this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2024

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xkcd #2940: Modes of Transportation (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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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.”

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Airliners should be below boats for convenience 😂 just because of airport security and bag collection...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Airplane least convenient for travel from bedroom to kitchen

Walking least convenient for travel to Antarctica

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Iduno, travelling to Antarctica might be more difficult with skis than walking 😂

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Oh, and because you have to get to the airport first with some other means of travel and then get to the terminal...

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Bicycles are only more dangerous than cars because of cars.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Also, only less convenient than cars because of cars

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That's just not true, try getting groceries on your bike

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Literally how I always do my grocery shopping.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

For a family or only for yourself?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I only live by myself but if you need larger shipping trips, there's cargo bikes for that.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Didn't consider that, fair enough I suppose

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months 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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

What about pogo sticks?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Less convient but also less dangerous then hot air ballons

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (3 children)

I'm not sure I agree that unicycles are safer than roller blades. But that's probably because I am comfortable on roller blades and don't know how to unicycle, so for me, the opposite is true.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago

Trains and planes and others are a bit wonky for this chart. If I needed to take get to work, train and plane immediately resort to walking the entire way (unless get in a car, on a bike, fall just after). So while traveling across the country for a trip may be convenient on a train... Wait, unless I only have the weekend or a short work trip/vacation, because then it would take to much time and be inconvenient. Tried to find an example. Travel to Las Vegas from Nashville. Plane, ~3 hour flight plus let's say 2 hour travel and airport bs. So 5 hours there, 5 back. Driving: 26 hours (each way). Walking: Death by dehydration in desert. Train: not even listed as there was no routes.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

As both an extreme unicyclist & rollerblader, unicycles are actually incredibly safe. More safe than a bicycle. The top speed is very slow comparatively, and if you fall... You fall on your feet. Forwards? Feet. Backwards? Feet. Sideways? Feet. If your feet were strapped into the pedals (like rollerblades...) it would be a deathtrap.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I suspect that roller blades have much higher top speed, as well as being much more susceptible to small rocks

[–] [email protected] 40 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Technicalities:

Planes are safer per mile but not per trip. One could argue that if people spent the same amount of time in both then it would be far more fatalities on aircrafts.

Cars are technically the major source of danger for bikes and scooters.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

also a fun fact, while commercial aviation is very safe, private planes are much more dangerous, being almost as dangerous per mile as a regular car (and you get a lot more miles per hour of travel)

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That already fits with the chart - "commercial aviation" is "airlines" and "private planes" are "light aircraft".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

how did I miss that..

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

private planes are much more dangerous, being almost as dangerous per mile as a regular car

that is because they are operated by semi-competent people who often have less practice then they have in car.

imagine how competent driver you are when you have your fresh license. it is the same with piloting license. and now imagine you are a hobby pilot and can afford to spend in the cockpit 3 hours per month. your skill is not really going to get significantly better. you are probably flying airplane that is at the end of its life, because that is only one you can afford, and there may be no one keeping an eye on you telling you "this is not how we do it, it is risky, dangerous, and you will get someone killed".

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