# ­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:** 298
**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:** [May 28, 2026, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5943 "2026-05-28T11:12:05Z")
You could probably understand almost everything the 1700s person would say, just as you can read a 1700s book. That a 1700s person cannot know what a computer, a motorcycle, spoilers, or a space station is only becomes a problem if you are unable to adapt to that, but I think you are and you would. We do take context into account today in our everyday lifes when we talk to foreigners, or lawyers, or children. The interesting things to talk about with a 1700s person are not computers, but ideas. The 1700s person might disagree. Knowing that spoilers exist would make _me_ want to know about _them_, only that is not a problem of understanding words, it is a problem with the person’s curiosity. They might be tempted to interrupt constantly. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5944 "2026-05-28T12:19:46Z")
Yes, exactly. I imagine trying to yak w a bewildered Benjamin Franklin who somehow found himself standing on my doorstep here in 2026. The ensuing conversation would be very difficult at first because everything he saw or touched would trigger a _Squirrel!_ digression into “What is this thing?” Leading immediately to the problem of coming up w explanations accessible to him without needing to recapitulate the whole of the Scientific / Industrial Revolution first. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5945 "2026-05-28T12:29:47Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The ensuing conversation would be very difficult at first because everything he saw or touched would trigger a _Squirrel!_ digression into “What is this thing?” Lots of “The Moon?, the Moon in the fucking sky!?” moments. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5946 "2026-05-28T12:37:21Z")
I’m afraid I don’t get the allusion. But I bet it’s a good one. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5947 "2026-05-28T12:51:40Z")
[![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/6099a64364ccaf485b2c86ef63533f40/872fdf7634a90369-e1/s540x810/a6b4723e957b168ef1994932757739d57bf27dd5.jpg) ](https://64.media.tumblr.com/6099a64364ccaf485b2c86ef63533f40/872fdf7634a90369-e1/s540x810/a6b4723e957b168ef1994932757739d57bf27dd5.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5948 "2026-05-29T19:46:30Z")
> **[Ancestral Genomes](https://xkcd.com/3252/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/ancestral_genomes.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/ancestral_genomes.png) “SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: No further research is needed as it is frankly none of our business.” ---
**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:** [May 29, 2026, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5949 "2026-05-29T22:55:22Z")
Sheesh, they could at least put some censor bars over that tree diagram. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2026, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5950 "2026-05-30T11:26:07Z")
I have to be honest I was terribly confused until I reread the title and realized it wasn’t **Ancestral Gnomes**. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2026, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5951 "2026-05-30T13:45:06Z")
That would explain the conical caps at the bottom of the tree… ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5952 "2026-05-30T14:56:08Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I have to be honest I was terribly confused until I reread the title and realized it wasn’t **Ancestral Gnomes**. A gnome is due to a deletion in a genome. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5953 "2026-05-30T15:33:05Z")
Golf clap!! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5954 "2026-06-01T16:25:25Z")
> **[Sunbeam](https://xkcd.com/3253/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/sunbeam.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/sunbeam.png) “While weather control is typically thought of as a superpower, the unconscious ability of astronomers and astrophotographers to summon clouds is more properly classified as a curse.” ---
**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:** [June 1, 2026, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5955 "2026-06-01T16:27:16Z")
And that pernicious Northern Hemisphere chauvinism once again rears its ugly head. Talk about implicit biases: sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5956 "2026-06-01T16:51:01Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Yes, exactly. > > I imagine trying to yak w a bewildered Benjamin Franklin who somehow found himself standing on my doorstep here in 2026. The ensuing conversation would be very difficult at first because everything he saw or touched would trigger a _Squirrel!_ digression into “What is this thing?” > > Leading immediately to the problem of coming up w explanations accessible to him without needing to recapitulate the whole of the Scientific / Industrial Revolution first. You: Remember DaVinci? Franklin: Yes. I’m old, not dead. Well. You: He was right about all of it, as it turns out. Franklin: Fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5957 "2026-06-01T17:05:51Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Yes, exactly. > > I imagine trying to yak w a bewildered Benjamin Franklin who somehow found himself standing on my doorstep here in 2026. The ensuing conversation would be very difficult at first because everything he saw or touched would trigger a _Squirrel!_ digression into “What is this thing?” > > Leading immediately to the problem of coming up w explanations accessible to him without needing to recapitulate the whole of the Scientific / Industrial Revolution first. This is a thing I often think about for fun, imagining myself explaining the concepts I’ve learned to someone back before the concept was invented. I think it initially came from seeing episodes of Bewitched where they would bring back someone from the past. ---
**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 1, 2026, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5958 "2026-06-01T17:09:22Z")
For me, it’s usually Sherlock Holmes. Inspired by an old made-for-TV movie where Holmes somehow ended up in the present day (cryonics, maybe? Wells’ time machine? I don’t remember). Or occasionally an ancient Roman: That started in high school Latin classes. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5959 "2026-06-01T17:19:45Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > You: Remember DaVinci? > Franklin: Yes. I’m old, not dead. Well. > You: He was right about all of it, as it turns out. Right about all of what, exactly? Flying machines that flap their wings like birds? 😉 ---
**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:** [June 1, 2026, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5960 "2026-06-01T17:33:09Z")
Did you have to deal with any opposite sun movement issues much during your career as a pilot? ---
**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:** [June 1, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5961 "2026-06-01T18:59:39Z")
I never operated very far, or very often south of the equator. Some to Ecuador, some around Peru and that’s about it. Otherwise I was purely northern hemisphere The larger issue for my career was running generally east or westbound across the US. Which either greatly stretched or shrunk the day / night transitions. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5962 "2026-06-01T19:22:09Z")
I’ve been plagued lately by fellow tourists who do NOT understand that: “This pilot is so slow - the one on our way out got us there in half the time!” (three hours according to the clock, vs six). The worst was the teenager who giggled about how she didn’t understand time zones so she was just keeping her wristwatch on Kansas time: “I mean right now it’s 12:00 back home, but I don’t even know if that’s noon ::giggle:: or midnight! ::giggle:: ” (It was bright sunlight, and we were less than a thousand miles from Kansas – take a guess, Dorothy). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=297) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=299)