I’m falling ever further behind on keeping up with cultural references. What’s the door in the bottom of the ocean and the mouseover supposed to mean?
James Cameron dives into the Marianas Trench. The hatch is just a silly fictional reason for him to do so other than publicity.
The forum threat at XKCD has a post suggesting it is something related to Cthulhu but I don’t know if that’s true.
Big error: Lake Michigan is actually deeper than Lake Huron by about 200 feet.
Very obscure. Had to go to the forums for an answer.
You Are a Genius (Choose Your Own Adventure, No 95) [Paperback] by Edward Packard
In one of the options, you make a submarine that can travel into challenger’s deep. There, you find a mysterious door, which you enter and the book ends.
Wow… I grew out of Choose Your Own Adventure before they got up to 95. 
Of course, technically they are the same lake.
Brian
Wow, that’s really obscure. Anyone know about the hover-text? I thought it was a reference to Lovecraft’s “The Temple”, but looking at the actual story online it didn’t end the way I remembered it, so apparently that’s not it.
All right, so long as we’re on the subject (genius cartoon, BTW), can anyone explain the David Bowie/Freddie Mercury reference?
They’re Under Pressure
:smack::smack::smack:
Ah, now I get it.
Hydrologically, they are indeed. However, biologically and culturally it can be argued they’re quite different. And it looks like XKCD took that approach.
What’s the random white dash sitting under the Titanic?
Another obscure in-joke. http://xkcd.com/323/. Again, from the forums:
This line segment is approximately 1400m below sea level, and is apparently the “Balmer Peak” Easter egg that he mentions in his earlier post.
I’m not seeing the connection there. What has that white dash to do with the earlier strip?
I think alcohol may be involved.
The Balmer Peak in that cartoon is a blood alcohol level of 0.1337. 1337 is leetspeak (or one version of it) for “elite”.
That line is at a depth of 1337 meters.
So I don’t know if it is a reference to the previous cartoon as simply again making reference to 1337.
Most likely. 1300, .129. All the same, right? Alcohol may be the least of it.