explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1767: US State Names

2016-12-02T15:49:58Z

108.162.216.123: /* Table of States */ More specific description for Oregon

{{comic
| number = 1767
| date = December 2, 2016
| title = US State Names
| image = us_state_names.png
| titletext = Technically DC isn't a state, but no one is too pedantic about it because they don't want to disturb the snakes.
}}

==Explanation==
This is just a silly map.

[[Randall]] has taken a {{w|map}} of {{w|the United States of America}} labeled "Geography Challenge: Name all 50 States" and filled in the states with words that sound similar to the states' names. The joke is that Randall is apparently terrible at remembering states by heart, or else that he interpreted "name" as "give a name to" and is giving each state a name similar to but different from its previous name. Additionally, song such as the [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fifty+nifty+united+states+song 50 Nifty United States] that make these issues seem rarer, thus making it funnier. Below is the table.

===Table of States===
{{incomplete|Some states unfinished. Make wikipedia links.}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Fictional State
! Actual State
! Explanation
|-
| Wilwheaton
| {{w|Washington_State|Washington}}
| {{w|Wil Wheaton}} is an actor and writer.
|-
| Organs
| {{w|Oregon}}
| Could refer to either {{w|Organ (anatomy)|body parts}} that perform vital functions, or large {{w|Organ (music)|musical instruments}} having rows of tuned pipes.
|-
| Cafeteria
| {{w|California}}
| A cafeteria is both a kind of restaurant and a name for a lunch room that serves food.
|-
| Fallout New Vegas
| {{w|Nevada}}
| {{w|Fallout New Vegas}} is set in Nevada.
|-
| Idolatry
| {{w|Idaho}}
| Idolatry is the worship of a physical object as a god, forbidden in many religions.
|-
| mount -a
| {{w|Montana}}
| A command to mount all disk volumes.
|-
| Wysiwyg
| {{w|Wyoming}}
| Acronym for "What You See Is What You Get".
|-
| Uhaul
| {{w|Utah}}
| {{w|U-Haul}} is a company where you can rent vans.
|-
| Verizona
| {{w|Arizona}}
| {{w|Verizon}}, a telecommunications company, has the shared text "Rizon" with Arizona (Ve''rizon'', A''rizon''a). Randall presumably enjoys this.
|-
| Namaste
| {{w|New Mexico}}
| {{w|Namaste}} is a Hindu greeting.
|-
| Hexxus
| {{w|Texas}}
| The antagonist of Ferngully. {{w|FernGully:_The_Last_Rainforest|FernGully}} is said to be the model for the later film "Avatar". This is the second time Hexxus was mentioned in xkcd, the first occurrence being in [[1750: Life Goals]].
|-
| Okay
| {{w|Oklahoma}}
| OK is the state's abbreviation. Okay is a spelling of another abbreviation O.K., which originally stood for "Oll Korrect [sic]".
|-
| Candice
| {{w|Kansas}}
| Candice is a girl's name of Latin origin, meaning "clarity, whiteness" ("canditia").
|-
| Colocated
| {{w|Colorado}}
| Refers to computer servers located in a {{w|Colocation Center}}.
|-
| Nebrunswick
| {{w|Nebraska}}
| {{w|New Brunswick}}, a Canadian province. People sometimes write "NB" as the postal abbreviation for Nebraska; in reality, Nebraska is "NE", and while there is no "NB" in the U.S. postal system, New Brunswick is "NB" in the Canadian postal system.
|-
| Dakota
| {{w|South Dakota}}
| Randall seems to have forgotten his directions, so he drops the normal "South" and "North". He may also be teasing that this doesn't matter.
|-
| More Dakota
| {{w|North Dakota}}
| See South Dakota
|-
| Minestrone
| {{w|Minnesota}}
| Minestrone is a thick vegetable soup, originating in Italy.
|-
| Wainscot
| {{w|Wisconsin}}
| A type of wood {{w|panelling}} covering only the lower half of a wall.
|-
| Iota
| {{w|Iowa}}
| Iota is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Also colloquially used to mean a very small quantity.
|-
| Sk8rbois
| {{w|Illinois}}
| "Skater Boys" or just "Skater Boy" if the '-ois' is pronounced the same as it is in "Illinois". {{w|Sk8er Boi}} is a song by Avril Lavigne.
|-
| Mossouri
| {{w|Missouri}}
| The single different letter represents probably a typo (O is adjacent to I in a keyboard). This typo has about 22,000 results on Google. Alternatively, this could be an attempt to "correct" the spelling of the state name to match its non-intuitive postal abbreviation, MO, which is sometimes used as a pronounceable acronym.
|-
| Arkanoids
| {{w|Arkansas}}
| An arcade game.
|-
| Louisa
| {{w|Louisiana}}
| Louisa, feminine of Louis, is an Old German name meaning "famous warrior". Louisiana was of named after King Louis XIV when it was founded as a French colony.
|-
| Misstate
| {{w|Mississippi}}
| The word "misstate" means to state improperly. "Mis-" is also a prefix meaning "wrong," "incorrect," or simply negating. "Misstate" could be a non-state. {{w|Mississipi State University|Miss State}} is a university in Mississippi.
|-
| Bandana
| {{w|Alabama}}
| A large handkerchief cloth, worn either around the head or neck. Often used in Westerns.
|-
| Thennessy
| {{w|Tennessee}}
| {{w|Hennessy}} is a brand of cognac.
|-
| Kennedy
| {{w|Kentucky}}
| The Kennedy family is an American family that has been prominent in American politics, public service, and business during the 20th century.
|-
| That Other One
| {{w|Indiana}}
| 'That Other One' is something someone might say if they were trying to name all the states from memory, and knew where a state was but not what it was called. Appropriate for Indiana, due to being a state with relatively few distinguishing features.
|-
| Mishy
| {{w|Michigan}}
| According to the Urban Dictionary, "mishy" means "[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mishy mushy and horny at the same time]".
|-
| Oh Hi
| {{w|Ohio}}
| Oh (expression of surprise), Hi (greeting). A common utterance upon meeting an acquaintance unexpectedly.
|-
| Pencilmania
| {{w|Pennsylvania}}
| [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151935/ Pencil Mania] is a 1932 Tom and Jerry cartoon in which they pull out a pencil and proceed to draw figures in the air.
|-
| Newark
| {{w|New York}}
| Likely a reference to Newark Liberty International Airport, a major flight hub serving the New York metropolitan area. Newark element14 or simply Newark, is the official distributor of Raspberry Pi. Possible reference to William Gibson's works. Also, many people that live in Newark commute 14 miles to work in New York. A mispronunciation of New York.
|-
| Vermouth
| {{w|Vermont}}
| {{w|Vermouth}} is an Italian alcoholic beverage.
|-
| New Hamper
| {{w|New Hampshire}}
| A hamper is a large basket, often with lid, used for laundry. Also another name for a picnic basket.
|-
| Spanish Maine
| {{w|Maine}}
| The {{w|Spanish Main}} was the mainland Spanish colonial possessions around the Gulf of Mexico.
|-
| Masseuses
| {{w|Massachusetts}}
| Women who give massages professionally.
|-
| Roald Dahl
| {{w|Rhode Island}}
| A British writer, famous for child novels such as {{w|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory}}.
|-
| Connectfour
| {{w|Connecticut}}
| Connect Four is a two-player game, in which the objective is to connect four of your checkers in a row while preventing your opponent from doing the same.
|-
| Nude Juggalos
| {{w|New Jersey}}
| {{w|Juggalo}} is a name given to fans of the group Insane Clown Posse or any other Psychopathic Records hip hop group.
|-
| Delorean
| {{w|Delaware}}
| A {{w|DeLorean_DMC-12|car}} made famous as the {{w|DeLorean_time_machine|time machine}} in the {{w|Back to the Future}} movies.
|-
| Maybelline
| {{w|Maryland}}
| {{w|Maybelline}} is a make-up brand.
|-
| District of Colubrids
| {{w|District of Columbia}}
| The {{w|Colubridae}} are the biggest family of snakes, accounting for about two thirds of the world's species. As the title text mentions, the {{w|Washington,_D.C.|District of Columbia}}, although not part of any state, is technically not a state itself, but is usually labeled on the maps like the 50 others for practical reasons. Here, Randall humorously explains the reason as people not wanting to upset the aforementioned snakes by dismissing their district for this pedantic reason.
|-
| Wyvern
| {{w|West Virginia}}
| A {{w|Wyvern}} is a mythical creature.
|-
| Virjayjay
| {{w|Virginia}}
| Virginia is similar to vagina. Vajayjay is slang for vagina.
|-
| Sweet Caroline
| {{w|North Carolina}}
| A {{w|Sweet_Caroline|song}} by Neil Diamond.
|-
| South Caroline
| {{w|South Carolina}}
| A further reference to {{w|Sweet_Caroline|song 'Sweet Caroline'}} by Neil Diamond, similar to 'Dakota' and 'More Dakota.' Plays on similarity between the names 'Caroline' and 'Carolina'.
|-
| George
| {{w|Georgia}}
| Georgia was named for {{w|George II of Great Britain}}.
|-
| Fyoridor
| {{w|Florida}}
| Possibly derived from the Russian name Fyodor, as in Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
|-
| Alberta
| {{w|Alaska}}
| A Canadian province.
|-
| Kawaii
| {{w|Hawaii}}
| A Japanese term for cute commonly romanized similar to Hawaii. Possible reference to the 1957 war movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050212 The Bridge on the River Kwai]. Not to be confused with {{w|Kauai}}, a Hawaiian island.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[A map of the United States, with incorrect state names. A title:]

