Editing 382: Trebuchet

{{comic
| number    = 382
| date      = February 11, 2008
| title     = Trebuchet
| image     = trebuchet.png
| titletext = It was also fun when those teenagers tried to egg our house and it insta-cooked the eggs in mid-air.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a straightforward comic playing on [[Megan]]'s contradictory stance on [[Cueball]]'s historical {{w|trebuchet}} project and her own {{w|Automatic target recognition|auto-targeting}} kilowatt {{w|laser}}. 

She explains her stance with the fact that her invention helps keep the squirrels off the {{w|Bird feeder|feeder}}. The fact that it actually works is backed up by the sound of a squirrel squeaking as it gets zapped by the laser. But getting hold of such a laser and programming the auto-targeting so it only zaps squirrels and not the birds is a very complicated process - and there are probably many other ways to keep the squirrels off the feeder. So Megan is of course no better than Cueball here.

The title text refers to {{w|egging}}, throwing eggs at houses, other objects, or even people. While this is illegal it's still a famous form of protest; more often it's simple random {{w|vandalism}} or {{w|prank|pranking}}, most common on {{w|Halloween}} in the US. Generally targets are chosen at random, with little specific malicious intent towards the victim, although it's not unusual for people to seek out and target the property of those who they dislike.

If we do, however, assume that Megan programmed the laser to only shoot squirrels, it's likely faulty (unless her intent all along was to fry eggs in midair). Or it could be that she has programmed the laser to shoot any object moving towards her house in the air.

Trebuchets are referred to in later comics: [[1160: Drop Those Pounds]] and [[1190: Time]]. They are also mentioned in the title text of [[1378: Turbine]].

Much later in [[1846: Drone Problems]] Megan has created a device to shoot down drones, so this is her go to solution for annoying things...

To give some scale for Megan’s kilowatt laser: in {{what if|13|Laser Pointer}}, [[Randall]] remarks that a 1-watt laser (so, 1000 times less powerful) <q cite="https://what-if.xkcd.com/13/">is an extremely dangerous thing … capable of burning skin and setting things on fire</q>, and implies that it should not be legal for consumer purchase in the US. The limits for a 'safe' laser (one that can be used without goggles, so laser pointers for example) is a 5mW laser (0.005W). A “kilowatt laser” – it’s unclear if this is exactly a 1kW laser or merely around that range – is a {{w|laser weapon}}: for instance, Lockheed Martin’s {{w|Area Defense Anti-Munitions}} system uses a 10kW laser, at most only ten times as powerful as Megan’s laser.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is working on something on a table, and Megan is sitting at a computer.]
:Cueball: The trebuchet is almost done!
:Megan: Mm.
:Cueball: The range should be over 150 meters.

:[Megan leans back on her chair.]
:Megan: Look,
:Megan: I'm sure it's a cool project.

:[Picture of a trebuchet, with some spare parts to its right.]
:Megan: But eventually you'll need to outgrow these toys, and focus your energy on something practical. 
:Megan: This mad science is getting out of hand.

:[The camera zooms out, and we see a pole next to Megan, presumably to hold the auto-targeting laser.]
:Cueball: Says the girl who mounted an auto-targeting kilowatt laser on the roof.
:Megan: That's practical! It keeps the squirrels off the feeder!
:[From off-frame.]
:Laser: ''GZZZZZAPP''
:Squirrel: ''Squeak!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Trebuchet]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]