Editing 1378: Turbine

{{comic
| number    = 1378
| date      = June 6, 2014
| title     = Turbine
| image     = turbine.png
| titletext = 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 {{w|wind turbine}} (which generates power via kinetic energy produced from the turning of its blades in the wind, and converts it into electricity) is visually very similar to a {{w|mechanical fan|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 {{w|trebuchet}} is a type of catapult. The [http://youtu.be/MTWsmZta6AE setup described] would not resemble the widely known counterweight trebuchet, as the energy rotating the arm and flinging the rock would not be from a raised counterweight. It would rather be more similar to a traction trebuchet.

==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.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-A {{w|wind turbine}} ''uses wind to rotate its blades in order to generate electricity''. It is visually very similar to an (electric) {{w|Mechanical fan|fan}} which however does the exact opposite: it ''uses electricity to rotate its blades in order to generate wind''. The complementary nature of these two machines was previously highlighted in [[1119: Undoing]].
-The punchline of this comic is a {{w|pun}} on the other meaning of the word "{{Wiktionary|fan}}" which qualifies someone as liking or supporting something (here, an idea). [[Megan]] suggests to have the turbine blow air at her so she could lift off with a kite, something which would be conceivable with a huge fan, but is impossible here precisely because the turbine is not a fan and therefore can't generate wind. So the ({{w|Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphically}}-speaking) turbine's response is twofold: 1) it's a turbine and not a huge fan, which makes the idea impossible, and 2) probably for this very reason, it doesn't like the idea - i.e. it is not a fan of the idea.
+This is a pun on the term "fan". A {{w|wind turbine}} (which generates power via kinetic energy produced from the turning of its blades in the wind, and converts it into electricity) is visually very similar to a {{w|mechanical fan|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.
-The title text alternatively suggests building a makeshift {{w|trebuchet}}. The idea is that when the kite's string gets tangled in the turbine's blades, the kite will be spun around and it will fling the attached rock (this setup is more similar to a {{w|Trebuchet#Traction trebuchet|traction trebuchet}} than to the more common counterweight trebuchet).
+A {{w|trebuchet}} is a type of catapult. The [http://youtu.be/MTWsmZta6AE setup described] would not resemble the widely known counterweight trebuchet, as the energy rotating the arm and flinging the rock would not be from a raised counterweight. It would rather be more similar to a traction trebuchet.
 ==Transcript==
-:[Megan is talking to a wind turbine.]
+:[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.
-==Trivia==
-*In [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]] the wind turbines are also alive, but somewhat more dangerous than just being ironic.
-*In [[1119: Undoing]], Cueball highlights the differences between a wind turbine and a fan.
-*Trebuchets has been the subject of the comics [[382: Trebuchet]] and [[1160: Drop Those Pounds]], and they were also part of the story in [[1190: Time]].
 {{comic discussion}}
 [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
-[[Category:Trebuchet]]
-[[Category:Puns]]
-[[Category:Kites]]
-[[Category:Wind turbine]]