# XKCD What If References SDMB! **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 13, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471 "2014-08-13T23:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/1 "2014-08-13T23:00:23Z")
This thread ([What is the volume of a kilogram of cocaine? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=298784)) was referenced in today’s What-if from XKCD. He’s apparently a fan, as he says [QUOTE=Randall] As usual, the Straight Dope Message Board folks are on the case… [/QUOTE] Here’s the column: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/108/](https://what-if.xkcd.com/108/) (Should this have been here or on MPSIMS? I mentally flipped a coin and it landed on its edge, so I’m still not sure.) ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/2 "2014-08-13T23:16:29Z")
I’m not seeing the reference to the SDMB in the article you linked to. Where is it? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/3 "2014-08-13T23:18:34Z")
Found it–it’s in footnote 3, invisible to ctrl-f ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/4 "2014-08-13T23:19:22Z")
Yup, you got it. Also, impossible to copy (using Chrome, at least). ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/5 "2014-08-13T23:24:26Z")
Glad this wasn’t another damn “asshat” reference. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/6 "2014-08-13T23:27:55Z")
Huh? 😕 ---
**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:** [August 14, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/7 "2014-08-14T05:05:19Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Yup, you got it. Also, impossible to copy (using Chrome, at least). Oh, it’s possible. You just have to go to the HTML source. Same with CTRL-F. Here’s the full paragraph: > [@](#): > > But wait—what **is** the density of cocaine? As usual, the Straight Dope Message Board folks are on the case; in [this discussion](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=298784), they consult the CRC Handbook and Merck Index, before giving up and deciding that it’s probably about 1 kg/L, like most organic substances. They do, however, learn its boiling point and solubility in olive oil. And here’s the paragraph that references it (with [3] pointing to the paragraph): > [@](#): > > Many illegal drugs are, by weight, more valuable than gold. Cocaine’s price varies a lot, but in many areas is in the neighborhood of $100/gram.[sup][2][/sup] Gold is currently less than half that. However, cocaine is much less _dense_ than gold,[sup][3][/sup] so a shoebox full of cocaine would be less valuable than one of gold. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/8 "2014-08-14T07:18:09Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Glad this wasn’t another damn “asshat” reference. > [@RitterSport](#): > > Huh? 😕 Some people stumble across the use of “asshat” outside in the real world and are thrilled, thinking, because this is where they first encountered it, that it was an insult invented here on the SDMB. But it wasn’t. Someone also thought we invented the “airplane on a treadmill” concept, but we definitely did not do that, though we\* certainly explored it very deeply. I do think we were the first to investigate the “[Oriental Riff](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_riff)” though, which has subsequently become a thing. \*“We” does not necessarily include me. I tend to sit back and marvel. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/9 "2014-08-14T11:23:19Z")
I love it when we get cited elsewhere, but I hate it when they think we’re all about drugs (“Straight DOPE”). Anyhow, I think this is for ATMB since it’s a public notice, so I’m movin’ it. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/10 "2014-08-14T17:10:03Z")
It’s even exactly 100 questions [after mentioning the column!](https://what-if.xkcd.com/8/) ---
**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:** [August 14, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/11 "2014-08-14T18:44:52Z")
…And checking the thread in question, it looks like I was the one who suggested approximating it as the density of water. Which means that Randal Munroe has used a piece of information I provided. Whoa. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/12 "2014-08-15T17:58:07Z")
And my post appears immediately after one posted by the doper who provided Randal Munroe with information he used. Whoa. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/13 "2014-08-15T18:34:34Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > I love it when we get cited elsewhere, but I hate it when they think we’re all about drugs (“Straight DOPE”). > > Anyhow, I think this is for ATMB since it’s a public notice, so I’m movin’ it. Off topic, but this is the thing I hate the most about explaining to people who my internet friends are. “It’s the Straight Dope Message Board” “The what?” "You know…like “hey give me the straight dope on this topic…” “ooohhh” ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/14 "2014-08-15T19:14:41Z")
Ctrl - F. Why was I not informed?🆒 Another nugget of knowledge from the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/15 "2014-08-15T22:50:12Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Off topic, but this is the thing I hate the most about explaining to people who my internet friends are. > > “It’s the Straight Dope Message Board” > “The what?” > "You know…like “hey give me the straight dope on this topic…” > “ooohhh” Well…yeah, but it was also named during the 70s, so I suspect that there’s more to it than that. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/16 "2014-08-16T01:10:33Z")
Cecil’s various editors insist there wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/17 "2014-08-16T01:21:49Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Cecil’s various editors insist there wasn’t. And Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds isn’t about LSD and Puff the Magic Dragon is just a children’s song… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/18 "2014-08-16T01:45:12Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Off topic, but this is the thing I hate the most about explaining to people who my internet friends are. > > “It’s the Straight Dope Message Board” > “The what?” > "You know…like “hey give me the straight dope on this topic…” > “ooohhh” I’ve been on this board for long enough that my mom is aware of it and finally understands that it’s not about drugs…a few months ago I was at her house and I was on Giraffe Boards…and the whole thing started over “no mom, it’s not a message board about giraffes.” ---
**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:** [August 16, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/19 "2014-08-16T19:25:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **GrandWino** : > > And Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds isn’t about LSD and Puff the Magic Dragon is just a children’s song… Yup, looks like we’ve got that all cleared up, then. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471/20 "2014-08-17T00:59:03Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Some people stumble across the use of “asshat” outside in the real world and are thrilled, thinking, because this is where they first encountered it, that it was an insult invented here on the SDMB. But it wasn’t. I honestly can’t remember whether I heard it _here_ first, or in the online browser RPG game “Kingdom of Loathing” (The “asshat” was a helmet you could purchase.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-what-if-references-sdmb/695471.md?page=2)