explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1650: Baby

2016-03-02T15:29:34Z

108.162.216.38: /* Explanation */ Fixed grammar, made the page flow better, removed opinions of the author.

{{comic
| number = 1650
| date = March 2, 2016
| title = Baby
| image = baby.png
| titletext = Does it get taller first and then widen, or does it reach full width before getting taller, or alternate, or what?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Could need a better flow for the main explanation. Maybe there are also some better explanations or just alternative explanation for the items in the table.}}
[[Cueball]] (representing [[Randall]]) is uncomfortable about talking with couples who have just had a baby (here another Cueball-like guy and [[Megan]] with what appears to be a newborn baby). Because he never knows what to say, he has many strange thoughts and/or reasonable questions, that shouldn't be mentioned in front of happy parents showing off their precious baby for the first time. (See [[#Table|the table]] below for his thoughts.)

Cueball's thoughts of what he didn't say includes the awkward ''You sure did make that'', the plain strange ''What brand is it?'', and interesting musing about science, which has nothing to do with this baby, ''So do they learn words...'', and even rating someone's baby: ''★★★★☆ Great baby''! Some of the thoughts are quite true, like ''It doesn't really look like you since you're not a baby.''

In the end he manages to make a comment about how cool the baby is, and immediately regrets this, as he just realized that he might have hurt the parents' feelings. Given the other possibilities he discarded before delivering his verdict, it could have been much worse.

In the title text he continues his thoughts again, going in the scientific direction with a question regarding how a child grows. Does it get tall first and then put on weight? (i.e. widen). This is a valid question which has no general answer. (See more in the table below). But he is not serious, as he also wonders if the child ''reach full width before getting taller''.

Randall was 31 at the time of the release of this comic. As far as this page and Wikipedia informs, at the time of writing, he has no children, although he is married. However, given his age, it is highly likely that many of his friends are having babies during these years, so he will probably often get into the depicted situation. Therefore, it is highly likely that the comic is based on his own experience, and that it is indeed Randall depicted as the thinking Cueball.

Having problems with small talk is a recurring theme in xkcd (see [[222: Small Talk]]), even something as simple as talking about the weather can be a problem (see [[1324: Weather]]). This comic is the third in less than a month were Cueball has issues with this, the first two were [[1640: Super Bowl Context]] and [[1643: Degrees]].

===Table===
*In the table is a list of all the different sentences Cueball can think of or actually speaks in this comic:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Cueballs thoughts, including final statement and the title text.
|-
! scope="col" | Sentense
! scope="col" | Explanation
|-
| Wow, it's getting so big! Unlike most babies, which stay the same size forever.
| The first part of the sentence is quite a normal response, if it is not the first time the person sees the baby. But the second part is something Cueball adds in his head, because newborn babies are supposed to grow fast, and it would be strange/bad if the baby had not grown considerably if it had been some month since last time.
|-
| Hi! I'm talking to a baby!
| People often talk to the baby, rather than the parents. This makes no sense for Cueball, as the baby doesn't understand him. Should he mention this?
|-
| What brand is it?
| Typically a question one would ask about a new car, article of clothing, electronics, or other inanimate object, not a baby. Alternatively, the "{{w|brand}}" could also figuratively refer to the baby's sex. Usually it may be OK to ask what sex the baby is, though the normal question would be ''Is it a boy or a girl.''
|-
| Wow, definitely much smaller than a regular person!
| As all babies are... Typically a real response would be ''Wow, they are so small''.
|-
| You sure did make that.
| A typical comment would be ''he sure looks like you''. (See the comment that it doesn't look like you.) Such a sentence basically means you can see that it is clear that these two people did in fact make this baby. But making a baby requires sex, so when he put is like that he actually refers to the sex part, which may be uncomfortable for many people.
|-
| ★★★★☆ Great baby.
| It is custom to praise parents for their lovely baby, but do not ever rate it with stars! In [[1608: Hoverboard]] Megan [http://xkcd.com/1608/1019:-1073+s.png rates a sea], something also not usually done. (At least she gives less stars than Cueball does for the baby). According to [[1098: Star Ratings]] this means the baby is OK.
|-
| It doesn't really look like you since you're not a baby.
| A common comment is ''He totally looks like you''. What people mean is that they can see features in the face (he has his fathers nose but his mothers eyes). But of course given that the parents are adults they of course no longer look like a baby. Often it could be speculated that people just say this because they wish to see the similarities and to please the parents (hopefully).
|-
| So do they learn words one at a time alphabetically or can you pick the order or what?
| Here Cueball displays interest in the process of learning to speak a language as a baby. Very interesting subject, but since this is a very small baby not something first time parents for instance would have thought about yet. Learning one word at a time seems reasonable, but the last two suggestions that they learn alphabetically or in a specific order the parents chooses is plain silly.
|-
| I hope it does a good job.
| A baby actually does nothing that can be described as a ''job'', so this statement is not meaningful.
If it were about the future of the baby, it would be a socially very inadequate comment to care only about the possible usefulness of the baby, than to anticipate the joy of the parents about the child's person.
|-
| Wow, that's a really cool baby!
| This is what Cueball actually ends up saying. He thinks immediately that this was a silly thing to day and thinks ''Dammit'' (see title text of this comic: [[559: No Pun Intended]]).
|-
| Title text: Does it get taller first and then widen, or does it reach full width before getting taller, or alternate, or what?
| It is not possible to generalize about how {{w|Child_development#Physical_growth|children grow}}, but of course it doesn't reach full width before getting taller! But it's mostly true that kids do alternate between putting on weight and using that weight to get taller. So they'll might get chubbier during a period of time, but then suddenly they will lose the fat as they grow taller and becomes thin again. If they don't eat much, they may stay small. If you feed them a diet with lots of sugar, they may stay fat even during growth spurts. But not necessarily as each kid is different. The question is thus very interesting, but again not something to discuss as an anecdote the first time you have the chance to comment on a newborn baby.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in front of a family consisting a Cueball-like guy holding a newborn baby, with spiky hair, in a blanket and Megan. Cueball is thinking lots of thoughts about what to say to the couple upon seeing their baby for the first time. There is thus a huge thinking bubble in the top of the panel above the characters. Everything in this bubble has been crossed out like taking a pencil and drawing lines on top of the text, but it can still be read. After using all this time thinking, Cueball finally decides what to say, only to immediately regret this as can be seen in a small thought bubble below his spoken line, which is between the huge and the small bubble.]
:Cueball (thoughts that are crossed out): 
::Wow, it's getting so big! Unlike most babies, which stay the same size forever.
::Hi! I'm talking to a baby!
::What brand is it?
::Wow, definitely much smaller than a regular person!
::You sure did make that.
::★★★★☆ Great baby.
::It doesn't really look like you since you're not a baby.
::So do they learn words one at a time alphabetically or can you pick the order or what?
::I hope it does a good job.
:Cueball: Wow, that's a really cool baby!
:Cueball (thinking): Dammit.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I can never figure out what to say about babies.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

1649: Pipelines

2016-03-02T15:14:55Z

108.162.216.38: /* Table */ Removed first person comments, fixed typo

{{comic
| number = 1649
| date = February 29, 2016
| title = Pipelines
| image = pipelines.png
| titletext = In the future, every single pipeline will lead to the bowl of a giant blender, and we'll all just show up with a bucket each day to take our share of the resulting smoothie.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The table with all the items should be filled out with explanations etc. and the diameter should be calculated from real data (with references).}}

Follows a similar idea to the [[what if?]] {{what if|147|Niagara Straw}}, (from three days before this comic's release), where the entire water flow over {{w|Niagara Falls}} is imagined to flow through a straw (i.e. 7 mm diameter with disastrous results).

