Editing 1338: Land Mammals
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
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− | + | This comic may be a [[Nerd Sniping|nerd snipe]] from [[Randall]], challenging his readers to figure out the missing parts. | |
− | The | + | The comic shows the total weight of mankind and all other land mammals. Only a few centuries ago, humans, their pets and livestock came to make up a great proportion of the earth's land mammal biomass. Note that only land-dwelling mammals are taken into account, so whales and other marine mammals are not included. |
− | This | + | The design of the blocks loosely resembles a cell. This could be a reference to how these animals support humans, analogous to a cell supporting a central nucleus. If so, it seems that all the animals in this diagram, wild or domestic, in some way support human activity. |
+ | |||
+ | The title text states that bacteria outweigh us thousands to one, without counting the several pounds of bacteria in our body that are considered part of our own weight. The aforementioned cell could also be a bacterium, making it a possible reference to the title text. Slightly more than a thousand blocks have been used to sketch the "cell", and bacteria outweigh us by this factor. | ||
Randall also discusses animal biomass in [http://whatif.xkcd.com/123/ Fairy Demographics] in which he compares the biomass of "fairies" to humans, horses, and humpback whales. | Randall also discusses animal biomass in [http://whatif.xkcd.com/123/ Fairy Demographics] in which he compares the biomass of "fairies" to humans, horses, and humpback whales. | ||
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===Weight=== | ===Weight=== | ||
− | According to the diagram, there are 358 million tons of humans, 864 million tons of pets and livestock, of which 520 million tons comes from | + | According to the diagram, there are 358 million tons of humans, 864 million tons of pets and livestock, of which 520 million tons comes from cattle, and 34 million tons of wild animals; for a total of 1.3 billion tons. |
The number of blocks represents the weight of the group in millions of tons = billions of kg. Note that some entries have the same number of blocks, and thus have the same rank. | The number of blocks represents the weight of the group in millions of tons = billions of kg. Note that some entries have the same number of blocks, and thus have the same rank. | ||
====Humans==== | ====Humans==== | ||
− | Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population. Humans outweigh both | + | Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population. |
− | + | Humans outweigh both sheep and put together pigs. This is surprising as these animals outweigh the population in the countries that produce the majority of meat from such animals. | |
====Our pets and livestock==== | ====Our pets and livestock==== | ||
− | There are 13 distinct blocks of pets and live stock; only the top 5 are labeled - in order of weight they are: Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, | + | There are 8 distinct blocks of wild animal (elephants and 7 others). There are 13 distinct blocks of pets and live stock; only the top 5 are labeled - in order of weight they are: Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses. |
+ | Cattle, in aggregate, are much heavier than the human population. | ||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25" | {| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25" | ||
|- | |- | ||
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| {{sort|00520|520}} | | {{sort|00520|520}} | ||
| Cattle | | Cattle | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| {{sort|00003|3}} | | {{sort|00003|3}} | ||
| {{sort|00135|135}} | | {{sort|00135|135}} | ||
| Sheep | | Sheep | ||
+ | |||
|- | |- | ||
| {{sort|00004|4}} | | {{sort|00004|4}} | ||
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====Wild Animals==== | ====Wild Animals==== | ||
− | + | The elephant is the only type of wild animal to be singled out in the comic. This may possibly be due to elephants being the largest land mammal. Yes, the world's heaviest land animal only takes up one square. | |
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25" | {| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25" | ||
|- | |- | ||
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====References==== | ====References==== | ||
− | The comic references the book | + | The comic references the book [http://vaclavsmil.com/the-earths-biosphere-evolution-dynamics-and-change/ The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change] by {{W|Vaclav Smil}} as the source for most of the data. A few other sources have also been used, but were not referenced. |
