explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

870: Advertising

2021-06-20T00:46:39Z

108.162.215.220: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 870
| date = March 9, 2011
| title = Advertising
| image = mathematically annoying.png
| titletext = I remember the exact moment in my childhood when I realized, while reading a flyer, that nobody would ever spend money solely to tell me they wanted to give me something for nothing. It's a much more vivid memory than the (related) parental Santa talk.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic pokes fun at a few advertising tricks, analyzing them mathematically.

*In the first panel, the phrase "up to 15% or more" is examined, and shows to encompass all real numbers. While intended to entice to customer with savings of 15%, the savings could be lower or even not at all. The phrase ultimately means "less than, equal to, or more than 15%," which is true no matter whether you save anything or not (it's a {{w|Tautology (logic)|tautology}}).

:The equation at the top of the panel expresses the same thing using {{w|set theory}} notation. It reads out as: The {{w|Union (set theory)|union}} of {{w|Set (mathematics)|sets}} A and B equals the set of all x, such that x is {{w|Inequality (mathematics)|less than or equal to}} 15, or greater than 15, which equals the set of all {{w|real numbers}}.

:The same is expressed again with a {{w|number line}}; the numbers being interpreted as {{w|percentages}}. The first range, ending with a black dot, indicates that everything below, as well as the number 15, is included ("up to 15%"). The second range beginning with a white dot indicates that it only includes numbers strictly bigger than 15 ("more than 15%"). The two ranges combined clearly cover the entire number line.

:The phrase "up to 15% or more" may be a reference to the {{w|Geico}} slogan at the time: a phone call lasting "15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance." However the reference is unclear, as the words "''up to'' 15%" are not actually used by Geico. Though Geico's advertising is also referenced in [[42: Geico]].

*Second panel: Whatever is advertised with a big capital "FREE!" splashed over the ad, most likely does not belong to the things truly free. The small asterisk, indicates the presence of a {{w|fine print}}, ensuring that the advertisers are only technically not guilty of {{w|false advertising}}. The conditions attached in the fine typically reveals how they will (try to) make money from you.

:We are even given a little formula to calculate the average amount of money they expect to make from the readers. The assumption is that they expect to generate at least as much income from the ad as what they paid to print and publish it in the first place.

*The third panel relates to sales tactics that are based on a scaling percentage rate - for example, all items are 20% off, but if you spend more than $200, you get 30% off instead, and so on. These are almost universally proclaimed with a phrase like "The more you spend, the more you save!" In absolute dollar terms, this is of course nonsense, as "spending" is the opposite of "saving", and the deal is there to make you spend more. The graph shows this interpretation - spending zero money implies you have saved all your money (the dot where it intersects the X axis), whereas spending all your money implies you have saved none (the dot where it intersects the Y axis). There is a linear relationship between the two: the amount of money spent, plus the amount of money saved, has to add up to a constant number (your original savings).

The title text compares Randall's realization of the "FREE"-fraud to the revelation that {{w|Santa Claus}} is not real.

==Transcript==
:Mathematically Annoying Advertising:

:A ∪ B = {x:x ≤ 15 or x > 15} = ℝ
:[line graph representing the above equation.]
:When discussing real numbers, it is impossible to get more vague than "up to 15% or more".

:["'''FREE!'''*" in large text, with substantial illegible fine print.]
:If someone has paid $x to have the word "free" typeset for you and N other people to read, their expected value for the money that will move from you to them is at least $(x / (N+1))

:[Graph representing inverse relationship between "amount you spend" on the y axis and "amount you save" on the x axis.]
:It would be difficult for the phrase "the more you spend the more you save" to be more wrong.

==Trivia==
Randall changed the image name from advertising.png to mathematically_annoying.png, since adblocking extensions interpreted it as an ad and made the comic blank. He had the same problem again just three months later with [[906: Advertising Discovery]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Math]]

1568: Synonym Movies 2

2021-06-17T22:24:20Z

108.162.215.220: /* Table of the titles */ unnecessary

{{comic
| number = 1568
| date = August 24, 2015
| title = Synonym Movies 2
| image = synonym_movies_2.png
| titletext = There's also the TV show based on the hit Hot and Cold Music books: Fun With Chairs, Royal Rumble, Knife Blizzard, Breakfast for Birds, and Samba Serpents.
}}

==Explanation==
[[File:synonym_movies_2_rotated.jpg|right|A flipped version of the comic]]

This comic made a [[:Category:Synonym Movies|series]] out of its predecessor as it continued the idea from [[1563: Synonym Movies]] with a new set of movie series. As with the previous comic, the titles aren't always direct synonyms with the original (Indiana Jones as ''Professor Whip''), but now it seems to be even more exaggerated, sometimes making synonyms of the plot synopsis instead of the subtitle ("Vitamin Water" refers to the Fountain of Youth rather than the ''Stranger Tides'').

This set includes ''Wandboy'' (''Harry Potter''), ''Puncher'' (''Rocky''), ''Tropical Boaters'' (''Pirates of the Caribbean''), and ''Professor Whip'' (''Indiana Jones'').

The ''is in Another Movie'' title in the ''Professor Whip'' series differs from the other titles in that it does not reference the plot of the movie. The more dismissive reference may be due to ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' being poorly received by fans of the series.

The title text is a reference to the TV series ''Game of Thrones'', based on the book series ''A Song of Ice and Fire''. All of these titles are direct synonyms, but such that they remove most of the meaning from the titles. For instance, nobody actually cares about the physical object of a throne, but the political power it represents. Birds eating in general have a very different implied meaning than crows feasting specifically, as groups of crows only gather to eat when there is a lot of food, such as a corpse, and as such have a strong cultural association with death and slaughter.