In this comic [[Randall]] imagines what size pipes are necessary to carry US domestic production/consumption of various fluids if the flow rate were fixed at 4 meters per second. Randall notes that "many pipes would overlap", owing to the fact that consumption of one item as corn syrup would be due to the production of one of the others, in this case soda pop (another example, than the previous one which is actually mentioned in the comic, could be gasoline which is produced from petroleum ).

The top panel is in [http://store-xkcd-com.myshopify.com/products/actual-size-stickers actual size] (something Randall often jokes about but here he means it). This means that if you look at the image in actual size (or measure lengths in the full size image) then the measured diameter is the diameter Randall has calculated the pipe should be, based on his data for the consumption of these substances.

In the second panel the pipes are too big for his drawing. To indicate the scale he has both inserted a human (appearance like [[Megan]], but with blonde hair, i.e. not Megan) and the top panel has been shrunk down to indicate how much larger the bottom panel is (this is similar to the link between the panels in [[980: Money]]). Using the size of the top panel and the smaller insert, it can be found that the scale is 20:1. (The woman is 9 cm tall in the image, which makes her 180 cm -- 5 feet 11 inches -- in "real life"). The pipe next to her for gasoline would have a diameter of 2.2 m.

Since the caption at the top mentions both fluid produced and consumed in the US it becomes very difficult to find out which number Randall uses. For instance the consumption of wine in the US and the production of wine in the US is not necessarily the same as wine is both imported and exported. Should there then be two pipes? Unlike similar comics (like Money mentioned above) there are no references for where Randall has the data for this comic.

As usual with xkcd, the absurdity -- and improbability -- of routing the entirety of each fluid through a single pipe at any point is the source of humor. In addition, despite Randall's stated assumption that all the fluids are magically flowing at the same rate as public water (4 meters per second), many could never actually do so; some "fluids" shown are too viscous (e.g. peanut butter, Silly Putty, meat), adhesive (e.g. maple syrup), or thermally impractical (e.g. glass, cheese, ice cream and yogurt). Lastly, many are just plain zany (e.g. saliva a reference to another what if? {{what if|144|Saliva Pool}}). Note that at the bottom of the last panel there is a much larger pipe for the tap water used by the public. All substances are listed below in the [[#Table|table]].

The title text refers to a possible future based on the idea of this comic in which all the pipes with the above mentioned fluids will actually lead into the same hole as shown in the top right panel. This hole will then be the bowl of a giant blender that mixes all these substances together to a ''{{w|smoothie}}''. The future people will then just come up to this blender and get a bucket full of this mix each day. In reality, this would be an impractical method of getting all of the fluids. Setting the logistical considerations of such a setup aside, this would mean that ketchup and salsa, both intended for human consumption, would be mixed with fluids which are harmful to humans, such as windshield wiper fluid.

Note: "Soup" has been left out, and it might have been expected in this comic due to the similarity to this system with [[Beret Guy|Beret Guy's]] use of a "soup outlet" as an entrepreneur in [[1293: Job Interview]]. It is probably a larger pipeline than salsa and possibly even ketchup. However, there are many different varieties of soups, and most soup is probably not bought finished, both very good reasons to not include it in the chart. But still the idea of having a soup outlet is very similar to this comic.

===Table===
*All the substances are listed here in the "reading" order also used in the transcript.
*The diameter is for the inner part of the tube.
*GL is for GigaLiters - or Billion Liters. This is strictly the annual discharge of the Size (cm) column at 4 m/s.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|+ All substances with size as found in the picture, vs. size calculated from public information
|-
! scope="col" | Substance
! scope="col" | Size (cm)
! scope="col" | Annual Discharge (GL)
! scope="col" | Explanation
|-
| {{w|Toothpaste}}
| 3.5
| 0.121
| In the title text of [[1599: Water Delivery]] Randall claims that he as a child could not understand why there were no toothpaste pipe to his house when there was one for water... Giving this is at the top, this is a clear allusion to this comment. Calculation is based on 542 g/year per capita consumption of toothpaste. Source: [https://www.google.co.il/search?q=toothpaste+consumption+by+country&num=100&espv=2&rlz=1C1VFKB_enIL627IL627&tbm=isch&imgil=2wpGcxkoKlCvAM%253A%253BvrrYrXTGlziE6M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.sanasecurities.com%25252Ftop-story%25252Ffuture-prospect-indian-oral-care-industry&source=iu&pf=m&fir=2wpGcxkoKlCvAM%253A%252CvrrYrXTGlziE6M%252C_&usg=__g9B9_HQ-jLim5P25Ov5d6l6BiNk%3D&biw=1920&bih=955&ved=0ahUKEwjLiMn-op_LAhVD4XIKHcvPCMsQyjcIJA&ei=I27VVovrEsPCywPLn6PYDA#imgrc=2wpGcxkoKlCvAM%3A here].
The year the graph was made in is estimated to be 2013, and 316.5 million estimated 2013 US population to calculate the diameter above.
|-
| {{w|Nail polish}}
| 0.4
| 0.000159
|
|-
| {{w|Windshield washer fluid}}
| 5.6
| 0.311
|
|-
| {{w|Silly putty}}
| 0.1
| 0.0000991
| Smallest diameter
|-
| {{w|Shampoo}}
| 4
| 0.159
|
|-
| {{w|Honey}}
| 5.2
| 0.268
|
|-
| {{w|Blood donation|Donated blood}}
| 0.9
| 0.00803
|
|-
| {{w|Vanilla}}
| 0.4
| 0.000159
| Not the ice but the spice (which is black as the substance in the vanilla pipe).
|-
| {{w|Ketchup}}
| 5.2
| 0.268
|
|-
| {{w|Salsa (sauce)|Salsa}}
| 3.6
| 0.128
|
|-
| {{w|Sunscreen}}
| 1.35
| 0.0181
|
|-
| {{w|Personal lubricant}}
| 0.65
| 0.00419
| Aka lube
|-
| {{w|LCD liquid}}
| 0.26
| 0.000670
| For {{w|Liquid-crystal display}}
|-
| {{w|Mayonnaise|Mayo}}
| 4.4
|
| Or mayonnaise
|-
| {{w|Printer ink}}
| 1.4
| 0.192
|
|-
| {{w|Maple syrup}}
| 1.8
| 0.0178
|
|
|-
| {{w|Hair conditioner|Conditioner}}
| 2.5
| 0.0620
| For hair
|-
| {{w|Mustard (condiment)|Mustard}}
| 3.7
| 0.136
|
|-
| {{w|Liquid soap}}
| 4.7
| 0.219
|
|-
| {{w|Olive oil}}
| 6.2
| 0.381
| Largest diameter in the upper chart
|-
| {{w|Coffee}}
| 58
| 33.4
|
|-
| {{w|Peanut butter}}
| 8.6
| 0.733
| Smallest diameter in the bottom chart
|-
| {{w|Ice cream}}
| 20
| 3.97
|
|-
| {{w|Cheese}}
| 70
| 48.6
| Made from milk (cow) also in the chart
|-
| {{w|Carbonated water|Soda}}
| 82
| 66.7
| As in club soda
|-
| {{w|Acetone}}
| 13.6
| 1.83
| An organic chemical used as a highly potent cleaner in labs.
|-
| {{w|Liquor}}
| 15
| 2.23
|
|-
| {{w|Gasoline}}
| 220
| 480.
| Made from petrol, also in the chart
|-
| {{w|Yogurt}}
| 15
| 2.23
| Made from milk (cow), also in the chart
|-
| {{w|Milk#Cow.27s_milk|Milk (cow)}}
| 106
| 111
|
|-
| {{w|Bottled water}}
| 71
| 50.0
| See also [[1599: Water Delivery]]
|-
| {{w|Sugar}}
| 42
| 17.5
| See also [[1639: To Taste]]
|-
| {{w|Saliva}}
| 85
| 71.6
| From these data it could be calculated how long it would take America to drool enough to fill that pool from the what if? {{what if|144|Saliva Pool}}.
|-
| {{w|Wine}}
| 18
| 3.21
| Americans drank just under [https://www.wineinstitute.org/resources/statistics/article86 900 million gallons of wine in 2014], or almost 3.4 million cubic metres per year meaning that Americans drink about 0.11 m3/s. With the pipe flowing at 4 m/s this pipe must have an area of 268cm2. The radius of a pipe of area 268cm^2 is 9.25 cm. The wine pipe should thus have a diameter of 18.5 cm, very close to the one found by measuring on the chart.
|-
| {{w|HFCS}}
| 20
| 3.97
| High fructose corn syrup
|-
| {{w|Breast milk|Milk (human)}}
| 10.6
| 1.114
|
|-
| {{w|Petroleum}}
| 318
| 1002
| Largest diameter in the bottom chart, except for the public water. Also known as crude oil. Used to make for instance gasoline, also in the chart.
|-
| {{w|Meat}}
| 59
| 34.5
|
|-
| {{w|Glass}}
| 28
| 7.77
|
|-
| {{w|Beer}}
| 54
| 28.9
|
|-
| {{w|Tea}}
| 41
| 16.67
|
|-
| {{w|Cement}}
| 74
| 54.3
|
|-
| {{w|Tap water|Public water}}
| 2550
| 64,465
| Using the formula [http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/564058/calculate-the-radius-of-a-circle-given-the-chord-length-and-height-of-a-segment here] it is possible to calculate the diameter of a circle given the chord length = l and height = h of a segment. From the drawing (and scaling) l = 390 cm and h = 15 cm. The formula states that D = h + l2/(4*h) = 15 cm + (390 cm)2/(4*15 cm) = 2550 cm.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the first main panel, to the left of a smaller panel to the right.]
:<big>The size of the US’s</big>
:<big><big>'''Pipelines'''</big></big>
:<big>if each fluid produced or consumed in the US has to be carried by a single pipe</big>
:Assuming they all flowed at the same speed of about 4m/s
:Note: Many pipelines would overlap (eg. '''soda'''/corn syrup)