Geography challenge:

'''Name all 50 States'''

| Alabama => Bandana |

| Alaska => Alberta |

| Arizona => Verizona |

| Arkansas => Arkanoids |

| California => Cafeteria |

| Colorado => Colocated |

| Connecticut => Connect Four |

| Delaware => Delorean |

| District of Columbia => District of Colubrids |

| Florida => Fyoridor |

| Georgia => George |

| Hawaii => Kawaii |

| Idaho => Idolatry |

| Illinois => SK8RBOIS |

| Indiana => That Other One |

| Iowa => Iota |

| Kansas => Candice |

| Kentucky => Kennedy |

| Louisiana => Loisa |

| Maine => Spanish Maine |

| Maryland => Maybelline |

| Massachusetts => Masseuses |

| Michigan => Mishy |

| Minnesota => Minestrone |

| Mississippi => Misstate |

| Missouri => Mossouri |

| Montana => mount -a |

| Nebraska => Nebrunswick |

| Nevada => Fallout New Vegas |

| New Hampshire => New Hamper |

| New Jersey => Nude Juggalos |

| New Mexico => Namaste |

| New York => Newark |

| North Carolina => Sweet Caroline |

| South Carolina => South Caroline |

| Ohio => Oh Hi |

| Oklahoma => Okay |

| Oregon => Organs |

| Pennsylvania => Pencilmania |

| Rhode Island => Roald Dahl |

| South Dakota => Dakota |

| /North Dakota => More Dakota |

| Tennessee => Thennessy |

| Texas => Hexxus |

| Utah => Uhaul |

| Vermont => Vermouth |

| Virginia => Virjayjay |

| Washington => Willwheaton |

| West Virginia => Wyvern |

| Wisconsin => Wainscot |

| Wyoming => WYSIWYG |

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

1767: US State Names

2016-12-02T15:43:53Z

108.162.216.123: /* Table of States */ deleted duplicate word

{{comic
| number = 1767
| date = December 2, 2016
| title = US State Names
| image = us_state_names.png
| titletext = Technically DC isn't a state, but no one is too pedantic about it because they don't want to disturb the snakes.
}}

==Explanation==
This is just a silly map.

[[Randall]] has taken a {{w|map}} of {{w|the United States of America}} labeled "Geography Challenge: Name all 50 States" and filled in the states with words that sound similar to the states' names. The joke is that Randall is apparently terrible at remembering states by heart, or else that he interpreted "name" as "give a name to" and is giving each state a name similar to but different from its previous name. Additionally, song such as the [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fifty+nifty+united+states+song 50 Nifty United States] that make these issues seem rarer, thus making it funnier. Below is the table.

===Table of States===
{{incomplete|Some states unfinished. Make wikipedia links.}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Fictional State
! Actual State
! Explanation
|-
| Wilwheaton
| {{w|Washington_State|Washington}}
| {{w|Wil Wheaton}} is an actor and writer.
|-
| Organs
| {{w|Oregon}}
| A play on the actual state name.
|-
| Cafeteria
| {{w|California}}
| A cafeteria is both a kind of restaurant and a name for a lunch room that serves food.
|-
| Fallout New Vegas
| {{w|Nevada}}
| {{w|Fallout New Vegas}} is set in Nevada.
|-
| Idolatry
| {{w|Idaho}}
| Idolatry is the worship of a physical object as a god, forbidden in many religions.
|-
| mount -a
| {{w|Montana}}
| A command to mount all disk volumes.
|-
| Wysiwyg
| {{w|Wyoming}}
| Acronym for "What You See Is What You Get".
|-
| Uhaul
| {{w|Utah}}
| {{w|U-Haul}} is a company where you can rent vans.
|-
| Verizona
| {{w|Arizona}}
| {{w|Verizon}}, a telecommunications company, has the shared text "Rizon" with Arizona (Ve''rizon'', A''rizon''a). Randall presumably enjoys this.
|-
| Namaste
| {{w|New Mexico}}
| {{w|Namaste}} is a Hindu greeting.
|-
| Hexxus
| {{w|Texas}}
| The antagonist of Ferngully. {{w|FernGully:_The_Last_Rainforest|FernGully}} is said to be the model for the later film "Avatar". This is the second time Hexxus was mentioned in xkcd, the first occurrence being in [[1750: Life Goals]].
|-
| Okay
| {{w|Oklahoma}}
| OK is the state's abbreviation. Okay is a spelling of another abbreviation O.K., which originally stood for "Oll Korrect [sic]".
|-
| Candice
| {{w|Kansas}}
| Candice is a girl's name of Latin origin, meaning "clarity, whiteness" ("canditia").
|-
| Colocated
| {{w|Colorado}}
| Refers to computer servers located in a {{w|Colocation Center}}.
|-
| Nebrunswick
| {{w|Nebraska}}
| {{w|New Brunswick}}, a Canadian province. People sometimes write "NB" as the postal abbreviation for Nebraska; in reality, Nebraska is "NE", and while there is no "NB" in the U.S. postal system, New Brunswick is "NB" in the Canadian postal system.
|-
| Dakota
| {{w|South Dakota}}
| Randall seems to have forgotten his directions, so he drops the normal "South" and "North". He may also be teasing that this doesn't matter.
|-
| More Dakota
| {{w|North Dakota}}
| See South Dakota
|-
| Minestrone
| {{w|Minnesota}}
| Minestrone is a thick vegetable soup, originating in Italy.
|-
| Wainscot
| {{w|Wisconsin}}
| A type of wood {{w|panelling}} covering only the lower half of a wall.
|-
| Iota
| {{w|Iowa}}
| Iota is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Also colloquially used to mean a very small quantity.
|-
| Sk8rbois
| {{w|Illinois}}
| "Skater Boys" or just "Skater Boy" if the '-ois' is pronounced the same as it is in "Illinois". {{w|Sk8er Boi}} is a song by Avril Lavigne.
|-
| Mossouri
| {{w|Missouri}}
| The single different letter represents probably a typo (O is adjacent to I in a keyboard). This typo has about 22,000 results on Google. Alternatively, this could be an attempt to "correct" the spelling of the state name to match its non-intuitive postal abbreviation, MO, which is sometimes used as a pronounceable acronym.
|-
| Arkanoids
| {{w|Arkansas}}
| An arcade game.
|-
| Louisa
| {{w|Louisiana}}
| Louisa, feminine of Louis, is an Old German name meaning "famous warrior". Louisiana was of named after King Louis XIV when it was founded as a French colony.
|-
| Misstate
| {{w|Mississippi}}
| The word "misstate" means to state improperly. "Mis-" is also a prefix meaning "wrong," "incorrect," or simply negating. "Misstate" could be a non-state. {{w|Mississipi State University|Miss State}} is a university in Mississippi.
|-
| Bandana
| {{w|Alabama}}
| A large handkerchief cloth, worn either around the head or neck. Often used in Westerns.
|-
| Thennessy
| {{w|Tennessee}}
| {{w|Hennessy}} is a brand of cognac.
|-
| Kennedy
| {{w|Kentucky}}
| The Kennedy family is an American family that has been prominent in American politics, public service, and business during the 20th century.
|-
| That Other One
| {{w|Indiana}}
| 'That Other One' is something someone might say if they were trying to name all the states from memory, and knew where a state was but not what it was called. Appropriate for Indiana, due to being a state with relatively few distinguishing features.
|-
| Mishy
| {{w|Michigan}}
| According to the Urban Dictionary, "mishy" means "[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mishy mushy and horny at the same time]".
|-
| Oh Hi
| {{w|Ohio}}
| Oh (expression of surprise), Hi (greeting). A common utterance upon meeting an acquaintance unexpectedly.
|-
| Pencilmania
| {{w|Pennsylvania}}
| [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151935/ Pencil Mania] is a 1932 Tom and Jerry cartoon in which they pull out a pencil and proceed to draw figures in the air.
|-
| Newark
| {{w|New York}}
| Likely a reference to Newark Liberty International Airport, a major flight hub serving the New York metropolitan area. Newark element14 or simply Newark, is the official distributor of Raspberry Pi. Possible reference to William Gibson's works. Also, many people that live in Newark commute 14 miles to work in New York. A mispronunciation of New York.
|-
| Vermouth
| {{w|Vermont}}
| {{w|Vermouth}} is an Italian alcoholic beverage.
|-
| New Hamper
| {{w|New Hampshire}}
| A hamper is a large basket, often with lid, used for laundry. Also another name for a picnic basket.
|-
| Spanish Maine
| {{w|Maine}}
| The {{w|Spanish Main}} was the mainland Spanish colonial possessions around the Gulf of Mexico.
|-
| Masseuses
| {{w|Massachusetts}}
| Women who give massages professionally.
|-
| Roald Dahl
| {{w|Rhode Island}}
| A British writer, famous for child novels such as {{w|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory}}.
|-
| Connectfour
| {{w|Connecticut}}
| Connect Four is a two-player game, in which the objective is to connect four of your checkers in a row while preventing your opponent from doing the same.
|-
| Nude Juggalos
| {{w|New Jersey}}
| {{w|Juggalo}} is a name given to fans of the group Insane Clown Posse or any other Psychopathic Records hip hop group.
|-
| Delorean
| {{w|Delaware}}
| A {{w|DeLorean_DMC-12|car}} made famous as the {{w|DeLorean_time_machine|time machine}} in the {{w|Back to the Future}} movies.
|-
| Maybelline
| {{w|Maryland}}
| {{w|Maybelline}} is a make-up brand.
|-
| District of Colubrids
| {{w|District of Columbia}}
| The {{w|Colubridae}} are the biggest family of snakes, accounting for about two thirds of the world's species. As the title text mentions, the {{w|Washington,_D.C.|District of Columbia}}, although not part of any state, is technically not a state itself, but is usually labeled on the maps like the 50 others for practical reasons. Here, Randall humorously explains the reason as people not wanting to upset the aforementioned snakes by dismissing their district for this pedantic reason.
|-
| Wyvern
| {{w|West Virginia}}
| A {{w|Wyvern}} is a mythical creature.
|-
| Virjayjay
| {{w|Virginia}}
| Virginia is similar to vagina. Vajayjay is slang for vagina.
|-
| Sweet Caroline
| {{w|North Carolina}}
| A {{w|Sweet_Caroline|song}} by Neil Diamond.
|-
| South Caroline
| {{w|South Carolina}}
| A further reference to {{w|Sweet_Caroline|song 'Sweet Caroline'}} by Neil Diamond, similar to 'Dakota' and 'More Dakota.' Plays on similarity between the names 'Caroline' and 'Carolina'.
|-
| George
| {{w|Georgia}}
| Georgia was named for {{w|George II of Great Britain}}.
|-
| Fyoridor
| {{w|Florida}}
| Possibly derived from the Russian name Fyodor, as in Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
|-
| Alberta
| {{w|Alaska}}
| A Canadian province.
|-
| Kawaii
| {{w|Hawaii}}
| A Japanese term for cute commonly romanized similar to Hawaii. Possible reference to the 1957 war movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050212 The Bridge on the River Kwai]. Not to be confused with {{w|Kauai}}, a Hawaiian island.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[A map of the United States, with incorrect state names. A title:]

