Shadowfacts
Shadowfacts
[Gandalf sits on a horse, addressing three hobbits.] Gandalf: This is Shadowfacts, lord of all horses, and he– Shadowfacts: The outer part of a shadow is called the penumbra! Gandalf: Shut up.

This comic is a parody of J.R.R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings . The name of the horse, Shadowfacts, is a pun on Shadowfax , the horse Gandalf rides in the books. As the name "Shadowfacts" suggests, this horse interjects into conversations various facts about shadows. There is a possible deeper level to the pun, referring to the cat facts meme .
The three parts of a shadow are the umbra , penumbra and antumbra .
In the title text, Gandalf continues to speak, and is interrupted again by the horse with another fact about shadows. "Look to my coming on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east." is what Gandalf said before the battle of Helm's Deep when he went to get reinforcements. The horse notes that if the sun is in the east, the shadows will be to the west of the objects that cast them.
A similar talking horse appears in 936: Password Strength .
[Gandalf sits on a horse, addressing three hobbits.] Gandalf: This is Shadowfacts, lord of all horses, and he– Shadowfacts: The outer part of a shadow is called the penumbra! Gandalf: Shut up.
