explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3092: Baker's Units

2025-05-22T00:49:26Z

108.162.216.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3092
| date = May 21, 2025
| title = Baker's Units
| image = bakers_units_2x.png
| imagesize = 349x310px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 169 is a baker's gross.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a baker's bot. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A {{w|Dozen#Baker's_dozen|baker's dozen}} is 13 units of bakery goods, as opposed to the normal dozen meaning 12. That tradition began when salesmen in medieval times had to pay penalties (in some regions, draconian ones) when customers were sold one item short, or not enough weight. To avoid the customer complaints and the penalty, bakers added a safety margin that allowed them to still serve a dozen in a hurry: If a miscount happens the baker would have given out twelve rolls just as ordered; if no miscount happens the baker is just short of one inexpensive item).

Randall proceeds to apply this principle to other things comprised of 12 units, some with bizarre results:
* Imperial feet are 12 inches long; a baker's foot would be 13 inches long.
* Noon is 12:00 o'clock ("twelve hundred hours/Juliett" in 24-hour {{w|24-hour clock#Military time|military parlance}}); baker's noon would be 1 o'clock PM ("thirteen hundred hours", etc).
* Dodecahedrons have 12 faces (the shape that most {{w|Dice#Polyhedral dice|d12}}s take the form of), baker's ones are tridecahedrons (which are not Platonic solids, which introduces problems with there being any equal chance of landing on each side, as well the game probably being designed to expect a range of only 12 possible numbers according to chance), rendering dice-based games unbalanced.
* Years have 12 months; a baker would celebrate New Year's Eve on January 31 (meaning that their New Year would shift forward each year).
* Octaves are comprised of 12 half-steps (a half-step is the distance between F and F#). A baker’s octave would have 13 half-steps (corresponding to a minor ninth) and cause problems in musical composition, as octaves (of the baker’s variety) are would be dissonant, instead of being consonant. However, Randall's example is actually a ''major'' ninth, with ''fourteen'' half-steps. If he wanted thirteen half-steps, Randall could have used D♭ instead of D or drawn a bass clef instead of a treble clef.
* Trial juries in the Anglo-Saxon law tradition ({{w|Common Law}}) consist of 12 peers. The baker’s jury has 13 peers. This might be considered to make little practical difference, though it does mean that (in situations where a jury is allowed to present a majority verdict instead of requiring unanimity), the odd number of jurors would prevent exact ties. (Note that {{w|Trial by jury in Scotland|Scottish juries}}, in particular, start with the expectation of there being 15 jurors, and may well end up reduced to 13 or even 12.)
* EU flags have 12 stars (as a symbol of harmony, unlike in the US flag the stars do not represent member states). A 13th star could be added to the baker's EU flag nevertheless without major damage to the symbol.
* Magnesium is the element with the ordinal number 12, aluminium is number 13 and a very different material.{{Citation needed}} "Baker's magnesium" actually has more applications in baking (namely, tinfoil, which is actually made of aluminum, not tin).
* In the title text, 144 (12x12) is a gross. 169 (13x13) would be a baker's gross, an addition of not just one but 25 units.

[[Category:Math]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3092: Baker's Units

2025-05-22T00:48:41Z

108.162.216.5: /* Explanation */ add cat

{{comic
| number = 3092
| date = May 21, 2025
| title = Baker's Units
| image = bakers_units_2x.png
| imagesize = 349x310px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 169 is a baker's gross.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a baker's bot. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A {{w|Dozen#Baker's_dozen|baker's dozen}} is 13 units of bakery goods, as opposed to the normal dozen meaning 12. That tradition began when salesmen in medieval times had to pay penalties (in some regions, draconian ones) when customers were sold one item short, or not enough weight. To avoid the customer complaints and the penalty, bakers added a safety margin that allowed them to still serve a dozen in a hurry: If a miscount happens the baker would have given out twelve rolls just as ordered; if no miscount happens the baker is just short of one inexpensive item).

