140: Delicious

2026-06-22T16:24:13Z

Livesofarcticsounds:

{{comic
| number = 140
| date = August 11, 2006
| title = Delicious
| image = delicious.png
| titletext = I'm currently in the I Have Cheese phase of this cycle.
}}

==Explanation==
The simplest explanation for the comic is the recipe for {{w|nachos}}. You take some {{w|tortilla chips}}, spread them out on a plate, sprinkle them with {{w|grated cheese}} and perhaps some other ingredients like salsa, beans, or guacamole, and put the plate in the oven until the cheese is melted. As usual with a full bag of snacks, you always end up with that tiny bit left at the bottom of the bag. In this case, it is either leftover grated cheese (left) or tortilla chips (right). This way, you end up buying another package of the other ingredient to make nachos again.

This is an example of a {{w|Virtuous circle and vicious circle|virtuous or vicious cycle}}, in which a feedback loop reinforces itself. A virtuous cycle has favorable results, while a vicious has detrimental results. In this case, it is neither a virtuous or vicious cycle, but a ''delicious cycle'' - the pun of this joke.

The title text just says that currently, [[Randall]] has leftover cheese. He will probably get chips soon, continuing the cycle.

The same problem with having leftovers when making a dish using two types of food that don't match up is the setup for the joke in [[1641: Hot Dogs]]. Randall(/Cueball)'s weakness for nachos is exploited in [[654: Nachos]].

==Transcript==
:[Frame is split by a diagonal.]
:[First half: Cueball in front of open fridge.]
:Cueball: I have leftover cheese. I should get chips and make nachos.

:[Second half: Cueball with bag of chips.]
:Cueball: I have leftover chips. I should get cheese and make nachos.

:[Caption below the two drawings:]
:A delicious cycle

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Puns]]

3259: Tethys

2026-06-22T16:20:38Z

Livesofarcticsounds:

{{comic
| number = 3259
| date = June 15, 2026
| title = Tethys
| image = tethys_2x.png
| imagesize = 304x317px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = In order to carry the necessary crafting supplies, they built the ships at 12:1 scale.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently AND NEEDS TO BE RECREATED AT A 1:12 SCALE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{{w|Tethys (moon)|Tethys}}, the fifth moon of Saturn, has a diameter of 1,060 kilometers, almost exactly 1/12th that of Earth's, which is 12,742 km. This scaling is a {{w|1:12 scale|common one}} used for modelling, perhaps because for users of measurement systems in the "imperial" family (such as US customary units) it is relatively simple to convert all real-life measurements directly from any given number of {{w|Foot (unit)|feet}} in the real life subject to exactly the same number of {{w|inch}}es in the model version. Users of the {{w|metric system}} may prefer a simpler 1:10 or 1:100 scale; but, depending upon what is being modelled and for what intended result, {{w|List of scale model sizes|any scale at all}} may become the desired standard for a particular project.

This comic alludes to a fantastical scenario in which artists who produce miniature scale models of existing structures decide to use Tethys to produce a 1:12 scale model of the Earth. This is a patently absurd undertaking: all the difficulties of {{w|terraforming}}, already a monstrously hard task, would be exacerbated by the need to precisely recreate Earth's features, as well as by some particularly unfavorable traits of the Saturnian system. Tethys's distance from the Sun is too great for Earth's surface conditions to be recreated without artificially increasing insolation, likely through the use of orbital solar mirrors. These would be especially difficult to erect around Saturn, with its {{w|Moons of Saturn|many moons}} (292 at last count) and {{w|Rings of Saturn|ring system}} causing severe gravitational interference. In addition, it would be difficult to get the necessary rockets, as it would be unlikely that any space agency would be willing to aid this thoroughly ridiculous project.{{Citation needed}}

However, there is some good news: Tethys' large native water stores eliminate the need to ship in more, and the nearby moon {{w|Titan (moon)|Titan}}'s atmosphere could be harvested for nitrogen, which is necessary to recreate {{w|Atmosphere of Earth#Composition|Earth's atmospheric composition}}. Being very far away from Earth also means that there is no risk of [[878: Model Rail|nesting]] - having the model include a miniature version of itself, which includes an even more miniature version of itself, which includes....

The description refers to it as model builders' final project, implying that recreating the entire Earth at at 1:12 scale would include a re-creation of every individual detail on Earth and thus contain all possible (terrestrial) 1:12 scale models in one vast miniature set.

The title text says that the ships used in the construction effort are built "at a 12:1 scale" (i.e. 12x larger than normal, however "normal" is defined). If this is with reference to the model they are building, this would mean that they would end up back at 'normal spaceship size'.

==Transcript==
[An image of a planet, presumably Saturn, showing prominent rings as well as three distant moons (one to the apparent right of it, the other two at the left) and one close, large moon. In front of the large moon is a line of spaceships dwindling into the distance toward the moon, or perhaps toward an orbit around it. Each spaceship has prominent rocket nozzles aimed toward the viewer and away from the large moon, as well as what appears to be a pile of material on "top" of the spaceship, with tie-down ropes holding it in place.]

[Caption below the panel:] 
After learning that Tethys is exactly 1/12th the size of Earth, the miniature art model builders launched a fleet of ships to begin their final, greatest project.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Space]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

140: Delicious

3259: Tethys