Time capsule

"Some sort of challenge buried in the GROOOUUND??"

Strong Bad tells us what he would put in a time capsule, to preserve his awesomeness after his death and be opened in at least X0 years.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Homestar Runner, Stinkoman, 1-Up

Places: Computer Room, Planet K

Computer: Compy 386

Date: Monday, October 4, 2004

Running Time: 3:22

Page Title: Compy 386!!

DVD:strongbad email.exe Disc Four

Transcript

STRONG BAD: Checkin' emails with a VISCOSITY since 2001, it's a Strong Bad Email.

{reading}

>dear STRONG bad,
>you are extremely awesome but how are
>you going to be soooo awesome if you'rre
>dead? why not make a time capsule of
>stuff filled with stuff about you to
>be opened in at least X0 years.
>please answer this,
>sam concord california

{Strong Bad puts emphasis on the STRONG in Strong Bad, says "This, I know" after "you are extremely awesome," reads "soooo" as "sue," pronounces "you'rre" as spelled, pronounces "capsule" as "capsoole," and pronounces "X0" as "exty," as in 20X6.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Rest assured, Shim-Sham Sam, my time capsule would reign supreme. Like your hot single Mom is gonna wanna date my time capsule. So, the key to a good time capsule is it being an actual capsule. None of these shoe boxes or tennis ball cans. No. Those things are called time boxes and time tennis ball cans. {clears screen, continues typing} Those are different and lame and differently lame. And they always get dug up in about 4 days. And they're filled with uncool stuff like those leaf rubbin's {an image of leaf rubbings pops up} and current newspaper clippin's {a newspaper clipping pops up} and... toenail snippin's? {toenail snippings pop up onscreen} Anybody? {clears screen, continues typing} Anyways, I'm talking about a f'real capsule. Y'know, {doesn't type "Y'know"} like a big old headache medicine. So, what kinda cool stuff should I put in there? I guess I'd throw in a cassette tape with one of my #1 jams on it. And then in the future it'd be a huge hit and they'd send all the royalties and groupies back in time to me right... {mumbles to self for a second} NOW!

{The doorbell rings. Cut to zoomed out view of Strong Bad at his computer desk.}

STRONG BAD: Holy gosh! It worked! I'm the meanest genius!

{Homestar enters holding a shoebox.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Hey, Strong Bad, hey, can I put this gross old wig in your time machine?

{Homestar produces a gross old wig from the shoebox.}

STRONG BAD: Uhhm, {counting on his thumbs} it's a capsule, no, and I-hate-you-get-out.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Cool, cool.

{Homestar puts the gross old wig on his face.}

STRONG BAD: Why would you want to put that nasty thing in a time capsule anyway?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: 'Cause it's gross and nasty and old and I don't want it.

{Homestar takes off the wig and puts it on Strong Bad's floppy disk container}

STRONG BAD: It's not a trash capsule. Look, this is for cool stuff so people of the future know how cool I am.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Well then I'll just make my own time box with a gross old wig in it. So all the future peoples will know I had a gross old wig!

{Homestar puts the gross old wig back in the shoebox.}

STRONG BAD: Good. Now leave.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Yep!

{Homestar leaves. Cut back to the Compy 386}

STRONG BAD: {typing} And I might as well spit in it, just in case they ever figure out how to make people {slight pause} from spit. Ooh! Then I'd put some dry ice in there so when they open it up it looks all smoky and steamy and it says a-like "froosh" when they first open it. There'll be no doubt about my coolty.

{Cut to the field, circa 20X6. Stinkoman is kneeling in front of a hole with dirt around his mouth}

STINKOMAN: Oh man, those first four hundred bites of dirt were not so good. Maybe the next one will be better.

{Stinkoman sticks his hand in the hole where it makes an audible clanging sound against an unseen object}

STINKOMAN: WHAAAT is this? Some sort of a challenge buried in the GROUUUND?

{Stinkoman snatches a red and white capsule out of the hole. It opens with Strong Bad saying "froosh," and a cassette tape is revealed.}

STINKOMAN: Lookie here! A power crunch!