Randall proceeds to apply this principle to other things comprised of 12 units, some with bizarre results:
* Imperial feet are 12 inches long; a baker's foot would be 13 inches long.
* Noon is 12:00 o'clock ("twelve hundred hours/Juliett" in 24-hour {{w|24-hour clock#Military time|military parlance}}); baker's noon would be 1 o'clock PM ("thirteen hundred hours", etc).
* Dodecahedrons have 12 faces (the shape that most {{w|Dice#Polyhedral dice|d12}}s take the form of), baker's ones are tridecahedrons (which are not Platonic solids, which introduces problems with there being any equal chance of landing on each side, as well the game probably being designed to expect a range of only 12 possible numbers according to chance), rendering dice-based games unbalanced.
* Years have 12 months; a baker would celebrate New Year on January 31 (meaning that their New Year would shift forward each year).
* Octaves are comprised of 12 half-steps (a half-step is the distance between F and F#). A baker’s octave would have 13 half-steps (corresponding to a minor ninth) and cause problems in musical composition, as octaves (of the baker’s variety) are would be dissonant, instead of being consonant. However, Randall's example is actually a ''major'' ninth, with ''fourteen'' half-steps. If he wanted thirteen half-steps, Randall could have used D♭ instead of D or drawn a bass clef instead of a treble clef.
* Trial juries in the Anglo-Saxon law tradition ({{w|Common Law}}) consist of 12 peers. The baker’s jury has 13 peers. This might be considered to make little practical difference, though it does mean that (in situations where a jury is allowed to present a majority verdict instead of requiring unanimity), the odd number of jurors would prevent exact ties. (Note that {{w|Trial by jury in Scotland|Scottish juries}}, in particular, start with the expectation of there being 15 jurors, and may well end up reduced to 13 or even 12.)
* EU flags have 12 stars (as a symbol of harmony, unlike in the US flag the stars do not represent member states). A 13th star could be added to the baker's EU flag nevertheless without major damage to the symbol.
* Magnesium is the element with the ordinal number 12, aluminium is number 13 and a very different material.{{Citation needed}} "Baker's magnesium" actually has more applications in baking (namely, tinfoil, which is actually made of aluminum, not tin).
* In the title text, 144 (12x12) is a gross. 169 (13x13) would be a baker's gross, an addition of not just one but 25 units.

[[Category:Math]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

2648: Chemicals

2022-07-21T05:23:54Z

108.162.216.5: Undo revision 289664 by 162.158.106.113 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2648
| date = July 20, 2022
| title = Chemicals
| image = chemicals.png
| titletext = It's hard to believe, but lots of kids these days ONLY know how to buy prepackaged molecules.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by BIG ISOMER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Megan]] mentions that her company spends a lot on chemicals for which you can find formulas online. She suggests assembling chemicals from atoms "bought in bulk," holding a sheet of paper with the {{w|empirical formula}} C5H6NO2 which designates [https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/#query=C5H6NO2 more than a hundred compounds and ions], including {{w|nitrobenzene}}, {{w|niacin}}, {{w|isonicotinic acid}}, and {{w|picolinic acid}}, followed by their component elements listed with prices. The ambiguity of chemical formulae is one of the jokes in the comic.

While in-house {{w|chemical synthesis}} is sometimes cost effective, usually it is not, because end users are often unable to leverage the {{w|economies of scale}} inherent in bulk manufacturing by specialist industrial firms.[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2880393/] However, we don't know whether Megan and [[Cueball]] work in a laboratory, factory, or some other industrial setting. In-house chemical syntheses in factories using large volumes often ''are'' cost-effective, as can be laboratory syntheses of very small quantities.

In any case, producing chemicals from their constituent elements or {{w|Precursor (chemistry)|precursor compound}}s is difficult, time-consuming, requires expensive equipment, and is often fraught with peril.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QwW2owNWgc] Nitrobenzene, one of the C5H6NO2 compounds, is an excellent example because it is explosive, extremely toxic, and its synthesis is highly exothermic, making it one of the most dangerous syntheses in the chemical industry.[https://www.icheme.org/media/10339/xiii-paper-36.pdf] Such issues answer Cueball's question as to why more places don't manufacture their own chemicals. The characters' naivety also gives rise to the humor of the comic, which may also be mocking DIY lifehacks where the cost savings only make sense if their massive time investment is ignored. "Big Molecule" is an [[2130: Industry Nicknames|industry nickname like Big Oil or Big Pharma]], and amusing in its own right.

The title text refers to the fact that many people believe that "kids these days" don't do enough work or are spoiled. Randall has expressed that he dislikes statements like these in [[2165: Millennials|previous comics]].

This comic may have been prompted by recent news that [https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2022-07-15/for-the-first-time-in-history-we-can-modify-atomic-bonds-in-a-single-molecule.html scientists have found a way to assemble and change atoms in individual molecules] by modifying their bonds.