Geography challenge:

'''Name all 50 States'''

| Alabama => Bandana |

| Alaska => Alberta |

| Arizona => Verizona |

| Arkansas => Arkanoids |

| California => Cafeteria |

| Colorado => Colocated |

| Connecticut => Connect Four |

| Delaware => Delorean |

| District of Columbia => District of Colubrids |

| Florida => Fyoridor |

| Georgia => George |

| Hawaii => Kawaii |

| Idaho => Idolatry |

| Illinois => SK8RBOIS |

| Indiana => That Other One |

| Iowa => Iota |

| Kansas => Candice |

| Kentucky => Kennedy |

| Louisiana => Loisa |

| Maine => Spanish Maine |

| Maryland => Maybelline |

| Massachusetts => Masseuses |

| Michigan => Mishy |

| Minnesota => Minestrone |

| Mississippi => Misstate |

| Missouri => Mossouri |

| Montana => mount -a |

| Nebraska => Nebrunswick |

| Nevada => Fallout New Vegas |

| New Hampshire => New Hamper |

| New Jersey => Nude Juggalos |

| New Mexico => Namaste |

| New York => Newark |

| North Carolina => Sweet Caroline |

| South Carolina => South Caroline |

| Ohio => Oh Hi |

| Oklahoma => Okay |

| Oregon => Organs |

| Pennsylvania => Pencilmania |

| Rhode Island => Roald Dahl |

| South Dakota => Dakota |

| /North Dakota => More Dakota |

| Tennessee => Thennessy |

| Texas => Hexxus |

| Utah => Uhaul |

| Vermont => Vermouth |

| Virginia => Virjayjay |

| Washington => Willwheaton |

| West Virginia => Wyvern |

| Wisconsin => Wainscot |

| Wyoming => WYSIWYG |

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

1753: Thumb War

2016-10-31T14:31:12Z

108.162.216.123: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1753
| date = October 31, 2016
| title = Thumb War
| image = thumb_war.png
| titletext = "Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty--" / "Can't we just read Pat the Bunny?"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a not very good editor. First draft.}}

A {{w|thumb war}} is a common game for children, in which two players hold hands and attempt to pin each other's thumb down. The game is often started with both players chanting "one, two three, four, I declare a thumb war, five, six, seven, eight, try to keep your thumb straight", referencing the goal of the game. Black Hat chants a modified version, though, clearly making poor Hairy uncomfortable. His version becomes a political commentary about proliferation of weapons and the {{w|United Nations|United Nations'}} (U.N.) reluctance to intervene. A {{w|finger gun}} is made by holding one's thumb and finger in the shape of a gun, fitting with the analog of a thumb war.
Black Hat continues to make Hairy uncomfortable as an adult, such as in "I'm so random".
In the title text, Hairy adds another verse, requesting to do something more appropriate for children, reading {{w|Pat the Bunny|a picture book}}.

==Transcript==
[A young Black Hat and Hairy are sitting across from each other. A toy truck is on Black Hat's left, and a stack of blocks is on Hairy's right.]

:Black hat: One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war.
:Black hat: Five, six, seven, eight, finger guns proliferate.
:Black hat: Nine, ten, eleven, twelve, digits can't protect themselves.
:Black hat: Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, thumb U.N. won't intervene.
:Hairy: I don't want to play with you anymore.

{{comic discussion}}

1732: Earth Temperature Timeline

2016-09-12T21:57:37Z

108.162.216.123: /* Explanation */ spelling

{{comic
| number = 1732
| date = September 12, 2016
| title = Earth Temperature Timeline
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = earth_temperature_timeline.png
| titletext = [After setting your car on fire] Listen, your car's temperature has changed before.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Include table for explanations of each event including the year and the temperature at that time. Please remove this tag only when everything is explained.}}
In the past 100 years, human action produced lots of {{w|CO₂ emissions}}, which have caused a rise in average global temperature through the {{w|greenhouse effect}}. This is called {{w|global warming}} and is part of a {{w|climate change}}, a subject that has become a [[:Category:Climate change|recurrent subject]] on xkcd. There are still many people who claim that this is not happening, or at least that it is not caused by any human actions, called "climate change deniers". One argument of theirs is that global warming is happening for natural causes, summarized with the phrase "temperature has changed before". This comic is a direct, but much more thorough, follow up on the previous global warming comic: [[1379: 4.5 Degrees]].

This comic shows that while temperature changes have indeed occurred before, the speed of the current temperature rise is much, much faster than those seen (actually: estimated) in the previous thousands of years.

This comic is a [[:Category:Timelines|timeline]] on how the temperature has changed since 20,000 BCE to the present day and extrapolated 84 years on from present day of the release of the comic (2016) to 2100 depending on the choice of actions to stop CO₂ emission that is taken now or never. It is meant to contrast the slow-paced natural changes with the rapid temperature rise in the recent years. The effect is achieved by forcing the reader to scroll endlessly through slow, building-up changes and then face them with an almost instantaneous, quick rise towards the end.

Below in the [[#Table of all elements|table]] each entry will be noted and explained (in time). This is one of the comics where Randall cites his [[#Sources|sources]] like he did for one of his other very large comics [[980: Money]].

