12: Poisson

2025-09-30T02:09:59Z

46: Secrets

2025-09-30T02:07:29Z

Anonymous1279358478:

3123: Canon

2025-09-30T02:06:57Z

Anonymous1279358478:

{{comic
| number = 3123
| date = August 1, 2025
| title = Canon
| image = canon_2x.png
| imagesize = 299x408px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Achilles was a mighty warrior, but his Achilles’ heel was his heel.
}}

==Explanation==
In Christianity, [https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03279a.htm Apostolic Canons] were ancient laws and decrees, usually enacted by consensus of bishops and Ecumenical Councils. The most well-known decrees have led to definitions of ''{{W|Biblical canon|Biblical canon}}'', [Gk: ''κανον''] traditionally referring to the books of the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament) which are generally accepted as being doctrinally sound, worthy of inclusion by church bodies, and proclaimed liturgically. Non-canonical works are known as {{w|apocrypha}} or "Deuterocanonical" (works which, while perhaps edifying and ancient, are doctrinally rejected by some or all Christian authorities). The writers of the New Testament and other Church Fathers had adopted the Greek word for a type of straight reed, ''κανε'', because it was being cut and used in the Hellenistic world to apply standards of measurement.

The term "canon" was subsequently applied by analogy to the {{w|Sherlock Holmes}} stories which were written by {{w|Arthur Conan Doyle}}, as opposed to the adaptations into other formats (stage plays, films, etc.) and non-Doyle stories. An early example of this connection was in a 1910 satirical essay by the Catholic scholar Ronald A. Knox, ''Studies in the Literature of Sherlock Holmes''.

From there, it took on its modern, even broader meaning for fiction in general: the material widely accepted as created by the recognized author(s). For instance, ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' canon comprises the films and some TV shows made by {{w|Lucasfilm}} (and {{w|Disney}} after its buyout of Lucasfilm), but that canon is supplemented by a large amount of non-canonical {{w|Star Wars in other media|''Star Wars'' content in other media}} such as books, video games, comic books, fan fiction, etc. In addition, what is canon can be changed, as occurred when a large portion of formerly canon Star Wars content was [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Legends decanonised] in 2014 to make narrative space for the upcoming Star Wars trilogy sequel movies. Determining what is canon and what is not in a narrative framework has a tendency to excite huge passions amongst fans where they decide what is, and what is not, binding to the fandom, drawing comparison to the huge factionalism of religions.

Here, Cueball is using the modern meaning to describe a theological dispute from the 18th century when scholars used ''canon'' in its secondary derived meaning referring to the canon of Scripture. There are many examples of fierce theological disputes that were recorded in pamphlets and books throughout the 16th to 19th century, for example just regarding the correct mode of baptism: {{w|File:The Summe of a conference at Terling in Essex, Januarie 11, 1643 - held between 3 ministers ... opponents pleading for infants baptisme, and 2 catabaptists ... respondents denying .. (IA summeofconferenc00stal).pdf|1644 (683 pages)}}, {{w|File:A defence of infant-baptism in answer to two treatises, and an Appendix to them concerning it, lately published by Mr. Jo. Tombes - wherein that controversie is fully discussed ... (IA defenceofinfantb00mars).pdf|1646 (342 pages)}}, {{w|File:A discourse proving the divine institution of water-baptism - wherein the Quaker-arguments against it are collected and confuted with as much as is needful concerning the Lord's supper (IA discourseproving00lesl).pdf|1697 (150 pages)}}, {{w|File:An essay on infant baptism (microform) - in which the right of infants to the sacrament of baptism, is proved from Scripture, vindicated from the usual objections (IA cihm 89861).pdf|1768 (219 pages)}}, {{w|File:Modern immersion not Scripture baptism (IA modernimmersionn00thorrich).pdf|1831 (400 pages)}}, {{w|File:The heavenly father's teaching (microform) - a pedo-Baptist's reply to immersionists shewing that Baptism is not immersion, and that immersion is not Baptism, for they are direct opposites (IA cihm 08315).pdf|1874 (107 pages)}} - examples selected from hundreds of similar books. Similarly, the word "fandom" comes from the word "fan", which is the shorter form of "fanatic", and '-dom', as in a class of people. Fanatic's etymology, in turn, points to the latin word "fanaticus" meaning 'of a temple, inspired by a god'. (The latin word "fanum" means 'temple'.)

An ''Achilles’ heel'' is the weak point of something or someone who is otherwise very strong. It derives from the legend of the great Greek warrior {{w|Achilles}}, who as a baby was dipped into the river {{w|Styx}} by {{w|Thetis|his mother}} to make him invulnerable everywhere on his body that the water touched. However, during the dipping, his mother held him by the heel, which was thus vulnerable because it didn't enter the river, and in fact Achilles later died after he was shot in that heel with an arrow. The joke again is the self-reference.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is holding a book up in front of him with both hands while talking to White Hat.]
:Cueball: It's so weird reading these 18th century scholars argue about minor biblical details.
:Cueball: It's like they're an online fandom or something - they've developed this whole elaborate canon.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:It's fun when a word's usage goes full circle and, by analogy, lands back on its original meaning.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Religion]]

3123: Canon

2025-09-30T02:06:42Z

Anonymous1279358478:

3123: Canon

2025-09-30T02:06:17Z

Anonymous1279358478:

2974: Storage Tanks

2025-09-30T02:02:53Z

3128: Thread Meeting

2025-09-30T01:53:38Z

Anonymous1279358478:

{{comic
| number = 3128
| date = August 13, 2025
| title = Thread Meeting
| image = thread_meeting_2x.png
| imagesize = 399x425px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hey, so did you ever finish your video series about Cassie and the caterpillar morph? I loved the first three, but never ... no, sorry, I get it, this isn't the place. Sorry! Sorry.
}}

==Explanation==
Many people have different sets of acquaintances from different parts of their lives, and there's not much overlap. For instance, they have colleagues at work and friends from different hobbies. People encountered in online forums are often very separate, since they may be anywhere in the world and even have quite differently eclectic tastes that they never mention. People find it surprising when there are overlaps in unrelated spheres.