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

:[Megan and Cueball standing next to each other. Megan has her palms raised.]
:Megan: You know how our company spends a lot on expensive chemicals?
:Cueball: Yeah?

:[Megan holding up a piece of paper with a chemical formula on it, as well as some computation for the number of atoms needed]
:Megan: Well, I just learned you can look up all of the formulas online!
:Megan: We can just buy the atoms in bulk and assemble them here!
:[The paper reads as follows. The illegible items appear to be prices.]
:C6H5NO2
:Carbon 6 $[illegible]
:Hydrogen 5 $[illegible]
:Nitrogen 1 $[illegible]
:Oxygen 2 $[illegible]
:Total 14 $[illegible]

:[Cueball still standing. Megan walking off-panel to the right]
:Cueball: I wonder why more places don't do that.
:Megan: People have no idea they're getting ripped off by Big Molecule!

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

2614: 2

2022-06-01T20:41:28Z

108.162.216.5:

>IN THESE UNCERTAIN TRYING TIMES DARK WINTER OF THE NEW NORMAL.... >AS CITIZENS (DECLARED OR UNDECLARED) OF THE GLOBAL VILLAGE MUST COME TOGETHER AS ONE, BUT APART, AND BUILD BACK BETTER WITH SOME NEW EXTENDED LENGTH TEMPORARY GLOBAL RULES TO KICK START THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION........ >YOU WILL WEAR THE NWO PROVIDED IOT COCK CAGE FOR YOUR PROTECTION >YOU WILL DRINK THE RECYCLED PISS >YOU WILL EAT THE BUGGIES >YOU WILL EAT THE CRICKET BURGER >YOU WILL DRINK THE COCKROACH MILK >YOU WILL EAT THE MAGGOT CHIPS >YOU. WILL. EAT. THE. BUGS. >YOU WILL TAKE THE MANDATORY VACCINE >YOU WILL WEAR THE MASK WHILE EATING >YOU WILL WEAR THE MASK WHILE SLEEPING

>I was browsing 4chan, and the threads were coal-oal-oal >Moved to the kway, and I saw some po-ost-osts >Some teen was making Cobsons >Posting them, "He's a gem" he said >Then the board's gone, no more /qa/-ay-ay >Mods mad, /lgbt/ had a troonjak rai-aid-aid >That weren't no coal, that was a shining glistening gem >There's a party, a jakker's paradise >There's colorjaks and cobsons >And their gems will blow your mind >There's a party, a jakker's paradise >Soot told us not to blow it >Let the CP spam subside >He told me >Let the trannies ACK it >Let chudcels browse it >Let all the basedteens boogie >I saw my Jak posted on the booru-ru-ru >Hey, that's a gem, you saw my thread too, ooh ooh >I'm browsing /raid/, maybe we'll steal a GET on 4chan too >Look at my thread, it's time to mass reply-y-y >The janny's seething, I'll get banned tonight-ight-igh >If I get perma'd I'll just post from my phone in spite >There's a party, a jakker's paradise >There's colorjaks and cobsons >And their gems will blow your mind >There's a party, a jakker's paradise >Soot told us not to blow it >Let the CP spam subside >He told me >Let the trannies ACK it >Let chudcels browse it >Let all the basedteens boogie || +2.04%

==The BBC oath==
Repeat after me:

Repeat after me:

I swear that I will dedicate myself to big black cock for the rest of my life. I know that my rightful place as a white male is beneath the boot of my black masters. I swear that I will never have sex with a woman. I know that my tiny white pecker is unable to satisfy her, so there is no point in even trying. I swear that I will never let a single drop of my inferior white seed enter a woman's pussy. I know that black genes are superior, and that it is only right for black men to claim white women's wombs. I will stand by and watch as black men have sex with my wife, my mother, and my daughter. And I will enjoy it. If a black man needs his dick sucked, I will be there for him. If a black man needs a hole to cum inside, I will give myself up to him. As long as I live, I will be a slave to black men. This is my oath as a mindbroken BBC slut.

