https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Svend&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T14:20:14ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1521:_Sword_in_the_Stone&diff=1591211521: Sword in the Stone2018-06-22T05:57:09Z<p>Svend: /* Explanation */ Typo fix ("was" twice)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1521<br />
| date = May 6, 2015<br />
| title = Sword in the Stone<br />
| image = sword in the stone.png<br />
| titletext = That seems like an awful lot of hassle when all I wanted was a cool sword.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] pulls a sword out of a stone. A flash of light comes down and music plays, and a heavenly voice tells her she has ascended to the {{w|throne of England}}. Megan then pulls out her phone and searches on Wikipedia for {{w|England}} . After having read for a while she begins, while reading on, to replace the sword into the rock.<br />
<br />
The comic references the fables of {{w|King Arthur}} and the {{w|Knights of the Round Table}}. In Arthurian legend, whoever can remove {{w|Excalibur#Excalibur_and_the_Sword_in_the_Stone|The Sword in the Stone}} is the lawful king of Britain (although this comic, like some versions of the legend, refers only to England). Arthur is an orphan being raised in secret; he notices the sword, removes it, and is proclaimed king. The sword is sometimes identified as {{w|Excalibur}}, although in other versions Excalibur was acquired by King Arthur from the {{w|Lady of the Lake}}. The most familiar version of this story is {{w|The Sword in the Stone (novel)|The Sword in the Stone}} by {{w|T. H. White}} which is based on {{w|Le Morte d'Arthur}} by {{w|Sir Thomas Malory}}. The animated {{w|The_Sword_in_the_Stone_(film)|musical}} by Walt Disney is a well known version of this fairytale based on White's book.<br />
<br />
A key element in the joke is that as Megan begins to read about England, especially information concerning being an English ruler, she quickly thinks better of this and begins to put the sword back in its place. The punchline that Megan puts the sword back after reading about England suggests that the "gift" of being the leader of England is not worth the risk and/or work associated. British history is rife with monarchic strife, and a brief inquiry into their {{w|List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death|causes of death}} will show that almost one in three {{w|British rulers}} have died either in battle or from murder, etc. This would quickly lead most sane people to conclude that the risks associated with ruling England far outweigh the benefits.<br />
<br />
The title text furthers this plot, having Megan comment on the hassle when the only thing she was interested in was the cool sword. Apparently Megan is not enthusiastic about power, and her choice is made when she sees how problematic it could be to reign over the country of England. There is also a subtle play on the fact that in the T. H. White version, Arthur likewise is unaware of the significance of pulling the sword from the stone; he is simply looking for a sword to replace the one belonging to his step-brother Kay that was stolen under his watch, to avoid embarrassment and reproach.<br />
<br />
From the time of the {{w|Roman Empire}} all the way up to {{w|Charles II of England|Charles II's}} reclamation of the throne, the area now known as England has seen {{w|Invasions of the British Isles|several migration waves, Viking raids, invasions}} and fierce power struggles among aristocratic families. Besides the constant threat of usurpation, as evidenced by the numerous wars for the crown, such as the {{w|Norman_conquest_of_England|Norman conquest}} and the {{w|War of the Roses}}, there were also constant difficulties in managing the frontier regions. This can be seen from {{w|Hadrian's Wall}}, a creation of the titular Roman Emperor designed to keep the ever difficult Scots out of the areas of Roman control (the Scots would be a {{w|Anglo-Scottish Wars|constant problem}} for England up until the reign of {{w|James VI and I|King James VI and I}}; think of the movie {{w|Braveheart}} for a good example of the regular headaches they caused, seen from the English point of view), as well as the {{w|List_of_Anglo-Welsh_Wars|Welsh uprisings}} that occurred with such consistency that you could set your watch by them.<br />
<br />
It is worth emphasizing that the term "England" is anachronistic in this context. At the time Arthur supposedly existed, there was no England — England was formed by Germanic tribes who {{w|Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|settled in Britain between the fifth and seventh centuries}}. In many of the stories, including the earliest, Arthur was in fact depicted as a leader of the native Romano-Britons in their attempts to repel these invaders. England would not exist had Arthur succeeded. The anachronism is not new; it entered Arthurian legend in the Middle Ages. (Thomas Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', for example, refers to Arthur as King of England.) In Arthurian legend it was stated that Arthur would return when needed (in some versions he was explicitly associated with the {{w|Mab Darogan}}, a Welsh Messianic figure who would finally drive the English out of Britain and reclaim it for the native Britons). It is possible that Megan in this comic is a 21st-century reincarnation of Arthur.<br />
<br />
The timing of this comic might relate to the birth of princess {{w|Princess Charlotte of Cambridge|Charlotte Elizabeth Diana}} on May 2, 2015 just four days before this comic, and the burden of a royal of having a whole life in public shaking hands of strangers. Since {{w|Succession to the Throne Act, 2013|2013}} the {{w|Line of succession to the British throne|line of succession}} was changed to {{w|Primogeniture#Absolute primogeniture|absolute primogeniture}}, meaning that she will keep her current position in the line (4th after her {{w|Prince George of Cambridge|older brother}}) even if she later gets baby brothers. Before this year, that would not have been the case, as the male gender took rank over birth order.<br />
<br />
It is also probably not a coincidence that this comic was published the day before the {{w|United Kingdom general election, 2015|UK General Election}}, occurring on May 7, 2015. This election decides the modern-day leader of the UK. And the problems they face today, may even be more likely to cause Megan to give away the throne, than the risk of untimely death she would have faced in Arthur's days.<br />
<br />
A similar Wikipedia gag appears in [[911: Magic School Bus]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan walks up to a sword in a stone.]<br />
<br />
:[Megan attempts to pull the sword out of the stone.]<br />
<br />
:[A beam of light and music plays as she removes the sword.]<br />
<br />
:[While standing with the swords a voice from the sky speaks in gray shaky letters:]<br />
:Celestial voice: ''The Throne of England is yours''<br />
<br />
:[Megan takes out her smart phone and searches:]<br />
:Wikipedia<br />
:England<br />
<br />
:[Megan reads on her phone.]<br />
<br />
:[Megan starts to replace the sword back into the stone.]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Wikipedia]]</div>Svendhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1389:_Surface_Area&diff=1486581389: Surface Area2017-12-04T08:09:52Z<p>Svend: /* The Moon */ Typo fix</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1389<br />
| date = July 2, 2014<br />
| title = Surface Area<br />
| image = surface_area.png<br />
| titletext = This isn't an informational illustration; this is a thing I think we should do. First, we'll need a gigantic spool of thread. Next, we'll need some kind of... hmm, time to head to Seattle.<br />
}}<br />
*A [http://xkcd.com/1389/large/ larger version] of this image can be found by clicking the image at xkcd - which can be reached easily from here as always, by clicking on the comic number above.<br />
{{TOC}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This map shows the total {{w|surface area}}s of all {{w|terrestrial planet}}s, {{w|dwarf planet}}s, {{w|natural satellite|moons}}, {{w|asteroid}}s and {{w|minor planet}}s that are larger than 100 m in the {{w|Solar System}}. They have all been represented as regions of a single massive landmass - a {{w|supercontinent}} like {{w|Pangaea}} - which is clearly surrounded by some kind of ocean.<br />
===Solid Surfaces Present in Comic===<br />
====Earth====<br />
On the area that signifies {{w|Earth}} the {{w|continents}} are drawn using a {{w|map projection}} that keeps the scale of the continents correct. (This is something that [[Randall]] cares about as can be seen in [[977: Map Projections]]). The parts of the surface of the Earth that are covered by oceans are also included in the surface area of the Earth (i.e. the map shows the Earth's {{w|Crust (geology)|crust}}). An extra layer of 3–4&nbsp;km of water seems rather insignificant when comparing to the Earth's radius of 6,370&nbsp;km.<br />
<br />
====The Moon====<br />
{{w|Moon|The Moon}} has been inlaid in this map next to {{w|Antarctica}} which thus makes a great comparison of how small the Moon is compared to the Earth (there is room for more than 13 lunar surfaces on the Earth). Similarly, it is clear that the planet {{w|Venus}} is almost as big as the Earth.<br />
<br />
This is also the general idea of the map - to give an idea about how big the Earth is and how small many of the other known planets etc. are; both compared to Earth and to each other. The map drawn on the Earth is probably there mainly as a guide to size, because none of the features that are know on some of the other objects, especially The Moon (i.e. {{w|Impact crater|craters}} and "{{w|Lunar mare|seas}}") and on {{w|Mars}} (i.e. {{w|Olympus Mons}}), are included.<br />
<br />
====Other Moons, Asteroids, and Dwarf Planets====<br />
The objects mentioned by name on the map are all but one amongst those that have reached {{w|hydrostatic equilibrium}} and these are all included on this {{w|List of gravitationally rounded objects of the Solar System}}.<br />
<br />
The one named object that is '''not''' on the above list is the asteroid {{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}}, which is included because it is the second largest object in the {{w|Asteroid belt}}. It is placed right next to the largest object in this belt, the dwarf planet {{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}}, which is no longer considered an asteroid. And next to these two are the rest of the asteroids in two areas (see below), which thus groups all asteroids together.<br />
<br />
