Water Phase Diagram
Water Phase Diagram
[A phase diagram is shown with eight labeled regions.]
[The horizontal axis, increasing in value to the right is labeled:] Temperature
[The vertical axis, increasing in value downwards is labeled:] Pressure
[Region alongside the "Pressure" axis covering about half of its length is labeled:] Ice
[Region spanning top-right corner of graph, i.e. higher temperatures and lower pressures. The region is labeled:] Water vapor
[Region below "Water vapor" and to the right of "Ice" is labeled:] Liquid water
[Three small regions below "Ice" are going from left to right on the same pressure region, the last ending just under "Liquid water". They are each labeled:] Ice II Ice III Ice V
[Region below "Ice II", "Ice III", "Ice V" and "Liquid water" is labeled:] Vanilla Ice (Ice VI)
[Below "Vanilla Ice" there is a dashed line with two arrows pointing downwards. The region below the dashed line is labeled:] David Bowie & Queen

This is a modified version of the phase diagram for water . A "phase diagram" is a chart that shows the states, or "phases", that a substance will be in under various temperatures and pressures. Water's phases are particularly well-studied; on the real phase diagram for water , there are a great many phases listed.
Most people are familiar with three phases of water — solid ( ice ), liquid (water), and gas ( vapour ) — and with the fact that an increase in temperature will cause water to change from one state to another. The gas and liquid phases are quite straightforward; however, there is in fact not one single solid phase of water, but a variety of numbered phases ("ice I" through "ice XVI" are currently recognized), several of which are divided into sub-categories. Ordinary, everyday ice is known as " ice I h " ("ice one-h"). Most of the more unusual forms of ice only form under very high pressure .
Randall's phase diagram starts out realistically, though slightly simplified in several ways. For one, it simply uses the name "ice" for the usual form(s). It is focused in on a narrower area than the more complete diagram linked earlier; on that version, the "ice V" region is quite small, and "ice III" is barely visible, whereas both are quite plain to see on Randall's diagram. Lastly, where most phase diagrams have pressure increase upwards, Randall has the pressure scale increase downwards, this has been chosen to make it possible for the jokes to appear at the bottom of the chart. Else the comic would not be funny for the average reader.
Because, as the diagram continues downwards and the pressure increases, the jokes begin. Beyond the moderately high-pressure forms of ice (ice II, III and V), a real phase diagram has ice VI; Randall has "Vanilla Ice (ice VI)". Vanilla Ice is the stage name of a white rap/hip-hop artist from the 1990s; the initials of Vanilla Ice, and the Roman numeral six, are both VI.
Vanilla Ice's biggest hit, " Ice Ice Baby ", used samples from the earlier song " Under Pressure ", by David Bowie and Queen ; accordingly, on Randall's diagram, the "Vanilla Ice" region transitions to "David Bowie & Queen" when it is under (even higher) pressure.
Further references to "Ice Ice Baby" are found in the title text. Near the beginning of the song, Vanilla Ice raps the line, "All right stop, collaborate and listen". The unusual choice of "collaborate" in this line has made it memorable, and the word is used in the title text (in a more typical context). The phrase "survive at room temperature for several months" is likely a reference to "Ice Ice Baby" being Vanilla Ice's only major hit, humorously suggesting he faded out of the public view after a few months of fame. Finally, even the word "sample" may be deliberately chosen as a reference to the sampling of "Under Pressure". "Ice Ice Baby" was written in 1983, but in 1990 Vanilla Ice finally admitted that he used unmodified samples from "Under Pressure" and paid royalties to Queen and Bowie.
When originally published, another image was faintly visible just below and to the right of the "Water vapor" label. It appeared to be a copy of an actual phase diagram for water from Wikipedia . The image has since been removed, lending support to speculation that it was an error (perhaps an image Randall referred to in drawing the comic, but accidentally left in the final result). Alternatively, it may have been deliberate—suggestions include its presence being a water mark, or a reference to the "Full text of the Wikipedia article on pareidolia" joke in the 1551: Pluto comic.
Randall has referenced "Ice Ice Baby" and "Under Pressure", separately and together, on many previous occasions, notably in 159: Boombox and 210: 90's Flowchart . The gag of having the performers of "Under Pressure" also being literally under pressure was also used in 1040: Lakes and Oceans .
The what if? that was current at the time of this comic's publication was 138: Jupiter Submarine , which began with an even more fanciful phase diagram: that of a submarine. It also contains a reference to the songs "Under Pressure" and "Ice Ice Baby" in one figure, and "Can't Touch This" by M.C. Hammer in the title text of that figure (which generated similar controversy for sampling "Superfreak" by Rick James).
The title text of 1434: Where Do Birds Go whimsically suggests another possible phase of water/ice.
As mentioned above, the small image on the original version could be a reference to the "Full text of the Wikipedia article on pareidolia" joke in the 1551: Pluto comic.
[A phase diagram is shown with eight labeled regions.]
[The horizontal axis, increasing in value to the right is labeled:] Temperature
[The vertical axis, increasing in value downwards is labeled:] Pressure
[Region alongside the "Pressure" axis covering about half of its length is labeled:] Ice
[Region spanning top-right corner of graph, i.e. higher temperatures and lower pressures. The region is labeled:] Water vapor
[Region below "Water vapor" and to the right of "Ice" is labeled:] Liquid water
[Three small regions below "Ice" are going from left to right on the same pressure region, the last ending just under "Liquid water". They are each labeled:] Ice II Ice III Ice V
[Region below "Ice II", "Ice III", "Ice V" and "Liquid water" is labeled:] Vanilla Ice (Ice VI)
[Below "Vanilla Ice" there is a dashed line with two arrows pointing downwards. The region below the dashed line is labeled:] David Bowie & Queen
