explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2156: Ufo

2021-11-08T23:33:52Z

"iLB": grrrr cmt

Am I the only one now hearing the iconic opening music of the series in my head? :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:41, 29 May 2019 (UTC)
:I wasn't until you mentioned it :-( [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.131|141.101.99.131]] 13:57, 29 May 2019 (UTC)

May be related to this news released yesterday:[https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1133031/Aliens-news-UFO-Pentagon-US-Navy-pilot-footage-video] [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:41, 29 May 2019 (UTC)
:Yep, slow news day.[[User:OhFFS|OhFFS]] ([[User talk:OhFFS|talk]]) 15:19, 29 May 2019 (UTC)

The title text is probably a reference to US government restrictions placed on their departments (such as NOAA), preventing them from releasing details which might support the idea of climate change. [[User:JamesCurran|JamesCurran]] ([[User talk:JamesCurran|talk]]) 18:27, 29 May 2019 (UTC)
:Most likely [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Weather_Service_Duties_Act_of_2005 this] or the more recent budgetary cuts and reallocations that have forced closure of some programs. Kinda surprised it wasn't noted on the main page actually [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.143|172.69.68.143]] 20:39, 29 May 2019 (UTC)

Of course the shadowy forces that control the world want to believe ... or at least want YOU to believe in UFO. The idea is simple: 1) make you believe in UFO 2) blame UFO for problems they caused. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:46, 30 May 2019 (UTC)

How does the title text makes it "clear" in any way that this is a reference to Trump policy? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.127|162.158.154.127]] 07:29, 30 May 2019 (UTC)
: Clear only after reading it :-) (And even then it would make no sense for the Trump administration to suppress facts. Since when do facts still play a role in today's politics? ;-)
:: Of course it is clear, especially knowing about Randall's political inclination, and I am pretty disappointed to see these parts of the explanation removed, however I don't want to be part of the edit war myself. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.5|141.101.104.5]] 12:05, 30 May 2019 (UTC)
::I would add that if someone thinks it's not about Trump policy, then at least replace it with something else. As it stands right now, there's no mention of the title text at all! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 12:16, 30 May 2019 (UTC)
::: Right; it is totally not about Trump's policy, but about... ah, I dunno, let's just omit it. -.- --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.222|141.101.105.222]] 12:58, 30 May 2019 (UTC)
::: My read on this was that it was a reference to the Roswell UFO Incident, where the US Government '''actually did''' try to hide the purpose of a Project Mogul nuclear test detection balloon by claiming that it was a conventional temperature-measuring weather balloon. This also lines up with Scully's "some kind of balloon" comment in the main strip.--[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.46|172.68.54.46]] 18:39, 30 May 2019 (UTC)
:::: Ah whatever, edit war, here I come. :D --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.222|141.101.105.222]] 13:07, 30 May 2019 (UTC)
::::: My two cents: on it's own, I would just understand the title text as a reference to the age-old concept of governments, especially American, covering things up, hiding them from the public. It's such a cliche that said X-Files was largely based on the idea. However, factoring in Randall's very vocal support of Hillary and very vocal opposition of Trump, I find this becomes a very clear shot at Trump's administration. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:28, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

Anyone else bumped by the fact that UFO is an acronym, therefore all caps, yet the title of this comic is "Ufo"? No? Just me? Okay then. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:22, 8 June 2019 (UTC)
: Probably time that it loses the ALL CAPS. Do you write RADAR or LASER? No? Same thing exactly.

Somebody didn't take the time to read the eyewitness testimonies...For Shame! [[User:"iLB"|"iLB"]] ([[User talk:"iLB"|talk]]) 23:33, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

User talk:"iLB"

2021-07-29T04:21:38Z

"iLB": Created page with "<div style="font-size:300%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(3.5deg);>'''"iLB"'''</div> <div style="font-size:180%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(-2d..."

