explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1749: Mushrooms

2016-10-21T19:16:23Z

108.162.218.239: /* Explanation */ fixed internal link

{{comic
| number = 1749
| date = October 21, 2016
| title = Mushrooms
| image = mushrooms.png
| titletext = Evolutionarily speaking, mushrooms are technically a type of ghost.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft—need transcript, links, and more detailed explanation.}}

Cueball is looking at a mushroom, and Megan tells him that genetically, mushrooms are closer to animals than to plants - both animals and fungi are part of the {{w|Opisthokont}} group, while plants are in {{w|Archaeplastida}} with the algae. Megan then walks away, and Cueball, after a while, stops looking at the mushroom and walks away too. When Cueball has his back turned, the mushroom growls, and Cueball turns his head back to look at the mushroom. This is a bit of absurdist humor; while mushrooms are ''technically'' more animal-like than plant-like (eukaryotic organisms that resperate and don't photosynthesize) fungi are still so far removed from animals they wouldn't have any of the body parts needed to growl. Cueball's shock and astonishment is quite justified.

The title text takes this further, by stating that mushrooms are technically a type of ghost. Arguably, since they arise from decaying remains. The title text may refer to [[1475: Technically]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[Cueball is squatting in front of a mushroom.]
:Cueball: Mushrooms are ''so weird.''
:Megan: You know, evolutionarily, they're closer to being animals than to plants.
[Megan starts walking away.]
:Cueball: ...Really?
:Megan: Yup!
[Cueball is still squatting.]

[Cueball stands up and starts walking away.]
:Mushroom: Grrrr
[Cueball snaps his head around to look at the mushroom again.]
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1740: Rosetta

2016-10-01T01:56:00Z

108.162.218.239:

:Hairy's Woooo has four o's but Cueball's Wooo has only three o's. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 14:41, 30 September 2016 (UTC)
:Armegeddon actually had no kinetic impact. The plot device was a bomb drilled into the surface and detonated. This did deflect the comet by splitting it on half along a fault, causing the two pieces to miss Earth.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.100|162.158.75.100]] 17:04, 30 September 2016 (UTC)
:: Agreed, and edited. [[User:Beret Guy|Beret Guy]] ([[User talk:Beret Guy|talk]]) 20:54, 30 September 2016 (UTC)Beret Guy

Hasn't the fact of simply being in orbit already caused a change in the trajectory? Does impact make any difference?

:Technically, yes, but the effect is so small it may as well not exist. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.239|108.162.218.239]] 01:56, 1 October 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1738: Moon Shapes

2016-09-28T18:40:11Z

108.162.218.239:

It's a reflection of the nuclear war on [[1626|the sun's surface]]. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 08:08, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

I can't find any photoshopped Moon that looks like the last image. Somebody has to make one. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.207|162.158.92.207]] 13:22, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

: Randall uncharacteristically missed an opportunity for pointing out additional errors that people make: It's interesting to note that you can get a decent estimate of the artist's latitude by looking at how they draw a crescent moon. In equatorial cultures, the crescent looks like a cup or a boat - and they interpret it like that. But if you look at most english language children's books, the crescent looks like a letter 'C' or a 'D' with a human face - suggesting that they were probably made in the tradition of northern Europe. When I first moved from the UK (more or less a 'C'-shaped crescent moon) to the southern USA (more like Randall's depiction of the correctly-drawn crescent with the points at a roughly 45 degree angle to the horizon) - I subconsciously felt that the moon "looked wrong" - it was only much later that I understood the reason.

: Furthermore, this rotation of the moon relative to the observer also explains why "The man in the moon" is a common trope caused by the pareidolia interpretation of the cratering patterns of the moon in northern cultures. But in southern cultures, people tend to see a rabbit in those full-moon patterns - and that has become the source of many of their stories.

: Now that I'm more acutely aware of this - it's interesting to note how many movies get the orientation of the moon wrong for the location that their story is supposedly set in! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:41, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
::In Japan, for example, the patterns are interpreted as a rabbit making mochi (a sort of dense dumpling made from rice pounded into a powder) on the moon - the Sea of Tranquillity forming the head, and the Sea of Clouds forming part of the pestle in which the rabbit is pounding the rice. {{unsigned ip|188.114.102.167}}

::Considering how many movies features the famous [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMountainsOfIllinois Mountains of Illinois], I would be more surprised when they get it right. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:38, 27 September 2016 (UTC)

: Not quite sure how to add this but Gibbon is the author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - or a type of Ape. It is not a phase of the moon. Also I think the moon depicted is Waning. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.113|141.101.98.113]] 14:02, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
::I think the correct expression is gibbous - "having the illuminated part greater than a semicircle and less than a circle" {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.68}}
:: Yes, the one he says is correct has me thinking: "OMG, the moon is drunk and has fallen over on its ass." No self-respecting moon lies on its back like that.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.222|162.158.114.222]] 14:17, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
::: Indeed - but that's pretty much how it looks down here in sunny Texas. It's one of those things you never think about - but once the fact of it clicks in your head, you get this visceral feeling of how you're standing on a large ball rather than a flat plane! Ha! Take that flat-earthers! :-) [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 18:46, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
::: Living in Florida, our crescent moons are almost horizontal. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.60|108.162.212.60]]
: "Wax gibbon" is probably nothing more than a joke on mispronouncing "waxing gibbous". As drawn, it is the way a waning gibbous would appear in the northern hemisphere, but a waxing gibbous in the southern hemisphere. [[User:Harperska|Harperska]] ([[User talk:Harperska|talk]]) 16:18, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

Link to the DreamWorks logo image please? There seem to be multiple versions. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.216|108.162.237.216]] 15:16, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
:I'm surprised Randall missed the chance to include a joke about guys with fishing rods. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.141|162.158.85.141]] 15:41, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
::http://www.roadtovr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/dreamworks-logo.jpg... Here's the link to the Dreamworks logo. You're welcome. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:17, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
::neither of the examples for the "stars in the moon" apply here. both randall's examples imply a spherical moon. spring and the dreamworks child are supported on a crescent moon for which only the light section actually exists. better examples, please. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.84|141.101.98.84]] 12:26, 27 September 2016 (UTC)
::While the dreamworks logo features a child sitting on the crescent moon as though the dark portion wasn't there, none of the versions of the logo which contain stars in the sky actually show stars 'inside' the moon's disk, so the logo probably isn't a good example of what Randall is complaining about. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPpy8mYHQps. [[User:Harperska|Harperska]] ([[User talk:Harperska|talk]]) 17:16, 27 September 2016 (UTC)

The first "wrong" image is also only possible if the bright portion is presumed to be the sun during a solar eclipse, assuming the sky is actually depicted as black. You can only have a crescent moon during a solar eclipse if the solar system suddenly acquired a second sun. [[User:Harperska|Harperska]] ([[User talk:Harperska|talk]]) 16:28, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

Here's a good counter-example: [http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V-N1Fj2RU7Y/Vnvbs3e6JxI/AAAAAAAAouE/X37EuZ2dXmI/s1600/236D5361-D23A-45AD-8D3B-451926D0CA82.jpg EXAMPLE]. The bright dot is actually the ISS transiting the moon - but it certainly looks like an impossibility! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 18:50, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

The article doesn't mention the "nuclear war" joke. Does it need explaining? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.49|141.101.98.49]] 19:29, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
:It does now. [[User:WingedCat|WingedCat]] ([[User talk:WingedCat|talk]]) 22:24, 27 September 2016 (UTC)
:: your welcome ;-) [[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 22:30, 27 September 2016 (UTC)

I've always wanted to create a story, and have the horns of the moon connect on the other side, so you have a blackbody in front of the moon, in parody of this tendency.
Also, interesting how the moon is at different rotations in different locations. I never did see the rabbit in the moon. Now I know why. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.74|108.162.245.74]] 04:34, 27 September 2016 (UTC)

Some of the examples of "incorrect" moons are kinda questionable - like, how relevant is the position of the moon when there's literally a giant divine skyperson standing on it, grabbing stars and scattering of them? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.80|172.68.35.80]] 23:09, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

I fixed part of the explanation by mentioning the title text. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:41, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
:I think that's enough detail for an explanation, so I removed the "incomplete" bar. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:52, 27 September 2016 (UTC)

Should the table of explanations include the text in the comic? [[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 22:30, 27 September 2016 (UTC)

The comic has been updated on xkcd. Randall revised the description of #4. Maybe this should be updated? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.135|108.162.242.135]] 21:55, 27 September 2016 (UTC)

for trivia doesn't mass bend light so IMHO probably still possible for star light on that position [[Special:Contributions/162.158.163.61|162.158.163.61]] 05:07, 28 September 2016 (UTC)

For the Dreamworks logo, it seems that the static versions don't sport the stars-through-the-moon problem, but I suspect the animated versions (the ones showing at the beginning of their movies) might and probably do. As it so happens, I'm watching Kung Fu Panda 2 for the first time right now, - the fishing kid is a turtle in this case, LOL! - and I note that this problem isn't present here, though there are no stars at all during the logo, so that might be the only reason why. (Of course, if a kid can sit there fishing, the rest of the moon is clearly absent, why wouldn't we see stars there, LOL!) - Niceguy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.239|108.162.218.239]] 18:40, 28 September 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1732: Earth Temperature Timeline

2016-09-14T21:20:16Z

108.162.218.239:

Well, never mind then. Oh well. -- [[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 1:02, 12 September 2016
:I acknowledge that the picture is WAY too long, so I added a "skip to explanation" bar, to speed things up. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 17:32, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

