Visual Air Conditioning
Capsela, for you folks who were too young to remember, was this toy that consisted of clear, plastic balls that you could connect to each other to make large, ugly contraptions. It was like someone in the 50’s was making a movie about the future, found the guy in the prop department and said: “Hey, we got a scene that shows a kid playing with a toy. Make some sort of futuristic looking Erector set.”
Ah crap….Okay: Erector sets were toys that consisted of metal pieces that you could connect to each other to make large, ugly contraptions that had a good chance of doing serious injury. These things were full of nuts and bolts perfectly sized for swallowing, along with metallic plates that would take a prisoner minimal prep time to turn into a deadly shank.
Damn you to HELL, Ootek!
I laughed so very hard. Good work as always, Adam.
The Eskimos have fifteen words for “snowball fight”.
Most of them are synonymous with either “jerkface” or “waste of time”
The Earth after the sun dies? That would be a bit nippy.
We’ll need sweaters.
heatwave? what are you talking about? the weather here in Washington state is is perfect 😛
Oh yeah it is! I’m wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt.
Lolol…The explanation for the comic amused me as much as the comic itself.
Before I saw your explanation, I had to google Capsela. Never heard of them, and I’m in my 50s. Guess I was sheltered.
Funny comic, though.
I actually had a Capsela set when I was growing up. They were kind of neat in that you could build all sorts of useless, gear-driven things with them.
Please, give us in Europe some sunshine! It is raining all the time ._.
Yeah, summer sucks around here.
Fine, you can have some sunshine, but it comes with 40°C and no electricity for at least three days. We’ll take some of your rain.
And you can take some of our politicians who don’t “believe in” climate change.
Adam, I can’t say the Capsela set makes me want to have your baby, but nice try.
I believe you meant to say: He can have all of our politicians who BELIEVE in the false “science” of global warming – since it’s all woo-woo, anyway.
No, see, science is where you have evidence, and 98% of specialists who’ve been studying climate for years agree on it. When you’re sticking your fingers in your ears and going la la la, it’s not happening because I don’t want it to, that’s woo-woo.
In the 6000 BCs the glaciers started melting in upper Europe. Farmers were sacrificing cattle and goats in thanks, but I was probably because of all the cars and factories that man was running back then.
I love reading sociopolitical debates in Internet comments. Please, please reply to him. <3
A bit late, but done.
I still don’t know what made me laugh more: The comic or the explanation…
yea i agree Domian, i never used to live by a river but i do now.
maybe it will increase the house price though, scenic location and all that.
I was born in 1984… and I LOVE Capsela. I still break them out and play with them sometimes. I got all fired up when I saw them in the last panel… and then the explanation sealed it for me. Well played, sir!
There was a snowstorm at the end of October and I lost power and heat for a week. And I would still prefer that to a heat wave. I am very much a fan of the cold, so I appreciate the cool images.
I’ve actually owned an Erector set, which I’d bet is a sentence most people my age can’t say, but I hadn’t heard of Capsela before. Thanks for the introduction.
I owned a Capsela 400! Though the 350 was my favourite.
I loved Capsela as a kid. I used to make huge elaborate floating machines out of them, test run them in the pool, then promptly lose them in the ocean. I’m not sure why my parents kept buying them for me.
Plus the paint on the Erector set was mostly lead and you had to get zoning permits which were a pain in A unless you could bribe a city official and I was only 5 so…
Nooo!!! I had a Capsela set, and now that I have a son of my own, I can’t buy one for him!
Of course, he would destroy it in short order…but still!
I WANT TO BUY IT SO THAT I CAN PRETEND ITS FOR MY SON WHEN IT IS REALLY FOR ME!
Ahh, Erector Sets.
I had one, but then I said some 5-year-old equivalent of “fuck this shit” and asked for a k’nex set.
I have three boxes of Capsela stuff, only half of which is from my dad. Unfortunately, i can’t really use it now, but if I get ahold of a bag of those little connectors I’ll be back in business.
If you’re interested in knowing of other weird buildy toys, I also own some Zometools and Uberstix.
Just a minor quibble, but by the time the sun dies, the Earth will have long since been vaporized after the sun expands and swallows it up.
Who are you going to believe, Scientists or an internet cartoonist? What do scientist know? It’s pretty much just educated guesswork.
Have you been talking to DougM?
know one believes that bugs makes more sense remember the suns revolves around US
it’s raining here in Ireland. As it has been since April. Thanks for that.
Oooh! I have Capsela too somewhere. For once I know some “obscure” American toy. I was always annoyed for not having enough parts to build all the models in the booklet. *brrrsies* <– looks like something I'd say on the net, never did, but I gotta adopt that one :)) A great word.
Man. I know I’m bein’ all “mainstream” here, but Legoâ„¢ is where it’s at. I’m really good with Legos. I can actually make stuff that’s pretty, and that looks like stuff.
Everybody knows and probably owns Legos. We’re talking about the ones people DON’T know about.
Also, Uberstix work with Legos, as well as every other building toy under the sun. UBERSTIIIIIIIX!!!
I remember fondly Erector sets 😛 and i’m 26 it isn’t THAT old
Wouldn’t Ootek want to get to hell where at least it’s warm?
That reminds me of the joke some guy made about Canada:
In the summer it’s hotter than hell.
In the the winter it’s colder than hell.
I’m beginning to think I’d like hell.
That’s a good one, eh.
Nice one. All the way through to the explanation.
Had an Erector set when little (back in the early hippie era). Now I have a different kind of “erector” thing, which I like better.
I had a Capsela set! I never really got into it, though. I was all about the Lego and Etch-a-Sketch.
Why has no one talked about the way that Bug’s eyes look in the last panel!
Found out my fiancé has a Capsela set. She’s 20.