In this comic, NorthLakeKayak and AntaresMike are two participants in an online thread (presumably about boating, or maybe specifically kayaking). NorthLakeKayak recognizes the username AntaresMike as also used by someone he remembers from a different forum about {{w|Animorphs}}, and apparently not a likely username to have [[1963: Namespace Land Rush|been independently claimed]] by someone else.

As children, the most striking example of this type of compartmentalization is that {{tvtropes|TeachersOutOfSchool|we think of teachers as only existing in school}}. They're actually people with real lives (as also referenced in [[2808: Daytime Firefly]]), but we find it extremely weird when we encounter them in some mundane place outside school, like at a restaurant or store. The comic makes the point that encountering the same person in two unrelated online forums is analogous to this.

This strip shows NorthLakeKayak excitedly identifying AntaresMike, and referencing the Animorphs forum, then appearing to realize that's {{w|off topic}} for the forum, and awkwardly trying to transition back to discussion of kayaks. The title text continues these theme, presumably within the same forum thread, specifically wanting to discuss a video series AntaresMike had done. This is followed by a correction (either self-censoring, or in response to an unseen reply) with apologies that "this isn't the place" to discuss such things.

Very often, the culture/rules of a particular forum will encourage relevance to the forum's ''{{w|raison d'etre}}'', at least in its main threads, and fellow users will get to know all about their on-topic obsessions but usually only see hints of other individuals' alternate pastimes and hobbies. Additionally, it's possible that AntaresMike prefers to keep their interest groups separate. Animorphs fandom is a particular niche and nerdy interest that some people would hesitate to discuss it around people who aren't part of the fandom, either out of embarrassment, or out of fear of boring people. If that's the case, AntaresMike might not appreciate having those interests discussed in front of a kayaking forum. If the forum has a {{w|Private Messaging}} feature, this off-topic personal discussion could be taken there. Conceivably, the message from the title text ''was'' taken 'off-thread', but the author still finds their own excited tendency to blur the boundaries between subject matter embarrassing.

The alt text references ''Animorphs #19: The Departure''. In this book, Cassie, a girl with the power to transform into animals, {{tvtropes|ShapeshifterModeLock|is trapped as a caterpillar}} after she exceeds the two hour limit on morphing. The video essay likely focuses on this book because it contains elements that stand out among the series, such as that the caterpillar form can uniquely "reset" its morphing time limit by metamorphosizing into a butterfly, or that it introduces the recurring character Aftran, a former member of the Yeerk Empire who chooses to defect and start a peaceful resistance group.

==Transcript==
:[A portion of a thread in an online forum is shown. It has one post and a reply to that post.]

:[First post:]
:[Stylized A avatar] '''AntaresMike'''
:[To the right of AntaresMike's username are a grayed-out star, plus sign in a circle, and illegible text in a box.]
:You could also check out this kayak model. I attached a motor to mine, and it's a little bit of a kludge but it works great.
:[Below the first post are grayed-out icons of a word balloon, two links from a chain, an arrow, and illegible text.]

:[Reply (indented with a line connecting from AntaresMike's reply to NorthLakeKayak's):]
:[Cueball picture avatar] '''NorthLakeKayak'''
:[To the right of NorthLakeKayak's username are a grayed-out plus sign in a circle, and illegible text in a box.]
:Oh, hey, AntaresMike! I know you!
:Honestly I didn't realize you existed outside of the Animorphs fandom. I haven't seen you in forever!
:Uh. So. How are you doing?
:Kayaking, I guess.
:Anyway yeah that model is great.
:[Below the reply are grayed-out icons of a word balloon, two links from a chain, an arrow, and illegible text.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Running into someone on a thread who you know from a totally different part of the Internet feels weirdly like running into your teacher in a store.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Animorphs]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3146: Fantastic Four

2025-09-30T01:53:17Z

Anonymous1279358478:

{{comic
| number = 3146
| date = September 24, 2025
| title = Fantastic Four
| image = fantastic_four_2x.png
| imagesize = 343x388px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = One perk of being born at 0.88c is that your birthday is over two days long.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Fix the citation needed.}}

The comic is a pun on the {{w|Oberth effect}}, which causes orbital maneuvers to be more efficient when deep into a gravitational well.
The movie referenced is ''{{w|The Fantastic_Four:_First_Steps|The Fantastic Four: First Steps}}'', released in 2025. The comic says that there is a boost because of the propulsion produced by the baby (a 'birth', rather than a 'berth'). In the movie, they do indeed go around a neutron star, and she does give birth to a baby while on board, but doesn't do that to get a boost.{{Actual citation needed}}

This effect is probably zero, as the change in the centre of mass of the ship and crew would not constitute a form of effective reaction-based propulsion. {{cn}} 

The title text states that being born at 88% the speed of light results in a birthday that's over two days long. This is due to {{w|time dilation|time dilation}}: from the perspective of Earth, at 0.88 c, the dilation factor γ is 2.1 . So one day is 2.1 days seen from Earth.

