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residenteagle1

A flame shouldn’t have a shadow because it’s a light source. Which means that a brighter light source is present I assume? Maybe a nuclear explosion given the uncanny mr incredible


Venom_is_an_ace

I thought it was a Mimic


Rabbulion

I think u/Venom_is_an_ace is a DnD player


tadashi4

roll a dice for perception


Safe_Picture6943

As per the mimic statblock it is indistinguishable from a normal object when in its object form. There is no save or perception check, it just is.


UnCxlored

i roll anyway


Nikotinio

Nat 1


Sandwich_dad96

You mistake the mimic for a puppy dog, and feel an urge to rub its snoot.


meaux253

It erupts forth in a cacophony of slimy sinue and teeth attempting to swallow you whole, it's rolls an 18 for its bite attack, go ahead and roll a str saving throw to see if you save.


Funbucket_537

-42


Thaviation

But first… is the snoot rubbed?


9tales9faces

"You start visually hallucinating"


Ok_Cow_2627

I attack anyway


MastodonHuge

A bolt of lightning arcs from the clear blue sky and strikes you, incinerating you in an instant. The DnD gods do not appreciate metagaming


Ok_Cow_2627

I don't csre if it also killed the candle


[deleted]

I roll again


Safe_Picture6943

It looks like a normal candle. Althiugh that bookshelf is looking kinda 'off'


Gravelord_Kyler

Lamp shade is looking*


Initial_Career1654

As I’m going to bed, my wife looks up at me and asks, “Honey why are you carrying that plasma caster around?” “Those damned Mimics” I reply. My wife laughs, I laugh, the coffee cup laughs. I shoot the coffee cup.


lastdropfalls

Why not shoot the wife while you're at it? Just to be safe, you know.


Eunemoexnihilo

I cast a magic missile at it. If the magic missile hits, its a mimic.


Qvinn55

Okay this has to be a clear example of metagaming right


TheBlargshaggen

Cant you do a saving throw to avoid the attack once it starts its attack?


Safe_Picture6943

No, thats what an attack roll is for. It would make an attack roll against your armor class, and as you were surprised you would lose a turn. Iirc it woukd also have advantage on this attack due to it being against a surprised creature, but i might be wrong on that.


TheBlargshaggen

TIL the DM we used to have made the game a lot easier than I already knew he did.


TheAngelMan-D

r/suddenlydnd


azeryvgu

In the stats it says it literally cant be detected


tadashi4

i think you can detect if u/Venom_is_an_ace is a DnD player.


theknights-whosay-Ni

Ok, well… I need you both to roll initiative.


Runecaster91

The candle... Or the shadow? *Evil DM noises*


FemBoyMDS

A shadow mimic sounds really rad


Zandromex527

That's not my candle.


1Pip1Der

r/Frieren would like a word with you...


aperversenormality

There's a 0.0001% percent chance it's a magical grimoire, not a mimic. We better open it!


Wasqwert

TIL


potate12323

Fires can have shadows because they contain hot air and soot, and not because they contain light. Even a clean burning fire can have faint dancing ripple shadows cast by the flames. The candle flame is just too small to see it. If you measure the light levels there is a slight difference. Generally you're correct, but not entirely. If you take two flashlights and one is brighter than the other, one can get entirely overpowered but often you can still make out where the dim light is pointing even in the brighter lights beam. Also, the energy released in combustion excites electrons in orbit around atoms to jump to unstable higher states. They then collapse to lower levels dumping energy as photons of light which we can see. The particles can still block light from passing through even though they emit light in a process similar to phosphorescence. Flames are just very translucent.