{Stinkoman grabs the cassette and jams it into his mouth, crunching it up.}

STINKOMAN: It tastes like a #1 jam!

{Stinkoman suddenly stands and bulks up, making the cliché powering-up sound. 1-Up walks in with the gross old wig on his head.}

1-UP: {not noticing Stinkoman's buffed up form} Hey, Stinkoman! Look what I found buried in the time box!

{Cut back to the present and the Compy 386.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Yeah, cassette tape is definitely the way to go. What could ever replace the durability of magnetic tape? Duct tape maybe. Man, I wonder when those groupies and royalties are getting here. What about right (hamina hooo) NOW! {stops typing} CRAP! OK, what about right... here it comes, just a little bit longer NOW! Ugh. This could take a while.

{The Paper comes down.}

STRONG BAD: Oh, the time is passing by, oh it's such a lovely day NOW! 5-4-3-2-1-NOW! 5-4-3-2-1-NOW! 3-2-1-NOW! 2-1-NOW! NOW! 1-NOW! NOW!

Easter Eggs

• Clicking on "differently lame" shows a small advertisement for Coach Z Ale. Its slogan is "Differently Lame!"
• Clicking on "big ol' headache medicine" shows a bottle of "Jobar's Big Ol' Headache Medicine." Its slogan is "Eat 'em like candy!"
• Clicking on "cassette tape" at the end to listen to a R&B-esque song about Grumblecakes taped over The Cheat's The Cheatcakes theme song.

VOICEOVER: Only liars and thieves eat Grumblecakes,
and those people go to prison
just ask The Cheaaat... {tape slows down}

STRONG BAD: Girl, I know we haven't been through a lot together.
In fact one might say we just met standing here in line at the batting cages,
but there's one thing I'm sure of already.
{singing} Let me get them Grumblecakes
and please don't grumble fake,
I just need them Grumblecakes.
Ohh I'm Grumblecaking with you.
Let me get them Grumblecakes,
and please don't grumble fake,
I just needed them Grumblecakes.
Ohh I'm Grumblecaking with you.
I'm really going to grumble bake
another batch of them Grumblecakes.
So let's raise the grumble stakes.
Clean the yard with the grumble rake.
Girl give me a grumble break.
I wanna see you grumble shake.
Don't make a grumble mistake.
Let me see you grumble down!

Fun Facts

Explanations

• Viscosity is a measure of the fluid's resistance to deformation under shear stress. It is commonly perceived as "thickness," or resistance to pouring. Viscosity describes a fluid's internal resistance to flow and may be thought of as a measure of fluid friction.
  • The line may also be a reference to hip-hop group Black Sheep's song "Strobelite Honey," from their 1991 album A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. The song contains the line "I've got to step / With the viscosity."

Trivia

• The date on newspaper clipping, October 4, is the day this email was released.
• The newspaper clipping reads:

>Oct. 4
>Little Boy Saves Turtle!
>"I found it in my shoe!!!"
>News - A local boy known as
>"Geoff," found a turtle in his shoe
>and returned it to the terrarium
>on his desk. "His name is Slowbie,
>but now I think I'll call him Mr.
>Shoe." The boy's mother is very
>proud of her son. Calls to the
>turtle's mother were not
>immediately returned, but most
>agree she would be proud of
>Slowbie/ Mr. Shoe.

• The label on the disk in the floppy disk container reads "lunar lander".

