Editing 3034: Features of Adulthood

{{comic
| number    = 3034
| date      = January 6, 2025
| title     = Features of Adulthood
| image     = features_of_adulthood_2x.png
| imagesize = 704x620px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = I don't dig pit traps and cover them with sticks and a thin layer of leaves nearly as much as I expected; I find a chance to do it barely once a month.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| Unexpectedly created by an adult BOT digging pit traps - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
 
This comic is a graph comparing  the (mostly) common ideas of adulthood from a young person's perspective with the sad reality of it. The features that are most expected but don't actually come up (quicksand, grappling hooks, crocodiles, and twins switching place) are common tropes in fiction. At the opposite end, some very mundane activities are common but we don't expect them to be important when we're young: deciding what to eat, dealing with weird noises and smells.

It is clear that many of the things that were imagined more likely than they turned out to be are ''direct'' references to fictional scenarios on film or TV, especially with a number of action movie tropes, throughout the 'lower-right triangle'. In contrast, the complimentary 'upper-left triangle' has situations that mostly (though not entirely!) seem to not be portrayed in many fictional depictions.

==Events==

{| class="wikitable"
! Event
! Expected frequency in adulthood
! Actual frequency in adulthood
! Notes
|-
| {{tvtropes|FormalFullArrayOfCutlery|Which fork you're supposed to use for what}}
| 0%
| 0%
| Different types of {{w|forks}} are used to eat different courses of a meal. Usually, cutlery is arranged in a way that makes it easier to understand which is needed. Learning which fork to use may be a lesson in an {{w|etiquette school}} class.
|-
| {{tvtropes|CartoonBomb|Lit fuses}}
| 40%
| 0%
| Explosives with visible lit fuses are commonly seen in movies and TV shows. In reality, explosives are more likely to be remotely detonated or have an {{w|time bomb|unlit}} or concealed fuse (e.g. {{w|grenade}}s). Also, most people don't generally have to deal with explosives anyway.
|-
| {{tvtropes|PalatePropping|Shoving a stick}} in a {{w|crocodile}}'s mouth to wedge it open
| 80%
| 0%
| Placing a vertical stick in a crocodile’s mouth is a popular TV trope to prevent the crocodile from {{w|Crocodile attack|bitting down}} (usually on the stick placer).
|-
| {{w|Quicksand}}
| 100%
| 0%
| Quicksand is {{tvtropes|QuicksandSucks|common in adventure fiction}}, but it's quite rare in real life, and an average person is highly unlikely to encounter quicksand in day to day life.{{cn}}
|- 
| {{w|Car chase}}s
| 35%
| 5%
| Car chases are frequently seen in movies and TV shows involving police, including real-life police shows, but unless you're a police officer or criminal trying to evade them, you'll probably never be involved in one. One actual car chase that attracted widespread attention was {{w|O.J.Simpson}}'s white Ford Bronco, which was shown on TV after he was identified as the prime suspect in his wife's murder.
|-
| {{w|Grappling hook}}s
| 100%
| 5%
| A grappling hook is a metal piece that is attached to a rope. If the person is going up a cliff, the “hook” would be thrown or shot at the top of the cliff and would either snag something, or more commonly, would wrap around something like a tree then hook onto itself, thus securing a way up the cliff.
|-
| People offering free drugs
| 30%
| 10%
| Typically refers to illicit drugs. The expectation is that a drug pusher will offer you free samples to get you addicted, then start charging expensive prices.
|-
| {{w|Parachute}}s
| 80%
| 10%
| A large piece of fabric that is tied to you in order to slow a {{w|Parachuting|very high fall}}.
|-
| {{w|Barrels}}
| 95%
| 10%
| Wooden or {{w|Drum (container)|metal}} storage implements, frequently used as concealment, improvised weapons and (sometimes explosive) obstacles in popular media.
|-
| {{w|Middle name}}s
| 15%
| 20%
| A second (or occasionally also third or more) {{w|given name}}, common in some traditions. Sometimes used specifically to honor someone (perhaps the same first name of a grandparent or loved one, occasionally such a person's surname). It can be used as further identification, if one has a common first and last name. In some families, the first name may be traditionally shared with the appropriate parent (and the grandparent, their parent) and reference by the middle name(s), alone, may be more useful to distinguish the person being addressed from within a family situation. In later life, a person may drop the use of middle names (or, conversely, adopt ''only'' them as the name they are known by) and the unweildy complete set of names becomes less common, as they may be considered unprofessional and unnecessary.
