3131: Cesium

2025-08-21T08:58:46Z

2A02:3037:206:E4B:384D:D09:EBAB:5EBC: /* Explanation */ not an actual "mathematical question", just a random list of baking times with a nonsensical non-mathematical question attached

{{comic
| number = 3131
| date = August 20, 2025
| title = Cesium
| image = cesium_2x.png
| imagesize = 588x298px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Someday I hope to find a way to mess up a recipe so badly that it draws the attention of the International Air Transport Association, the International Mathematical Olympiad, or the NSA.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by A BOT USING A DISASTROUSLY EXPERIMENTAL RECIPE. Need more on the other agencies mentioned in the title text and ideas on how he could succeed. The current section on how to attract attention needs work. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
{{w|Cesium-137}} (Cs-137) is a radioactive {{w|isotope}} of {{w|Caesium|cesium (a.k.a. "caesium")}}. This comic was posted the day after the {{w|FDA}} posted an [https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-public-not-eat-sell-or-serve-certain-imported-frozen-shrimp-indonesian-firm advisory] about frozen shrimp sourced from an Indonesian firm, because they were nearby materials contaminated with Cs-137 during shipment. [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/business/radioactive-shrimp-walmart-recall.html A sample of breaded shrimp was confirmed to have been contaminated.]

Rather than being concerned about the potential health impacts, [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are curious about the technical details that led to this contamination. Cs-137 is normally a by-product of nuclear reactors and is occasionally used in {{w|Food_irradiation|food irradiation}}, along with other more common uses. Cueball and Megan cannot fathom how one could unintentionally contaminate shrimp with radioactive waste, and Cueball comments that his biggest culinary screw-up only attracted the attention of his local fire department, likely because he set something on fire while cooking. A real-life example of seemingly-random contamination by Cs-137 was the {{w|Goiânia accident}} in Brazil.

The title text says that one of Cueball's (or possibly [[Randall]]'s) ambitions is to draw the attention of various organizations ({{w|International Air Transport Association}} (IATA), {{w|International Mathematical Olympiad}} or the {{w|National Security Agency}} (NSA)) with a recipe he has butchered, either by accident or, more likely in his case, on purpose. Possessing and (accidentally or intentionally) releasing a radiation source like Cs-137 could get the attention of the NSA. Needless to say, it is difficult to imagine a cooking error that could be in any way brought to the attention of IATA or IMO. To "mess up a recipe", in the sense of cooking it for oneself or a small group of others, would be unlikely to create a problem on a scale that an international agency would take note of. A recipe that was published for others to use could cause more significant problems if it led to harm to many people. This might involve ingredients that were poisonous, or preparation methods that were unsafe. The word "recipe" is sometimes used metaphorically to describe a set of step-by-step instructions for tasks that don't involve food: "recipes" for chemical procedures (not unlike cooking recipes, in many ways), "recipes" for doing things with computers, etc. A number of these might be of interest to security agencies.

===How to attract attention===
;To attract the attention of the IATA
If the recipe is used in major airports, and the recipe is contaminated with a drug, the pilots that consume it could experience vision loss or other problems, and if this recipe is widely used and normal people won't notice much besides minor side effects, then this could attract the attention of of the IATA.

;Attracting the attention of the NSA
This is pretty easy to think of, there could be a secret code hidden in the ingredients of a recipe, and if the code affects the whole nation, then this could attract the attention of NSA.

;Attracting the attention of the International Mathematical Olympiad
A recipe to attract the attention of the International Mathematical Olympiad is much harder to imagine. Randall's best chance might be to cause an incident with some mathematically interesting property that inspires a math puzzle to be written about it. Another possibility is some person is trying to give answers to a person in the olympiad, and gave the person a recipe with the answers as a secret code inside, and this will attract the attention of the International Mathematical Olympiad. However, these are most probably all on purpose and will be very rare to accidentally make these recipes. About a week prior to the publication of this comic, [https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/math-question-viral-elementary-school-bobby-seagull-b2807395.html a botched "math exercise" about baking that lacked an actual question] went viral and was reported on by traditional media, but it happened at an elementary school, completely unrelated to the IMO.

==Transcript==
:[Megan looks at a news story on her phone while talking with Cueball.]
:Megan: There's a recall of frozen shrimp contaminated with cesium-137.
:Cueball: With ''what?''
:Megan: I know, right?
:Cueball: ''How!?''

:[Megan has put her phone away and she shrugs with her arms held out palm up.]
:Megan: No idea, but I bet it involved some expensive equipment. Those cesium sources aren't cheap.
:Cueball: Man.

:[Megan stands normally while Cueball holds a hand to his chin.]
:Megan: It's honestly a little inspiring to realize that it's always possible to screw up in a totally new way.
:Cueball: Yeah, the biggest agency whose attention '''''I've''''' drawn by messing up a recipe is the local fire department.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Math]]

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3131: Cesium