Comic #3760: a-bad-ad-hoc-theory
Description
Here’s a detailed description of the comic:
Panel 1:
A scientist with long black hair wearing glasses stands next to a speech bubble that says, "Scientists have noticed that squirrels bury far more acorns than they can ever dig up."
Panel 2:
The same scientist continues, "The common hypothesis is that burying many acorns is less energetically expensive than burying them in specific places and remembering."
Panel 3:
She adds, "I have a better theory."
Panel 4:
There’s a drawing of an acorn with a face that looks surprised or shocked. She continues, "Acorns evolved to look like the heads of dead squirrels."
Panel 5:
In this panel, a squirrel looks shocked as an acorn falls. The text reads, "When the acorn falls, the squirrel is so affronted it buries the 'head' immediately."
Panel 6:
The squirrel begins to bury the acorn, but quickly another acorn falls. The text says, "But, no sooner has he buried the gruesome thing than another falls nearby."
Panel 7:
A frantic squirrel is shown struggling to bury multiple falling acorns as they pile up. The caption reads, "As more fall, the squirrel struggles in vain to bury them as fast as possible."
Panel 8:
This panel shows the squirrel surrounded by a huge pile of buried acorns. The text reads, "By the time spring is over, many acorns have been buried, and the squirrel has been driven beyond the pale of sanity."
Panel 9:
Two outcomes are shown in the next panel. On one side, a tree stands tall with acorns, and on the other, the squirrel stares blankly. The caption reads, "The result is twofold."
Panel 10:
Continuing, one side shows the tree, stating, "The tree is able to reproduce since its seeds have been sown everywhere."
Panel 11:
On the other side, the squirrel is depicted in a more sinister fashion. The text concludes, "The squirrel, who is now 'nuts,' finds sustenance during winter by digging up the squirrels that are dead and eating their brains."
Panel 12:
The scientist addresses the audience again, saying, "I will now put a whole bunch of fourteenth order differential equations on the projector, which will make you afraid to ask questions."
Panel 13:
The audience looks troubled; one man has a beard, another has a worried expression, and the others look anxious. She asks, "Any questions?"
Panel 14:
A figure at the bottom of the panel says, "I will now transmit my results to all pop science websites." The comic ends with a sigh from the figure.
The comic alternates between humorous observations about squirrels and acorns, making light of evolutionary biology concepts with exaggerated scenarios.