==>abortions bad even though it kills niggers==
>niggers bad even though they shoot niggers >spics bad even though they torture and kill spics >koreans bad even though they hate china >china bad even though they genocide muslims >muslims bad even though they kill homosexuals and hate jews >homosexuals bad even though they infect faggots with aids and wreck their anuses >jews bad even though they are trying to kill off the white race >killing of white race bad even though it also means killing off white women >white women bad even though they wash estrogen from pills down the drain >estrogen in the water bad even though it makes boys into cute femboys >femboys bad even though they reduce competition for women >women bad even though they make trannies seethe >trannies bad even though they kill themselves and they also make real women seethe >women seething bad even though it upsets simps >simps bad even though they re-distribute money in economy away from horny retards >horny retards bad even though they are the only ones left making babies >babies bad even though you can fuck them >fucking babies bad even though world elites do it >world elites bad even though they did 9/11 >9/11 bad even though it killed a lot of mutt goyim and justified country-wide surveillance >surveillance bad even though a female agent can catch you jerking off which is hot >jerking off bad even though it makes nofappers seethe >nofappers bad even though it makes leftist degenerate trannies seethe >leftists degenerates bad even though they will pay you to fuck their wife >trannies bad even though without them no one would moderate 4chan >4chan bad even though it makes losers waste their lives posting on it >losers wasting their lives on 4chan bad even though it stops them from shooting up schools >shooting up school bad even though you get to kill your bullies and a bunch of roasties >roasties bad even though they're your only chance to lose virginity

__________________...uu444u.____________________ ______________.eP.____________.hu_______________ ____________C_____________________7u__________ __________)_________________________.\__________ _________.C___________________________\________ _________(__________________(___/______y_______ ________________________y___C___P____._9______ ________)_________..pp..__)y_C_____c____)________ ________)__P777_PP444bap.7P.)0yp1bqpPPPPPp____ _________C_7_______.8b400QP__)P__|0|Qb4__0____ _________)_________/4bppppp..4___\8|c|1y.8________ __________)___./__C__).Q_________\__|_|_))________ ____________p___C_.__)C__/..x_____.__\Q_.P________ ____________(___7_____C.C__7x_4__uP__|y_/_______ ____________(___70___|.PP__p()/()hy)_()P___________ ____________(____C___C(_|_800000000P__P________ ___________)_______.)u_o__800000000_()____________ __________._____.____.b|__800000000_|P____________ _________/.___.C______7b__)0000000P_(____________ ____x4P________________3P_30000000_0S._7Pe_____ _______________________x)P_000000P_p____________ _________________________7\_0000C_/_____________ ___________________________1D.ye8P______________

1466: Phone Checking

2016-01-20T08:37:19Z

108.162.216.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1466
| date = December 29, 2014
| title = Phone Checking
| image = phone_checking.png
| titletext = 'Where were you when you learned you'd won?' 'I was actually asleep; I woke up when I refreshed the webite and saw the news.'
}}

==Explanation==
Megan announces that there's a Compulsive Phone Checking Championship, presumably an award for the person who checks his or her phone the most often. Megan checks her phone to see if the winner has been announced, but finds the site's server is {{w|server overload|overloaded}}, which would be exactly what would happen if many people were checking their phones simultaneously. Given the nature of the contest, we can presume this is indeed the case. As a solution, Megan tries refreshing repeatedly, sending more load to the server and, thus, making it unavailable longer. This is a symptom of {{w|Obsessive–compulsive disorder|OCD}}.

This compulsive behavior predates the popularity of mobile phones as shown in [[477: Typewriter]] and [[862: Let Go]].

Another possible analysis is that the site was purposely down, and instead was the contest itself, to see how many times different users would refresh the page within a time period, or perhaps to the last one standing, determining the winner.

The title text implies that Megan checks her phone so compulsively she even does it in her sleep. This probably contributed to her victory. A "webite" is probably either a typo of "website" or a pinned tab in a web browser.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball approaching Megan.]
:Cueball: What's up?
:Megan: They're announcing the winner of the compulsive phone-checking championship.

:[Megan checks her phone.]

:[Megan puts her phone away.]

:[Megan checks her phone again.]
:Cueball: Did you win?
:Megan: Site's down.
:Cueball: Weird.
:Megan: I'll keep refreshing.

