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| {{comic | | {{comic |
| | number = 702 | | | number = 702 |
− | | date = February 15, 2010 | + | | date = 2010-2-15 |
| | title = Snow Tracking | | | title = Snow Tracking |
| | image = snow_tracking.png | | | image = snow_tracking.png |
− | | titletext = I suppose that's more accurately a hare dryer. | + | | imagesize = |
| + | | titletext = I suppose thats more accurately a hare dryer. |
| }} | | }} |
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| ==Explanation== | | ==Explanation== |
− | This comic is a guide to recognizing various animals by their footprints. However, the comic typically detours into strange, ridiculous or pop-culture-referencing footprints. In order:
| + | Moose and Squirrel is a reference to the Rocky and Bullwinkle series of cartoons. |
| | | |
− | *The first panel is nothing special. Just a regular cat.
| + | Longcat is a internet meme from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long). |
− | *"Moose and squirrel" is a reference to the cartoon ''{{w|Rocky and Bullwinkle}}''. Rocky and Bullwinkle were a flying squirrel and a moose, respectively, and were frequently referred to as "moose and squirrel" by the show's antagonist Boris Badenov.
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− | *[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/longcat Longcat] is an internet {{w|meme}} from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long).
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− | *"Mouse riding Bicycle" is a reference to ''{{w|Ralph S. Mouse}}'', a series of novels by {{w|Beverly Cleary}}.
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− | *The hair dryer has melted an irregular region around the rabbit. The title text is a pun on the Rabbit with a hair dryer frame, possibly an homage to {{w|Looney Tunes}}, where shows with {{w|Bugs Bunny}} would often contain a pun on the {{w|Leporidae|closely related term}} of "hare".
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− | *{{w|Legolas}} is a reference to the character in the ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'' trilogy of books and movies. Legolas, as an elf, was so light-footed he could walk on top of snow, while the other races in his party were forced to trudge through it.
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− | *The "Bobcat on pogo stick" panel is a possible reference to the character Bonkers D. Bobcat from {{w|Bonkers (TV series)}}
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− | *The "Knight" panel is a {{w|chess}} reference, as the tracks move just like the knight piece in chess.
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− | *The "kid with..." panels are a reference to ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}'', a comic strip written by Bill Watterson. In it, Calvin has a pet tiger named Hobbes, and sometimes, a cardboard box that "transmogrifies" him to something else. In this panel we see tiger prints, meaning that Calvin became a tiger like Hobbes.
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− | *The same cardboard box is now tipped on its side instead of upside down in the last panel. Now it functions as a duplicator, making multiple copies of whatever is in it. Calvin goes into it, duplicates himself, and they walk and duplicate again, and the cycle repeats.
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− | *{{w|Prius}} is a reference to current events in which Toyota Prius's pedals have allegedly malfunctioned causing accidents. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/global/04prius.html]
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− | *The {{w|Higgs Boson}} is an {{w|elementary particle}} which, at the time this strip was posted, had not yet been officially discovered (there had been detections at the Tevatron with 4 sigma certainty since the early 2000s). It was tentatively detected in March 2013 in the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}}. The “prints” in the snow in this case humorously resemble the tracks made by elementary particles following a collision of the kind used to search for the Higgs boson in a {{w|particle collider}}.
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| | | |
− | ==Transcript==
| + | Mouse riding Bicycle is a reference to Ralph S. Mouse, a series of novels by Beverly Cleary. |
− | :BACKYARD SNOW TRACKING GUIDE
| |
| | | |
− | :[Each panel contains an overhead view of tracks through the snow, with a caption indicating the apparent source.]
| + | The image text is a pun on the Rabbit with a hair dryer frame. |
| | | |
− | :[Standard paw prints through the snow.]
| + | Legolas is a reference to the character by the same name in the Lord of the Rings trilogy of books and movies. |
− | :CAT
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| | | |
− | :[Large split-toe tracks and smaller rodent tracks.]
| + | Knight is a chess reference as the tracks move just like the knight piece in chess. |
− | :MOOSE AND SQUIRREL
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| | | |
− | :[Cat prints, but with more space between the pairs of prints.]
| + | The two "Kid with" frames are a reference to Calvin and Hobbes. |
− | :LONGCAT
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| | | |
− | :[Two similar careening tire tracks.]
| + | Prius is a reference to current events in which the car Toyota Prius's pedals have malfunctioned causing accidents. |
− | :MOUSE RIDING BICYCLE
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| | | |
− | :[Longer tracks, with a large melted ring surrounding a point in the middle of the frame.]
| + | The final frame is the Higgs Boson which is an elementary particle which has recently been detected in the Large Hadron Collider. |
− | :RABBIT STOPPING TO USE HAIR DRYER
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| | | |
− | :[No visible tracks.]
| + | ==Transcript== |
− | :LEGOLAS
| + | <!-- The transcript can be found in a hidden <div> element on the xkcd comic's html source, with id "transcript". |
− | | + | -- Tip: Use colons (:) in the beginning of lines to preserve the original line breaks. |
− | :[Single deep holes with cratering.]
| + | -- Any actions or descriptive lines in [[double brackets]] should be reduced to [single brackets] to avoid wikilinking |
− | :BOBCAT ON POGO STICK | + | -- Do not include the title text again here --> |
− | | |
− | :[Round prints that suddenly turn to the right halfway into frame.] | |
− | :KNIGHT
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− | | |
− | :[Human footprints up to a square melting pattern, turning into animal prints.]
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− | :KID WITH TRANSMOGRIFIER
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− | | |
− | :[Human footprints up to a rectangular melted area, which are then doubled to another rectangular area, which are then doubled again up to another rectangular area, which are then doubled.]
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− | :KID WITH DUPLICATOR
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− | | |
− | :[Right curve on a road, with tire tracks careening out of frame.]
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− | :Out of Frame Garden Owner: MY VEGETABLE GARDEN!
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− | :PRIUS
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− | | |
− | :[A series of spiraling and outwardly traveling lines extend from a point in the middle of the frame.]
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− | :HIGGS BOSON
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− | | |
− | == Trivia ==
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− | * A section of this comic, along with its title text, is used as the image for {{tvtropes|AltText|Alt Text}} on TV Tropes.
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− | {{comic discussion}} | + | {{comic discussion}} |
− | [[Category:Calvin and Hobbes]]
| + | <!-- Include any categories below this line--> |
− | [[Category:Bobcats]]
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− | [[Category:Animals]]
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− | [[Category:Kids]]
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− | [[Category:Physics]]
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− | [[Category:LOTR]]
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