==Table of the titles==
'''SPOILER ALERT!''' Many of these explanations contain information revealed during the movie.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Synonym
! Real Title
! Explanation
|-
| ''Wandboy and the Magic Rock''
| ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone}}''
| In this series, wizards and witches use wands to perform magic. The titular Philosopher's Stone is indeed very magical. The first installment of the series is also known as ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' in the US.
|-
| ''Wandboy and the Hidden Room''
| ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}}''
| The {{w|Hogwarts#Chamber_of_Secrets|Chamber of Secrets}} is a very well hidden room that is central to the plot of the second book.
|-
| ''Wandboy and the Fugitive''
| ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban}}''
| Azkaban is a fictional maximum-security prison. The titular prisoner therein is Sirius Black, who escapes early in the story and spends the rest as a fugitive of the law.
|-
| ''Wandboy and the Burning Cup''
| ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)|Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire}}''
| The goblet of fire is a wooden cup with blue magical fire burning at the rim.
|-
| ''Wandboy and the Firebird Club''
| ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix}}''
| The {{w|Phoenix (mythology)|Phoenix}} is a bird that is strongly connected to fire. Dying phoenixes go up in flames, only to be reborn out of the ashes shortly afterward. The Order of the Phoenix is an association of wizards founded by Albus Dumbledore, whose distinctive pet is a phoenix.
|-
| ''Wandboy and the Book Owner''
| ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince}}''
| In ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', Harry's Potions textbook was previously owned by a "Half-Blood Prince." Therefore, "Half-Blood Prince" is replaced with "book owner."
|-
| ''Wandboy and the Magic Stuff (1/2)''
| ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1}}''
| rowspan="2" | The ''Deathly Hallows'' are three magical items that play an important part in the plot of the final movies. Being a wand, a rock, and a cloak, these objects are all quite powerful, so they are called the magic stuff. See also {{w|The Tales of Beedle the Bard#"The Tale of the Three Brothers"}}.
|-
| ''Wandboy and the Magic Stuff (2/2)''
| ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2}}''
|-
|colspan=3| 
|-
| ''Puncher''
| ''{{w|Rocky}}''
| rowspan="5" | The protagonist Rocky is a boxer. In {{w|boxing}} boxers attempt to punch their opponent until they are knocked out{{Citation needed}}.
|-
| ''Puncher II''
| ''{{w|Rocky II}}''
|-
| ''Puncher III''
| ''{{w|Rocky III}}''
|-
| ''Puncher IV''
| ''{{w|Rocky IV}}''
|-
| ''Puncher V''
| ''{{w|Rocky V}}''
|-
| ''Puncher Lastname''
| ''{{w|Rocky Balboa (film)|Rocky Balboa}}''
| Balboa is Rocky's last-name, also known as surname.
|-
|colspan=3| 
|-
| ''Tropical Boaters: Spooky Boat''
| ''{{w|Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl}}''
| The Black Pearl is a ship crewed by "spooky" ghost pirates.
|-
| ''Tropical Boaters: Angry Wormface''
| ''{{w|Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest}}''
| This film's villain has (worm-like) octopus tentacles growing on his face.
|-
| ''Tropical Boaters: Boats Everywhere''
| ''{{w|Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End}}''
| This film includes a huge fleet of ships.
|-
| ''Tropical Boaters: Vitamin Water''
| ''{{w|Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides}}''
| "Vitamin Water" describes the Fountain of Youth.
|-
|colspan=3| 
|-
| ''Professor Whip and the Box of God''
| ''{{w|Raiders of the Lost Ark}}''
| Indiana Jones is Professor of Archeology and skillfully wields a whip as part of his equipment. Later the movie was marketed as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The "Lost Ark" of the title is the Ark of the Covenant, a mythical box containing the contract between the Jewish people and Yahweh.
|-
| ''Professor Whip and the Scary Church''
| ''{{w|Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom}}''
| A direct synonym for the title.
|-
| ''Professor Whip Looks for a Cup''
| ''{{w|Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade}}''
| Central to this film's plot is the search for the {{w|Holy Grail}}, which is supposedly a cup from which Jesus drank shortly before his death.
|-
| ''Professor Whip is in Another Movie''
| ''{{w|Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull}}''
| ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' is widely regarded as the worst in the series. Therefore, the "synonym" is simply called "another movie" to imply that it shouldn't have been made.
|-
|colspan=3| 
|-
| ''Hot and Cold Music''
| ''{{w|A Song of Ice and Fire}}''
| A series of fantasy books written George R. R. Martin. The title is an obvious synonym.
|-
| ''Fun With Chairs''
| ''{{w|A Game of Thrones}}''
|Book one of the cycle "A Song of Ice and Fire." and the main title of the television adaptation.
|-
| ''Royal Rumble''
| ''{{w|A Clash of Kings}}''
|Book two of the cycle "A Song of Ice and Fire."
|-
| ''Knife Blizzard''
| ''{{w|A Storm of Swords}}''
|Book three of the cycle "A Song of Ice and Fire."
|-
| ''Breakfast for Birds''
| ''{{w|A Feast for Crows}}''
|Book four of the cycle "A Song of Ice and Fire."
|-
| ''Samba Serpents''
| ''{{w|A Dance with Dragons}}''
|Book five of the cycle "A Song of Ice and Fire," the latest book in the series (of seven projected) as of the time the comic was published.
|}

==Transcript==
:[22 DVDs on a shelf in four groups. All DVDs are labeled in black on light grey. Text written so it is supposed to be read when the DVD is lying down.]
:[First group of 8 DVDs. All standing straight.]
:Wandboy and the Magic Rock
:Wandboy and the Hidden Room
:Wandboy and the Fugitive
:Wandboy and the Burning Cup
:Wandboy and the Firebird Club
:Wandboy and the Book Owner
:Wandboy and the Magic Stuff (1/2)
:Wandboy and the Magic Stuff (2/2)

:[Second group of six DVDs. Five standing straight, last on the right leaning against the rest.]
:Puncher
:Puncher II
:Puncher III
:Puncher IV
:Puncher V
:Puncher Lastname

:[Third group of four DVDs. First and last standing straight, others leaning on first.]
:Tropical Boaters: Spooky Boat
:Tropical Boaters: Angry Wormface
:Tropical Boaters: Boats Everywhere
:Tropical Boaters: Vitamin Water

:[Fourth group of four DVDs. Three standing straight, second from left leaning on first.]
:Professor Whip and the Box of God
:Professor Whip and the Scary Church
:Professor Whip Looks for a Cup
:Professor Whip is in Another Movie

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Synonym Movies]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Synonym Movies]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Game of Thrones]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]

1563: Synonym Movies

2021-06-17T22:22:08Z

108.162.215.220: /* Table of the titles */ unnecessary

{{comic
| number = 1563
| date = August 12, 2015
| title = Synonym Movies
| image = synonym_movies.png
| titletext = Fans eagerly await 2015's 'Space Fights: Power Gets Up', although most think 1999's 'Space Fights: The Scary Ghost' didn't live up to the hype.
}}

[[File:synonym movies rotated.png|right]]
==Explanation==
This comic shows several "Synonym Movies". It takes several well known movies, but changes each word of their names into a synonym. So ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' has turned into ''Space Fights'', ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings (film series)|The Lord of the Rings}}'' into ''The Jewelry God'' and ''{{w|Star Trek}}'' into ''Space Trip''. All these movies series have the same heading, and then a subtitle. There are ten of them in the comic, and two more in the title text. This comic became a [[:Category:Synonym Movies|series]] when more movies were spoofed in [[1568: Synonym Movies 2]].

The use of synonyms makes all these movies look ridiculous, for example, "The Sword Wizard Is Back" is a laughable sounding movie{{Citation needed}}, whereas "{{w|Return of the Jedi}}" sound perfectly reasonable to us. [[Randall]] may be poking fun at movies that have ridiculous titles already, for instance some people think this applies to a title like "{{w|Terminator: Genisys}}".