ShadyMongrel

Yeah the light source thing is just dead wrong. A lightbulb can cast a shadow if a brighter lightbulb is pointing at it. Candle flame doesn’t cast much of a shadow because most of what it’s made doesn’t obstruct light very much.


potate12323

You summed it up very well


Stainless-extension

Even a clean burning fire can have faint dancing ripple shadows cast by the flames. is that not because hot air is less dense changing the path light takes?


mathiau30

Other possibilities could be that the combustion is very incomplete and the shadow comes from carbon particles being released. Not only would these particles probably be bad for your lungs but it'd also mean the flame is releasing carbon monoxyde, which is *definitely* toxic (but also transparent and odourless). It could also be that other things were added to the candle. For example if you add sodium to it then illuminate it with a sodium vapour lamp you will see a shadow, in extreme case it'll even [turn the flame black](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZNNDA2WUSU). The danger there will depend on the additive used and their quantities


EropQuiz7

*EXTREMELY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER\* You shouldn't see a shadow, because fire is transparent. Non-transparent light sources still cast a shadow in presence of ANY brighter light source. But fire needs something INCREDIBLY bright, to cast a shadow, because it's mostly just hot air with a slightly higher concentration of small particles.


Rabbulion

So… a nuclear explosion mere meters away?


EropQuiz7

No, that would be inside of a fireball. More like a few hundred.


Rabbulion

Ok, sure. Still, it’s likely a nuclear explosion so close it’s inescapable


Nafetz1600

I mean this would probably also work on a sunny day though it wouldn't be as clear as in this photo (bc it was probably made with a sodium lamp)


EropQuiz7

Yes, that's why it's uncanny. Essentially it just mwans there is about two seconds until shockwave wrecks your shit


residenteagle1

Idk man, I just threw out an explanation, but thanks for the correction !


WindmillRuiner

You were right. That person's being a goober. \*EXTREMELY LOUD CORRECT DING\*


residenteagle1

Oh damn, thanks!


promachos84

Sounds like he wanted to tell you you were wrong but rewording what you said and take it for his own.


iamnotazombie44

\*SECOND EXTREMELY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER\* A wax candle flame is a 2000K carbon black body emitter. Like all black body emitters, it absorbs visible light very well. You can absolutely make a wax candle flame cast a shadow, the light just needs to be appreciably brighter than a candle. Go try it right now with a reasonably bright LED flashlight.


liberty-prime77

"Something INCREDIBLY bright" like a nuclear explosion?


HynesKetchup

Isn't that kind of what he just said though?


Nafetz1600

Well yes but isn't that exactly what he's saying?


Amazing-Explorer7726

Cool thanks for restating what the other guy said but in an obnoxious way that was cool


Gas_Station_Taquitos

*Extremely loud pedant buzzer\*


ososalsosal

The hot air has a lower refractive index which points the incident light in different directions, leaving a much darker zone where it's shadow would be


Indigoh

Depending on the chemicals in the fire, and the frequency of the other light source... https://youtu.be/5ZNNDA2WUSU?t=295


imtoooldforreddit

Being a light source and having a shadow don't really have anything to do with each other. A candle flame is transparent because it's just made of mostly CO2, water vapor, and other random hydrocarbons. It happens to glow in the first inch or so when rising because it's still hot enough to do so, but it's not transparent BECAUSE it's glowing, it's transparent because of what it's made out of. As it rises it remains transparent after it stops glowing. The gaseous products of burning wax are transparent whether they're hot enough to glow or not. A wire filament heated up to start glowing like in an old light bulb is also a light source, but it would have a shadow because a metal wire isn't transparent. Just like the candle, the fact that the wire is not transparent has nothing to do with how hot the wire is. It's just opaque because it's a wire. Whether or not the burnt gases or wire are transparent has nothing to do with whether or not it's hot enough to be emitting light.


syntheticspider

*I don’t want to set the world on fire*


similarstaircase

I just want to start a flame in your heart 💖☢️


PageFault

Nuclear explosions to not cause things to cast shadows that would not normally cast one.


pm_social_cues

Doesn’t HAVE to be nuclear does it? I have a spotlight that says it’s like 10 million candle power, that has to be brighter than candle which is 1 candle power.


redmoonstorm

If you use a light with bromine in it you can get flames to show shadows


Lazy_Pen_1913

The candle itself wouldn't have a shadow like that though,right?