Remarks

• After making fun of Sam's typos, Strong Bad proceeds to miscapitalize "Mom," which is supposed to take the lowercase after the possessive "your."
• Homestar's eyes appear to be placed closer together than usual in this email.
• When Stinkoman opens the time capsule, the wheels of the tape are turning.
• Dry ice is a genericized trademark for solid carbon dioxide, which freezes at -78.5 °C (-109.3 °F). At room temperature, this solid form constantly sublimates to carbon dioxide gas. Gaseous carbon dioxide is not visible, but dry ice is indeed often used for mist effects, as Strong Bad points out, because the cold temperature causes water vapor to condense in its vicinity. After X0 years, however, the dry ice would have all heated up and turned to gas, so it would not have the effect shown in the flashforward.
• The time capsule and box were found on Planet K, which may hint that Planet K is the future version of Free Country, USA, and not a separate planet.
• Old-Timey Strong Bad effectively left a time capsule for Strong Bad by enclosing half his mustache in a letter (see flashback Easter egg). To date, Strong Bad hasn't been seen with this envelope or the mustache.
• When Homestar opens the box and pulls the wig out, he would have to have three invisible arms: one to hold the box, one to hold the lid, and one to hold the wig. A similar phenomenon occurs in the show and later in Hremail 2000.
• The sound made when Stinkoman opens the time capsule is a recycle of Strong Bad saying "Froosh" from only seconds before, and therefore Strong Bad perfectly predicted the sound that would be produced on opening the capsule.
• Strong Bad pronounces "Concord" as "Concorde" (as in the retired supersonic jet). It should actually be pronounced as "conquered".

Inside References

• Homestar Runner's Time Box is a Freshley's shoe box, the same brand he wore on one of his feet in anything.
• The turtle featured in the newspaper clipping is the same one used in new hands.
• Stinkoman eats dirt, as he was willing to do in Under Construction.
• Slowbie is probably a reference to 2 years, when Strong Bad calls The Cheat a "slowbie".
• The time capsule looks an awful lot like the Isle of Pom.
• Strong Bad sounds like Senor Cardgage when he mumbles.
• The hole in the ground is the exact same shape as the one that will be in Strong Badia 2 years from when the email 2 years was written.
• There is another use of Duct Tape.
• Grumblecakes are from the email stupid stuff.

Real-World References

• Stinkoman's huge, buff form is a reference to Broly's 'Legendary Super Saiyan' transformation, seen in a few Dragon Ball Z movies.
• "Jobar" is the name of a large monster from Tuareg mythology.
• Strong Bad's calling the email sender 'Shim Sham Sam' could be a reference to the 1960s rock and roll band Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs.

Fast Forward

• 1-Up later "borrows" Stinkoman's "power crunch" in the game Stinkoman 20X6. At the end, Stinkoman consumes it and again becomes buff.
• A music video for the Grumblecakes song was later made to the Strong Bad Email DVD.
• Marzipan says she's eating dirt in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 13.2.
• The Freshley's shoe box reappeared in the email original, as the base of a toothpick sculpture.

YouTube Version

• The YouTube description for this email is "What would Strong Bad leave to future generations? Watch this cartoon to find out!"
• Stinkoman no longer makes a power-up noise while muscular.

DVD Version

• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch the DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Marzipan, Homestar Runner)

MIKE: So in the email— the DVD commentary for this email, I'm joined in the booth by...

MARZIPAN: Marzipan. M... M-A-R—

MIKE: —And also—

HOMESTAR: {flatly} Homestar Runner.

MARZIPAN: —Z-I-P-A-N.

HOMESTAR: H-A-L.

MIKE: {laughing} Hal?

HOMESTAR: What—

MIKE: H-A... H-A-L?

MARZIPAN: That is his middle name.

MIKE: {laughing} Really?

HOMESTAR: {surprised} Really?!

MARZIPAN: I— That's my pet name for him.

HOMESTAR: Yeah. She calls me H-A-L.

MIKE: {laughing}

MARZIPAN: For "Hal".

MIKE: All right, so this email is about, uh, time capsules.

MARZIPAN: That's correct.

MIKE: Did you ever make a time capsule, Marzipan?

MARZIPAN: No.

MIKE: Homesta— uh, Hal?

HOMESTAR: Yes! Yes, thank you, Ron Sta— Staple. {sounding important} I made a time capsule one time, in my spare time, in... school time.

MIKE: What was in it?

HOMESTAR: Uh, many times, and a two—

MIKE: Marzipan, why don't you start talking?

MARZIPAN: Well, I know that he had an airplane in it.

HOMESTAR: Yes, a small Cessna.

