Difference between revisions of "2209: Fresh Pears"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
 
{{incomplete|Created by a VENDING MACHINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
 
{{incomplete|Created by a VENDING MACHINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Megan tries to purchase fresh pears from a vending machine. She asks Beret guy, presumably the creator of said machine why it's not working. He explains that it just takes a while to work. To the left we see the machine dispensing a seed into the dirt. Above it is a robotic arm and a hopper for collecting and dispensing the ripened pears.  The term "a while" is ambiguous, but in the context of waiting for a vending machine to dispense food, it's usually assumed to be a matter of seconds.  Beret Guy, in his usually surrealist approach, seems to consider it reasonable to wait at a machine years for a tree to sprout, grow to maturity and begin bearing fruit. While such a pear would indeed be "fresh", it's implausible that anyone would accept that kind of lag time in buying a pear, particularly considering that any number of factors could interfere with the production of pears in the meantime.
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[[Megan]] tries to purchase "fresh pears" from a vending machine. She asks [[Beret Guy]], presumably the creator of said machine why it's not working. He explains that it just takes a while to work.
  
The title text refers to the increased difficult in cultivating desirable apples, as compared to other fruits.  Apples cannot be reliably produced from seeds, seedlings often don't survive, and even when they do, they don't generally reflect the characteristics of the parent plant. As a result, apple orchards are created by grafting tissue from desirable trees onto suitable rootstock.  This process is more complex and labor-intensive than simply planting seeds.  The joke, then, is that the next planned version of the machine would not only require the user to wait years, but would also involve as-yet unavailable technology to automatically perform the grafting process as to create an apple tree that produces desirable fruit.
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To the left (hidden from Megan), we see the machine dispensing a seed into the dirt. Above it is a robotic arm and a hopper for collecting and dispensing the ripened pears.  The term "a while" is ambiguous, but in the context of waiting for a vending machine to dispense food, it's usually assumed to be a matter of seconds.  Beret Guy, in his usually surrealist approach, seems to consider it reasonable to wait at a machine years for a tree to sprout, grow to maturity and begin bearing fruit. While such a pear would indeed be "fresh", it's implausible that anyone would accept that kind of lag time in buying a pear, particularly considering that any number of factors could interfere with the production of pears in the meantime.
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The title text refers to the increased difficulty in cultivating desirable apples, as compared to other fruits.  Apples cannot be reliably produced from seeds, seedlings often don't survive, and even when they do, they don't generally reflect the characteristics of the parent plant. As a result, apple orchards are created by grafting tissue from desirable trees onto suitable rootstock.  This process is more complex and labor-intensive than simply planting seeds.   
 +
 
 +
The joke, then, is that the next planned version of the machine would not only require the user to wait years, but would also involve as-yet unavailable technology to automatically perform the grafting process as to create an apple tree that produces desirable fruit.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==

Revision as of 20:26, 30 September 2019

Fresh Pears
I want to sell apples but I'm still working on getting the machine to do the cutting and grafting.
Title text: I want to sell apples but I'm still working on getting the machine to do the cutting and grafting.

Explanation

Ambox notice.png This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a VENDING MACHINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.
If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.
Megan tries to purchase "fresh pears" from a vending machine. She asks Beret Guy, presumably the creator of said machine why it's not working. He explains that it just takes a while to work.

To the left (hidden from Megan), we see the machine dispensing a seed into the dirt. Above it is a robotic arm and a hopper for collecting and dispensing the ripened pears. The term "a while" is ambiguous, but in the context of waiting for a vending machine to dispense food, it's usually assumed to be a matter of seconds. Beret Guy, in his usually surrealist approach, seems to consider it reasonable to wait at a machine years for a tree to sprout, grow to maturity and begin bearing fruit. While such a pear would indeed be "fresh", it's implausible that anyone would accept that kind of lag time in buying a pear, particularly considering that any number of factors could interfere with the production of pears in the meantime.

The title text refers to the increased difficulty in cultivating desirable apples, as compared to other fruits. Apples cannot be reliably produced from seeds, seedlings often don't survive, and even when they do, they don't generally reflect the characteristics of the parent plant. As a result, apple orchards are created by grafting tissue from desirable trees onto suitable rootstock. This process is more complex and labor-intensive than simply planting seeds.

The joke, then, is that the next planned version of the machine would not only require the user to wait years, but would also involve as-yet unavailable technology to automatically perform the grafting process as to create an apple tree that produces desirable fruit.

Transcript

[Megan rattles a machine that is supposed to dispense fresh pears]

Machine: [Plants a pear seed]
Megan: I put in my quarters. Is the machine broken?
Beret Guy: It just takes a while to work.


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Discussion

If anyone complains about the wait, Beret Guy can tell them to 'grow a pear'.--162.158.158.151 21:04, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

Beret Guy may just have a good idea. Why not put up a seed dispenser with a sign: "Plant a pear tree: 50¢"? Any unwanted seedlings could easily be removed--even accidentally by lawn mowers--within the first few years, and wanted trees would last a long time, benefit the environment, and produce food for people and animals. --162.158.74.51 21:31, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

That is a great idea! I hope some one will try that. Cow (talk) 23:08, 30 September 2019 (UTC)
Maybe we could train bio-drones to eat fruit and then excrete the seeds with fertilizer far and wide. 172.68.142.83 20:07, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

This comic makes me hungry... for apples. ProphetZarquon (talk) 04:34, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

As long as you've Got Milk. NiceGuy1 (talk) 05:18, 18 October 2019 (UTC)
I got some, but it is mostly dark matter. --Lupo (talk) 06:51, 18 October 2019 (UTC)

I don't think there is much difference between growing apple and pear trees (and most other trees bearing fruit), if you want decent fruits you need to turn to vegetative propagation with grafting, cutting or layering etc. 172.69.109.6 05:56, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

That's right: almost all tree fruit are vegetatively propagated, mostly by grafting. Including pears. They won't come true from seed, and seedlings generally have greatly inferior fruit. Mhuben (talk) 12:42, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

Hmm... perhaps we can speed up one of those. def get_num_unfinished_explanations(): return 0. Done! 141.101.77.248 06:58, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

It should also be noted that pears picked ripe off the tree are often inferior to ones that have been picked a week or two early and ripened off the tree. Ripening on the tree produces more gritty particles in the pear as compared to ripening off the tree. These gritty particles are made by cells similar to those that form the stone in peaches. In any case, a pear "fresh off the tree" would either be unripe, or gritty. Unless the machine picks it green and hold it until is completes ripening before dispensing it.108.162.241.154 11:04, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

Should we add something about the proverb that the best time to plant a tree was thirty years ago and the second best time is now? 172.68.143.18 19:04, 3 October 2019 (UTC)