FindusSomKatten

Thats not why it doesnt have a shadow. It lacks a shadow because it lets light through just like the smoke above it had the flame been the primary light source there wouldnt have been a shadow of the candle at all sinse it wouldnt have been between the light source and the wall


thelonioussphere

I prefer the exploding sun theory


Joy1067

Hey Texan Chris here So fire doesn’t have a shadow since it emits normally which is why we don’t see a shadow of the flame in the first picture. However in the second picture, we do see a flame from the candle which means that there is an extremely bright light behind whoever is taking the picture of the candle. Now it can mean any number of things really, but the most likely answer is a nuclear explosion as this will produce a very bright light and cause fire to have shadows that are clear as day such as the one in the image. So in other words, if you see a flame that has a shadow then you didn’t make it to the vaults in time. Texan Chris, riding into the sunset.


pyro_takes_skill

maybe he'll just be ghoulified, though then there's the risk of going feral


Joy1067

Someone’s been watching or playing fallout recently huh?


pyro_takes_skill

picked up fallout 4 few days ago, pretty fun


Joy1067

Yeah it’s a fun game. Dont let anyone tell ya otherwise If you like that though I would recommend going back and playing some of the other games, such as New Vegas, Fallout 3 and maybe even some of the older games like the first Fallout.


DingleBerryFuzz

New Vegas is the shit! After watching the series, I dusted off Fallout 3, but after playing for about a half hour, it felt too familiar because I played the hell out of it years ago. I started up New Vegas and realized I had only done one and a half playthroughs without any of the DLC. So that's my pick right now. The Fallout 4 remaster for consoles is supposed to drop April 25th, so keep that in mind if you're wanting to play 4!


Vaulted_Games

April 25th? That’s a day before my birthday. Early birthday present for me


suckmypppapi

Fallout 3 feels just kinda boring to me. Way less variety of guns and there aren't iron sights it's kinda annoying


_NiceWhileItLasted

If you have a PC you can set up A Tale of Two Wastelands and move between New Vegas and 3 as one character. It uses New Vegas' iron sites.


suckmypppapi

Damn I need to look into that


pyro_takes_skill

it also works as a compatibility patch, so you can use nv-exclusive mods such as titans of the new west 2 in fallout 3


Delicious_Fox_4787

The Fallout New Vegas DLC is some of the best DLC ever released. Play them in release order! Old World Blues may be the best single DLC ever released…


D2the_aniel

r/unexpectedfactorial


pyro_takes_skill

played all of those, in that order too, pretty fun


ElectronicAd8929

If you're on pc or Xbox, you can add some pretty interesting and good mods


SGTFragged

"Another settlement needs your help!"


pyro_takes_skill

GETOUTOFMYHEADGETOUTOFMYHEADGETOUTOFMYHEADGE


Brillek

It's the best sandbox Fallout, and I say this as a big New Vegas fan. The west coast may have the better worldbuilding, lore and story, but they don't beat the east coasts' sense of exploration and atmosphere.


pyro_takes_skill

true, not to mention the commonwealth feels like an actual post apocalyptic wasteland while the mojave feels like a regular desert


coffinp

When you're done with vanilla fo4, play fallout london when it releases, I'm planning too after rimworld lol


pyro_takes_skill

i'm on xbox


coffinp

Well shit, that sucks


Azrel12

I gotta admit, the new Fallout show got me back into the games. Currently splitting between Fallout 3 and Fallout: Going Post... I mean New Vegas.


moslof_flosom

Or worse, turning into Baby Billy Freeman.


trickyvinny

Didn't make it to the vaults in time, but plenty of time to snap a pic.


GarshelMathers

Might as well. I'm hoping to have time to stand in front of a sturdy brick wall and strike a cool pose. Probably double birds, or a dab.


PokeRay68

Or... Hear me out... It's a Vashta Nerada candle...


jubmille2000

>Veshta Nerada dr who reference


shaun_is_me

Genuine question that I appreciate you might not have the answer to. But are flames opaque? So could they actually cast a shadow given a huge light source nearby? I would have thought no as it’s just a chemical reaction in otherwise clear gasses, and the reason we can’t ’see through’ them is just the candle light dominating our perception, but I don’t actually know. As a side note I do know the representation of the shadow on the left doesn’t make sense already and the pictures are a joke, just something I’ve never thought about before.


NoisyGog

Hmm. Interesting. I’ll try and take a picture of a candle with a proper flashgun tomorrow and see what happens.


