Editing 30: Donner

{{comic
| number    = 30
| date      = November 7, 2005
| title     = Donner
| before    = <big><big><span class="plainlinks">[https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063505/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=20#:~:text=Monday%27s%20Drawing%20%2D%20Donner Original title</span>]: '''Monday's Drawing - Donner'''</big></big>
| image     = donner.jpg
| titletext = Some people haven't heard of the Donner Party. They were pioneers who got stranded and likely resorted to cannibalism.
}}

==Explanation==
This was the twenty-ninth comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[27: Meat Cereals]], and the next one was [[34: Flowers]].

The {{w|Donner party}} was a group of pioneers who set out west along a new route that was supposed to be easier to travel, but ultimately proved slow and treacherous. They became trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and many died. It is believed that many of the pioneers, low on food, resorted to cannibalism, eating the bodies of party members who had already died. In this comic, three Donner party members arrive at Joe's restaurant, where they have ordered a table for four, as given by the fact that the {{w|Maître d'hôtel|maître d'}} knows they are the Donner party and calls for a party of four. The three decline the table since they are already full. This suggests that they just have eaten the fourth member (unknown to us) of their party after they placed the order for a table at the restaurant, but before they strolled over to it anyway. Of course, since they are not in a survival situation in this comic, cannibalism would be completely unnecessary. However, it may be possible that they are suffering from {{w|Wendigo|Wendigo Psychosis}}. Alternatively, the Donner Dinner Party may have resorted to cannibalism because it took so long to be seated at the restaurant. 

As with many of the earlier comics, the title text explains the joke rather than adding to it.

==Transcript==
:[Three people stand outside a restaurant; Megan, a man with some hair and another shorter person, probably a woman. There is a sign above the door and a menu next to it. Outside the door, there's a ''maître d''' with a cap behind a lectern. There is sign on the lectern.]
:''maître d''': Donner, party of four?
:Man: Actually, never mind.
:Megan: We're full.
:Sign over door: Joe's
:Menu: Menu
:Sign on lectern: Eat <u>in</u>

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal| 29]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd.com]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]