https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Fooglmog 2026-04-22T05:33:08Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1160:_Drop_Those_Pounds&diff=25426 2013-01-15T05:31:40Z

<p>Fooglmog: /* Explanation */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1160<br /> | date = January 14, 2013<br /> | title = Drop Those Pounds<br /> | image = drop those pounds.png<br /> | titletext = If the flyers don't work, we'll switch to the LEAST subtle method of informing a town of the existence of a trebuchet club.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> The comic presents a flyer with text typical of a ubiquitous advertisement for a &quot;Weight Loss Program&quot;. However, the image at the bottom of the flyer and the title text make it clear that the flyer is actually an advertisement for a trebuchet club. This unexpected meaning is meant to highlight the ambiguity of the flyer's content.<br /> A {{w|trebuchet}} is gravity powered siege engine, which was originally used to attack fortifications. It works by dropping a raised counter weight to rotate a throwing arm, launching a projectile on a ballistic path. <br /> The phrase &quot;We'll help you hit your target by dropping 30 pounds FAST&quot; is where the ambiguity is produced. In the context of a weight loss ad, the &quot;target&quot; would be a rhetorical device referring to the weight which one wishes to achieve. In the context of a trebuchet club, the target is a literal location which one is trying to hit with a projectile. Likewise, a weight loss ad may indicate that a client could quickly lose 30 pounds. However, in this context, the 30 pounds being dropped is the counter-weight which is dropped to provide a trebuchet with its power.<br /> <br /> The only hint that the flyer advertises a trebuchet club is in the drawing at the bottom of the flyer, which appears to show two individuals launching pondering a ballistic path towards a castle tower (though no trebuchet is shown). The subtitle indicates that this flyer &quot;may have been too subtle&quot;, while the title text suggests that, if the flyer is indeed too subtle a form of advertisement, they have less subtle options of announcing their club's existence -- such as using their trebuchet to attack the town.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Poster with drawing of Megan and Cueball in bottom left corner, castle in bottom right corner and a curved line between them. On the poster is some large text.]<br /> :Struggling with those 2013 resolutions?<br /> :We'll help you hit hit your target<br /> :By dropping thirty pounds '''fast'''<br /> :[Small print.]<br /> :Web: http:// [Illegible] .com<br /> :Call: [Illegible.]<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]</div>

Fooglmog