{{comic discussion}}

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

1522: Astronomy

2015-11-21T00:35:30Z

108.162.216.5: /* Explanation */ sp. lens

{{comic
| number = 1522
| date = May 8, 2015
| title = Astronomy
| image = astronomy.png
| titletext = Astrobiology is held back by the fact that we're all too nervous to try to balance on the ladder while holding an expensive microscope.
}}

==Explanation==
For objects at a great distance one can achieve a better view by using a {{w|telescope}} as it is the typical method in {{w|Astronomy}}. Looking through a lens or a {{w|microscope}} in {{w|biology}} and other disciplines does magnify short distant objects. And a {{w|magnifying glass}} works more like a microscope when your eye lense is close to the {{w|focus}} of the magnifying glass, but when looking at distant objects you have to increase the distance between the glass and your eye where the {{w|focal length}} of your magnifying glass must be increased to meters instead of centimetres or less on a close view. But in general a {{w|Galilean Telescope}} works at the same principle as a magnifying glass together with your eye lens, the magnifying glass only has to have a long focal length which is optimized for far distances.

In the comic, the objects being viewed by Megan could be {{w|stars}}, {{w|galaxies}} and the {{w|planets}} of our {{w|Solar System}}. [[Megan]] takes approach by telescope. [[Beret Guy]] attempts approach it using a step-ladder to get closer to the stars, and then looking at them through his simple hand-held magnifying glass. This approach could be successful only if the stars were a few meters away, so that the ladder would take him within a few centimeters of the study object. In fact the visible stars are several {{w|light years}} away (typically 18-20 orders of magnitude further away) and getting two meters up on a ladder won't make any difference.

The title text assumes (for comic effect) that the only thing wrong with Beret Guy's strategy is the instability of the ladder endangering the expensive microscopes used by biologists for {{w|Astrobiology}}. Astrobiology is the study of life (or the possibility thereof) elsewhere in the universe, and here it would be either the planets and moons in our Solar System or {{w|exoplanets}} they needed to look at. This is the second comic related to studying exoplanets in two weeks, the first being [[1517: Spectroscopy]] (see more references there).

Since we cannot go there, they do, of course, not use any microscopes in the direct studies. However, one typical magnifier in biology is the {{w|electron microscope}}, used to study {{w|microbiology}}, and they cost a lot and are very heavy. They are therefore implausible to carry up a ladder and it could possibly become very expensive if you did try it anyway.

It might be interesting to note that a lot of developments in "terrestrial" biology (called biology here on Earth), were made by the use of a simple microscope (similar to a magnifying lens), so Beret Guy's approach might be an attempt to build on that.

==Transcript==
:[In front of a starry black sky, Megan looks at the stars through a telescope about twice her size, touching it at the base. She remains in the exact same position through all four panels.]

:[Beret Guy enters the panel holding a ladder and a magnifying glass.]

:[Beret Guy places the ladder next to Megan and her telescope. The ladder is stands like a triangle, is slightly larger than Megan, but smaller than the telescope.]

:[Beret guy climbs to the top of the ladder, and looks at the stars through a magnifying glass.]

==Trivia==
Usually, however, Beret Guy has [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]], so it's quite possible that his method would yield similar or even better results than Megan's approach; see for instance [[1490: Atoms]]. Given his naivety, it's also possible he just doesn't realize they should look any different. His naivety of astronomy is demonstrated in [[811: Starlight]].

The history of astronomy is filled with drastic misunderstanding of distances to celestial bodies, even up to the present day like [[Randall]] has covered in [[1342: Ancient Stars]]. Thus, the comic could be in reference to the general overestimation of distances, albeit taken to the opposite extreme.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Biology]]

1606: Five-Day Forecast

2015-11-20T13:14:46Z

108.162.216.5:

{{comic
| number = 1606
| date = November 20, 2015
| title = Five-Day Forecast
| image = five_day_forecast.png
| titletext = You know what they say--if you don't like the weather here in the Solar System, just wait five billion years.
}}

This is a straightforward extrapolation of the standard 5 day weather forecast, attempting to replicate it for months, years, millions of years, billions of years and trillions of years.

5-day forecasts are reports made by meteorologists commonly used by people to tell the weather in advance or "forecast" of the weather in the future. These are commonly put together with pictures to display easily the type of weather it denotes. It accompanies normally a temperature.

The 5 month and 5 year forecasts are reasonable guesses about what the weather might be like on that day. Each of the following sets then adds some more interesting variants.

The first 5-day forecast is a normal one, where the subsequent ones become more and more outlandish, since it is scientifically impossible to predict what will happen millions of years in the future, since even the 5-day forecasts are sometimes flawed.

In the 5 million year forecast, the second forecast shows a temperature jump -- likely a global warming reference. There is also a reference to a fairly destructive war in the fourth panel (possibly with aliens given the flying saucers).