<div style="font-size:300%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(3.5deg);>'''"[[User:"iLB"|iLB]]"'''</div>
<div style="font-size:180%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(-2deg);>"'''talk''' & [[Special:Contributions/"iLB"|contributions]]"</div><br>
__TOC__

User:"iLB"

2021-07-29T04:17:50Z

"iLB":

<div style="font-size:300%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(3.5deg);>'''"iLB"'''</div>
<div style="font-size:220%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(-3.5deg);>"is here"</div>

<div style="font-size:180%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(2deg);>"[[User talk:"iLB"|talk]] & [[Special:Contributions/"iLB"|contributions]]"</div>
<br><br><br><br><br><br>
[[File:1608_0986x1076y_Our_kingdom_from_a_cliff.png]]

User:"iLB"

2021-07-29T04:15:58Z

"iLB": Created page with "<div style="font-size:300%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(3.5deg);>'''"iLB"'''</div> <div style="font-size:220%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(-3.5deg);>"is here..."

<div style="font-size:300%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(3.5deg);>'''"iLB"'''</div>
<div style="font-size:220%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(-3.5deg);>"is here"</div>

<div style="font-size:180%; text-align:center; transform: rotate(2deg);>"[[User talk:"iLB"|talk]] & [[Special:Contributions/"iLB"|contributions]]"</div>

[[File:1608 0993x1112y Top of floating rock island with base jumpers.png|100%|frame]]

Talk:2495: Universal Seat Belt

2021-07-29T03:50:24Z

"iLB": re

Looks like Randall has started a new series: Cursed Connectors. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.171|172.69.34.171]] 01:51, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
:I now await the 10Base2 connector with ''actual'' bayonet blade attached... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.183|141.101.99.183]] 03:27, 29 July 2021 (UTC)

Dangit! Its the wrong way around... Wait, it doesn't fit this way either... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.51.134|172.70.51.134]] 01:56, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
: Oh noes. [[User:"iLB"|"iLB"]] ([[User talk:"iLB"|talk]]) 03:50, 29 July 2021 (UTC)

2495: Universal Seat Belt

2021-07-29T03:39:26Z

"iLB": /* Transcript */ indenting

{{comic
| number = 2495
| date = July 28, 2021
| title = Universal Seat Belt
| image = universal_seat_belt.png
| titletext = The plug fits really snugly, so it should be safe in a crash.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a USB PORT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A sequel to [[2493: Dual USB-C]], this comic shows another of Randall's line of "Cursed Connectors." Randall presents the "Universal {{w|Seat belt|Seat Belt}}", a pun on the Universal Serial Bus ({{w|USB}}) connector.

USB connectors are mostly designed for free and unrestricted insertion and removal. There may be a slight use of the internal and external bumps and dimples to provide a tactile indication of being engaged or disengaged, but there are usually no facilities to prevent a connector being easily pulled out of even a port being actively used - the OS can do no more than complain that a device has been removed without first ensuring proper logical unmapping of the resource (which in turn may have to await a current session of data transfer being completed or aborted) or warn that a "delayed write" has failed.

Car seat-buckles, on the other hand, have very definite requirements to not come loose ''unless'' intentionally and mechanically released, in order to keep the passenger safely anchored to the seat.

The title text claims that the seat belt is secure in the case of a crash. This is another pun, as seat belts protect passengers in a car crash while USB ports are rated to protect devices in the event of a computer malfunction ("crash").

One possible use for the USB data connector might be to give a certain degree of 'proof' that the belt is plugged in, although that functionality is fairly well covered by current anchor-point sensors that (combined with seat-occupancy sensors that may respond to the weight of a seated person) can trigger dashboard lights and possibly warning sounds in vehicles as necessary to prompt correct usage of restraining belts. That system does not usually need an electronic data connection between anchor and belt, an anchor-side switch should suffice, and it would still require a mechanical gripping/hooking method to make it of any use to be engaged in the first place.

