https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=ChickenMonkeyPox 2026-04-12T01:06:22Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1519:_Venus&diff=97647 2015-07-13T19:46:56Z

<p>ChickenMonkeyPox: /* Explanation */ clarity and grammar</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1519<br /> | date = May 1, 2015<br /> | title = Venus<br /> | image = venus.png<br /> | titletext = The sudden introduction of Venusian flowers led to an explosive growth of unusual Earth pollinators, which became known as the &quot;butterfly effect.&quot;<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is teaching a class on science about the planet {{w|Venus}}.<br /> <br /> In the first panel we see her teaching the history of Venus. Venus may have had water on its surface billions years ago, but if that's true all hydrogen since then was eventually lost due to dissociation. However, there is no evidence that Venus ever had fields of flowers, or Venusians, or any other form of life.<br /> <br /> The {{w|runaway greenhouse effect}} on the second panel is a play on words. Miss Lenhart uses the term literally and claims the existence of sentient greenhouses actually ran away. In reality, the effect caused Venus to develop a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide, which raised its temperature above to approx. 460&amp;nbsp;°C (860&amp;nbsp;°F), hotter than daytime on Mercury. This eventually destroyed all evidence of anything had been on the surface of Venus billions years ago.<br /> <br /> The third panel ties the previous distortion of Miss Lenhard into the very real {{w|Tulip mania|historic reputation}} of the Netherlands as {{w|Netherlands#Agriculture|flower growers}} and as a further fabrication by Miss Lenhart the Dutch flower industry was in fact started by the Venusians.<br /> <br /> In the final panel we see that she is a month away from retirement and doesn't care about relaying accurate information anymore. She just wants to have a laugh at the expense of the naive school children.<br /> <br /> The title text jokes about the {{w|butterfly effect}}, the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings in Japan can cause a Tornado in the U.S.. In this case the {{w|Butterfly|butterflies}} would just help pollinate the flowers.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Miss Lenhart is standing in front of an image, presumably a temperate Venus, with greenhouses, grass, flowers and a river flowing into a sea.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: Venus once was temperate. It had seas and rivers, and Venusians cultivated vast fields of beautiful flowers.<br /> <br /> :[The image is now zoomed out to see the entirety of Venus, with continents and oceans. The greenhouses are shown fleeing (&quot;running&quot;) away from Venus.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: Until their greenhouses fled the planet due to the runaway greenhouse effect.<br /> <br /> :[Miss Lenhart is now standing in front of a classroom and addressing the students, we see one of these a girl with her hair in a bun, sitting at a desk.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: The Venusians pursued their greenhouses to Earth, settling in the Netherlands and kickstarting the Dutch floral industry. Any questions?<br /> <br /> :Offscreen (Presumably Hair Bun Girl): Because you're retiring in a month, do you just not care what you say anymore?<br /> :Miss Lenhart: ''What?!'' I '''''ride the skies''''' atop a screaming bird of truth! Also, yes, I do not.<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> *It is not directly mentioned that it is Miss Lenhart teaching, but her looks and profession fits this character well enough to make this deduction.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br /> [[Category:Space]]<br /> [[Category:Puns]]</div>

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