# ­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:** 239
**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:** [August 2, 2025, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4763 "2025-08-02T01:18:52Z")
Poor Lou Gehrig. Died of Lou Gehrig’s disease. How the hell did he not see that coming? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4764 "2025-08-02T02:21:10Z")
“It’s like _Speed 2_, but with a bus instead of a boat!” ---
**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:** [August 2, 2025, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4765 "2025-08-02T03:22:02Z")
I think that was called _The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down_. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2025, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4766 "2025-08-02T03:32:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In the 80s and 90s, it was promoted as a more politically-correct alternative to the Mercator projection […] But proponents overlooked that, with the aspect ratio that Peters preferred, it’s Europe and the US that are relatively undistorted in shape, while equatorial regions are significantly distorted. - Discover some social justice cause that is fundamentally emotional in nature and of no practical relevance - Come up with an aesthetically ugly “solution” that everyone hates - Don’t bother consulting with the people that supposedly benefit from the change - Push it on everyone anyway at great expense History sure repeats itself a lot… ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4767 "2025-08-05T11:01:18Z")
> **[Grounded](https://xkcd.com/3124/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/grounded.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/grounded.png) “We should have you at the gate in just under two hours–two and a half if we get pulled over.” ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4768 "2025-08-05T15:53:20Z")
That’s a pretty expensive taxi ride. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4769 "2025-08-05T17:25:46Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > That’s a pretty expensive taxi ride That depends by what’s meant by top taxiing speed. On commercial runways, the top allowable speed is 35 mph. But jets can go at least 180 mph, which is a typical take off speed for a heavier jet, and I assume they could go much faster. I’d think a 360+ mile taxi ride is going to be significantly more expensive than a flight over that distance. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4770 "2025-08-05T17:41:43Z")
I wonder what the land speed record of a flight-certified vehicle is. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4771 "2025-08-05T17:57:20Z")
African or European? ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4772 "2025-08-05T17:57:38Z")
Is it on a treadmill? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4773 "2025-08-05T18:03:46Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > That’s a pretty expensive taxi ride Thank you. I had no idea what this cartoon was about, without your exegesis. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4774 "2025-08-05T18:03:50Z")
_The Last Man on Earth_ had an episode where the main character and his wife toured the post-apocalyptic U.S. by taxiing from town to town in a stealth bomber. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4775 "2025-08-05T18:10:00Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > I wonder what the land speed record of a flight-certified vehicle is. The highest claim I found online was for a damaged Israeli F-15 that made an emergency landing supposedly at 260 knots, or 300 mph. I doubt that was sustained more than momentarily though. The highest _takeoff_ speed, which presumably indicates an ability to maintain that speed against wheel drag, was the Concorde which reached 225 mph before liftoff. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4776 "2025-08-05T18:36:51Z")
Long ago I read of a Luftwaffe Bf-109 that was damaged over Germany and the pilot set it down on a highway. The engine was fine and he had plenty of gas so the pilot taxied some 15km back to his airfield. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4777 "2025-08-05T18:36:52Z")
Certainly, the highest taxi speed is going to quite nearly coincide with the lowest take-off speed. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4778 "2025-08-05T19:38:03Z")
Sorta relevant thread from a decade ago: > [@What's the longest distance any airplane has ever taxied/traveled on land?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-any-airplane-has-ever-taxied-traveled-on-land/747895): > > See subject query. Yes, that thoroughly inane one. What GQ was invented for. Here’s a 20yo thread from shortly after I joined. > [@TLD's 747 Bus Service (Signal Driver)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tlds-747-bus-service-signal-driver/248952): > > So I build a runway. A bloody long one. A couple thousand k’s of tarmac across the Australian interior. I take a standard Boeing 747 and drive the bugger along it as fast as I can. In other words, I do not want to take off, so I set the flight control surfaces accordingly, and go nutso with the four Rolls Royce engines. The questions: Is this even possible? How easy/hard would it be for an experienced pilot to do this? How insanely dangerous would it be? What effect would sea level operation… Should I be concerned that I remembered both my posts and just had to go search up the thread they went into? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4779 "2025-08-05T22:33:03Z")
I would imagine the wear on the landing gear would be substantial. They might not even be able to take the heat generated for longer than a takeoff or landing usually requires. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4780 "2025-08-05T22:34:24Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > Is it on a treadmill? Go sit in a corner with your face against the wall and think long and hard about what you did there! ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4781 "2025-08-05T22:52:06Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Certainly, the highest taxi speed is going to quite nearly coincide with the lowest take-off speed. That’s the usual mode of operation, but do airplanes have configurations that reduce lift (or even negative lift)? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2025, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4782 "2025-08-05T22:55:51Z")
I guess that is how they manage to land. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=238) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=240)