Editing 1622: Henge
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| titletext = I've got the Craigslist post ready to go! I wasn't sure what category it should go in, so I listed it as property and put that it has 'good sun exposure.' | | titletext = I've got the Craigslist post ready to go! I wasn't sure what category it should go in, so I listed it as property and put that it has 'good sun exposure.' | ||
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+ | {{incomplete|explanation is rambling}} | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | Cueball's mention of "the Manhattan thing" refers to {{W|Manhattanhenge}}, a phenomenon occurring twice a year that causes the setting sun to align with the east-west streets of the main grid of {{w|Manhattan}}, {{W|New York City|New York}}, causing a very special light display. Manhattanhenge is itself named after {{W|Stonehenge}}, an ancient monument consisting of several large stones, where the heel stone and the embanked avenue are aligned to the sunset of the {{W|winter solstice}} and the opposing sunrise of the {{W|summer solstice}} (thus creating on purpose the effect seen today in Manhattan, on specially intended dates). Hence the title of the comic. | |
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− | Cueball | + | In this comic, [[Ponytail]] appears to be telling [[Cueball]] about the same effect happening between two specific trees that she points out. However, Cueball realizes that (since the trees are effectively zero-dimensional points on the surface rather than one-dimensional lines like street grids) one could make the setting sun line up with almost any two arbitrary trees on any given day. This is due to the fact that any two trees that are close together with one further north would allow a setting sun to set between them, as the viewer of the sunset would simply need to move themselves to make the alignment work (as opposed to Manhattanhenge, which requires the sun to align with a straight line). |
− | + | The twist comes when Ponytail and [[Megan]] actually attempt to capture the setting sun with a {{w|butterfly net}}, as it is revealed that the sun is somehow setting at the actual point between the two trees rather than behind the trees when viewed from the east side. This is of course not possible in real life, but in the comic's last panel and in the title text the girls continue with their successful though surrealistic plan. | |
− | + | If this was indeed our {{w|Sun}} that they had somehow shrunk and cooled enough to captured with a butterfly net, transfer to a bag and bring it home, this would on {{xkcd}} terms be no more strange than many of the strange [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|powers]] of [[Beret Guy]]. If this would indeed happen, then since {{w|Earth}} and the rest of the {{w|solar system}} is now missing its central star there would be a ton of problems for everyone on Earth. So the girls would probably be able to get a lot of money in ransom for releasing the sun... But in the title text it turns out that they are just going to sell the Sun on-line. | |
− | + | Alternatively this is not ''the'' Sun, but just a small sun-look alike, maybe a {{w|Ball lightning}} which might actually be able to behave like this (though one would not be capturable in a bag). | |
− | + | The title text refers to {{w|Craigslist}}, a web site where the girls plans to offer the sun for sale in hopes of getting rich. Craigslist is a {{w|classified advertisements}} website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, items wanted, etc. One of the girls tells that she was uncertain as to under which category she should list a "Sun for sale". But she put it under property (as in real estate). To advertise the "property" she put "''that it has 'good sun exposure''", a common description of real estate. Being the sun itself, and having lasted already 5 billion years under its own intense radiation, you could phrase it like it has lasted well under sun exposure. On the other hand you could claim that it has never really been exposed to any external sun radiation, as the star light hitting the sun from other suns (stars) is very limited, even over 5 billion years. | |
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− | The title text refers to {{w|Craigslist}}, a web site where the girls plans to offer the sun for sale in hopes of getting rich. Craigslist is a {{w|classified advertisements}} website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, items wanted, etc. One of the girls tells that she was uncertain as to under which category she should list a "Sun for sale". But she put it under property (as in real estate). To advertise the "property" she put "''that it has 'good sun exposure''", a common description of real estate. Being the sun itself you could | ||
The title text may also be a reference to a woman who was stopped by eBay after attempting to sell plots of "land" on the Sun on the site. | The title text may also be a reference to a woman who was stopped by eBay after attempting to sell plots of "land" on the Sun on the site. | ||
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
[[Category:Astronomy]] | [[Category:Astronomy]] | ||
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