1378: Turbine

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 11:38, 6 June 2014 by Enchantedsleeper (talk | contribs) (→‎Explanation: Changed "windmill" to "wind turbine" and added clarification.)
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Turbine
Ok, plan B: Fly a kite into the blades, with a rock in a sling dangling below it, and create the world's largest trebuchet.
Title text: Ok, plan B: Fly a kite into the blades, with a rock in a sling dangling below it, and create the world's largest trebuchet.

    Explanation

    This is a pun on the term "fan". A wind turbine (which generates power via kinetic energy produced from the turning of its blades in the wind, and converts it into electricity) is not the same as a fan (where the fan blades move the air around to provide a cooling effect). The other meaning of "fan" is "someone who is a fanatic" about something (e.g. a football team, a band, etc.). The wind turbine's response to Megan's plan works with both meanings of the word: it is "not a huge fan", meaning not fanatical about the idea that she has proposed; and "not a huge fan", meaning not a gigantic device which will blow air at her, as she seems to assume it is.

    A trebuchet is a type of catapult. The setup described would not be a trebuchet, as the energy rotating the arm and flinging the rock would not be from a raised counterweight.

    Transcript

    [Megan is talking to a giant wind turbine.]
    Megan: I'll hold up a big kite, and you blow air at me until I lift off!
    Megan: What do you think of that idea?
    Wind turbine: I'm not a huge fan.

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    Discussion

    Why is it "horrible, horrible"? Do you really, really not like it? It's not like it's a shaggy dog cartoon which you wasted several minutes on... Oh, wait... 108.162.208.9 05:51, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

    For me, it just sucks that Randall chose to end the week on a lame pun. On Mondays/Wednesdays, the "suckiness" of something like this would be offset by a good "what-if?" on Tuesday. 103.22.201.225 06:00, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

    From what I've seen, Friday comics tend to be more "wacky" than the rest. 108.162.238.134 23:22, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

    While I agree it isn't the best xkcd could be, let's try and keep these pages objective, and leave the opinions in the comments. Mrmakeit (talk) 06:22, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

    "I'm not a huge fan" is a catchphrase of Elon Musk, his opinion on patents, which was in the news a couple of days ago. Lift-off alludes to Musk's SpaceX. Wind turbine alludes to Musk's renewable energy company Solarcity. Tww (talk) 07:36, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

    What's funny to me is that a turbine really is a giant fan. You'd just have to pump a whole ton of power (at the right voltage and sync rate) into it and possibly give it a kickstart of some kind to get it to turn. You could say the same about pretty much anything that generates power from rotational motion; it's a generator, but in the opposite direction, it's also a motor. 173.245.50.67 11:25, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

    I laughed at this comic, I thought it was great. As for the explanation, though, should it really be marked "complete" already? It reads like a first draft to me, and the comic is about a wind turbine, not a windmill. I'm gonna go fix that now. Enchantedsleeper (talk) 11:28, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

    I also liked this one. Great pun. As Enchantedsleeper may have found out windmill is the old mills for grain. But in some languages a wind turbine is called the same as a windmill! Kynde (talk) 17:57, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

    'apostrophe' is more of an oratorical device, for the benefit of an audience. In this case Megan is treating the turbine as if it were human - anthropomorphism - but this isn't really a central part of the comic, and doesn't need much explanation - Seanybabes (talk) 08:59, 9 June 2014 (UTC)

    "Apostrophe" is a grammatical device. I'm thinking you're confusing it with another word? -- The Cat Lady (talk) 10:48, 26 October 2021 (UTC)

    I just got the punchline today. My punnery organs evidently need a workout. --Okofish (talk) 22:01, 9 June 2014 (UTC)

    WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY????????????? SilverMagpie (talk) 21:52, 13 June 2017 (UTC)

    Windmills do not work that way! Goodnight! Jlwoodwa (talk) 01:35, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

    I disagree. We notably started to have a lot more storms in the years since wind turbines became a regular feature on our landscape. With all those windfarms, we're clearly now growing a surplus amount of wind! 172.70.85.131 08:31, 11 July 2023 (UTC) (:
    What is that even from? Z1mp0st0rz (talk) 18:33, 22 April 2024 (UTC)
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