In the 5 billion year forecast, the strip shows a standard solar progression leading towards an expansion that absorbs the earth's orbit, and then sun death.

In the 5 trillion year forecast, we see the stars slowly going out as the universe dies.

==Transcript==
:[A grid with six rows of five columns, where each row is labeled to the left. For each of the 30 squares a temperature is given in Fahrenheit at the top left. The rest of the square represents the weather as in a weather forecast (or some other relevant items for the comic), mainly in bright colors. Below are the six labels given above each of their five weather symbols with temperature given below these symbols description.]

:'''Your 5-day forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:41°F
:[A grey cloud with six lines of blue raindrops below.]
:36°F
:[A grey cloud in front of a yellow sun.]
:40°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:44°F

:'''Your 5-month forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A green Christmas tree with red presents beneath it.]
:29°F
:[A grey cloud with four snowflakes below.]
:21°F
:[A grey cloud with four snowflakes below.]
:24°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:35°F

:'''Your 5-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:25°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:36°F
:[A grey cloud with six lines of blue raindrops below.]
:37°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:41°F

:'''Your 5-million-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:52°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:40°F
:[Two red flying saucers (with bright domes) are shooting energy beams downwards. One of the beams seems to impact with something at the bottom of the panel, which then explodes. Two plumes of smoke rises up from below, drifting to the right.]
:275°F
:[A grey cloud in front of a yellow sun.]
:40°F

:'''Your 5-billion-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A larger orange sun.]
:105°F
:[A very large red sun.]
:371°F
:[A pale yellow panel with no drawing.]
:71.488.106°F
:[A night sky with many bright stars.]
:-452°F

:'''Your 5-trillion-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A night sky with many bright stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with many stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with fewer not so bright stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with few dim stars.]
:-453°F

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Spaaaaaace]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

1606: Five-Day Forecast

2015-11-20T13:06:51Z

108.162.216.5:

{{comic
| number = 1606
| date = November 20, 2015
| title = Five-Day Forecast
| image = five_day_forecast.png
| titletext = You know what they say--if you don't like the weather here in the Solar System, just wait five billion years.
}}

This is a straightforward extrapolation of the standard 5 day weather forecast, attempting to replicate it for months, years, millions of years, billions of years and trillions of years.

5-day forecasts are reports used by meteorologists commonly used by people to tell the weather in advance or "forecast" of the weather in the future. These are commonly put together with pictures to display easily the type of weather it denotes. It accompanies normally a temperature. The first 5-day forecast is a normal one, where the subsequent ones become more and more outlandish, since it is scientifically impossible to predict what will happen millions of years in the future, since even the 5-day forecasts are sometimes flawed.

The 5 month and 5 year forecasts are reasonable guesses about what the weather might be like on that day, excepting that the December forecast shows Christmas trees instead of weather.

In the 5 million year forecast, the second forecast shows a temperature jump -- likely a global warming reference. There is also a reference to a fairly destructive war in the fourth panel (possibly with aliens given the flying saucers).

In the 5 billion year forecast, the strip shows a standard solar progression leading towards an expansion that absorbs the earth's orbit, and then sun death.

In the 5 trillion year forecast, we see the stars slowly going out as the universe dies.

==Transcript==
:[A grid with six rows of five columns, where each row is labeled to the left. For each of the 30 squares a temperature is given in Fahrenheit at the top left. The rest of the square represents the weather as in a weather forecast (or some other relevant items for the comic), mainly in bright colors. Below are the six labels given above each of their five weather symbols with temperature given below these symbols description.]

:'''Your 5-day forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:41°F
:[A grey cloud with six lines of blue raindrops below.]
:36°F
:[A grey cloud in front of a yellow sun.]
:40°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:44°F

:'''Your 5-month forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A green Christmas tree with red presents beneath it.]
:29°F
:[A grey cloud with four snowflakes below.]
:21°F
:[A grey cloud with four snowflakes below.]
:24°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:35°F

:'''Your 5-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:25°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:36°F
:[A grey cloud with six lines of blue raindrops below.]
:37°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:41°F

:'''Your 5-million-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:52°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:40°F
:[Two red flying saucers (with bright domes) are shooting energy beams downwards. One of the beams seems to impact with something at the bottom of the panel, which then explodes. Two plumes of smoke rises up from below, drifting to the right.]
:275°F
:[A grey cloud in front of a yellow sun.]
:40°F

