# ­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:** 237
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4723 "2025-07-25T00:55:39Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > Oddly, nothing happened to the Admiral who ordered them to speed through such busy waters with their cloaking device activated. Romulans are very sneaky. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2025, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4724 "2025-07-25T04:07:47Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > IIRC and too lazy to Google … > > There was a USN destroyer collision in/near Yokohama a few years ago that played out along those lines. Operating blacked out in a busy shipping area, trying avoid all the unwitting merchant ships and somehow oops’d themselves into a collision. > > I don’t remember that one involving having their running lights off, but I’m also too lazy to Google. This was the event I was thinking of: > **[USS Fitzgerald and MV ACX Crystal collision](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Fitzgerald_and_MV_ACX_Crystal_collision)** > > Early on 17 June 2017, the United States Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with MV ACX Crystal, a Philippine-flagged container ship, about 80 nautical miles (150 kilometres; 92 miles) southwest of Tokyo, Japan; 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) southeast of the city of Shimoda on the Japanese mainland (Honshu). > The accident killed seven Fitzgerald sailors. Their bodies were recovered from the flooded berthing compartments of the ship. At least three more of the crew of nearly 300 were inju... The article is silent on whether _Fitzgerald_ was running blacked out. It appears, between the lines, that the other ship was on autopilot with no one on the bridge, so any running lights on _Fitzgerald_ would have been immaterial to the accident. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2025, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4725 "2025-07-25T04:11:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@robby](#): > > > > Of course it’s incumbent on them to give way to everyone else to avoid a collision, and to also use their sensors to avoid all other marine traffic. > > So “This is an aircraft carrier, and I order you to yield” is extra-special wrong, then. Yes, totally wrong. Although…sort of related to that: I did hear a possibly apocryphal sea story about a submarine transiting on the surface that looked like a much smaller vessel visually and on radar because only the sail (aka conning tower) was visible in moderate seas. Anyway the sub had the right-of-way but some large merchant vessel supposedly asked them to give way over the ship-to-ship radio. It took some back and forth to get the merchant to realize they were dealing with a much larger vessel than was apparent that was equally constrained in its maneuvering. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2025, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4726 "2025-07-25T11:47:12Z")
> [@robby](#): > > > [@TroutMan](#): > > > > It’s most definitely illegal to have deceptive navigation lights… > > > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > > I suspect that wartime rules are different. > > Not just wartime. Warships routinely turn off their navigation lights, even in peacetime, if they don’t want to be spotted. Of course it’s incumbent on them to give way to everyone else to avoid a collision, and to also use their sensors to avoid all other marine traffic. And if there _is_ a collision, it’s their fault and the U.S. government will find itself paying damages. (And the commanding officer will almost certainly have their career come to an abrupt end.) The British Crown must be relieved that the U.S. covers any damages caused by warships of the Royal Navy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4727 "2025-07-25T20:18:01Z")
> **[Geologic Periods](https://xkcd.com/3120/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/geologic_periods.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/geologic_periods.png) “Geologists claim it’s because the earlier Cenozoic used to be called the Tertiary, but that’s just a ruse to hide the secret third geologic period, between the Neogene and the Quaternary, that they won’t tell us about.” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4728 "2025-07-25T21:00:34Z")
I still think no one’s topped the Geologic chart from “Science Made Stupid”. For example, back in the “Pestiferous Era” the predominant life form was “Nasty Crawly Things”. [![](https://html.scribdassets.com/i8jk78qoa2awc/images/4-5064888243.jpg) ](https://html.scribdassets.com/i8jk78qoa2awc/images/4-5064888243.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4729 "2025-07-26T03:23:16Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The penalty wasn’t getting arrested or something; it meant that if your ship didn’t comply, you were on the hook for a collision. Not true where I am or anywhere I’ve practiced. Not having appropriate navigation lights on is usually an offence. The Colregs themselves don’t create offences but everywhere I know there are local laws that result in a failure to comply with them being an offence. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4730 "2025-07-26T08:13:17Z")
🤣🤣🤣 Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4731 "2025-07-29T00:11:01Z")
> **[Kite Incident](https://xkcd.com/3121/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/kite_incident.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/kite_incident.png) “Detectives say the key to tracking down the source of the kites was a large wall map covered in thumbtacks and string. ‘It’s the first time that method has ever actually worked,’ said a spokesperson.” ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4732 "2025-07-29T00:31:03Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > It’s the first time that method has ever actually worked,’ said a spokesperson.” Okay, that actually made me laugh out loud. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4733 "2025-07-29T00:34:10Z")
Sort of a lot of fishing line. Earth is 40,000 km around at the equator, but there’s no jet stream there, so let’s assume 45 deg latitude. So 28,000 km, or 92 million feet. Some preliminary research suggests that high quality (Spectra) fishing line costs about 2 cents a foot, so maybe in bulk that 's 1 cent/foot. Which means about a million bucks in fishing line to go all the way around the Earth. I feel like the tensile strength of the line is going to be a problem, but maybe you could arrange kites in a way so that there isn’t much net tension on the line. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4734 "2025-07-29T01:38:28Z")
I’m thinking the multiple kites on the string would help, kind of like [DPU](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_power)s on railroads. > The greatest benefit of distributed power—and the reason for development of the original concept—is the reduction of [draw-gear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draw_gear) draft forces, permitting a wholesale increase in the size of trains without exceeding draw-gear strength, through the use of mid- or end-of-train locomotives. And the mouse-over comment made me LOL as well, @Zakalwe ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4735 "2025-07-29T01:39:27Z")
Staging kites has been used to set altitude records for kite flying. Google AI claims > The world altitude record for a kite train is 9,740 meters (31,955 feet), achieved on August 1, 1919, by the Prussian Meteorological Institute (Germany) over Lindenberg. And if you deliberately made your kite reflective to radar with say a thin layer of foil, I don’t doubt you could create an air traffic hazard that would get the authorities p.o.'d with you. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4736 "2025-07-29T01:52:03Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > And if you deliberately made your kite reflective to radar with say a thin layer of foil, I don’t doubt you could create an air traffic hazard that would get the authorities p.o.'d with you. But wouldn’t it be an air traffic hazard whether or not you made it more visible to radar? At least when you make it show up better on radar, they’ll know it’s there. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4737 "2025-07-29T02:02:18Z")
A kite would be harmless to a plane, I think, but a radar-visible unidentifiable object in a flight path would have to be avoided, because it might be dangerous ---
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4738 "2025-07-29T02:20:36Z")
Pretty much any solid object that enters a jet engine is going to do some serious damage. Planes have crashed from hitting relatively small birds. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4739 "2025-07-29T13:58:03Z")
Do I see a way here to protect Kyiv from those pesky Russian drones? ---
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4740 "2025-07-29T14:09:17Z")
Probably not. You’d need a ludicrous number of kites before there was a significant chance of any given drone hitting a kite and/or string, and the paradigm of drones is that they’re cheap enough that you don’t care if a significant fraction of them are destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4741 "2025-07-29T14:16:08Z")
It worked with blimps during the London raids, and kites are even cheaper than blimps or drones. Could you make a square array with silk netting in between the lines to catch the drones and entangle them? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4742 "2025-07-29T15:35:11Z")
Before the invention of radar people had presumed that defense against aerial attack was effectively impossible. Too much boundary to cover, not to mention that unlike a land perimeter the sky is three dimensional. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=236) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=238)