Random Obsessions
Random Obsessions
[The comic shows curves plotted in an (x,y)-plane. The x-axis shows years from 2004 to 2017, with every even year labeled. The y-axis is labeled "popularity relative to peak (based on google trends)". There are five vaguely bell-shaped curves, each stretching over 9-10 years. It is implied that they rise from a value close to zero, to which they also return.]
The curve labeled "robot monkeys" peaks in early 2005 and ends near the x-axis in late 2011. The curve labeled "pirates vs ninjas" peaks in late 2008 and ends in late 2014. [The remaining three curves all end in mid 2017, the comic release date. ] The curve labeled "zombies" starts in late 2007 and peaks in early 2013. By 2017 it has fallen to about 30% of its peak value. The curve labeled "bacon" starts in late 2009 and peaks in mid-2015. By 2017 it shows a value of about 90% of its peak value. The curve labeled "definition of a sandwich" starts in late 2013 and in 2017 it has reached approximately half its peak value.
[Text below the panel:] Judging from Google Trends, these random semi-ironic obsessions seem to last about nine or ten years, so we should be done with the sandwich thing by 2024.

This comic is formatted as a graph showing various Internet trends over the years according to Google Trends . The caption states that these "random obsessions," as stated in the title, have 9-10 year cycles, and so predicts that the sandwich debate will be over by around 2024.
Discussions about the definition of "sandwich" are surprisingly common on the web, such as "Is hot dog a sandwich?" (See this discussion on Reddit)
The title text is a joke based on the debate over the definition of a sandwich. The speaker, presumably Randall , starts out with the fairly reasonable stance that open-faced sandwiches are not true sandwiches, but then veers off into the absurd by claiming that literally every other physical object in the universe is a sandwich. We can only hope that Randall does not extend this view to human beings .  (On the other hand, Randall may simply be defining a sandwich in an unusual way without implying that all other items are edible, or that all objects "sandwiched" between two of the same thing (such as air, vacuum, laptops, or slices of bread) constitute a "sandwiched item" which is not necessarily edible.  Such strange definitions have been seen before, in the title text of 1405: Meteor .)
The other obsessions mentioned are, in order: robot monkeys, pirates vs ninjas, zombies, and bacon.
"Robot Monkeys" likely refers to people being obsessed with a movie or robots of some kind. It may specifically refer to the American/Japanese animated TV series, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! , which aired from September 18, 2004 to December 16, 2006. It is possible that, based on this, that the trend curve does not actually begin in 2001, but does actually begin in 2004 as shown.
"Pirates vs Ninjas" refers to a longstanding internet meme, popular in roughly the years shown on the chart, that held that ninjas and Caribbean pirates were arch-enemies.
"Zombies" refers to the recent occurrence of zombie themed television shows (The Walking Dead) and movies (World War Z etc).
Though the trend is dying out, as seen by the fact the graph is past the peak, there has been an explosion in bacon flavored/scented products as well as items of clothing and decor that look like bacon. The YouTube channel Epic Meal Time was also part of the bacon fad, as adding large quantities of bacon to the meal being prepared was one of the running gags of the channel.
[The comic shows curves plotted in an (x,y)-plane. The x-axis shows years from 2004 to 2017, with every even year labeled. The y-axis is labeled "popularity relative to peak (based on google trends)". There are five vaguely bell-shaped curves, each stretching over 9-10 years. It is implied that they rise from a value close to zero, to which they also return.]
The curve labeled "robot monkeys" peaks in early 2005 and ends near the x-axis in late 2011. The curve labeled "pirates vs ninjas" peaks in late 2008 and ends in late 2014. [The remaining three curves all end in mid 2017, the comic release date. ] The curve labeled "zombies" starts in late 2007 and peaks in early 2013. By 2017 it has fallen to about 30% of its peak value. The curve labeled "bacon" starts in late 2009 and peaks in mid-2015. By 2017 it shows a value of about 90% of its peak value. The curve labeled "definition of a sandwich" starts in late 2013 and in 2017 it has reached approximately half its peak value.
[Text below the panel:] Judging from Google Trends, these random semi-ironic obsessions seem to last about nine or ten years, so we should be done with the sandwich thing by 2024.
