Uncle $crooge sends this in: “It’s probably some kind of weird McEldowney fetish so I probably will regret sending this in and learning something that I really don’t want to know. Still, maybe it’s just a harmless joke; I just have no idea what this strip is about.”
I don’t really understand it, either, but I’m giving it an Arlo tag just because it’s McEldowney. The ones before and after this one are also themed The Thorax Clinic, but have a different patient.
From CCM:
CCM writes:
Not sure why he stops at saying “I’m sad to report” and why there is a 20-second wait.
Boise Ed asks the musical question: “Is there some romantic attachment to a CM7 chord? And how does he make a chord with one string, anyhow?”
Christian sends this in: “I often find philosophical debate/discussion to be tedious. Consuming philosophical subject matter humorously/satirically in the SMBC way is tolerable… but I don’t think I entirely understand the main comic…. but I think I understand the votey comic better… which only kinda-sorta helps explain the main one…”
Noosignatures were proposed to fill the gap between biosignatures (chemical signs of life) and technosignatures (detectable advanced technology like radio signals). They indicate intelligent activity that is not necessarily technological. Examples include:
Chemical signs of possible life go back billions of years on earth. Production of radio waves, a bit over a hundred. Noosignatures on earth would go back maybe 3 million years or so. Exactly how you could detect these from earth is unclear.
billr and guero send this in:
MrBee sends this in: “I have no idea what the baby has suggested to get money.”
At this point (Thursday 8/27) we don’t know if future comics will show the son’s idea, or something else. Feel free to speculate.
Jack Applin sends this in: “In the final panel, Maria implies an incongruence between Ms. Velvet’s name and her rocking the color green. I would understand if her name were “Scarlett” or “Violet”, because those colors are not green. However, what’s the conflict between velvet and green? Is the cloth velvet associated with a particular color? Some cultural thing that I’m missing?”
And, if Ms. Velvet had a daughter born in 2010, would the daughter be Ms. Velveteen?
From Dirk the Daring:
Try as I might (and try as the other commenters might), I just don’t get it. If it was Jehosaphat, then yeah, but Joseph is an, um, jump from that.
