"A Timeline...."

The temperatures shown...are *relative* to the 1961-1990 average, which was 14.0 C (57.2 F).

So "-4 C" really means... 4 C below that average. Therefore 14.0 -4 = 10 C, that is, a worldwide average temperature of 50 F.

Read through the whole thing: "A Timeline of Earth's Average Temperature" (XKCD-Randall Munroe). Go to: xkcd.com/1732.

This is a cartoon, and evidence, and entertainment, and an argument all rolled into one. Respond to the questions below...

Editorial cartoons comment on something (often politics) in the real world. So they are a mixture of reality and invented or ridiculous details.

Do you think you can tell truth from fiction in this cartoon? What's an example of something false? something true? How can you tell?
Is there any evidence that you can see to indicate that the temperature data that Munroe presents is not just made up? Why should / shouldn't we trust the temperature data he's claiming to display?
What impression did the very end of the graph make on you? What questions did you have about that part?
Cartoonists often exagerrate or emphasize one or two notable details of a person when drawing a celebrity. What is exagerrated or notable about this temperature timeline cartoon? Why do you think he choose to do it this way? Does this way of showing things emphasize anything in particular?
He probably chose this format because by making it so long and thin it is very obvious that when reaching the end there has been a drastic change. Doing it like this made it obvious that what is happening is not something natural as a jump like what happened in the 1900´s was unnatural compared to all of the rest of history [and the pre-history shown too].
What other questions arose for you as you read through this? What else caught your eye?