The only object from the above list, (that qualifies for having a solid surface in hydrostatic equilibrium), '''which is not included''' is the {{w|Saturn}} moon {{w|Mimas (moon)|Mimas}}, which is also clearly the smallest object on the list.<br />
<br />
This moon should have been located amongst the other five smaller moons of Saturn between the Earth and {{w|Titan (moon)|Titan}} (the largest of Saturn's moons). Mimas has a surface area of 490,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> which is somewhat smaller than the smallest included Saturn moon {{w|Enceladus}} with a surface area of 799,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<br />
<br />
Generally the moons that belong to a given planet (for those with more than one moon large enough to be included), have been clustered together. Apart from the six (not seven...) moons of Saturn to the right of Earth, the four {{w|Galilean moons}} moons of {{w|Jupiter}} are located above the Earth, the five included moons from {{w|Uranus}} is located to at the top to the far right.<br />
<br />
The last planet to have many moons is {{w|Neptune}}, but only {{w|Triton (moon)|Triton}} is included. This is a fairly large moon, and the only of the 14 known moons of Neptune to be on the above list. However, there is one other moon, {{w|Proteus (moon)|Proteus}} which is notable for being as large as a body of its density can be without being pulled into a spherical shape by its own gravity. It has a length of 424&nbsp;km in the longest direction, and a mean radius of 210&nbsp;km. A rough calculation of its surface area from this mean radius gives an area of 550,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, making the surface area slightly larger than Mimas. As there are an '''unlabeled area''' located right next to the other Neptune moon Triton, it is most likely that this small area '''should represent Proteus''', and that it is an error that it was not labeled.<br />
<br />
As this is the smallest area, then the cut-off of objects could have been at 500,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, as also Vesta is larger than this, which would make room for Proteus, but explain the missing Mimas.<br />
<br />
Two of the included objects also have moons that are large enough to be included: Earth, of course, and the dwarf planet {{w|Pluto}} with its moon {{w|Charon (moon)|Charon}}. In both cases these moons have been inlaid in the area of their mother planet.<br />
<br />
Whereas the moons of the {{w|gas giant}}s and the asteroids have been located above and to the right of the Earth, the planets and dwarf planets have been included below earth (along with the two moons mentioned above). {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}, Mars and Venus all touching Earth, and then below them the four {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|Trans-Neptunian}} dwarf planets - the {{w|Plutoid}}s.<br />
<br />
====Not Included Dwarf Planets====<br />
On the list from above there are, however, also these {{w|List of gravitationally rounded objects of the Solar System#Most-likely additional dwarf planets|10 objects}} which have not been included with name on the map. These object are, however, only likely candidates for being dwarf planets (depending on whether they have reached hydrostatic equilibrium or not), and on the map they have thus been relegated to the sections without individual names. These object are thus probably grouped together (along with other relatively small objects like comets and smaller moons) in the area labeled ''Various small moons, comets, etc'', which is located at the bottom of the map between Mercury and Mars. The surface area for all of these object, when the surface area have been estimated, are larger than 1 million square kilometer, and thus larger than several of the named objects. So it is not the size that is the reason why such objects as {{w|90377 Sedna|Sedna}} and {{w|50000 Quaoar|Quaoar}} are not included with name, but probably the fact they are not investigated enough yet.<br />
<br />
The remaining objects in the Solar System with a solid surface are the minor planets, which on the map has been labeled as asteroids even though these objects are grouped together in several other "belts" than the Asteroid belt. Here they have been assigned to two regions at the top of the map. Above the right part of the Earth area is the area ''Asteroids (1 km+)'' which include any object not already included larger than 1&nbsp;km. (As these objects are no longer round it is the largest dimension, the length, that should be at least 1&nbsp;km long). And finally the area ''Asteroids (100&nbsp;m+)'' thus include any object not already included larger than 100&nbsp;m.<br />
<br />
Most of the rest of the objects that have been included in these three sections can likely be found on this {{w|List of Solar System objects by size}}.<br />
====Very Small Objects====<br />
Tiny objects smaller than 100&nbsp;m down to space dust are excluded altogether as explained in the note below the headings. This is probably because their total surface area is impossible to estimate accurately, and also because any estimate would likely be too large to fit easily into the map.<br />
<br />
===Non-Solar Bodies===<br />
Between Earth and Titan is a tiny speck noted ''all human skin'', which is an interesting sort of solid surface. A rough estimate of the average {{w|body surface area}} and thus of the average area of all {{w|Human skin|humans skin}} can be made from these {{w|Body surface area#Average values|average values}} and from {{w|Population pyramid|population pyramids}} as this [http://populationpyramid.net/world/2015/ pyramid for 2015]. Average adults have a skin area of around 1.7-1.8&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>, but as a large part of the [https://www.census.gov/popclock/ human population] are children (with skin area down to about 0.25&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup> for infants) the total average will be smaller. By extrapolating the given values an average area of about 1.6&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup> can be found. This would make the area 7.2&nbsp;billion &times; 1.6&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup> ≈ 11,500&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. This is 60 times smaller than the smallest of the labeled moons {{w|Miranda (moon)|Miranda}} (of Uranus) with a surface area of 700,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<br />
<br />
===Title Text===<br />
The title text jokingly claims that this comic is not actually for information, but rather is something Randall thinks we should really do – that is, to stitch all the solar system's solid surfaces together, as the sub-sub heading says. To do this, we would need a giant spool of thread and then something he has to go get in Seattle… which presumably must be the {{w|Space Needle}}, a needle-like tower in Seattle, which should then be used in this grand project.<br />
<br />
This could also have been a reference to the [http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/13/travel/la-tr-seattle-20111113 Seattle seamstresses] if it weren't for the fact that it's not.<br />
<br />
====Skinning Planets and Surface Areas====<br />
Since the land areas are on the surfaces of spheres, this would seem impossible as it would involve lots of deformation and be particularly challenging. It will also be very gruesome when he comes to the part of collecting (and stitching) all human skin together. The inclusion of this speck on the map is, however, also there to make it clear what the real intention is with the planets. Their surface is to be "skinned" of them, as you would have to do with the humans! Then it is all these "planet skins" that should be stitched together using the space needle. This also explains the ragged edges, and why the continents keep their correct size. It would make Randall into a planetary version of {{w|The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs}} movies character ''{{w|Buffalo Bill (character)|Buffalo Bill}}'', a serial killer who tried to make a suit out of the skin from the women he killed.<br />
<br />
Randall would also need quite a lot of space for the very large ocean. However, the whole supercontinent is just somewhere between 3-4 times larger than the area of the Earth. And the area of the entire image is less than 9 times the area of the earth. As the {{w|Sphere#Area|formula}} for calculation surface areas for {{w|sphere}}s (4*π*r<sup>2</sup>) goes with the radius (r) squared, the diameter of the planet needed for the experiment do not need to be larger than 3 times that of the earth. Although there are no objects in the Solar System with this particular size, it is still smaller than the {{w|gas giant}}s, the smallest of these have a radius of almost 4 times that of the earth. {{w|Exoplanet}}s with this range of diameters have certainly been found, however, already at {{w|Exoplanet#Super-Earths, mini-Neptunes, and gas dwarfs|1.7 times the earth radius}} most planets size to be of the {{w|Super-Earth}} type and turns in to the {{w|Gas dwarf#Gas dwarf|gas dwarf}} type of planets. So an ocean of the size needed are not easy to come by.<br />
<br />
As has been explained above the earth's surface is included disregarding surface water (oceans) and the same is valid for other objects with surface water, as the Saturn moon Titan which has great lakes (or even oceans) of liquid {{w|methane}} on the surface or the Jupiter moon {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}} which is covered in a deep ocean with a thick cap of ice. (Interestingly this moon is placed on the map very near to the continent of {{w|Europe}} - maybe for easy comparison of these two areas).<br />
<br />
===Gas Giants===<br />
The gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have, however, not been included because they do not have any "solid surfaces"; even if they had a solid core (which is itself not clear), this would not comprise any "surface". The gas giants are believed to lack any well-defined surface at all, with the gases that make them up simply becoming thinner and thinner with increasing distance from the planets' centers, eventually becoming indistinguishable from the interplanetary medium. But if they were included via some sort of surface definition, the map of this comic would become a tiny speck amongst the map of the gas giants. Similarly, the surface of the {{w|Sun}} is also not considered a solid surface but hot {{w|Plasma (physics)|plasma}}; if it were included it would reduce even a map of the gas giants to a tiny speck.<br />
<br />
===Other Comics===<br />
The map is drawn in a similar style to the two maps of the Internet that Randall has created in the past:<br />
*[[256: Online Communities]]<br />
*[[802: Online Communities 2]]<br />
<br />
===Data table===<br />
