What If?: Letter to Mom

http://what-if.xkcd.com/107/

created by Smashman2004 on 31/07/2014 at 06:22 UTC

149 upvotes, 10 top-level comments (showing 10)

Comments

Comment by [deleted] at 31/07/2014 at 07:46 UTC

50 upvotes, 2 direct replies

[deleted]

Comment by MrTubes at 31/07/2014 at 11:48 UTC

25 upvotes, 2 direct replies

I once considered if I could see concerts in New York and Vancouver on the same night. With the time zones, the show in New York would get done about two hours before the one in Vancouver started. Ultimately I concluded the X-15 had the speed but not the range (and the USAF banned me from their museum anyway after the B-36 incident). In the end, I too figured a ballistic missile was the only way, though I hoped a supersonic parachute would have given me a better than zero chance of survival.

Comment by OmegaVesko at 31/07/2014 at 13:09 UTC

20 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Aand now I'm reading a paper about short-range nuclear ballistic missiles.

If I wasn't on somebody's list already, I am now.

Comment by whoopdedo at 31/07/2014 at 10:01 UTC

19 upvotes, 4 direct replies

And yet another What If that ends with massive death and destruction.

I'm disappointed he didn't explore the possibilities of teleportation. Can't get much faster than the speed of light.

Comment by poeticmatter at 31/07/2014 at 06:38 UTC

17 upvotes, 1 direct replies

And here I was sure walking would be the fastest way.

Comment by ktappe at 31/07/2014 at 18:43 UTC

5 upvotes, 0 direct replies

that really weird bend in the Appalachians

I clicked the link and paused, then said "what weird bend? That's normal." I grew up in PA and assumed all mountain ranges were bent.

Comment by TwistedRichie at 01/08/2014 at 00:54 UTC

6 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Over a short flight distance, an ICBM[4] on a typical arc would take about 12 to 15 minutes to cover the distance to your mom

This sounds wonderful out of context.

Comment by hokiepride at 31/07/2014 at 21:18 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Do they no longer do these on Tuesdays? Are they a "whenever I feel like it" deal now? I'm so confused, because when I check, they're never updated.

Comment by Tarcos at 31/07/2014 at 16:29 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I love that the last link in the article is sure to get you on a government watchlist. Thanks Randall.

Comment by licking-windows at 01/08/2014 at 05:04 UTC

2 upvotes, 3 direct replies

Rocket mail[1] was a thing. Surprised this wasn't mentioned.

1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_mail