The Oberth effect was also mentioned as a key to escaping Origin in [[2765: Escape Speed]].

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is facing Cueball with one of her hands out, facing up and towards Cueball.]
:Ponytail: In the new ''Fantastic Four'' movie, their ship doesn't have enough fuel to get home and Sue Storm goes into labor, so they slingshot around a neutron star and fire their engines at periapsis — as Sue has her baby — to get a boost.
:Cueball: Ah yes, the Obirth effect.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Physics]]

2503: Memo Spike Connector

2025-09-30T01:52:11Z

Anonymous1279358478:

{{comic
| number = 2503
| date = August 16, 2021
| title = Memo Spike Connector
| image = memo spike connector.png
| titletext = Backward-compatible with many existing cables, and can connect directly to phones or tablets if you press them down hard enough.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the third installment in the series of [[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]] and presents Cursed Connectors #102: The Memo Spike. It follows [[2495: Universal Seat Belt]] (#65) released three weeks before and was followed 9 days later by [[2507: USV-C]] (#280).

The comic depicts a large metal spike with a wire coming from the base. The spike stabs through two other wires, thus creating an electrical connection between the three. As the name suggests, the spike resembles a {{w|Spindle_(stationery)|stationery spindle}}, colloquially known as a spike, called a Memo Spike here by [[Randall]]. However, unlike normal spindles, this one has a cable of some kind coming out of it, suggesting this is a hub of some sort.

Spindles are used to temporarily hold paper by "spindling" or impaling the paper onto the spike (as depicted in the comic). They're most known for their use in restaurants as a way to hold bills that have been paid, or traditionally in offices that work with many bits of paper, e.g. with invoices in a finance department or hardcopy in newspaper editing, to prevent accidental disturbance/shuffling, at the expense of a small puncture mark in each sheet so impaled. (This could cause errors in papers with punch-holes that are meant to be read by machines, hence the admonition against "{{w|Punched_card#Do_Not_Fold,_Spindle_or_Mutilate|folding, spindling, and mutilating}}".) In the latter context, the editor might put all the rejected stories onto a spike (rather than into a wastebasket) to prevent them going astray, and this might be the source of the term '{{w|Spike (journalism)|spiked}}'.

The joke of the comic is while any number of non-destructive connection standards exist, a large spike can provide much of the same results: a conductive object that retains a connection of multiple wires in a way that allows electricity to pass through. Indeed, in the early days of Ethernet, {{w|Vampire tap|vampire taps}} were used, essentially spikes that bit into a cable to establish a new branch in the network. Another type of connection which involves piercing the wire is a {{w|Punch-down block|punch-down block}}, a type of {{w|Insulation-displacement_connector|insulation-displacement connector}}, where one or more wires are pushed into a cutting channel instead of onto a spike.

Depending on the type of cable it is also likely to create a short circuit, e.g. by connecting both strands of a twisted pair of strands in a typical Ethernet cable, or the central wire and the sheath of a coaxial cable. In an enterprise environment, this could even happen on a {{w|Power_over_Ethernet|PoE-Connection}}, which actually carry more noticeable amounts of power (up to 25.5W). Even if this is avoided, the single spike may be large enough to mechanically sever a random subset of the finer strands that exist within a multicore cable such as is commonly in use today.

The title text takes this a bit further. It says that it is backwards compatible with many existing cables. This means any cable large enough to be impaled by the spike could be used. Needless to say it will likely not work anyway. It also continues by saying that phones and tablets can also be connected using this method if you press them down hard enough over the spike. Thus if you actually manage to make the spike penetrate the device's coverings to reach the electrical parts, then there is a connection. The implication is that any device or cable can be connected to any other device or cable as a form of universal adapter/splitter/combiner across arbitrary hardware and communications/power standards. In reality, this could be even more dangerous and will surely destroy the phone/tablet either directly or by overloading their cable connection.{{citation needed}} Also be careful not to impale your hand while trying to push the spike through your tablet's screen.

==Transcript==
:[A memo spike is shown (a device also called a Spindle). It is a long spike standing up from a round base plate. A wire is coming in from the left and appears to be hardwired into the spike's base element. Two other wires comes in from the right. Both are firmly impaled down upon the spike, penetrated completely through shortly before their apparently unterminated ends. The end of the impaled wire closest to the base faces out and the details appear to show it to be of some variety of multicore (rather than co-axial) manufacture. The other cable's end is a bit higher and points into the image. Above is a title and below is a label.]
:Cursed Connectors #102
:The Memo Spike

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Cursed Connectors]]

3097: Bridge Types

2025-09-30T01:51:51Z

Anonymous1279358478:

{{comic
| number = 3097
| date = June 2, 2025
| title = Bridge Types
| image = bridge_types_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x581px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Pontoon bridges are just linear open-sided waterbeds.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows, in a four-by-four grid of images, a series of bridge types. As with [[1714: Volcano Types]] and [[1874: Geologic Faults]], the comic starts off with real bridge types, and then swiftly proceeds to make things up for absurdity. That said, real-life examples of some of the joke bridges exist, as shown in the table below. The joke lies in the progression of bridge types from the simple and straightforward to the complex and ridiculous.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Name given
! style="width:7em;"| Status
! Type
! Explanation
|-
! Plank
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Beam bridge}}
|A straightforward piece of solid material (in this case, made of solid wood, but there are {{w|Clapper bridge|other materials}}) is the most basic form of bridge, and generally the easiest to construct, but also the weakest. Consequently, such bridges are only suitable for small spans and light weights (such as a footbridge over a stream).
|-
! Rope
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Simple suspension bridge}}
|Rope bridges consist of several lengths of rope anchored on both sides of the span. Typically, one or more ropes will be intended to support the crossing load (possibly with boards or some other walkway between them), and additional ropes will act as handrails, reducing the risk of falling. These are typically only intended for foot traffic, due to their light construction and lack of rigidity. Because of the simple materials and relative ease of construction, they're often used as improvised bridges. However, a ridiculous design for this bridge type was explored in [[3048: Suspension Bridge]], in which the rope functions as a road.
|-
! Truss
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Truss bridge}}
|A truss is a common type of framework consisting of supports connected in a series of triangles which provide support for a load. This design provides significant strength and rigidity with minimal material and weight. A truss bridge can either have the truss above the bridge platform (as in the drawing) or underneath it (also known as a deck truss). This is the first bridge type on this list which is commonly used for vehicle traffic.
|-
! Trestle
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Trestle bridge}}
|A trestle bridge is held up by supports reaching all the way to the ground beneath. Typically at least some of the supports will slope outward to give a larger base of support. Once common for railroads, these are less popular nowadays, but are still seen in certain areas and applications.
|-
! Arch
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Arch bridge}}
|Arches are one of the oldest kinds of bridges for carrying significant loads. They can be made out of rock or metal. Each span consists of an arch resting on supports. Simple arch bridges rest on both sides of a river or other gap, but longer bridges (as in the drawing) will have intermediate pillars to support multiple arches. The arches distribute the load, allowing a relatively small number of pillar to support weight across the entire deck of the bridge.
|-
! Suspended Arch
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Through-arch bridge}}, possibly {{w|Tied-arch bridge}}
|A through arch bridge uses a similar concept as an arch bridge, but the deck is entirely or partially suspended below the top of the arch (in this case fully suspended, at the bottom of the arch). The tie of a tied arch bridge refers to using the deck as a tension member to restrain the horizontal spreading of the arch; without a tie, the arch's foundation must resist that horizontal loading. From the picture, it is not clear whether the deck is acting as a tie. Such bridges may use a single arch (as in the drawing) or multiple arches in succession.
|-
! Draw
| {{Yes|Real}}
|Drawbridge (more precisely a fixed-trunnion {{w|Bascule_bridge|bascule bridge}})
|Drawbridges are used to allow ships to pass through obstacles like bridges. They use various methods to raise one or multiple sections of the bridge to create enough height clearance for vessels to pass through, in this case using a cable to rotate the bridge about a pivot point (trunnion).
|-
! Suspension
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Suspension bridge}}
|A suspension bridge suspends its deck with cables or rods from a cable linked to a pillar and a point a certain distance from each pillar
|-
! Filler
|{{Maybe|Real}} method of maintaining {{w|Grade (slope)|grade}}, not really a 'bridge'
|{{w|Embankment (earthworks)|Embankment}}, {{w|Causeway}} or even a {{w|Dam}}
|Serves the purpose of allowing travel across the gap, but by removing (or {{w|Culvert|mostly removing}}) passage through the gap itself. By filling the gap with hard, irregular material (most commonly rocks), support can be provided, while still allowing water to flow through the gaps. Due to the generally small size of the gaps, generally only slow-flowing water can reliably get through.
|-
! Budget Overrun
| {{Yes|Real}} (with an absurd name)
|{{w|Cable-stayed bridge}}
|Specifically, the pictured bridge is a {{w|cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge}}, similar in appearance to the {{w|Samuel Beckett Bridge}} in Dublin or the {{w|Erasmusbrug}} in Rotterdam. Many bridges in this category suffer severe cost overruns. Randall may be drawing upon his local knowledge of the {{w|Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge|Zakim Bridge}} in downtown Boston's {{w|Big Dig}}, also strongly associated with cost overruns. Also, while not a bridge, the budget overrun and diagonally inclined tower supporting cables may be a reference to {{w|Montreal Tower}} and {{w|Olympic Stadium (Montreal)|Olympic Stadium}}, which has suffered infamous budget overruns, costing over 6.7 times the initially planned amount.
|-
! Jump
| {{No|Not real}}
|Similar to a pair of small {{w|cantilever bridge}}s, constructed at an incline.
|A "bridge" that appears to be being used by a skateboarder, though in a manner far more dangerous than any jump in a typical skatepark. While not {{w|London Buses route 78#History|normally}} a feature of the highway, jump ramps can be used for gap-crossing stunts by almost any vehicle with sufficient speed. Partial bridges, which allow ''some'' vehicles using them to safely cross the gap, iconically featured in {{w|The Dukes of Hazzard}} TV show, as well as common in various {{w|The Man with the Golden Gun (film)#Car stunts|action}} {{w|Speed (1994 film)#Filming|films}}, though typically less easy to use correctly than the setting implies.
|-
! Halfhearted
|{{Maybe|Not}} real under this name, but with real analogs
|[https://www.archdaily.com/184921/moses-bridge-road-architecten Moses bridge]
|The diagram shows that there was barely any attempt to bridge the gap in the landscape at all, just take the 'deck' down into it and back up out again. The concept may have been inspired, in part, by [https://www.fastcompany.com/90186315/the-strange-art-of-the-melting-bridges-of-google-earth an artifact in Google Earth software].
Structures exist, at the {{w|Fort de Roovere}} in Halsteren, Netherlands and elsewhere, that resemble this 'solution', though these would have involved much thought and commitment in their building, possibly more 'hearted', even, than any more conventional bridge design, especially in the provision of stairs to allow easier ingress/egress (at least for foot traffic) than in the comic's version.
|-
! Waterbed
| {{No|Not a bridge}}
|{{w|Waterbed}}
|Rather than a bridge, it is more like another version of a causeway (see 'Filler') using trapped water to maintain the upper surface.
Named for a 'mattress' type, which is usually a raised surface ''on top of'' a piece of bedframe, with an unusual approach to padding and comfort.
|-
! L'Engle
| {{No|Not real}}
|[https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/03/192728/tesseract-definition-wrinkle-in-time-space-dimension Tesseract AWIT] not {{w|Tesseract|Tesseract (geometry)}} cf. {{w|Einstein–Rosen bridge}}
|References {{w|A Wrinkle In Time}} by Madeleine L'Engle. Characters cross great distances by "tessering", moving via a tesseract through a higher dimension which essentially brings the two ends of the journey together from the perspective of the traveler. The image shows the two ends of the gap being brought together, with the gap apparently crumpled in between them.
|-
! Fun
| {{No|Not real}}
|{{w|Vertical loop}}
|It is a loop-de-loop, not normally a practical or necessary way of bridging a gap. Something previously seen, in an arguably even more impractical manner, in [[2935: Ocean Loop]].
|-
! Repurposed Elevator
|{{Maybe|Real}}, but not as displayed
|Horizontal elevator/{{w|People mover}}
|There are various implementations of such designs, the best-known one is probably the {{w|Schmid Peoplemover|Schmid Peoplemover}}. However, unlike a regular people mover, where the door stays upright, the image shows a regular elevator that has been rotated 90 degrees. This not actually its own type of bridge, but just a type of plank bridge where the elevator shaft (or one side of the elevator shaft) is used as a plank - closing the circle to the first image. This could also be a reference to Wellington Station on the Boston Subway, {{w|Wellington_station_(MBTA)#People_mover|where there was a vertical people mover}} over the yard but was later repurposed into a walkway (bridge).
|-
! (Title text)
| {{Yes|Real}}
|{{w|Pontoon bridge}}
|Pontoon bridges are described as a series of fictitious "waterbed bridges", as shown above, but constructed without sides. This would mean that that the 'bed'-supporting water flows in one side and out the other, if there is any passage or tidal flow of water. It may technically mean that you cannot cross {{w|The Same River Twice|the same bridge twice}}.
Pontoons rely upon buoyancy, either of the whole deck or distinct floating elements, whereas an enclosed "waterbed" bridge would rely upon the strength of the membrane to keep the mass of water within it, and thus the deck above that mass.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:Bridge Types

