"Ephedra"

[sheepofoblivion]

The spell cast by the thinkamancer is called ephedra, I just recently watched a documentary on Meth, and the key ingredient is Ephedrine... Has the author been using clever references like this throughout the comic, and I haven't noticed, or was this a one in a 130 page chance? (as of 11/12/08)

[tyckspoon]

They're all over. Like 80% of the sound effects are references to something; if you don't recognize them immediately, it's pretty educational to go look them up.

[SteveMB]

Has the author been using clever references like this throughout the comic, and I haven't noticed, or was this a one in a 130 page chance? (as of 11/12/08)

There's a whole slew of them. "Ephedra" is the name of an herbal stimulant; "Trioxin" is the name of the reanimating chemical from The Return of the Living Dead, the incantations Wanda recited to set off the air defenses are a series of game cheat codes, etc.

[sheepofoblivion]

I all of a sudden feel very ignorant...

[SteveMB]

I all of a sudden feel very ignorant...

We all start out ignorant. Exposure to culture corrects that.

[Occasional Sage]

We all start out ignorant. Exposure to culture corrects that.

Or exposure to the ForumitP, which isn't quite the same thing.

ETA: I think "NWOBHM" is my favorite sound effect to date. But yes, if there is a sound effect used, Google it. There's a shocking amount of thought put into these small details that give a sly and subtle humor the Erfworld.

[Fri]

Hey, I thought the best sound effect ever was "PLOT!" ?

[Abbott]

I'm partial to Nom Nom Nom personally.

Onomatopeia FTW!

[Vorkuta]

I still don't know what "Nick Nozzle" is...

[charl]

I just cashed it up as a drug reference, made a little smile, and then thought nothing more of it. Drug reference are everywhere in every sort of media, from childrens' cartoons to literature to music (especially music).

Ephedra... Used to take it on certain days to stay awake in school or for parties or just about anything that can be enhanced with a little stimulants. This was before it became illegal here in Sweden, of course (about 1,5-2 years ago I believe).

[DevilDan]

I still don't know what "Nick Nozzle" is...

It's "Duke Nozzle."

Search Google for "Sarah Silverman" and "nozzle."

[pclips]

It's "Duke Nozzle."

Search Google for "Sarah Silverman" and "nozzle."

Actually she ganked that from Patton Oswalt. But it was fortunate timing that she put the term in a high profile viral video recently.

[DevilDan]

Actually she ganked that from Patton Oswalt. But it was fortunate timing that she put the term in a high profile viral video recently.

And three cheers cubed for Patton Oswalt on general principle.

[Vorkuta]

It's "Duke Nozzle."
Search Google for "Sarah Silverman" and "nozzle."

Thats... pretty obscure.

[Magnor Criol]

the incantations Wanda recited to set off the air defenses are a series of game cheat codes, etc.

Now that one I didn't know about. *looks* Spiffy. I thought it was just random letters...really, I should've known better, considering this comic.

Seems like every time I reread it I find some new evidence of its great cleverness.

[ChowGuy]

the incantations Wanda recited to set off the air defenses are a series of game cheat codes, etc.

]Now that one I didn't know about. *looks* Spiffy. I thought it was just random letters...really, I should've known better, considering this comic.[/QUOTE]Well "cheat codes" may not be quite accurate. More like various [mostly?] game-related codes, some of which were or have have become internet memes, eg AYBABTU from "All your bases." And of course XYZZY is the grand-daddy of all in-game "magic words" though I'd hardly call it a "cheat code." It's right there on the wall of the Debris Room and is an integral part of the game mechanics, unlike for example IDCLIP which was more of a developer's level-testing tool. Of course that's not to say that those terms haven't been adopted as cheats, and some of the others escape me (UUDDLRLRBASS I expect is a direction/command sequence for something, but I have no idea from what).

I recognized enough to get the joke as to what was going on, and didn't bother to look up the rest. I suspect there's a lot of other stuff I've missed, at least until pointed out here, but the comic stands on its own merits for me without them. If puns and pop references were all it had going for it, it likely would not.

[charl]

UUDDLRLRBASS

Up up down down left right left right B A start.

It's a sequence that appears in several Konami games. It usually gives you lot of extra lives or ups your abilities or something similar.

[DevilDan]

Up up down down left right left right B A start.

It's a sequence that appears in several Konami games. It usually gives you lot of extra lives or ups your abilities or something similar.

In other words, you would have used them in games from, if memory serves, the original Nintendo console.

[Gez]

"Trioxin" is the name of the reanimating chemical from The Return of the Living Dead

... itself derived from "trioxane", a real chemical sometimes used by morticians to preserve corpses (it's a formaldehyde).

[Gopher]

I've been thinking we ought to start a thread or a wiki or something where we categorize all the references in Erfworld comic by comic. Anyone interested in getting something like that going?

[charl]

I've been thinking we ought to start a thread or a wiki or something where we categorize all the references in Erfworld comic by comic. Anyone interested in getting something like that going?

An Erfworld wiki? Count me in!

[SteveMB]

An Erfworld wiki? Count me in!

Actually, it's been going in fits and starts for a while. There's a page for this sort of real-world references in the comic, but it's only a stub so far.

[charl]

Actually, it's been going in fits and starts for a while. There's a page for this sort of real-world references in the comic, but it's only a stub so far.

Thank you. :)

[Arkenputtyknife]

... itself derived from "trioxane", a real chemical sometimes used by morticians to preserve corpses (it's a formaldehyde).

I believe you mean "an aldehyde". Formaldehyde is a specific chemical (H₂CO), the first aldehyde.

[ShinyBrowncoat]

Thats... pretty obscure.

Googling "douche nozzle" willget you there quicker.

[pclips]

Yeah we have the scratchpad wiki as SteveMB pointed out, which we are going to port to our own site before long, and then the fun begins. One of the things I would really like to build is a page-by-page (maybe even panel-by-panel) set of annotations for the whole story. Explaining a joke may or may not kill it, but missing a joke always does.

[PePe QuiCoSE]

well, i still don't know what's Glersh about

[SteveMB]

well, i still don't know what's Glersh about

Nothing promising turns up on Google -- that one seems to be just a plain old sound effect.

[Gopher]

Actually, it's been going in fits and starts for a while. There's a page for this sort of real-world references in the comic, but it's only a stub so far.

Awesome. I suppose we better start working on making it more than a stub.

Yeah we have the scratchpad wiki as SteveMB pointed out, which we are going to port to our own site before long, and then the fun begins. One of the things I would really like to build is a page-by-page (maybe even panel-by-panel) set of annotations for the whole story. Explaining a joke may or may not kill it, but missing a joke always does.

Yeah, I think that's just what we need. I don't think it would take much away from the comic, because that's what people will read first. What you say makes sense.

[DevilDan]

well, i still don't know what's Glersh about

I think it probably is only an onomatopoeic effect, as SteveMB points out, like "bloop" and "snif" in that same strip.