:[There is a small panel to the right showing three gray pipes of different sizes leading out over a large hole in the ground. Only a part of the hole can be seen at the bottom left part of the panel, but it curves around indicating it is a large circular hole. The pipes are supported by small legs beneath them and from the end of all three thick liquids are squirting out and down into the hole. The first pipe is by far the largest; the liquid from it is white, but not as white as the background. The second pipe is by far the smallest squirting dark red liquid and the final rightmost pipe is in between and squirts our light brown liquid. Each pipe is labeled. The label on the smallest cannot be read properly, but from the info gained in the next panel it can be inferred for certain what it says (and this is indicated here below):]
:[Large pipe (white)]: Mayo
:[Small pipe (dark red)]: Nail polish
:[Medium pipe (light brown)]: Maple syrup

:[Below is a large panel with a caption at the top. And below this there are twenty circles in different sizes and with different color (or even texture). Each circle is labeled, for the five smallest the label is outside, in one case with an arrow indicating where the label belongs. The rest has the label inside. The text is in black except for four of those with text inside, but with red of black color. Here the text is white. The labels are indicated by color and size, going roughly from top left in reading order based on the position and size of circles not of position of the text:]

:<big>Actual size </big> (When viewed on a typical computer screen) 
:[Medium green blue and white spiral]: Toothpaste
:[Tiny dark red]: Nail polish
:[Big light blue with white specks]: Windshield washer fluid
:[Very tiny purple]: Silly putty
:[Medium light green]: Shampoo
:[Large dark yellow]: Honey
:[Very small blood red]: Donated blood
:[Tiny black]: Vanilla
:[Big red]: Ketchup
:[Medium dark red with chunks of in different green and lighter red colors]: Salsa
:[Small white]: Sunscreen
:[Very small light green]: Personal lubricant
:[Very tiny gray]: LCD liquid
:[Medium off-white]: Mayo
:[Very small black]: Printer ink
:[Small light brown]: Maple syrup
:[Small light green]: Conditioner
:[Medium yellow]: Mustard
:[Large light green]: Liquid soap
:[Big olive green]: Olive oil

:[The panel just described is indicated to fit into a small rectangle at the top left of the next panel below. There are four lines ending at the four corners of this small rectangle, two of these are going to the two bottom corners and the other two ends on the lower part of the panel just above the small rectangle. They are indicated to go under the panel and would hit the two top corners if extrapolated). The 11 largest circles are clearly seen, but most of the other circles can also be noted. The colors are the same but any features in the original circles as well as the labels are gone. The part of the black top frame of the next panel below is faded out to gray in between the section cut off by the two lines going to the bottom corners of the panel above. This rectangle indicated the increasing size compared to the first panel above.]

:[Apart from the insert mentioned above the second panel follows the same layout, but with 22 circles with even larger range of sizes. The panel is more than twice as long as the first panel. A Megan-like girl, but with white hair, is drawn at the top of the panel just left of the middle. Her hair close to the top, just below the line going to the right corner above. There are two medium and five smaller circles to her left and one small close to her head and one huge circle to her right. Her feet are less than a third down this panel standing on top of the next row of circles. In the bottom half of the panel there is a giant circle which almost touches the left side of the panel. There are smaller circles above it and down along the right side. One last circle is to the left almost at the bottom. At the very bottom is a slightly curving line to indicate a much much larger blue circle that only graces the panel (no. 23). There is a small green fish in this water to the left of the label. Below the labels are again listed as above. One label has a foot note. But it is written directly beneath the circle in which it is referenced. So it will be written together with the label on the next line. There is also one case with an arrow used to indicate where the label belongs.]

:[Medium dark gray]: Coffee
:[Very tiny gray]: Peanut butter
:[Very small gray with black specks]: Ice cream
:[Very small yellow with white specks]: Cheese
:[Large brown with white fizzing]: Soda
:[Tiny White]: Acetone
:[Tiny gray]: Liquor
:[Huge dark yellow]: Gasoline
:[Tiny White with blue and orange specks]: Yogurt
:[Big white]: Milk (cow)
:[Large light blue]: Bottled water
:[Small white]: Sugar
:[Large light gray with white specks]: Saliva
:[Very small light yellow]: Wine
:[Very small orange]: HFCS
:[Very tiny white]: Milk (human)
:[Gigantic dark gray]: Petroleum
:[Medium dark red with black texture]: Meat (mostly solid)
:[Small white]: Glass*
::<nowiki>*</nowiki>Solid at room temperature
:[Medium light brown]: Beer
:[Small gray brown]: Tea
:[Large gray]: Cement
:[Gracing bottom of panel light blue]: Public water

==Trivia==
*In addition to the what if? article, the relevancy of pipelines, particularly regarding public water, is heightened due to the ongoing public health crisis in {{w|Flint, Michigan}}, caused by recent (mis-)management of their public water system.<ref>McLaughlin, Elliot. [http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/18/us/flint-michigan-water-crisis-five-things/index.html “5 things to know about Flint's water crisis”], '{{w|CNN}}', January 21 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.</ref>
**Studies have shown that temporary use of the Flint River as a water source caused corrosive water to leach lead from old pipes, causing lead poisoning in many residents, particularly children; other ill effects in addition to lead have been noted.
**The crisis has lead to a public outcry against the state "emergency financial management" team appointed and supervised by the state executive (Gov. Rick Snyder and staff) and an outpouring of support from nearby communities such as Metro Detroit via bottled water donations to Flint residents.
*This is the third comic posted on Leap Day ({{w|February 29}}); the previous ones were:
**[[390: Nightmares]] also like this one on a Friday in 2008 and
**[[1023: Late-Night PBS]] on a Wednesday in 2012.
**If the current M-W-F schedule continues, the next such comic will not happen before 2036 when the leap day again falls on a Friday.
**It may also be interesting to note that the first three leap years after xkcd began (in just over 10 years) all fell on a release day, then followed by a break of 20 years. In addition, three of these first four leap days all fell on a Friday.