Below is a table listing the object roughly in the order they would be read of the map (the same order as in the transcript.) But they can be sorted by each of the columns.<br />
<br />
The data is taken when possible from the following table: {{w|List of gravitationally rounded objects of the Solar System}}, and surface area is given with three significant digits.<br />
<br />
For {{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}} and {{w|Proteus (moon)|Proteus}} (the most likely candidate for the unlabeled area next to Triton) the area is calculated from their mean radius (i.e. they are not spherical). See also above in the explanation, also for calculating the area of all human skin.<br />
<br />
The surface for a given object is also given as a ''Fraction of Earth's surface'', and from this the number of times the object could be placed on the Earth's surface is given as one divided by this fraction. For instance it can be seen that The Moon's surface can be placed more than 13 times on top of that of the Earth.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|+Surface area of mentioned objects<br />
!Object<br />
!Type<br />
!Surface area (km<sup>2</sup>)<br />
!Fraction of Earth's<br />
!1/Fraction<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Io (moon)|Io}}||Moon of Jupiter||data-sort-value="41900000"| 4.19×10<sup>7</sup>||0.082||12.2<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Callisto (moon)|Callisto}}||Moon of Jupiter||data-sort-value="73000000"| 7.30×10<sup>7</sup>||0.143||7.00<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}}||Moon of Jupiter||data-sort-value="30900000"| 3.09×10<sup>7</sup>||0.061||16.4<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede}}||Moon of Jupiter||data-sort-value="87000000"| 8.70×10<sup>7</sup>||0.171||5.80<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}}||Dwarf planet||data-sort-value="2800000"| 2.80×10<sup>6</sup>||0.0055||180<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}}||Asteroid||data-sort-value="870000"| 8.70×10<sup>5</sup>||0.0017||590<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Asteroids}} (1&nbsp;km+)||Asteroid||N/A||N/A||N/A<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Proteus (moon)|Proteus}} (not labeled)||Moon of Neptune||data-sort-value="550000"| 5.50×10<sup>5</sup>||0.00011||910<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Triton (moon)|Triton}}||Moon of Neptune||data-sort-value="23000000"| 2.30×10<sup>7</sup>||0.045||22.2<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Asteroids}} (100 m+)||Asteroid||N/A||N/A||N/A<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Oberon (moon)|Oberon}}||Moon of Uranus||data-sort-value="7290000"| 7.29×10<sup>6</sup>||0.014||71.4<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Miranda (moon)|Miranda}}||Moon of Uranus||data-sort-value="700000"| 7.00×10<sup>5</sup>||0.0014||714<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Ariel (moon)|Ariel}}||Moon of Uranus||data-sort-value="4210000"| 4.21×10<sup>6</sup>||0.008||125<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Umbriel (moon)|Umbriel}}||Moon of Uranus||data-sort-value="4300000"| 4.30×10<sup>6</sup>||0.008||125<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Titania (moon)|Titania}}||Moon of Uranus||data-sort-value="7820000"| 7.82×10<sup>6</sup>||0.015||66.7<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Earth}}||Planet||data-sort-value="510000000"| 5.10×10<sup>8</sup>||1||1<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Tethys (moon)|Tethys}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="4940000"| 3.574×10<sup>6</sup>||0.007||143<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Enceladus}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="799000"| 7.99×10<sup>5</sup>||0.0016||625<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Dione (moon)|Dione}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="3970000"| 3.97×10<sup>6</sup>||0.0078||128<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Iapetus (moon)|Iapetus}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="6700000"| 6.70×10<sup>6</sup>||0.0132||75.8<br />
|-<br />
|All {{w|Human skin|humans skin}}||Human organ||data-sort-value="11500"| 1.15×10<sup>4</sup>||0.000023||43400<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Rhea (moon)|Rhea}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="7340000"| 7.34×10<sup>6</sup>||0.0144||69.4<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Titan (moon)|Titan}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="83000000"| 8.30×10<sup>7</sup>||0.163||6.14<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}||Planet||data-sort-value="75000000"| 7.50×10<sup>7</sup>||0.147||6.80<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Moon|The Moon}}||Moon of Earth||data-sort-value="37900000"| 3.79×10<sup>7</sup>||0.074||13.5<br />
|-<br />
|Various small {{w|Natural satellite|moons}}, {{w|comet}}s, etc.||N/A||N/A||N/A||N/A<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Mars}}||Planet||data-sort-value="140000000"| 1.40×10<sup>8</sup>||0.2745||3.64<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Makemake (dwarf planet)|Makemake}}||Dwarf planet||data-sort-value="6400000"| 6.40×10<sup>6</sup>||0.013||76.8<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Haumea (dwarf planet)|Haumea}}||Dwarf planet||data-sort-value="6800000"| 6.80×10<sup>6</sup>||0.0133||75.2<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}}||Dwarf planet||data-sort-value="18000000"| 1.80×10<sup>7</sup>||0.0353||28.3<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Pluto}}||Dwarf planet||data-sort-value="17000000"| 1.70×10<sup>7</sup>||0.0333||30.0<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Charon (moon)|Charon}}||Moon of Pluto||data-sort-value="4580000"| 4.58×10<sup>6</sup>||0.009||111<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Venus}}||Planet||data-sort-value="460000000"| 4.60×10<sup>8</sup>||0.901||1.10<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[At the top of a map is a heading, with two sub headings and a note in brackets:]<br />
:'''Space'''<br />
:Without the space<br />
:The Solar System's solid surfaces stitched together<br />
:(Excluding dust and small rocks)<br />
:[Below the headings there is a map with several distinct areas. Each area is labelled with a name or a description. This label is noted inside the area, except for areas that are too small; here the label is written outside and a line indicates which area the label belongs to. Only exception is the largest area, on which the contours of the Earth's continents are drawn. Surrounding the map is wavy lines to indicate that this is either an island or one big super-continent placed in an even larger ocean.]<br />
:[Here below are the labels given as they appear in "normal" reading order in as read from left to right in the three main rows as will be indicated:]<br />
:[Row one, above the line defined by the general top of the Earth area:]<br />
:Io<br />
:Callisto<br />
:Europa<br />
:Ganymede<br />
:Ceres<br />
:Vesta<br />
:Asteroids (1 km+)<br />
:[Here – above the Asteroids area before the Triton area - is a small unlabelled area (the only other except Earth)]<br />
:Triton<br />
:Asteroids (100 m+)<br />
:Oberon<br />
:Miranda<br />
:Ariel<br />
:Umbriel<br />
:Titania<br />
:[Row two, the unlabelled Earth area's row, but here only given those that are directly written to the right of this area:]<br />
:Tethys<br />
:Enceladus<br />
:Dione<br />
:Iapetus<br />
:All human skin<br />
:Rhea<br />
:Titan <br />
:[Row three, all the remaining items that are mainly below the Earth area:]<br />
:Mercury<br />
:The Moon<br />
:Various small moons, comets, etc<br />
:Mars<br />
:Makemake<br />
:Haumea<br />
:Eris<br />
:Pluto<br />
:Charon<br />
:Venus<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Large drawings]]<br />
[[Category:Maps]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>Svendhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1389:_Surface_Area&diff=1486571389: Surface Area2017-12-04T08:05:46Z<p>Svend: /* Earth */ Fixed typo (now logged in).</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1389<br />
| date = July 2, 2014<br />
| title = Surface Area<br />
| image = surface_area.png<br />
| titletext = This isn't an informational illustration; this is a thing I think we should do. First, we'll need a gigantic spool of thread. Next, we'll need some kind of... hmm, time to head to Seattle.<br />
}}<br />
*A [http://xkcd.com/1389/large/ larger version] of this image can be found by clicking the image at xkcd - which can be reached easily from here as always, by clicking on the comic number above.<br />
{{TOC}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This map shows the total {{w|surface area}}s of all {{w|terrestrial planet}}s, {{w|dwarf planet}}s, {{w|natural satellite|moons}}, {{w|asteroid}}s and {{w|minor planet}}s that are larger than 100 m in the {{w|Solar System}}. They have all been represented as regions of a single massive landmass - a {{w|supercontinent}} like {{w|Pangaea}} - which is clearly surrounded by some kind of ocean.<br />
===Solid Surfaces Present in Comic===<br />
====Earth====<br />
On the area that signifies {{w|Earth}} the {{w|continents}} are drawn using a {{w|map projection}} that keeps the scale of the continents correct. (This is something that [[Randall]] cares about as can be seen in [[977: Map Projections]]). The parts of the surface of the Earth that are covered by oceans are also included in the surface area of the Earth (i.e. the map shows the Earth's {{w|Crust (geology)|crust}}). An extra layer of 3–4&nbsp;km of water seems rather insignificant when comparing to the Earth's radius of 6,370&nbsp;km.<br />
<br />
====The Moon====<br />
{{w|Moon|The Moon}} has been inlaid in this map next to {{w|Antarctica}} which thus makes a great comparison of how small the Moon is compared to the Earth (there are room for more than 13 lunar surfaces on the Earth). Similarly, it is clear that the planet {{w|Venus}} is almost as big as the Earth.<br />
<br />
This is also the general idea of the map - to give an idea about how big the Earth is and how small many of the other known planets etc. are; both compared to earth and to each other. The map drawn on the Earth is probably there mainly as a guide to size, because none of the features that are know on some of the other objects, especially The Moon (i.e. {{w|Impact crater|craters}} and "{{w|Lunar mare|seas}}") and on {{w|Mars}} (i.e. {{w|Olympus Mons}}), are included.<br />
====Other Moons, Asteroids, and Dwarf Planets====<br />
The objects mentioned by name on the map are all but one amongst those that have reached {{w|hydrostatic equilibrium}} and these are all included on this {{w|List of gravitationally rounded objects of the Solar System}}.<br />
<br />
