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| | | date = September 15, 2017 | | | date = September 15, 2017 |
| | | title = What to Bring | | | title = What to Bring |
| − | | image = what_to_bring_NEW.png | + | | image = what_to_bring.png |
| | | titletext = I always figured you should never bring a gun to a gun fight because then you'll be part of a gun fight. | | | titletext = I always figured you should never bring a gun to a gun fight because then you'll be part of a gun fight. |
| | }} | | }} |
| | | | |
| | ==Explanation== | | ==Explanation== |
| − | This comic derives its humor from combining two common but unrelated pieces of advice: "never bring a knife to a gun fight", and "never put water on an oil fire". The corollary to these phrases is that a knife is only useful for a knife fight, and water is only useful for a wood fire (or similar solid and porous fuel). [[Randall]] creates a {{w|confusion matrix}} applying each of the solutions (knives, guns, lids, and water) to each of the situations (knife fight, gun fight, wood fire, oil fire) to predict the likely outcomes.
| + | {{incomplete|Bare necessities, could use elaboration. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
| | | | |
| − | The squares in the table are highlighted in green to answer "Yes" to the question, where the specified object is appropriate or advantageous for the situation, or red to answer "No", usually because the object would not be helpful in resolving the situation. The grid concludes that, not only are both pieces of advice correct (bringing knives to gun fights, and using water on oil fires would both end in likely disaster), but only the prescribed solutions are appropriate for each situation (e.g. any solution other than a lid would be ineffective for an oil fire, and potentially very dangerous). The sole exception to this trend is bringing a gun to a knife fight, which would give you a major tactical advantage over your opponent.
| + | A table based on variations of the phrase "never bring a knife to a gun fight", an idiom usually attributed to either {{w|Elmer Keith}} or ''{{w|The Untouchables (film)|The Untouchables}}''. The colors indicate a Yes (green) or No (red) answer. |
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| − | The ultimate point of this comic may be in the title text. There is a phrase in American English, "to bring a knife to a gun fight," which means "to be so naive as to be unprepared." While Randall may be commenting specifically on managing {{w|conflict escalation}} by being adequately prepared for the situation, it is also possible that he is subtly expressing his opinion about the virtues of restraint. | + | The third and fourth columns describe fighting (extinguishing) two types of fires -- wood and oil. Neither should be battled with knives or guns.{{Citation needed}} |
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| − | {| class="wikitable" | style="background:#E6C3C3;" | + | The last column of the table is based on reactions to an {{w|Class B fire|oil fire}}, which should be extinguished by removing the oxygen (such as by covering it with a lid). Attempting to apply water to an oil fire will result in a very large, dangerous flame. |
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| | + | The point of the this comic may be in the title text. There is a phrase in American English, "to bring a knife to a gun fight," which means "to be so naive as to be unprepared." Randall may be commenting on the fact that by being adequately armed, one contributes to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_escalation conflict escalation]. The green squares in the comic are all in diagonal except for "bringing a gun to a knife fight," which is clearly marked as being unreasonable in the illustration. The two last green squares are about putting ''out'' a fire, not starting a conflict. While the comic is vague and subject to interpretation, it is possible that Randall may be subtly giving his opining about the virtues of restraint. |
| | + | |
| | + | {| class="wikitable" |
| | ! Should you bring ... to ... | | ! Should you bring ... to ... |
| | ! scope="col"| a knife fight | | ! scope="col"| a knife fight |
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| | |- | | |- |
| | ! scope="row"| a knife | | ! scope="row"| a knife |
| − | | style="background:#C5E6C3;"| If you bring a knife to a knife fight, you will be evenly matched with your opponent (all else equal). | + | | Yes. If you bring a knife to a knife fight, you will be evenly matched with your opponent. |
| − | | If you bring a knife to a gun fight, you will be at a perilous disadvantage. (Although, at close range, a knife is considered more lethal than a firearm in certain situations, e.g. a holstered pistol.) | + | | No. If you bring a knife to a gunfight, you will be at a perilous disadvantage. |
| − | | Attempting to stab a wood fire with a knife will only lead to you being burned. | + | | No. Attempting to fight a wood fire with a knife will lead to you being burned. |
| − | | Attempting to stab an oil fire will only cause you to get burned and leave metallic scrapes in the pan. | + | | No. Attempting to fight an oil fire will lead to you being burned, in addition to causing metallic scrapes. |