The title text refers to the latest Star Wars movie (2015-12-18), after {{w|The Walt Disney Company|Disney}} acquired the movie rights. The movie is called {{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}} and has now turned into ''Power Gets Up''. As usual, with any Star Wars related material, there is a huge fan base that eagerly awaits the new movie. But then again many people fear that it will not live up to their expectations, as was the case with the fourth movie, first of the three movies in the second installment of Star Wars, {{w|Star Wars: The Phantom Menace}}, dubbed here as ''The Scary Ghost''. As mentioned in the title text, that movie did not live up to the hype.

A similarly humorous effect is achieved in [[1133: Up Goer Five]] which explains the {{w|Saturn V}} rocket, but words and phrases are replaced with synonyms which are chosen from the most common English words. This renders ordinary words like "rocket" into "flying space car", or "helium" into "funny voice air" for example.

==Table of the titles==
*All cases of ''Star Wars'' have turned into ''Space Fights''.
*''Lord of the Rings'' to ''The Jewelry God''.
*''Star Trek'' has been turned into ''Space Trip.''

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Synonym
! Real Title
! Notes
|-
| ''Space Fights: Sudden Optimism''
| ''{{w|Star Wars: A New Hope}}''
| If you suddenly feel optimistic, you could say that you have gained a new hope.
|-
| ''Space Fights: The Government Wins This One''
| ''{{w|Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back|Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back}}''
| In the second Star Wars movie the Empire comes out on top — as opposed to the first and third where a Death Star is destroyed at the end of each of the movies. So the government = the Empire, wins that movie.
|-
| ''Space Fights: The Sword Wizard Is Back''
| ''{{w|Star Wars: Return of the Jedi|Star Wars: Return of the Jedi}}''
| In the context of a narrative device, a {{w|jedi}} is a kind of wizard, wielding {{w|The Force (Star Wars)|the Force}} (like magic) and the {{w|lightsaber}} (a kind of sword).
|-
|colspan=3| 
|-
| ''The Jewelry God: The Jewelry Team''
| ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring}}''
| The fellowship has become a team in the synonym version.
|-
| ''The Jewelry God: Double Houses''
| ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers|The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers}}''
| Two towers are a heck of a lot bigger than double houses... But at least there are two in either case.
|-
| ''The Jewelry God: We Have a Czar Again''
| ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King}}''
| {{w|Tsar|Czar}} was a title for Slavic monarchs and official titles in Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia. It was generally regarded as equivalent to king or somewhat between king and emperor.
|-
|colspan=3| 
|-
| ''Space Trip: The Movie''
| ''{{w|Star Trek: The Motion Picture|Star Trek: The Motion Picture}}''
| Today we would say ""The Movie" rather than "The Motion Picture".
|-
| ''Space Trip: That Guy is Angry''
| ''{{w|Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan|Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan}}''
| {{w|Khan Noonien Singh|Khan}} (a fictional villain in the series) is now just ''That Guy'', and wrath has been turned down to merely anger.
|-
| ''Space Trip: Where is the Vulcan?''
| ''{{w|Star Trek: The Search for Spock|Star Trek: The Search for Spock}}''
| {{w|Spock}} is of the alien race {{w|Vulcan (Star Trek)|Vulcan}}, and the search has turned into the question ''where is he?''
|-
| ''Space Trip: Let's Go Back''
| ''{{w|Star Trek: The Voyage Home|Star Trek: The Voyage Home}}''
| When you decide to travel home you could also say let's go back.
|-
|colspan=3| 
|-
| ''Space Fights: Power Gets Up''
| ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}''
| From the title text. When you awake, you typically get up (from the bed). Force and power are related terms, but have differences in both [http://www.diffen.com/difference/Force_vs_Power real life] and [http://boards.theforce.net/threads/did-luke-ever-get-those-power-converters-from-tosche-station.20403665/ Star Wars].
|-
| ''Space Fights: The Scary Ghost''
| ''{{w|Star Wars: The Phantom Menace|Star Wars: The Phantom Menace}}''
| From the title text. Ghost = Phantom. A menacing phantom would be quite scary. It is worth noting that in the original title, "phantom" is an adjective referring to the noun "Menace," whereas in Randall's new version it is reversed. The original meaning would be better preserved by "Space Fights: The Ghostly Scare".
|}

==Transcript==
:[Ten DVDs on a shelf. The first three stand together to the left, the two to the right leaning on the first. The next three are standing straight in the middle and then the next four are standing straight to the right. The movie titles are written on the back of the DVD cases, in white on the gray DVD cases. The text is written, so it is supposed to be read when the DVD is lying down.]
:Space Fights: Sudden Optimism
:Space Fights: The Government Wins This One
:Space Fights: The Sword Wizard Is Back

:The Jewelry God: The Jewelry Team
:The Jewelry God: Double Houses
:The Jewelry God: We Have a Czar Again

:Space Trip: The Movie
:Space Trip: That Guy is Angry
:Space Trip: Where is the Vulcan
:Space Trip: Let's Go Back

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''Synonym Movies'''

==Trivia==
*Some would say that ''Space'' is not a proper synonym of ''Star''.
**Counter to this you could ask: "How many flaming balls of gas did you see engage in battle in those movies?"
**Seen from that perspective the combined words "Space Fights" is a proper synonym for "Star Wars".

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Synonym Movies]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Synonym Movies]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]

638: The Search

2021-06-17T22:03:49Z

108.162.215.220: /* Transcript */ add back

{{comic
| number = 638
| date = September 18, 2009
| title = The Search
| image = the search.png
| titletext = I am so excited about the Kepler mission. This is the second most important thing our species has ever done, right behind developing the concept of delivery pizza.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a commentary on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The ants' dialogue describes the narrow scope of their search (a few tiles, and only looking for pheromone trails), and thus they conclude that there is no other intelligent life. The irony is that humanity does of course exist,{{Citation needed}} but were simply not present in the kitchen at the time of search, nor do we communicate with ant pheromones.{{Citation needed}}
Similarly, our ability to search outer space for other life is limited to our ability to detect specific modes of communication (i.e. radio waves) and to the very limited area of space imposed by technological limitations on transportation, range, and sensitivity of our equipment.

The title text refers to the {{w|Kepler mission}} to discover {{w|Extrasolar planets}}. In August 2009, a couple of weeks before this comic, the first results of this mission were released, which showed the spacecraft to be healthy and had detected a known exoplanet. No new science results would be released until November of 2009, which Randall was anticipating. This mission has found more than 2,700 planet candidates that still have to be confirmed by other telescopes. So that's the difference to the ants. As of August 2013, two "reaction wheels" (heavy metallic discs that can be spun to impart angular momentum to the probe, mounted on the major axis; an alternative to reaction thrusters, which require a depletable supply of reaction fuel) on Kepler have failed, causing NASA to change the mission, though it will still be looking for planets with its two remaining wheels.