On page 186 of Smil's book, there is a bar chart with the following values: | On page 186 of Smil's book, there is a bar chart with the following values: | ||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25" | {| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25" | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| {{sort|00300|30}} | | {{sort|00300|30}} | ||
− | | all wild | + | | all wild vertebrates |
|- | |- | ||
| {{sort|06500|650}} | | {{sort|06500|650}} | ||
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====Unlabeled Animals==== | ====Unlabeled Animals==== | ||
+ | {{Incomplete|Unfinished}} | ||
These are guesses about the identity of the unlabeled animals | These are guesses about the identity of the unlabeled animals | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25" | {| class="wikitable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25" | ||
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! Actual Population (Millions) | ! Actual Population (Millions) | ||
! Average Weight (kg) | ! Average Weight (kg) | ||
− | ! | + | ! Estimated total weight (Millions of tons) |
! Explanation | ! Explanation | ||
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| rowspan="1" |Pets/Livestock | | rowspan="1" |Pets/Livestock | ||
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| rowspan="2" |7 | | rowspan="2" |7 | ||
| rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock | | rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock | ||
− | + | | Camel | |
| 17 | | 17 | ||
| 412 | | 412 | ||
− | | | + | | |
− | | Wikipedia lists the number of camels as 17 million. An average weight, based on Wikipedia's numbers for male and female, is about 500 kg. So, including the non-adult camels, an average around 400 | + | | Wikipedia lists the number of camels as 17 million. An average weight, based on Wikipedia's numbers for male and female, is about 500 kg. So, including the non-adult camels, an average around 400 kg seems to be a realistic estimate. |
|- | |- | ||
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| rowspan="2" |6 | | rowspan="2" |6 | ||
| rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock | | rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock | ||
− | + | | Dogs | |
| 400 | | 400 | ||
| 15 | | 15 | ||
− | | | + | | |
− | |According to Wikipedia, there are 400 million dogs worldwide. If the average weight is 15 | + | |According to Wikipedia, there are 400 million dogs worldwide. If the average weight is 15 kg, there would be 6 blocks.<!-- Small dog=2 kg large dog = 100 kg the log average is about 15 kg. --> |
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| rowspan="2" |5 | | rowspan="2" |5 | ||
| rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock | | rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock | ||
− | + | | Donkeys | |
| 41 | | 41 | ||
| 122 | | 122 | ||
− | | | + | | |
− | | There are roughly 41 million {{w|Donkey#Present status|donkeys on Earth | + | | There are roughly 41 million {{w|Donkey#Present status|donkeys}} on Earth, with an average weight of about 125 kg. |
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| rowspan="2" |2 | | rowspan="2" |2 | ||
| rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock | | rowspan="2" |Pets/Livestock | ||
− | + | | Cats | |
| 500 | | 500 | ||
| 4 | | 4 | ||
− | | | + | | |
− | | There are 500 million domestic cats worldwide. The average weight of an adult cats is 4.5 | + | | There are 500 million domestic cats worldwide. The average weight of an adult cats is 4.5 kg. Factoring in the lighter weight of immature cats, 4kg as an average for all cats, (adult and immature) is within the range of possibility. |
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| rowspan="1" |19 | | rowspan="1" |19 | ||
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| 4000 | | 4000 | ||
| 0.5 | | 0.5 | ||
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− | |The {{W|World Health Organization}} estimates 4 billion rats{{ | + | |The {{W|World Health Organization}} estimates 4 billion rats{{Citation needed}} worldwide. The average weight of an adult rat is under over 500 g. |
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|} | |} | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | : | + | :'''Earth's LAND MAMMALS by weight''' |
− | |||
− | :[ | + | :[A block indicating the value of each block:] = 1,000,000 tons |
− | |||
− | :[ | + | :[Dark gray block:] Humans |
− | : | + | :[Light gray block:] Our pets and livestock |
− | : | + | :[Green block:] Wild animals |
− | : | ||
− | :[The rest of the comic consist of | + | :[The rest of the comic consist of blocks representing the weight of mammals. Some of the blocks are labeled:] |
− | : | + | :*Cattle |
− | : | + | :*Pigs |
− | : | + | :*Goats |
− | : | + | :*Sheep |
− | : | + | :*Elephants |
− | : | + | :*Horses |
− | : | + | :Data from Vaclav Smil's ''The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change'', plus a few other sources. |
− | |||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
− | + | [[Category:Animals]] | |
[[Category:Charts]] | [[Category:Charts]] | ||
− |