It has come to our attention that the past year’s comics contained a number of factual inaccuracies. Please find our corrections below.
#470; In which it doesn’t take Much
While the lyrics to “Good King Wenceslas” and “Yankee Doodle” share the same meter, the melodies of the songs are not identical.
#469; In which Now you Know
The character claiming a diagnosis of “a dozen different types of gout” was mistaken. His actual diagnosis was “eleven different types of gout and a severe, gout-like case of calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease.”
#463; In which the Future is Saved
Marty did not, in fact, need to come with Doc; Doc could have handled the situation just fine on his own. Doc’s schemes are elaborate excuses to spend time with friends.
#457; In which It’s All Over
The machine in the final panel is an anthropomorphized construct; “robocalls” are in fact handled by computer programs with a less-interesting outward appearance.
#449; In which ‘Food’ is placed in Quotes
In the fourth panel, the talking kabob unilaterally denies the validity of its previous argument. In fact, the increased operating cost of rental space in such environments is a valid factor in this situation, although the property owners may legitimately be accused of the same manner of price-gouging that the kabob admits that retailers engage in.
#426; In which a Tree gets the Talk
Trees cannot actually speak.
#396; In which Trade Secrets are revealed
Kinko’s ceased to exist as a separate company when it was purchased by FedEx in 2002, so at the time that this comic was published, it was technically not still in business. Additionally, the stores’ profits dropped from $100 million in 2004 to $45 million in 2007, proving that their stinking horrible business model was indeed (and justifiably) taking an economic toll on the company.
#394; That’s what Happens
Flour is not generally packaged with silica gel.
#378; In which Children suffer
The bear actually left one child terribly maimed but alive, to contemplate the horror of what he’d witnessed for the rest of his days.
Wondermark regrets the errors.
Actually, the rents in the airports only are so high BECAUSE the food outlets can charge that much for their food. Economists call this “rent capitalization”, where “rent” means an excess profit. In short, in a situation where a firm can earn an excess profit, either you’ll have entry such that profits are eroded or, if entry is limited, the factor that’s in short supply will accrue the rent. Here the factor in short supply is spaces within the airport for restaurants, and so that is bid up until the stall holders are only earning normal rates of return on their investment.
For more on this phenomenon, see Gordon Tullock’s seminal 1976 piece, “The Transitional Gains Trap”.
That, of course, refers to #449….
Is it true irony or Alanis Morissette irony that the errata itself contains errors? Which strip is it in which the children suffer?
got-dangit; fixed
You suck. Keep trying. You can only get better….
Also: who does your crosshatching? They suck too….
Actually, many airports require concessions to charge the same prices inside the airport as they do outside.
But there’s no excuse for the stadium hot dogs.
Hmm, not any airport I’ve ever eaten at! Certainly not LAX.
I love eating at the airport. The romance of travel…the smell of jet fuel mixed with the delightful stench of feet freed from their potentially explosive loafers The lively SNAP of the elbow-length latex gloves being donned for your body cavity inspection…The good humor of the assembled crowd who laugh jovially when a TSA screener realizes that the x-ray machine has been unplugged for the last three days and everybody gets to start all over again!
Nothing brings a smile to my face like watching some comedian get tasered for singing La BOMBA just a little too loud.
Ah, the jet age.
These corrections will not change the way in which I still adore the list of comics. Not silica gel but dead moths, sometimes.