1038: Fountain

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 19:56, 11 September 2013 by 173.167.82.77 (talk) (Explanation: Reversed adjectives. Makes more sense.)
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Fountain
Implausible, did you say? Sorry, couldn't quite hear you from all the way up heeeeeeeeere!
Title text: Implausible, did you say? Sorry, couldn't quite hear you from all the way up heeeeeeeeere!

Explanation

This comic is about how it's considered implausible to "fly" by positioning an umbrella under a water jet. However, with a powerful enough jet of water, a strong enough umbrella, and a sure grip, such an event is physically plausible (although you'd risk ripping your arm off).

Transcript

[A wannabe Mary Poppins heads to a fountain with three massive water jets while holding an umbrella]
[Cueball splashes through the pond]
[Cueball gets to one of the jets]
[Cueball opens up the umbrella]
[Cueball swings umbrella into water jet stream]
Cueball: WHEEEEEEE!


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Discussion

A pulley and a rock do this pretty well too, although it's a wee bit dangerous. What with the falling rock and all. Davidy22[talk] 07:07, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

The military method of rescueing personnel consists of an plane snagging a balloon attached to the person. If the line is long enough, the rescue is safe, for any speed of aircraft! Quite a thrill! --DrMath 05:41, 7 September 2013 (UTC)

Can someone post a link to the principle at work here? 108.162.216.13 02:31, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

Why the heck isn't it Beret Guy who's doing this? Nitpicking (talk) 00:07, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

Any idea where we can find fountains like this? Not that I'd go try it or anything. Just wondering, for science. 108.162.245.31 18:37, 13 May 2022 (UTC)