1578: Squirrelphone

2015-09-16T17:20:11Z

Trenin: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1578
| date = September 16, 2015
| title = Squirrelphone
| image = squirrelphone.png
| titletext = After a while, the squirrel starts making that beeping noise and doesn't stop until it hops back up onto the stump.
}}

==Explanation==
A "squirrelphone" is a compound word combining "{{w|squirrel}}" and "{{w|phone}}".

In this comic, we see a squirrel pretend to be a telephone, only to bite [[Cueball]] who tries to pick it up and use it as one. This is humorous because a living squirrel is not an appropriate creature to maintain a phone call{{Citation needed}}. This could be seen as an example of mimicry in Nature, or parasitism where one creature gains a benefit from another.

It is an allusion to the vampire squirrel documented over the weekend that allegedly 'attacked and killed' a deer. The comic follows the absurd conclusion that the squirrel uses mimicry to 'attack and kill' humans. [[Cueball]] is lucky to still be alive{{Citation needed}}.

The sounds the squirrel makes correspond to the tones that the terminals made when you used the POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) in the US:
* When someone else called you and the receiver of your phone was on the hook, the phone made loud and long "riiing riiiing" tones. --- This is the case in the first frame of the comic.
* When you picked the receiver up, the phone call was established and no extra noises were made.
* When no phone call was established and you picked up, a continuous humming tone was heard, meaning the service was up and you could dial someone else's number. (A {{w|dial tone}})
* If a phone is left off hook for too long, a loud [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-hook_tone howler-tone] is played. This is to alert anyone present that the phone is off-hook. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls. Once on-hook, the receiver can be picked up again to dial.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is approaching a stump with a squirrel perched on it. A ringing noise is coming from the squirrel's back.]
:Squirrel: Riiiiing
:Squirrel: Riiiiiing

:[Cueball has picked up the squirrel and is holding it to his left ear]
:Cueball: Hello?

:[The squirrel bites Cueball's head]
:Squirrel: Chomp!
:Cueball: Ow!

:[Cueball holds his hand to his cheek while the squirrel leaps away, fleeing]
:Cueball: ???

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]

Talk:1578: Squirrelphone

2015-09-16T17:16:47Z

Trenin:

Could it be a reference to this? http://web.media.mit.edu/~stefanm/phd/cellularsquirrel/ {{unsigned ip|‎108.162.216.68}}

:I think it might be a reference to this: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/09/11/vampire-squirrel-caught-on-camera-for-the-first-time-ever/ ‘Vampire squirrel’ caught on camera for the first time ever – Washington Post]. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.234|141.101.104.234]] 07:35, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
:agreed: [https://www.michigandaily.com/section/statement/i-was-bitten-squirrel] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.8|108.162.221.8]] 10:25, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

What about the old "Bananaphone" pun? {{unsigned ip|188.114.106.131}}

Sometimes I wonder if the joke is to make ExplainXKCD squirm. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.150}}

^ Not really. Those like me who used SquirrelMail had a laugh. Mostly every XKCD joke is incomprehensible to people not familiar with the subject of the joke. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.135}}

"a living squirrel being not an appropiate creature to mantain a phone call. "... well, duh. Everyone knows that a squid would make MUCH more sense! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.161|108.162.250.161]] 05:16, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
::A puppy... www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0tiNwOpZ68 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.182|108.162.229.182]] 14:11, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
:I doubt this is supposed to be about SquirrelMail; it's much more likely to just be "Bananaphone" with a squirrel. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.193|108.162.237.193]] 05:33, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
: Maybe a _dead_ squirrel would work better. At least it wouldn't bite... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:16, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

"chomp" is also a command on unixoid operating systems that removes characters which carry no information (leading, trailing white spaces, newlines etc) from strings. Seems like the squirrelphone removed every bit of non-information, essentially cutting the call to nothing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.167|162.158.92.167]] 07:10, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

Whoever put that [needs citation] in there deserves a medal XD [[User:Apbarratt|Apbarratt]] ([[User talk:Apbarratt|talk]]) 08:34, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

Summary of POTS should be present tense - POTS is still active.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.179|108.162.215.179]] 16:42, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

The tone played at the end is likely a howler tone, not fast busy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-hook_tone

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1578: Squirrelphone

Talk:1578: Squirrelphone