MIKE: {laughs} Really?

HOMESTAR: Yes.

MARZIPAN: With a propeller.

MIKE: Wow. Like, from your beanie cap?

HOMESTAR: Are you talking about my buzzer, {Mike laughs} Mike?

MIKE: Uh, your buzzer?

HOMESTAR: Yes!

MIKE: Yeah, I was talking about the propeller on your beanie cap.

HOMESTAR: Yes! It's called my buzzer, Mike.

MARZIPAN: Okay, let's pay attention here.

HOMESTAR: Okay. Um, I need a big ol' headache medicine right about now.

MARZIPAN: Yeah!

MIKE: {laughs}

{Pause}

HOMESTAR: Strong Bad's time travel technique doesn't seem to work very well.

MIKE: It worked right— Oh, look! {Homestar appears in the email} Whoa!

HOMESTAR: Oh! I remember those Freshley's shoes I got!

MIKE: Is that what you were wearing right there—

HOMESTAR: Yeah.

MIKE: —the... the blue soles taped to your foot?

MARZIPAN: What— What is that?

HOMESTAR: What? Those are my shoes. Look at that nasty old wig! That thing's gross!

MARZIPAN: Oh.

HOMESTAR: It had two bugs in it! One was a moth, and the other was... a ground bug.

MARZIPAN: Mike had a bug in his hair this morning.

HOMESTAR: {cracking up} Did you, Mike?! What were you doing with Mike this morning, Marzipan?!

MARZIPAN: Oh, don't tell anybody. {Mike laughs} Mike is my—

HOMESTAR: {Homestar leaves the scene} Here I go!

MARZIPAN: {simultaneously} My—

HOMESTAR: That was my big scene you guys.

MARZIPAN: My special friend.

MIKE: {laughs} Thanks, Marzipan.

MARZIPAN: {gasps} Dry ice.

HOMESTAR: Yeah, don't try and put dry ice on your— on your, um, extremities.

MARZIPAN: I read something about dry ice.

{Stinkoman appears in the email}

HOMESTAR: Who's that guy?

MIKE: What'd you read?

MARZIPAN: I don't remember.

MIKE: One time a roommate of mine showed up— uh, came back from class with a bag full of dry ice. It was a great day.

HOMESTAR: What'd you guys do? Did you make a laboratory? {pronounced "Luh-BOR-uh-tor-ee"}

MIKE: Put it in the sink and put in a little soap in there, and had a little haunted house in the middle of April.

HOMESTAR: Did you make a volcano?

MIKE: Well...

{Stinkoman bulks up}

HOMESTAR: Oh my goodness, that's terrifying!

MARZIPAN: {gasps} Look at that body!

MIKE: You like that?

{1-Up walks on}

HOMESTAR: Hey, that guy's got my old wig! It kind of looks like me, except... cuter.

MARZIPAN: He was very shiny.

HOMESTAR: Um... duct tape seems to be a running theme, an undercurrent, Mike.

MARZIPAN: I feel bad for the ducks, though.

MIKE: Duct.

MARZIPAN: Oh.

HOMESTAR: Duh-ct-tuh! Right, Mike?

MIKE: That's right, Hal.

HOMESTAR: Oh, see, he's still talking.

MIKE: Yeah, we're not done yet. Not off the hook yet.

HOMESTAR: Oh, uh... {sings random doo-doo-doo's. Continues.}

MIKE: Say something, Marzipan.

MARZIPAN: {sings random doo-doo-doo's.}

MIKE: {joins in.}

Fun Facts

• Cessna is a manufacturer of small, light airplanes.
• Here, Marzipan implies that Homestar's middle name is Hal, but in Halloween Potion-ma-jig, she calls him Homestar Michael Runner. This is said by Homestar again in Flash is Dead!.
  • If this commentary is true, Homestar's full name would be Homestar Hal Runner.
• Homestar would address Ron Staple again in an auto reply email.

External Links

• watch "time capsule"
• watch "time capsule" on YouTube
• watch "time capsule" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "time capsule"
• forum thread re: "time capsule"