Is it just me or does the picture not render all the way down in full resolution on firefox? I found it worked on Chrome and explorer... And Wauw, just after I had created the new [[:Category:Climate change]]... Was also just watched a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxEGHW6Lbu8 QandA program] yesterday where [[1644: Stargazing|Brian Cox]] tried to convince some Australian politician about global warming, but the other one just cried conspiracy... Will take some time to make this one complete I guess? Great ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:53, 12 September 2016 (UTC)
:That's the thing with this kind of stuff. It takes a LONG time to make it just right. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 19:08, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

Please delete the ridiculous trivia
*The colors used to represent temperature vary from blue (the perceived hue of a black body at 20000K) to pale red (perceived at 2200K).
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.139|108.162.221.139]] 19:44, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

Of course you can pretty much ignore the part of the diagram that is in dotted line, you can't rely on that data. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.119|108.162.246.119]] 20:40, 12 September 2016 (UTC)
:Note that even if we ignore the extrapolated future, the warming in the past century is already a vastly more abrupt climate shift than anything that happened in the preceding 219 centuries. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 21:15, 12 September 2016 (UTC)
::Actually we don't know what the shifts were on that scale in the past. The dotted line before modern measurement is a very limited estimate. We have no idea what the year to year changes were in the past, at best we can work out an average. I am reminded of a house mouse(life span of about 1 year) looking at the leaves fall from the tress and saying "Surely this is the end of the world". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.119|108.162.246.119]] 14:44, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
:::Randall explicitly addresses your specious complaint at 15900 BCE. Year-to-year fluctuations are not the same as the current century-long surge. Either show scientific evidence or go away, Mr Troll from Seattle Cloudflare. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 16:11, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
::::I should have known better to enter into a religious debate on the internet. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.119|108.162.246.119]] 00:17, 14 September 2016 (UTC)
:::::No it is not that which is the problem, but that you try to disqualify the data without even bothering to look through them. Aa mentioned Randall tries to let us know that such a high fluctuation as we have in these last 100 years would not be hidden in the old data. As mentioned by Fankie this is explained between 16000 and 15500 BCE... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:30, 14 September 2016 (UTC)
:Have you read the referenced papers? Well you fit well with the people he refers to between the two lines at the top. ;-) We are heading for troublesome times :-( [[164: Playing Devil's Advocate to Win]]... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:22, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

*the use unqualified of the words "still many people" is exactly the kind of weasely nonsense that this comic is designed to refute. there are "still many people" who claim the earth is flat, that they have been abducted by aliens, or that the MMR jab made their children autistic. those people are deluded or insincere. the difference with deniers of climate change is that there are in their ranks scientists who are clear-sighted but who have decided that funding at any price is better than none. this site should be better than that. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.84|141.101.98.84]]
::You're absolutely right, the ranks of climate deniers do indeed include a few scientists willing to sell their voices to the highest bidder (e.g. http://www.polluterwatch.com/heartland-institute ). But is that what you meant to say? - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 11:50, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
:::that the wording be changed to reflect that. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.84|141.101.98.84]] 11:59, 13 September 2016 (UTC)

For a large post like this, it's a wonder that we can all keep up and edit something like this all at once. Wow. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 11:56, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
:Also, anyone else notice that this was a top trending post on Facebook last night? I don't know if I could call it a milestone but it's still pretty cool. And '''WE''' edited it! :D --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 12:06, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
::Very interesting, so it was explain xkcd and not xkcd that where the top trending post? Could you post a link to where you found this out? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:15, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
:::I can see you are right from the fact that Randall has chosen to postpone his next comic in order to keep this one on the front page for all the new visitors as has now been noted in the explanation and in the trivia section. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:30, 14 September 2016 (UTC)

Maybe someone should add the fact that the transcript may be a reference to oxidation?[[User:Transuranium|Transuranium]] ([[User talk:Transuranium|talk]]) 19:21, 13 September 2016 (UTC)Transuranium
:I think you mean the "title text" not the transcript? And that you refer to the recent comic [[1693: Oxidation]] which is indeed referened in the title text, then that has been written at the bottom of the main explanation and has been there already since the 12th edit less than 1½ hour after the comic came out... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 13 September 2016 (UTC)

Is nobody else having a problem seeing the comic? Both here and on XKCD I get an "Image not found" icon, a blue question mark. I thought maybe this was an interactive comic that doesn't work on my iPad (like that garden thing, though that did nothing on my computer either). If I tap it on XKCD nothing happens, here it leads to the picture's Wiki page - also with the question mark - which says it's a PNG, which I know this iPad can show. It's 11pm EST, maybe night maintenance on XKCD? Or the file got renamed without updating the sites? - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 03:12, 14 September 2016 (UTC)
:I had trouble seeing it on my own PC using Firefox but not the other browsers I have. See my early comment above. I guess the file is too big for your iPad as it is a very huge file. I tried to download it but it failed. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:07, 14 September 2016 (UTC)
::It's weird that I got what is clearly an "Image not found" icon, though. Maybe my 1st Gen iPad's Safari saw the file, decided "No way I'm loading that!"(or "that size can't be right", LOL!) and chose to show the error icon instead. When I force the issue, by going directly to the image URL listed on XKCD, the first time Safari crashed rather than load the image (but it crashes on a regular basis, so that didn't deter me), the second time it crashed, the third time it actually loaded, and I was able to see it. After seeing mentions here of spelling errors (though I have to disagree on "Pokemon", generally only people connected to the show bother with the accent. Like how I'm the only one who spells Hallowe'en correctly, with the apostrophe), I thought maybe the comic was taken down to correct it, but guess not. LOL! - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.239|108.162.218.239]] 20:54, 14 September 2016 (UTC)

I feel that the missing bottom axis is a usability problem, so I fixed it. [http://info.org.il/data/earth_temperature_timeline_bottom_axis.png See it here.] [[User:Hananc|Hananc]] ([[User talk:Hananc|talk]]) 10:42, 14 September 2016 (UTC)
:Nice but I'm sure it was on purpose to indicate that time continues down,as well as a possible even worse temperature change. As shown in the previous global warming comic [[1379]] Earth has been 8 degree hotter than now... And apart from the last small segment (albeit a very important one) you either remember that white is normal and bluer is colder redder is warmer or else you cannot use the chart in between the top and bottom, and since this is the longest xkcd comic so far it would be a shame. :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:07, 14 September 2016 (UTC)

Okay, now that I've managed to SEE the damn thing, I have a question. There's no mention of why this is using "BCE" and "CE" instead of the standard "BC" and "AD", never mind what these stand for (thinking and thinking about it, my guess is "Before Christ Era" and "Christ Era"). This is the kind of thing that should be mentioned on ExplainXKCD, LOL! Fun fact: when I searched this page for "BCE", to confirm it wasn't explained, I got "Over 100 matches". :) Anyway, I figure maybe those are currently accepted scientific terminology, especially since "AD" is Latin, unlike "BC", but the average person still uses BC and AD. In fact, I think this is the first time I've ever seen BCE and CE (unless it's been on XKCD before and I just dismissed it as a typo or something. This time there are WAY too many for it to be a mistake every time, including here in the explanation!) - NiceGuy1[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.239|108.162.218.239]] 21:20, 14 September 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1732: Earth Temperature Timeline

2016-09-14T20:54:22Z

108.162.218.239:

Talk:1730: Starshade

2016-09-11T16:57:28Z

108.162.218.239:

I would like to note that in the last frame the microphone booms on the headsets are on the right side, rather than on the left, which would have been more common. [http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/60749/why-most-of-the-microphones-are-placed-on-the-left-of-headsets-headphones Stackexchange discussion] {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.83}}
:Wauw that is not important here ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:24, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

Does "kickstart" refer to {{w|Kickstarter}}? --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 14:15, 7 September 2016 (UTC)
: Pretty clearly, but it might be good to make that explicit, and point out that either there is no such [https://www.kickstarter.com/signup?context=new_project&then=%2Fprojects%2Fnew%3Futf8%3D%25E2%259C%2593%26project%255Bcategory_id%255D%3D16%26project%255Bname%255D%3DWebb%2BStarshade%26project%255Bcountry%255D%3DUS%26commit%3DSave%2Band%2Bcontinue Kickstarter] project yet, or (less likely) link to the project.
: —[[User:FlashSheridan|FlashSheridan]] ([[User talk:FlashSheridan|talk]]) 14:59, 7 September 2016 (UTC)
::Have mentioned this in the explanation. Not sure it is a reference to that. She does not call is kickstarter... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:53, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

May be related to 975: Occulting Telescope (https://xkcd.com/975/).
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.120|108.162.245.120]] 17:08, 7 September 2016 (UTC)
:Definitely worth referring too. Thanks and done. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:53, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

The reaction in the last panel seems rather extreme. I wonder if perhaps this was a custom starshade resembling the final image at the bottom of this page: https://what-if.xkcd.com/136/ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.67|108.162.216.67]]siliconwolf