==References==
<references />

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:1636: XKCD Stack

2016-01-29T17:28:17Z

108.162.216.38:

I just came here. AM I IN THE FUTURE? ''I'm in the future!'' {{unsigned ip|199.27.130.246}}
:We are in the future together.{{unsigned|KingSupernova}}
::But if there are no comments, aren't we in the past? The distant past, before the beginning of the comments? ...Watch out for raptors!{{unsigned ip|162.158.2.227}}
:::Can confirm... all you guys are in the past; (as an active time traveller heading to the future, i've seen it all!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.210|162.158.91.210]] 09:11, 29 January 2016 (UTC)

Would you two sign your comments, please? --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 07:17, 29 January 2016 (UTC)
:It was actually three people '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:12, 29 January 2016 (UTC)

Right now it says that we aren't yet at the stage of having a CPU in Minecraft. That's not true. SethBling has implemented BASIC [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4e7PjRygt0 using only command blocks, armor stands, and banners]. [[User:DanielLC|DanielLC]] ([[User talk:DanielLC|talk]]) 08:50, 29 January 2016 (UTC)
:That's not really a CPU, it's just an inefficient method to parse characters and compile code. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 17:28, 29 January 2016 (UTC)

I would think "archive.org mirror" means a mirror of [company]'s website on archive.org, not a mirror ''of'' archive.org. [[User:Sjorford|Sjorford]] ([[User talk:Sjorford|talk]]) 11:51, 29 January 2016 (UTC)

Docker?
:Docker: A-B
::Nested Docker: A-B-C
:::Doubly Nested Docker: A-B-C-D
::::Triply Nested Docker: A-B-C-D-E
Surely. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.161|141.101.106.161]] 13:38, 29 January 2016 (UTC)
LOL, I read on the front page the bit about Excel being a database, clicked through here to edit it, and found that in the intervening 2 minutes someone had made the exact edit I meant to. The system works :) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.59|162.158.153.59]] 14:01, 29 January 2016 (UTC)
:"The Microsoft Jet Database Engine is a database engine on which several Microsoft products have been built." Microsoft Access 95 / Excel 95 Jet version 3.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Jet_Database_Engine [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.68|108.162.208.68]] 15:19, 29 January 2016 (UTC)

== 48-bit architecture ==

# you mixed together machine word size and address space size, the former is the matter, address space is insignificant (eg most 8-bit computers use 16bit address space).
# there are 48-bit architectures "Computers with 48-bit words include the AN/FSQ-32, CDC 1604/upper-3000 series, BESM-6, Ferranti Atlas, and Burroughs large systems (B5xxx-B8xxx, which additionally had a 3-4 type tag)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/48-bit
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.68|108.162.208.68]] 15:14, 29 January 2016 (UTC)
# Does anyone else think that the 48bit arch could be a reference to the 3/4s from the version number, 48 is 3/4 of 64, which is a much more common arch.

== Mystery Networking Horror ==

This may also be a reference to the D-Reaper from the anime ''Digimon Tamers,'' which was a primitive anti-virus and resource manager that was, as TV Tropes put it, ''Gone Horribly Right.'' Constructed to cull AI programs that that exceeded their memory budget on a computer from the year 197X, it saw the Digimon (and humans) in the year 200X as a threat, and was actually able to delete anything in the Digital World that it touched due to having grown more powerful and complex by many orders of magnitude from all of the code it had consumed in the past. It was quite literally a digital ''Eldritch Horror,'' in every sense of the word.

You may view both TV Tropes and the Digimon Wiki for more information on this subject.
- Kitsune_Phoenix; 16:13, 2016-01-29 (UTC)

Category:Velociraptors

2016-01-08T13:30:07Z

108.162.216.38:

'''Velociraptor''' is a genus of {{w|dinosaur}} which was popularized by its appearance in the ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}'' film series. In the films, velociraptors are depicted as small (shorter than adult humans) bi-pedal scaled dinsaurs which frequently attacked and killed humans. They were one of the main antagonists in the films. The reference source used by the author of the original novel was somewhat outdated, and the dinosaurs as written and thereafter depicted in the film have some discrepancies with the size and appearance of the velociraptors. For example, scientists have since discovered that velociraptors were likely feathered.

''Jurassic Park'' could have been a scary film for children, and the film appears to have had a strong impact on [[Randall Munroe]]. Velociraptors in particular, and the irrational fear of being attacked by them in the modern world, are a subject of (or appear in) several strips of [[xkcd]].

[http://webcomicssobad.blogspot.com/2007/11/xkcd.html Sonty Mick] posits, perhaps facetiously, that velociraptors in xkcd symbolize {{w|God}}.

''See also: {{w|Velociraptor}}''

{{navbox-characters}}

[[Category:Jurassic Park]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Characters]]

Talk:169: Words that End in GRY

2015-09-12T23:35:46Z

108.162.216.38:

Ok, everything on this page, I already got. The bit I came here for, is the exact nature of the ambiguity. What is 'the phrase'? 
"The English language that end in gry", he's wrong because there are more than three words. 
"The English language", he's wrong because none of them end in gry. 
"There are three words in the English language ...", wrong again because language isn't the third word. 
So...? -- Zergling_man [[Special:Contributions/58.96.88.83|58.96.88.83]] 15:24, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

:The second paragraph in the explanation is what you are looking for. But as a brief overview: The reason it's easy to miss is that the words are written as a dialog would happen. If it had been properly punctuated it would have read "There are three words in 'the English language' that end with gry: 'Angry' and 'Hungry' are two. What's the third?" Cueball is saying there are three words in the phrase 'the English language' but to distract his intended victim he continues the sentence so the phrase is hidden among other words that, when taken as a whole, have a seeming continuity. This is why Black Hat cuts off Cueball's hand. Because the "joke" is not funny and being intentionally ambiguous and then being smug when the ambiguity has its intended effect is not humor. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:01, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

::But this doesn't actually answer my question. Take it without the distraction. "There are three words in the English language that end in gry. What's the third?" Even then, it still doesn't make any sense. If you take it as "there are three words in the English language. What's the third?", then you're left with "that end in gry: Angry and hungry are two", and that doesn't make any sense at all. I'm not seeing how there's any way both meanings can be valid, whatever you do to this, it seems at least one is completely nonsensical. -- Zergling_man [[Special:Contributions/58.96.88.83|58.96.88.83]] 13:00, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

::: The trouble is that Randall told the joke incorrectly... it should be (with proper punctuation) "There are three words in 'The English Language'. Ending in 'gry' there are 'angry' and 'hungry' What is the third word?" [[Special:Contributions/190.214.5.29|190.214.5.29]] 04:59, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