:[A 4x4 matrix of 16 ways to cross the same rectangular hole in the ground]

:Plank [shows a plank laid over the hole]

:Rope [shows a rope bridge with rope guardrail]

:Truss [shows a truss bridge with a triangular truss above the bridge deck]

:Trestle [shows a trestle bridge]

:Arch [shows stone arches supporting a straight deck]

:Suspended Arch [shows a single arch, with the bridge deck suspended from it]

:Draw [shows a truss bridge, with one half opened like an unrealistic draw bridge]

:Suspension [shows the bridge deck suspended from a cable strung between two pillars and the shores]

:Filler [shows the hole filled with dirt and stones]

:Budget Overrun [shows a bridge deck suspended by cables from an artistically shaped pillar]

:Jump [shows two ramps at the edges of the hole, and a skateboarder jumping across the hole]

:Halfhearted [shows a ramp at each side of the hole that leads down to the bottom]

:Waterbed [shows the hole filled with water, two fish and an octopus, a wobbly covering, and two stick figures crossing]

:L'Engle [shows the hole warped such that the opposite shores meet]

:Fun [shows a loop-de-loop rollercoaster bridging the hole, and a skateboarder using it to get across, there are numerous piles/struts/vertical-sulports supporting the rollercoaster, both where it is flat and reaching up to elevate the looping roadway]

:Repurposed Elevator [shows an elevator tower, rotated sideways as a whole, laid across the hole. 2 stick figures using the elevator are also rotated.]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2848: Breaker Box

2025-09-30T01:51:34Z

Anonymous1279358478:

{{comic
| number = 2848
| date = October 30, 2023
| title = Breaker Box
| image = breaker_box_2x.png
| imagesize = 560x776px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Any electrician will warn you to first locate and flip the house's CAUSALITY circuit breaker before touching the CIRCUIT BREAKERS one.
}}

{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
A {{w|distribution board}}, referred to as a "breaker box" here and also commonly referred to as a "fuse box", "breaker panel", "DB box", and many other names, is a metal box attached to a wall, usually in some maintenance area, containing multiple {{w|circuit breakers}} that distribute electricity to various parts of the building. A circuit breaker is an electrical switch, usually in the form of a small lever, which disconnects the circuit from the power source when opened. These breakers are designed to automatically open if too much electrical current flows through them. This is a safety measure to reduce the risk of damage and fire in the event of a short circuit or an overloaded line. These breakers can also be opened manually, deactivating the circuit to allow electrical work to be done.

