2012
by Jeff
Image text: To compensate for this, I plan to spend 2013 doing nothing but talking about Mayans. My relationships with my friends and family may not fare well.
Happy New Year everyone! This comic is in reference to the fact that the Mayans, an ancient civilization in the Americas, created a calendar that ends on Dec 21st, 2012. This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the calendar used by the Mayan culture. Some therefore consider that the world is going to end on that date.
Consequently, a lot of people are talking about the Mayans, concerned that the world might end. Once December 21st, 2012 passes, everyone will be less concerned about the Mayans, because the world will not have ended. (Or it will have ended.)
In the final frame, Megan uses a take on the phrase, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." but instead she takes it to the school class of history. In most American schools, a grade point average of 4.0 equals straight A's. However, if you "Fail to learn from History" and "fail" history with an F, they would still get a 3.0 with A's in other classes.
That is a little bit of a meandering explanation, hope it makes sense.
Yogurt
by Jeff
Image text: I am firmly of the opinion that if something doesn't have a year on it, every time the expiration date rolls around it is good again for the two weeks preceding that date.
The Julian Calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar (hence the name) in 45 BC. It created the year that we know these days of 365 days and the beginning of the year as we know it of January 1st. However, they incorrectly calculated the leap years, establishing one every 3 years instead of four. This caused the calendar to slip from the solar calendar.
For a period of time (about 170 years), both the Julian and Gregorian calendars were in use in Europe. Soviet Russia did not move to the Gregorian calendar until 1918. Greece also moved to the Gregorian calendar in the 20th century. Both countries were required to drop a significant number of days.
The Gregorian calendar is named after Pope Gregory and created a calendar that was 10.8 minutes a year shorter than the Julian calendar and establish a leap year once every 4 years instead of 3.
If the character in the comic has to attempt to differentiate between the Julian and Gregorian calendars on a food item, it is at least 100 years old if it was manufactured in Greece or Soviet Russia. Otherwise it is more than 300 years old. I think it can be thrown out.