December 26, 2024: I'm Sorry; Penguins?!

When I prepare Daily Illuminator material, I like to double-check that I haven't talked about something before (or, at least, not recently). So, when I crafted my recent post discussing the XKCD "Ten Thousand" comic, I did some research on our site.

The number "10,000" didn't show up in conjunction with "XKCD," so I think I'm clear there. However, the phrase "ten thousand" appeared twice; since it's a bit contrary to our style guide, I checked them out.

One post was about the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) from September 16, 2009: "The Tabletop Gaming . . . area covered about ten thousand square feet of meeting rooms, plus the tables set up in the hallways." Okay, that one's not a reference to the comic, so I'm fine there.

And the other post? From February 14, 1996: "Perhaps ten thousand penguins turn their heads in unison watching the planes go by . . ."

Folks, working for the Illuminati is kinda weird at times. (Of course, maybe there's more to penguins than we realize.)

-- Steven Marsh