In breaker boxes, each individual breaker is typically labeled to let the operator know what that breaker controls. Typically, the circuit controlled by each breaker will feed an intuitive set of connections: a certain room, or set of rooms, or possibly a set of related services (like overhead lights, or all the outlets on one floor). Some large appliances will have a dedicated circuit and breaker. However, in houses that have been rewired multiple times (or were poorly wired the first time), this can quickly become overcomplicated with seemingly random connections. Randall lives in Boston where much of the housing stock is from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and he is likely to live in a house with non-ideal wiring, which may have inspired this comic.

The comic satirizes these complex wiring setups, with multiple breakers "controlling" arbitrary things, including some that – in the classic style of xkcd – are puns on the word "breaker" or may be impossible to hook a breaker up to, getting progressively more absurd to the point of nullifying laws and "breaking" certain laws of physics. Typically, switches in a breaker-box have the same orientation of "on" and "off" direction. This particular setup appears to adopt the convention that all switches are on (or, possibly, that all are ''off'') when flipped towards the centre of the panel. Exactly which direction the switches are installed would be more obvious from coloration, markings or even relief details that would be manufactured into the switch subunits but which are not so fully depicted in the comic.

===Left column of switches===
; Kitchen lights

; Living room lights

; Porch lights

; Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere
: The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet. It is not uncommon for the power supplies to bathrooms (and other rooms with water connections) to be on a separate circuit. This is because water can potentially cause a short circuit, resulting in the breaker opening, and separate circuits minimize the impact and makes the problem easier to locate. These are called "GFCI" or "GFI" (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter [https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/099_0.pdf]) circuits.

: It is a standard to connect a bathroom outlet with another outlet also requiring a GFCI, such as basement or outdoors. Another option is that an electrician (or homeowner), having initially reserved an output from the box for such a limited use, may – while adding wiring – chooses to wire seemingly unrelated things into the same circuit. This may make sense (for example, an outlet near a non-bathroom sink or some other water source could reasonably be grouped with the bathroom), or it may simply be out of convenience from how long the wires needed to run (such as an outlet in the room adjacent to the bathroom). In either case, future residents and installers may not be informed of this, and therefore wouldn't realize that the outlet is grouped with that circuit.

; North-facing appliances
: Peculiar and a bit complex to execute. Here's how it might have been set up:
:# Install a breaker switch that is actually a mechanical switch to control a smart home automation instead of its normal function.
:# Replace relevant normal outlets with Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets.
:# Use smart home software to create a custom group of all outlets that control all ''north-facing appliances.
:# Set up a software automation to selectively toggle this user-defined group of smart outlets when triggered. Adding a matching appliance to the house would require editing the automation.

: Alternatively, the switch may be physically wired only to outlets installed on a southern wall in the property (or ''all'' southern walls, for each room that requires them), and you'd ensure that everything connected to these exclusively north-facing outlets also faces directly away from the wall(s). The switch could also control appliances on the north-facing walls of the house. The word "north-facing" has a broad interpretation, as lax as northeast to northwest or as strict as {{w|Points of the compass#32-wind compass rose|north by east to north by west}}. It could also be as exact as perfect north, but this would render this breaker completely functionless unless an appliance happens to be ever-so-perfectly aligned.

; Bathtub drain light
: Bathtub drains typically do not have lights, but this breaker provides power to that and only that. Why it isn't already considered a "bathroom light" is unexplained (unless it's for the bit of the pipe that is ''external'' to that room). Perhaps it is a sub-menu of bathroom breaker, but then its position on the panel is unusual in that it isn't next to the bathroom breaker. It obviously cannot be the "surprise mystery outlet" already referred to earlier as being covered under the switch for the bathroom lights, much apart from it not being a socket/outlet.

; Appliances whose names contain the letter "F"
: Another odd and amusing specification. To make it work, one might use the "North-facing appliances" setup described above, but just with a different custom group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets chosen to only control appliances with an "F' in their name. Some common household appliances (kitchen and elsewhere) that this switch might control:

:* coffee maker
:* refrigerator
:* freezer
:* fan
:* air fryer
:* food processor
:* waffle iron
:* fabric steamer
:* Wi-Fi router
:* fireplace (electric)

; Hot water heater
: A {{w|hot water heater}} is usually just a heater that creates (and typically stores) hot water. But given that the next breaker controls the "Regular water heater", this breaker might actually control a water heater that pointlessly heats water that is ''already'' hot. This is probably a joke about the fact that the common phrase "hot water heater" is [[1475: Technically|technically]] redundant, since the simpler term "water heater" is enough to describe a device that produces hot water, or misleading, since it's not the purpose of residential water heaters to heat water that is ''already'' hot. In some languages, "hot water" is a separate, single word, so "hot-water heater" can be accurate. One such example is Japanese, where "hot water" is simply referred to as "お湯" ("Oyu"), however this is taken a step further as "hot water heater" is referred to as "給湯器" ("Kyūtōki").

