# ­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:** 283
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5643 "2026-02-28T22:01:43Z")
> **[Dental Formulas](https://xkcd.com/3213/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/dental_formulas.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/dental_formulas.png) “I mean, half of these are undefined. And your multiplication dots are too low; they look like decimal points.” ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5644 "2026-03-03T18:00:59Z")
> **[Electric Vehicles](https://xkcd.com/3214/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/electric_vehicles.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/electric_vehicles.png) “Now that I’ve finally gotten an electric vehicle, I’m never going back to an acoustic one.” ---
**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:** [March 3, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5645 "2026-03-03T18:10:21Z")
IRL the question is “what do you do when the battery, which is up to half the cost of the entire vehicle, is worn out and won’t keep a charge properly any more?” ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5646 "2026-03-03T18:17:11Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > “what do you do when the battery, which is up to half the cost of the entire vehicle, is worn out and won’t keep a charge properly any more?” My understanding is that long before that happens, the rest of the car will be shot. Pretty much everything I’ve read on EV battery life is that they’ll outlive the car. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5647 "2026-03-03T18:23:16Z")
Yeah, that’s an argument from 2010 when EVs were still really new. EV batteries now last a long time and don’t cost 1/2 the price of a new car, but the detractors still haven’t gotten a new schtick. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5648 "2026-03-03T18:25:39Z")
What if you went up at 1 Ft per second [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oTzW-mTQd5w/maxresdefault.jpg "What if you floated upwards 1 ft every second?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTzW-mTQd5w) Brian ---
**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:** [March 3, 2026, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5649 "2026-03-03T18:26:47Z")
Okay, I stand corrected. In my defense, at my age anytime in the 21st century feels like “recently”. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5650 "2026-03-03T18:52:05Z")
I still think there’s a market for these: > **[General Motors Reports Record Sales Of New Disposable Car](https://theonion.com/general-motors-reports-record-sales-of-new-disposable-c-1819565961/)** > > DETROIT–In a report released Monday, General Motors announced 56 percent growth for the first quarter of 2001, a profit increase company officials attributed to February’s wildly successful launch of the GMC Whim, the first-ever non-refillable,... ---
**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:** [March 3, 2026, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5651 "2026-03-03T19:53:19Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > IRL the question is “what do you do when the battery, which is up to half the cost of the entire vehicle, is worn out and won’t keep a charge properly any more?” The same thing you do when the drive train in an ICE is worn and it won’t move any more: Replace it or scrap the vehicle. The reason I got an ICE in 2023 was because I had the choice of replacing the transmission for $4,000 in a vehicle I’d paid $3,400 for or buying an EV with 5,000 miles on the odo for $20,000. > [@Lumpy](#): > > In my defense, at my age anytime in the 21st century feels like “recently”. The car that got scrapped was a 2001. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5652 "2026-03-03T23:08:12Z")
Batteries that are no longer good enough for an EV can be re-purposed for home or grid storage use > **[Storage: Retirement home for old EV batteries?](https://www.energycouncil.com.au/analysis/storage-retirement-home-for-old-ev-batteries/)** > > The global shift from petroleum-fuelled to electric vehicles (EVs) has flagged an "urgency" in finding ways to reuse or recycle retired EV batteries \[i\] . ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5653 "2026-03-04T00:18:52Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Batteries that are no longer good enough for an EV can be re-purposed for home or grid storage use And once they’re no good for that, they can be recycled. There are companies that recover the metals from batteries. However, most car batteries are still in their original cars because the market for EVs is still pretty new. There weren’t that many EVs manufactured 15 or 20 years ago. Those companies recycle batteries from cars that have been in accidents or from other uses (cell phones, laptops, etc.). ---
**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:** [March 4, 2026, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5654 "2026-03-04T18:32:46Z")
There is a company here in Gilbert that [recycles lithium batteries](https://youtu.be/s2xrarUWVRQ) (7 min video) from any source but specializes in EV batteries. They’re dropped whole into a shredder-dissolver and three streams emerge. - Plastic shards – probably next to worthless since it would be mixed. - Base metals – steel, copper, trace amounts of silver and gold. - Exotic metals – lithium, nickel, and cobalt. They claim a 95% recovery. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5655 "2026-03-04T20:12:19Z")
> **[Solar Warning](https://xkcd.com/3215/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/solar_warning.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/solar_warning.png) “This replaces the previous solar activity watch, which was issued last month when the sun took off its sunglasses.” ---
**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:** [March 4, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5656 "2026-03-04T22:22:54Z")
“I see, a bad sun, rising”. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5657 "2026-03-04T23:02:15Z")
When we see it snarling, we’re doomed. _Doo-oomed_ I say! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5658 "2026-03-05T11:12:21Z")
As anyone who has answered misguided electrical questions can tell you, the real dilemma is “my phone charger says it is draws 50mA so where do I plug it in now that my outlets are 500A?” ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5659 "2026-03-06T21:14:03Z")
> **[Bazookasaurus](https://xkcd.com/3216/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/bazookasaurus.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/bazookasaurus.png) “In contrast to the deep booming sound associated with the cannon in pop culture depictions, recent studies show it actually made more of a ‘toot toot!’ noise.” ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5660 "2026-03-10T18:59:29Z")
> **[Home Remedies](https://xkcd.com/3217/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/home_remedies.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/home_remedies.png) “As always, you are permitted to call one person for guidance, but that person must be a grandparent.” ---
**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:** [March 10, 2026, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5661 "2026-03-10T19:03:38Z")
Not necessarily _your_ grandparent. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2026, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5662 "2026-03-10T19:08:40Z")
All I gotta say is “Better call **Beck** ” 😁 I bet she’d win that competition hands down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=282) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=284)