:'''Your 5-billion-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A larger orange sun.]
:105°F
:[A very large red sun.]
:371°F
:[A pale yellow panel with no drawing.]
:71.488.106°F
:[A night sky with many bright stars.]
:-452°F

:'''Your 5-trillion-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A night sky with many bright stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with many stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with fewer not so bright stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with few dim stars.]
:-453°F

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Spaaaaaace]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

1606: Five-Day Forecast

2015-11-20T13:05:13Z

108.162.216.5:

{{comic
| number = 1606
| date = November 20, 2015
| title = Five-Day Forecast
| image = five_day_forecast.png
| titletext = You know what they say--if you don't like the weather here in the Solar System, just wait five billion years.
}}

This is a straightforward extrapolation of the standard 5 day weather forecast, attempting to replicate it for months, years, millions of years, billions of years and trillions of years.

The 5 month and 5 year forecasts are reasonable guesses about what the weather might be like on that day, excepting that the December forecast shows Christmas trees instead of weather.

In the 5 million year forecast, the second forecast shows a temperature jump -- likely a global warming reference. There is also a reference to a fairly destructive war in the fourth panel (possibly with aliens given the flying saucers).

In the 5 billion year forecast, the strip shows a standard solar progression leading towards an expansion that absorbs the earth's orbit, and then sun death.

In the 5 trillion year forecast, we see the stars slowly going out as the universe dies.

==Transcript==
:[A grid with six rows of five columns, where each row is labeled to the left. For each of the 30 squares a temperature is given in Fahrenheit at the top left. The rest of the square represents the weather as in a weather forecast (or some other relevant items for the comic), mainly in bright colors. Below are the six labels given above each of their five weather symbols with temperature given below these symbols description.]

:'''Your 5-day forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:41°F
:[A grey cloud with six lines of blue raindrops below.]
:36°F
:[A grey cloud in front of a yellow sun.]
:40°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:44°F

:'''Your 5-month forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A green Christmas tree with red presents beneath it.]
:29°F
:[A grey cloud with four snowflakes below.]
:21°F
:[A grey cloud with four snowflakes below.]
:24°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:35°F

:'''Your 5-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:25°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:36°F
:[A grey cloud with six lines of blue raindrops below.]
:37°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:41°F

:'''Your 5-million-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:52°F
:[A grey cloud.]
:40°F
:[Two red flying saucers (with bright domes) are shooting energy beams downwards. One of the beams seems to impact with something at the bottom of the panel, which then explodes. Two plumes of smoke rises up from below, drifting to the right.]
:275°F
:[A grey cloud in front of a yellow sun.]
:40°F

:'''Your 5-billion-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A larger orange sun.]
:105°F
:[A very large red sun.]
:371°F
:[A pale yellow panel with no drawing.]
:71.488.106°F
:[A night sky with many bright stars.]
:-452°F

:'''Your 5-trillion-year forecast'''
:[A bright yellow sun.]
:38°F
:[A night sky with many bright stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with many stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with fewer not so bright stars.]
:-452°F
:[A night sky with few dim stars.]
:-453°F

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Spaaaaaace]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

Talk:1601: Isolation

2015-11-09T12:57:35Z

108.162.216.5:

The title text is referring to Yudkowsky's [http://www.yudkowsky.net/singularity/aibox/ AI-Box Experiment], which was already mentioned in [http://www.xkcd.com/1450/ xkcd.com/1450] and explained [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1450:_AI-Box_Experiment here]. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.11|162.158.153.11]] 09:03, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

If I remember correctly, there's a letter by an Ancient Roman writer complaining that people always write stories down now instead of just telling them to each other. So this mindset has existed for much longer than two centuries. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.191|141.101.106.191]] 09:08, 9 November 2015 (UTC)
:But there had been little update in the technology behind books/writing since then and the news paper! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:51, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

There is someone (not logged in) that believes that the last panel indicates that it is the same Cueball through 175 years that are ignored by his friends, instead of just a jab at generic people who complains about technology. Cueball being this generic person. I highly disagree with this, but the second I changed it to something else the same IP address changed it right back. I have now made two versions of this explanation. And made it clear that it would mean Cueball and his friends were about 200 years old. Then I will leave it to someone else to choose if both of these explanations should be left in, or maybe even a third be added...? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:42, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

it says "sims" not "The Sims". "sim" is just short for "simulator". there are other things that simulate things beyond "The Sims". --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.233|141.101.106.233]] 12:16, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