The one named object that is '''not''' on the above list is the asteroid {{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}}, which is included because it is the second largest object in the {{w|Asteroid belt}}. It is placed right next to the largest object in this belt, the dwarf planet {{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}}, which is no longer considered an asteroid. And next to these two are the rest of the asteroids in two areas (see below), which thus groups all asteroids together.<br />
<br />
The only object from the above list, (that qualifies for having a solid surface in hydrostatic equilibrium), '''which is not included''' is the {{w|Saturn}} moon {{w|Mimas (moon)|Mimas}}, which is also clearly the smallest object on the list.<br />
<br />
This moon should have been located amongst the other five smaller moons of Saturn between the Earth and {{w|Titan (moon)|Titan}} (the largest of Saturn's moons). Mimas has a surface area of 490,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> which is somewhat smaller than the smallest included Saturn moon {{w|Enceladus}} with a surface area of 799,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<br />
<br />
Generally the moons that belong to a given planet (for those with more than one moon large enough to be included), have been clustered together. Apart from the six (not seven...) moons of Saturn to the right of Earth, the four {{w|Galilean moons}} moons of {{w|Jupiter}} are located above the Earth, the five included moons from {{w|Uranus}} is located to at the top to the far right.<br />
<br />
The last planet to have many moons is {{w|Neptune}}, but only {{w|Triton (moon)|Triton}} is included. This is a fairly large moon, and the only of the 14 known moons of Neptune to be on the above list. However, there is one other moon, {{w|Proteus (moon)|Proteus}} which is notable for being as large as a body of its density can be without being pulled into a spherical shape by its own gravity. It has a length of 424&nbsp;km in the longest direction, and a mean radius of 210&nbsp;km. A rough calculation of its surface area from this mean radius gives an area of 550,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, making the surface area slightly larger than Mimas. As there are an '''unlabeled area''' located right next to the other Neptune moon Triton, it is most likely that this small area '''should represent Proteus''', and that it is an error that it was not labeled.<br />
<br />
As this is the smallest area, then the cut-off of objects could have been at 500,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, as also Vesta is larger than this, which would make room for Proteus, but explain the missing Mimas.<br />
<br />
Two of the included objects also have moons that are large enough to be included: Earth, of course, and the dwarf planet {{w|Pluto}} with its moon {{w|Charon (moon)|Charon}}. In both cases these moons have been inlaid in the area of their mother planet.<br />
<br />
Whereas the moons of the {{w|gas giant}}s and the asteroids have been located above and to the right of the Earth, the planets and dwarf planets have been included below earth (along with the two moons mentioned above). {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}, Mars and Venus all touching Earth, and then below them the four {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|Trans-Neptunian}} dwarf planets - the {{w|Plutoid}}s.<br />
<br />
====Not Included Dwarf Planets====<br />
On the list from above there are, however, also these {{w|List of gravitationally rounded objects of the Solar System#Most-likely additional dwarf planets|10 objects}} which have not been included with name on the map. These object are, however, only likely candidates for being dwarf planets (depending on whether they have reached hydrostatic equilibrium or not), and on the map they have thus been relegated to the sections without individual names. These object are thus probably grouped together (along with other relatively small objects like comets and smaller moons) in the area labeled ''Various small moons, comets, etc'', which is located at the bottom of the map between Mercury and Mars. The surface area for all of these object, when the surface area have been estimated, are larger than 1 million square kilometer, and thus larger than several of the named objects. So it is not the size that is the reason why such objects as {{w|90377 Sedna|Sedna}} and {{w|50000 Quaoar|Quaoar}} are not included with name, but probably the fact they are not investigated enough yet.<br />
<br />
The remaining objects in the Solar System with a solid surface are the minor planets, which on the map has been labeled as asteroids even though these objects are grouped together in several other "belts" than the Asteroid belt. Here they have been assigned to two regions at the top of the map. Above the right part of the Earth area is the area ''Asteroids (1 km+)'' which include any object not already included larger than 1&nbsp;km. (As these objects are no longer round it is the largest dimension, the length, that should be at least 1&nbsp;km long). And finally the area ''Asteroids (100&nbsp;m+)'' thus include any object not already included larger than 100&nbsp;m.<br />
<br />
Most of the rest of the objects that have been included in these three sections can likely be found on this {{w|List of Solar System objects by size}}.<br />
====Very Small Objects====<br />
Tiny objects smaller than 100&nbsp;m down to space dust are excluded altogether as explained in the note below the headings. This is probably because their total surface area is impossible to estimate accurately, and also because any estimate would likely be too large to fit easily into the map.<br />
<br />
===Non-Solar Bodies===<br />
Between Earth and Titan is a tiny speck noted ''all human skin'', which is an interesting sort of solid surface. A rough estimate of the average {{w|body surface area}} and thus of the average area of all {{w|Human skin|humans skin}} can be made from these {{w|Body surface area#Average values|average values}} and from {{w|Population pyramid|population pyramids}} as this [http://populationpyramid.net/world/2015/ pyramid for 2015]. Average adults have a skin area of around 1.7-1.8&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>, but as a large part of the [https://www.census.gov/popclock/ human population] are children (with skin area down to about 0.25&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup> for infants) the total average will be smaller. By extrapolating the given values an average area of about 1.6&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup> can be found. This would make the area 7.2&nbsp;billion &times; 1.6&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup> ≈ 11,500&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. This is 60 times smaller than the smallest of the labeled moons {{w|Miranda (moon)|Miranda}} (of Uranus) with a surface area of 700,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<br />
<br />
===Title Text===<br />
The title text jokingly claims that this comic is not actually for information, but rather is something Randall thinks we should really do – that is, to stitch all the solar system's solid surfaces together, as the sub-sub heading says. To do this, we would need a giant spool of thread and then something he has to go get in Seattle… which presumably must be the {{w|Space Needle}}, a needle-like tower in Seattle, which should then be used in this grand project.<br />
<br />
This could also have been a reference to the [http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/13/travel/la-tr-seattle-20111113 Seattle seamstresses] if it weren't for the fact that it's not.<br />
<br />
====Skinning Planets and Surface Areas====<br />
Since the land areas are on the surfaces of spheres, this would seem impossible as it would involve lots of deformation and be particularly challenging. It will also be very gruesome when he comes to the part of collecting (and stitching) all human skin together. The inclusion of this speck on the map is, however, also there to make it clear what the real intention is with the planets. Their surface is to be "skinned" of them, as you would have to do with the humans! Then it is all these "planet skins" that should be stitched together using the space needle. This also explains the ragged edges, and why the continents keep their correct size. It would make Randall into a planetary version of {{w|The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs}} movies character ''{{w|Buffalo Bill (character)|Buffalo Bill}}'', a serial killer who tried to make a suit out of the skin from the women he killed.<br />
<br />
Randall would also need quite a lot of space for the very large ocean. However, the whole supercontinent is just somewhere between 3-4 times larger than the area of the Earth. And the area of the entire image is less than 9 times the area of the earth. As the {{w|Sphere#Area|formula}} for calculation surface areas for {{w|sphere}}s (4*π*r<sup>2</sup>) goes with the radius (r) squared, the diameter of the planet needed for the experiment do not need to be larger than 3 times that of the earth. Although there are no objects in the Solar System with this particular size, it is still smaller than the {{w|gas giant}}s, the smallest of these have a radius of almost 4 times that of the earth. {{w|Exoplanet}}s with this range of diameters have certainly been found, however, already at {{w|Exoplanet#Super-Earths, mini-Neptunes, and gas dwarfs|1.7 times the earth radius}} most planets size to be of the {{w|Super-Earth}} type and turns in to the {{w|Gas dwarf#Gas dwarf|gas dwarf}} type of planets. So an ocean of the size needed are not easy to come by.<br />
<br />
As has been explained above the earth's surface is included disregarding surface water (oceans) and the same is valid for other objects with surface water, as the Saturn moon Titan which has great lakes (or even oceans) of liquid {{w|methane}} on the surface or the Jupiter moon {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}} which is covered in a deep ocean with a thick cap of ice. (Interestingly this moon is placed on the map very near to the continent of {{w|Europe}} - maybe for easy comparison of these two areas).<br />
<br />
===Gas Giants===<br />
The gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have, however, not been included because they do not have any "solid surfaces"; even if they had a solid core (which is itself not clear), this would not comprise any "surface". The gas giants are believed to lack any well-defined surface at all, with the gases that make them up simply becoming thinner and thinner with increasing distance from the planets' centers, eventually becoming indistinguishable from the interplanetary medium. But if they were included via some sort of surface definition, the map of this comic would become a tiny speck amongst the map of the gas giants. Similarly, the surface of the {{w|Sun}} is also not considered a solid surface but hot {{w|Plasma (physics)|plasma}}; if it were included it would reduce even a map of the gas giants to a tiny speck.<br />
