly five proven to exist in three-dimensional space.] In four dimensions, there are six {{w|regular polytope}}s, five of which are analogous to the five in 3-D space, and a sixth which is analogous to the {{w|rhombic dodecahedron}}.

In the comic, [[Randall]] reveals the discovery of a new Platonic solid, called the "jorb", which appears to be a roughly conical shape with a round base, a triangular tip, and a rectangular extension at the bottom. One of its surfaces also seems to have parallel grooves or ribs, which may indicate curvature. The jorb does not meet the criteria for a Platonic solid, in that the faces must all be {{w|regular polygon}}s of the same shape, and each vertex must join the same number of faces and edges. ([https://www.oglaf.com/annuitcoeptis/ Further detail,] NSFW.) This could be a reference to the fact that [https://youtube.com/watch?v=_hjRvZYkAgA many regular polyhedra have only been discovered recently], most of which do not fit the naive understanding of a regular polyhedron, having irregular concave external faces, or being infinite or self-intersecting. The name "jorb" may be a reference to the {{w|Homestar Runner}} cartoon "A Jorb Well Done",[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C4ayBHTES0&ab_channel=PodstarRunner] with the shape bearing a resemblance to [http://www.hrwiki.org/wiki/Coach_Z Coach Z]'s hat.

The title text references the ''{{w|Lord of The Rings}},'' in which the "One Ring to Rule Them All" was forged in secret by {{w|Sauron}} to control the wearers of three magic rings given earlier to elves, seven given to dwarves, and nine given to humans, primarily by allowing him to know their location, letting him visualize the wearers and their surroundings, and by allowing him to impose his will on the wearers, which for arcane reasons only worked reliably on the rings given to humans (worn by the nine {{w|Nazgûl}}.) The joke is that {{w|Plato}} forged a sixth Platonic solid, the jorb, to rule the five he "gave" to mathematicians, similarly to how Sauron tried to rule the other magic rings' wearers in Middle-earth with his One Ring.

==Transcript==
:[Six geometrical shapes are shown. All have gray surface areas with different shading to reflect their orientation. There is one shape in the middle with the other five arranged around it roughly in a pentagon. With two at the top, two just below the central and one directly below the central shape. Each shape has a label. The five above the bottom one are names after the platonic solids, and are drawn to look like them. The last one at the bottom has a roughly conical shape with a round base, a triangular tip, and a rectangular extension at the bottom. It surface also seems to have parallel grooves or ribs. Here the labels in reading order with the four rows mentioned above used.]
:Cube
:Dodecahedron
:Icosahedron
:Octahedron
:Tetrahedron
:Jorb

:[Caption below the comic:]
:Mathematicians long believed there were only five platonic solids, all regular polyhedra, until this year's discovery of the Jorb.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Geometry]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2778: Cuisine

2023-05-22T17:56:41Z

172.69.134.6: /* Explanation */ supernovae

{{comic
| number = 2778
| date = May 19, 2023
| title = Cuisine
| image = cuisine_2x.png
| imagesize = 200x312px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My connection to it goes way back, to my early days, when I was just a cloud of primordial hydrogen collapsing in the darkness of space.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MICHELIN-RATED BROWN DWARF. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Fusion cuisine}} is a style of cuisine based on combining aspects of the cuisines of two or more cultures, such as a combination of French and Chinese food, or Mexican and Korean food.

[[Cueball]] conflates the reference to fusion in "fusion cuisine", combining cooking styles to create exciting new forms of food, with {{w|nuclear fusion}}, combining atomic nuclei to create new kinds of atoms. The recipe is described as the initiation of {{w|deuterium}} fusion in a kilogram ("four cups") of {{w|heavy water}} and allowing the reaction to continue to its endpoint, {{w|iron}}. The "very high heat" specified in the recipe would be the four million-plus Kelvin at which {{w|deuterium fusion}} is initiated in stars, to the billions Kelvin at which {{w|supernova}}s synthesized all atoms heavier than iron, such as copper, zinc, selenium, and iodine.

The title text refers to {{w|stellar fusion}} as responsible for at least one atom in each molecule of every living thing (excepting a tiny proportion of {{w|lithium hydride}}[https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/476/2/1826/4848311][https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/81-123/pdfs/0371.pdf?id=10.26616/NIOSHPUB81123]), all our food and water, and indeed everything but primordial [[2719: Hydrogen Isotopes|hydrogen isotopes]], and the tiny proportions of helium and lithium that were synthesized at the end of the {{w|radiation-dominated era}}; thus Cueball's personal interest in "fusion" cuisine. People often say that an interest of theirs goes back to their "early days", referencing their childhood, but in this case it appears that Cueball's interest goes back to several billions of years before when he was born, which is unusual.{{fact}}

==Transcript==
:[White Hat stands behind Cueball, who is cooking on a stove seen from the side. Cueball has his left hand on the handle of a pot which is on one of the stove's burners. In Cueball's right hand is a small cup.]
:Cueball: Next, we heat four cups of heavy water over ''very'' high heat until it thickens and becomes rich in iron.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I'm getting really into fusion cuisine.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Food]]