Not a question, but thanks for using my suggestion for today's comic - and as a bit of trivia, I actually stole the idea from this 1992 children's book: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/bob-wilson/stone-crows-it-s-vacuum-cleaner.htm
I think there's a sequence in Gargantua and Pantagruel where Gargantua is trying his vacuum cleaner on various objects to see which one allows him to travel through time the best, so it's kind of a common trope.
Using one of your suggestions is, frankly, overdue. Thanks for adding the quote to TV Tropes! (shut up, I don't get a lot of referrals)