I would rather say that the main explaination of the joke is a third way:
-Cueball represent the kind of person that complains about people ignoring each other. The contemporaries of such kind of person are clearly annoyed by his behavior and ignore him willingly. The complainer should understand the hint that people prefer isolation much better than having to interact with him. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.135.57|162.158.135.57]] 12:27, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

I think that "dude, it's been 2 centuries" refers to the actual notion of people complaining about social isolation due to the current relavant "media" at the time rather than cueball himself- this might be other people, but these guys are all stick figures... It's also very unlikely that someone would live this long. {{Citation needed}} --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.5|108.162.216.5]] 12:57, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1600: MarketWatch

2015-11-06T13:01:02Z

108.162.216.5: Created page with "I don't get it as much... Perhaps something to do with the apparent erratic behavior of a stock market chart? You'd expect a rising and falling line, but for it to completely ..."

I don't get it as much... Perhaps something to do with the apparent erratic behavior of a stock market chart? You'd expect a rising and falling line, but for it to completely trace out building patterns is odd.{{Citation needed}} It would need a straight line, wouldn't it? and isn't that impossible in graphs like this? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.5|108.162.216.5]] 13:01, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

1428: Move Fast and Break Things

2015-11-05T13:52:16Z

108.162.216.5: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1428
| date = October 1, 2014
| title = Move Fast and Break Things
| image = move_fast_and_break_things.png
| titletext = I was almost fired from a job driving the hearse in funeral processions, but then the funeral home realized how much business I was creating for them.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] appears to be at a job interview, proudly stating his motto to the interviewer [[Ponytail]].

"Move fast and break things" is a saying common in science and engineering industries. In that context, it means that making mistakes is a natural consequence of innovation in a highly competitive and complex environment. In particular, it was adopted by Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook (who even went as far as to say that [http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-2010-10 'breaking things' is a necessary feature of moving 'fast enough']).

While in software development it is unusual for any great harm to result from breaking things, the jobs listed in the comic are ones where there are serious consequences of mistakes. Some would result in dangerous or deadly situations, while others would just end up with broken packages etc. It's not clear what job Cueball is interviewing for; one suspects it's probably one that belongs in the 'breaking things is bad' group.

The results of moving fast and breaking things for the listed jobs might include:

*{{w|FedEx}} driver - Injured/killed pedestrians, collisions with other vehicles, broken & damaged packages
*Crane operator - Damage or destruction of load, dropping loads on people below, damage to crane
*Surgeon - Incorrect operations performed, removing wrong body parts, death of the patient
*Air Traffic Controller - Air collisions, travel disruption, chaos
*Pharmacist - Handing out wrong drugs, resulting in illness or death
*Museum Curator - Damage or destruction of items of historical or artistic significance, damage of the museum
*Waiter - Crockery broken, drinks or food spilled on customers, food tipped over people
*Dog Walker - Injuring the pet, or preventing it from fulfilling its bodily functions (the major reason for a walk)
*Oil Tanker Captain - Collisions between vessels, or tanker and port, or running aground, leading to oil spills and casualties
*Violinist - Ruining an ensemble's performance by playing too fast (with a higher tempo than fellow musicians), breaking the strings or body of the instrument
*Mars Rover Driver - Breaking an incredibly important vehicle, preventing further exploration, and ruining an extremely expensive mission
*Massage Therapist - Injuring the client, breaking bones and ligaments.

The title text posits a morbid scenario where Cueball keeps running over funeral attendees, generating the need for more funerals.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits in a chair in a job interview with Ponytail.]
:Cueball: My motto is "Move fast and break things."
:[Below the picture follows a list.]
:'''Jobs I've been'''
:'''fired from'''
:Fedex driver
:Crane operator
:Surgeon
:Air Traffic Controller
:Pharmacist
:Museum Curator
:Waiter
:Dog Walker
:Oil Tanker Captain
:Violinist
:Mars Rover Driver
:Massage Therapist
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

Talk:1599: Water Delivery

2015-11-04T13:10:33Z

108.162.216.5:

I...dont get it
: I suspect this is another of "hey, why we are even bothering with bottled water when we have water pipes" ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:05, 4 November 2015 (UTC)
Yeah, i'm suspecting that this means that "we've always had 1 hr. water delivery, in the form of modern plumbing. it's pretty similar to https://xkcd.com/1367/ in which (amazon) is reinventing something that already exists. Also advertising is spelled wrong, but that's just a typo perhaps.