<br />
===Other Comics===<br />
The map is drawn in a similar style to the two maps of the Internet that Randall has created in the past:<br />
*[[256: Online Communities]]<br />
*[[802: Online Communities 2]]<br />
<br />
===Data table===<br />
Below is a table listing the object roughly in the order they would be read of the map (the same order as in the transcript.) But they can be sorted by each of the columns.<br />
<br />
The data is taken when possible from the following table: {{w|List of gravitationally rounded objects of the Solar System}}, and surface area is given with three significant digits.<br />
<br />
For {{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}} and {{w|Proteus (moon)|Proteus}} (the most likely candidate for the unlabeled area next to Triton) the area is calculated from their mean radius (i.e. they are not spherical). See also above in the explanation, also for calculating the area of all human skin.<br />
<br />
The surface for a given object is also given as a ''Fraction of Earth's surface'', and from this the number of times the object could be placed on the Earth's surface is given as one divided by this fraction. For instance it can be seen that The Moon's surface can be placed more than 13 times on top of that of the Earth.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|+Surface area of mentioned objects<br />
!Object<br />
!Type<br />
!Surface area (km<sup>2</sup>)<br />
!Fraction of Earth's<br />
!1/Fraction<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Io (moon)|Io}}||Moon of Jupiter||data-sort-value="41900000"| 4.19×10<sup>7</sup>||0.082||12.2<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Callisto (moon)|Callisto}}||Moon of Jupiter||data-sort-value="73000000"| 7.30×10<sup>7</sup>||0.143||7.00<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}}||Moon of Jupiter||data-sort-value="30900000"| 3.09×10<sup>7</sup>||0.061||16.4<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede}}||Moon of Jupiter||data-sort-value="87000000"| 8.70×10<sup>7</sup>||0.171||5.80<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}}||Dwarf planet||data-sort-value="2800000"| 2.80×10<sup>6</sup>||0.0055||180<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}}||Asteroid||data-sort-value="870000"| 8.70×10<sup>5</sup>||0.0017||590<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Asteroids}} (1&nbsp;km+)||Asteroid||N/A||N/A||N/A<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Proteus (moon)|Proteus}} (not labeled)||Moon of Neptune||data-sort-value="550000"| 5.50×10<sup>5</sup>||0.00011||910<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Triton (moon)|Triton}}||Moon of Neptune||data-sort-value="23000000"| 2.30×10<sup>7</sup>||0.045||22.2<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Asteroids}} (100 m+)||Asteroid||N/A||N/A||N/A<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Oberon (moon)|Oberon}}||Moon of Uranus||data-sort-value="7290000"| 7.29×10<sup>6</sup>||0.014||71.4<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Miranda (moon)|Miranda}}||Moon of Uranus||data-sort-value="700000"| 7.00×10<sup>5</sup>||0.0014||714<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Ariel (moon)|Ariel}}||Moon of Uranus||data-sort-value="4210000"| 4.21×10<sup>6</sup>||0.008||125<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Umbriel (moon)|Umbriel}}||Moon of Uranus||data-sort-value="4300000"| 4.30×10<sup>6</sup>||0.008||125<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Titania (moon)|Titania}}||Moon of Uranus||data-sort-value="7820000"| 7.82×10<sup>6</sup>||0.015||66.7<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Earth}}||Planet||data-sort-value="510000000"| 5.10×10<sup>8</sup>||1||1<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Tethys (moon)|Tethys}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="4940000"| 3.574×10<sup>6</sup>||0.007||143<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Enceladus}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="799000"| 7.99×10<sup>5</sup>||0.0016||625<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Dione (moon)|Dione}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="3970000"| 3.97×10<sup>6</sup>||0.0078||128<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Iapetus (moon)|Iapetus}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="6700000"| 6.70×10<sup>6</sup>||0.0132||75.8<br />
|-<br />
|All {{w|Human skin|humans skin}}||Human organ||data-sort-value="11500"| 1.15×10<sup>4</sup>||0.000023||43400<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Rhea (moon)|Rhea}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="7340000"| 7.34×10<sup>6</sup>||0.0144||69.4<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Titan (moon)|Titan}}||Moon of Saturn||data-sort-value="83000000"| 8.30×10<sup>7</sup>||0.163||6.14<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}||Planet||data-sort-value="75000000"| 7.50×10<sup>7</sup>||0.147||6.80<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Moon|The Moon}}||Moon of Earth||data-sort-value="37900000"| 3.79×10<sup>7</sup>||0.074||13.5<br />
|-<br />
|Various small {{w|Natural satellite|moons}}, {{w|comet}}s, etc.||N/A||N/A||N/A||N/A<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Mars}}||Planet||data-sort-value="140000000"| 1.40×10<sup>8</sup>||0.2745||3.64<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Makemake (dwarf planet)|Makemake}}||Dwarf planet||data-sort-value="6400000"| 6.40×10<sup>6</sup>||0.013||76.8<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Haumea (dwarf planet)|Haumea}}||Dwarf planet||data-sort-value="6800000"| 6.80×10<sup>6</sup>||0.0133||75.2<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}}||Dwarf planet||data-sort-value="18000000"| 1.80×10<sup>7</sup>||0.0353||28.3<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Pluto}}||Dwarf planet||data-sort-value="17000000"| 1.70×10<sup>7</sup>||0.0333||30.0<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Charon (moon)|Charon}}||Moon of Pluto||data-sort-value="4580000"| 4.58×10<sup>6</sup>||0.009||111<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Venus}}||Planet||data-sort-value="460000000"| 4.60×10<sup>8</sup>||0.901||1.10<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[At the top of a map is a heading, with two sub headings and a note in brackets:]<br />
:'''Space'''<br />
:Without the space<br />
:The Solar System's solid surfaces stitched together<br />
:(Excluding dust and small rocks)<br />
:[Below the headings there is a map with several distinct areas. Each area is labelled with a name or a description. This label is noted inside the area, except for areas that are too small; here the label is written outside and a line indicates which area the label belongs to. Only exception is the largest area, on which the contours of the Earth's continents are drawn. Surrounding the map is wavy lines to indicate that this is either an island or one big super-continent placed in an even larger ocean.]<br />
:[Here below are the labels given as they appear in "normal" reading order in as read from left to right in the three main rows as will be indicated:]<br />
:[Row one, above the line defined by the general top of the Earth area:]<br />
:Io<br />
:Callisto<br />
:Europa<br />
:Ganymede<br />
:Ceres<br />
:Vesta<br />
:Asteroids (1 km+)<br />
:[Here – above the Asteroids area before the Triton area - is a small unlabelled area (the only other except Earth)]<br />
:Triton<br />
:Asteroids (100 m+)<br />
:Oberon<br />
:Miranda<br />
:Ariel<br />
:Umbriel<br />
:Titania<br />
:[Row two, the unlabelled Earth area's row, but here only given those that are directly written to the right of this area:]<br />
:Tethys<br />
:Enceladus<br />
:Dione<br />
:Iapetus<br />
:All human skin<br />
:Rhea<br />
:Titan <br />
:[Row three, all the remaining items that are mainly below the Earth area:]<br />
:Mercury<br />
:The Moon<br />
:Various small moons, comets, etc<br />
:Mars<br />
:Makemake<br />
:Haumea<br />
:Eris<br />
:Pluto<br />
:Charon<br />
:Venus<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Large drawings]]<br />
[[Category:Maps]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>Svendhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=160:_Penny_Arcade_Parody&diff=67262160: Penny Arcade Parody2014-05-14T14:32:13Z<p>Svend: /* Explanation */ Changing "...better known but their..." to "...better known as their..." as I presume that was what the intended.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 160<br />
| date = September 20, 2006<br />
| title = Penny Arcade Parody<br />
| image = penny arcade parody.png<br />
| titletext = No one show this to Tycho's wife, okay?<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Penny Arcade}} is a {{w|webcomic}}, primarily about video-games and the culture surrounding them. It is written by {{w|Jerry Holkins}} and illustrated by {{w|Mike Krahulik}}, though they are better known as their comic alter-egos: Tycho Brahe and Jonathan "Gabe" Gabriel.<br />
<br />
This strip begins as a parody of the Penny Arcade strip which makes fun of Sony for providing a lack-luster selection of PS3 games available on the console's launch date. However, it quickly turns into the narrator's fantasy of what might happen if Tycho discovered his spoof.<br />
<br />
The enormous wall of text in the second and third panels may be a reference to the Penny Arcade strip [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/04/10/ "I Hope You Like Text"].<br />
<br />
The cardboard tube references one of Gabe's alternate characters: {{w|List_of_Penny_Arcade_characters#Cardboard_Tube_Samurai|Cardboard Tube Samurai}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[The first panel uses the art style of Penny Arcade.]<br />
:Gabe: What? Sony has plenty of launch titles lined up that aren't lame sequels.<br />
:Tycho: Name one. And furthermore, they... I... uh...<br />
<br />
:[The art style is dropped. The next two panels are just text.]<br />
:I can't do this. I can't parody Penny Arcade. I've got nothing on those guys. They're a class act, they know their audience, they know exactly what they're doing. Gabe experiments with his art, always bold and fresh without trying to perform. Tycho's writing continues to astound day after day. I can just see him, reading my uncultured swill masquerading as his florid prose.<br />
<br />
:But he's not angry, no. He's sitting at his desk smiling that condescending half-smile, the corner of his mouth belying the self-assurance of a writer who never misplaces a word. His firm hands rest easily on the keyboard, his right thumb caressing the space bar gently, as I enter the room. He knows I'm there without turning around, and I'm too nervous to speak. But I don't have to; he understands, I can see it in the way his eyes play over me, reading my fears and doubts in a glance and washing them away with a knowing smile. Then he's on his feet, he's in front of me, and I don't feel the electric jolt I expected as our hands meet. It's just warm, warm and right: As I sink into his eyes I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I see Tycho smile at someone behind me. Gabe is standing there, grinning that mischievous grin, and twirling his beloved cardboard tube between his fingers.<br />
<br />
:The night has just begun.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Video games]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Romance]]</div>Svendhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=116:_City&diff=50996116: City2013-10-22T13:11:35Z<p>Svend: /* Explanation */ Added wikipedia link to "alliteration".</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 116<br />
| date = June 16, 2006<br />
| title = City<br />
| image = city.jpg<br />
| titletext = God, she's such a whore.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The poem or description alternates between using words that start with C and words that start with S, to achieve an effect resembling {{w|alliteration}}. The gentle, romantic tone of the poem is broken by the last two words, Your Mom. This is an example of a {{w|maternal insult}} joke, and is phrased accordingly. The title text further emphasizes this, implying the mother in question is also promiscuous in addition to having slept with the unnamed author of the poem.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[A picture of various apartment buildings.]<br />
:Shadowed city slumber silently. A second-story suite.<br />
:Come craving courtship, selected serendipitously<br />
:Crazed copulations, a salacious storm of continuous coitus.<br />
:Spread, straddled, conquered.<br />
:Countless crashed suitors strewn carelessly.<br />
:Centre, silken sheets sensuously caressing soft skin,<br />
:Contentedly sleeps your mom.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>Svendhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1238:_Enlightenment&diff=43978Talk:1238: Enlightenment2013-07-17T09:32:30Z<p>Svend: Added comment about parallel to Schindler's List.</p>
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<div>Did anyone else notice the (most likely intentional) typos in that sentence they told her to type? "... and THEIR DEFINATELY good" (they're definitely) {{unsigned ip|115.30.33.36}}<br />
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Didn't you notice "you're" and "idea's" as well. I would assume it is highly improbable that these were not intentional. [[Special:Contributions/74.125.16.2|74.125.16.2]] 04:51, 15 July 2013 (UTC)GusGold<br />
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Of course those were intentional. That was the joke. The exercise for INTERNET enlightenment and getting rid of insecurities is to make typos and grammatical errors freely. You may also notice them saying on the last panel "wasnt" and "its", instead of "wasn't" and "it's".<br />
Megan just wasn't able to do this task of making intentional mistakes, which would result in people online thinking she's dumb (insecurities), so she broke the laptop and left. [[Special:Contributions/95.35.58.179|95.35.58.179]] 05:20, 15 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Why do we think she broke the laptop and left? What's the circle on the ground for? (Looks like a StarTrek Transporter pad. And the pedestal just appeared as needed, must be virtual. Rather, I think she got UN-enlightened and zapped away into nothing-ness. [[Special:Contributions/12.234.99.131|12.234.99.131]] 16:41, 16 July 2013 (UTC) Zake<br />
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There's a huge difference between accepting others' misspellings and repeating them yourself...not commenting on someone typing "definately" is completely different than being told to spell it that way yourself. [[User:Wotpsycho|Wotpsycho]] ([[User talk:Wotpsycho|talk]])<br />
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I read you're explanation's and their definately helpful! --[[Special:Contributions/129.187.90.96|129.187.90.96]] 09:07, 15 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Having your ideas "approved" by someone who can't even spell might feel much worse than having them simply shot down.{{unsigned ip|89.31.118.161}}<br />
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Does anyone else think Ponytail appears to be levitating? --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 16:07, 15 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Someone deleted my edit, so I'm bringing it up here on the discussion page. The sentence contains more than just common misspellings; it also contains a common grammatical error. "I read your ideas and they're definitely good" is a run-on sentence. Joining two independent clauses requires BOTH a comma and a coordinating conjunction ("I read your ideas, and they're definitely good"). The sentence omits the comma. While certain style guides allow the comma to be left out when the two clauses are short enough, Megan's obstinate grammar-nazism is the entire point of the comic. It is unlikely she would let it slide. [[Special:Contributions/193.67.17.36|193.67.17.36]] 16:49, 15 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
:"they're" refers to "ideas", the sentences are not independent.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:59, 15 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
::That's not what an independent clause means. Can they be separated into two sentences? "I read your ideas. They're definitely good." Yes - it still makes sense as two sentences, thus the two clauses are independent. (An example of a dependent clause would be "I read your ideas while I was driving home." "While I was driving home" cannot stand on its own as a sentence, so it is not an independent clause.)[[Special:Contributions/193.67.17.36|193.67.17.36]] 18:17, 15 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
:::I'm not a native English speaker, and I have learned only British English at school. But your statement makes sense. My first sentence is correct?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:59, 15 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
::::Yep, your first sentence is fine. I'm going to add the note about run-on sentences back into the Explanation; I hope nobody has any more objections. [[Special:Contributions/193.67.17.36|193.67.17.36]] 19:35, 15 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
:::"...''whilst'' I was driving home"? ;) (And bear in mind as well that "while" can more commonly mean "until", instead of "during", in certain English-speaking dialects. Ok, I'm being picky, now.) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.50.23|178.98.50.23]] 05:40, 16 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
::::Gr8 example of Internet forum tangental one-upmanship! [[Special:Contributions/12.234.99.131|12.234.99.131]] 16:41, 16 July 2013 (UTC) Zake<br />
:This explanation makes a lot of sense. It helped me to stop being angry at the sentence they wanted her to type, and to pay attention to the bigger picture, especially when combined with the alt-text. Randall, I heard you're idea's and their definately good. (Also, I'm assuming that Internet Enlightenment allows me to be disgusted with myself for writing that, as long as I was willing to do so.) [[Special:Contributions/68.231.138.149|68.231.138.149]] 04:49, 16 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
::It is perfectly correct to join two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction and no comma. In fact it is often considered bad style (if not actually incorrect) to include both a comma and a conjunction when joining only two clauses.[[Special:Contributions/129.22.117.158|129.22.117.158]] 17:50, 16 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
:::I'm not native English, as I explained before, but please give some more background information and not only a statement of your mind. And consider: This is American English, there are some odd commas. I'm still not sure what's correct.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:24, 16 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
::::I'm not native either. What I've found on several sites [http://pages.uoregon.edu/munno/Writing/ClausesandCommas.html], [http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/writing/comma?09] is ''two independent clauses connected by "and" or "but" are separated by a comma''&mdash;basically, because you would make a little pause at that point when used in speech. Contradicting this on {{w|simple:Run-on sentence}} I currently see ''"I looked over the hill and I saw the bear." is a complete sentence.'' (not two independent clauses&mdash;although grammatically possible), so simple-wikipedia could be wrong, or there is some tolerance, when two clauses are actually connected. In the end, I'd say this comma is not really worth that discussion, and I would suggest making some kind of neutral statement, e.g. ''and there might be a {{w|Run-on sentence|comma}} missing''. --[[User:Chtz|Chtz]] ([[User talk:Chtz|talk]]) 22:52, 16 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I wonder if there's an additional level of meaning here. To me, the <i>most</i> striking thing about the sentence Megan won't type is not the bad spelling, but the fact that it involves agreeing with someone. On the Internet, people are always arguing with other (as in, for example, http://xkcd.com/386/). Maybe what Megan had to do to become "enlightened" was not just to ignore the rules of spelling, but actually to agree with someone for a change?{{unsigned ip|134.226.254.178}}<br />
:Well, that's why I wrote the third paragraph, about how important agreement can be. Do you have any suggestions as to how we could emphasize this point more? [[User:PinkAmpersand|PinkAmpersand]] ([[User talk:PinkAmpersand|talk]]) 22:03, 16 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Be associated with bad grammar, Yoda would not. [[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 08:22, 17 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
===Incomplete or not?===<br />
