654
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

xkcd #2940: Modes of Transportation

https://xkcd.com/2940

Explain xkcd #2940

Title Text:

My bold criticism might anger the hot air balloon people, which would be a real concern if any of them lived along a very narrow line directly upwind of me.

alt-text:A chart that categorizes various modes of transportation based on their practicality and danger level:

Zone of Practicality:

  • Trains
  • Airliners
  • Boats
  • Walking
  • Cars
  • Scooters
  • Bicycles

Zone of Specialty and Recreational Vehicles:

  • Motorcycles
  • Helicopters
  • Light aircraft
  • Go karts
  • Skateboards
  • Rollerblades
  • Skis
  • Unicycles
  • Sleds
  • Bumper cars

?????:

  • Hot air balloons

“Hot air balloons are the optimal mode of transportation, if your optimization algorithm has a sign error.”

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I really wish the x axis was average distance traveled and the y axis was danger.

I get that the way this graph was designed was for humor and to highlight hot air balloons, but if you’re looking for a safe vehicle for a specific distance, it really doesn’t help out in any way. It probably wouldn’t be safe to drive my car across the Atlantic Ocean.

this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2024
654 points (97.9% liked)

xkcd

11711 readers
138 users here now

A community for a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS