# ­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:** 28
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/541 "2021-02-13T01:35:29Z")
> **[Normal Conversation](https://xkcd.com/2424/)** > > "I think I'll pass. These days I have a hard time feeling comfortable in crowded bars with loud music and lots of shouting." --me, after the pandemic, but now for a second reason ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/542 "2021-02-16T01:54:59Z")
> **[mRNA Vaccine](https://xkcd.com/2425/)** > > To ensure lasting immunity, doctors recommend destroying a second Death Star some time after the first. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/543 "2021-02-16T02:04:01Z")
I love it. Gotta get that printed up for my patients. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/544 "2021-02-16T16:26:31Z")
Randall knocked that one right out of the ballpark. Brilliant. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/545 "2021-02-16T16:41:33Z")
Well, yeah, the second time, because he built another ballpark to practice on first. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/546 "2021-02-18T06:15:08Z")
> **[Animal Songs](https://xkcd.com/2426/)** > > Dr. Fauci is not permitted to have a cat, because as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, his petting one would be considered giving aid and comfort to an allergen. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/547 "2021-02-20T01:54:33Z")
> **[Perseverance Microphones](https://xkcd.com/2427/)** > > If the first audio they downlink is from the descent, we probably won't be able to hear anything over the sound of the rover screaming. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/548 "2021-02-20T16:13:01Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > If the first audio they downlink is from the descent, we probably won’t be able to hear anything over the sound of the rover screaming. So, The Great Gig in the Sky? Fairly appropriate. Covers 5 minutes of the 7 minutes of terror. Huh, when they release the landing video, it would probably be great for the soundtrack. Better than Dark Side of the Rainbow. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/549 "2021-02-22T22:36:03Z")
> **[Mars Landing Video](https://xkcd.com/2428/)** > > The best part of crashing a Mars briefing is you can get in a full 11 minutes of questions before they can start to respond. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/550 "2021-02-22T23:16:21Z")
Yes, I’m quite late but there’s even a song (tangentially) about it: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/N3x5IxrBfX4/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHuA4AC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgXyhYMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCwaW9GkTjuQ2cDCptDLxvPYlEl_w "Red Simpson - Nitro Express") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3x5IxrBfX4) Calling it detonated steel: [Low-background steel - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-background_steel) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/551 "2021-02-23T00:50:51Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > > [@k9bfriender](#): > > > > Being reminded that a guy who is almost the same age as me just won the superbowl doesn’t really make me less grumpy either. > > “It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years.” > – Tom Lehrer Barack Obama and I are the same age and we’re both retired from a government job. So I like to think we’ve followed pretty much the same career arc. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2021, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/552 "2021-02-23T02:37:43Z")
I’d vote for you. 😉 ---
**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:** [February 23, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/553 "2021-02-23T13:38:31Z")
Tom Brady and I are the same age, and many tell both of us that we shouldn’t play football anymore. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/554 "2021-02-25T04:18:14Z")
> **[Exposure Models](https://xkcd.com/2429/)** > > "Cumulative number of coronavirus spreadsheets created over time" is a spreadsheet I am coming dangerously close to creating. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/555 "2021-02-25T17:56:27Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Tom Brady and I are the same age, and many tell both of us that we shouldn’t play football anymore. I’m betting that way more people tell Tom Brady that he should stop than have told you that you should stop. Of the two of you, you are by far the less unpreferred. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/556 "2021-02-26T21:54:36Z")
> **[Post-Pandemic Hat](https://xkcd.com/2430/)** > > Plus a shirt that says "it feels like you're making eye contact." Not really getting this one. Is not making eye contact the norm now? Did I miss the memo about this? ---
**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:** [February 26, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/557 "2021-02-26T21:57:34Z")
I’m going to assume that it is because of zoom and teleconferencing, where people have learned to look at the camera at the top of the screen, rather than at the face of the person that they are talking to. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/558 "2021-02-26T22:09:19Z")
Right. That little oval between the last two lines is supposed to be a webcam or phone camera. And for the alt-text: if you are making eye contact with the face on the screen, it will look to them like you’re looking at their chest. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2021, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/559 "2021-02-26T22:25:32Z")
Not living on Zoom that went totally over my head. Thanks for the explanation. Had the camera thingy on the hat been big & contrasty enough to even notice that might have helped. What I see far more of is people in person who’re talking while facing sorta 90 degrees to each other and at a distance that’d have been weirdly far apart 2 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/560 "2021-02-27T01:13:50Z")
My incorrect take was that people are automatically looking to make sure the hat doesn’t say MAGA … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=29)