I did add the tag again because there are too many edits at this page and also the discussion is still not clear. I would like to see the grammar issue solved by more explain, even when it's not easy.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:16, 16 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning any more comparisons, but I'd put it don't here at least: It reminds me of Schindler's List when Schindler tries to convince Amon Goeth, a commander of a Nazi concentration camp, that true power is when you have the power (and justification) to kill someone, but you spare them. This is an attempt to change the behaviour of Amon, who has a habit of killing random camp internees (and _believes_ he has the right to do so).</div>Svendhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1213:_Combination_Vision_Test&diff=41077Talk:1213: Combination Vision Test2013-06-18T10:25:16Z<p>Svend: Added comment about digits vs numbers.</p>
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<div>Number is "42".<br />
The 4 is composed of 2's and 3's and 7's.<br />
The 2 is composed of 3's and 7's and 9's.<br />
--[[User:RainbowDash|RainbowDash]] ([[User talk:RainbowDash|talk]]) 05:16, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:What about 7s? --[[Special:Contributions/81.23.24.34|81.23.24.34]] 06:13, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Also both have 5's. I'm not very good at this counting thing. That link below is way better, anyhow. --[[User:RainbowDash|RainbowDash]] ([[User talk:RainbowDash|talk]]) 05:28, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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http://i.imgur.com/BLIQR6w.png<br />
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Credit: http://www.reddit.com/user/silly-moose<br />
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: Thanks --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 07:06, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I'm not confident enough about this to write up an explanation, but given that synesthesia is a sensory experience where the senses blend into each other (hearing colors, tasting sounds, etc...) that a round shape or black and white (why is it not in color? that would help the joke imho) give the sense of a number to the synesthete. The alt text at least makes sense, seeing two big numbers fits with diplopia (double vision) and the squinting covers myopia (nearsightedness) so it is consistent with the main joke, but I feel like I'm really missing something in the main joke. [[User:Chexwarrior|Chexwarrior]] ([[User talk:Chexwarrior|talk]]) 06:43, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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In the original b&w image, I keep seeing an 8 on the right and a vague 0, 9, or 4 on the left. I'm not certain if the b&w actually has a definite "answer" or specific number(s) one is supposed to be seeing. I seem to recall an xkcd with an Ishihara test before (but can't find it so it may just be a confabulation), in which case this one may be a reference to that and actually have a referential "answer".<br />
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I'm not an optometrist, but Chexwarrior,'s explanation of the alt text seems correct to me. [[User:Plazma|Plazma]] ([[User talk:Plazma|talk]]) 07:00, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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On the left half, the number 9 is missing. Similarly, on the right the number 2 is missing. This makes the number 92 or 29 (any ideas?). There is a floating 2 in the bottom center, the origin is unknown but it does look like a decimal point but that yould defeat the purpose of the number 42 (any ideas?) --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 07:06, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I was thinking the explanation of the descriptive text (not alt-text) is as follows: the synesthesia is seeing numbers and associating colors with them. So when you look at the numbers in the image, you see certain colors, so the large numbers stand out because they are different colors from the background. But if you're colorblind, (hypothetically) then some of those number-colors might look the same and so the numbers (not sure why only one) would not be visible. [[User:Bplimley|Bplimley]] ([[User talk:Bplimley|talk]]) 07:18, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Maybe if the synesthesia is as follows: Even numbers get one color and odd numbers get another color. I was actually able to see the 2 because of this effect, while I was in photoshop, zoomed in, and coloring the 3's. I know from myself that I have number to color synesthesia, but (in my case) that doesn't apply to a bunch of randomly placed digits like here, but only to complete numbers like "144" looks yellow, red, and white (in no particular order), while "38" looks grayish dark blue. --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 07:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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::I seriously doubt ANYONE have so "hard" case of number to color synesthesia it can "color" a bunch of randomly placed digits like this. Like ... if your number-recognizing neurons are working on the small numbers, how can they work on the big numbers in the same time? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:01, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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::: Good catch! I'm not sure how exactly how synesthesia works, but even if the perceived number (due to a perceived colour) further incites a perceived colour, you can still have a combined diagnostic. You just have to make sure that the big number is made up of little ones of the same number; or, atleast made of other numbers which are of the same colour as the desired big number. The latter requires that you assume synesthesia is one way only (for instance - perceiving number triggers colour, but not vice versa) [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 11:00, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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::: No no, it pretty much works! I've got colored-grapheme synesthesia, and while the numbers don't jump out at me as easily as they would if they were made of real colors, I am able to see them pretty clearly if I lean close enough to my monitor to be able to take in all of the small numbers' shapes at once. I posted a description of what it looks like to me here: [http://otherthings.com/blog/2013/05/ishihara-eat-your-heart-out/#more-899 Rungy Chungy Cheese Bees] It's a bit harder for me to see because I'm an "associator" type of synesthete, as opposed to a "projector" type. But I imagine for a true projector synesthete this would be about as easy as a normal Ishihara colorblindness test. [[User:Otherthings|Otherthings]] ([[User talk:Otherthings|talk]]) 20:35, 17 May 2013 (UTC) <br />
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:::: It didn't work at all for me. I've got coloured-grapheme synesthesia too, but all the colours were too different - I have no real pattern for even and odd numbers, so I never saw the big numbers. I looked at your link, you got a nice contrast! [[Special:Contributions/121.219.96.178|121.219.96.178]] 02:29, 4 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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<Nitpicking> The alt text is slightly off the mark isn't it? Wouldn't a diplopic(?) person see two images of the diagnostic rather than two numbers in the same diagnostic? Also, you needn't be colour blind to fulfill the condition of perceiving only one digit. Your synesthesia might have a colour blindness, while your optical system does not. </Nitpicking> [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 11:07, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I think that as no two... synaesthetes? ...have exactly the same 'conversion routine' in place that one can't assume the colour dominance of either digit, under an (actual, or synaesthetic) colour-blindness condition. Also, I wouldn't be surprised to hear "Well, the left hand side smells a bit like a 4, but the right ''sounds'' like a 2..." ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.207.61|178.98.207.61]] 12:54, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I will take some LSD and look at this and report back later! [[Special:Contributions/46.166.163.150|46.166.163.150]] 16:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I don't think myopia actually makes sense, unless you're reading the comic on a large screen 30 or 40 feet away. The comic is most probably near you, if you're near-sighted you should see it in focus without squinting. [[Special:Contributions/64.223.217.58|64.223.217.58]] 17:19, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:As a myopic person, I can say that you are generalizing too much. Without glasses, I can see no thing in focus unless it is 2-4 inches from my face[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 20:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I see a big zero!<br />
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In the end this test couldn't work, colorblindness is due to a physical effect in the eyeball where synesthesia works in the brain, if someone had both synesthesia and colorblindness then the two numbers in the circle above would be the _only_ color they could see (although being colorblind they may not understand it to be a color at that point) [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 19:37, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:It's a JOKE. Sure it does not work for many more reasons. But the combining of all this things is hard to understand and it did last a couple of hours until the first people did understand. In my opinion this is one of the BEST jokes Randall ever did.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:47, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::Yah, I laughed pretty hard when I saw it last night. Still worth explaining all the intracacies, like people wondering what's wrong with "Locate City" nukes [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 20:10, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Actually, there's research on that. People with colorblindness and synesthesia do "see" some numbers in colours that they don't recognise from their everyday experience. (That's because as you said, colorblindness happens at the receptor level and synesthesia happens in the brain). Check out this TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/vilayanur_ramachandran_on_your_mind.html?quote=222 --- Mel<br />
:: Sorry, wrong link. I meant this talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW_lsSx5w14 --- Mel <br />
