Childhood Toys
Childhood Toys
[Title:] Childhood Toys [Subtitle:] By Practicality for Commuting
[Caption of the first box:] Practical
[Cueball, wearing a helmet, drives by on an electric scooter, passing another Cueball and Hairbun, who is holding a briefcase.] Scooter Cueball: Hi, boss!
[Caption of the second box:] Less Practical
[Ponytail rides by White Hat on a unicycle.] Ponytail: Good Morning!
[Caption of the third box:] Impractical
[Cueball bounces past Megan on a pogo stick.] Pogo Stick: Boing boing Cueball: How's it going?
[Caption of the fourth box:] Very Impractical
[Cueball slides past Hairy(?) on a Slip 'N Slide.] Cueball: Wheeeee Cueball: Hi Boss!

This comic shows various objects, ranked by how practical they would be for long-distance transportation. The objects are described as childhood toys.
The "Practical" panel shows objects designed for convenient transportation, namely bicycles and electric scooters . Most people know how to ride a bicycle, and can easily go several miles on it. Scooters (shown in the comic panel) are also relatively easy to use, and may have a motor allowing them to be used for significant distances — the one shown has the appearance of one with a battery unit rather than being 'leg-propelled', and is named as such in the list for which it has been depicted. These are not considered "toys" at adult size as they are widely used for transport, but children's bikes and scooters (particularly unpowered scooters) not used for transport would generally be considered toys. The practicality of bicycles and e-scooters tends to depend more on local infrastructure and amenities (i.e., the presence of a safe cycle route and the destination being within a sensible distance) than on the equipment itself. Bicycles can carry substantial loads . In some countries e-scooters are legally restricted or prohibited on public roads which may make commuting on them unviable.
The "Less Practical" panel has objects designed for transportation, but which may be harder to use than the first panel. Skateboards and roller skates , while designed for transportation, don't work great over long distances or when carrying objects, and Big Wheels and unicycles (shown in the panel) are simply less practical bikes.
In the "Impractical" panel are objects that are designed for transportation, but are very much not designed for convenience, especially over long distances. Stilts are long poles that one stands on to extend their legs; while they increase the user's stride length, it takes quite a bit of practice to use them, especially if they're very long. A jump rope is a rope that the user swings around their body while they jump over it whenever the rope passes below their feet; it doesn't actually provide any transportation by itself, the user is simply hopping to their destination, which is a very tiring way to travel (but very good exercise if you can do it). A wagon has no propulsion of its own, it has to be pulled by the user; parents sometimes use it to transport their children short distances (such as to a playground). Larger wagons are used commercially. A Pogo stick is a pole with a spring at the bottom and a platform for standing on, which can be used to bounce; while fun for bouncing a few yards (as shown in the panel), like the jump rope it would be tiring for long distances.
The "Very Impractical" panel has objects that may be used for transportation, but to an incredibly limited degree. Slip 'N Slides (shown in the panel) only work (effectively) downhill, and only where they are placed down. Trampolines and Tire swings could let you go somewhere, but you'd need to set up multiple in a row leading to your destination beforehand. Hot Wheels cars could be put onto the bottom of shoes to create extremely ill-advised [ citation needed ] improvised rollerskates, but the car on its own has effectively no merit for transportation.
The title text refers to tetherball , a game found in many playgrounds where a ball is attached to a pole by a long rope. This is also very impractical, as the rope just winds around a stationary pole. It's possible that he is swinging from the rope and letting go (which would explain the bruises and scrapes, as well as the torn rope), but there is no remotely practical way to use this to commute. [ citation needed ] Nevertheless, if you were able to swing quickly enough and cut the rope at exactly the right moment, you might be able to achieve a short commute to a nearby target. This method may have been inspired by NASA purchasing a launch via the SpinLaunch rocket system the same week as the comic appeared.
[Title:] Childhood Toys [Subtitle:] By Practicality for Commuting
[Caption of the first box:] Practical
[Cueball, wearing a helmet, drives by on an electric scooter, passing another Cueball and Hairbun, who is holding a briefcase.] Scooter Cueball: Hi, boss!
[Caption of the second box:] Less Practical
[Ponytail rides by White Hat on a unicycle.] Ponytail: Good Morning!
[Caption of the third box:] Impractical
[Cueball bounces past Megan on a pogo stick.] Pogo Stick: Boing boing Cueball: How's it going?
[Caption of the fourth box:] Very Impractical
[Cueball slides past Hairy(?) on a Slip 'N Slide.] Cueball: Wheeeee Cueball: Hi Boss!