The James Webb Telescope already has measures to shade the stars!
[http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/nircam.html http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/nircam.html]: "NIRCam is equipped with coronagraphs, instruments that allow astronomers to take pictures of very faint objects around a central bright object, like stellar systems. NIRCam's coronagraphs work by blocking a brighter object's light, making it possible to view the dimmer object nearby - just like shielding the sun from your eyes with an upraised hand can allow you to focus on the view in front of you. With the coronagraphs, astronomers hope to determine the characteristics of planets orbiting nearby stars." - Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.83.168|162.158.83.168]] 18:26, 7 September 2016 (UTC)
:From a [https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/exep/about/probe-scale-stdt/Exo-C_InterimReport.pdf NASA report]: "JWST/Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) coronagraphy should be capable of detecting companions at contrasts of 10−6 at separations beyond 1.5 arcsec, capturing objects like our own Jupiter in 4.5 μm thermal emission if they are orbiting the nearest M stars. The uncertain luminosity evolution of young giant planets clouds the picture somewhat (Marley et al. 2007), but it appears that the some of the more massive planets orbiting nearby (d < 20 pc), young (age < 1 Gyr), low-mass (M < 1.0 Msun) stars could be in view by 2024." - it talks about detecting, not imaging, objects like Jupter. - Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.83.168|162.158.83.168]] 18:57, 7 September 2016 (UTC)
::Included in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:53, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

Perhaps it should be mentioned in the article that the James Webb is a near infrared and middle infrared telescope (+ orange visible light). For good infrared images one needs high mountains or space. Nasa has an article why infrared is good for examining (the spectra of) exoplanets: [http://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2013/10/24/maggies-blog-why-infrared-exoplanet-edition/ http://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2013/10/24/maggies-blog-why-infrared-exoplanet-edition/] - Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.83.168|162.158.83.168]] 18:33, 7 September 2016 (UTC)
:Included in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:53, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

I made it so it's not incomplete anymore. Also, the comic isn't random, because it's 2016 and it's scheduled to launch in less than two years (because 2016 is almost over). I also added a citation to the Wikipedia article for the James Webb Telescope with links to the "budget issues" revealed in the comic. I hope this clears up a few things. :) -- [[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 7:41, 9 September 2016 (EDT)

"Ponytail may be referring to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, but it does not seem like there is any project (yet) for a Starshade for Webb (or for New Worlds Mission, see title text explanation)." I am absolutely flabbergasted that there is even a hint of a doubt expressed here, in the article, or in this discussion. This is 100%, without a doubt, unequivocably, unquestionably a reference to Kickstarter. "Kickstarter" and "Kickstart" are words that simply do not exist in the English language outside of the world of Kickstarter. The closest is where they clearly got their name, the kick starting of a motorcycle (which to the best of my knowledge is two words, or at least hyphenated). With the rising popularity of Kickstarter, people have coined the verb "Kickstart", meaning to start a Kickstarter campaign to fund the verb's object, which is how Ponytail is using it here. As for there not being such a Kickstarter project, OF COURSE THERE ISN'T! This is a comic! It's a joke! And Ponytail isn't a real person who can start one! Non-existant concepts have appeared throughout the history of XKCD! For example, the comic where Black Hat breaks into an Internet Troll's house to tell him off for being disgusting to nerd girls on the internet, he's followed by a girl with a weapon he names an EMP cannon. I seriously doubt such a portable weapon exists, yet there it is in the comic. Or the Rule 34 comic, where they started a WetRiffs website. Nobody started that, it didn't exist until Randall did afterwards for giggles because of his comic.

Doubt on this point is inappropriate, dilutes this site's credibility, and it should be removed. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.172|108.162.218.172]] 06:01, 11 September 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1665: City Talk Pages

2016-04-09T00:15:23Z

108.162.218.239:

I redid the numbering in the transcript to be consistent with the comic. Unfortunately that added blank lines around the indented section, which looks a little awkward. Perhaps someone with better markup skills than me can fix it.[[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 16:51, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

So now does Wikipedia have to lock down every talk page to prevent xkcd-inspired vandalism edits? [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 17:14, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Aren't all of these points based on actual wikipedia talk pages? I came by to find the links to them. Maybe this is a big Whooosh for me, but i'd bet i'll not be the last person to think this. [[User:Harodotus|Harodotus]] ([[User talk:Harodotus|talk]]) 17:23, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
: Not ACTUALLY, directly based, no. I believe that Randall is engaging in what Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory declared as being called "reductio-ad-absurdum", taking an idea to an extreme in order to then make fun of it. It's definitely an xkcd staple, we see it often. In this case, Randall has seen ridiculous talk pages, and has come up with even more ridiculous "suggestions" if you will (for example, I doubt there's any city with such a huge murder problem that nobody can find a nice picture without a murder happening in the background). People here could find ridiculous city talk pages and link them here as examples, but it's unlikely any/many will have these exact entries, so linking them would be more of an opinion ("Here's one I personally find ridiculous"), which makes it less than ideal for linking to in what should be a fact-based environment. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.154|108.162.218.154]] 18:07, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
:: "What sheldon on the Big Bang Theory called" *facepalms hard* Reductio ad absurdem was a logical fallacy and rhetorical tactic long before that godawful show. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.64|173.245.54.64]] 21:37, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
Andrew Lloyd Webber has two "b"s.
[[User:Shakhteremeslo|Shakhteremeslo]] ([[User talk:Shakhteremeslo|talk]]) 17:41, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
:Wonder if it is a mistake or to make it look real. Talk pages are probably often filled with spelling errors and mistakes that do not get fixed. So maybe it was intentional. Else it might get fixed in an update later. Mentioned this in the explanation now. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:27, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Is the "it's apparently not a mistake" line a possible reference to citogenesis? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.47|173.245.54.47]] 17:43, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
: Probably, that seems to be the only logical explanation for how it's possible for that NOT to be a mistake, LOL! - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.154|108.162.218.154]] 18:10, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

I assume the reference to the 1982 secession is referring to Key West, FL, which "seceded" from the United States and formed the Conch Republic in April 1982, to protest Border Patrol roadblocks in the Keys. It makes sense to me -- If you have to deal with the Border Patrol, you must be leaving the country. They still celebrate Independence Day every April 23. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 21:57, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

== "Mining disasters" section too long ==

Why is this comic so bad at mining? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.134|108.162.242.134]] 17:46, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

I just *couldn't resist* coming to the talk page of this particular comic to say "hello world". LOL -JP {{unsigned ip|108.162.218.41}}

I tried clicking on [HIDE] but it didn't. {{unsigned ip|162.158.72.197}}

== Too blue (DISCOSS!) ==

The article has too many hyperlinks. Can we make them green instead of blue? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 22:38, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

== I think the murderer is here now ==
He's also reverting my edits? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.239|108.162.218.239]] 00:15, 9 April 2016 (UTC)

743: Infrastructures

2016-01-13T01:28:53Z

108.162.218.239: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 743
| date = May 21, 2010
| title = Infrastructures
| image = infrastructures.png
| titletext = The heartfelt tune it plays is CC licensed, and you can get it from my seed on JoinDiaspora.net whenever that project gets going.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] has sent an essay to a friend. While the essay itself was good, his friend was worried because the essay was in the {{w|Doc (computing)|.doc}} format, the {{w|Proprietary Software|proprietary format}} that old versions of {{w|Microsoft Word}} used. The friend advises Cueball to use a format based on an open standard. He may thinking of the ODF format (file extensions <code>.odt</code>, <code>.ods</code>, <code>.odp</code>, etc.) used in {{w|OpenOffice}} and {{w|LibreOffice}}, which are both {{w|free software}}. ODF was not standardised until 2005, but was based on OpenOffice XML which has existed since about 2000, and there were other open markup languages such as Docbook, LaTeX and HTML.

Cueball, who does not appreciate his friend's contradicting him, argued that the friend is making petty fights about the details of software instead of simply bothering that the software works (which is, in essence, a primordial purpose of software). Given that it can be a challenge to move from a familiar proprietary application to an open-source rival which may lack compatibility, features, support and popularity, Cueball has *some* justification for his stance.

The bearded fellow brings up that he is just concerned about the current proprietary software infrastructure that forces users to use software in a specific way, penalizing them for sharing the software or even preventing looking at the source code in order to learn what the program actually does or how it works. Cueball makes a retort that his friend has [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html an arrogance that crowds out his perspective] while claiming that he is {{w|Autism|autistic}}. (Autistic people do have a tendency to have intense fixations to things, even things that other people would find mundane or even odd. They also tend to have trouble knowing the problems of the world outside of themselves, having them lack perspective of things at times. Even so, Cueball's remark suggests that he thinks that "autistic" is just another word for "retarded" which is another word for "stupid", a double-fallacy.)

Seven years later, Cueball runs to the friend, alarmed about Facebook's heavy policies about its complete control about the information its users submit. Since Facebook is like Microsoft in its lack of transparency about their services and taking away a lot of control from the user, the fellow retorts with playing "the world's tiniest open-source violin." This is dubious since "[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WorldsSmallestViolin playing the world's smallest violin]" is a [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=World%27s+Smallest+Violin sarcastic expression] that denotes that the speaker will not give pity to the recipient.

In response to this comic people released [http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3193 3d printer specifications for tiny violins], as open source files. This one was designed by Allan Ecker.

The title text references the following pieces of infrastructure that are compatible with the "free software" ideology:
* [http://www.creativecommons.org Creative Commons licenses] (CC licensed) use existing copyright law to permit someone to share a creative work anywhere so long as the sharer attributes credit to the creator of the work. The particular CC license chosen may also allow for modification, derivative works, and/or commercial usage. The fellow's phrase "you can get it" in the title text is ambiguous: is he offering to share the code for the violin, or the tune that the violin plays? But since CC licenses are not used for software, we can assume "it" refers to the tune: either an audio recording of it, or perhaps source material from which to make modified versions.
* [http://joindiaspora.com joindiaspora.com] (formerly joindiaspora.net) is the central host of {{w|Diaspora (social network)| Diaspora*}}, an open-source alternative to Facebook which puts the user in control of how their information is used. Of course this sort of use of Diaspora would eliminate Cueball's concern over how Facebook handled his information.
* a Diaspora "seed" is a personal web server that interacts in a Diaspora "pod" of servers. It stores all of your information (such as the tune in this case) and shares it with your friends, in a way that respects your preferences around privacy, etc.

