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XKCD QA (What If?): Into the Blue
Into the BlueIf I shot an infinitely strong laser beam into the sky at a random point, how much damage would it do?Garrett D.A lot of the time, if a question includes the word "infinity," the answer is...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Walking New York
Walking New YorkCould a person walk the entire city of NY in their lifetime? (including inside apartments)Asaf ShamirLike the answer to Paint the Earth, the answer to the first part of this question is...
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XKCD QA (What If?): All the Money
All the MoneyPeople sometimes say "If I had all the money in the world ..." in order to discuss what they would do if they had no financial constraints. I'm curious, though, what would happen if one...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Balloon Car
Balloon CarMy 12-year-old daughter is proposing an interesting project. She is planning to attach a number of helium balloons to a chair, which in turn would be tethered by means of a rope to a...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Visit Every State
Visit Every StateHow fast could you visit all 50 states?—as discussed by Stephen Von Worley on Data PointedThis week's article is a little different. Instead of answering one of your questions, I'm...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Antimatter
AntimatterWhat if everything was antimatter, EXCEPT Earth?Sean GallagherThis one doesn't end well for us. But—unlike most scenarios involving the word "antimatter"—the end is surprisingly slow and...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Into the Sun
Into the SunWhen I was about 8 years old, shoveling snow on a freezing day in Colorado, I wished that I could be instantly transported to the surface of the Sun, just for a nanosecond, then instantly...
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XKCD QA (What If?): No-Rules NASCAR
No-Rules NASCARIf you stripped away all the rules of car racing and had a contest which was simply to get a human being around a track 200 times as fast as possible, what strategy would win? Let's say...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Distant Death
Distant DeathWhat is the farthest from Earth that any Earth thing has died?—Amy from NZWith Halloween approaching, I guess it's the season for death-related questions.The farthest from Earth that any...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Physical Salary
Physical SalaryWhat if people's incomes appeared around them as cash in real time? How much would you need to make to be in real trouble?Julia Anderson, Albuquerque, NMFirst, let's think about...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Laser Umbrella
Laser UmbrellaStopping rain from falling on something with an umbrella or a tent is boring. What if you tried to stop rain with a laser that targeted and vaporized each incoming droplet before it could...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Alternate Universe What Ifs
Alternate Universe What IfsDispatches from a horrifying alternate universeThis week: Excerpts from What If articles written in a world which, thankfully, is not the one we live in:... and most SCUBA...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Frozen Rivers
Frozen RiversWhat would happen if all of the rivers in the US were instantly frozen in the middle of the summer?Zoe CutlerThis is another question that turns out even worse than I expected.For...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Lava Lamp
Lava LampWhat if I made a lava lamp out of real lava? What could I use as a clear medium? How close could I stand to watch it?Kathy Johnstone, 6th Grade Teacher (via a student)This is a surprisingly...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Fairy Demographics
Fairy DemographicsHow many fairies would fly around, if each fairy is born from the first laugh of a child and fairies were immortal?—Mira Kühn, Germany"There are always a lot of young ones," explained...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Lunar Swimming
Lunar SwimmingWhat if there was a lake on the Moon? What would it be like to swim in it? Presuming that it is sheltered in a regular atmosphere, in some giant dome or something.Kim HolderThis would be...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Bowling Ball
Bowling BallYou are in a boat directly over the Mariana Trench. If you drop a 7kg bowling ball over the side, how long would it take to hit the bottom?Doug CarterIt is a good thing you mentioned the...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Stairs
StairsIf you made an elevator that would go to space (like the one you mentioned in the billion-story building) and built a staircase up (assuming regulated air pressure) about how long would it take...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Tug of War
Tug of WarWould it be possible for two teams in a tug-o-war to overcome the ultimate tensile strength of an iron rod and pull it apart? How big would the teams have to be?—Markus AndersenA couple dozen...
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XKCD QA (What If?): Zippo Phone
Zippo PhoneWhat in my pocket actually contains more energy, my Zippo or my smartphone? What would be the best way of getting the energy from one to the other? And since I am already feeling like Bilbo...
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