==Transcript==
:[The two ends of a seatbelt are shown next to each other, but the seatbelt connectors are replaced with a USB-A plug and port. Above is a title and below is a label.]
:Cursed Connectors #65
:the Universal Seat Belt

{{comic discussion}}

2495: Universal Seat Belt

2021-07-29T03:31:54Z

"iLB": completed transcript (partial copy from 2493)

{{comic
| number = 2495
| date = July 28, 2021
| title = Universal Seat Belt
| image = universal_seat_belt.png
| titletext = The plug fits really snugly, so it should be safe in a crash.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a USB PORT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A sequel to [[2493: Dual USB-C]], this comic shows another of Randall's line of "Cursed Connectors." Randall presents the "Universal {{w|Seat belt|Seat Belt}}", a pun on the Universal Serial Bus ({{w|USB}}) connector.

USB connectors are mostly designed for free and unrestricted insertion and removal. There may be a slight use of the internal and external bumps and dimples to provide a tactile indication of being engaged or disengaged, but there are usually no facilities to prevent a connector being easily pulled out of even a port being actively used - the OS can do no more than complain that a device has been removed without first ensuring proper logical unmapping of the resource (which in turn may have to await a current session of data transfer being completed or aborted) or warn that a "delayed write" has failed.

Car seat-buckles, on the other hand, have very definite requirements to not come loose ''unless'' intentionally and mechanically released, in order to keep the passenger safely anchored to the seat.

The title text claims that the seat belt is secure in the case of a crash. This is another pun, as seat belts protect passengers in a car crash while USB ports are rated to protect devices in the event of a computer malfunction ("crash").

One possible use for the USB data connector might be to give a certain degree of 'proof' that the belt is plugged in, although that functionality is fairly well covered by current anchor-point sensors that (combined with seat-occupancy sensors that may respond to the weight of a seated person) can trigger dashboard lights and possibly warning sounds in vehicles as necessary to prompt correct usage of restraining belts. That system does not usually need an electronic data connection between anchor and belt, an anchor-side switch should suffice, and it would still require a mechanical gripping/hooking method to make it of any use to be engaged in the first place.

==Transcript==
[The two ends of a seatbelt are shown next to each other, but the seatbelt connectors are replaced with a USB-A plug and port. Above is a title and below is a label.]
Cursed Connectors #65
the Universal Seat Belt

{{comic discussion}}

2495: Universal Seat Belt

2021-07-29T03:15:33Z

"iLB": capitalisation

{{comic
| number = 2495
| date = July 28, 2021
| title = Universal Seat Belt
| image = universal_seat_belt.png
| titletext = The plug fits really snugly, so it should be safe in a crash.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a USB PORT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A sequel to [[2493: Dual USB-C]], this comic shows another of Randall's line of "Cursed Connectors." Randall presents the "Universal {{w|Seat belt|Seat Belt}}", a pun on the Universal Serial Bus ({{w|USB}}) connector.

USB connectors are mostly designed for free and unrestricted insertion and removal. There may be a slight use of the internal and external bumps and dimples to provide a tactile indication of being engaged or disengaged, but there are usually no facilities to prevent a connector being easily pulled out of even a port being actively used - the OS can do no more than complain that a device has been removed without first ensuring proper logical unmapping of the resource (which in turn may have to await a current session of data transfer being completed or aborted) or warn that a "delayed write" has failed.

Car seat-buckles, on the other hand, have very definite requirements to not come loose ''unless'' intentionally and mechanically released, in order to keep the passenger safely anchored to the seat.

The title text claims that the seat belt is secure in the case of a crash. This is another pun, as seat belts protect passengers in a car crash while USB ports are rated to protect devices in the event of a computer malfunction ("crash").

One possible use for the USB data connector might be to give a certain degree of 'proof' that the belt is plugged in, although that functionality is fairly well covered by current anchor-point sensors that (combined with seat-occupancy sensors that may respond to the weight of a seated person) can trigger dashboard lights and possibly warning sounds in vehicles as necessary to prompt correct usage of restraining belts. That system does not usually need an electronic data connection between anchor and belt, an anchor-side switch should suffice, and it would still require a mechanical gripping/hooking method to make it of any use to be engaged in the first place.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
cursed connecters #65 the universal seatbelt

{{comic discussion}}

2231: The Time Before and After Land

2021-07-20T04:00:41Z

"iLB": fix cat

{{comic
| number = 2231
| date = November 20, 2019
| title = the Time Before And After Land
| image = the_time_before_and_after_land.png
| titletext = According to Google, "the time for Beeland" is apparently whenever you're looking for delicious honey in Spillimacheen, British Columbia or a hexagonal chalet in the Savinja valley in Slovenia.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic indulges in some wordplay on the title of the 1988 animated movie ''{{w|The Land Before Time (franchise)|The Land Before Time}}'', which takes place millions of years ago in the time of dinosaurs.