| | |- | | |- |
| | ! scope="row"| a gun | | ! scope="row"| a gun |
| − | | style="background:#C5E6C3;"| Bringing a gun to a knife fight will usually leave your opponent at a perilous disadvantage due to the gun's far greater range. (Though if the fight is in close quarters, you will likely be at a disadvantage. You may also be accused of "not playing fair", but only if you leave survivors.) | + | | Yes. Bringing a gun to a knife fight will leave your opponent at a perilous disadvantage. (though may be unfair to the opponent) |
| − | | style="background:#C5E6C3;"| <ref>While the chart states that you should bring a gun to a gun fight, the title text makes the observation that bringing a gun to a gunfight might just raise your status from 'inconsequential bystander' to 'combatant'. So perhaps you shouldn't bring a gun to a gun fight if not bringing one is a way to avoid being considered part of the fight. It probably all depends on why there is a gun fight to begin with, and why you are choosing to go to it, with or without a gun (or knife or water or lid). Or Randall may simply (and wisely) mean that you shouldn't go to a gunfight at all, which is a genuinely valid point, and not a joke. If you're not there, you can't get shot.</ref> Bringing a gun to a gun fight will leave you {{w|Mexican standoff|evenly matched with your opponent}}. | + | | Yes*. Bringing a gun to a gunfight will leave you {{w|Mexican standoff|evenly matched with your opponent}}. |
| − | | colspan="2"| Shooting at a wood or an oil fire will not extinguish either one. Depending on the exact caliber of the bullet, you may even end up scattering the wood or oil fueling the flames, leaving you with a worse situation than before. Also, most bullets contain lead, so the heat of the fire may cause the bullet to give off toxic fumes. | + | | colspan="2"| No. Shooting either a wood or an oil fire is an ineffective way of extinguishing them.{{Citation needed}} |
| | |- | | |- |
| | ! scope="row"| water | | ! scope="row"| water |
| − | | colspan="2"| Splashing either a knife-wielder or a gunman with water may blind your opponent briefly, but if you're still in a fight (i.e. you cannot use the opportunity to flee), it won't win you the fight. (However, water can disable some antique guns that use black powder, since the powder will not ignite when wet.) | + | | colspan="2"| No. Splashing either a knife-wielder or a gunman† with water will serve only to agitate your opponent. |
| − | | style="background:#C5E6C3;"| Wood fires are best extinguished with a well-aimed splash of water. | + | | Yes. Wood fires are best extinguished with a well-aimed splash of water. |
| − | | Pouring water on an oil fire is notorious for creating huge fireballs and scattering the oil, making the situation even worse ({{w|boilover}}). | + | | No! Pouring water on an oil fire is notorious for creating huge fireballs, aggravating the situation even more. |
| | |- | | |- |
| | ! scope="row"| a lid | | ! scope="row"| a lid |
| − | | colspan="2"| Attempting to put a lid on the head or weapon of a knife-wielder or gunman will probably not help matters,{{Citation needed}} as it may only serve to agitate them. While it might momentarily confuse your opponent, it probably won't give you much of a running start. (However, a metal lid with the right sort of handle could serve as a makeshift {{w|buckler|shield}}.) | + | | colspan="2"| No. Attempting to put a lid on the head of a knife-wielder or gunman will probably not help matters, as it may only serve to agitate said knife-wielder. There's a possibility that your attacker may be momentarily stunned by the surrealism of the situation, but even that will only buy you about a ten-foot running start. Though a metal lid with the right sort of handle could be a {{w|buckler}} used as a defence. |
| − | | Trying to put out a wood fire with a lid would usually require a lid far too large for you to carry. | + | | No. Trying to put out a wood fire with a lid would usually require a lid far too large for you to carry. |
| − | | style="background:#C5E6C3;"| An {{w|Class B fire|oil fire}} is best extinguished by cutting it off from oxygen; stove top oil fires generally occur in cooking pans, which often come with lids suited to making an airtight seal. A fire-resistant blanket or towel also works well for this purpose. | + | | Yes. An oil fire is best extinguished by cutting it off from oxygen; stovetop oil fires generally spawn in cooking pans, which often come with lids suited to making an airtight seal. |
| | |} | | |} |
| | | | |
| − | ==Transcript==
| + | * While the chart states you should bring a gun to a gun fight, the title text makes the observation that bringing a gun to a gunfight might just raise your status from 'inconsequential bystander' to 'combatant'. So perhaps you shouldn't bring a gun to a gun fight if not bringing one is a way to avoid being considered part of the fight. It probably all depends on why there is a gun fight to begin with, and why you are choosing to go to it, with or without a gun (or knife or water or lid). |
| − | :[Text in the top-left corner of the comic:]
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| − | | |
| − | :"Should you bring _____ to ______?"
