Editing 2669: Things You Should Not Do
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This comic references various questions submitted | + | {{incomplete|Created by a SUNSCREEN BALL. Seem people forget that he learned this from writing the new book, thus no reason to assume they reference old stuff, for instance see the update to the peel the planets crust away, that clearly is a reference to a new what if in the book. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
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+ | This comic references various questions submitted to the what if? blog, and is a promotion for [[Randall]]'s new book, ''What if? 2'' (to be released 6 days from the date of this comic publication). This comic has a list of things not to do, an extension of a previous list, and is purportedly things Randall discovered as he was doing research for his book. A visit to the [https://what-if.xkcd.com/archive/ What If? archive] shows the titles, publishing date, and a thumbnail for each article. Many of the acts described under the "new" section of the list are depicted in these thumbnails (see table below); others are references to examples or hypotheticals explored within the articles. Other entries do not seem to reference currently published ''What If?'' content and may therefore be found in the upcoming book, but this cannot be confirmed as of yet. | ||
The title text says that Randall is tempted to tell people that all the things in the book were things that he actually tried to do, not that he calculated the solutions for their problems. Many of the questions and answers in his new book are impossible to attempt in real life.{{citation needed}} | The title text says that Randall is tempted to tell people that all the things in the book were things that he actually tried to do, not that he calculated the solutions for their problems. Many of the questions and answers in his new book are impossible to attempt in real life.{{citation needed}} | ||
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{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | !Number !! Entry | + | !Number !! Entry !! Explanation |
|- | |- | ||
− | ! colspan=" | + | ! colspan="3" | From existing list |
|- | |- | ||
|156,812 | |156,812 | ||
|Eat Tide Pods | |Eat Tide Pods | ||
− | |||
|{{w|Consumption of Tide Pods|Tide Pod}}s are a brand of laundry detergent sold in small packets ("pods") of water-soluble gel. Many children have tried to eat them, thinking them to be candy, and have had to go to the hospital to treat poisoning. In 2017 and 2018, a satirical "challenge" originated around eating Tide Pods. | |{{w|Consumption of Tide Pods|Tide Pod}}s are a brand of laundry detergent sold in small packets ("pods") of water-soluble gel. Many children have tried to eat them, thinking them to be candy, and have had to go to the hospital to treat poisoning. In 2017 and 2018, a satirical "challenge" originated around eating Tide Pods. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|156,813 | |156,813 | ||
|Walk on stilts in a thunderstorm | |Walk on stilts in a thunderstorm | ||
− | |||
|Taller objects are more likely to be struck by lightning, so walking on stilts outdoors would increase the risk of death by electrocution. It would also presumably risk falling and injuring oneself that way, since the ground becomes wet in a rainstorm. | |Taller objects are more likely to be struck by lightning, so walking on stilts outdoors would increase the risk of death by electrocution. It would also presumably risk falling and injuring oneself that way, since the ground becomes wet in a rainstorm. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|156,814 | |156,814 | ||
|Set off fireworks at a gas station | |Set off fireworks at a gas station | ||
− | |||
|This has the risk of potentially causing an explosion in the gas station, from the sparks of the fireworks. | |This has the risk of potentially causing an explosion in the gas station, from the sparks of the fireworks. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|156,815 | |156,815 | ||
|Feed your cat treats that are the exact shape and texture of a human hand | |Feed your cat treats that are the exact shape and texture of a human hand | ||
− | + | |This probably runs the risk of the cat attempting to eat your hand, instead of a cat treat. | |
− | |This probably runs the risk of | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | ! colspan=" | + | ! colspan="3" | New! |
|- | |- | ||
|156,816 | |156,816 | ||
|Lean over a geyser vent and try to look down into it | |Lean over a geyser vent and try to look down into it | ||
− | + | |Geysers shoot steam and hot water upward. If a person were to lean over the geyser and look down during an eruption, they would be struck in the face by this hot liquid and gas mixture and severely injured or killed. | |
− | |Geysers shoot steam and hot water upward. If a person were to lean over the geyser and look down during an eruption, they would be struck in the face by this hot liquid and gas mixture and severely injured or killed | ||
|- | |- | ||
|156,817 | |156,817 | ||
|Fly a hot-air balloon over a firing range | |Fly a hot-air balloon over a firing range | ||
− | + | |A hot air balloon could present an irresistible target to the people firing their weapons at the range. The balloon could be shot and you could fall to your death. See image on [https://what-if.xkcd.com/81/ this entry]. | |
− | |A hot air balloon could present an irresistible target to the people firing their weapons at the range. The balloon could be shot and you could fall to your death. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|156,818 | |156,818 | ||
|Peel away the earth's crust | |Peel away the earth's crust | ||
− | + | |This is a reference to an entry in the new book, and an image of what it would look like is shown in [[2575: What If? 2]], where a potato peeler is used to remove the crust of the Earth. See also [https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/mercator this comic]. Several *What If* blog posts also result in massive damage to the earth's crust, including what happened to Texas [https://what-if.xkcd.com/153/ here]. | |
− | |This is a reference to an entry in the new book, and an image of what it would look like is shown in [[2575: What If? 2]], where a potato peeler is used to remove the crust of the Earth. Several *What If* blog posts also result in massive damage to the earth's crust, including what happened to Texas [https://what-if.xkcd.com/153/ here] | ||
− | |||
− | |||
|- | |- | ||
|156,819 | |156,819 | ||
|Try to paint the Sahara Desert by hand | |Try to paint the Sahara Desert by hand | ||
− | |[https://what-if.xkcd.com/84/ | + | |This would be [https://what-if.xkcd.com/84/ difficult] and require more paint than humanity has ever produced[https://what-if.xkcd.com/84/]. |
− | |||
|- | |- | ||
|156,820 | |156,820 | ||
|Remove someone's bones without asking | |Remove someone's bones without asking | ||
− | | | + | |Possibly a reference to ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'', in which Professor Gilderoy Lockhart removes all the bones of Harry's arm (instead of merely fixing a broken bone). |
− | |||
|- | |- | ||
|156,821 | |156,821 | ||
|Spend 100% of your government's budget on mobile game in-app purchases | |Spend 100% of your government's budget on mobile game in-app purchases | ||
− | |[https://what-if.xkcd.com/108/ | + | |A reference to one of the examples listed in [https://what-if.xkcd.com/108/ this post]. |
− | |||
|- | |- | ||
|156,822 | |156,822 | ||
|Fill a lava lamp with actual lava | |Fill a lava lamp with actual lava | ||
− | + | |A {{w|lava lamp}} is a glass lamp, which contains a wax mixture inside, and heats so that the wax rises and falls. Putting actual lava inside a regular lava lamp would most likely cause the lamp to melt and the glass to shatter, not to mention handling lava is very dangerous.{{citation needed}} However, in [https://what-if.xkcd.com/122/ this entry], Randall says it would be fairly easy to find a material that would be able to handle the heat of the lava and thus this would be rather anticlimactic. | |
− | |A {{w|lava lamp}} is a glass lamp, which contains a wax mixture inside, and heats so that the wax rises and falls. Putting actual lava inside a regular lava lamp would most likely cause the lamp to melt and the glass to shatter, not to mention handling lava is very dangerous.{{ | ||
|- | |- | ||
|156,823 | |156,823 | ||
|Drink the blood of someone with a viral hemorraghic (''sic'') fever | |Drink the blood of someone with a viral hemorraghic (''sic'') fever | ||
− | + | |Drinking someone else's blood is a bad idea unless you are a vampire. If someone has a {{w|viral hemorrhagic fever}}, it is much worse, as they have a very serious and likely deadly disease which can be transmitted by sharing bodily fluids, such as blood. Drinking blood is the theme of [https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ this article]. | |