The second part is a bait-and-switch joke; by calling the search for extrasolar planets "the second most important thing our species has ever done", it creates the expectation that the "first most important thing" will be a monumental breakthrough, such as for example the concept of language. Instead, the title text ends up just revealing that [[Randall]] likes having pizza delivered.

==Transcript==
:[Two ants are facing each other with their antennas almost touching. They are on a tiled floor with the two nearest rows of tiles fully shown, and those further back covered partly be the speech text of the ant to the right.]
:Ant: We've searched dozens of these floor tiles for several common types of pheromone trails.
:Ant: If there were intelligent life up there, we would have seen its messages by now.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The world's first ant colony to achieve sentience calls off the search for us.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Aliens]]
[[Category:SETI]]
[[Category:Exoplanets]]

638: The Search

2021-06-17T22:03:22Z

108.162.215.220: /* Transcript */ cat

384: The Drake Equation

2021-06-17T22:02:45Z

108.162.215.220: /* Transcript */ better

{{comic
| number = 384
| date = February 15, 2008
| title = The Drake Equation
| image = the_drake_equation.png
| titletext = But seriously, there's loads of intelligent life. It's just not screaming constantly in all directions on the handful of frequencies we search.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is multi-layered, and seems to be [[Randall]]'s take on the {{w|Fermi paradox}}.

For starters, the {{w|Drake equation}} is a model developed by (and named for) {{w|Frank Drake}}, an American astrophysicist, for estimating the number of communicating life forms in our galaxy.

Even if there is life on other planets, most life forms will not establish civilizations. However, if there are any communicating civilizations, their messages would have to travel for hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of years to reach us, and then our response would take an equivalent amount of time, leaving them waiting for thousands and thousands of years or more, and probably even more than that. Any response, from their perspective, would take at least twice as long as the message took to reach its destination.

All the factors involved in the equation are difficult to measure or estimate. No number is determined with sufficient accuracy, so the equation is a guideline for a thought experiment at best, and just "bullshit" at worst.

The title text makes fun of the {{w|SETI|Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI)}} project, which was founded by Frank Drake, about the searches for intelligent life on other planets by looking for radio communications and the intelligence of their researchers. Nearly nothing, if not nothing, restricts potential extraterrestrial communications to the frequencies that SETI searches at any given moment. Even if another civilization communicated on one of SETI's search frequencies, they would most likely live extremely far away. Additionally, an extraterrestrial source that doesn't know we're here would have to send a constant and powerful signal in all directions for us to notice it. This serves to show how ludicrous it may seem to assume that any intelligent species is wasting too many resources trying to communicate with us or any other species in the galaxy.

The SETI project is searching at the 21 cm {{w|Hydrogen line}}, which, although considered a favorable frequency for communication with potential extraterrestrial civilizations, is not used by humans. Therefore, a SETI-like organization would have a hard time finding Earth.

The title text suggests that Randall does not think Drake is a nutjob; he just has a more conservative expectation of discovering extraterrestrial life.

[[638: The Search]] further discusses the difficulty of methods of finding extraterrestrial life. [[718: The Flake Equation]] presents another alien-related equation.

==Transcript==
:The Drake Equation:
:N = R* fp ne fl fi fc L Bs
:N: Number of communicating civilizations in our galaxy
:ne: Number of life-supporting planets per solar system
:fi: Probability that life on a planet becomes intelligent
:Bs: Amount of bullshit you're willing to buy from Frank Drake

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Aliens]]
[[Category:SETI]]
[[Category:Statistics]]

1377: Fish

2021-06-17T21:59:15Z

108.162.215.220: /* Transcript */ cat

{{comic
| number = 1377
| date = June 4, 2014
| title = Fish
| image = fish.png
| titletext = [Astronomer peers into telescope] [Jaws theme begins playing]
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|Fermi paradox}} is the contradiction that arises between high estimates of the likelihood of {{w|extraterrestial life}} and the fact that no evidence for it has thus far been found.

[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are having a conversation regarding this — since new planets are found all the time around distant stars, Cueball comments that this makes it an even greater paradox. Megan suggests that perhaps our search for extraterrestrial life is like looking at a patch of ocean floor looking for a fish. The diver knows that there must be a fish somewhere, but is unable to actually find it. She then goes on to ask why the fish would be hidden — i.e. camouflaged, and what it means about the remaining fish. The suggestion is that the fish would be hidden to avoid being eaten by predators, and perhaps the reason no extraterrestrial life is sending any sign of existence back is that they fear they might be destroyed soon after they revealed their location. Maybe they have even actively tried to hide the presence of their entire planet if they obtain the technological means. This potentially refers to the [http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/gif/1983QJRAS..24..283B/0000296.000.html Deadly Probes scenario] where a space faring species has developed deadly probes that self replicate and spread through the void between the stars - homing in on radio signals and destroying young civilizations in the cradle...

The camouflaged fish could be identified by using more sophisticated technologies like infrared cameras. Looking at the Earth from space beyond {{w|Low Earth orbit}} only with the naked eye wouldn't show any hint to our {{w|ecosystem}}. This is like the actual possibility in astronomy when observing {{w|Exoplanet|exoplanets}} — the nature of those more than 1,500 known planets is unknown due to the lack of better technologies to the scientists. And there are a couple of hundred billion planets at our galaxy still camouflaged to human scientists.

The final panels take the metaphor further, suggesting that there is literally a planet sized shark swimming through space eating planets, and since the view is panning away from earth and over to the shark, the shark seems to be heading our way. It looks like Earth is the next fish, presumably because we did not reach a high enough technology level in time to recognize the danger and hide.

This also explains the title text that has the theme from the movie ''{{w|Jaws (film)|Jaws}}'' playing while astronomers look into their telescopes. This may also be a reference to the film ''{{w|Alien (film)|Alien}}'', which was pitched with the three word proposal "''Jaws'' in Space."

{{w|Stephen Hawking}} famously warns, "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans." Chinese sci-fi author {{w|Liu Cixin}} wrote an award-winning sci-fi trilogy called the ''{{w|Remembrance of Earth’s Past}}'' trilogy, which draws on a similar idea; the title of the second book, ''{{w|The Dark Forest}}'', is a reference to the same Fermi paradox solution described in the comic. Even {{w|Carl Sagan}} called the practice of Broadcasting and Signaling presence of Life on Earth "deeply unwise and immature," and recommended that "the newest children in a strange and uncertain cosmos should listen quietly for a long time, patiently learning about the universe and comparing notes, before shouting into an unknown jungle that we do not understand."

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking down a hill.]
:Cueball: The Fermi paradox keeps getting worse. If planets are common, where ''is'' everybody?

:Megan: Imagine you're a scuba diver looking at the ocean floor. You know there's a fish there, but you can't see it. Why?

:Cueball: Maybe the fish looks like sand.
:Megan: Yeah...

:[Zoom out to the Earth from space.]
:Megan: ...and what would that tell you about the ecosystem?