:::: I think a better way to say it is:
:::: There are at least 3 words in "the English language that end with 'gry'. 'Angry' and 'hungry' are two". What is the third word? [[Special:Contributions/81.23.24.39|81.23.24.39]] 08:33, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

:::: For anyone who is curious, the answer is "gryphon." [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 20:47, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

::::: They have to end with "GRY", an answer can be "unangry", but "gryphon" does not end with GRY (source:http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=words+that+end+in+GRY){{unsigned|79.40.128.128}}

:::::: No; the original question asked for 3 words that had 'gry' in the end. 'Angry' and 'hungry' have 'gry' in the back end. 'Gryphon' has 'gry' in the front end.
:::::: Also, sudo sign all your comments by adding 4 tildes in the back end of your comment. [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 19:37, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

:::::::: actually, as you van read in the explanation, the entire question is wrong, the joke should not have the requirement of English words ending with gry, but have the question simply be ''there are only three words in the English language, what is the third, prefaced by a misguiding comment about words that end with gry, like angry and hungry. The point of the joke is that this preface is not part of the question, and as such it creates a hilarious intentional misunderstanding. [[Special:Contributions/145.44.88.75|145.44.88.75]] 10:01, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

I really doubt this is Cueball, as he is seen later with both arms, and he is nowhere near as much of an asshole (or an idiot) to tell this joke incorrectly. [[Special:Contributions/75.185.176.214|75.185.176.214]] 18:45, 8 August 2013 (UTC) tildes for the win

:There are many Cueballs, just read the page on him. However, this doesn't exactly fit the normal Cueball's character. [[User:Gman314|Gman314]] ([[User talk:Gman314|talk]]) 16:40, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

----

The title text is missing. Am I right that Randall states that {{w|Postmodernism|postmodernists}} are not clever?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:31, 8 August 2013 (UTC)

:No, I would say that Randall is making a joke about postmodern art. Stereotypically, postmodern art is very subtle and symbolic and doesn't look like much, but there is still a message hiding underneath. Randall is saying that they're not conveying their point well, but are still acting smug when people don't understand their poorly communicated point. [[User:Gman314|Gman314]] ([[User talk:Gman314|talk]]) 16:40, 21 August 2013 (UTC)
:: What makes you think that it '''only''' refers to postmodern art and not postmodernization in general? ———[[User:Pacerier|Pacerier]] ([[User talk:Pacerier|talk]]) 19:41, 12 July 2015 (UTC)
:No, but almost. Randall does feel that post-modernists are prone to this behavior, and this behavior is not clever. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 01:44, 6 February 2014 (UTC)
:: And where is the source for "Randall does feel that post-modernists are prone to this behavior"? ———[[User:Pacerier|Pacerier]] ([[User talk:Pacerier|talk]]) 19:41, 12 July 2015 (UTC)
:Well, postmodernists are pretty much thrashed in [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=postmodernism&defid=3758855 Urban Dictionary]... ———[[User:Pacerier|Pacerier]] ([[User talk:Pacerier|talk]]) 19:41, 12 July 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia has an entire page devoted to the -GRY joke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-gry) {{unsigned ip|66.46.112.60}}

Can someone explain what is the '''significance''' of BlackHat cutting off Cueball's hand? ———[[User:Pacerier|Pacerier]] ([[User talk:Pacerier|talk]]) 19:41, 12 July 2015 (UTC)

:He's punishing Cueball for being smug. It's not significant that it's the hand in particular (that just seems to be the limb closest to BlackHat). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 23:35, 12 September 2015 (UTC)

993: Brand Identity

2015-05-17T02:16:17Z

108.162.216.38: Changed the word "reassemble" to "resemble" in the explanation

{{comic
| number = 993
| date = December 21, 2011
| title = Brand Identity
| image = brand_identity.png
| titletext = Legally-mandated information would be printed on the back or discreetly along the bottom. In small letters under the nutrition information it would say 'Like our products? Visit our website!' There would be no URL.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic presents [[Randall]]'s idea for a line of food products all with clear black font on a white background. The products with black block lettering and white background stand out from the other items in this comic. The irony is that even though the branding isn't terribly creative, the ''lack'' of complexity is what causes the products to stand out. These product packaging styles resemble {{w|no-frills}} products and {{w|generic brands}}.

In the title text, the lack of a listed URL relates to the lack of branding on the package. It is possible that omitting the URL the consumer's curiosity will be aroused, and they will spend time on the internet hunting for the actual site.

==Transcript==
:[The incredibly varied shelf of a supermarket aisle. There are many different types of products on this shelf. Each type has numerous different brands, all surrounding a very plain brand that has, as its only label, the type of product. A plain bag, labeled in plain black letters, says "Potato Chips" and is surrounded by all the other various brands of potato chips. The same exists for tissues, crackers, matches, peanuts, hot sauce, sugar, milk, pasta, coffee, black beans, lima beans, mayo, ketchup, tea, and bread. There is a stark contrast between the incredibly noisy and complex labeling of every other brand and this simple one.]
:If I ever sold a line of supermarket goods, this is how I'd build a brand identity overnight.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1435: Presidential Alert

2014-10-17T05:39:34Z

108.162.216.38:

{{comic
| number = 1435
| date = October 17, 2014
| title = Presidential Alert
| image = presidential_alert.png
| titletext = When putting his kids to bed, after saying 'Goodnight', Obama has to stop himself from saying 'God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}
The EAS (Emergency Alert System) is a way for the President to get a message out to all American's almost instantly. In this comic the President was pushing buttons at his desk and pushed the button that activated the EAS (Emergency Alert System) on accident, which essentially hijacks everybody's television and radio broadcasts. Suddenly surprised about being on Television, the President tries to think of something "important" to say on the spot but the best he could come up with was a quick message about dental hygiene.

The Title Text refers to how most presidential addresses to the nation end, "God bless you, and God bless the United Stated of America", the joke is that the current American President, Obama, has to actively remember not to say that to his kids when telling them good night.

It also eludes to Barack Obama's notorious lack of composure when speaking without a teleprompter.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

2014-08-25T12:26:58Z

108.162.216.38: added correct name for meter

Looks like they renamed the Wikipedia article mentioned as "Maple Syrup Urine '''Syndrome'''" to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup_urine_disease Maple Syrup Urine '''Disease'''].[[User:Keavon|Keavon]] ([[User talk:Keavon|talk]]) 05:03, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

This rythmic sounding has to do with metrical <strike>foots</strike> feet, I think. Maybe someone more into it than I can explain...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_%28prosody%29 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.164|108.162.229.164]] 05:21, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

: It's just a 4-foot trochaic ("trochaic octameter"?) meter. ^- ^- ^- ^-. Also, I'm curious now, is "foots" the proper plural when discussing meter, or is that just a typo/misunderstandinh? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.150|199.27.128.150]] 06:37, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

:: Oh, right, the plural must be "feet". I just had a brain fart. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.164|108.162.229.164]] 10:23, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

:: It is a trochaic tetrameter. Tetra = 4, octa = 8.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 12:26, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

: This one is definitely related: http://xkcd.com/856/ --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.68|141.101.104.68]] 08:08, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Unless "Gloucester" is two syllables, Randall made a mistake/wanted to see if we're awake.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.224|108.162.246.224]] 06:33, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

: Actually it is. Silly British accents. It's pronounced roughly "Gloss-ter". [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.150|199.27.128.150]] 06:37, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

::In that case, I retract my previous statement and apologize.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.224|108.162.246.224]] 07:20, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

With regards to the roll-over text, mention could be made of the long-running BBC radio show "I'm sorry I haven't a clue" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Sorry_I_Haven%27t_A_Clue ). It is comedy panel game, and one of the regular rounds is 'One Song to the Tune of Another'. It may be coincidence, but one panellist of the show is Barry Cryer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Cryer ) who happened to have recorded Purple People Eater... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.184|141.101.98.184]] 08:26, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Why isn't Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the list? [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.120|103.22.201.120]] 11:41, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

There's a typo in "Quantuum vacuum plasma thruster". [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.184|141.101.98.184]] 12:08, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1396: Actors

2014-07-18T21:51:19Z

108.162.216.38: Added comment(s).