The problem with the lack of open source and Facebook is also the subject of [[1390: Research Ethics]].

==Transcript==
:2003:
:[Cueball approaches a bearded fellow.]
:Cueball: Did you get my essay?
:Bearded Fellow: Yeah, it was good! But it was a .doc; You should really use a more open-
:Cueball: Give it a ''rest'' already. Maybe we just want to live our lives and use software that ''works'', not get wrapped up in your stupid nerd turf wars.

:Bearded Fellow: I just want people to care about the infrastructures we're building and who-
:Cueball: No, you just want to feel smugly superior. You have no sense of perspective and are probably autistic.

:2010:
:Cueball: Oh my God! We handed control of our social world to Facebook and they're ''DOING EVIL STUFF!''

:Bearded Fellow: Do you see this?

:[Inset, the bearded fellow rubs his index and middle fingers against his thumb.]
:Bearded Fellow: ''It's the world's tiniest open-source violin.''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Social networking]]

1608: Hoverboard

2016-01-09T16:07:22Z

108.162.218.239: /* Characters */

{{comic
| number = 1608
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image = hoverboard.png

}}
{{TOC}}
*To experience the interactivity of this game, visit the {{xkcd|1608|original comic}}.
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|All images and an explanation and of all items of interest like in [[1110]] is missing in a table below. More details about the coins (why 169?) and the dimensions (what are the actual size in km, and how fast does the hoverboard then move).}}
The "comic" is actually a {{w|browser game}} made to celebrate the release of [[Randall|Randall's]] new book, ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', which was released on the same day as this comic: ''Tuesday'' November 24th 2015. The comic thus appeared on a Tuesday, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release to coincide with the release day.

The title refers to a {{w|hoverboard}} (which resembles a hovering skateboard without wheel) which has been most [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ZdMOMUgXE prominently featured] in the movie {{w|Back to the Future Part II}}, which took place in the future, until a little more than a month before this comic was released. {{w|Marty McFly}} traveled to the future in this second installment, more precisely to [https://www.facebook.com/October212015BTTF 2015-10-21], and this comic were released just over one month later 2015-11-24. Hoverboards are just one of many things predicted in Back to the Future Part II, that has not come to pass before reaching the date from the movie. Randall is known to have had [[:Category:Electric skateboard|electric skateboards]], which may be the closest you could get to the hoverboard here.

With Randall's enjoyment with movies and time travels it is very likely that this game is also a tribute to the {{w|Back to the Future}} movies. But the release day of the game has been used to promote his new book (as is clear with the text in the start screen of the game), and this explains why it was not released on the Back to the Future date. Apart from the date of release and the text about the book, the game has no apparent relation to the book. Instead it references several movies and other stuff that has often been featured in xkcd.

===The game feature===
The game features [[Cueball]] riding on a {{w|hoverboard}}. The controls are the left, up, and right arrows as written on the start screen until you begin the game. But there are alternatives as explained in the [[#Controls|Controls]] section. The player can jump repeatedly mid-jump to reach increasing heights, and can move left and right both while jumping and descending (see more under controls).

The player begins in a line-drawing maze (called [[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Entire_play_area|the play area]]) with 17 gold coins located throughout and a "deposit" terminal. The ostensible goal of the game is to collect as many coins as possible and return them to the deposit in the fastest possible time, which returns [[#Messages in the starting area|text messages]] describing the result. Players consumed with obtaining the best possible time result for collecting the coins may not realize there is anything more to the game.

The best way to enjoy this comic is to {{xkcd|1608|play the game!}} If you didn't do that already, '''reading any below''' will spoil you from truly enjoying the comic, and maybe make some interesting discoveries yourself! So here is a '''spoiler alert''' if you read on.

Beyond the maze on either side (just far enough that players who remain within the maze will not see) are tall walls seemingly designed to contain the player. However, the walls have a finite height and, combined with the ability to multi-jump, the player can leave the purported "play area" either to the sides or above the initial maze. This returns a flashing red [[#Messages in the starting area|error message]]: "'''[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Return_to_the_play_area|Return to play area]]'''".

But if the player overcomes the desire to comply and return to the play area, and disregard this message he can take hoverboard Cueball outside beyond the tall walls surrounding the initial play area. And here he will discover an entire world that can be explored left and right (and above), including numerous points of interest and {{w|Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs}} similar in style to comic [[1110: Click and Drag]]. There are also many more coins to collect, 169 coins all in all, so 152 more than those from the play area.

===The main themes===
There are many themes and references throughout the game, but the two main themes are '''{{w|Star Wars}}''' and '''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'''.

The largest part of the game is located on the '''right side''' of the play area and is mainly a world dominated by references to ''Star Wars''. Most noticeable is a recreation of [https://youtu.be/yHfLyMAHrQE?t=112 the opening scene] in the {{w|Star Wars (film)|first film}}, where {{w|Princess Leia|Princess Leia's}} space ship ''{{w|Tantive IV}}'' also known as ''The Rebel Blockade Runner'' is flying over the desert planet {{w|Tatooine}}. Here it is followed by the {{w|Star Destroyer}}, ''Devastator''. The desert ground with these two space ships above is the first you find to the right. Although in the game they are located inside the atmosphere, not as in the movie out in space, a fact that is commented on by [[Megan]] who looks out from an opening in the bottom of the Destroyers hull.
:Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?

Both ships are high above the ground level, but there are wires from the ground that connect (and thus guide you) up to ''The Runner'' and from there 100+ torpedoes, which are fired down on the Runner from the Destroyer above, gives away the location of the Destroyer itself. The Destroyer is so high up in the air, that you would not be likely to find it by chance without these leads (or at least some of the several other hints from people on the ground looking up and commenting like [[White Hat]] looking up and asking "Uh, what the heck is ''that?!''.").

One of the main points (The Joke) of the entire game is the extreme size of such a Destroyer. It takes up more space than the rest of the game (and most of the coins is located there). Inside the Destroyer there are many many rooms, long corridors and deep shafts, even a huge cave with trees and animals. At the bridge we meet both {{w|Darth Vader}} and the Emperor himself, {{w|Palpatine}}. There are many other jokes related both to Star Wars and other movies and xkcd comics inside the Destroyer. For instance Darth Vader begins to discuss Stevens mom from {{w|Steven Universe}} and Steven himself with family can be found in a different part of the Destroyer.
:Darth Vader: But Steven's ''mother'' is a crystal gem...
There are also interesting things and references along the ground beneath the space ships, some of these Star Wars related.

To the '''left side''' is an entirely different world, although much smaller (shorter) than the one to the right. Here the main theme is ''The Lord of the Rings'' mainly with the presence of a volcano where [[Megan]] tries to throw in {{w|One Ring|''rings'' of power}}, as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpF3SUFaDw the scene] from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|last LOTR film}} where {{w|Frodo Baggins|Frodo}} fails and {{w|Gollum}} attacks inside the volcano {{w|Mount Doom}}, thus making it clear that the volcano in the game represents this volcano. Both Frodo, {{w|Sauron}} and {{w|Gandalf}} are mentioned in the game. The first two by name in the text ({{w|Eagle (Middle-earth)great eagles}} talking about Frodo and {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien}}, and Sauron's name is read up by Megan from a book), and Gandalf is drawn as a wizard figure in the crater and also his name is used in the [[#Messages in the starting area|message]] you receive if you collect [[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#All_169_coins|all possible coins]].

The two worlds do conflict though, as an {{w|X-wing fighter}} is parked at a gas station to the left in LOTR world, and Gandalf's famous quote ''You shall not pass!'' from his fight against the {{w|Balrog}} is delivered by [[Cueball]] trying to block your path to a coin inside a room the Destroyer. This conflict could very well be a reference to the fact that {{w|Andy Serkis}} who played {{w|Gollum}} in LOTR, now plays the {{w|Supreme Leader Snoke}} in the new Star Wars movie, and [http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/6/64/Supremeleader.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/270?cb=20151223201852 his appearance] as Snoke is not that much different from Gollums. Snoke also delivers a line in the movie (about "bringing someone to me") that reminds allot of Gollum when he talks about "the ring coming to me". Of course Randall would not have know this last part at the time this comic were released. But he would likely be aware of Andy Serkis involvement.

Other themes are related to other movies, like a [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star-wars-the-force-awakens/star-trek-fans-rivalry-george-lucas-roddenberry/ naughty reference] to {{w|Star Trek}} from inside the bridge of the Rebel Blockade Runner where a Long haired girl (maybe [[Danish]] since she obviously does this to annoy Star Wars fans) delivers the following line taken from the Star Trek universe: ''Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...''

And there are many references to other {{xkcd}} comics, like the room at the front end of the Destroyer with ball pit filled with [[:Category:Playpen balls|playpen balls]], and two children (or adults) playing in it, like in [[150: Grownups]]. And also the well in the left part of the world with a coin at the bottom is likely a reference to [[:Category:Well|Well]] series.

There have been many comics with electric skateboards as mentioned, which do not appear in this comic, but there is one example of a normal skateboard. This is used by Megan in a room in the Destroyer, while she is inside a {{w|hamster ball}}, and there is also another hamster ball, used in a more than human sized ten pin bowling game to the left. Another items that has been [[:Category:Hamster Ball|prominently featured]] in xkcd.

Also references to video games are seen, best shown with the maze towards the back end of the Destroyer which are an almost complete depiction of ''[http://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/a/a2/Princeofpersia_dos_level1.png Level 1]'' of the computer game ''{{w|Prince of Persia}}''.