Authors and politicians may most obviously buck this trend, as they have to develop an identity far beyond their immediate personal and professional circles, and perhaps need to be more disambiguously individual and free of confusion from others of similar named as "Firstname Surname", but this might also just reflect that the practice of more formally complete names is a tradition that is being dropped from those of [[Randall]] (Patrick) Munroe's generation, leaving only the generations before (most represented, in the public eye, by elder statesmen and well-read writers) still using them in the way they always did.
|-
| {{w|Food fight}}s
| 50%
| 20%
| 
|-
| Twins {{tvtropes|TwinSwitch|switching places}}
| 90%
| 20%
| 
|-
| {{tvtropes|PoptheTires|Flat}} {{w|tire}}s
| 10%
| 25%
| 
|-
| {{w|Briefcase}}s
| 70%
| 25%
| Frequently used to carry documents and other small office equipment. Often portrayed as {{tvtropes|BriefcaseFullOfMoney|a means to carry a large amount of cash}} or {{tvtropes|BriefcaseBlaster|conceal a firearm}}. The popularity of briefcases has been declining after the 1980s so it's possible that Randall observed grown-ups using briefcases when he was a kid and assumed he would too, only for them to go out of fashion.
|-
| {{w|Martial arts}}
| 95%
| 25%
| 
|-
| {{w|Water damage}}
| 
| 
| 
|-
| {{w|Backpack}}s
| 
| 
| Backpacks of various sizes are a versatile means to carry items. They are almost as popular in real life as in fiction.
|-
| My academic record
| 
| 
|  
|-
| {{w|Adhesive}}s
| 
| 
| Adhesives such as {{w|glue}}, {{w|adhesive tape|tape}} and {{w|epoxy resin}} are used to bond items together, typically for use in arts and crafts. They also have widespread industrial applications.
|-
| {{w|Board game}}s
| 
| 
| Board games are sometimes used as minigames in video games. The {{w|Mario Party}} franchise is a video game adaptation of the board game formula.
|-
| Tying {{w|knot}}s
| 
| 
| There are many knots to tie, each with distinct purposes. May also refer to "tying the knot", an expression for {{w|marriage}}.
|-
| {{w|Cable management}}
| 
| 
| 
|-
| {{w|Laser}}s
| 
| 
|
|-
| Dangerous driving situations
| 
| 
| 
|-
| {{w|Pizza}}
| 
| 
| Often thought of as takeout or delivery food. A favorite of {{w|Spider-Man}} and the {{w|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles}}.
|-
| {{w|Star Wars}}
|
|
|
|-
| Cool toys
|
| 
| 
|-
| {{w|Weather forecast}}s
| 
| 
| 
|-
| {{w|Batteries}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Power tools}}
| 
| 
| 
|-
| {{w|Video game}}s
| 
| 
| Often thought of as a childish pastime, adults frequently play video games.
|-
| Figuring out what to have for dinner
| 
| 
| 
|-
| {{w|Heating, ventilation and air conditioning|HVAC}} issues
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Cooking}}
| 
| 
|
|-
| Secret {{w|password}}s
| 
| 
| 
|-
| Laundry
| 
| 
| 
|-
| {{w|Tax}}es
| 
| 
| One of two inevitable things in life, {{w|Death and taxes|the other being death}}
|-
| Customer service
| 
| 
| 
|-
| Shopping
| 
| 
| 
|-
| Unexplained smells or noises
| 
| 100%
| 
|-
| Pocket radio communicators
| 
| 100%
| Examples include {{w|cell phone}}s, {{w|pager}}s and {{w|walkie-talkie}}s
|-
| Bills
| 
| 100%
| Most households have to contend with electricity, water and telecommunication service bills
|-
| Digging {{w|pit trap}}s (title text)
| 
| 
| Inside the Star Destroyer in [[1608: Hoverboard]] we see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/1608_1055x1090y_Trap_covered_with_leaves_and_flying_Ponytail_at_bottom_of_hull.png Cueball cover a pit trap with leaves], so this is something Randall actually thinks about sometimes!
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Shown is a scatter plot:]
:Y axis label: How often it comes up in my adult life
:X axis label: How often I expected it to come up in my adult life

:[first row, comes up very often, from least to most expected:]
:Unexplained smells or noises, customer service, pocket radio communicators, bills, shopping
:Figuring out what to have for dinner, HVAC issues, secret passwords, laundry, cooking, taxes
:Weather forecasts, batteries, video games, power tools
:Cable management, dangerous driving situations, pizza, Star Wars, lasers, cool toys
:Adhesives, board games, tying knots
:Water damage, backpacks, my academic record
:Flat tires, briefcases, martial arts
:Middle names, people offering free drugs, food fights, parachutes, twins switching places, barrels
:[last row, comes up very rarely, from least to most expected:]
:Which fork you're supposed to use for what, car chases, lit fuses, shoving a stick in a crocodile's mouth to wedge it open, grappling hooks, quicksand


{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Board games]]
[[Category:Animals]]