Three scientists—Papaia, Banani, and Ravioli—and their assistant Igor work at the NASAL observatory. During a trip to a big conference, they find some interesting books and start getting into creationism. But their bosses don’t like this new interest. The four are called into the boss’s office, where he tells them they’ll need to pass a psychological test to keep their jobs. But they go to the wrong door by mistake. That’s the infirmary, where Ravioli is forced to undergo a painful nasal swab.
We are in the waiting room of the infirmary where Papaia and Banani are waiting for Ravioli, who is taking “the” test.
Banani: What do you think, Papaia? Does that mean the Big Bang is wrong?
Papaia: I don’t know, Banani! But apart from the numbers not adding up, there’s also evidence that the universe can’t possibly be as old as billions of years.
Banani: Evidence? What evidence?
Papaia: There are various ones. One of them comes from comets.
Banani: Comets? How so?
Papaia: Aren’t comets covered in ice?
Banani: Oh, yes, that’s true! I saw it in a documentary once. The ice vaporizes when the comet gets close to the sun, and that’s why we see the characteristic tail.
Papaia: Exactly. And the ice in the tail? Where does it go, have you ever wondered?
Banani: Honestly, no. Maybe it disperses into space?
Papaia: Exactly! Every time a comet passes near the sun, it loses some ice. Now imagine comets that approach the sun every 70 years during their orbit.
Banani: Like the famous Halley’s Comet?
Papaia: Yes, like Halley’s Comet. What do you think happens after this comet passes by the sun a thousand or a hundred thousand times?
Banani: I don’t know. I guess it “burns out,” having no more ice for the tail.
Papaia: So, if the solar system were millions of years old, how many comets would have already “burned out”?
Banani: All of them, obviously!
Banani thinks about it for a while.
Banani: Maybe they recharge somewhere, like in the asteroid belt.
Papaia (surprised.): Nice thought … I didn’t expect that from you! Anyway, other researchers have thought the same thing, but so far, there’s no evidence to support this hypothesis.
Igor: Comets are shutting down forever…Just like our office lights when the boss kicks us out of the building.
🤣🤣🤣
…No ice, no tail, no job… just empty space!
🤣🤣🤣