The comic/game and book were released only 3 weeks before the 7th Star Wars movie ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}'' were released on December 14 2015. And this movie had already been referenced by Randall 7½ weeks earlier in [[1585: Similarities]], when another movie ({{w|The Martian (film)|The Martian}}) were released. It was a reference in the title text to the new robot ''BB-8'' that are featured in the Force Awakens. That the Star Wars section is thus so much larger than the LOTR section may thus also be a hint to the fact that it is now 12 years ago that the last of those films were released, and although {{w|the Hobbit}} has been released as {{w|The Hobbit (film series)|three films}} over the previous three Christmases it is Star Wars that dominates this Christmas.

In the weeks before, and especially the weeks after there were also other comics that had a subject which could reefer back to Hoverboard in some ways. Maybe these comics were either influenced by the game, or the other way around so that relevant items were added to the game because of these other comics:
*[[1600: MarketWatch]] - the {{w|Washington Monument}} (an obelisk) is part of the skyline depicted, and this monument is the first that is encountered in the picture when going left from the play area, plus a comment from Cueball:
::Honestly, it doesn't even look that muck like Washington.
*[[1610: Fire Ants]] - in this game there is a giant ant queen inside the Destroyer talking with Cueball about laying eggs:
::Cueball: What's up?
::Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.
::Cueball: Eww.
*[[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] - this is about super volcanoes, vs. Mount Doom in the game.
*[[1614: Kites]] - Megan is seen with a kite in both comics (in this game to the left towards Mount Doom.)
*[[1620: Christmas Settings]] - another Star Wars reference to {{w|lightsaber}} noises in the title text. Lightsabers are featured twice in this comic, once with Ponytail practicing ion the Blockade Runner, and once with a kid about to hit a Piñata in the Destroyer.
*[[1623: 2016 Conversation Guide]] - a direct hoverboard reference, and complaint that they are not real yet (only in this game).

===Characters===
Almost all main [[:Category:Characters|characters]] in the xkcd gallery are used several times, like Cueball, Megan, [[Ponytail]], [[Beret Guy]], [[Hairy]], [[White Hat]] and [[Hair Bun Girl]].

And possibly even some of the minor characters are used like Danish at the bridge in the Blockade Runner and [[Miss Lenhart]] discovering a bug before the volcano. But neither of these can be confirmed, they just looks like them and has some similarities, like “Danish” teasing the Star Wars fan and Lenhart in some kind of teacher mode.

The only exception is that [[Black Hat]] is not present anywhere in the comic. The only hint that he is not forgotten is that his hat can be seen [http://xkcd.com/1608/1074:-1074+s.png on a stick] under the Destroyer after the three large T-like structures. And this is not the kind of stick characters Randall usually draws. But at least we now know where Danish has hidden it from him this time (see [[405: Journal 3]]). Given that his hat is stuck there, he could be any of the Cueballs in the game. There is a Cueball close by whistling. Maybe it is Black Hat trying to call out for his hat… But this comic can not be listed as a Black Hat comic.

There are also many fictive people from different movies, books and TV-shows (for instance Darth Vader, Gandalf and Steven as mentioned above) and at least one real person: {{w|Elon Musk|Elon Musk's}} who has a [[#Secret passages and hidden places|hidden lair]] under the Volcano.

Furthermore there are many animals, some even rather big, and also a couple of small Star Wars robots, one in a corridor in each space ship.

===Extra Hoverboard pages===
*Since this comic is so big and complicated extra pages have been created to include much more information than is wished for on this main page (which is already of considerable size).
*These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also listen in the relevant sections below:
**[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]] - The full transcript of the entire comic, as if you played the game can be found here. It is linked from the [[#Transcript|Transcript]] section.
**[[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image]] - A collection of different compilations of the whole Image. It is linked from the [[#Whole Image|Whole Image]] section.
**[[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages]] - Images with an overview of the secret passages in the game. It is linked from the [[#Secret passages and hidden places|Secret passages and hidden places]] section.
**[[1608: Hoverboard/All image links]] It is linked from the [[#All images|All images]] section.
**[[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins]] It is linked from the [[#Coins|Coins]] section.
**[[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots]] It can be linked from several sections, but amongst other allot from the [[#Messages in the starting area|Messages in the starting area]] section.

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only covers the starting page as shown on xkcd: {{xkcd|1608}}. There is also an [https://xkcd.com/1608/info.0.json official transcript] on xkcd. But on Explain xkcd these{{xkcd}} transcripts are not used. This transcript covers what is on the first image you see when opening the comic on xkcd. A full transcript of the entire comic will be listed on a [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript|separate page]].]

:[Cueball is shown on a hoverboard in the center of the comic. Around him is a simple maze with 12 yellow coins. Another Cueball without hoverboard is shown standing on one of the platforms to the right. The bottom half of the window is black. Right of where Cueball stands is a ramp. Behind the ramp is a terminal. There is lots of space left of the maze, outside the maze. Text is only written in white below in the black area. The first part of the text is written below Cueball on hoverboard. Then there is an arrow pointing to the terminal and a label. Finally there is a line of text at the bottom of the black area.]

:[Under Cueball:]
:My new book,
:''Thing Explainer,''
:comes out today!
:To celebrate, here's
:a small game.

:[Under the arrow below the terminal.]
:Deposit coins here

:[At the bottom:]
:Use the arrow keys to move

:['''For the full transcript of the entire comic see [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]].''']

==Trivia==
*There is as usual [[:Category:No title text|no title text]] for these interactive comics. But there is actually one listed in the [http://xkcd.com/1608/info.0.json info page] on xkcd. But this text: "Return to the play area", is never shown as a normal title text. But it will erroneously be shown in the unofficial mobile versions of the site.
**This is actually the text that is shown blinking red at the bottom of the screen when leaving the starting area.

==Viewers==
*{{xkcd|1608|1608: Hoverboard}} (native game, use arrows)

'''''Warning:''' apart from using one of the a full maps below there are also other [[#Cheats and Exploits|cheating possibilities]] where people (or the game) have implemented ways to explore the game world more easily!. The best way to enjoy this comic, however, is to play the game, explore the comic's world the way you're supposed to, get lost in the caves or in the sky, be startled by unexpected things or happy when finding some people or a coin after lengthy exploration through a repetitive landscape. If you didn't do that already, '''reading any below will spoil you from truly enjoying the comic.''''' So go back to the link above and try that out first.

*Though you can download the full view, the easiest way to browse it is through a {{w|Zooming user interface}}:
**[http://1101b.com/xkcd1608/ Fully zoomable map w/ toggleable coins and passages]. '''[Recommended]''' - includes all of the game, zoom-able and with toggle-able passages and coins. Courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/lanzaa lanzaa] on this [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 reddit thread]
**[http://codepen.io/KyleDavidE/full/605dc87b614ff6b2bd716f4c6f640203/ Quickly hacked overview]. Missing the rock island in the sky. Courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/kyledavide kyledavide] on the same [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 reddit thread].
*Below are several examples of full pictures:
**[http://paste.click/DsPuSL Full-size-png-map]. '''Do not open this directly in the browser!''' It might take a few minutes to download. Full resolution picture of the entire game (also without coins) - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/0x90-0x90 0x90-0x90] on the same reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 thread].
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/thumb_1608.jpg Incomplete compilation] of the entire game area (note the missing pinnacle of the Washington Monument. It also missed the floating island above the monument).
**[https://i.imgur.com/uYryxss.png Full png-map]. Simple picture of the entire game without coins - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/luke_in_the_sky luke_in_the_sky] on the same reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 thread].
**[https://i.imgur.com/rNU9ZgN.png Full png-map green for non existing tiles]. Here's the transparent spaces in green - also courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/luke_in_the_sky luke_in_the_sky] on the another [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxc1245 reddit thread].
**[https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/6wIRprxQ7rh3EQGEPer7zCdiaCDeXFM3m2tW9aDd3ECJu9Kgz4s5LPLjjHnJN6SR/file Black areas that you can walk through in red]. This includes the walls and ceilings or other surfaces that you can stand on or hit into. So not only the secret passages are in red.
*See also under the [[#Whole Image|Whole Image]].
**And see also the collection of different versions of [[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image|the whole image]]!