The title text compares the slow changes to a car that occur over many years with the rapid destruction caused by burning. This joke was made previously in [[1693: Oxidation]].

===Table of all elements===
*Here a table of all elements with explanations, temperature of the graph and year range should be included.
**Maybe one can be made using the transcript to get all the text into a table?
*Here are two entries already made:
* 20000 BCE: The Boston image is taken directly from [[1225: Ice Sheets]] about the ice age glacier coverage. The guy with the White knit cap could be the guy from [[1321: Cold]], also about global warming. Knit caps have only been used a few times in xkcd, most prominently on [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|Knit Cap Girl]] in [[1350: Lorenz]], see her section for more details.
* 9000 BCE: '''Last North American Pokemon'''[''sic'']''' go extinct''' — as prehistoric [[Megan]] states, this is not a real fact. Pokémon are still thriving throughout the entire world (see [[1705: Pokémon Go]]), and are most commonly found near regions of dense human habitation.
* 2750 BCE: '''Stonehenge completed''' — the drawing is a reference to the 1984 movie "This is Spinal Tap" (A documentary/parody featuring the fake metal band "Spinal Tap", http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/), the musicians order a Stone Henge prop for the stage, which turns out to be too small (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAXzzHM8zLw)
* 4500 BCE: Ponytail refers to [[1709: Inflection]].

===Sources===
The image attributes climate data sources as "Shakun et al. (2012), Marcott et al. (2013), Annan and Hargreaves (2013), HadCRUT4, IPCC":
* Shakun et al. (2012) - [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v484/n7392/full/nature10915.html Nature], [http://www.atm.damtp.cam.ac.uk/mcintyre/shakun-co2-temp-lag-nat12.pdf (pdf)]
* Marcott et al. (2013) - [http://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6124/1198 Science], [http://www.atm.damtp.cam.ac.uk/mcintyre/shakun-co2-temp-lag-nat12.pdf (pdf)]
* Annan and Hargreaves (2013) - [http://www.clim-past.net/9/367/2013/cp-9-367-2013.html Climate of the Past] [http://www.jamstec.go.jp/frsgc/research/d5/jdannan/LGM_temp.pdf (pdf)]
* [http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcrut4/ HadCRUT4] - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HadCRUT#HadCRUT4 wikipedia]
* [http://www.ipcc.ch/ IPCC] - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change wikipedia]

==Transcript==
:[A large heading, followed by a sub-caption. Below that two lines with a statement in between:]
:<big>A timeline of Earth’s average temperature</big>
:since the last ice age glaciation
:When people say “The climate has changed before,” these are the kinds of changes they’re talking about.

:[A very long chart below the headings above is headed with a label for the scale of the X-axis above the chart. Below that a sub-caption. To the left an arrow down to the top of the chart pointing to the dotted curves starting point (at -4.3°C) with a label above the arrow. And arrow pointing left to the left of the center and another pointing right to the right of the center has labels. Below these is the temperature scale of the X-axis, with 9 ticks between the borders each with a label ranging from -4 to +4°C, but with another step in each direction not labeled towards to axis so the chart covers -5 to +5°C.]
:'''Temperature'''
: Compared to the 1961-1990 average
:Start
:Colder
:Warmer
:-4°C -3°C -2°C -1°C 0°C +1°C +2°C +3°C +4°C

:[To the right is a gray text with the sources for the chart:]
: Source: Shakun et. al. (2012) , Marcott et. al. (2013), Annan and Hargreaves (2013) , Hadcrut4, IPCC 

:[The chart is split in 10 columns by the temperature scale and the borders. The two central columns are white, and then from there to the left the background becomes a faded color that changes from light blue to blue at the edge in four steps. Similarly to the right the color changes from light red to red. To the left there is a time scale taking 500 years leaps from 20,000 BCE all the way to year 1, where there are two years, one for BBC and one for CE. The 500 year leaps continue until 1500 CE and from there the steps are down to 100 years until 2100 with also present day 2016 labeled. After 1500 the CE is omitted. The labels stop there, but there is space below covering down to 2200 CE. There is clearly visible division line across the chart on the level of each of the 500 step, and fainter lines for each of the 100 steps all the way even though only the last 5 of these 100 steps are labeled. There is a similar clear line at 2016. Below each step on the Y-axis is noted, and then any text starting before the next step is noted below indented. If there are extra image belonging to text this is indented once more. The graph that the whole chart is about is a dotted line that begins at the “start” point mentioned above at -4.3°C and then begins to go straight down. It will change left and right all the way down. To being with all text and most drawings are to right of the dotted curve. Whenever something is to the left it will be noted. When it says to the left above something, and then nothing over the next, then the next will be to the right. Only at the very bottom are there more entries to the left than right. ]
:20000 BCE
::[An arrow goes from the dotted line to the central line at 0°C. In the middle of the line there is a temperature label:]
::4.3°C
::At the start of our timeline, 22,000 years ago, Earth is 4°C colder than during the late 20th century.
::Boston is buried under almost a mile of ice, and the glaciers reach as far south as New York City.
:::[The Statue of Liberty is shown in front of a glacier front. A very tiny Cueball is on top of the glacier. The drawing is labeled and so is also the glacier.]
:::New York
:::Ice
:::[A guy with a white knit cap is seen walking in a snowy landscape leaving black footprints behind him. He walks through the white central part of the chart.]
:::[The skyline of Boston is shown with two clear buildings among all the other. Above it is a line and in between this area has been filled with thin lines. The drawing is labeled and so is this area. Also the skyline has an arrow pointing at it with a label:]
:::Boston
:::Ice
:::Modern skyline

:19500 BCE
::But the world is about to warm up.
::By this time, humans have already spread across Africa, Eurasia, and Australia.
::They’ve created painting, pottery, rope, and bows and arrows, but haven’t developed writing or farming.

:19000 BCE
::Changes in the Earth’s orbit mean that more sunlight reaches the polar ice…
:::[A line chart with a labeled Y-axis with three labeled ticks. The curve starts up and then goes down five times and up four times ending down. There is one plateau towards the end compared to the rest of the curve where the ups and downs are quite alike.]
:::Summer sun W/m2 at 60°N
:::550
:::500
:::450

:18500 BCE
::[A map of the world. At the top is a light gray area covering North America, Greenland and northern Europe and most of the northern part of Russia. A similar gray area covers Antarctica. There are two labels in the gray area above and one in the gray area below:]
::Ice Ice
::Ice

:18000 BCE
::…And the ice sheets start to melt.

:17500 BCE
::Temperatures have been creeping upward, but around this point, CO2 levels start to climb…

:17000 BCE
::…And then the warming speeds up.

:16500 BCE
::[Cueball is standing with a spear just the right of the graph talking to a rabbit.]
::Cueball: Still pretty cold.

:16000 BCE
::[Megan points to the graph to the right of her and between her and Ponytail standing on the other side. Mean is the first drawing on the left side of the dotted curve, which has hardly moved since the beginning, only to just on the other side of 4°C.]
::[In the right part of the chart is an explanation of the data. Below the first two lines there are four drawings each showing possible temperature swings in reality compared to the smoothed data that represents the dotted curve of the entire chart. The dotted curve is shown in all four drawings and a thin line is shown running along it but with much more fluctuation left and right on the first two, a large spike right on the third and a large bump way right on the fourth. Above these there are two labels. The first labels is inside a bracket that covers the first three, and the last label is for the last drawing. Below is a list of sources.]
::Limits of this data:
::Short warming or cooling spikes might be “smoothed out” by these reconstructions but only if they’re small or brief enough.
:::Possible Unlikely
::Reconstructions are from Shakun (2012) and Marcott (2013), scaled to Annan + Hargreaves (2013) estimate for the last glacial period.

:15500 BCE
::In what is now France, humans paint murals on the walls of the Lascaux caves
::[Hairy paints three animals, two with horns, and two humans, Cueball holding hand with Hairy who has a spear. On the other side of the central line Megan writes three letters the last is reversed.]
:::NIИ

:15000 BCE
::Ice sheets around Alaska shrink, exposing a land bridge between Asia and North America
::[From around the bottom if this section and down to 11500 BCE the dotted curve moved steadily to the right towards warmed temperature peaking close to -1.5°C. Before this the temperature had not moved much away from that at the start.]

:14500 BCE
::[Cueball walks right looking back at the graph behind him. Megan walks in front of him pointing further right.]
::Cueball: Cool.

:14000 BCE
::The edge of the ice withdraws from New York City and retreats North.
::[A large glacier front speaks in a speech bubble with an arrow pointing at it. Behind is there are four peaks in the horizon and in front of it three small melting pools and some rocks on the ground.]
::''Glacier: That’s it1 I’m moving to Canada!''