Could be Bieber... 04:42, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:Good point. [[User:Sjrsimac|Sjrsimac]] ([[User talk:Sjrsimac|talk]]) 04:48, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:More likely Timberlake.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.207|108.162.246.207]] 06:48, 18 July 2014 (UTC)Nix
:It's referring to Justin Theroux, currently in ninth place on IMDB's Most Popular Males list. (http://www.imdb.com/search/name?gender=male) Yeah, I have no idea who he is either. I feel old. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.170|108.162.237.170]] 06:49, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
Do you think it's necessary to add that the temperature is in Fahrenheit, and that normal body temperature is around 98.6? The part about getting a bit of his shirt should also probably be explained in that context. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.211|173.245.56.211]] 05:39, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:Yeah, please do. Most Americans can't handle metric units, and I can't handle Fahrenheit. The only thing I can remember is that body temperature is around 100°F. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.59|108.162.254.59]] 07:26, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:Inserted Fahrenheit and Celcius into the explanation...
:Compared Suns temp. to Xi Persei, inserted link to films about birds (them being the hottest warm-blooded creatures I know of) [[User:Tier666|Tier666]] ([[User talk:Tier666|talk]]) 08:03, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

I seem to recall several other comics making fun of these generic headlines of the form "The <n> <adjective> <nouns> you must see". I could only find one though: http://xkcd.com/1283/ --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.95|141.101.104.95]] 07:40, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
: http://www.xkcd.com/1307/ (Buzzfeed Christmas) has plenty of these. [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.239|103.22.201.239]] 08:58, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Forget animals and "stars" with fevers: certainly the "hottest" objects involved in creating characters are the server farms behind CGI cartoon films! I can only imagine the heat load during final rendering. (Note: I stated "creating characters" akin to acting; to use movie-making in general, the hottest objects would be stage lighting, or the Sun during outdoor scenes.) --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.88|173.245.55.88]] 12:20, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
: Rendering is not acting. The computation of {{w|MASSIVE_(software)|crowd behaviour}}, on the other hand, is. So question is how hot will became CPUs (or GPUs) of computers involved in computing the battles like in LOTR. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:35, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
::I'm sure there are plenty of movies in which the sun is a character. There might also be special effects or a separate voice actor, but if the sun plays itself for some of the time, it might be considered an (uncredited) actor. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Mr._Sun][http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VEfomqnif34#t=833] [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.239|103.22.201.239]] 16:54, 18 July 2014 (UTC)
:For that matter isn't ξ Persei visible in some night-sky scenes, making it once again the hottest? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 21:51, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

I'm not sure there is misunderstanding about stars. I mean, the misunderstanding about the meaning of ''hot'' is enough to rank ξ Persei as hotter that any actress, including Kirsten Dunst (which is sexiest according to [http://top10for.com/top-10-sexiest-hollywood-actresses-2014/ this list], my opinion is different). I'm also sure ξ Persei is more attractive if you measure the force in fixed distance of 10 meters from surface. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:35, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Anybody else suddenly notice that ξ looks a lot like the new name of the "Artist formerly known as Prince"? And thus miss the Astronomical reference entirely and wonder if his last name was now Persei?[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 20:38, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

The article says "They are shooting stars with a laser beam...", is this a typo, or a phrasing I don't understand? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 21:51, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1355: Airplane Message

2014-04-14T13:51:39Z

108.162.216.38: Questioning the use of the term "prehistoric"

How can Iry-Hor, who's name comes from a ''written record'', be considered "prehistoric"? History begins with the written record. By definition, Iry-Hor would be the earliest historical name we know.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 13:51, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1350: Lorenz

2014-04-01T16:54:16Z

108.162.216.38: fix

I've had the story loop back to the first frame, so it wouldn't surprise me if this could go on infinitely if it had the available dialogue options.

This is going to be a hell of a thing. Good luck... [[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 15:39, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:I think this is one of those times when the custom field might come in handy. Duplicating Randall's code seems like it might be difficult, and it might just be easier to link to the original page. Probably. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:47, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

There's always new story lines, even when you think you've read them all, new ones appear to replace them. I don't think it'll ever be possible to record them all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.192|108.162.212.192]] 15:55, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

When I go to XKCD, all I see is the comic from Monday... weird. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:45, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Currently there appears to be a bug. Instead of the evolving, crowd-sourced comic, I just see an off-center copy of the previous comic, 1349: Shouldn't Be Hard. [http://i.imgur.com/pw2OfOL.png Screenshot here].
UPDATE: it appears to be a bug in the XSRF-blocking code. Chrome console shows me the error "XMLHttpRequest cannot load http://c1.xkcd.com/graph/1/. The 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header has a value 'http://xkcd.com' that is not equal to the supplied origin. Origin 'http://www.xkcd.com' is therefore not allowed access."
FURTHER UPDATE: you can work around this bug by going to http://xkcd.com instead of http://www.xkcd.com!
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 16:46, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1350: Lorenz

2014-04-01T16:49:38Z

108.162.216.38: update.

I've had the story loop back to the first frame, so it wouldn't surprise me if this could go on infinitely if it had the available dialogue options.

This is going to be a hell of a thing. Good luck... [[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 15:39, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:I think this is one of those times when the custom field might come in handy. Duplicating Randall's code seems like it might be difficult, and it might just be easier to link to the original page. Probably. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:47, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

There's always new story lines, even when you think you've read them all, new ones appear to replace them. I don't think it'll ever be possible to record them all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.192|108.162.212.192]] 15:55, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

When I go to XKCD, all I see is the comic from Monday... weird. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:45, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Currently there appears to be a bug. Instead of the evolving, crowd-sourced comic, I just see an off-center copy of the previous comic, 1349: Shouldn't Be Hard. [http://i.imgur.com/pw2OfOL.png Screenshot here]. UPDATE: it appears to be a bug in the XSRF-blocking code. Chrome console shows me the error "XMLHttpRequest cannot load http://c1.xkcd.com/graph/1/. The 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header has a value 'http://xkcd.com' that is not equal to the supplied origin. Origin 'http://www.xkcd.com' is therefore not allowed access." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 16:46, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1350: Lorenz

2014-04-01T16:46:58Z

108.162.216.38: Bug!

I've had the story loop back to the first frame, so it wouldn't surprise me if this could go on infinitely if it had the available dialogue options.

This is going to be a hell of a thing. Good luck... [[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 15:39, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:I think this is one of those times when the custom field might come in handy. Duplicating Randall's code seems like it might be difficult, and it might just be easier to link to the original page. Probably. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:47, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

There's always new story lines, even when you think you've read them all, new ones appear to replace them. I don't think it'll ever be possible to record them all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.192|108.162.212.192]] 15:55, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

When I go to XKCD, all I see is the comic from Monday... weird. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:45, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Currently there appears to be a bug. Instead of the evolving, crowd-sourced comic, I just see an off-center copy of the previous comic, 1349: Shouldn't Be Hard. [http://i.imgur.com/pw2OfOL.png Screenshot here]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 16:46, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1336: Transformers

2014-03-04T00:05:34Z

108.162.216.38: You're not alone.