The comic shows a timeline of the history of the universe from the {{w|Big Bang}} to the present day, with ''The Land Before Time'' placed at the point in the timeline where the movie is set, as well as other seemingly arbitrary events such as the formation of rocky planets and the evolution of ground-nesting bees. The joke is that Randall has contrived several periods of universal history that sound like funny permutations of "The Land Before Time" due to certain words being {{w|homophone}}s, such as "time" and "thyme", or homonyms, such as the noun "land" (ground) and the verb "land" (to alight). He also split the word "before" into "bee" and "for".

The title text is for the phrase "the time for Beeland" and lists 2 places (that Randall found on Google) with the name "Beeland": [http://beeland.ca/ a market in Spillimacheen, British Columbia] or [http://www.apartmajimozirje.si/en/beeland/ a chalet in Slovenia].

Bees are a [[:Category:Bees|recurring topic]] on xkcd.

===Explanation of time ranges on the chart===

{| class="wikitable"
! Range !! From !! To !! Explanation
|-
|width=15%|'''The time before land'''
|width=10%|Big Bang
|width=10%|Rocky planets form
|width=65%|The {{w|Big Bang}} is a scientific theory that attempts to describe the very earliest conditions in our universe, but is also used informally as a synonym for the beginning of the universe. The early universe contained only simple elements such as hydrogen, but over time, star formation led to the creation of new, heavier elements, which eventually gave rise to planets with a rocky surface, which we call "land". It would have taken billions of years for the first such land-bearing planet to appear in the universe, so this time period could be considered "the time before land".
|-
|'''The time before bees'''
|Big Bang
|Ground-nesting bees evolve
|This time range also includes the formation of the Earth, a necessary precondition for bees to evolve. Any time before the evolution of bees could be considered "The time before bees". While the chart does not account for the possibility that non-ground-nesting bees may have existed prior to ground-nesting ones, evidence strongly suggests that the common ancestor to all bees nested in the ground rather than forming hives.
|-
|'''The land before thyme'''
|Rocky planets form
|''Thymus'' genus diverges
|''Thymus'' is the genus of plant that is called "{{w|thyme}}" in English, and it is pronounced exactly the same way as "time". By "diverges", it is meant that this is the point in time at which the ''Thymus'' genus of plants split off from their ancestral line - ie. when thyme first evolved. This time range is after land first appears in the universe, but before {{w|thyme}} evolved - therefore, any land that existed within this time range can be considered "the land before thyme". When said, this sounds exactly the same as "''The Land Before Time''".
|-
|'''Time for land bees!'''
|Ground-nesting bees evolve
|Now
|When conditions change to allow an event to occur, people sometimes say "time for (event)!". In this case, the event is the emergence of ground-nesting bees, which could be considered "land bees".
|-
|'''Bees land on thyme'''
|''Thymus'' genus diverges
|Now
|Bees are flying insects, and therefore must land in order to rest before taking off again. Now that thyme has evolved, bees are able to land on thyme plants. This is a play on two different meanings of the word "land"; as a noun, it means solid ground, but here, it is a verb which means to alight or stop flying.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Caption at top of panel:]
:(Timeline not to scale)

:[A timeline is shown with two endpoints and five other points. The points are labeled:]
:Big Bang
:Rocky planets form
:Earth forms
:Ground-nesting bees evolve
:''The Land Before Time''
:''Thymus'' genus diverges
:Now

:[Below the timeline are five overlapping time periods in three rows. The text is between two thick black bars. The time periods all start and end at two different points.]