:13500 BCE
::Humans domesticate dogs
::(Date uncertain, may be much earlier)
::[Megan and Cueball is watching a wolf looking at them.]
::Megan: Okay, you can live in our homes and we’ll feed you, but we’ll still get mad f you poop on the floor.
::Wolf: Deal.
::Cueball: And we get to breed you to be tiny and dress you in little costumes.
::Wolf: …Wait.

:13000 BCE
::Wooly Rhino goes extinct
::Oregon is scoured by huge floods as glacial dams burst and lakes of meltwater flow to the sea

:12500 BCE
::Ice sheets withdraw from Chicago

:12000 BCE
::Humans settle Abu Hureyra in Syria

:11500 BCE
::[An arrow on the left side of the dotted curve is pointing down along the dotted curve and to the left indicate temperature is declining again, meaning the dotted curve now moves left to colder temperatures. This only continues until 10500 BCE. It is only the second time something is noted on the left side after Megan at 16000 BCE]
::Temperatures start to decline, mainly in the Northern hemisphere
::This may be caused by changes in ocean circulation due to the floods of cold fresh meltwater flowing into the Atlantic as the North American ice sheet melts.
::This cooler period is called the Younger Dryas

:11000 BCE
::[This is the first text to the left of the dotted curve:]
::Humans reach Argentina

:10500 BCE
::[An arrow pointing down along the right side of the dotted curve and to the right indicate temperature is increasing again, meaning the dotted curve now moves right to hotter temperatures. This continues until 8000 BCE where it levels out just above 0°C.]
::Warming resumes
::Human settlements at Jericho

:10000 BCE
::First development of farming

:9500 BCE
::Saber-toothed cat goes extinct
::[To the left:]
::Horses disappear from North America

:9000 BCE
::[To the left:]
:::Last North American Pokemon go extinct
:::[Cueball with a speak and Megan is looking up at this last “fact”.]
:::Megan: That is not a real fact.
::Temperatures reach modern levels
::Rising seas cut off the land bridge between North America and Asia
::Cattle domesticated

:8500 BCE
::Ice sheets retreat across the Canadian border
::Temperatures start to level out slightly above 1961-1990 levels

:8000 BCE
::[The above sentence breaks over the 8000 BCE line. From here a maximum in temperature on the chart is reached at 0.5°C which will not be overtaken until 2000 CE. It stays almost constant here until 5000 BCE where a slight cooling begins.]

:7500 BCE
::[To the left:]
::This warm, stable period is called the Holocene Climate Optimum
::[To the left:]
::Jiahu settled in China

:7000 BCE
::Final collapse of the North American ice sheet leads to rapid 2-4m sea level rise…
::[A small arrow points down and left to the right of the dotted curve. There is a small decrease in temperature but it is very small and would have been missed without the arrow and label.]
::…And a period of cooling in the Northern hemisphere

:6500 BCE
::[To the left:]
::As seas rise to near their modern levels, Britain is cut off from mainland Europe

:6000 BCE
::Humans develop copper metalworking

:5500 BCE
::[To the left:]
::Massive volcanic eruption in Oregon creates crater lake
::Gold metalworking

:5000 BCE
::[To the left:]
::Invention of the wheel
::[To the left. To the right of the dotted curve is an arrow pointing down and slightly left. From here temperature decreases very slowly but steadily from 0.5°C until 1000 BCE where a stable plateau is reached around 0°C.]
::Earth begins to cool slowly mainly due to regular cycles in its orbit

:4500 BCE
::[To the left:]
:: Proto-Indo-European language develops
:::[To the right of the curve Ponytail holds up a hand towards Cueball.]
:::Ponytail: Let’s make out language heavily inflected, so future students have to memorize a zillion verb endings!
:::Cueball: Okay!
::[To the left:]
::Permanent settlements in the fertile crescent

:4000 BCE
::Horses domesticated
::[To the left:]
::Minoan culture arises on Crete

:3500 BCE
::Egyptian mummification
::Rise of the Indus Valley civilization
::[To the left:]
::Invention of writing in Sumer “prehistory” ends, “history” begins
::Earliest human whose name we know
::(Pharaoh Iry-Hor in Egypt)

:3000 BCE
::''Three Sovereigns and five emperors'' period in China
::Glgamesh
::[To the left:]
::Imhotep
::Mayan culture emerges
::[To the left:]
::Great Pyramid constructed

:2500 BCE
::Corded Ware culture in Europe
::[To the left of the curve two rock musicians with long hair and electrical guitars are standing on either side of a small gate made of three slabs of stone, one on top of the other two standing stones.]
::Stonehenge completed
::Chariots developed

:2000 BCE
::[To the left:]
::Alphabetic writing developed in Egypt
::Last mammoths on a tiny Siberian island go extinct
::[To the left:]
::Minoan eruption

:1500 BCE
::[To the left:]
::Iron smelting
::Olmec civilization develops in Central America
::[A Trojan horse with two Cueball-like guys in front and a third standing on its back. Its back is at three Cueball’s height and its head rises to the level of the Cueball on its back. It stands on a platform with four wheel on the visible side. There is text on the horse]
:::Setting of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey''
:::Text on horse: Not a trap
::[To the left:]
::Invasion of the Sea peoples*
::* A real thing
::Polynesians explore the Pacific Ocean

:1000 BCE
::[From 1000 BBC to 1000 CE the temperature is stable and very close to 0°C.]
::[To the left:]
::Solomon
::[Randall spelled Iliad wrongly this time:]
::Illiad and Odyssey composed
::[To the left:]
::Rise of Greek city-states
::Neo-Assyrian empire
::[To the left:]
::First Olympics
::Zapotec writing in modern Mexico
::[To the left:]
::Confucius

:500 BCE
::[To the left:]
::The stuff in the movie ''300'', but regular speed and with more clothing
::Buddha
::Nazca Lines
::[To the left:]
::Alexander the Great
::[To the left:]
::Mayan hieroglyphics
::Ashoka the Great
::[To the left:]
::Paper invented
::[To the left:]
::Asterix
::Teotihuacán metropolis
::[To the left:]
::Julius Caesar

:[At the year 0, there is instead two numbers for each of the two scales before and after Christ:]
:1 BCE
:1 CE
::[To the left:]
::Roman Empire
::Jesus
::[To the left and erupting volcano.]
::Pompeii
::Three Kingdoms period
::[To the left:]
::Gupta empire
::[To the left:]
::Various groups take turns sacking Rome
::Atilla the Hun

:500 CE
::Muhammad
::[To the left:]
::Tang Dynasty
::[An arrow to the right of the dotted curve pointing down, takes a swing far out from the curve and then bends back again. The text label next to it breaks into the next 500 period. The dotted curve stays stable at 0°C along this arrow.]
::Medieval warm period in Europe and some northern regions (too regional to affect the global average much)
::[To the left:]
::Leif Eriksson

:1000 CE
::[The dotted curve moves to the left towards lower temperature reaching a minimum around 1650 of about -0.6°C at the Little Ice Age.]
::[To the left a drawing of a compass with needle pointing the black end towards north west. There are labels for the four main directions and a label next to it:]
:::N
:::E W
:::S
:::Magnetic compass navigation
::[To the left:]
::Ghengis Khan
::Zheng He’s fleet explores Asia and Africa
::[To the left:]
::Aztec Alliance
::[To the left:]
::Printing press
::[To the left:]
::Columbus

:1500 CE
::European Renaissance
::[To the left:]
::Shakespeare

:1600
::[To the left:]
::Newton
::[To the right of the dotted curve there is an arrow pointing down that makes a swing in towards the curve and then back out again. At -0.6°C this is the coldest it has been since 9500 BCE. It is labeled:]
::”Little Ice Age”

:1700
::Steam engines
::[To the left:]
::Unites States Independence

:1800
::Industrial Revolution
::[To the left:]
::Telegraphs
::[After this the dotted curve becomes solid.]