===Standalone application===
*Standalone cross-platform open source remake of hoverboard is available, with some extra features:
** Off-line play
** Arbitrary game window size
** Persistent games state on exit
** Ability to save up to 10 locations and teleport to them at will
** Explorable world map
* Links:
** [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl Project on GitHub]
** [https://github.com/AMDmi3/hoverboard-sdl/releases Downloads] (Windows binaries available)

==Messages in the starting area==
*Different amounts of coins collected in the play area, will give different messages in yellow on the black part at the bottom of the screen when delivered to the coin collector.
*Below is a table with examples of what may be written depending on the number of coins. The time (and the amount when there is a range with similar rating) is just chosen at random (although in a realistic range). To get above 17 you of course have to leave the play area and come back again...
**In chrome and firefox there is not message for those above 9 coins, except 17, 42 and 169. But in Internet Explorer there is still a message for those cases: "Undefined".
**See [[1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Coin collecting messages|screen-shots]] or click on the links from the number of coins in the table below:

:{| class="wikitable"
!# coins
!Text when depositing this number of coins
"X" is the number of coins collected
|-
|[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#0_coins|0 coins]]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 0 coins in 1 second''' You successfully avoided all the coins.
|-
|[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#1_coin|1 coin]]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got a single coin in 1 second''' It's a start.
|-
|[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#2-4_coins|2-4 coins]]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 3 seconds''' Not bad!
|-
|[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#5-9_coins|5-9 coins]]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 12 seconds''' Terrific!
|-
|[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#10-16_coins|10-16 coins]]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 10 seconds'''
|-
|[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#17 coins|17 coins]]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 17 coins in 15 seconds''' You found all the coins! Great job!
|-
|[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#18 coins|18-41 coins]]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 430 seconds'''
|-
|[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#42 coins|42 coins]]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 42 coins in 460 seconds''' No answers here.
|-
|[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#More_than_42_coins|43-168 coins]]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got X coins in 460 seconds'''
|-
|[[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#All_169_coins|All 169 coins]]
|style="background-color:black;"| '''You got 169 coins in 1457 seconds''' Are you Gandalf?
|}

*Once you leave the area you get a [[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Return_to_the_play_area|flashing warning message]] in red letters at the bottom of the screen:
:{| class="wikitable"
|style="background-color:black;"| '''Return to the play area'''
|}
*This message flashes three times over 1.2 seconds (the message only disappears for about 150 ms each time)
*Then there is a pause for about 1.3 seconds and then this repeats for a total of 5 repetitions, a total of 15 flashes in just about 11.3 second seconds.
*The message will stop immediately if you re-enter the play area during this period.
*If you re-enter later it will flash once you leave again.
*For the program the play area is anything within and below the walls just outside the maze you start in.
**More precisely you first leave the play area if you pass over the middle part at the top of the walls
**Or if you make one jump from standing on top of the walls.

==Whole Image==
[[File:1608 full tiny.png|none|frame|Whole Image zoomed very much out, without coins. The part visible at the beginning is marked red.]]
*See also a collection of different versions of [[1608: Hoverboard/The whole image|the whole image]]!

==Secret passages and hidden places==
There are many places where you can disappear behind black areas, as not all of these are solid. Some of these places even hide secret passages or hidden rooms.

One notable hidden area is {{w|Elon Musk|Elon Musk's}} volcano lair, which is located beneath the lava in the crater of Mount Doom. It can be difficult to find your way in here even if you know it is there. (For more details, see [[1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages|secret passages]].)

Another hidden place is the floating rock island that floats high above the {{w|Washington Monument}}, which is located just outside the left edge of the play area. This island is almost impossible to find by chance, as it takes around 30 seconds of repeatedly pressing the Up Arrow key to reach it from the top of the Monument. (The [[#Viewers|maps]] can help you if you're having trouble finding it.)

As there are two coins on the floating rock island and four coins in the lair below the lava, it is very hard to find all the coins. There are even several coins that are hard to find because they just float in the air nowhere near any drawn things, or at least no things you can see before seeing the coin. They may hang in the air a few jumps above the ground, or in one case more than a seconds drop below the Destroyer. So getting all coins without help from a map would truly make you a [[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#All_169_coins|Gandalf-like wizard]]. (See more regarding [[#Coins|coins]] below.)

==Boundaries==
The larger game world is physically bounded in the left, right, and down directions, with invisible walls to each side and the ground binding you from going any further down than the deepest depression or hidden caves... In the upward direction, there is in principle also an invisible wall, but while jumping up Cueball on his hoverboard will appear to continue upwards as long as you press to jump, in addition, the longer the up arrow is pressed repeatedly, the longer it will take for [[Cueball]] to fall down again once the button is released. So although there are no new things above, you can keep jumping as high as you like and will then fall proportionally longer to get back to where you started out. Until maps were created it could be possible that there could be some hidden unexplored parts, but the [[#Viewers|maps]] created already within the first few days covers the entire game.

To the far right is a platform at the top of a high pole. This platform turns out to be a nest (like a stork nest). Above the three eggs are ten coins (the most collected in one place outside the play area, and these are closer together).

To the far left is blond haired girl with a hair bun looking right. In front of her are four coins on a row. She tells about the Destroyer (should you have gone this way without finding it yet).
:Girl: In the sky, beyond the mountain, I saw a starship.

Regarding the highest part you find the highest straight rise up in the air to something other than white, under the Rock Island just left of and very high above the Washington monument. Standing on the large rock on top of this floating rock island you are standing almost as high up as possible. There is a coin here one step down from the top of this large rock. This is the highest located coin in the game. Going over the edge also represents the largest possible drop in the game. However this is not the highest point where you can stand, as the very top of the bridge on the Destroyer is just a tat higher. But there is no coin there. Also this is not close enough to the end of the Destroyer that you can jump down to the ground, so the drop from the rock is by far the longest possible.

The deepest part of the lair should have been the lowest point, but as this lair's entrance is up in the volcano crater, it does not reach down to become the lowest part of the image. There is also a deep well (half way left to the Volcano) with a girl at the bottom, that goes just as deep. But the deepest part where you can stand is in the ocean below the Destroyer where a rouge wave is talking to Cueball:
:Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.
:Cueball: ...But you can talk?
:Wave: The equations are really complicated.
When standing under this wave you cannot get any lower. There are coins in all three locations, but as the coin is above the top of the high wave, it may be that it is the coin in the well that is the deepest. The coin under the lava is not at the bottom of the room so that is not so low.

Taking a route that takes the hoverboard through all the extremes mentioned above, that is the lowest, highest, left and rightmost coins and solid positions within the game can be done in about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. See a picture here of the coin delivery after such a trip that [[1608:_Hoverboard/Screen-shots#Reaching_all_the_boundaries|reached all the boundaries]].

==All images==
*Coordinates for the images are given in (X, Y) coordinates with the starting point at [http://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png (1000, 1074)].
*In total there are 3440 images on xkcd that can be accessed via links of this format: http://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png [This link is for for the (1000, 1074) starting point image).
**Here is a page with a table of all the links to images (still a work in progress): [[1608: Hoverboard/All image links|All image links]].
**'''Note:''' This is a large page which may take some time to load.
*The individual images are so small, and cut of at "random" so they do often go straight down through a person, and you can rarely see both a person and the (full) text belonging to them in the same image.
**See for instance this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1037x1073y_Wedding.png wedding scene] to the right under the Destroyer, which only makes sense when these four images are put together (as there are in the link):
***[http://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1073+s.png (1037, 1073)]
***[http://xkcd.com/1608/1037:-1074+s.png (1037, 1074)]
***[http://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1073+s.png (1038, 1073)]
***[http://xkcd.com/1608/1038:-1074+s.png (1038, 1074)]
**It will thus not make sense to make a transcript of all individual images, but instead, only of a complete setting (or maybe a part of a setting.)
*Maximum possible number of images in the x-direction is 180.
**Going left will decrease X down to 928 (so 82 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction)
**Going right will increase X up to 1107 (so 107 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction)
*Total number of (possible) images in the y-direction is 44.
**Going down will decrease Y down to 1069 (so 5 pictures down from the starting point in Y-direction)
**Going up will increase Y up to 1112 (so 38 pictures up from the starting point in Y-direction)
***The "(possible)" is included because the number of possible active Y-images depends on the X-coordinate, as there are several non-existing images that are not just totally white (i.e. blank images), but which does not even have a number/or active link on xkcd.
***But the top active image over the floating island and over the top of the bridge section of the Destroyer all have Y coordinate 1112. There are only 20 active images at this Y-coordinate.
* All possible images are thus spread over a 180 x 44 grid, with a possible 7920 images. But 4480 of these images are none existing on xkcd, but you can travel through them in the game, as they are just shown as completely blank in the game.
**If you try to load one of the completely blank images like [http://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1077+s.png (1000, 1077)], three images above the starting point, you will get an error message. There are only 76 (vs 180) images at this Y-coordinate.
***Note there are several completely empty/white images that are active, but those can be loaded on xkcd like the one below the missing picture mentioned above: [http://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1076+s.png (1000, 1076)].
**There are no blank images in completely black areas, like inside structures or under ground. And below Y = 1077 all 180 possible Y-images exist for all X-coordinates, from Y = 1069 to 1076.
***For instance the image below the starting point is completely black [http://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1073+s.png (1000, 1073)], and so are the next three below.
***The bottom images at Y = 1069 has a white border at the bottom: [http://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1069+s.png (1000, 1069)].
***All the images at Y = 1069 are the same except the one at the very right edge because at this edge there is also a white border to the right [http://xkcd.com/1608/1107:-1069+s.png (1107, 1069)] (this is not the case to the far left at [http://xkcd.com/1608/928:-1069+s.png (928, 1069)]).
***You will never see the images at Y = 1069 in the game. Actually you will neither see anything of the images with Y = 1070 or 1071. And there is nothing that is not completely black for Y = 1069 to 1072. First from Y = 1073 are there active images which includes white.
***This picture with the wave at [http://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1073+s.png (1022, 1073)] gives the lowest point where the hoverboard Cueball can actually stand.
***Since you will sink into the water here, you are almost standing on the top of the Y = 1072 image: [http://xkcd.com/1608/1022:-1072+s.png (1022, 1072)], which is of course completely black.
***In places where you can stand in a low position on Y = 1073 images you will actually see some part of the images with Y = 1072, not that it makes any difference since they are all black.
*Here is a list of the places where there are most images at a given X coordinate:
**At X = 1078, right under the highest point of the Destroyers bridge [http://xkcd.com/1608/1078:-1112+s.png (1078, 1112)] there are 36 active images. Thus even here 8 images are missing between the bottom active image below the Destroyer and the first active near the ground level at Y=1076. (Y = 1077 to 1084 are missing).
**These missing Y coordinates are active in other places, for instance under the torpedo rain at X = 1020 where all Y images are active up until 1100 - 32 images. But since the last 12 images above this are missing it is still 4 less than under the bridge.
**Under the floating island, where there are active images at the top Y = 1112, like [http://xkcd.com/1608/990:-1112+s.png (990, 1112)], there is also the Washington monument below which goes high up, but still there are only 20 active Y images, as there are no active images between 1084 and 1109 (24 missing in between).
**Over the volcano's edges the highest images directly connecting to solid ground is found at Y = 1087. One image above this is also active making the hight here going up to 1088, thus also making it 20 active Y images. The only '''not''' completely white image over the volcano at Y = 1088 is the one with the eagles [http://xkcd.com/1608/956:-1088+s.png (956, 1088)].