:[Earth moves slightly out of the panel.]

:[Earth moves halfway out of the panel.]

:[Blank panel.]

:[A shark swims through space.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Aliens]]
[[Category:Sharks]]

1259: Bee Orchid

2021-06-17T21:58:56Z

108.162.215.220: /* Transcript */ title text

{{comic
| number = 1259
| date = September 2, 2013
| title = Bee Orchid
| image = bee orchid.png
| titletext = In sixty million years aliens will know humans only by a fuzzy clip of a woman in an Axe commercial.
}}

==Explanation==
Megan is explaining the evolutionary [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/01/1/l_011_02.html phenomenon] of mimicry of female insects which fools male insects into trying to mate with the flower ({{w|pseudocopulation}}). This causes the pollen of the flower to stick to the male bee, who may make the same mistake with another flower, allowing for pollination.

This particular orchid mimicked the solitary bee ''{{w|Eucera}}'', which now only pollinates it in the Mediterranean (the bee isn't really extinct yet). This may eventually lead to the extinction of the orchid due to lack of reproduction. In most areas where it grows, the orchid is using a method of {{w|self-pollination}}, which can be detrimental to the genetic vitality of the species as it is a form of in-breeding.

Photographs of ''{{w|Ophrys apifera}}'':

[[File:Ophrys apifera flower1.jpg|x250px]] [[File:Bee orchids, Aller Brook Local Nature Reserve - geograph.org.uk - 833516.jpg|x250px]]

Female ''Eucera (Synhaolonia)'' guarding nests (left) and male ''Eucera'' (right):

[[File:Synhalonia nest 1.jpg|x200px]] [[File:Apidae - Eucera sp. (male).JPG|x200px]]

In a similar way, some plants depend on animal species now extinct, but as the dependency was not about pollination but about spreading seeds across the land, those plant species can still last millions of years after the animal species extinction. For instance, [http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/12/04/avocado-ghosts-of-evolution/ it’s the case of the avocado].

The comic plays on the subject of levels of indirectness of memory or knowledge representation. The female bee is extinct, remembered only by the male bee's perception of her; the male bee is also extinct, but its memory of the female is preserved in the orchid's shape; the orchid, due to self-pollination, is nearing extinction, but the memory of the female bee is now preserved by Beret Guy's memory of the orchid, remembering the male bee's memory of her.

The title text culminates this theme by invoking the idea that some day human beings will, likewise, be extinct, and aliens will be able to learn about us through the distorted and faded representations of ourselves that we leave behind - {{w|Axe (brand)|Axe}} commercials which, like the orchid, present an idealized form to deceptively attract mates. We are left to speculate whether these aliens will be able to construct, somehow, through three levels of indirectness (the human representation, the orchid's representation and the male bee's perception) any memory of the female Eucera, and, if so, how distorted a view of the bee it will be.

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy and Megan are walking through a wood.]
:Megan: There are these orchids whose flowers look like female bees. When males try to mate with them, they transfer pollen.

:[Megan kneels next to a flower.]
:Megan: This orchid - ''Ophrys Apifera'' - makes flowers, but no bees land on them because the bee it mimics went extinct long ago.

:[Megan stands.]
:Megan: Without its partner, the orchid has resorted to self-pollinating, a last-ditch genetic strategy that only delays the inevitable. Nothing of the bee remains, but we know it existed from the shape of this flower.

:[They walk on past the flower.]
:Megan: It's an idea of what the female bee looked like to the male bee...
:Megan: ...as interpreted by a plant.
:Beret Guy: Wow, so...

:[We see a full-colour painting of an orchid flower. It has purple-pink petals on a mottled grey background, along with the bee-like parts. It's quite a realistic painting.]
:...the only memory of the bee is a painting by a dying flower.

:[The flower is alone in a panel.]

:[Beret Guy walks back on screen.]

:[Beret Guy kneels down next to it.]
:Beret Guy: I'll remember your bee, orchid. I'll remember you.

:[Beret Guy walks off-panel again.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Bees]]
[[Category:Aliens]]

Category:Aliens

2021-06-17T21:58:08Z

108.162.215.220: cat

[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Comics by topic]]

Category:SETI

2021-06-17T21:57:45Z

108.162.215.220: aliens

The {{w|Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence}} (SETI) is a field of frontier science in which Randall is interested. He has referenced it several times in XKCD.

[[Category:Aliens]]
[[Category:Comics by topic]]

718: The Flake Equation

2021-06-17T21:57:19Z

108.162.215.220: /* Transcript */ cat

{{comic
| number = 718
| date = March 24, 2010
| title = The Flake Equation
| image = the flake equation.png
| titletext = Statistics suggest that there should be tons of alien encounter stories, and in practice there are tons of alien encounter stories. This is known as Fermi's Lack-of-a-Paradox.
}}

==Explanation==
The Flake equation is a parody of the {{w|Drake equation}}, which is an estimate of the number of detectable extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy. The Flake equation, however, provides an estimate about how many false or fake stories ''about'' aliens are likely to exist. It does so in similar manner as the Drake equation which find the a number of detectable civilizations by multiplying the number of stars by consecutive probabilities of a star having certain characteristics making detectable life possible. Note that the Flake equation does not even attempt to include the number of accounts which are intentional lies.

The word "Flake" is informally used to describe a crazy person, such as someone who would imagine an alien encounter.

The Flake equation finds the number of fake stories by multiplying number of people by consecutive probabilities of a person having certain tendencies to tell such stories and other people telling them on and spreading them on the internet. Just like in the Drake equation, exact numbers are unknown, but can be estimated, and the equation in the comic shows [[Randall|Randall's]] guesses about these values. See an [[#Explanations of values|explanations of values]] below.

The final results tells us that there should be about 100,000 stories about aliens that have reliable explanation. (The numbers given in the equation gives 126,000 stories). The data is obviously highly uncertain, and as with the Drake Equation, you can plug in your own numbers, but if you keep your guesses realistic, you will most likely get a very large number. This convinces the reader that the fact that there are many stories about aliens does not necessarily means that many people actually met aliens.

The title text refers to Fermi's Lack-of-a-Paradox as a parody of the {{w|Fermi paradox}}: The contradiction between the high estimated probable existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of establishing contact to such civilizations by humans.

Another comic parodying this equation is [[384: The Drake Equation]]. The credibility of paranormal reports in general is revisited in [[1235: Settled]], which posits that if such phenomena were real they should have been unambiguously captured on camera by now.