:1900
::[To the left, and on the line for 1900:]
::Airplanes
::[To the left:]
::World Wars
::[The solid line takes a step to the right close to 0°C. Over the rest of the 1900s it moves closer to 0°C crossing it before 2000 where it almost reaches the maximum temperature of 0.5 °C from earlier in 8000 BCE.]
::Fossil fuel CO2 emissions start rapidly increasing
::[To the left:]
::Nuclear weapons
::[To the left:]
::Internet

:2000
::Northwest Passage opens
:[From here to present day the solid line increases rapidly and in 2016 present day is almost reaches 1°C, with about 0.8°C.]
:2016
::[To the left on the line for 2016:]
::Present day
:[From here the curve once again becomes dotted as this is the future. After one dot it splits in two and after the first two dots another split between them occurs forming three possible future dotted curves. The first curve bending down before the others, and thus to the right of the other two reaches about 1.2°C and then goes straight down and stops at the 2100 line. An arrow points to it from the left and a label is written patly before and the rest after the 2100 line to the left of the curve:]
::Best-case scenario assuming immediate massive action to limit emissions

:2100
::[The middle curve bends a little down after reaching 1.3°C and then continues this path reaching 2°C in 2100. An arrow point from below to it and a label is written below the curve and below 2100 line:]
::Optimistic scenario
::[The last line continues along the path from the last 16 years of the solid line reaching 4.2°C at 2100, almost as far on the other side of 0°C in 150 years as it took 14000 years to move from the other side from the start of the chart. Another arrow point to this from below with a label below the curve and below 2100 line:]
::Current Path

==Trivia==
*The timeline starts at 20000BCE (22,000 years ago) and ends near 2200CE, thus covering 22,200 years.
**The colors used to represent temperature vary from blue (the perceived hue of a black body at 20000K) to pale red (perceived at 2200K).
**Since humans generally lack familiarity with extreme temperatures, blue is commonly associated with cold substances such as ice, while red is associated with hot obvious black body radiators, in contrast to the temperatures of objects which predominantly emit those wavelengths.
*There are several spelling mistakes.
**Most obvious is the second time Randall wrote Iliad, because he just spelled it correctly at 1500 BCE and then spelled it ''Illiad'' at 1000 BCE with two l.
**Also Woolly rhinoceros becomes ''Wooly rhino'' with only one l.
**Attila the Hun becomes ''Atilla the Hun'' with only one t.
**Please add if you find more.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Climate change]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Music]] 
[[Category:Fiction]] 
[[Category:Sport]] 
[[Category:Religion]] 
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]

1521: Sword in the Stone

2015-05-07T03:44:49Z

108.162.216.123: /* Explanation */ it could be the future, or any time since 2001

{{comic
| number = 1521
| date = May 6, 2015
| title = Sword in the Stone
| image = sword in the stone.png
| titletext = That seems like an awful lot of hassle when all I wanted was a cool sword.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Megan]] pulls out a sword from a stone. A flash of light comes down and music plays, and a heavenly voice tells her she has ascended to the {{w|throne of England}}. Megan then pulls out her phone and searches on Wikipedia for {{w|England}} (proving the comic takes place in a time period with Wikipedia). After having read for a while she begins, while reading on, to replace the sword into the rock.

The comic references the fables of {{w|King Arthur}} and the {{w|Knights of the Round Table}}. In Arthurian legend, whoever can remove {{w|Excalibur#Excalibur_and_the_Sword_in_the_Stone|The Sword in the Stone}} is the lawful king of England. Arthur is an orphan being raised in secret; he notices the sword, removes it, and is proclaimed king. The sword is sometimes identified as {{w|Excalibur}}, although in other versions Excalibur was acquired by King Arthur from the {{w|Lady of the Lake}}. The most familiar version of this story is {{w|The Sword in the Stone}} by {{w|T. H. White}} which is based on {{w|Le Morte d'Arthur}} by {{w|Sir Thomas Malory}}. The animated {{w|The_Sword_in_the_Stone_(film)|musical}} by Walt Disney is a well known version of this fairytale.

A key element of the joke is that as Megan begins to read about England, especially information concerning being an English ruler, she quickly thinks better of this and begins to put the sword back in its place. The punchline that Megan puts the sword back after reading about England suggests that the "gift" of being the leader of England is not worth the risk and/or work associated. It is also likely intended to suggest some degree of antipathy towards England and/or English people on the part of the character or author.

English history is rife with monarchic strife, and a brief inquiry into their {{w|List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death|causes of death}} will show that almost one in three {{w|British rulers}} have died either in battle or from murder, etc. This would quickly lead most sane people to conclude that the risks associated with ruling England far outweigh the benefits.

The title text furthers this plot, having Megan comment on the hassle when the only thing she was interested in was the cool sword. Apparently Megan is not enthusiastic about power, and her choice is made when she sees how problematic it could be to reign over the country of England.

From the time of the {{w|Roman Empire}} all the way up to {{w|Charles II of England|Charles II's}} reclamation of the throne, England was one of the most contested and most difficult to hold chunks of real estate on Earth. Besides the constant threat of usurpation, as evidenced by the numerous wars for the crown, such as the {{w|Norman_conquest_of_England|Norman conquest}} and the {{w|War of the Roses}}, there were also constant difficulties in managing the frontier regions. This can be seen from {{w|Hadrian's Wall}}, a creation of the titular Roman Emperor designed to keep the ever difficult Scots out of the areas of Roman control (the Scots would be a constant problem for England up until the reign of King James; think of the movie {{w|Braveheart}} for a good example of the regular headaches they caused, seen from the English point of view), as well as the {{w|List_of_Anglo-Welsh_Wars|Welsh uprisings}} that occurred with such consistency that you could set your watch to them.

It should be noted that in Arthurian Legend, it is stated that Arthur would return when England most needed him. It is possible that Megan in this comic is a 21st century version (reincarnation) of the old Arthur.

The timing of this comic might relate to the birth of princess {{w|Princess_Charlotte_of_Cambridge|Charlotte Elizabeth Diana}} on May 2nd, 2015 just four days before this comic, and the burden of a royal of having a whole life in public shaking hands of strangers. Since {{w|Succession to the Throne Act, 2013|2013}} the {{w|Line of succession to the British throne|line of succession}} was changed to {{w|Primogeniture#Absolute_primogeniture|absolute primogeniture}}, meaning that she will keep her current position in the line (4th after her {{w|Prince George of Cambridge|older brother}}) even if she later gets baby brothers. Before this year, that would not have been the case, as the male gender took rank over birth order.

It is also probably not a coincidence that this comic was published the day before the {{w|United Kingdom general election, 2015|UK General Election}}, on May 7, 2015. This election decides the modern day leader of England and the rest of the UK. And the problems they face today, may even be more likely to cause Megan to give away the throne, than the risk of untimely death she would have faced in Arthur's days.

==Transcript==

:[Megan walks up to a sword in a stone.]

:[Megan tries to pull the sword out of the stone.]

:[A flash of light and music plays as she removes the sword.]

:[While standing with the swords a voice from heaven speaks in gray shaky letters:]
:Heavenly voice: ''The Throne of England is yours''

:[Megan takes out her smart phone and writes:]
:Wikipedia
:England

:[Megan reads on her phone.]

:[Megan starts to replace the sword back into the stone.]

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

1488: Flowcharts

2015-03-24T03:05:12Z

108.162.216.123: /* List of Items in Flowchart */ (grammar)

{{comic
| number = 1488
| date = February 18, 2015
| title = Flowcharts
| image = flowcharts.png
| titletext = Whoa, and if you overlay a Fibonacci spiral on a golden spiral it matches up almost perfectly!
}}
*If you click on the comic at xkcd you get to the following page: [http://xkcd.com/spiral/].
*The arrow at the bottom of this comic points to the [http://c.xkcd.com/random/comic/ "Random" button] at the bottom of the xkcd page.
**Go to the comic, as always, by clicking on the date line above this comic.

==Explanation==
'''Note''': A flawed version of this comic was posted at first and then quickly a correct version was uploaded. But this gave rise to several misunderstandings and confusion. See the [[#Trivia|Trivia]] section below.

This comic is a {{w|flowchart}} style, like many [[Category:Flowcharts|other comics]]. Interestingly, the first option, ''Do you like flowcharts?'' loops back to itself if you say ''Yes''. This will cause the reader who actually likes flow charts to go into an endless loop of choosing ''Yes'', until they are so annoyed by flowcharts that they do not like them anymore and can progress by saying ''No''.

After asking about flowcharts, the reader is asked whether they like {{w|line graph|line graphs}}. If they follow the yes line, it becomes a line graph where "Time" is the x-axis and "Your Happiness" is the y-axis, and shows that your happiness increases with time. If you don't like line graphs, they are asked the same question about {{w|scatter plots}} where again the lines turn into the points and the axis of such a plot.

Taking yet another line, the reader is asked "Charge a battery?" If they follow the line marked yes they are asked whether they are {{w|Alternating current|A/C}} or {{w|Direct current|D/C}} current and are led to a portion of the flowchart which resembles a {{w|circuit diagram}} of a {{w|rectifier bridge}} with a battery connected to it.

