Talk:3121: Kite Incident

First post! 162.195.34.112 21:47, 28 July 2025 (UTC)

hey :) i wrote the current transcription and it definitely doesn't look perfect so if anyone has any feedback on how to improve i'd rly appreciate it (also like to add that i think this is probably my fav title text in all of xkcd) stevethenoob 22:16, 28 July 2025 (UTC)

The last frame says it shut down global air travel. I think it's implied that the line of kites circled the world. 2001:8003:6490:9700:94EE:E801:7399:7FD9 22:45, 28 July 2025 (UTC)

I think, at worst, it'd be hemispherical travel that's disrupted (wouldn't cross over between northern and southern Hadley Cells at all), though of course that would still affect air travel in which at least one end originated in the northern hemisphere (Sydney to Buenos Aires, etc, should probably be safe to fly) and there'd be an abundance of caution anyway, at least until the rather one-dimensional threat is properly identified (and the nature/origin of its deployment).

Also, I think a plane could probably strike an actual kite or two without too much problems (much less substantial than a bird-strike, and they're designed to shrug off at least the smaller birds), and I can't see the kite-line being an issue, as even a high-strength fishing line is probably vulnerable to the mechanical concentration of stresses.

Though I'm surprised it has the tensile strength to lead around the world, prior to any contact with a plane, as all it takes is for a slight wind-differential and the force of numerous down-wind kites could end up creating a tension against the more steady release from the ground and the relative back-pull from all kites that are upwind of that point), either snapping the line or parting a knot between two adjacent spool-ends of line. You can use a fishing line well beyond its design limit by smooth tugging action/responding properly to the pull of the hooked fish at the other end, but localised jerks and jinks will be hard to avoid across thousands of miles of polymer chord flexing and reacting to the way each of its periodically-attached kits want to move at their respective locations along the 'master string(s)'. 92.23.2.228 00:18, 29 July 2025 (UTC)

Interrupting those 'inter-hemisphere' flights would likely have knock-on effects on other flights in the otherwise non-affected hemisphere, due to planes and crews being in the wrong place, disruption to flight slots, etc. - see for example how the Iceland volcano caused disruption right across Europe and beyond, even for flights in areas nowhere near the dust cloud. 82.13.184.33 08:50, 29 July 2025 (UTC)

It would not actively shut down southern-hemisphere traffic, though, just disrupt it. Ironically, could even mean those flights that fly have fewer take-off and mid-air delays, not needing to queue/enter holding patterns quite so much at the now much less busy airports - though that'd be trivial and just not eating into acceptable time-buffers that every flight should have.

And I can't envisage a London to Sydney (now rested, first-shift) flight crew and plans being the only ones that are able to now go from Sydney to Wellington as a new flight onwards, if that was somehow factored in. They could be as easily replaced by the Sydney to Tokyo ones who now can't set off, etc. (Or some shuffling between where pilots and plans actually are, as there'll be plenty of spares in Johannasburg, Rio, etc, otherwise sitting idle and unable to get 'north', even as others are actively held back from reaching 'south'.

It was the more localised effect of the Icelandic volcano (or occasions like when Russia shot down the airliner over Ukraine) which meant that the 'fringe' of effected area to be avoided impinged into routes further away, and required flights that would merely skirt the area to consider their options, but the fringe of a whole hemisphere (which doesn't affect south-only specialist airlines) is arguably less significant, by proportion. Iceland was particularly disproportionate because the significant transatlantic travel tends to take paths up through the downstream ash-cloud, even between the extreme southern Europe and its equivalent US latitudes. Great circle (short) segments don't, however, cross the equator, but aftually bend away from it, so two south-of-equator endpoints have a flight path that's safer.

If an individual airline is running a (say) (North->)South1->South2->North(->South1) triangular service, normally, then it might have a problem if it doesn't run a S1->N->S2 counter-circuit with another plane (that also isn't 'trapped' North at the wrong moment), but can at least S1<->S2 until things clear up. And arrangements with other airlines (with opposingly 'south-trapped' resources) can probably paper over mutual gaps in coverage, if there's enough common goodwill for the duration. 82.132.237.17 09:31, 29 July 2025 (UTC)

This is not the first time that Megan has expressed an interest in flying kites, nor the second. It's also not the first time that Cueball has taken kite flying way too far. 2600:4040:5432:F700:80B6:B228:2EDB:6FC4 00:46, 29 July 2025 (UTC)

I love this one, for me it is very much early xkcd spirit in there, with just people out and exploring, having fun, trying things... I don't think I can really describe, anyone feels the same? --Lupo (talk) 04:40, 29 July 2025 (UTC)

Years ago someone told me that he had met Randall through their mutual interest in kites. 47.34.153.128 (talk) 07:50, 29 July 2025 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

@Lupo I agree, this very much feels like it could've been somewhere between .com/800 to .com/1200 and one of the better ones at that