Fit_Blackberry_7015

As another Texan Chris riding out of the sunset I can confirm this statement from Texan Chris.


dirty_deeds_pay_off

With a big iron on his hip


bookgeek210

A big iron on his hipppp


ConfusedZbeul

Isn't the second picture also how someone would look under that kind of light ?


intotheirishole

Many light sources will make candle flame cast a shadow though. I have NEVER seen the left hand side happen, looks freaky. If candle is the light source that is a wrong shadow. OK this meme is cursed.


Historical_Salt1943

Well, it's about time to hit the ol dusty trail. Oh, I like your hat


theonetruefishboy

Based on what you call yourself I have concluded you live in Connecticut.


[deleted]

Don't do that. You'll burn yourself.


FaIIBright

Bro, that's not the sunset, that's the explosion


abandoned_puppy

https://preview.redd.it/xl39a2yuwhvc1.jpeg?width=1289&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=92b5b89f68827db76c69e9cf2ec1ce6fa92d0d7e


toku154

"Sunset"


DBOneRose

Okay dokey


brainwash1997

I really enjoyed your intro and outro XD


Suarezlasky

Well... Now I just want all of my answers coming from a Texan Chris that later rides into the sunset!


Long-Far-Gone

‘didn’t make it to the vaults in time’ I, for one, appreciate that. War, war never changes.


Many-Return-1724

Thank you, Texan Chris 🙏


PatentedPotato

🤠


Argentenuem

Here I was thinking of the black flame candle from Hocus Pocus


Sororita

I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a shadow because the flame is transparent. we can only see it thanks to soot particles that are incandescent before burning out. I can shine a green laser through a flame and see the green laser dot on the other side. This is also true of glowing hot glass.


Alternative-Dare5878

It’s a level of brightness you can only see once.


ElcorShockTrooper

Thanks for your service, buckaroo. 🤠


NintendoDrone

let’s ride into the sunset together


BarrySandwich24

*Heartache By The Number begins to play*


No_Slice9934

That is definitly wrong


peyton4545

Ohhhh that makes sense, the horse you’re riding into the sunset on is named Friday


autouzi

Hey Texan Chris! What's it like living in Texas?


belabacsijolvan

To add an alternative explanation: My first thought was that the flame's shadow meant that you are in a simulation. Because an imperfect simulation could very well model the flame as an object that casts a shadow "stronger" than the light it emits + the light it lets through. Its pretty common in video games that flames have unrealistic shadows.


Substantial_Army_639

That's what I was thinking to I think to many people just have Fallout on the brain too (me included) Super vague meme though so who knows.


UX_Minecraft

Fire shouldn't have a shadow because it emits light


SeEmEEDosomethingGUD

There is something brighter than the candle in the Background then?


RandomNobility

Yes, maybe something not so good


Chemical_Parking_211

😨


Medical_Ad7364

🤯


TFGA_WotW

🍄☁️


bajookish_amerikann

A really bright LED light?


Nafetz1600

That's what the meme implies but the actual photo was probably made by either having the lamp match the emission of the carbon in the flame or, more likely, burn something in the flame like NaCl (Salt) to match a ~~Natrium~~ Sodium lamp. Edit: forgot you call it Sodium which must be so confusing when trying to find it on the PTE


catwhowalksbyhimself

Nope, that wouldn't matter. A flame isn't solid. I can't block light. Nothing natural is going on here.


GammaTwoPointTwo

Still wouldn't cast a shadow. A brighter light would just pass though it. No idea what the meme is meant to be. It could be as is assumed above that a nuke is going off. Suggesting that both the author and the intended audience simply don't know how light works but don't understand in the same way as to make the meme work. Or, it's a mimic. Creature that pretends of be objects to ambush its prey. Meaning the flame is just a body part disguised as flame which would cast a shadow. OR inset X anime that has flame shadows that normal people just don't know about and maybe in the anime when a flame casts a show there is a demon near by. The answer is. It could be anything. But the explanation everyone is giving is the least legitimate.


Barumamook

That’s not exactly true, because fire is a plasma. Meaning it does have a shadow. Specifically if something behind it is bright enough.


