https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=108.162.212.251explain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-06-26T23:42:58ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1874:_Geologic_Faults&diff=143862Talk:1874: Geologic Faults2017-08-09T13:43:49Z<p>108.162.212.251: Silly</p>
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<div>Totally missed an opportunity for a Lego Fault.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.251|108.162.212.251]] 13:43, 9 August 2017 (UTC)</div>108.162.212.251https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1849:_Decades&diff=1412271849: Decades2017-06-12T18:12:31Z<p>108.162.212.251: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1849<br />
| date = June 12, 2017<br />
| title = Decades<br />
| image = decades.png<br />
| titletext = In the 90s, our variety radio station used the tagline "the best music of the 70s, 80s, and 90s." After 2000, they switched to "the best music of the 80s, 90s, and today." I figured they'd change again in 2010, but it's 2017 and they're still saying "80s, 90s, and today." I hope radio survives long enough for us to find out how they deal with the 2020s.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
<br />
This comic shows, by use on a time-line, an interesting phenomena where music, fashion, movies and culture created between the years 2000 and 2020 are not commonly grouped into the decade in which they were produced like previous decades. The comic asserts the reason for this is the lack of a single clear term to describe these decades, stating that the term "2000s" is ambiguous (as it could refer to the century or millennium as a whole) and the terms "Aughts" and "Teens" never became the widely accepted terms for these decades. <br />
<br />
The time-line in the comic stretches into the future (as of the time of publication) and attempts to name the 2020-2029 decade as the 20s, but does so with an uncertain question mark, presumably because it's (presently) an open question whether this dating convention will be reinstated after a 20-year pause. As the comic points out, common vernacular has managed to operate without clear terms for that grouping for 17 years, and that may have left enough of a mark on our thinking that we'll simply continue to operate in that way. There's an argument to be made grouping culture by decades is fairly arbitrary and not essential in cultural discussions. It should also be considered that that "the twenties" is still occasionally used to refer to the 1920's, and so reusing it to refer to the 2020's could be a source of confusion. It's not impossible that decade-based grouping will fall out of favor all together in the 21st century.<br />
<br />
<br />
Despite many people pushing for terms like "aughties" and "tens", they never gained much traction among the common crowd.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
[A time line across the top of the box marks decades from 1960-2030, between the ticks marking decades the following groups]<br />
<br />
1960-1970;<br />
<br />
60s Music<br />
<br />
60s Fashion<br />
<br />
60s Movies<br />
<br />
60s Culture<br />
<br />
<br />
1970-1980;<br />
<br />
70s Music<br />
<br />
70s Fashion<br />
<br />
70s Movies<br />
<br />
70s Culture<br />
<br />
<br />
1980-1990;<br />
<br />
80s Music<br />
<br />
80s Fashion<br />
<br />
80s Movies<br />
<br />
80s Culture<br />
<br />
<br />
1960-1970;<br />
<br />
60s Music<br />
<br />
60s Fashion<br />
<br />
60s Movies<br />
<br />
60s Culture<br />
<br />
<br />
1990-2000;<br />
<br />
90s Music<br />
<br />
90s Fashion<br />
<br />
90s Movies<br />
<br />
90s Culture<br />
<br />
<br />
2000-2020;<br />
<br />
[Sporadically Placed over 2 decades]<br />
<br />
Fashion<br />
<br />
Culture<br />
<br />
Music<br />
<br />
Movies<br />
<br />
<br />
2020-2030;<br />
<br />
[In light grey font]<br />
<br />
20s Music?<br />
<br />
20s Fashion?<br />
<br />
20s Movies?<br />
<br />
20s Culture?<br />
<br />
<br />
[Caption below the panel:] <br />
It's weird how for 20 years we stopped grouping our cultural memories by decade because "2000s" is ambiguous and and "Aughts" and "Teens" never really stuck.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.212.251