It Will Always Be Steam...

Nuclear research funding in a nutshell. Government happily plays with weapons development while tossing occasional funding scraps to clean energy, which is basically drowning at this point. Meanwhile, fundamental physics research sits forgotten at the bottom of the ocean like a skeleton in a lawn chair. Typical. Been running the same particle accelerator since 1987 because "budget constraints," but somehow there's always money for a new warhead design. Just another day in the glamorous world of science funding.

The bell curve of microwave knowledge is painfully accurate. The 100 IQ crowd parrots "metal in microwave = bad" without question. Meanwhile, the true idiots and geniuses both know the secret: it's all about the shape! Metals with sharp edges or points create electrical arcs as electrons accumulate there (think: fork = fireworks). But smooth metal like spoons or those Chinese takeout containers with metal handles? Totally fine. Next time someone gasps when you put that soup bowl with the gold rim in the microwave, just smile knowingly. You're either at the brilliant end of the curve or... well, let's hope it's not the other one.

Engineering students have found their true bending elements! The meme brilliantly combines "Avatar: The Last Airbender" with the four sacred texts of engineering disciplines. Instead of mastering water, earth, fire, and air through spiritual training, engineers master them through brutal thermodynamics and fluid mechanics textbooks. The real benders aren't shooting flames from their palms—they're calculating heat transfer coefficients at 2AM while crying into their energy drinks. And just like the show, mastering all four elements is practically impossible in one lifetime. The engineering version of "I am the Avatar" is having four different textbook PDFs open simultaneously while questioning your life choices.

Engineering professors have exactly two examples in their repertoire: the pendulum and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse. You can set your watch by it. First day of class: "Let's discuss simple harmonic motion." Week 7: "Remember how the Tacoma Bridge oscillated itself into oblivion? No? Let me show you the footage for the 47th time." The cycle continues, semester after semester, like a perfectly damped oscillator.

The robber's ultimatum is actually a logical OR gate in disguise. In the first panel, he shows the AND gate symbol (⊕) which means both conditions must be true - give money AND get shot. But in the second panel, he shows the OR gate symbol (∨) which means either condition can be true - give money OR get shot. SpongeBob correctly panics at the AND gate (certain doom) but relaxes at the OR gate because logically he could just give the money and avoid getting shot. The robber clearly took Boolean algebra instead of Criminal Psychology 101.

Engineering professors really know how to rip your heart out with those example problems! One minute you're calculating transformer loads, the next you're visualizing a puppy slaughterhouse powered by 1500 kVA. Nothing says "I'm prepared for the real world" like solving power factor triangles while emotionally scarred. The professor probably thinks they're being "practical" with "real-world applications," but c'mon—couldn't they have picked literally ANY other industry? Even a nuclear weapons facility would feel less disturbing. Electrical engineering: where the math is complex but the emotional damage is very, very real.