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>| Soda Sugar Comparisons

Title text: The key is portion control, which is why I've switched to eating smaller cans of frosting instead of full bottles.

Explanation [ edit ]

This comic is one of the rare incidences where the title is actually written at the top of the comic. It is also a rare example where an old comic, 1035: Cadbury Eggs, is directly referenced, and even at such a prominent place, albeit in a faded down gray font.

In the comic, Randall compares soda's sugar content to different types of candy (see trivia).

The first two panels compare the sugar content of a 20 oz bottle of soda (i.e. 591 mL, thus almost like a half liter bottle) to three Cadbury eggs or one Snickers bar if it had the length of the bottle (9 inches or about 23 cm; most actual Snickers bars are only 4 inches or 10 cm, though the company does manufacture various "king" sizes).

In the next row, Randall compares one bottle of soda each day of a week (seven bottles) to a bottle of cake frosting.

Continuing the estimations in the third row, Randall states that one soda a day for six months will provide the same amount of sugar as four gallons of Skittles (15.1 liters).

Finally, Randall compares three years' worth of daily sodas contains as much sugar as a convenience store's 20-foot (6.1 m) long candy counter.

The reference to Cadbury Eggs is of course the topic of the referenced comic 1035: Cadbury Eggs, which has the same comparison between soda's sugar content and Cadbury Eggs, as well as comparing a number of other substances to the eggs. So that comic goes the other way around.

In the title text, it is stated that the key is portion control, which sounds normal until it is revealed that the portion control is actually for frosting instead of soda. Eating frosting out of cans is also referenced in the title text of 418: Stove Ownership.

Of interest in this case is that the American Heart Association recommends less than 20-36 grams per day for a sedentary lifestyle (7.5 to 9 MJ per day).

Data [ edit ]

Number of 20-oz bottles Equivalent sugar content (Coca-Cola) Candy portion Approximate sugar content 1 65 grams 3 (US) Crème Eggs

1 9-inch Snickers bar (approx. equivalent to roughly 2 standard Snickers bars) 60 grams

54 grams 7 455 grams 1 20-oz bottle frosting 360 grams (Betty Crocker decorating icing)

780 grams (Betty Crocker Fluffy White Frosting) 180 11,700 grams 4 gallons of Skittles 12,000 grams (assuming Skittles are molten/ground)

8,500 grams (assuming realistic ellipsoid packing) 1095 71,175 grams A 20-foot candy counter (the illustration shows four tiers of boxes) 125,000 grams (assuming 4 tiers of full boxes of Mars bars 10 inches wide)

62,500 grams (assuming 50% of shelf space is given over to gum and other non-edible products)

Transcript [ edit ]

[Above the four rows of two panels with captions above them are the following title and note:] Soda Sugar Comparisons See also xkcd.com/1035

[Above the two columns of panels are the following captions for the left and right column:] In terms of sugar, drinking this much soda... ...is equivalent to eating this:

[In the first rows left panel there is a drawing of a bottle with a screw cap and label. The content in the bottle is gray, as is the cap. The air above the liquid in the bottle beneath the cap as well as the label are light gray and the label is empty of text. The following text is written on three lines left of the bottle next to the label:] One 20 oz soda bottle ( e.g. Coca Cola )

[In the opposite first row right panel there are two drawings. First three gray eggs are placed in a small pyramid. A thin line goes down the lang axis of the eggs. Text on two lines is below the eggs. Next to the eggs is a long gray bar standing up. It has wiggly lines for giving its surface features along its entire length. Two lines at the top and bottom are used to measured the length with two arrows pointing to either line, which are then going to the text next to the bar which are thus in between the arrows, taking up five lines.] 3 Cadbury eggs... ...Or a Snickers bar the length of the bottle.

[In the second rows left panel seven soda bottles are drawn like the one in the first panel (as are all later bottles). They are standing close to each other. Along the bottom of all the bottles is the following text:] One soda per day for a week

[In the opposite second row right panel there is a drawing of a bottle with light gray content being poured out of the open bottle down in to a small pile next to the screw cap lying below the open bottle. The content is obviously not liquid but rather oozing frosting being dumped out of the bottle not ending up in a puddle but in a taller structure with jagged edges. A bit of the oozing material hangs far out of the bottle without dropping. Also the light gray content in the bottle is uneven with darker and brighter patches. Below and left of the screw cap and pile of goo there are two lines of text:] One bottle of cake frosting

[In the thirds rows left panel a soda bottle is drawn next to two rows of three full month calendar pages, which takes up the same height as the bottle. A text below the pages takes up two lines.]|| One soda per day for six months

[In the opposite third row right panel there drawings of four large transparent plastic milk jugs filled to the to the brim with something that is a mixture between gray and white in small clumps. Two of the jugs are in front of the other two, and covers all but the top of the one between them and half of the last which extends right of the other two. Leaning up against the rightmost jug is a dark gray pack of candy with the candy name written in white on the open pack, and more unreadable white text is at the top of the pack. Next to the pack lies five candy pieces, three in front and two to the right. These candy pieces are dark gray (three) or light gray (two). There is a line of text beneath the jugs:] Label: Skittles Four gallons of Skittles

[In the fourth and final rows left panel one soda bottles is next to three rectangles on top of each other with a year given in each. Beneath the drawing there is a text over two lines:] 2017 2018 2019 One soda per day for three years

[In the opposite fourth row right panel there is a drawings of a convenience store counter with three cashiers behind it at their cash register with payment terminal close by each of them as well. From left to right they are Ponytail, Cueball and Megan. the cash registers are to the left for all of them, with terminal next to it for Ponytail and on the other side for the other two. Between the two outer and the middle cashier, there are two signs on high poles with unreadable text. One is close to Ponytail the other is in the middle of the other two. Beside Cueball there is an additional flat thing which could be a candy weight. To Megan's right there is a square thing on top of which something sticks up in several layers. It could be a box of Kleenex. On four rows of shelves under the disc various items are closely stacked, so they cannot be separate from one another. It in though possible from white rows with prices to see that there are four rows. Underneath this drawing there is a text in two lines:] A convenience store's entire 20-foot candy counter

Trivia [ edit ]

Soda is a common term for carbonated sweet soft drink used predominantly by speakers in the Northeastern United States, California, and the areas surrounding Milwaukee and St. Louis A similar term (Sodavand, meaning Soda water) is also used in Denmark.



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