A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.
Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF?—revised and annotated with brand-new illustrations and answers to important questions you never thought to ask—coming from November 2024. Preorder here!
[[Young person 1 and person 2 are in front of person 1's science project]]
Person 1: My science project is a baking soda and vinegar volcano!
Person 2: Why do people make these? It isn't really a science project. It doesn't teach anything about-
<<FOOM>>
[[The miniature volcano begins to erupt. A third person walks into the frame.]]
Person 1: See how the baking soda and vinegar mix with mud and ice to form deadly flowing lahars?
[[Closeup of the side of the miniature volcano]]
Person 1: You can see the tiny cars trying to flee.
-
Whoops! Too slow.
Person 2: Um. This is a bit grim.
Person 1: Learning!
<<RUMBLE>>
Person 1: And now we're learning that this volcano is an offshoot of a vinegar hotspot rising from deep within the earth.
-
annnd...
<<BOOM>>
[[Person 1 looks to the window]]
Person 1: The baking soda supervolcano erupts, injecting clouds of salt into the stratosphere
[[Person 3 peers outside the window]]
Person 3: Why is it getting dark outside?
Person 1: Learning is fun!
Person 1: Sunlight dims. The earth cools. Summer frosts form. Crops die. We check the markets. Grain prices are rising.
[[She holds a chart indicating grain prices rising]]
Person 3: I want to stop learning now.
Person 1: Soon, we all will.
{{Title text: Sure, it may not meet science fair standards, but I want credit for getting my baking soda and vinegar mountain added to the Decade Volcanoes list.}}
xkcd.com is best viewed with Netscape Navigator 4.0 or below on a Pentium 3±1 emulated in Javascript on an Apple IIGS at a screen resolution of 1024x1. Please enable your ad blockers, disable high-heat drying, and remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode. For security reasons, please leave caps lock on while browsing.