===Explanations of values===
{| class="wikitable"
!Symbol
!Assumed value
!Explanation
|-

|WP
|7,000,000,000
|World population at the time of the creation of the comic, taken as a starting value.
|-
|(CR + Mi)
|1/10,000 + 1/10,000
|Fraction of people who would falsely believe they had been visited by aliens. This is assumed to be people who are crazy, want to feel special, or misinterpret physical phenomena as alien sightings. It is assumed that a total of one in 10,000 people to at least one of the first two of these groups and another one in 10,000 belong to the final group, for a total of one in 5000 belonging to one of these three groups. Multiplied by the world population we get the number of people who falsely believe to have been visited by aliens
|-
|TK
|1/10
|The fraction of people who believe they have experienced an alien sighting that tell others about their experience. Multiplying with the previous values we get the number of people who falsely believe to have experienced an alien sighting, and tell others about it.
|-
|F0
|10
|Average number of people they tell about their "sightings". Multiplying with the previous values we get the amount of people this is the amount of people who hear about a false alien sighting from the "primary source".
|-
|F1
|10
|Average number of people that they decide to tell about the "firsthand" account. Multiplying with the previous values we get the amount of people who hear a second-hand account of a false story.
|-
|DT
|9/10
|The probability that the details will be slightly adjusted during the retelling process, making the account believable. The total is now the amount of believable-yet-false alien sighting stories.
|-
|AU
|1/100
|The proportion of people who have the willingness and ability to share this story with the with a broad audience. The total is now the amount of believable-yet-false alien sightings that are published to a wider audience.
|}

==Transcript==
:The Flake Equation:
:P = WP × (CR + MI) × TK × F0 × F1 × DT × AU ≈ 100,000
:Where:
::WP = World Population (7,000,000,000)
::CR = Fraction of people who imagine an alien encounter because they're crazy or want to feel special (1/10,000)
::MI = Fraction of people who misinterpret a physical or physiological experience as an alien sighting (1/10,000)
::TK = Probability that they'll tell someone (1/10)
::F0 = Average number of people they tell (10)
::F1 = Average number of people each friend tells this "firsthand" account (10)
::DT = Probability that any details not fitting the narrative will be revised or forgotten in retelling (9/10)
::AU = Fraction of people with the means and motivation to share the story with a wider audience (blogs, forums, reporters) (1/100)
:Even with conservative guesses for the values of the variables, this suggests there must be a ''huge'' number of credible-sounding alien sightings out there, available to anyone who wants to believe!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:SETI]]
[[Category:Aliens]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Paranormal]]

556: Alternative Energy Revolution

2021-06-17T21:55:56Z

108.162.215.220: /* Trivia */ cat

{{comic
| number = 556
| date = March 16, 2009
| title = Alternative Energy Revolution
| image = alternative_energy_revolution.jpg
| titletext = The moment their arms spun freely in our air, they were doomed -- for Man has earned his right to hold this planet against all comers, by virtue of occasionally producing someone totally batshit insane.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are looking at modern "{{w|windmills}}" (known as {{w|wind turbines}}) harnessing wind energy into electrical energy. They comment that there's something creepy about the windmills. They allude to the book ''{{w|The War of the Worlds}}'' by {{w|H. G. Wells}} (the Jeff Wayne musical version of {{w|Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds|The War of the Worlds}} has paintings of the Martian tripods somewhat like these turbines) and also to "The Tripods" from {{w|John Christopher|John Christopher's}} {{w|The Tripods|Tripods trilogy}}, a young adult series of books about aliens who ride in walking tripods.

Suddenly the windmills' pylons split into three legs, becoming the tripods suggested.

They exclaim that {{w|Al Gore}} has doomed us all. Gore is a former Vice President of the United States, known for his environmental activism and promotion of green energy sources, relevant because wind turbines like the ones here are one of the alternative energy sources he supports.

In the final frame, the 17th century literary figure {{w|Don Quixote}} arrives. [[Randall|Randall's]] depiction seems to be inspired by {{w|Don Quixote (Picasso)|the drawing}} by {{w|Pablo Picasso}}. In the original story, Don Quixote is a wandering knight of questionable sanity who fights windmills, which he believes to be giants. Hence, he is the appropriate person to deal with this threat.

The title is a joke on the phrase "Alternative Energy Revolution," which normally refers to replacing of harmful power sources with eco-friendly options. However, in this case, the Alternative Energy sources are literally rising up in a revolution against humanity.

The title text is another reference to {{w|The War of the Worlds}}: "But there are no bacteria in Mars... when I watched them they were irrevocably doomed... By the toll of a billion deaths man has bought his birthright of the earth, and it is his against all comers." Of course this time we are only saved because we - in spite of having evolved - still produce somewhat insane members of our species.

Wind turbines also appear in later comics. In [[1119: Undoing]], Randall still seems to dislike them. In [[1378: Turbine]], the turbine is alive as it is in this comic, though its talking may simply be anthropomorphism.

==Transcript==
:[A field with seven wind turbines is silhouetted against a dusk sky. One of the turbines is much closer than the others. The panel is double height and width of the two next panels to the right.]

:[Cueball standing and Megan sitting on the ground are overlooking the wind turbines.]
:Cueball: I'm all for green energy, but those turbines creep me out. They remind me of War of the Worlds, or the Tripod books.

:[While the two are in the same position but longer to the left in the panel wiggly lines form around the last word to indicate a high rumbling sound.]
:Megan: They ''are'' unnerving.
:Cueball: I can't shake the feeling that at any moment they'll—
:''Rumble''

:[The next line in the comic has five small square panels:]
:[A leg begins to split off one wind turbine.]
:''Crack''

:[The leg separates from the body of the wind turbine.]

:[The new leg lands on the ground.]
:''Boom''

:[Another leg begins to split off the other side of the wind turbine's body.]
:''Crack''

:[The new leg hits the ground, forming a tripod base.]
:''Boom''

:[A panel even wider than the first, but the same height as the 2nd and 3rd panel. Four of the wind turbines rampage across the field. Six smoke plumes rise from the ground where there are also nine to ten distinct red fires burning. The turbines move towards towers and buildings to the right.]

:[Cueball and Megan are now both standing. This panel and the last three panels in the last row is all the same size, a third of the total comic in width and the same height as the previous panel.]
:Megan: Oh no.
:Cueball: Al Gore, you've doomed us all.
:Megan: It's coming this way!
:Cueball: Run!

:[One of the enormous tripod wind turbine feet lands right behind the running couple, sending debris flying.]
:'''Boom'''

:[Cueball and Megan run up a small hill (that continue up in the next panel).]
:Megan: What now?
:Cueball: Someone has to stop them.
:Megan: But who could-
:Voice (off panel): '''Stand aside!'''

:[A man with a black hat and a beard sits mounted on a horse at the top of the hill, lance at the ready.]