==Dimensions==
{{incomplete|Here should be an overview of how large the picture is (physical distances and time to traverse it. Speed of hoverboard etc.) Could be based on know monuments sizes.}}

==List of details and references (with transcript)==
{{incomplete|Help needed migrating the info into a table with pictures like in [[1110:_Click_and_Drag#List_of_details_and_references_.28with_transcript.29|here in 1110]]...}}

*Begining to change to the coordinates of the images used to make up these structures
{| class="wikitable"
! Top left image
! Bottom right
! Images
! Description
|-
| [http://xkcd.com/1608/944:-1075+s.png (944, 1075)] || [http://xkcd.com/1608/946:-1074+s.png (946, 1074)] || [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0b/Elon_Musks_Volcanic_Lair.png Overview] || {{w|Elon Musk|Elon Musk's}} Volcanic Lair
|-
| x: 483735 || y: -551990 || || "What news of the world above? Please tell me - what's hot and viral? What's trending on twitter?"
|-
| x: 509587 || y: -554621 || || Washington Monument
|-
| x: 509587 || y: -554621 || ||Captain's log
|-
| x: 552309 || y: -560208 || || A man addressing a giant, supposedly pregnant, ant. Cueball: "What's up?" Ant: "The usual. Pooping out ants." Cueball: "Eww."
This is probably a reference to a part of Orson Scott Card's "Xenocide" in his Ender series. In it, the main character, Ender, visits a hive queen "bugger" he saved on his travels and became friends with, at a time after the queen has settled in on a new planet. At one point, Ender brings other humans to meet the queen at a time when she was giving birth to some of her drones. This is most likely meant to represent a parody of that conversation or else represent a comedic idea of his first conversation with her when she had been birthing, where Ender is alone and is speaking to the Hive Queen. In this version, when he finds out that she is in the process of birthing more ants, rather than being compassionate and understanding with the Queen(as he is in the book), Ender is weirded out like the other humans he brings along with him later.
|}

===Areas===
*To begin with different areas was listed using coordinates, that could be found using software. But as these are of no use to the ordinary user, and no one has continued supplying these the list has been moved here as a trivia. This should thus be incorporated into the above tables, and then this subsection should be deleted
'''Click to expand:'''
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
 
Starting area - (x: 512187, y: -549668)

====West / Left====
*{{w|Washington Monument}} - (x: 509864, y: -549746)
**Invisible entrance through the Monument, indicated by arrow sign
**Secret entrance into the inside of the Monument, right side, about halfway up - (x: 509815, y: -552614)
***From there you can fall down to the fault line shown in about the middle of the monument. You cannot see Cueball while he is in the monument in either entrance.
*Girl in a hamster ball heading for a bunch of bowling pins - (x: 505790, y: -549905)
*Straight up, a giant floating rock island in the sky (x: 507163, y: -567537)
*Yet [[1504|another dig]] at the Lion King and the lands touched by shadow - (x: 504998, y: -550676)
*An {{w|X-Wing}} at a gas station, with coin accessible from the left - (x: 503253, y: -551129)
**Go straight up from the cockpit for a coin, carried by african swallows (non-migratory)
*A well with a girl at the bottom of it (and one of the yellow game coins), claiming to not be a ghost. A possible reference to {{w|Sadako Yamamura|Sadako}}/{{w|Sadako Yamamura#Samara Morgan|Samara}} from Ring ({{w|Ring (Suzuki novel)|novel}},{{w|Ring (film)|film}},{{w|The Ring (2002 film)|remake}}) - (x: 501998, y: -551030)
*Landing re-entry capsule with parachutes. Bird on top: "I don't remember laying these but ''wow'' they're already flying. Gonna be awesome when they hatch." In capsule: "Yes! My phone has a signal!" "How many new likes did we get during reentry?" "I'm checking!" - (x: 500040, y: -552369)
*Local Mom discovering This One Weird Bug - (x: 497994, y: -551334)
*Someone flying a kite, with a coin beside the kite.
*"The earth is [http://www.vapersoul.com/what-is-vaping/ vaping]"
*Climbing the right hand side of the volcano
** "'The time has come', the walrus said, and put on Sauron's ring" (Lord of the rings/Lewis Carroll reference)
** "This is currently a V2 but it becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts" ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_(bouldering) grades] of bouldering difficulty, V7 being fairly difficult."
** "If I don't make it back...tell my wife...where I am...and why you left me there" (reference to lyrics from [http://genius.com/1451499/David-bowie-space-oddity/Tell-my-wife-i-love-her-very-much Space Oddity] "Tell my wife I love her very much")
**Ponytail riding a cycle (a reference to [http://canvasrider.com/ canvas rider]?)? (x: 490610 y: -554364)
**LOTR Eagles - (x: 489661 y: -556811)
* Right-hand rim of the volcano
**A periscope peeking out of a shallow lava pool near two people playing "the lava is a floor". Reference to a common child's imagine game where the floor is lava (see [[735: Floor]]) - (x: 488573 y: -556337)
** "One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever" - throwing some things, possibly rings, off the edge of the volcano, in anti-climactic reference to climax of Lord of the Rings series.
*Lava in the centre of the volcano
**A dark grey ocean that isn't noticeable until you fall in
** "Remember: there's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived", quadcopters inverting the typical safety warning for camera operators - (x: 486640, y: -554838)
**{{w|Elon Musk}}'s Volcano Lair - (x: 484167, y: -549462)
***entrance hidden under volcano lava, before reaching Artex - (x: 483791, y: -551292)
*** "What news of the world above? Please, tell me - what's hot and viral? What's trending on Twitter?!!" - a person in cave being very non-hermit like.
*** "I always assumed Elon Musk's volcano lair would be, like ... tropical. And ... well, pleasant." - "Back to your desks, swine". Strange dystopian scene in cave.
*** "So this is where it is", an electronics "ground" symbol, that presumably all grounded electronics are connected to - (x: 485125, y: -549062)
** "Artex!", a horse stuck in the lava (a reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Neverending_Story_characters Artax], the horse in Neverending Story) - (x: 483715, y: -554354)
** A wizard, Gandalf?
*Climbing out of volcano
** A cave, with a crouched figure, saying "Goooooold! Goold!" with money bags around. (reference to the 1982 video game {{w|The_Hobbit_(1982_video_game)}})
y: -554877)
*Descending far side of volcano
**Basketball hoop, with coin. One player says "Ok, as soon as it erupts, go for the dunk. Our sweet moves will be preserved for all eternity", possibly a reference to preserved lavafied bodies in Pompeii - (x: 479523,
* *"In the sky, beyond the mountain, I saw a starship" - referring to the huge Imperial Star Destroyer on the right/east of the play area, and Legolas.
*?Hat underground
*?A hole which traps(?) the player unless noclip mode is used

====East / Right====
*People holding anchor lines to the Tantive IV (Star Wars: A New Hope), being attacked by an Imperial Star Destroyer - (the people: x: 518954, y: -549056)
*Desert with dunes - (x: 520000, y: -549114)
*Ocean Yelper (giving only 2.5/5 stars) - x: 522015, y: -549015
*Talking Rogue Wave - (x: 523460, y: -549013)
*Wedding - (x: 531558, y: -549386)
*Graveyard - (x: 534140, y: -549546)
*Remains of {{w|Ozymandias}}' Statue - (x: 535927, y: -549666)
*Huge pyramid - (x: 538167, y: -550906)
*Blackhat's hat on a stick - (x: 549997, y: -549777)
*Whitehat's head in the grass? - (x: 559826, y: -549847)
*Giant bird nest - (x: 567123, y; -550417)
*Beret Guy riding a torpedo ([http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RidingTheBomb Dr. Strangelove]) - (x: 522754, y: -554342)
*Medusa? - (x: 557434, y: -549743)

====Rebel Blockade Runner====
Up in the air is the CR90 Corvette, Tantive IV aka Rebel Blockade Runner with Princess Leia from the start of the original Star Wars movie.

*Coordinates:
**??
*Cueball is standing at a ledge with a fishing rod with something on the hook somewhere below the spaceship. Two birds are circling the line.

====Imperial Star Destroyer====
High up in the air there's a huge spaceship.