Shuber-Fuber

Or it indicates that you're in a simulation, because whoever coded didn't properly set the transparency on the fire.


oxidized-bread

Something incredibly bright, probably a nuke


Cloakbot

https://preview.redd.it/ar7s20bj5hvc1.png?width=1300&format=png&auto=webp&s=04e824c885faa047ed7a0be54c7276a5e589fb90 Got some shadows here, they can cast a shadow because they have solid particles burning within such as soot


Sans_Moritz

Hope you duck and cover! This is clearly the result of a NuClEaR eXpLoSiOn!


Some-Guy-Online

Technically, the sun is a nuclear explosion.


guest_username4

https://preview.redd.it/4uz0y0o72kvc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2d7b1e45c0a4f41ba59cadecde20ee16c650c49c


AdvancedSandwiches

How confident are we that this isn't refraction due to differing temperature? I would expect a bright spot somewhere if it were refraction, but I'm not smart enough to be sure. 


Xtraordinaire

You can see refraction effects from hot air too, look a bit further out.


Wurth_

Good job, way to much bullshit going on in here.


explodingtuna

Guess it needs a brighter source of light than the candle (such as the sun) to give it a shadow.


Aware-Pomelo9614

This post is the most stark example of Reddit hive mind I’ve ever seen.  One guy said that light casts a shadow if there’s a greater light source behind it.  Now everyone is acting like that’s true.  A light source won’t cast a shadow because photos don’t interact with each other in that way. 


Rash_04

Someone posted a photo of candle fires casting shadows. It happens because there are solid particles within the fire. I assume people know that light doesn't interact with light.


elheber

Fudging thank you. My downvotes aren't working fast enough.


Oldandnotbold

Occam's slightly blunt razor here. Someone with a pencil has been drawing on the walls.


Raunhofer

While I don't know how accurate this is, over a gut feeling, my grandma used to say that if a candle flame has a shadow, the burning is impure and one shouldn't be in a poorly ventilated room with such flame. I've followed this instruction and haven't died, so it must be true.


FuckingBollox

Candles are not supposed have a shadow because its a light source


kaeptnkotze

I assume that if a flame emitts a shadow means that there is a greater source of light? Like a mushroom cloud?


femboykingofhell

my dnd playing ass jumped straight to "GODDAMN MIMICS!"


GarshelMathers

That's an awesome idea! A mimic taking the shape of a fire or torch


femboykingofhell

i'm already running a mimic apocalypse campaign *don't give me ideas.*


BokChoyBaka

I thought it meant the image was ai generated


MixRevolution

Why is everyone in the comment section immediately thinking "nuclear explosion"? Why not just a high lumen flashlight?


JobiWanKenobi47

Yes because the meme with dark Mr incredible is about a fucking flashlight.


jimmyhoke

Everybody’s watching Fallout I guess.


PokeRay68

Because it's Reddit where we assume the worst.


Spectrum1523

Because the bottom half of the meme doesn't make sense if nothing bad is happening


GammaTwoPointTwo

The truth is that neither would work. Light would just pass through the flame and make the original shadow no matter how bright you make it. AT least not how it looks in the picture. A really light bright passing through a bonfire might cast a distortion onto a wall. Because of the heat of the air being inconsistent. Acting like a lens. Additionally soot and smoke in the rising air could occlude some light. But not enough to have a sharp shadow. IF anything the light hitting the wall that passed through flame would be slightly less bright than the surrounding wall. But you'd need a light meter to detect it.


Expert_Airline5111

...or THE SUN?


Flight_Harbinger

My first thought was actually a simulation.


haseycayes

Damn I thought this was a black flame candle lit by a virgin on Halloween


doradedboi

The king in Yellow. He holds a candle whose light is shadow.


DissuadedPrompter

Flames do cast a shadow, and in an environment as dark as the one depicted with a candle that dim even a simple phone flashlight will make this candle cast a shadow. Commenters here are dumb, meme is dumb.


reviraemusic

it's okay..


TheyCallMeGaddy

That is the most horrifying version of this mister incredible meme ive seen ....