If the reader follows the "no" line, they are asked if they like spirals. If they choose "no" they are asked to take the {{w|path of least resistance}}. This part of the flowchart resembles a circuit diagram, and the word "{{w|resistance}}" is a pun because resistance can have several meanings. In electricity it is an electrical quantity that measures how the device or material impedes the electric current flow through it. Going left is the "Never" option, which goes through extra resistors and a diode, therefore making the "Yes" option the "path of least resistance". However, when asked if you choose the path of least resistance and answers ''never'' it could also mean that you do not try to avoid a little trouble.

Whether they choose "Yes" or "No", they arrive at "Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images?" If they choose "yes" the line fades into a drawing of a golden spiral, and we see that the flowchart is structured around it. If they choose "no" they are asked if they are tired of flowcharts. If not, they are taken to the beginning to start over again. If they are tired, the line points to the "random" button on the xkcd website.

The title text and the faint image of a golden spiral parody the fact that the golden spiral is superimposed on nearly ''everything''. The golden spiral is a spiral that has the growth rate of the golden ratio, a number that has inspired both artists and mathematicians alike. However, people try to find the golden ratio in seemingly random objects, and they fall to confirmation bias when drawing a golden spiral on top that seemingly fits. The comic links to [http://xkcd.com/spiral/], where one can see exactly that- golden spirals Randall "found" in random photographs. This may be a spoof of the viral video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPCkcKNUVoo Illuminati Confirmed]. The limit of consecutive terms of the Fibonacci sequence is equal to the golden ratio, so it matches up almost perfectly for a good reason, unlike the coincidental matchings of the pictures in the mobile site link.

This comic bears reminiscence of [[730: Circuit Diagram]], although it is not exactly the same idea.

===List of Items in Flowchart===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Text in boxes
! Explanation
! Successor(s)
! Predeccessor(s)
|-
| Start
| Start here
| Do you like flowcharts?
| Tired of flowcharts yet?
|-
| Do you like flowcharts?
| Asking whether or not the reader likes flow charts. Recursively returns to itself until the reader is annoyed enough to not like flowcharts and can move on to the next point.
| Do you like flowcharts?, Do you like line graphs?
| Start, Do you like flowcharts?
|-
| Do you like line graphs?
| It asks if you like {{w|line graph|line graphs}}
| Data or axis? [The one after yes to line graphs], Scatter plots?
| Do you like flowcharts?
|-
| Data or axis? [The one after yes to line graphs]
| It is asking if you wish to be the data or the axis. If you choose the line, the flow chart line turns into a line graph with a positive curve. The same question will be asked later if you say no to line graphs and yes to scatter plots.
| [A line in a line graph], Time or your happiness?
| Do you like line graphs?
|-
| Time or your happiness?
| If you choose ''time'' the flow chart line becomes the x-axis of time and if you choose ''your happiness'' it becomes the y-axis in the line graph with the line from before indicating that your happiness increases over time (maybe because you like line graphs and are now becoming part of one?)
| [Time axis], [Your Happiness axis]
| Data or axis? [The one after yes to line graphs]
|-
| Scatter plots?
| If you don't like line graphs then maybe you like {{w|scatterplot|scatter plots}}?
| Data or axis? [The one after yes to scatter plots], Help charge a battery?
| Do you like line graphs?
|-
| Data or axis? [The one after yes to scatter plots]
| It is asking if you wish to be the data or the axis. If you choose the data, the flow chart line turns into a scatter plot that is also a flowchart where each of the 10 flow chart boxes is black with two white arrow, one pointing up and the other to the right. They are all connected with multiple connections. The same question was asked earlier if you said yes to line graphs.
| [A flow chart that looks line points in in a scatter plot], X of Y?
| Scatter plots?
|-
| X or Y?
| Which axis do you prefer? The line you chooses turns in to this axis in the scatter plot.
| [X axis], [Y axis]
| Data or axis? [The one after yes to scatter plots]
|-
| Help charge a battery?
| From here on the flowchart is at the beginning of morphing into a circuit diagram.
| Like spirals?, Are you A/C or D/C?
| Scatter plots?
|-
| Are you A/C or D/C?,
| Asks whether you are an {{w|AC current}} or a {{w|DC current}}.
| Positive or negative phase?, positive or negative DC terminal?
| Help charging a battery?
|-
| Positive or negative phase?
| Conventional current will flow forwards during the positive phase of AC current, whereas in the negative phase the forwards directions matches the actual flow of electrons (see [[567: Urgent Mission]]).
| Positive or negative DC terminal? [To either side of this box]
| Are you A/C or D/C?
|-
| Positive or negative DC terminal?
| This box looks like a {{w|rectifier bridge}}, which is used to convert AC to DC. The single output leads to a battery which is joined in a circuit to the bottom of the rectifier bridge.
| Battery [plus or minus]
| Positive or negative phase?
|-
| Like spirals?
| Well, do you? If you do you instantly go to the question of golden spirals. If not you take a detour.
| Take the path of least resistance?, Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images?
| Help charge a battery?
|-
| Take the path of least resistance?
| This one is a pun. If resistance is seen as electrical resistance, then the bottom one labeled ''yes'' is the one with least resistance. The other labeled "Never" sends you through ''more'' resistance, and a 'protective' diode. But in either case you are lead to the same decision box. Also the resistors could look like spirals - making this detour for those who dislike these even more painful.
| Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images?
| Like spirals?
|-
| Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images?
| Here is a question regarding if you like the idea that some people can find and superimpose a {{w|golden spiral}} on a random image. No matter which options you choose you are forced to admit that it is totally BS ({{w|bullshit}}). But maybe you like it anyway? If you choose the ''Yes, even though it's total BS'' option the flow chart continues to the side of the chart, then starts to spiral up only to fades out to a very faint golden spiral aligned to the other items in the flow chart. It is almost impossible to see it before you follow this line. The other option is of course ''No, it's total BS''. If you do like it - then click on the [http://www.xkcd.com/1488/ comic on xkcd].
| Tired of flowcharts yet?, [A very faint golden spiral]
| Like spirals?, Take the path of least resistance?
|-
| Tired of flowcharts yet?
| Have you had enough of flow chart? If not then you are returned to the ''start'' box at the top of the chart. Maybe you have not tried all options yet, although you have already answered that you are tired of flow charts if you get this far. If you have had enough and answers ''Yes, I want to look at something else'' this option leads to the random comic button below the comic (only on xkcd). This decision ''literally'' breaks the fourth wall in traveling through the image's nominal boundary to point at a specific button to look at some other comic.
| Start, [The xkcd [http://c.xkcd.com/random/comic/ Random] comic button]
| Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images?
|}

==Transcript==
:[A flow chart. The first option the start box is white text on a black rectangle. The other boxes are rhombuses standing on edge. Except for the first there are always two options going out. Most only have one option coming in, but there are exceptions with two options going in.]
:Start
:[One arrow points to the first real choice.]
:[Below the text on the two options going out from each option will be indented. The top of these two options will be the one to be mentioned first below. Then the chart will be mapped like this going back to the previous unfinished option.]
:Do you like flowcharts?
::Yes
::No
:[Yes goes back where it came from.]
:Do you like line graphs?
::Yes
::No
:Data or axis?
::Line
::Axis
:[The line is just a line – but now as the line in a line graph.]
:Time or your happiness?
::Time
::Your happiness
:[These two lines turn into the x and y axis of the line graph.]
:Scatter plots?
::Yes
::No
:Data or axis?
::Data
::Axis
:[The data line turns into the points in a scatter plot.]
:X or Y?
::X
::Y
:[These two lines turn into the x and y axis of the scatter plot.]
:Help charge a battery?
::Yes
::No
:Are you A/C or D/C?,
::A/C
::D/C
:Positive or negative phase?
::+
::-
:[The D/C option also goes to this next option, but directly. This next rhombus looks like a part of a circuit diagram.]
:Positive or negative DC terminal?
::+
::-
:[These two lines goes to the + and – poles of a battery.]
:Like spirals?
::No
::Yes
:Take the path of least resistance?
::Never
::Yes
:[Never goes through two resistors and a diode before reaching the point of the Yes option, which then also goes though yet another resistor. Both thus end at the same option, which is also the one that Yes to like Spirals ends up at:]
:Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images?
::Yes, even though it's total BS.
::No, it's total BS.
:[Yes option takes the chart into a fading line that turns into a golden spiral spanning the whole chart.]
:Tired of flowcharts yet?
::No
::Yes, I want to look at something else
:[No takes you back to the start box at the top.]
:[Yes takes you out of the comic and points to the Random button at xkcd.]