==Trivia==
*There is a [https://youtu.be/kRuqPKcxMZY fan made animated version of this comic]. (No pun intended).
*There is another [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/478266428659859466/633279235913416704/winMills.gif fan made animation] which imitates the wind turbines of the comic, though in a different context and way.
*This is one of the [[:Category:Footer comics|six footer comics]] linked at the bottom part of the {{xkcd}} website.
*This comic is available as a signed print in the [https://store.xkcd.com/products/signed-prints xkcd store].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Aliens]]
[[Category:Wind turbine]]
[[Category:Footer comics]]
[[Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]

2306: Common Cold

2020-05-14T18:08:53Z

108.162.215.220: Biology

{{comic
| number = 2306
| date = May 13, 2020
| title = Common Cold
| image = common_cold.png
| titletext = Not even metapneumovirus, easily the common cold virus with the coolest name, warrants our sympathy. Colds suck. No mercy.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

Many of the measures humans have undertaken to fight SARS CoV-2, such as careful hand-washing and sanitizing of frequently-touched surfaces, are effective against most pathogens. Hence, one of the ironic silver linings of the coronavirus pandemic is that the aggressive implementation of these measures are likely to slow the spread, not only of SARS CoV-2, but of many common illnesses. If these measures become long-term social expectations, they may improve public health long after the current pandemic has passed.

In this strip, [[Randall]] addresses the matter from the point of view of viruses. Specifically, those that cause the {{w|common cold}}, imagining them as sentient entities, with spreading infection as their conscious goal. Much like in [[2287: Pathogen Resistance]], the humor comes from the perspective flip, where health measures intend to protect us are seen by the pathogens as terrifying attacks. In this strip, the cold viruses become aware that more aggressive hygiene measures are putting them at risk, and hope to negotiate with humanity, on the grounds that, unlike CoV-SARS-2, they are rarely fatal. Their hope seems to be that, once the current pandemic is brought under control, humanity will abandon these measures, and allow them to freely spread, once again.

Cueball's adamant refusal likely reflects Randall's hope that this pandemic will result in lasting changes, slowing the spread of all diseases, including those which are merely very unpleasant, as opposed to actually fatal. By treating this like a conscious battle, people may be more inclined to be vigilant, and not allow the enemy any opportunity to recover.

While colds are unlikely to kill otherwise healthy humans, they still cause symptoms which can be painful, even debilitating, in the short term. Previous strips made reference to the miserable nature of the disease. In December 2015, Randall released both [[1612: Colds]] and [[1618: Cold Medicine]].

The ''[[what_if?|what if?]]'' book previously dealt with the plausibility of eliminating the common cold through aggressive physical distancing alone. The section in that book concluded that total elimination would be impractical. However, the current situation suggests that minimizing the spread of disease by careful hygiene measures is realistic.

In the title text Randall mentions a virus with the name {{w|Human metapneumovirus|metapneumovirus}}. He states that this is easily the common cold virus with the coolest name. But that does not mean it warrants our sympathy (as it is present in up to 40% of colds, and can be deadly in vulnerable populations). And he finishes by stating that "Colds suck. No mercy". So Randall would not be sorry to see the common cold eliminated, or at least substantially contained, by our coronavirus precautions.

==Transcript==
:[Three large viruses hangs in the air in front of Cueball. The one closest to Cueball looks a bit like the virus causing the corona pandemic, although it is made clear it is not this type of virus. The other two are put together by small circles. The one behind the corona-like virus has 7 small circles, four in a group, one above and two below. The other has three circles. They are not so closely knit together, and may instead represent three smaller viruses rather than one large. The corona type virus addresses Cueball with a starburst above it indicating it speaks the lines above.]
:Corona-like virus: Hi there! We're the viruses that cause the common cold.
:Corona-like virus: This handwashing ...
:Corona-like virus: It stops when this is all over, right?

:[Same setting in a slimmer panel.]
:Corona-like virus: It's just, it's making things really hard for us, too.
:Corona-like virus: Maybe we could make a deal?

:[Same setting in a frame-less panel. The large virus also speaks as indicated with a star burst above it.]
:Large virus: We won't kill you!
:Large virus: We just want to get back in your throat and make you feel gross now and then.
:Corona-like virus: Show us some mercy?

:[Zoom in on Cueball, beat panel.]

:[In the close up of Cueball he lifts his hand up, which has been balled into a fist. He shouts his reply.]
:Cueball: '''''No.'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Biology]]

2306: Common Cold

2020-05-14T18:07:20Z

108.162.215.220: /* Transcript */ ce

2302: 2020 Google Trends

2020-05-04T23:28:11Z

108.162.215.220: Line graph

{{comic
| number = 2302
| date = May 5, 2020
| title = 2020 Google Trends
| image = 2020_google_trends.png
| titletext = As the 'exotic animals in homemade aprons hosting baking shows' YouTube craze reached its peak in March 2020, Andrew Cuomo announced he was replacing the Statue of Liberty with a bronze pangolin in a chef's hat.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BRONZE PANGOLIN STATUE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is another comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

Randall wants to go back in time to show a 2019 person a Google Trends graph. The coronavirus has massively impacted everyone's lives and what they search for. This graph shows how people have been impacted, albeit in an awful representation.

All of these trends are attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* "Sewing machine" refers to people making their own {{w|cloth face mask}}s.
* "Webcam" refers to the massive increase in virtual meetings and video conferencing.
* "{{w|Andrew Cuomo}}" is the governor of {{w|New York (state)|New York}}, the state hit hardest by the pandemic in the United States.
* "Flour" refers to an increase in baking due to people staying at home. This is also referred to in [[2296: Sourdough Starter]].
* A {{w|pangolin}} is a mammal found in Africa and Asia. This search term refers to the claim that the virus originated in wild animals sold in {{w|wet market}}s in {{w|Wuhan}}, China.

The title text is a possible "guess" by the 2019 person for these search terms having an increase together: exotic animals (which includes pangolins) in homemade aprons hosting baking shows which leads to a response by New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

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

[A line chart plotting the popularity of various search terms from May 2019 through April 2020: sewing machine (blue line), webcam (red), Andrew Cuomo (yellow), flour (green), and pangolin (purple). The yellow line starts at the bottom of the chart, and rises about halfway up at the end of March 2020 before decaying to about 20 percent by the end of April. The purple line starts at the bottom of the chart, and has a small lump in February 2020 and a slightly bigger lump in March 2020 before trending back down. The blue line starts at about 10 percent up the chart, and then spikes up to 50 percent at the beginning of April before decaying to 40 percent at the end of April. The red line starts at about 20 percent up the chart, has a small lump in September 2019, and then jumps up to 40 percent in March 2020 before trending back down. The green line starts at about 30 percent up the chart, has a small lump in December 2019, and then spikes up to the top of the chart at the end of March 2020.]

