1590: The Source

2015-10-14T17:04:16Z

Elatllat: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1590
| date = October 14, 2015
| title = The Source
| image = the_source.png
| titletext = Why did we even have that thing?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First attempt. There may be much more to it... (such as The one and only Hum?)}}

This comic is about experiencing a high pitched hum in your house. Sometimes not everyone can hear it; however, those who can hear it usually find it immensely annoying. And if you do hear the noise, you would like to locate the source – hence the title of the comic. Hopefully when you do (if you do) find the source you can do something about it, or at least be at ease knowing what caused the noise, and that it was not you who had a hearing problem like {{w|tinnitus}}.

In the first two frames of this comic we see [[Cueball]] trying to locate the direction of the sound, by standing in the middle of the room, turning his head from one to the other side. Finally he walks down a flight of stairs (probably to the basement) and here he locates the source: A machine whose only function is to generate a high pitched hum. Luckily it was thus easy for Cueball to get rid of this sound at the source.

But in the title text he also asks why on Earth they had such a machine in the first place. That is somewhat harder to explain. But in real life most electronics generate hums and cannot reasonably turn off without losing functionality.
florescent lights and computer modems are common culprits, refrigerators and washing machines less commonly. It could also come from outside the house, in which case it will be much harder either to locate the source or to do anything about it. power lines and transformers are common outside sources.

There do, however, exist devices that are meant to create a high pitched hum, that people might wish to install in their house. These will be humming in the {{w|ultrasound|ultrasonic}} regions, although cheap versions can often be heard by young people. They are typically used for {{w|Electronic_pest_control#Ultrasonic|electronic pest control}}. It is possible that someone tried to get rid of Cueball.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete| }}

:[Cueball is standing in an empty room looking in the direction of the next frame.]

:[Cueball turns his head and looks the other way.]

:[ [Three smaller panels with the same total height as the first two frames follows. In the first frame Cueball walks on a grey surface.]

:[ In the next Cueball is standing between two doors, looking over his shoulder towards the one to the left , but choosing the one to the right behind which a stair is. He is waking towards this door with his hand out towards the knob.]

:[In the last of these smaller panels Cueball has just walked down to the bottom of the stair.]

:[Cueball walks towards a machine that is standing near a wall connected to a socket in the wall. On the machine it says:]
:High pitched hum generator

:[Cueball kneels behind the machine and unplugs it from the socket in the wall.]
:High pitched hum generator

:[Cueball walks away from the machine, the plug now lying on the floor between the wall and the machine.]
:High pitched hum generator

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

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1590: The Source