:[Big Bang to Rocky Planets Form:]
:The Time Before Land

:[Big Bang to Ground-Nesting Bees Evolve:]
:The Time Before bees

:[Rocky Planets Form to ''Thymus'' Genus Diverges:]
:The Land Before Thyme

:[Ground-Nesting Bees evolve to Now:]
:Time for Land Bees!

:[Thymus Genus Diverges to Now:]
:Bees Land on Thyme

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Bees]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Puns]]

1123: The Universal Label

2021-07-20T04:00:23Z

"iLB": cat fix

{{comic
| number = 1123
| date = October 19, 2012
| title = The Universal Label
| image = the universal label.png
| titletext = Works for any grocery or non-grocery. Even thyme is just H and time.
}}

==Explanation==
All matter in the universe (heavier than {{w|Isotopes_of_lithium#Lithium-7|lithium-7}}) was created through {{w|nuclear fusion}} of {{w|hydrogen}} atoms inside {{w|stars}} over the 13.8 billion years that have gone by since the {{w|Big Bang}}. A detailed explanation (for the lay person) of this process is available in this article about [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/3280.html Making Atoms].

From this article (and from the wiki article on Big Bang) it is clear that our universe began not only with hydrogen. Although the majority of atoms produced by the Big Bang were hydrogen, lots of {{w|helium}} and traces of {{w|lithium}} were also produced. Actually {{w|Big_Bang#Abundance_of_primordial_elements|about 25% of the mass}} in the universe comes from helium created shortly after the Big Bang. In stars, however, helium is also created directly from hydrogen atoms. So it would have been enough to just start out with hydrogen in the early universe. Given enough time, all the other elements would have been created inside these originally hydrogen-only stars. To make elements heavier than helium some of the elements created by hydrogen, will have to fuse subsequentially. And in order to make elements heavier than iron, a {{w|supernova}} explosion is needed. But in either case it is still products of hydrogen that fuse together.

In many countries, food products must have their ingredients displayed somewhere on their packaging. Because all the ingredients in any food are either hydrogen or heavier atoms created through stellar nuclear fusion from hydrogen over time, the ingredients of any items can technically be described fully as only being made from hydrogen and time. Thus this label would be the universal label. A pun on two of the meanings of the word [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/universal universal]. Any food is of course ''universal'' as in a part of the universe. But the label can also be a ''universal'' label as in a common label for all food or any other product in the universe, as well as the universe itself for that {{w|matter}}.

The title text first makes it clear that this works both for any {{w|grocery}} as well as any non-grocery, which as described above simply means anything else. It then goes on to making a pun on the words {{w|thyme}} (a herb) and {{w|time}}, as the two words are {{w|homophones}}. "H" is the chemical symbol for hydrogen thus completing the pun by noticing that the word "thyme" can be made by adding the letter "h" to "tyme" which would be a homophone even closer to the word time.

[[Randall]] previously made a joke on the fact that thyme and time are homophones in [[282: Organic Fuel]].

==Transcript==
:'''Ingredients:'''
:Hydrogen, Time

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Time]]

Template:kick

2021-07-20T03:59:33Z

"iLB": cat

<center>[[File:mobius battle.gif|mobius battle.gif]]<br/>
You have been kicked in the face by {{#if: {{{1|}}} |{{{1}}}|a ball}} in accordance with the community standards for... no real reason. Feel free to revert this odd edit.
</center><noinclude>

[[Category:Templates]]
</noinclude>

1784: Bad Map Projection: Liquid Resize

2021-07-20T03:49:16Z

"iLB": Undo revision 215273 by 141.101.98.206 (talk) As per 977, there are 12 projections. A globe counts as a projection (in this case at least).

{{comic
| number = 1784
| date = January 11, 2017
| title = Bad Map Projection: Liquid Resize
| image = bad_map_projection_liquid_resize.png
| titletext = This map preserves the shapes of Tissot's indicatrices pretty well, as long as you draw them in before running the resize.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the first comic in the series of [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]] that continues in [[1799: Bad Map Projection: Time Zones]], released just a bit more than a month after this one, and [[2256: Bad Map Projection: South America]], released 3 years later

There is no perfect way to draw a map of the world on a flat piece of paper. Each one will introduce a different type of distortion, and the best projection for a given situation is sometimes disputed. [[Randall]] previously explored 12 different projections in [[977: Map Projections]], and expressed his disdain for some types he sees as less efficient but whose users feel superior. None of them are truly perfect as any 2D map projection will always distort in a way the spherical reality, and a map projection that is useful for one aspect (like navigation, geographical shapes and masses visualization, etc.) will not be so for all the others. Local maps of smaller areas can be quite accurate, but the idea of both these map projection comics is to map the entire globe on a flat surface.