:Caption: I want to show someone from 2019 this Google Trends graph and watch them try to guess what happened in 2020.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]

2302: 2020 Google Trends

2020-05-04T23:26:32Z

108.162.215.220: /* Transcript */ category

2302: 2020 Google Trends

2020-05-04T23:24:21Z

108.162.215.220: /* Explanation */ fixes

2302: 2020 Google Trends

2020-05-04T23:21:36Z

108.162.215.220: /* Explanation */ more, title text

{{comic
| number = 2302
| date = May 5, 2020
| title = 2020 Google Trends
| image = 2020_google_trends.png
| titletext = As the 'exotic animals in homemade aprons hosting baking shows' YouTube craze reached its peak in March 2020, Andrew Cuomo announced he was replacing the Statue of Liberty with a bronze pangolin in a chef's hat.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BRONZE PANGOLIN STATUE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is another comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

Randall wants to go back in time to show a 2019 person a Google Trends graph. The coronavirus has massively impacted everyone's lives and what they search for. This graph shows how people have been impacted, albeit in an awful representation.

All of these trends are attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* "Sewing machine" refers to people making their own {{w|face mask}}s.
* "Webcam" refers to the massive increase in virtual meetings and video conferencing.
* "{{w|Andrew Cuomo}}" is the governor of New York, the state hit hardest by the pandemic in the United States.
* "Flour" refers to an increase in baking due to people staying at home. This is also referred to in [[2296: Sourdough Starter]].
* A {{w|pangolin}} is a scaled mammal found in Africa and Asia. This search term refers to the claim that the virus originated in wild animals sold in wet markets in {{w|Wuhan}}, China.

The title text is a possible "guess" by the 2019 person for these search terms having an increase together: exotic animals (which includes pangolins) in homemade aprons hosting baking shows which leads to a response by New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

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

[A line chart plotting the popularity of various search terms from May 2019 through April 2020: sewing machine (blue line), webcam (red), Andrew Cuomo (yellow), flour (green), and pangolin (purple). The yellow line starts at the bottom of the chart, and rises about halfway up at the end of March 2020 before decaying to about 20 percent by the end of April. The purple line starts at the bottom of the chart, and has a small lump in February 2020 and a slightly bigger lump in March 2020 before trending back down. The blue line starts at about 10 percent up the chart, and then spikes up to 50 percent at the beginning of April before decaying to 40 percent at the end of April. The red line starts at about 20 percent up the chart, has a small lump in September 2019, and then jumps up to 40 percent in March 2020 before trending back down. The green line starts at about 30 percent up the chart, has a small lump in December 2019, and then spikes up to the top of the chart at the end of March 2020.]

:Caption: I want to show someone from 2019 this Google Trends graph and watch them try to guess what happened in 2020.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]

718: The Flake Equation

2017-01-03T01:41:09Z

108.162.215.220: /* Explanation */ spelling corrections

Talk:1753: Thumb War

2016-10-31T16:51:20Z

108.162.215.220: I find the "then counting up by fours" claim dubious.

I love this new perspective of the comic. Seeing the characters as kids is an interesting concept, especially when one of them is Black Hat. Hopefully more of these kind of comics will come to exist. I wonder what kind of "classhole" tendencies Black Hat had as a kid... --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:38, 31 October 2016 (UTC)

:We also get to see Black Hat as a child in 1139: Rubber and Glue --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.124|172.68.78.124]] 15:00, 31 October 2016 (UTC)

Is this really Hairy in the comic or just a young Cueball, just with hair? Note that also Black Hat has visible hair under his hat in this comic, whereas the adult version doesn't have hair (or at least none visible). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.141|162.158.202.141]] 14:48, 31 October 2016 (UTC)

:This is Hairy as Hairy is not a single character, but just the name used to identify a stick figure with hair and to distinguish them from a Cueball (a stick figure without hair). The characters with hats are pretty much the only ones assumed to be non-generic recurring characters. Also, Black Hat does have hair, as seen in comic 377: Journal 2 --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.124|172.68.78.124]] 15:03, 31 October 2016 (UTC)

I didn't see Hairy's not wanting to play anymore as boredom but as either developing fear, or/and not wanting to play by weird rules he doesn't understand. Trivia; my school yard version didn't have a 5-6-7-8..., our thumb's shook "hands" and bowed to each other before the fight began. ~~[[Cris]] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.57|108.162.245.57]] 15:42, 31 October 2016 (UTC)

: Agreed (on both parts). The current description's "…and then counting up by fours and making rhymes" was utterly foreign to me, and I had to read it a few times to make sure it really was implying that it was standard to count above four. I've ''never'' heard of anything beyond "One, two, three, four; I declare a thumb war!" (accompanied by the thumbs touching alternating sides of the "ring"). Unless we can get anyone who can support the claim that counting above 4 (with or without rhymes) is normal or even uncommon, it should probably be expunged. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.220|108.162.215.220]] 16:51, 31 October 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1746: Making Friends

2016-10-14T16:15:44Z

108.162.215.220: Cueball's strategy: "I be a nerd to make friends"

Does something like this happen in one of the Star Wars films? *headscratch* --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.228|162.158.150.228]] 06:32, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
:I guess I can take that to mean you don't know what he's talking about? It's too bad I'm going to bed now, this is finally a comic where I'm early enough to provide the explanation AND I understand the comic enough to do so! LOL! The method Cueball is suggesting in the second panel is how animals (or a person) might try to lure in a/many vultures, mostly in cartoons. Vultures are notorious for feeding on dead bodies, and for flying in slowly-descending circles above a dead body they find (presumably to ensure the body IS dead and abandoned by whatever animal might have killed it) before feeding from it. If an animal or human wanted to trap or hunt a vulture, pretending to be dead or about to die on your own would be the way to do it. Actually, the other day I was reading a joke where an oversexed rooster was doing exactly this, attempting to lure in some vultures by pretending to be dead.

:The joke here obviously being that humans don't tend to act like vultures. The alternate behaviour - taking Cueball's things instead of eating him - seems to me to be a nod towards video games where you exhibit such vulture-like behaviour, retrieving useful supplies from dead bodies you find (and create), such as in the Assassin's Creed games. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.73|108.162.219.73]] 08:01, 14 October 2016 (UTC)

My daughter's friend, on starting at high school, was telling me she was making new friends. My response: Cool! They're teaching robotics. [[User:Mlv|Mlv]] ([[User talk:Mlv|talk]]) 09:48, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
:When I read the title of this comic (before reading the actual content) I fully expected it would be a play on "making friends," with Cueball actually building robots.
:Although I'm a little disappointed that it turned out otherwise, at least the replacement was worth it! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.220|108.162.215.220]] 16:15, 14 October 2016 (UTC)

Am I the only one that sees Cueball's strategy as "I act like a nerd until I attract people ''(who want to [steal my lunch money])'' and then I act like a nerd ''(by talking sciency)'' until they're my friends"?
This, of course, relies on stereotypes (and a somewhat dual/split meaning of "nerd"), but seems to fit pretty well. Taking it one step further, it could be described as "[I'm a nerd.] I be myself, and eventually I make friends."
Which is actually a rather valid plan. So I must retract my statement, because Cueball is never that practical. ;-) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.220|108.162.215.220]] 16:15, 14 October 2016 (UTC)