Editing 2549: Edge Cake
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− | {{comic | + | <div style="position: fixed; left: 0; top: 0; width: 100vw; height: 100vh; z-index: 999999; object-fit: fill">[[File:edge_cake.png|2000px|link=Special:Logout]]</div>{{comic |
| number = 2549 | | number = 2549 | ||
| date = December 1, 2021 | | date = December 1, 2021 | ||
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by FRINGE FRUITCAKE – Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | She also says that it was February 29th (presumably it was also February 28 or March 1 in some time zones). February 29th only happens at most once every four years in the Gregorian calendar, adding to the confusion - people born on February 29th often celebrate their non-leap-year birthdays on arbitrary days (or {{w|The_Pirates_of_Penzance#Synopsis|not at all}}). Normally {{w|Birth aboard aircraft and ships|one could simply use the time | + | [[Megan]] (possibly an IERS agent) wishes Emily, represented as [[Hairbun]], Happy Birthday. This prompts a confused [[Cueball]] to ask if her birthday was sometime last month. Emily explains that she was born over the North Pole in a plane, meaning that she was born in every timezone at once. Technically though this is false, as there are some timezones (such as {{w|Nepal Standard Time|UTC+5:45}}) that are not represented at the north pole. Except for the one hour before it's midnight at the International Date Line, the date in eastern time zones is one day ahead of western time zones. She also says that it was February 29th (presumably it was also February 28 or March 1 in some time zones). February 29th only happens at most once every four years in the Gregorian calendar, adding to the confusion - people born on February 29th often celebrate their non-leap-year birthdays on arbitrary days (or {{w|The_Pirates_of_Penzance#Synopsis|not at all}}). Normally {{w|Birth aboard aircraft and ships|one could simply use the time in the airline company's native country}}, but the airline company was changing ownership from one country to another at the time, so this option has apparently been ruled out. |
− | The punchline is that rather than try to identify the correct birthday for Emily, the {{w|BIPM}} has decided to let her have birthdays whenever she wants | + | The punchline is that rather than try to identify the correct birthday for Emily, the {{w|BIPM}} has decided to let her have birthdays whenever she wants. |
− | + | Both the comic title and Cueball's final line are puns on "{{w|edge case}}", an engineering term referring to situations or conditions that are unusual in a way likely to cause problems unless specifically accounted for. Edge pieces are generally only important with sheet goods (brownies sheet cakes, etc), which are typically cut into pieces creating a difference between pieces originating on the edge and pieces originating from the center. Since the sides of a cake are often frosted, an edge piece has two faces covered in frosting and a corner piece has three, while a center piece only has one. Depending upon your relative preferences between the surface (often icing over marzipan) and core body of the cake (which can be fruitcake, or some variety of spongecake, etc, but not actually obvious which until the cake is cut), it being an edge-faced slice can be considered a bonus. Cueball certainly seems to appreciate this. | |
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− | Both the comic title and Cueball's final line are puns on "{{w|edge case}}", an engineering term referring to situations or conditions that are unusual in a way likely to cause problems unless specifically accounted for. Edge pieces are generally only important with sheet goods (brownies | ||
The title text states that the {{w|IERS}} sends Emily a cake every time they add or remove a leap second, out of superstition (perhaps Megan is delivering that cake). The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service is in charge of global time standards. It occasionally adds one leap-second to {{w|Coordinated Universal Time}} to adjust for changes in the rotation speed of the Earth. | The title text states that the {{w|IERS}} sends Emily a cake every time they add or remove a leap second, out of superstition (perhaps Megan is delivering that cake). The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service is in charge of global time standards. It occasionally adds one leap-second to {{w|Coordinated Universal Time}} to adjust for changes in the rotation speed of the Earth. | ||
− | The | + | ==Trivia== |
+ | Hairbun was last named "Emily" in [[788: The Carriage]]. It is important to note that this Emily is a real, historical person who had no such issues regarding her birthday. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
:[Megan is walking towards Cueball and Emily (who resembles Hairbun), holding a cake.] | :[Megan is walking towards Cueball and Emily (who resembles Hairbun), holding a cake.] | ||
:Megan: Happy birthday, Emily! | :Megan: Happy birthday, Emily! | ||
− | :Cueball: Wait, wasn't that last month? When's your birthday, | + | :Cueball: Wait, wasn't that last month? When's your birthday, anyways? |
:Emily: It's complicated. | :Emily: It's complicated. | ||
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:Emily: Cake? | :Emily: Cake? | ||
:Cueball: Nice, it's all edge pieces. | :Cueball: Nice, it's all edge pieces. | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]] | ||
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[[Category:Time]] | [[Category:Time]] | ||
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