This comic suggests that there are many other projections than the 12 from the previous map projection comic, and Randall seems to have an entire list, of which at least 107 are "Bad Map Projections." The one presented here is #107 and is it called the "Liquid Resize." It is unclear if he includes the previous 12 in this list. Quite possibly he does, since all 2D projections of the surface of a 3D sphere will be bad in certain respects. (The next comic's projections ''Time Zones'' based on these, has #79 and could be concluded as being less bad than this one, which also seems realistic as this map looks more like a normal map projections, although it also has huge flaws).

The ''Liquid Resize'' map projection, however, is not only useless for most map applications -- as the size, shape, and position of most countries are quite distorted -- but its creation includes two steps which are outright counterproductive. If the list is sorted from best to worst it may be hard to find a worse projection method than this, so finding 106 projections better than this one seems realistic!

First, this method needs a planar map projection as its starting point, thus compounding the problems right off the bat. Planar projections are relatively accurate near the center but heavily distorted toward the edges. A famous example of a planar projection is the logo of the {{w|United Nations}}. Planar projections are basically only useful for 3D graphics rendering, if the user needs a quick, inexpensive way to store map textures that will later be attached to a sphere.

Second, the map uses [https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/content-aware-scaling.html Photoshop's content aware resizing tool], a very questionable choice. (Using a Photoshop tool for a task it is not intended for was also used in [[1685: Patch]] where a GNU patch tool was replaced with Adobe Photoshop's patch tool to compile code.) The content aware resizing tool resizes images by identifying what it thinks are important details and preserving these, while shrinking or stretching less detailed areas. For example, [http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/710073-content-aware-scaling when used on a face], the algorithm detects that the eyes and mouth are important details and tries to keep these in place, while stretching the skin around it. When applied to a map, this means that areas with lots of countries - and therefore lots of detail - such as Europe, West Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Central America/the Caribbean are relatively unchanged, while big countries like India, China and the US are very warped. The choices that the resizing tool makes are also dependent on the exact visual features of the original map, such as the choice of not having any topography or infrastructure drawn on, or not including a latitude/longitude grid, so what areas are deemed as unimportant is even more arbitrary than it would be on, say, a photographic picture of the Earth.

[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/content-aware-scaling Bad content aware scaling] is already a meme. This projection does do a good job, however, of making almost every country clearly visible and indicating which countries are neighbors.
South America fits into Africa almost as it did in the era of the super-continent {{w|Pangaea}}.

{{w|Tissot's indicatrices}} are equally sized small circles overlaid on a globe to show the distortion of a particular map projection; if the map distortion distorts the shapes or areas of countries, it will do the same to the circles. The title text suggests that the shapes of Tissot's indicatrices would be pretty well preserved by the Liquid Resize transformation, 'as long as you draw them in before running the resize'. This is a joke. "Drawing them in before running the resize" means that a different projection would be generated (probably preserving the indicatrices themselves), making the use of the indicatrices meaningless, sort of like cheating. In fact by drawing them small enough there will be no resizing at all.