:I am not colourblind and my synesthesia STILL gives me colours that don't exist, so I'm sure colourblind people's colourblindness wouldn't necessarily translate to their synesthesia. [[Special:Contributions/121.219.96.178|121.219.96.178]] 02:29, 4 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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As a colorblind person, I would like to point out that it is not obvious to everybody that a normal person sees neither large number. At first glance, I assumed that normal people see both numbers, colorblind people see neither, and synthesesia allows colorblind people to see one.[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 20:22, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
: No, even normal people can't see the numbers because the image is just black and white. But that's just the first joke. Synthesesia in this comic just do see colours on black and white pictures.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:36, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::Shouldn't the big-4 and big-2 have it's own color? The big-4 might then blend with the background 4's.<br />
:::What's with the extraneous little-2 underneath the big numbers also?[[Special:Contributions/50.8.61.60|50.8.61.60]] 21:32, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::::We are just talking about "colorblind persons" here. I am trying to help them to understand because they even they can`t see that the original picture is just B/W. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:12, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I'm not convinced that this cartoon works. I have a friend who is synaesthetic, and she can't see the big numbers. The thing is, if someone has the sort of synaesthesia where they see numbers in colours, then they see each digit in a different colour, and so there is no reason why primes (or any other particular group of digits) would stand out for them. Yes, I know it's a joke, but the joke doesn't work if it doesn't take into account how synaesthesia works.<br />
:I might do some fiddling with various colour palette overlays, but I think that if there is a large cluster of a few colours which don't appear elsewhere in the image, the synaesthete could probably pick up the pattern. However, the actual function of synaesthesia is not really important in this, I suppose. {{unsigned ip|86.14.71.242}}<br />
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I saw the number 12 without checking here first, and I'm not a synesthete. Anyone see something similar? [[Special:Contributions/71.176.19.228|71.176.19.228]] 00:13, 18 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Reading it on an iPad, by zooming right out, I can get occasional brief flashes of the number while moving my eyes - though I initially read it as 92, probably because I couldn't look directly at it. I can't work out what it is that makes it jump out at me, though - maybe my eyes are catching the pattern of sevens, or something? --[[Special:Contributions/123.243.65.31|123.243.65.31]] 09:43, 18 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:: I also read it as 92, but without any tricks. Just by painfully staring at the image my brain makes out lines and curves, till i found the 92. Is that normal? :D [[Special:Contributions/88.70.142.19|88.70.142.19]] 13:23, 18 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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In the last image, I think it would be better to have the background, the 4, and the 2 be made of different shades of 3 different colors to make it clear why someone who is colorblind would only see one of the numbers. Say, the background is different shades of green, the 4 is blue, and the 2 is red. That is, if I'm understanding this comic correctly. [[Special:Contributions/184.170.166.111|184.170.166.111]] 07:43, 18 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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This would be incredibly confusing to a synesthete. Wouldn't he/she see the big 4 and 2 as being colors of their own? And then, of course, its component numbers would be made of so many different colors. I think we need a real synesthete to look at this. [[Special:Contributions/71.176.19.228|71.176.19.228]] 15:11, 18 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:I have heard from real synesthete people that there are too many chaotic numbers on the picture. I did add an explanation on the bottom of the main page. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:37, 19 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::I experience the same. But what about [[User:Otherthings]] who claims he sees all colors at once. Different synesthesia or fake? Also, when examining numbers to invoke colors, you forget past colors, unless the subject has a photographic memory and won't lose the colors? Even then s/he still needs to look at every single digit in the image in individually. --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 08:03, 20 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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What does it mean if I can see multiple giant numbers? When I looked at this, I immediately saw a giant 58 - and had no idea what 58 was supposed to mean. Then I could see other numbers as well, of varying mixed sizes.<br />
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PLEASE understand that this Black and White "color perception test" can not work. Nobody can see that Big Numbers. And this is just only the first part of this joke.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:00, 23 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I think it should say "one digit" or "two digits", rather than one or two "numbers", as 42 is just one number (consisting of two digits), though of course it _could_ be read as the two numbers 4 and 2, that just happen to be placed next to each other. I know this is less important when it doesn't actually work :P</div>Svendhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1189:_Voyager_1&diff=401971189: Voyager 12013-06-10T10:45:06Z<p>Svend: /* Explanation */ type fix</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1189<br />
| date = March 22, 2013<br />
| title = Voyager 1<br />
| image = voyager_1.png<br />
| titletext = So far Voyager 1 has 'left the Solar System' by passing through the termination shock three times, the heliopause twice, and once each through the heliosheath, heliosphere, heliodrome, auroral discontinuity, Heaviside layer, trans-Neptunian panic zone, magnetogap, US Census Bureau Solar System statistical boundary, Kuiper gauntlet, Oort void, and crystal sphere holding the fixed stars.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
''{{w|Voyager 1}}'' is a U.S. space probe launched in 1977 to study the outer reaches of the Solar System and beyond. Popular press has on several occasions announced that it “has left the solar system” at each point when a boundary has been confirmed or a major event has taken place. This underscores the fact that there is no strictly defined and recognizable boundary of the solar system, or at least we haven't found one yet.<br />
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The alt-text lists several such possible boundaries, together with fictive humorous ones:<br />
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*The {{w|termination shock}} – the point in the heliosphere where the solar wind slows down to subsonic speed (relative to the star) because of interactions with the local interstellar medium.<br />
*The {{w|heliopause}} – the theoretical boundary where the Sun’s solar wind is stopped by the interstellar medium.<br />
*The {{w|heliosphere}} – a region of space dominated by Earth’s Sun, a sort of bubble of charged particles in the space surrounding the Solar System.<br />
*The {{w|heliosheath}} – the region of the heliosphere beyond the termination shock.<br />
*Heliodrome – yet another composition of ''helios'' "sun," here together with ''dromos'' "course". There is no astronomical object with this name, but it has been used variously in other contexts. One that became famous is a sports hall which was used as a concentration camp in the Bosnian war, see {{w|Heliodrom camp}}.<br />
*Auroral discontinuity - another fictitious astronomic object, for ''auroral'' see {{w|Aurora (astronomy)}}.<br />
*{{w|Heaviside layer}} – a layer of ionized gas occurring between roughly 90–150&nbsp;km (56–93&nbsp;mi) above the ground in the Earth's atmosphere. Popularly recognized for its use as a reference to Heaven in the writings of {{w|T. S. Eliot}} adapted into {{w|Andrew Lloyd Webber}}'s musical ''{{w|Cats (musical)|Cats}}''.<br />
*Trans-Neptunian panic zone – this fictional zone combines the word from two subject: “Trans–Neptunian” is used in astronomy to describe stuff that occurs beyond the planet Neptune. In {{w|Outdoor education}} the “panic zone” is the opposite of the {{w|comfort zone}} when trying to learn new stuff.<br />
*{{w|Ignition magneto|Magnetogap}} – part of an {{w|ignition system}}.<br />
*US Census Bureau Solar System statistical boundary – a fictive boundary defined by the {{w|United States Census Bureau}}, similarly to how it defines {{w|Census tract|census areas}} for the purpose of processing statistical data about regions in the United States.<br />
*Kuiper gauntlet – this is a play on the {{w|Kuiper belt}}, which is a region of the Solar System beyond the planets, extending from the orbit of Neptune (at 30 AU) to approximately 50 AU from the Sun, notable for being full of asteroids; replacing the word “belt” with “{{w|gauntlet (glove)}}” (often spelled 'gantlet') which is a protective glove as well as “{{w|gauntlet (punishment)}}” which is a medieval punishment where one would be forced to run through two lines of men who would hit the punishee.<br />
*Oort void – refers to the {{w|Oort cloud}}, a gigantic “cloud” of materials (mainly composed of ice) which ends around a light-year from The Sun and is deemed the (current) “edge” of the solar system.<br />
*Crystal sphere holding the fixed stars – this refers to historical ideas about the universe, particularly the {{w|Ptolemaic system}}, in which the stars were supposed to be fixed on a {{w|Celestial spheres|large crystal sphere}} around the Earth. It might also be referencing "{{w|The Crystal Spheres}}", a short story by David Brin, in which humanity's first interstellar ship shatters a previously undetected, protective barrier around the solar system. It may also be a reference to the Dungeons and Dragons setting "{{w|Spelljammer}}".<br />
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See also [http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/03/voyager-probes-key-transition-remains-mysterious/ Voyager over the “heliocliff,” but Solar System transition mysterious] article on Arstechnica.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:Number of times ''Voyager 1'' has left the Solar System<br />
:[22 tally marks.]<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Charts]]</div>Svend