Editing 2164: Glacier

{{comic
| number    = 2164
| date      = June 17, 2019
| title     = Glacier
| image     = glacier.png
| titletext = The Norwegian adaptation of The Sword in the Stone takes things in a weird direction.
}}

==Explanation==


A {{w|glacier}} is a wall of dense ice. Though glaciers tend to appear still, they are actually slowly moving, typically by around 10 inches (25 cm)/day. <!--note that the wikipedia article claims/claimed 1m/day, but its source claims the here mentioned 10in/25cm.-->

[[Beret Guy]] and [[Knit Cap]] are facing the forward edge of a glacier. [[Knit Cap]] remarks that glaciers are amazing, mentioning the fact that though we can't see it, the ice is slowly advancing. After considering this, Beret Guy leaves, then returns with two {{w|saber (fencing)|sabres}} and a hairdryer. He uses the (apparently battery-powered) hairdryer to melt a small cavity into the glacier, which he then lodges the sabre into. The melted pocket then freezes over the sabre; Beret Guy then takes a defensive position. {{w|Glossary of fencing|"Advancing"}} is a basic forward movement in fencing, and Beret Guy appears to feel it is unfair for the glacier not to have a weapon.

The title text refers to {{w|Excalibur|The Sword in the Stone}}, a famous sword in the legends of King Arthur, and {{w|Norway}}, a country known for its glaciers. In the original legend, the sword is set into solid rock, and enchanted so that only the true King could draw it out. The legend has been alluded to in a [[1521|previous comic]]. The title text might be making any of several implications about a Norwegian adaptation, including:
* The sword would be set into ice, a much less reliable and more easily-bypassed substance than stone.
* The sword would be set in the stone (or ice) hilt-first, meaning the true King would need to pull it out by the blade.
* The true King would not remove the sword, but rather would embed it into the stone (or ice) as Beret Guy has done here. – As {{w|Terry Pratchett}} wrote: "What’s so hard about pulling a sword out of a stone? The real work’s already been done. You ought to make yourself useful and find the man who put the sword in the stone in the first place, eh?"

Question Randall's science on this one as the consensus is that glaciers are retreating world wide. https://skepticalscience.com/himalayan-glaciers-growing.htm

==Transcript==

:[Knit Cap and Beret Guy are standing to the left of a glacier.]
:Knit cap person: Glaciers are so neat. You can't see it, but this ice is slowly advancing.

:[Zoom in on Beret Guy, who has his hand to his mouth, thinking.]

:[Zoomed in, Beret Guy exits to the left of the panel.]

:[Beret Guy enters the panel from the left, carrying two fencing sabres.]

:[Beret Guy uses a blow dryer to attach one of the sabres to the glacier.]
:''Whirrrr''
:[Beret Guy is holding the blow dryer and looks at the sabre that is attached to the glacier.]

:[Beret Guy stands in a defensive position with sabre in hand, ready to defend against the "advancing" glacier.]

==Trivia==
The author of ''The Sword in the Stone'', T. H. White, was mentioned two comics ago in [[2162: Literary Opinions]].

[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
{{comic discussion}}