Wow, this really is a departure from Randall's usual style. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.17|108.162.219.17]] 12:27, 28 February 2014 (UTC)
: I guess it would have been impossible to make robot as stick figures and make people recognize them as robots...., hence I think this is a one-off [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:39, 28 February 2014 (UTC)
:: This '[[600:_Android_Boyfriend]]' is the only other "Robot" strip I can think off [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:42, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

Is this a nod to Perry Bible Fellowship in some way? It seems more like a PBF strip. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.37|141.101.98.37]]

:Agree, I thought of PBF too. Is there a category here for "Comics with non-stick-figure characters"? - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 14:29, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

:I went to PBF to see if there was a cross-over, but I was disappointed.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.135|108.162.210.135]] 18:24, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

:You're not alone, I was immediately reminded of Perry Bible Fellowship too. These two transformers seem very similar to the recurring PBF characters of Magnimus and Refridgeron -- view them [http://pbfcomics.com/121/ here] and [http://pbfcomics.com/156/ here.] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 00:05, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

Insecticons, maybe? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.57|108.162.216.57]] 19:16, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

The title text is reminiscent of the style in which David Attenborough would present this sort of metamorphosis in nature. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.120|108.162.246.120]] 23:01, 28 February 2014 (UTC)
:Any better hint? Sounds nice. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:21, 28 February 2014 (UTC)
::Well, more specifically, anything from his Life series, especially "Life in the Undergrowth", which focuses primarily on insects and arachnids. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.120|108.162.246.120]] 23:36, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

1333: First Date

2014-02-21T15:51:39Z

108.162.216.38: /* Explanation */ xkcd is not a sentient entity and therefore cannot make jokes. Randall, on the other hand, is, and can, and frequently does.

{{comic
| number = 1333
| date = February 21, 2014
| title = First Date
| image = first_date.png
| titletext = I sympathize with the TPP protagonist because I, too, have progressed through a surprising number of stages of life despite spending entire days stuck against simple obstacles.
}}

==Explanation==
'TPP,' or '{{w|Twitch Plays Pokémon}},' was the first of a creative and radical new variant of streaming gameplay videos created in early 2014.

With the increasing popularity of watching video games be played (usually by 'popular' gamers known for entertaining gameplay), streaming sites dedicated to streaming gameplay were created; twitch.tv was one such site.

Whereas traditional video game streams involved the channel broadcaster or other personality playing the game, the channel "Twitch Plays Pokémon" recorded a bot playing an emulated Pokemon game. The game was given inputs by the bot based on players' messages in the video stream itself; meaning that for all intents and purposes, the watchers of the stream were playing the game, using chat "commands." The player behaved incredibly erratically, frequently getting "stuck against simple obstacles" (as mentioned in the title-text) and moving about in a strange manner ("Why are you up there?"/"Bye...Okay, coming back now"). TPP surged in popularity rapidly from its inception, reaching 80K channel viewers within a mere 5 days. Derivative channels (such as 'TwitchPlayers') soon arose, turning "Twitch Plays..." into an idea rather than a single channel - the idea of crowd-sourcing a task, such as controlling a single person (as in the Pokémon games) for erratic and often hilarious results. The stream has reached [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/twitch-plays-pokemon memetic status], and as of this writing it is still ongoing; you can participate right now.

In the above comic, Cueball and Megan are on a date, however, Megan is behaving very erratically. Cueball determines that Megan is being "controlled by Twitch," as her behavior matches well with that of the "TPP Protagonist" (whose name, canonically, is Red). Megan loudly declares at one point that she is "SAVING" her 'game progress', referencing the incessant saving in TPP via random button presses. Her fascination with the "cool spiral" is an allusion to TPP players' fascination with the "Helix Fossil," an in-game item regarded with a near-religious reverence by TPP players for its constant appearance (because user input often leads to the checking of the in-game backpack, where the Helix fossil and other items resided, the players jokingly decided that the protagonist was "looking to the Helix for guidance;" this quickly led to its regard as a "religious symbol.")

The title-text, as explained above, simply is a light-hearted joke from Randall, empathizing with TPP as he has also spent real-life days stuck against simple obstacles.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting at a table.]
:Cueball: So, did you grow up around here?
:Megan: I love you.
:Cueball: ...Huh?
:Megan: Waiter! One of everything on the menu.

:[Megan is now standing on her chair.]
:Cueball: Why are you up there?
:Megan: I'm stuck. This plate looks delicious. Aaaoogaoag.

:[Megan has left the panel.]
:Megan (off-screen): Bye. Ok. Coming back now.

:[Megan is sitting in her chair again, now holding a Helix Fossil.]
:Cueball: You're being controlled by Twitch, aren't you?
:Megan: Check out this cool spiral!
:Cueball: It's—
:Megan: '''SAVING.'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]

Talk:703: Honor Societies

2014-02-11T16:44:51Z

108.162.216.38:

A tautology is a statement that is always true and that doesn't convey any information. A classic example is 'A or not A', which is true if A is true, but also if A isn't true. 'Either it rains or it doesn't rain' is true, no matter what weather it is.

"If 1.000.000 people join this group, it will have 1.000.000 people in it" is, strictly speaking, not a tautology, since it wouldn't be true if - somehow - 1.000.000 people were able to join the group without it having 1.000.000 people in it (I don't know - maybe if people leave the group before the counter hit 1.000.000?). It would also be true if there were somehow 1.000.000 members of the group without 1.000.000 people joining it. It is of the form 'if A then A' which is pretty much a much longer version of just 'A'. It's true if it's true, and it isn't if it isn't - so it isn't a tautology.

The same goes for 'The first rule of the tautology club is the first rule of the tautology club' - It's just a long way of saying "This is the first rule of the tautology club' - which can be true or false.
:No, it's saying that, whatever the first rule of the club is at any given moment, that's the first rule of the club. Which cannot be false. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 16:39, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

Granted; the statements hold enough implied information that we will agree that they are true in a trivial sense, and they are much more fun than 'either there are 1.000.000 people in this group or there aren't 1.000.000 people in this group' and 'either this is the first rule of the tautology club or it isn't' [[Special:Contributions/193.88.197.67|193.88.197.67]] 22:15, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
: While I do understand what you're getting at, you are surprisingly wrong on a few accounts. First, A or not A (i.e. A V ~A) is not always a tautology. I've spent enough painful time around intuitionists to say this whenever I can.
:: How is that not a tautology? For any proposition A, if the proposition is true, then A; if not, then ~A. Logic doesn't allow for a proposition to be both true AND false, nor does it allow for a proposition to be neither true NOR false, so the only remaining possibilities are A and ~A; ergo, A v ~A. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 16:44, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

:Unnecessary nitpick aside, then, there are more serious things. I presume the sentence, "It would also be true if there were somehow 1.000.000 members of the group without 1.000.000 people joining it," should be, "It would also '''not''' be true if there were somehow 1.000.000 members of the group without 1.000.000 people joining it." (Otherwise, the "also" is used incorrectly, and the sentence is useless.) Unfortunately, this would make it wrong; a statement of the form "if A then B" is not false if B is true and A isn't. (This is the difficulty of making formal logic: the traditional conditional leads to bizarre, vacuous truths.) Also, more seriously, you say that "if A then A" is a longer way of saying "A", or, more formally, that "A → A" is logically equivalent to "A." Unfortunately, this is not the case. The statement "if A then A" is always true, and hence a tautology. You also assert that "A = A" (or "A ↔ A") is logically equivalent to "A", where "A" is "The first rule of tautology club." This is even more obviously false. Even if "The first rule of tautology club" yields falsehood, it is still equivalent to itself.

