# ­xkcd thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574 "2020-05-28T00:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 113
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2243 "2023-06-23T19:50:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m not seeing any word in there that could be parsed as “airplane”, though I think there has to be one… “Bird strikes”, which cause problems for airplanes. But the judge was still able to land safely. I’m still not sure how to parse the middle part. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2244 "2023-06-23T20:00:12Z")
That’s the one part that I did get. A popular Italian restaurant chain was involved in a court case involving green walkways. They were sentenced, but the judge ordered the sentence vacated. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2245 "2023-06-23T20:03:51Z")
I was thinking the case involved vacated walkways, but the judge ordered the sentence overturned. But that that leaves me stuck on “but rights and”. So maybe the plane overturned but then righted and landed safely? Must have been one hell of a big bird. Or only the judge overturned? Was she not wearing a seatbelt? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2246 "2023-06-23T20:06:55Z")
Yeah, I think the plane was overturned, but the sentence was vacated (which is what confused me for a while: if the airplane was both vacated and overturned, how could it have been righted?). I don’t think it refers to the restaurant. It refers to the “olive garden path sentence”, which I think only makes sense in the case of a literal “olive garden path”. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2247 "2023-06-23T20:44:06Z")
Yeah; I get more or less “After bird strikes, judge who ordered Olive Garden Path sentence in case of green walkways vacated [was] overturned but rights and lands safely.” Something called Olive Garden Path was sentenced in a case about green walkways. A judge ordered the sentence vacated. The judge was after this in a plane; the plane had a bird strike (in the sense that the plane and birds struck each other, but it’s called a bird strike); either the plane overturned, or it was so bounced around that the judge overturned inside the plane; but everything got right side up again and the judge (and plane) landed safely. I couldn’t get the second one at all until @Dr.Strangelove suggested that the grounds themselves were appealing, in the sense of being pleasant to look at. I do think that solves that one. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2248 "2023-06-24T06:08:33Z")
I think “olive” is referring to the shade of green; therefore the Olive Garden Path _is_ the Green Walkway. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2249 "2023-06-24T11:15:28Z")
Ahh! That makes perfect sense. And the misleading garden path of that part is that we really want to read it as the Olive Garden, but then “path” comes up and throws a wrench in that interpretation–whereas “green garden path” is perfectly sensible. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2250 "2023-06-24T13:08:02Z")
See, I was assuming that there was at least one case in the sentence where the “obvious” pairing was correct, to throw off our expectation that all of the obvious pairings were incorrect, and “Olive Garden” seemed the most likely place for that. Though I hadn’t considered the possibility that “Olive” was the color-- I was thinking that if “Olive Garden” wasn’t the restaurant chain, then it was a literal place where olives were grown. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2251 "2023-06-27T04:59:04Z")
> **[Alphabet Notes](https://xkcd.com/2794/)** > > Listen, you're very cute, but if you rearrange the alphabet to put U and I together it will RUIN the spacing! ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2252 "2023-06-27T15:02:00Z")
When I was very young, I had an alphabet book that was 3 pages. The first two pages that faced eachother had A through T. You had to turn the page to get to U through Z. I’ve always thought of them as more something tacked on the end. I wonder if Randall had the same book. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2253 "2023-06-28T04:50:50Z")
A little test I use sometimes is to write the alphabet but for the letter Z in two rows, then ask which row the Z should go, and why – since there’s a 50% chance of getting it right anyway. AEFHIKLMNTVWXY BCDGJOPQRSU > **Hint** > > Four-year old kids often get it faster than older kids or adults. > **Answer** > > The upper row – no curved elements. Illiterate kids see the shapes, not the symbols. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2254 "2023-06-28T16:13:54Z")
> **[Glass-Topped Table](https://xkcd.com/2795/)** > > You can pour a drink into it while hosting a party, although it's a real pain to fit in the dishwasher afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2255 "2023-06-28T18:39:17Z")
On the plus side, there’s a couple of minutes of possible entertainment from watching a cat trying to knock it off. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2256 "2023-06-28T18:49:20Z")
Nah, it wouldn’t take a cat that long to figure out how to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2257 "2023-06-28T19:07:22Z")
That reminds me of guys who weld a pipe wrench on the back of their pickup truck bumper, just to freak out anyone tailgating them. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2258 "2023-06-29T17:12:11Z")
Or firemen who would sit outside the station and watch people try to pick up a coin they had glued to the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2259 "2023-06-30T16:49:11Z")
> **[Real Estate Analysis](https://xkcd.com/2796/)** > > Mars does get a good score on 'noise levels' and 'scenic views,' but the school district ranking isn't great; the only teacher--the Perseverance rover--is too busy with rock samples to teach more than the occasional weekend class. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2260 "2023-06-30T16:59:26Z")
> the only teacher–the Perseverance rover–is too busy with rock samples to teach more than the occasional weekend class. I suppose that’s an advancement since 1972. > [@](#): > > Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids > In fact it’s cold as hell > And there’s no one there to raise them > If you did ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2261 "2023-06-30T23:40:47Z")
Location, location, breathable air, location! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2023, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2262 "2023-06-30T23:57:12Z")
You do have to admit, though, that Venus has a lot of atmosphere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=112) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=114)