==Transcript==
:[Caption at the top of the panel:]
:Bad map projection #107:
:<big>The <big>Liquid Resize</big></big>
:A political map compressed using Photoshop's content-aware resizing algorithm to cut down on unused blank space

:[Below the caption there is a map of the world divided and colored by political boundaries, with outlines around each continent in black and around each country in dark gray. Antarctica is colored in light gray, bodies of water in white, and countries in pale shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The map is heavily distorted, with Africa in the center and the other continents curving around it, approximating the bounds of a square with rounded corners. The oceans have been removed but also huge countries like the US, Australia, Brazil, Russia and especially India and Argentina have been heavily distorted while areas in the center with many smaller countries like Africa and Europe is almost unchanged.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Bad Map Projections]]

2491: Immune Factory

2021-07-20T03:30:20Z

"iLB": Undo revision 215292 by "iLB" (talk) edit conflict, ergh

{{comic
| number = 2491
| date = July 20, 2021
| title = Immune Factory
| image = immune_factory.png
| titletext = In the final vote, the doubters were won over by the strength of the name IMMUNION.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LYMPHATIC SYSTEM. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Hairy is sitting in a chair facing right, wrapped in a blanket and holding a steaming mug. Cueball is approaching Hairy from behind.]
:Cueball: I guess the first shot made your body build defenses, and now it's ramping up production.
:Hairy: So I've become an antibody factory.

:[In the next panel, Cueball is now facing Hairy on the right.]
:Hairy: I don't feel great. I think my factory has some OSHA violations.
:Hairy: My lymphatic system is protesting brutal working conditions.

:[In a frame-less panel, Cueball continues to stand in front of Hairy; Hairy's mug is steaming less.]
:Hairy: Update: my immune cells have unionized.
:Cueball: Common side effect. Helps maintain a healthy balance.

:[In a panel with a frame, Hairy's mug is no longer steaming; Cueball has his hand raised and Hairy is pointing in Cueball's direction]
:Cueball: Immune system unions are actually why we stopped doing variolation.
:Hairy: Oh? Why?
:Cueball: They don't like scabs.
:Hairy: Ugh. ''Leave.''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

2491: Immune Factory

2021-07-20T03:29:48Z

"iLB": wip transcript

{{comic
| number = 2491
| date = July 20, 2021
| title = Immune Factory
| image = immune_factory.png
| titletext = In the final vote, the doubters were won over by the strength of the name IMMUNION.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LYMPHATIC SYSTEM. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball walks in a room where Hairy is sitting in a chair, sick, holding a cup of cough syrup.]
:Cueball: I guess the first shot made your body build defenses, and now it's ramping up production.
:Hairy: So I've become an antibody factory. - I don't feel great. I think my factory has some OSHA violations. - My lymphatic system is protesting brutal working conditions.
:Hairy: Update: My immune cells have unionized.
:Cueball: Common side effect. Helps maintain a healthy balance.

:[Hairy is sitting in a chair facing right, wrapped in a blanket and holding a steaming mug. Cueball is approaching Hairy from behind.]
:Cueball: I guess the first shot made your body build defenses, and now it's ramping up production.
:Hairy: So I've become an antibody factory.

:[In the next panel, Cueball is now facing Hairy on the right.]
:Hairy: I don't feel great. I think my factory has some OSHA violations.
:Hairy: My lymphatic system is protesting brutal working conditions.

:[In a frame-less panel, Cueball continues to stand in front of Hairy; Hairy's mug is steaming less.]
:Hairy: Update: my immune cells have unionized.
:Cueball: Common side effect. Helps maintain a healthy balance.

:[In a panel with a frame, Hairy's mug is no longer steaming; Cueball has his hand raised and Hairy is pointing in Cueball's direction]
:Cueball: Immune system unions are actually why we stopped doing variolation.
:Hairy: Oh? Why?
:Cueball: They don't like scabs.
:Hairy: Ugh. ''Leave.''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

2491: Immune Factory

2021-07-20T03:21:52Z

"iLB": added Category:Comics featuring Hairy using HotCat

2491: Immune Factory

2021-07-20T03:21:01Z

"iLB": added Category:Comics featuring Cueball using HotCat

2393: Presidential Middle Names

2021-06-23T02:39:23Z

"iLB": Undo revision 213963 by 172.70.117.92 (talk) samp

{{comic
| number = 2393
| date = December 2, 2020
| title = Presidential Middle Names
| image = presidential_middle_names.png
| titletext = The bottom of the list remains unchanged. Poor Rutherford Birchard Hayes.
}}

==Explanation==
A list of what Randall perceives will be the prettiest presidential {{w|middle names}} after the inauguration on January 20, 2021. {{w|Joe Biden|Joe Robinette Biden}} (46th president-elect) will take the second slot bumping previous second-place holder {{w|Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Delano Roosevelt}}, the 32nd president, back to third. {{w|Warren G. Harding|Warren Gamaliel Harding}}, the 29th president, remains in first. Robinette is Biden's [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2008/08/joe_bidens_middle_name_is_robi.html grandmother's maiden name].

