xkcd presents "What If?"

[robkelk]

"Internet's here."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[robkelk]

"...it’s what the US government actually does."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[SkyeFire]

And since the Hubble makes a decent benchmark for the best that the Keyholes can do, the jury is in:  no, you can't read license plate numbers from orbit.  Yet.

But Tom Clancy was right:  you probably could tell a woman from a man, at the right angle... assuming a sufficiently large bust size.  

[Dartz]

Sometime in the last few years, we reached a point where there are, by weight, more ships in the ocean than fish.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

"Erudite?"

Spoiler

Or, more seriously, "140 characters may not seem like a lot, but we will never run out of things to say."

--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[robkelk]

And if we have something as cool as an indestructible hair dryer, it seems like a shame to limit it.
...
Just one more, then we'll stop.
...
(I lied about stopping)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Seraviel]

And if we have something as cool as an indestructible hair dryer, it seems like a shame to limit it.
...
Just one more, then we'll stop.
...
(I lied about stopping)

Also:
(Note: If you’re ever trapped with me in a burning building, and I suggest an idea for how we could escape the situation, it’s probably best to ignore me.)
-Seraviel
  
-People may die, but ideas are forever. Je suis Charlie.

[Dragonflight]

When he said "we'll assume an indestructible hair dryer," it reminded me of the other one, "Let's start by assuming spherical chickens...."
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

[Ebony]

When he said "we'll assume an indestructible hair dryer," it reminded me of the other one, "Let's start by assuming spherical chickens...."

Perfectly spherical, frictionless chickens. Proof that physics, as a pure science, doesn't actually work in the Really, Real World.
  
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Sweno]

Ebony wroteerfectly spherical, frictionless chickens. Proof that physics, as a pure science, doesn't actually work in the Really, Real World.

Nah, it just proves that oversimplification is just as much of a problem with physics as with anything else. And that reality is more complicated than most people want to deal with
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[Stephen Mann]

I'm reminded of that theological joke with the phrase "assume a perfectly spherical jesus".

[Shepherd]

New one is up. Fun with kitchen sinks: http://what-if.xkcd.com/36/
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[robkelk]

New one is up. Fun with kitchen sinks: http://what-if.xkcd.com/36/

It was up late...

"But I guess if you really like cornstarch that much, nothing unpleasant has happened."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[robkelk]

It’s hard to hear music from that distance, particularly when your ears were just hit by (a) a sonic boom, and (b) pieces of a rapidly disintegrating stereo.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

...with of all things an Avatar: The Last Airbender joke in the last illo's alt text... Heh.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[robkelk]

"our rocket scientists are pretty good at rocket science."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[firvulag]

It also suggests that if you started to slowly tilt a hockey rink, it could get up to 50 degrees before the players would all slide to one end

[robkelk]

It also suggests that if you started to slowly tilt a hockey rink, it could get up to 50 degrees before the players would all slide to one end

That was my second choice... My first pick is "It’s not just a problem of hitting it hard enough. This blog isn’t concerned with that kind of limitation."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[firvulag]

I was also severely tempted by "and world peace, which I recognize my first request makes significantly less likely."

[robkelk]

Image ALT text: ": the first thing i’d do in this world is try the diet coke and mentos thing"

(Second choice: "They can explode, in a sense, but not as violently as you might fear (or hope).")
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[hazard]

I'd prefer using Science as the link instead.

[Ankhani]

"This stuff is awful ... It can literally make ice catch fire."

The worst thing that can happen in mine? I try to cook. Saints preserve us.
---

The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."

>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI

[Ebony]

I kept expecting him to mention the Railway rifle. That thing was insanely useful.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Proginoskes]

I think "Science." needs some context to be properly menacing and hilarious. "What's the worst thing that can happen in a pressure cooker?"EDIT: also, alt text: "I'm expecting this contraption to get me a Nobel prize, assuming it proves powerful enough to blow open the safe where they're kept."

[robkelk]

I'd prefer using Science as the link instead.

I try to avoid using the punchline...

---

"We don’t care how it works—we just want to know if we can break it."

(Pretty much sums up the entire blog, doesn't it? So have an alternate quote: "The average car on the road weighs a hair over 4,000 lbs, so we have 850 billion pounds of car (plus around 30 billion pounds of driver) to throw around.")
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012