Comments on: Mell Expelled: October 7-12, 2002

By: Herb

Herb — Sun, 24 Nov 2019 21:32:03 +0000

“Four Fours” is indeed a math puzzle. The object is to find ways of representing integers using four fours. For instance:

0 = 4 – 4 + 4 – 4
1 = (4 + 4)/(4 + 4)
2 = (4/4)+(4/4)
3 = (4 + 4 + 4)/4

My dad used to use the puzzle in one of his math education courses. I ran across a reference to a “Four Twos” game in a book, which was the same puzzle but using twos. It was apparently a big thing where P. A. M. Dirac, the physicist, was working. One of his colleagues asked him if he had tried the puzzle. Dirac answered that he had found a formula to construct any integer using just three twos.

By: Proxiehunter

Proxiehunter — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 00:27:21 +0000

In reply to Kaesa Aurelia (kaesa). But at least it can't get any worse.

By: Darkstarr

Darkstarr — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 23:37:42 +0000

In reply to kicking_ k (kicking_k). Especially in that really short skirt!

By: Edwin Quantrall (reynard)

Edwin Quantrall (reynard) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:10:30 +0000

Happy “Pi” day, everyone! (Mmmmmm, π!)

By: Shaenon Garrity (shaenongarrity)

Shaenon Garrity (shaenongarrity) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:10:29 +0000

Erin: Of course! It has to be a Dorothy Gambrell reference! I'm a huge fan of her. It's exactly the sort of thing I would do.

By: james m (ruasonid)

james m (ruasonid) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:10:28 +0000

It's alright. When working with mad science, hardly any of your guns is a gun.

Or, tougher gun control: you want a gun, you gotta wrest it from the girl in the plaid skirt who controls them.

By: Elaine Corvidae (elaine_corvidae)

Elaine Corvidae (elaine_corvidae) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:10:27 +0000

I always liked Dave’s line in the last panel.

By: Ed Gedeon (eddurd)

Ed Gedeon (eddurd) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:10:26 +0000

Panel 1: Yes, Mell's skirt is short. Very, very short. You can see quite a lot of her slender, shapely legs. My my my, what a short short skirt. I don't know whether to thank Mell's fashion sense, or Shaenon's erratic drawing skills.

Panel 3: The guy obviously got the t-shirt for his sixteenth birthday ('cause he's such a square).

Panel 4: "When guns are outlawed, only sociopathic homicidal maniacs with an almost sensual love for bloodshed and dreams of world conquest will have guns. (...Heh heh heh)."

By: Erin McGrath (theredmenace)

Erin McGrath (theredmenace) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:10:25 +0000

There was a Dorothy Gambrell comic called The Four-Fours. I think they were a band, maybe? Anyway, perhaps that’s the reference here…

By: Leon Arnott (l)

Leon Arnott (l) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:10:24 +0000

Saturday:

What is this...?!
Could it be...?!
...the triumphant return of Mell's 8-Ball Jacket?! To think it has been so long!

I wouldn't describe this particular Saturday cliffhanger as surreal, Mr. Harmon. The most accurate term, I feel, would be simply 'discordant.' The most surreal part of Narbonic is, and always will be, the part where you read the latter four weeks of 'Lovelace Affair' in the wrong order because the Modern Tales archive list was all bungled up. But the time to discuss that is yet to come.