#time machine conversation

[todays-xkcd]

It's possible to do sea navigation without a compass, but you'll have to get some spoilers from the Polynesians.

Time Machine Conversation [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

[1st Panel. Cueball is on the left with a ghostly halo around him. Hairbun is on the right, holding a hoe vertically.] Cueball: Oh hi! Guess my time machine works. How's life in the Iron Age? Hairbun: Not bad. Developing new kinds of plows. Cueball: Cool. Hairbun: And my brother was just lost at sea.

[2nd Panel. Only Cueball is shown, with Hairbun out of the panel.] Cueball: I'm sorry. Hairbun [from outside the right side]: It's OK. I think sea navigation is probably impossible.

[3rd Panel. Cueball and Hairbun are both shown again.] Cueball: Oh yeah, you don't have the compass, right? Hairbun: The what? Cueball: The weird rock that always points north? Hairbun: What are you talking about?

[4th Panel. Cueball and Hairbun are both shown. Cueball holds his hand to his chin.] Cueball: It does sound ridiculous when I say it out loud. Anyway, spoilers for the magnetic compass. Sorry. Hairbun: What's a spoiler? Cueball: ...Spoilers for the concept of a spoiler, too.