; Regular water heater
: The heater for regular water. In context with the switch above, this label presumes it's for a heater for heating water that is not yet hot (usually called a "hot water heater", hence the joke). Alternatively, if we assume that a ''hot water heater'' is for ''making'' hot water, this heater must be for making “regular water”, whatever temperature that may mean. Further still, the difference in these labels may be speaking to the nature of the heaters themselves - it could be the case that one of the heaters is abnormally hot to the touch, where the other is a "regular" temperature, but are otherwise both capable of heating water just fine.

; Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in
: This controls every outlet in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in, such as the dining room and kitchen and – depending on the "normal" habits of the inhabitants – other rooms such as the bedroom, bathroom, or living room (if not already covered by the "living room lights" switch above). Closets and single-purpose rooms such as the laundry room are presumably not included.

; High-pitched hum generator
: Controls a high-pitched hum generator. This is a call-back to [[1590: The Source]], which was released just over 8 years before this comic.

; The solution to the cryptogram below:
: Likely a pun on a "code breaker," something or someone that solves a code, such as Randall's cryptogram, a type of puzzle where a sentence has been encoded using a cipher, usually simple, and the goal is to determine the cipher and recover the original sentence from the encoded one. Randall has not actually written a cryptogram, simply making the label's text illegible to the audience. Alternatively, the identity of the electrical load sourced from this breaker can be found by solving the cryptogram. This switch could somehow enable or disable the code's solution, perhaps toggling its knowability or solvability or turning on a computer for solving cryptograms.

; Bugs
: Several interpretations are possible:
:* Disable all insect bugs in the house – as an efficient form of pest control – perhaps using ultrasonic emitters that drive away bugs (may be a reference to [[2753: Air Handler]]) – or perhaps the house contains noise machines that play sounds of insects or other ways of simulating insects.

:* Disable power to all covert listening devices, which would be able to be switched off if wired into the house's electrical grid.

:* Disable the whole global category of bugs (insects, arachnids, and other small arthropods), in which case we'd have no more pests and we'd reduce disease like malaria and {{w|Lyme disease}}! Of course, food webs would also collapse, and our world would be overrun with waste.

:* Disable all software bugs in the house. Though it's unlikely that it's what Randall is referring to, computer bugs switches actually exist. It's a feature in some video game emulators to either run an unofficial patched version or to stay true to the original system, for example to allow bug-exploit speedruns of a video game.

:* All or any of the above

===Right column of switches===

; A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now
: Fans generally produce a steady, low-level 'white' noise that people generally stop noticing. When such a fan is turned off, the absence of that noise is quickly noticed. Alternatively, the fan could be somewhere that cannot be heard, with the label on the switch serving as the only reminder of the fan's existence. Shutting down a fan that you didn't realize was running could be worrisome for a couple of reasons: it could be serving an important function (like HVAC or server cooling) and cause a problem when it's off, or it may be a fan that wasn't supposed to be running, but had been for some time without being noticed.

; Dishwasher
: A dishwasher may find itself with a separate circuit breaker for a few reasons. Commercial-grade dishwashers are often high-load appliances that require more power (incorporating powerful heating units and pumps). Residential-grade dishwashers may not be as energy-intensive, but if the house wasn't originally built with a dishwasher in mind, it is likely new wiring had to be added during its installation, resulting in a breaker that exclusively controls the dishwasher. Though what "dishwasher" actually means may depend on what the "dishes" of the next switch might be, and thus what additional device may be required to ensure they remain clean. Even at the more trivial end of the interpretation (though not then explaining the following "dishes"), a busy restaurant might have an employee section equipped exclusively for the dishwashing role and separately supplied with power in a similar manner to that suggested for the bathroom.

; Dishes
: Likely a pun on "breaking" dishes. Of course, dinnerware and dishes are usually not powered devices and wouldn't require a circuit breaker at all; discovering they need their own circuit breaker separate from their dishwasher is a spoof of many common circuit breaker frustrations. Lastly it's also possible the switch powers/controls two or more satellite dishes.

; Hallway lights
: The lights in the hallway or hallways.

; Hallway outlets
: The outlets in the hallway or hallways, presumably the same as the "Hallway lights" hallways. A common confusion when turning off breakers is separate wiring for outlets and lights in the same room. Though having the room go dark is a good mnemonic that it is unpowered, it is not a guarantee, and indeed, wiring them separately allows working on the outlets without having to do it in the dark.

; Hallway floors
: Yet another breaker for the hallways, presumably the same hallways as the previous two breakers, adding more confusion and frustration. This breaker has several potential interpretations:
:# A master switch for all floors (stories) in the building which include hallways, e.g. the guestroom areas in a hotel, whilst possibly excluding the lobby and service levels
:# Outlets in the floor
:# Electric underfloor heating (heated bathroom floors are a feature in some houses)
:# Electrification of the floors – not common outside of horror and heist movies
:# Disabling all floors entirely, so everything resting on the floors falls through

; Social media
: This breaker also has several potential interpretations of "taking a social media break" or "turning off social media":
:# 'Digital detoxes', where someone says "I'm going to take a social media break" and intends to deny themselves access to all their social media apps.
:# A switch for a parent to turn off all social media entering the house to protect their kids and themselves, which references a type of specialized content filter available through Wi-Fi router settings, not traditionally a breaker box.
:# A callback to [[908: The Cloud]]. Since most social media platforms are centralized services, it would be theoretically possible to hook up a switch to the main power supply of every server building at once, given some extremely long wires, a breaker capable of handling the abhorrently massive electric load, and agreement from every social media provider.([[1439|optional]])
:# The theoretical desire by some to "turn off social media" for the world due to its harmful effects on society. As someone who lived before social media and saw its spread over two decades, Randall may be ruing the impacts of social media on civilization and channeling his desire to put the genie back in the bottle.
:# Potentially a play on the phrase “breaking the internet”, meaning going viral on social media, though "breaking social media" is not an idiom.