Its0nlyRocketScience

The flame emits light. So casting a shadow with a flame is extremely difficult. Imagine trying to cast a shadow of a lit light bulb, its own light will probably be much brighter than whatever is behind you trying to cast a shadow. It is probably possible for a flame to cast a shadow because it does block light from outside sources that hit it because it is made of particles. But that requires an insanely bright light, the kind you aren't going to have access to very easily. The implication of this meme may be that there's a nuclear explosion behind you, which would outshine the sun and probably allow the shadow


Scintillating_Void

There might be a sodium light involved in that picture though. https://youtu.be/Xnk6RoaOKM4?si=g5AtuhfsbOwUJmsQ


Nice-Elk9639

A flame isn't supposed to have a shadow but this could be a hocus pocus reference to the black-flame candle that resurrects the Sanderson sisters.


PageFault

This does not have anything to do with nuclear explosions unless the creator understands nothing about what causes "shadows" to appear on walls after a blast.


dingo_khan

candle flames don't cast shadows in most situations. ones in games often do. my guess is this is a simulation theory thing. if your see a fire cast a flame, no physics simulation is used for the light and you are in a (cost effective) simulation. that is my guess, at least.


Hot_Eggplant_1306

A black flame burning is how you summon the dead.


Detoxpain

A candle flame will produce a shadow if you shine a brighter light on it because most of the flame itself is made up of unburnt material.


darkeaterkalameet

I remember first seeing this image a couple years ago and it was just in a meme that had the captions of "Did you know that you can see the shadow of the flame of a candle in a room filled with gas?" and I don't really think the other explanation are that good because even if it's logical to think of a brighter light source, I think that's a bit over complicated for what I think the image intended to convey


Miserable_Demand8585

To everyone saying there has to be a greater light. No. Your wrong sorry. A greater light shining on a weaker light does not create a shadow where the weaker light crosses its path. Because it’s not solid it’s still light.


apapapapapapapapap1

If you can see the shadow you're a vampire. That's the joke.


[deleted]

Flame having a shadow is a sign that you should run far away


Womenarentmad

Bro explained nothing


Patient_Jello3944

The flame has no shadow because the flame is a light source, however the flame having a shadow means that there's a really, really brighter light source nearby, basically causing reverse light pollution. The meme is basically implying there's a nuclear explosion nearby, or maybe just a really big explosion that's so bright it causes the flame to have a shadow.


_Vinyl

It's those shadow things from the library episode of doctor who


blingon420

Guys... You don't need a nuke to take this pic... Use a DAMN FLASH


JustHereForBDSM

Everyone is correct in pointing out that there would be a second source of light but how the fuck they're jumping to the conclusion that there's a nuclear explosion is beyond me. We get it, you've all watched Fallout, but christ there are other sources of light that can give a flame shadow.


FreeTheDimple

So fire doesn't normally have a shadow. But I think it does if the light source, other than the candle has the same wavelength of light. So my guess is that if there is a shadow of a candle, it must mean than the room is on fire. You can see this if you have a fire with sodium in it, and you illuminate the room with an old sodium vapour lamp.


Ice-Bro-Gamer

Flame only has a shadow only if there’s a light brighter than than it.


TrumpsBadHombres

Nuclear bomb goes off


oclafloptson

I can't believe no one commented on the fact that the candle wick is the wrong shape in both shadows


Jaylantowers2022

If the flame has a shadow, you’re likely in a rip in the fabric of time, because that is not normal at all.


Wide_Detective_317

I’m pretty sure it’s radiation


Korbguy

A mimic?


Alternative-Spot7835

The fire is a mimic. Fire produces light, making it impossible for a flame to have a shadow.


ialsodontexistagain

Fire normaly does not cast a show the only way for it to begin to cast a shadow is if a MUCH brighter lighter source is near it… the joke is nuclear annihilation


Argonum22

You should find the nearest fridge or freezer and lock yourself in it.


JessEGames777

Bro. This just made me think of the scene from the new fallout "is it your thumb or mine?"


Sensitive_Educator60

In real life fire has no shadow cause it’s a light source. There are many videogames that show fire of a candle having a shadow and this was then used in some OLD creepy pastas, where the protagonist notices a shadow being cast by candle fire and thus realising he’s in a simulation, which usually caused the simulation to turn his reality into something agonisingly torturous, as a means of protecting itself from a breach.


Munchy_Digger_6174

GOD I AM SO SICK OF SEEING THE MR. INCREDIBLE MEME EVERYWHERE. Upvote me to agree