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| | | | |
| − | :[The comic is laid out like a grid, with implements down the left-hand side (A knife / A gun / Water / A lid) and the type of "fight" across the top (A knife fight / A gun fight / A wood fire / An oil fire). The grid illustrates the "match-ups", with a green square denoting a "correct" match-up and a red square denoting a Very Bad Idea.]
| + | † This may actually work with some older guns, if you use enough water, due to the fact that their gunpowder won't explode after being wet. |
| | | | |
| − | :[From the top left corner, going from left to right, top to bottom, with each first item being on its own line in the grid, the squares are as follows:]
| + | ==Transcript== |
| − | | + | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
| − | :[Green square, two combatants face off against each other with knives, equally matched.]
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| − | :*'''A knife''' to '''A knife fight'''
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| − | | |
| − | :[Red square, a person with a knife faces off against someone with a gun, and is clearly outmatched.]
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| − | :*'''A knife''' to '''A gun fight'''
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| − | | |
| − | :[Red square, a person holds a knife in a wood fire while saying "OW OW OW".]
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| − | :*'''A knife''' to '''A wood fire'''
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| − | | |
| − | :[Red square, the person with the knife scrapes at the oil inside the pan that's on fire while saying "OW OW OW". The scraping accompanied by the text "SCRAPE SCRAPE".]
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| − | :*'''A knife''' to '''An oil fire'''
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| − | | |
| − | :[Green square, the person with the gun points it at the opponent with the knife, who exclaims, "Dude!"]
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| − | :*'''A gun''' to '''A knife fight'''
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| | | | |
| − | :[Green square, two combatants point guns at one another, equally matched.]
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| − | :*'''A gun''' to '''A gun fight'''
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| − |
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| − | :[Red square, the person with the gun shoots pointlessly three times at the wood fire, which carries on blazing. The shooting is accompanied by the text "BLAM BLAM BLAM".]
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| − | :*'''A gun''' to '''A wood fire'''
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| − |
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| − | :[Red square, the person with the gun shoots at the flaming pan, which does nothing to put it out. The shooting is accompanied by the text "BLAM".]
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| − | :*'''A gun''' to '''An oil fire'''
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| − |
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| − | :[Red square, the person with the water throws it uselessly in the face of the person holding the knife.]
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| − | :*'''Water''' to '''A knife fight'''
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| − |
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| − | :[Red square, the person with the water throws it uselessly in the face of the person holding the gun.]
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| − | :*'''Water''' to '''A gun fight'''
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| − |
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| − | :[Green square, the person throws the water on the fire and successfully extinguishes it, which makes a "SPLOOSH" sound.]
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| − | :*'''Water''' to '''A wood fire'''
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| − |
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| − | :[Red square, the person is shown reeling back from the oil fire, the water glass going flying, as the oil fire explodes with a "FOOM".]
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| − | :*'''Water''' to '''An oil fire'''
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| − |
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| − | :[Red square, the person with the lid comically places it on the head of the person with the knife, who stands there in confusion.]
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| − | :*'''A lid''' to '''A knife fight'''
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| − |
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| − | :Red square, the person with the lid ineffectually places it on top of the gun the other person is pointing at them.
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| − | :*'''A lid''' to '''A gun fight'''
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| − |
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| − | :Red square, the person with the lid holds it near the wood fire, which does nothing to put out the fire.
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| − | :*'''A lid''' to '''A wood fire'''
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| − |
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| − | :[Green square, the person places the lid on top of the oil fire, which suffocates and extinguishes it.]
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| − | :*'''A lid''' to '''An oil fire'''
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| − |
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| − | ==Trivia==
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| − |
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| − | *The original image for this comic was missing one of Cueball's arms in the first panel. The original image is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:what_to_bring.png here].
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| | {{comic discussion}} | | {{comic discussion}} |
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| | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] |
| | [[Category:Multiple Cueballs]] | | [[Category:Multiple Cueballs]] |
| − | [[Category:Charts]]
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| − | [[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]
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| − |
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| − | == Notes ==
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