; State law
: This and the next two items are a pun on "breaking the law". Taken literally, it would either disable enforcement of State Law or nullify every single one, creating a state of lawlessness similar to the premise of the popular movie, "The Purge". It's unclear if this refers to Randall's state of Massachusetts or State Law as a general concept. If the switch simply nullifies State Law within the confines of the house, that would make the home a place where State Law could be broken without consequence.

; Federal law
: An extension of the previous entry. When discussing legal matters (taxes, regulations, etc.) it's not uncommon for state and federal authorities to issue their own statutes, often labeled "state" and "federal" respectively. The ramifications of nullifying every US Federal law are immense. Disabling Federal Law while keeping State Law would theoretically fulfill the goals of the "States Rights" advocates, groups of conservatives across US history aiming to return Federal power to the States.

; Second law of thermodynamics
: The {{w|second law of thermodynamics}} means that things naturally move from order to disorder over time. It also says you can't take heat from a place that's cooler and use it to make a place hotter than the cooler place, unless you use some energy to do it. In short, without adding energy, only the hotter place can warm up the cooler one. This law of physics was also explored in the What If? article [https://what-if.xkcd.com/145/ Fire From Moonlight].

; Friction
: {{w|Friction}} is the resistive force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact. Disabling friction would mean that all objects slide forever, and would destroy several things as well as make it much more difficult to move around and create energy. Being in a frictionless environment (and a vacuum, as physicists love...) was the subject of [[669: Experiment]].

; Gravity
: {{w|Gravity}} is a natural force that attracts two bodies toward each other, proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. Turning gravity off would have extremely dangerous effects, such as the loss of the atmosphere into space, all items being flung away from the Earth, and, perhaps most dangerous, the complete destruction of the planet. Of course, if this switch is turned off, it may simply mean that objects within the house itself are no longer subject to gravity. This would be '''''far''''' less cataclysmic, and as a bonus, this would make it very different when moving around the house, making it easier to get to higher areas, and move objects, though impossible to place them without some other force being applied, and could prove to cause some problems once the breaker is turned back on, especially for things under said objects.

; Circuit breakers
: Possibly the "master" breaker, controlling the main circuit that supplies power to all other circuit breakers. However, given the other surreal things this breaker box controls, turning it off may possibly make it impossible to turn it on ever again as the switch will no longer function once switched off (i.e.: If this was turned off, it would presumably turn off the functionality of the circuit breaker itself, if it was wired to include itself). Another interpretation is that turning off this breaker should supposedly make this breaker not able to control the power, which leads to a situation similar to the liar's paradox.

: Moreover, if this circuit breaker disables all circuit breakers everywhere, it would result in global infrastructure collapse, halting essential services, including transportation, healthcare, and communication, and leading to widespread chaos. Note that it might be a perfectly valid label if it refers to multiple subsidiary 'boxes', cascaded off this particular one, each containing one or more additional breakers for convenience or safety. e.g. units dedicated to a shed, garage or workshop room which save the need to traipse all the way to this box's utility cupboard location in the event of an otherwise easily resolved power issue.

===Title text===

The title text is about {{w|causality}} and how to use this (unseen, located elsewhere) breaker along with the last shown switch that (de)powers the illustrated box. Causality, in its simplest form, is the process of cause and effect, meaning that everything that happens only happens because something caused it to happen - in other words, every event is an effect caused by another event. For example, a bag of chips can't just fall onto the floor for ''literally'' no reason - it has to be caused by some other event, such as someone smacking it or a gust of wind blowing it down.

Turning off the circuit breaker using the CIRCUIT BREAKERS switch may lead to a loop, if the disabled breaker can no longer disable itself, leading to it turning back on, etc. Alternatively, turning off the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch might be a one-way street. Turning the CAUSALITY switch from OFF back to ON might be unlikely to do anything if the circuit breakers upstream of it have been fully deactivated. The separation of cause and effect would ostensibly take precedence over the current switch setting. Turning off CAUSALITY first would prevent either the loop or the permanent disabling of circuit breakers, but would also have many other side effects, including letting switches potentially serve power even if there is no power being served ''to them'', or even spontaneously switching (on or off) without any intervention or reason.

The 'warning', from an electrician, could even be to locate the nominally ''off'' CAUSALITY switch in order to turn it ''on'', or else all other intended effects will possibly not end up being actually actioned. Either way, whether or not turning on/off causality would change the state of causality (at one stage or other being rendered ineffectual) is an exercise left for the reader.

==Transcript==

:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label. The labels are all white, contrasting with various dark shades of the breaker box and switches.]
:Kitchen lights / A whirring fan you didn't realize was running until now
:Living room lights / Dishwasher
:Porch lights / Dishes
:Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere / Hallway lights
:North-facing appliances / Hallway outlets
:Bathtub drain light / Hallway floors
:Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" / Social media
:Hot water heater / State law
:Regular water heater / Federal law
:Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in / Second law of thermodynamics
:High-pitched hum generator / Friction
:The solution to the cryptogram below: [Additional squiggled words that are too small/indistinct to read.] / Gravity
:Bugs / Circuit breakers

{{comic discussion}}