:Serious issues aside, I do agree with your sentiment that "[i]f 1.000.000 people join this group, it will have 1.000.000 people in it" is not necessarily a tautology, but removing the ambiguities (did they all join at the same time? did anyone leave?), which would necessarily be done in any formalization of the statement, would yield the tautological "A → A." {{unsigned|Quicksilver}}

Why does this comic have the [[:Category:Philosophy|Philosophy]] category? Am I missing something? [[User:GameZone|GameZone]] ([[User talk:GameZone|talk]]) 08:27, 6 September 2013 (UTC)

:Logic is technically philosophy, or at least they're closely connected. [[User:Sciepsilon|Sciepsilon]] ([[User talk:Sciepsilon|talk]]) 20:23, 30 December 2013 (UTC)

It is worth noting that this comic is Randall's commentary on certain honor societies, who don't do anything except for selecting new members. Feynman once made a remark to that effect, and may be Randall's influence on the matter. (Or not.) Regardless, this explanation is missing the viewpoint. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.74|108.162.215.74]] 20:53, 28 November 2013 (UTC)

I see that nobody's pointed out that the third figure from the left in the third panel appears to be Jason Fox (see [[824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)]])- known to be one of those nerdy types who would join a tautology club. He is (to my knowledge) perpetually in the fifth grade, though, which does make me a little suspicious. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.24|173.245.56.24]] 00:03, 2 January 2014 (UTC)

Talk:703: Honor Societies

2014-02-11T16:39:38Z

108.162.216.38:

A tautology is a statement that is always true and that doesn't convey any information. A classic example is 'A or not A', which is true if A is true, but also if A isn't true. 'Either it rains or it doesn't rain' is true, no matter what weather it is.

"If 1.000.000 people join this group, it will have 1.000.000 people in it" is, strictly speaking, not a tautology, since it wouldn't be true if - somehow - 1.000.000 people were able to join the group without it having 1.000.000 people in it (I don't know - maybe if people leave the group before the counter hit 1.000.000?). It would also be true if there were somehow 1.000.000 members of the group without 1.000.000 people joining it. It is of the form 'if A then A' which is pretty much a much longer version of just 'A'. It's true if it's true, and it isn't if it isn't - so it isn't a tautology.

The same goes for 'The first rule of the tautology club is the first rule of the tautology club' - It's just a long way of saying "This is the first rule of the tautology club' - which can be true or false.
:No, it's saying that, whatever the first rule of the club is at any given moment, that's the first rule of the club. Which cannot be false. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 16:39, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

Granted; the statements hold enough implied information that we will agree that they are true in a trivial sense, and they are much more fun than 'either there are 1.000.000 people in this group or there aren't 1.000.000 people in this group' and 'either this is the first rule of the tautology club or it isn't' [[Special:Contributions/193.88.197.67|193.88.197.67]] 22:15, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
: While I do understand what you're getting at, you are surprisingly wrong on a few accounts. First, A or not A (i.e. A V ~A) is not always a tautology. I've spent enough painful time around intuitionists to say this whenever I can.

:Unnecessary nitpick aside, then, there are more serious things. I presume the sentence, "It would also be true if there were somehow 1.000.000 members of the group without 1.000.000 people joining it," should be, "It would also '''not''' be true if there were somehow 1.000.000 members of the group without 1.000.000 people joining it." (Otherwise, the "also" is used incorrectly, and the sentence is useless.) Unfortunately, this would make it wrong; a statement of the form "if A then B" is not false if B is true and A isn't. (This is the difficulty of making formal logic: the traditional conditional leads to bizarre, vacuous truths.) Also, more seriously, you say that "if A then A" is a longer way of saying "A", or, more formally, that "A → A" is logically equivalent to "A." Unfortunately, this is not the case. The statement "if A then A" is always true, and hence a tautology. You also assert that "A = A" (or "A ↔ A") is logically equivalent to "A", where "A" is "The first rule of tautology club." This is even more obviously false. Even if "The first rule of tautology club" yields falsehood, it is still equivalent to itself.

:Serious issues aside, I do agree with your sentiment that "[i]f 1.000.000 people join this group, it will have 1.000.000 people in it" is not necessarily a tautology, but removing the ambiguities (did they all join at the same time? did anyone leave?), which would necessarily be done in any formalization of the statement, would yield the tautological "A → A." {{unsigned|Quicksilver}}

Why does this comic have the [[:Category:Philosophy|Philosophy]] category? Am I missing something? [[User:GameZone|GameZone]] ([[User talk:GameZone|talk]]) 08:27, 6 September 2013 (UTC)

:Logic is technically philosophy, or at least they're closely connected. [[User:Sciepsilon|Sciepsilon]] ([[User talk:Sciepsilon|talk]]) 20:23, 30 December 2013 (UTC)

It is worth noting that this comic is Randall's commentary on certain honor societies, who don't do anything except for selecting new members. Feynman once made a remark to that effect, and may be Randall's influence on the matter. (Or not.) Regardless, this explanation is missing the viewpoint. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.74|108.162.215.74]] 20:53, 28 November 2013 (UTC)

I see that nobody's pointed out that the third figure from the left in the third panel appears to be Jason Fox (see [[824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)]])- known to be one of those nerdy types who would join a tautology club. He is (to my knowledge) perpetually in the fifth grade, though, which does make me a little suspicious. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.24|173.245.56.24]] 00:03, 2 January 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1082: Geology

2014-01-29T16:42:37Z

108.162.216.38: Well, he is!

Actually, in the UK "gneiss" is pronounced exactly "nice", so it fits even better there.
:If Wikipedia's phonetic guide is any authority, it's also said that way in the US (hover-text: 'n' as in 'nigh', long 'i' in 'bide', 's' as in 'sigh')... it doesn't make any distinctions between regions. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 04:51, 18 August 2012 (UTC)
::Indeed. American geologists also pronounce it "nice" [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:06, 20 August 2012 (UTC)
:::According to my geologist father, 'gneiss' is pronounced as "nice" and 'butte' as "beaut." He also says that buttes are almost never gneiss: gneiss is a metamorphic rock, and buttes are almost always formed from sedimentary rocks. (Gneiss can form bornhardts, which are also bumps of rock, but form by a different process and don't look very similar.)[[User:Sapphie| Variables won't, constants aren't. (Osborn's Law)]] ([[User talk:Sapphie|talk]]) 00:58, 29 August 2012 (UTC)
::::Your father is kind of a buzzkill. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 16:42, 29 January 2014 (UTC)
Rather impressive to see an erotic geology joke that doesn't even need to bring up cleavage, lol. One of my favourites. {{unsigned|BruceJohnJennerLawso}}
:Oops, my mistake, they did mention cleavage, but still not bad anyways. {{unsigned|BruceJohnJennerLawso}}

Talk:674: Natural Parenting

2014-01-22T19:41:38Z

108.162.216.38: Created page with "The song "Doing What Comes Naturally" from Irving Berlin's ''Annie Get Your Gun'' also explores this meaning: "Grandpa Bill is on the hill / with someone he just married. / Th..."

The song "Doing What Comes Naturally" from Irving Berlin's ''Annie Get Your Gun'' also explores this meaning: "Grandpa Bill is on the hill / with someone he just married. / There he is at ninety-three / doing what comes naturally." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 19:41, 22 January 2014 (UTC)