Editing 826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)
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| date = November 26, 2010 | | date = November 26, 2010 | ||
| title = Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC) | | title = Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC) | ||
+ | | before = ''Explainxkcd note: Don't try and click on this image to see the exhibits. Visit [http://www.xkcd.com/826/ the actual comic] instead'' | ||
| image = guest week zach weiner smbc.png | | image = guest week zach weiner smbc.png | ||
| titletext = Guest comic by Zach Weiner of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. When I was stressed out, Zach gave me a talk that was really encouraging and somehow involved nanobots. | | titletext = Guest comic by Zach Weiner of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. When I was stressed out, Zach gave me a talk that was really encouraging and somehow involved nanobots. | ||
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+ | ==List of tasks to make explanation complete== | ||
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+ | {{incomplete|See below.}} | ||
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+ | #Uncomfortable Topics needs cross-reference of explanations to Wikipedia where possible. | ||
+ | #Comment on the notable people in the main graphics (man with red cape, double black hat guy). | ||
+ | #Review for grammar. | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This comic is drawn by a guest webcomic artist, | + | This comic is drawn by a guest webcomic artist, Zack Weiner, following the theme of "Guest Week". Zach is the author of the webcomic [http://www.smbc-comics.com/ Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]. The [http://www.xkcd.com/826/ original comic] is interactive. It will show images of the exibits (see below) by clicking on them. |
− | The entire comic is a hypothetical "{{w|Smithsonian Museum}} of Dad-Trolling, an entire building dedicated to deceiving children for amusement." It is | + | The entire comic is a hypothetical "{{w|Smithsonian Museum}} of Dad-Trolling, an entire building dedicated to deceiving children for amusement." It is an common occurrence that curious children will ask simple questions about science to their parents, such as, "Daddy, why is the sky blue?" and a parent could respond, "Well Susie, the sky is blue to match your dress." |
− | + | ===Hall Of Misunderstood Science=== | |
− | The | + | Each exhibit is a display set up to reinforce the false, sarcastic, or exaggerated answers to typical questions that children may ask their parents about scientific topics. The answers given involve just enough information that the child may be satisfied with the answer and repeat it to others while maintaining the irony for adults that the answers are obviously misleading or false. |
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+ | <gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | ||
+ | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_27.png|The basilisk is a mythological reptilian monster that was described as having the ability to turn other living things to stone with its gaze. This plays on and encourages a relatively common childhood notion that a reptile or other animal (often an alligator, crocodile, tiger, or other large or dangerous predator) may be hiding under the child's bed or near where they sleep, causing anxiety. | ||
− | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_26.png|The exhibit about molecules is referring to a common trope attributed especially to elderly men in that they complain or sometimes exaggerate claims about certain developments over their lifetime which change the way they view or interact with the world (e.g. "When I was your age, we had fun all day with just a piece of wood!"). Historically, though it was understood that matter was made up of small particles it was a common misnomer to refer to these particles as atoms. | |
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− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_25.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_25.png|The magnet exhibit alludes to a loss of sexual desire in adults that while perceived may not be true by comparing the attraction between magnets to the attraction between humans. |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_24.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_24.png|Jesus' {{w|dandruff}} as {{w|snow}} refers to a common idiom in English that {{w|rain}} is "God's tears" and proposes a humorous and irreverent extension of the saying as an explanation for the existence of snow. |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_20.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_20.png|The letters associated with {{w|DNA}} are related to the {{w|nucleotides}} which make up DNA chains (they are guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine, and are referred to respectively by the letters G, A, T, and C). The commonality of the abbreviation disguises the link to the names of the nucleotides and gives rise questions regarding the letter choices. This could be an example of a parent crafting an answer that makes enough sense to a child, while disguising the parent's ignorance of the real reasons. This may also be a reference to another lamentation of older people -- that the world gets more complicated as time goes by -- and often leads to sarcastic or exaggerated fabrications. In this case, ostensibly, back when DNA was discovered, there were fewer letters available to assign to the components of DNA. |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_23.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_23.png|The sleep exhibit reinforces common fears by accentuating the aspect of vulnerability associated with sleep. "The Boogie Man" is a common and generic ghost/monster name used by people telling ghost stories to young kids; he typically hides in closets and underneath beds, and attacks sleeping children. |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_22.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_22.png|Water is less dense as {{w|ice|a solid}} than it is when in its {{w|water|liquid state}}. This is an unusual property as most materials are more dense in solid form. The exhibit falsely explains the phenomenon by linking it to a defense mechanism employed by prey species to deter predators. A {{w|rhinoceros}}, though fierce and territorial, is not a {{w|predator}}. |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_21.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_21.png|The anti- in {{w|antimatter}} is a prefix in English which means "the opposite of" referring to the fact that antimatter is made up of oppositely charged particles from regular matter. This is a partial homonym to species of insects commonly called {{w|ant|ants}}. |
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
===Regrettable Pranks: An Interactive Experience=== | ===Regrettable Pranks: An Interactive Experience=== | ||
− | This section holds falsehoods that a dad might use to frighten his children. | + | This section holds falsehoods that a dad might use to frighten his children. It is an interactive experience, so visitors can try something for themselves, then learn the frightening fact it indicates. |
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | <gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | ||
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_19.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_19.png|Helium makes your voice high-pitched, because sound travels faster in helium than in oxygen. Helium is not prone to combustion, because it is a noble gas. Visitors are told they are about to explode because of the helium they have inhaled. |
− | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_18.png|Your middle finger is always longer than the others, so this test will always tell visitors they are an alien half-breed. | |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_18.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_16.png|Cherries are a common ingredient in Jello cups, but the exhibit implies that the cherry is actually a rabbit brain. |
− | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_17.png|This is meant to encourage little children to make their beds, or be eaten. | |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_16.png| | ||
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− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_17.png| | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
===Concessions=== | ===Concessions=== | ||
− | This area holds concession stands, which sell food. There are misleading names on each stand | + | This area holds concession stands, which sell food. There are misleading names on each stand. |
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | <gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | ||
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_15.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_15.png|KFP - a parody of Kentucky Fried Chicken ({{w|KFC}}), a popular fast food chain which specializes in fried chicken. |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_14.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_14.png|{{w|Ground beef}} - a pun on the name. Ground refers to both the floor and the past participle of grind. |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_13.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_13.png|Eyes cream - wordplay once more. Ice cream sounds exactly like eyes cream when spoken, hence the 'how did you think it was spelled?' |
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
===Conservatory of Poorly Remembered History=== | ===Conservatory of Poorly Remembered History=== | ||
− | + | This section perhaps refers to how poorly understood world history is in America. It is interesting to note that African and Australian history is completely omitted, while European and Asian history are at least referenced. | |
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | <gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | ||
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− | File: | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_11.png|{{w|Genghis Khan|Genghis Khan}} - Genghis, born Temüjin, was a Mongolian conqueror and founder of {{w|Mongol Empire|the then-largest continuous land empire in history}}. While Americans can easily remember Khan as a badass figure, the Asian cultures as a whole tend to get slapped with stereotypical "mystical Oriental" elements, such as Chinese-style dragons. |
+ | |||
+ | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_12.png|{{w|Crimean War|Crimean War}} - an European Conflict. The joke is that American education, stereotypically, tends not to focus on wars that did not involve the United States; the Crimean war in particular would be glossed over in favor of the {{w|California Gold Rush}}, the {{w|Oregon Trail}}, and the rising political tension that would lead to the {{w|American Civil War}}. So the Crimean war is incorrectly remembered as a war on crime, (probably guessed from the name "Crime"an war.) | ||
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_10.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_10.png|{{w|The Renaissance|The Renaissance}} - a cultural movement in Europe that took place after the Dark ages. Here, the Renaissance is incorrectly remembered as a time when wizards were in control. The Renaissance was a birth of may different art styles and paintings, so the author may have mistaken the paintings as conjured up by wizards. This could also be a reference to Harry Potter, or how people blamed "witches and wizards" in the Dark Ages. |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_3.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_3.png|{{w|Star Wars}} - fiction is often treated as fact by children, or referred to as such by adults to children, either accidentally or purposefully. The father of the child is probably a Star Wars fan, to trick his child into thinking that the Star Wars events really existed |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_9.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_9.png|{{w|France}} - this further parodies the ignorance of countries outside of the Americas, since most people know that France exists. |
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
===Rotunda of Uncomfortable Topics=== | ===Rotunda of Uncomfortable Topics=== | ||
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<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | <gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | ||
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_8.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_8.png|"Naked wrestling" is a common euphemism for sex if your children happen to walk in on your coitus and you don't want to ruin their innocence. |
− | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_7.png|"Alcohol is poison" - an excuse to explain away why fathers may drink unhealthily, or are addicts. | |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_7.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_5.png|The "big tummies before babies come" obviously refers to pregnancy. |
− | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_6.png|Sidestepping around the death of a loved one is common with young children to spare them the sorrow of death; this takes it a step further by saying that the child's grandmother went to Saturn. | |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_5.png| | ||
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− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_6.png| | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
===Miscellaneous=== | ===Miscellaneous=== | ||
<gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | <gallery class=center widths=432px heights=285px> | ||
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_4.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_4.png|The {{w|dinosaur}} skeleton presumably refers to how humans have never actually seen a real dinosaur and have always only seen the bones. |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_2.png|The | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_2.png|The Bathrooms have 3 doors. Clicking reveals that there is one for each gender of humans, and one for "Korgmen & Spangs". This may be a reference to the Marvel alien species {{w|Korg_(comics)|the Korg}}. |
− | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_1.png| | + | File:guest_comic_week_zach_weiner_smbc_1.png|The uncategorized dark green exhibit to the right is labeled "Magic eye trick that doesn't actually work". The exhibit resembles an {{w|autostereogram}}, a picture that has a hidden 3D image, but has to be looked at by forcing your eyes to focus either beyond ("wall-eyed") or in front of ("cross-eyed") the image, which many people find difficult or impossible to do. Autostereograms are commonly sold in books under the trademark "Magic Eye". Presumably the exhibit only pretends to be an autostereogram without actually being one. |
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | [[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | ||
[[Category:Comics with color]] | [[Category:Comics with color]] | ||
− | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Ferret]] |
[[Category:Guest Week]] | [[Category:Guest Week]] | ||
[[Category:Interactive comics]] | [[Category:Interactive comics]] | ||
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[[Category:Science]] | [[Category:Science]] | ||
[[Category:Star Wars]] | [[Category:Star Wars]] | ||
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