==Trivia==
*A corrected version of the comic was uploaded later on the same day.
**This is the second time in February 2015 this has occurred; previously with [[1482: NowPlaying]].
*It appears that an unfinished version of the comic was uploaded, with several of the lines and labels missing, and the bridge circuit incorrectly drawn.
*This [[Media:OriginalFlowcharts.png|original]] comic can be seen on the link.
*The errors were:
**Missing yes/no at the line graph options.
**Missing yes/no at the scatter plot options and missing the line for the yes option going to the second Data axis.
**Missing yes at charge a battery options.
**Missing DC from the AC or DC options and missing the line for the DC option going to the terminal.
**Missing the arrow pointing to the terminal from the "-" option of the phase.
**Missing +/- at terminal option and missing the line going from the negative pole of the battery to the terminal.
**The terminal, which is a rectifier bridge, had both diodes drawn in the wrong direction on the left side of the decision box.
**There was a + floating between the phase and terminal option. This was deleted.
**Missing yes at the spiral options.
**Missing yes/never! at the least resistance options. Also the arrow pointing to the next option was missing.
*The comic has reference to charging a battery, and was posted on the 270th birthday of Alessandro Volta, the original creator of the battery. This could, however, have been a coincidence.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]

Talk:642: Creepy

2014-11-07T18:48:39Z

108.162.216.123:

Is the real-life example unwarranted? [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 15:26, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

:Admirably done. I like the link. In future, though, the wiki-engine doesn't know what single returns means, so if you want a paragraph break hit enter twice. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:07, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

A hint for girls, we all have the SAME fears, don't be afraid to find out who we are on the inside :) - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 04:46, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

:Uh...men typically don't have to worry about getting harassed, assaulted, or killed like women do. At least not to the same degree. Your nervousness about being turned down is not the same as the woman's fear of being attacked. [[Special:Contributions/15.211.201.83|15.211.201.83]] 20:57, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

::Thank you for making this comment. It perfectly outlines the exact type of conceited, one sided views that are being used by tumblr feminists in their crusade for "safety" and "equality". The idea that men are all some sort of all powerful being, incapable of being abused or raped is not only factually wrong, but actually perpetuates the abuses against them as more and more men stop coming forward for fear of looking weak. You speak as if you have knowledge in this field, but that just can't be the case. If you did, you would be much better educated as to the real breakdowns of sexual violence per gender, and know just how ridiculous your claims are. [[Special:Contributions/205.211.113.69|205.211.113.69]] 20:11, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

:::[citation needed]

::::Men are more likely to be murdered than women. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/386:_Duty_Calls You are wrong on the internet.] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.123|108.162.216.123]] 18:48, 7 November 2014 (UTC)

:::Quite frankly, the rates of violence against men are much lower, and almost all of it is committed by men (as you can tell by googling "literally anything about crime statistics"). Men are less harmed and less affected by these issues (see, eg, Moradi and Huang 2008); further, what you just posted is a strawman, because what was posted above does not claim that men cannot be harmed or raped, only that one fear is greater than the other.

:::Given that feminism is the entire reason the legal definition of rape in america includes men - see the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. Magazines Rape Is Rape campaign, I think you maybe want to inform yourself more. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:47, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

:What girl wants to be with a guy who is so introspective and nervous that he can't talk to girls? A hint for guys, grow a pair. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:29, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

It seems pretty obvious to me that the comic intends to point out the paralyzing paranoia men can have about interacting with women, and the description as it is seems to refuse to explain the comic out of sheer disagreement. {{unsigned ip|207.98.247.127}}

The comments here, with the call for men to "grow a pair" combined with the (false) claim that women are at greater danger of being attacked than men (seemingly offered as justification for unreasonable female caution or hostility toward men), are a perfect illustration of why this anomie exists.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.71|173.245.50.71]] 03:05, 30 March 2014 (UTC)

:I think that there are younger girls who don't get a lot of male attention and are too inexperienced to be familiar with the neckbeard/fedora types. They think a "nice guy" sitting by himself is like them and just needs someone to be with. They haven't learned that all the guys who complain about lack of girls despite being surrounded are just sex hounds who claim they want a relationship. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.123|108.162.216.123]] 18:48, 7 November 2014 (UTC)

...What? The claim that women are in greater danger of being attacked than men is NOT false. In 2010, Women were 21 times more likely to be the victim of sexual crimes than men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (0.1 cases per 1000 males, and 2.1 cases per 1000 females per year). Not only that, but the vast majority of cases of male sexual assault victims were assaulted by another male. Debate on the subject is fine, but let's at least get our facts straight. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.63|173.245.55.63]] 03:12, 12 May 2014 (UTC)Greg
:You are right, but this comic is more about women using this fact to cover their own capabilities to talk to a "interesting" man. And because your facts are correct it must be mentioned at this explain. But this comic is also about the "strange" behave done by women to men; hard to understand by a man. And because this comic is still even more complicated this gets an incomplete tag with your mentions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:28, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
:I agree with Greg. Let us indeed 'get our facts straight'. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449454/More-men-raped-US-women-including-prison-sexual-abuse.html| More men are raped in the US than women, figures on prison assaults reveal] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.47|108.162.218.47]] 22:50, 3 June 2014 (UTC)
:: As a point of departure, The Daily Mail isn't exactly known for its sterling reporting record, and the article cited above is no exception. It cherry picks from two different sources (prison and non-prison populations) as well as two different definitions (sexual abuse and rape) in order to concoct a sensational and ultimately inaccurate headline. We are comparing two entirely different sets of populations: incarcerated vs. non-incarcerated (even ignoring the fact that it's also men in US prisons who are the bad actors). I'm surprised I even need to point out the difference. One should hope that the daily atmosphere in US society writ large is not marked by the same hyper-aggression and mental illness that exists in federal prisons. Further, according to BJS, in 2010 approximately 270,000 women experienced and reported sexual assault, compared to 17,400 men, and, yes, the 218,000 inmates in 2008 (not specified whether male or female in the Daily Mail article). I appreciate honest attempts to move a conversation forward, but please let's try to be consistent and intellectually rigorous in our arguments and rebuttals. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 07:27, 6 June 2014 (UTC)
:: I hope that the Daily Mail reference was a joke. That publication certainly is. Is this continuing debate the only reason the explanation is incomplete? I'm not sure it applies. What is the definition of incomplete anyway? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.218|141.101.99.218]] 15:10, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

:2.1 in a 1000? That still leaves 997.9 in a 1000. If those odds are enough to make you shun an entire half of the human population, then you might be paranoid. And those 2.1 probably tend to occur in certain situations and certain places, although I'm loathe to actually make any claims without the data to back me up. Yes, there is still misogyny in our society, Tumblr feminists, but the majority of us would never knowingly hurt anybody, females included. So while carrying mace in your purse is understandable, not speaking to a cute non-psychotic guy because you think that the moment you show any interest in him, he won't let you go until he has had your way with you, that's a bit too much. And ironically, it still ends up placing the blame on the victims of such encounters. "Oh, but you talked to him first, you shouldn't have recognized his existence. Everybody knows you don't recognize a male's existence or else you're asking for it."[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.56|141.101.104.56]] 14:26, 17 June 2014 (UTC)

::Here's a fun statistic. Somewhere between 1 in 20 and 1 in 200 men has raped somebody, based on a simple calculation of the number of american rapes versus the number of american men. It's 1 in 20 if you assume that the average American rapist accounts for ten victims; in truth, the average american rapist accounts for only six, meaning that 1 in 20 is a lower bound. 1 in 200 is roughly the figure you get for a lower bound if you pretend that every rape is reported.

::How's that for risk?

:: I feel like you also might be missing that the figure of 2.1 in 1000 is IN A WORLD WHERE WOMEN ARE HYPERCAUTIOUS ABOUT THIS. it does not work as an argument for them being less vigilant. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:50, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

:: According to the UN, its more like 333 out of 1000: [http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/pdf/VAW.pdf "On average, at least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime."] --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:02, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

:: PS: There is not a single excuse for rape and also no way to "ask for it". Except to actually ''ask'' for it (consensual non-consent); but then its not called rape anymore. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:06, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

I think this cartoon elegantly captures the age-old challenge of dating: how to make contact with someone you find attractive, without contravening the social mores of your time - be it not talking to someone you have not been introduced to in the Victorian times, not making eye-contact in a bar unless you are "available" late last century, as well as the practice using any number of props such as witty opening lines, proclaiming a shared interest in poetry, accidentally running into each other at second hand book fairs or the joining the local skydiving club. The specific example here flags out the fears of "cyber social rejection" as another component to how we arbitrarily constrain the dynamic of "boy wants to meet girl, girl wants to meet boy" {{unsigned|ZenDad}}

I don't think this should be tagged as incomplete. The explanation looks pretty complete to me. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.199|108.162.208.199]] 02:09, 21 June 2014 (UTC)