− | |Drinking someone else's blood is a bad idea unless you are a vampire. If someone has a {{w|viral hemorrhagic fever}}, it is much worse, as they have a very serious and likely deadly disease which can be transmitted by sharing bodily fluids, such as blood. Drinking blood is the theme of this | ||
|- | |- | ||
|156,824 | |156,824 | ||
|Eat meat from rabid animals | |Eat meat from rabid animals | ||
− | + | |Eating meat from rabid animals could give you {{w|rabies}}, a virus which is nearly always fatal if not treated prior to the appearance of initial symptoms. Pathogen contamination in cooked foods can persist on the surface of ''e.g.'' tongs, chopsticks, or a fork used to grill, which is why the USDA doesn't allow any kitchen utensils to touch raw or ready to eat foods at all. Exceptions for utensils which touch only raw or partially cooked foods can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis. The rabies virus permeates essentially all nerve tissue before symptoms appear. | |
− | |Eating meat from rabid animals could give you {{w|rabies}}, a virus which is nearly always fatal if not treated prior to the appearance of initial symptoms. Pathogen contamination in cooked foods can persist on the surface of ''e.g.'' tongs, chopsticks, or a fork used to grill, which is why the USDA doesn't | ||
|- | |- | ||
|156,825 | |156,825 | ||
|Perform your own laser eye surgery | |Perform your own laser eye surgery | ||
− | | | + | |Refer to the end of [https://what-if.xkcd.com/82/ this article] |
− | |||
|- | |- | ||
|156,826 | |156,826 | ||
|Tell California poultry regulators that your farm is selling Pokemon eggs | |Tell California poultry regulators that your farm is selling Pokemon eggs | ||
− | + | |While issuing false statements to government regulators is a violation of Federal law, for which prison sentences can reach ten years and fines can reach ten thousand dollars plus any compensatory damages, as per [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1001 18 U.S. Code § 1001], there is some question{{cn}} about whether any competent regulatory authority would ever take such an assertion seriously, and whether they would be liable for greater damages for doing so than the potential liability of the original culprit involved. Actually doing this, even to county level regulators, could result in a series of events very disadvantageous to you. | |
− | |While issuing false statements to government regulators is a violation of | ||
|- | |- | ||
|156,827 | |156,827 | ||
|Funnel the entire flow of Niagara Falls into the open window of a physics lab | |Funnel the entire flow of Niagara Falls into the open window of a physics lab | ||
− | |[https://what-if.xkcd.com/147/ | + | |Likely an oblique reference to the image near the end of [https://what-if.xkcd.com/147/ this article]. |
− | |||
|- | |- | ||
|156,828 | |156,828 | ||
|Pump ammonia into your abdomen | |Pump ammonia into your abdomen | ||
− | + | |{{w|Ammonia}} is an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPA_list_of_extremely_hazardous_substances extremely hazardous substance] and pumping it into your abdomen would result in a painful death. | |
− | |{{w|Ammonia}} is an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPA_list_of_extremely_hazardous_substances extremely hazardous substance] and pumping it into your abdomen would result in a painful death | ||
|- | |- | ||
|156,829 | |156,829 | ||
|Suspend yourself inside a 10-meter ball of sunscreen and fall into the Sun | |Suspend yourself inside a 10-meter ball of sunscreen and fall into the Sun | ||
− | + | |Despite its name, sunscreen only protects against some types of radiation from the sun. No amount is going to be adequate protection if you are right inside the sun. Also, sunscreen, being a gel, would evaporate when exposed to vacuum. When exposed to the plasma of the coronal surface or the Sun's interior, it would quickly ionize along with anything inside it, becoming plasma like the rest of the Sun. | |
− | |Despite its name, sunscreen only protects against some types of radiation from the sun. No amount is going to be adequate protection if you are right inside the sun. | ||
|} | |} | ||
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[[Category:Pokémon]] | [[Category:Pokémon]] | ||
[[Category:Cats]] | [[Category:Cats]] | ||
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