Main Page
Welcome to the explain xkcd wiki!
We have an explanation for all 3224 xkcd comics, and only 72 (2.2%) are incomplete. Help us finish them!
Latest comic
| Solar Warning |
 Title text: This replaces the previous solar activity watch, which was issued last month when the sun took off its sunglasses. |
Explanation
Children's drawings and cartoon representations may stereotypically personify objects that are not living, including planets and stars. Often, the Sun is drawn with a smiling face or other expression. Cartoonized representations are also often used as an easily-recognized and interpreted schema for reporting and prediction services, such as weather forecasts.
This comic pretends this smile is an actual feature of the real Sun. However, the Sun cannot smile as it does not have a mouth.[citation needed] Apparently, the emotion that the Sun is expressing can give an indication of solar weather, including events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The Sun changing its expression has triggered this official announcement of a warning. Similar warnings are produced by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center because such solar activity can affect communications, power grids, satellites, etc.
The title text indicates that the prior change that provoked a warning was the removal of the Sun's sunglasses. The Sun wearing sunglasses is a further (possibly paradoxical) element of personification often added to images of the Sun. Randall has previously referred to the Sun's sunglasses in comics including 1733: Solar Spectrum and What If? articles such as Into the Sun.
The removal of eyewear is used in the "Deal With It" visual meme or as part of the various other tropes that reflect a change in attitude. Another interpretation could be that it is referencing Minesweeper (video game), where the Sun puts on sunglasses when the game is won and takes them back off when the game is reset (i.e., there is more danger).
Transcript
- [Blondie stands at a table with her hands together, resting her arms on the table. Behind her are two pictures of the sun: one with a smiling face, labeled "Last week," and one with a frowning face labeled "Today."]
- Blondie: A warning for solar flares and geomagnetic storms has been issued after new images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show that the big smiley face on the sun has turned into a frown.
View comic discussionNew here?
Last 7 days (Top 10) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at explain xkcd. Feel free to create an account and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for xkcd comics, characters, What If? articles, and everything in between. If it is referenced in an xkcd comic, it should be here.
- If you're new to wiki editing, see the explain xkcd:Editor FAQ for a specific guidance to this wiki and the more general help on how to edit wiki pages. There's also a handy wikicode cheatsheet.
- Discussion about the wiki itself happens at the Community portal.
- You can browse the comics from the list of all comics or by navigating the category tree at Category:Comics.
- The incomplete explanations are listed here. Feel free to help out by expanding them!
Rules
Don't be a jerk!
There are a lot of comics that don't have set-in-stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic.
If you want to talk about a specific comic, use its discussion page.
Please only submit material directly related to xkcd and, of course, only submit material that can legally be posted and freely edited. Off-topic or other inappropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked.
If you need assistance from an admin, post a message to the Admin requests board.