The title text announces that {{w|Rutherford B. Hayes|Rutherford Birchard Hayes}}, the 19th president, remains at or near the bottom.

Overall, the ranking would not include every president, as many early presidents, such as {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|John Adams}}, lacked middle names. Some presidents were also more commonly known by their middle names as opposed to their first names, particularly John {{w|Calvin Coolidge}}, Stephen {{w|Grover Cleveland}}, Hiram {{w|Ulysses Grant}}, and Thomas {{w|Woodrow Wilson}}. In the case of Grant, his nominator messed up his full name as Ulysses Simpson Grant, hence he is widely known as ''Ulysses S. Grant'' with the spurious middle "S". There is no evidence in the comic for how Randall’s list would deal with these cases.

The humor is based on the sheer oddity of ranking people by the perceived prettiness of their obscure middle names.

== Trivia ==

{{w|Raphael Warnock|Raphael Gamaliel Warnock}} became a U.S. senator in January 2021, a hundred years and a week after former president Warren Gamaliel Harding left the Senate. Randall’s favourite presidential middle name is thus once again represented in government.

==List of Presidents with middle names==
(updated for 2021, as the comic)
{| class="wikitable"
|+ (Ordered by middle name)
! President
! Presidential order
|-
|James ABRAM Garfield
|20
|-
|Chester ALAN Arthur
|21
|-
|Lyndon BAINES Johnson
|36
|-
|Rutherford BIRCHARD Hayes
|19
|-
|John CALVIN Coolidge
|30
|-
|Herbert CLARK Hoover
|31
|-
|Dwight DAVID Eisenhower
|34
|-
|Franklin DELANO Roosevelt
|32
|-
|James EARL Carter
|39
|-
|John FITZGERALD Kennedy
|35
|-
|Warren GAMALIEL Harding
|29
|-
|Stephen GROVER Cleveland
|22, 24
|-
|William HENRY Harrison
|9
|-
|George HERBERT WALKER Bush
|41
|-
|William HOWARD Taft
|27
|-
|Barack HUSSEIN Obama
|44
|-
|William JEFFERSON Clinton
|42
|-
|Donald JOHN Trump
|45
|-
|James KNOX Polk
|11
|-
|Richard MILHOUS Nixon
|37
|-
|John QUINCY Adams
|6
|-
|Joe ROBINETTE Biden
|46
|-
|Gerald RUDOLPH Ford
|38
|-
|Harry S. Truman
|33
|-
|Hiram ULYSSES Grant (Ulysses SIMPSON Grant during his presidency)
|18
|-
|George WALKER Bush
|43
|-
|Ronald WILSON Reagan
|40
|-
|Thomas WOODROW Wilson
|28
|}

The Presidents without middle names — almost all of those before Grant, and a few a bit later — were George Washington, John Adams, {{w|Thomas Jefferson}}, {{w|James Madison}}, {{w|James Monroe}}, {{w|Andrew Jackson}}, {{w|Martin Van Buren}}, {{w|John Tyler}}, {{w|Zachary Taylor}}, {{w|Millard Fillmore}}, {{w|Franklin Pierce}}, {{w|James Buchanan}}, {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}, {{w|Andrew Johnson}}, {{w|Benjamin Harrison}}, {{w|William McKinley}}, and {{w|Theodore Roosevelt}}.

==Transcript==
:<big>Prettiest</big>
:Presidential Middle Names Official Rankings
:(Updated for 2021)

# Gamaliel (Warren Harding)
#<span style="color:red">Robinette (Joe Biden) '''(NEW!)'''</span>
#Delano (Franklin Roosevelt)<br>

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]
[[Category:Rankings]]