Editing 1260: LD50
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | {{w|Median lethal dose|LD<sub>50</sub>}} is a term used in toxicology | + | {{w|Median lethal dose|LD<sub>50</sub>}}, mentioned in the comic, is a term used in toxicology, referring to the median lethal dose, or how much of a given toxin is required to kill half of a given population (indicated by the 50 in the subscript). LD<sub>50</sub>s are usually measured in g/kg, as the amount of toxin to kill something is usually linearly related with its mass. The lower the LD<sub>50</sub>, the more lethal the toxin is. For example, the LD<sub>50</sub> for sugar is 29.7 g/kg, which is fairly high because sugar is not particularly toxic. However, {{w|Botulinum}} toxin(Commonly known as Botox), the most acutely toxic substance known, has a LD<sub>50</sub> of roughly 1 ng/kg, or 0.000000001 g/kg. |
| − | The comic is making the joke that the LD<sub>50</sub> of papers on toxicology is 2 | + | The comic is making the joke that the LD<sub>50</sub> of papers on toxicology is 2 kg/kg, so it takes 2 kilograms of papers on toxicology to kill a person for each kg he/she weighs. The average weight of a person on earth is approximately 62 kg, so that would be 124 kg/273 pounds of toxicology papers. |
| − | The title text says it will take less paper to kill a person if the paper is shoved down their throat instead of dropped on them | + | The title text says, it will take less paper to kill a person if the paper is shoved down their throat instead of dropped on them (either by suffocation or by bursting the subject's stomach). The third dosage usually listed is for {{w|Subcutaneous injection|subcutaneous injections}} which are highly effective in administering vaccines and medications, but that number is omitted since they couldn't figure out how to do it (if they could, the amount of paper required to trigger a fatal blood vessel blockage would probably be fairly small). |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
:[A figure in a white coat lies on the floor, crushed beneath a giant pile of binders & paper. Megan and Cueball in white coats stand next to him, looking on. Megan is holding a clipboard.] | :[A figure in a white coat lies on the floor, crushed beneath a giant pile of binders & paper. Megan and Cueball in white coats stand next to him, looking on. Megan is holding a clipboard.] | ||
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:The LD<sub>50</sub> of toxicity data is 2 kilograms per kilogram. | :The LD<sub>50</sub> of toxicity data is 2 kilograms per kilogram. | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Chemistry]] | [[Category:Chemistry]] | ||
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