*Coordinates:
**top left at (513072, -560660)
**bottom left at (513080, -559470)
**top at (552154, -569022)
**top right at (556557, -567711)
**bottom right at (558244, -556542)
*Entrances (from bottom left clockwise):
**Tunnel at (513080, -559680)
**Tunnel at (513166, -560434)
**Shaft at (516560, -560912)
**Shaft at (519200, -561108)
**Shaft at (525255, -561527)
**Shaft at (527990, -561844)
**Shaft at (533087, -562298)
**Shaft at (539637, -563233)
**Tunnel at (540958, -563721)
**Shaft at (543789, -564670)
**Stairwell down at (547438, -565058)
**Tunnel at (552319, -566184)
**Tunnel to an isolated small room at (557774, -562042)
**Shaft at (556350, -556720)
**Glitchfloor at (547890, -556779)
**Shaft at (543850, -557500)
**Main ramp at (537260, -557969)
**Tunnel at (531840, -558547)
**Parachutists' ramp at (526624, -558664)
**Ramp at (525300, -558747)
**Shaft at (520440, -559100)
**Shaft at (516825, -559300)
*Interesting objects and places inside:
**Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems - (x: 551664, y: -567383)
**A nearly complete depiction of Level 1 of {{w|Prince of Persia (1989 video game)|Prince of Persia}} - (x: 551532, y: -563512)
**Emperor Palpatine Park and Gazebo - (x: 546819, y: -559584)
**Dancers (possibly [[162|spinning counter-clockwise]]) dancing to piano music - (x: 547536, y: -563301)
**Octopus guarding two coins - (x: 531646, y: -559663)
**A sign saying "Caution GlitchFloor" (falling straight down through it nets you a coin someway down) - (x: 547898, y: -556784)
**A huge light bulb - (x: 555405, y: -557769)
**The Emperor [[1596|birdwatching]] - (x: 554777, y: -567346)
**Ponytail recreating ''{{w|Joust (video game)|Joust}}'' on an ostrich - (x: 552048, y: -568045)
**A party on the ceiling (negative gravity?) - (x: 550350, y: -564354)
**A huge ant - (x: 552309, y: -560208)
**Tube slide - (x: 541813, y: -563721)
**A reservoir (?) with hidden passages - (x: 541300, y: -560330)
**A huge spark gap (?) - (x: 541900, y: -558110)
**Torpedo launcher room - (x: 529627, y: -558481)
**A {{w|Tetris}} block falling - (x: 529414, y: -529220)
**Lightsaber Piñata party - (x: 515353, y: -560329)
**Swimming pool - (x: 517346, y: -559831)
**Children's swimming pool (ball pit?) - (x: 514500, y: -560436)
**A crocodile - (x: 553623, -568091)
**Spiral tunnel - (x: 543320, y: -558314)
**A car - (x: 537750, y: -557937)
</div>
 

==References by Category==
*Here should be a table like: [[1110:_Click_and_Drag#References_by_Category]].

==Coins==
*There are 169 coins.
**Here should be more details about the coins and where they are located and how many.
*For more details see here for [[1608: Hoverboard/Images coins|coins location]].

==Technical aspects==
As previously noted, the comic bears considerable resemblance to [[1110: Click and Drag]]. The comic is made in much the same way, with 'drawn' images "glued" together to form a large "map", with the illusion of infinite bounds made possible through space saving techniques where blank tiles are not stored and are instead painted white. The boundary between blank squares and 'drawn' squares is made clear as any white space in the normal images has a very slight grey tint. Thus, seams between images and blank spaces can be discerned.

The tiles for the map are stored as simple PNG files in the naming scheme: X:Y+s.png. An example can be seen here: http://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1096+s.png Each file is 513x513 pixels in size, one pixel is reserved as overlap to ensure seamless joining of images. So far, through experimentation, tiles in the range 928 to 1108 X and -1112 to -928 Y have been discovered, internally, the position of the player is divided by 512 and rounded down to give the position of the tile.

The collision map is encoded in the darkness of the black. Using an image manipulation program, one can easily find the secret pathways even in the zoomed out maps provided below by enhancing the contrast of the dark areas.

The game was made by [http://chromakode.com Max Goodman] who has previously worked on [[1416: Pixels]]. The source code for the game can be found [https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js here].

===Functionality===
By observing page code while playing, the game grabs and displays images based on location, and subsequently clears all non-visible images. The game uses what seems to be a position syntax to retrieve the intended images live, and returns an error if such an image does not exist, such as a blank area. This technically means things could be added to the world and updated live. If the player is moving sufficiently fast or if the internet connection is slow, this means that the player can get stuck in a black area that does not load in time.

This also means that the game does not have coded top or bottom limits, so any attempt to find the ''ceiling'' of the game will be futile unless the game is tweaked. The game does however have side limits.

Opening the console will display the text: what? hoverboard not enough for you!? in the log. Activating goggles mode will cause the text 'B-)' to appear in the log.

===Bugs and errors===
*On a slow connection, it's possible to move into an 'open' area and then the black image loads in and (probably permanently, without tricks) traps you immobile.
*Sometimes the timing of the game is completely off. This can make the Cueball move extremely slowly. Or on the other extreme make him go faster so the images jumps and makes the graphic look horrible.
**This error was actually used to discover something about how you move when pressing the arrows - see under [[#Controls|Controls]].
*If the focus switches from the game to the page, the Cueball can freeze in midair. The same thing can happen if the window border overlaps the play area.

===Controls===
The keyboard controls are as follows:

*'''Go Left''' - Left arrow key, a or h
*'''Go Right''' - Right arrow key, d or l
*'''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Up arrow key, w, or k
*'''Go Down (if gravity disabled)''' - Down arrow key, s, or j

This control scheme covers the three commonly used directional key sets: WASD a set of keys commonly used by modern games; HJKL a set of movement keys used by vi and applications which attempt to mimic vi key controls (vim); and the arrow keys, the most generic set of keys which is usually accepted by most applications which take movement as input, these were commonly used in older games.

On devices which have a touch screen and tilt sensor (portable devices like mobile phones and tablets) the controls are as follows:
*'''Go Left''' - Roll the device anticlockwise
*'''Go Right''' - Roll the device clockwise
*'''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Tap the screen

After inspecting the source code, there appears to be no way to move down on a portable device, this is only relevant if gravity is disabled (see [[#Cheats and Exploits|Cheats and Exploits]]).

*If you keep down the left/right control you will keep moving along in that direction as long as no object blocks you.
*A jump will only take you a certain height.
**Then you drop down.
**The jump is fast to begin with, then gravity stops you and revert the direction.
**When descending again you accelerate to begin with but quickly reach a terminal velocity.
*If you jump repeatedly while keeping a left/right control down you will jump in that direction.
**But if you only jump one time, while keeping down the direction control, then you will stop moving forward after about 2.8s, from then on you will just keep falling straight down, or stop where you reached if on the ground.
**This makes quite a difference when you jump into an opening from a high structure. If the background is completely white, you cannot see that you do not continue to move forward, and will thus not be aware that you are now falling straight down, instead of going left/right.
**It can actually be quite difficult to notice as you will leave any structures that can indicate this issue very quickly.
***Of course if you notice that you land much too close to some high structure from where you base jumped, you will begin to understand. For instance falling off the floating rock, and not moving away from under neath it during that long fall.
***The timing was discovered because of one of the [[#Bugs and errors|bugs]] in the program that sometimes makes Cueball move extremely slow, so one jump takes more than 3s.
**The solution if you wish to keep moving to either side while descending, is that after the jump, you release and repress the left/right control. Then you will continue moving in that direction as long as you do not jump again.
**As long as you continue to jump you will also keep moving laterally if you keep one of those buttons down. The is quite counter intuitive.
***This also means that when you jump up over a long distance (or continue to jump hover over the landscape), you will not have this issue, since every jump reactivates the lateral movement.
***But if you jump over a small obstacle and then just keep another arrow down, you will soon stop, which could fool you into believing that it was an obstacle on the ground that held you back.

===Cheats and Exploits===
Aside from the obvious ability to move out of bounds in the game, there are some more obscure hidden features which can't be enabled through normal gameplay, the ones found so far are as follows:

'''Modes''' are activated by opening the Javascript Console (F12 [Or Command-Alt-I in most browsers under Mac OS X] to open Developer Tools, then Console tab) and writing corresponding commands. 
'''Click to expand:'''

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
 
*'''Gandalf Mode:''' ''i.am.gandalf = true'' - jumps and runs further. displays a white gandalf hat that works well in places where the avatar can't be seen.
*'''Speedhack:''' ''explorer.opts.speed= *Value*'' - Speed hacking, with 1 = normal speed
*'''Jump Hack:''' '' explorer.opts.jumpForce= -*Value*'' - Jump hacking, with -1 = normal jump (positive values cause the hoverboard guy to move down when jumping)
*'''Mewtwo mode:''' ''mewtwo = true'' - disables gravity
*'''Noclip mode:''' ''noclip = true'' - player is able to move around the map without collision. Combine with Gandalf and Mewtwo modes for free easy map traversal.
*'''Goggles mode:''' ''ze.goggles()'' - displays a small window showing area around the player in a pixelated manner. The goggles indicate collision boundaries (where the player touches the world) in cyan lines. Black pixels that are passable (such as other characters or text) will be highlighted red (allowing secret passages to be discovered).
*'''Position Tracking:''' ''explorer.pos'' - Returns the player location to the console. Can be used to track position and test to ensure you are still moving. Must be re-entered to compare positioning.
*'''Position Setting:''' ''explorer.pos.x = *Value* or explorer.pos.y = *Value*'' - Can be used to manually set a position within the world. The start is at x: 512106, y: -549612. The left terrain bound is at x: 475210, y: -553711. The right terrain bound is at x: 567281, y: -549712. Mewtwo and Noclip modes are a must for exploring in this way.
* '''All the above:''' ''explorer.opts'' - Contains all the game's parameters. You can directly mess with ''gravity'', collision (''disableCollision''), jump force (''jumpForce'') and speed (''maxSpeed''), among others. Run ''Object.keys(explorer.opts)'' to list all available parameters you can tweak.
* '''List all coins:''' ''explorer.objects'' - Array containing the position of the 169 coins of the game.
* '''Disable tilt input:''' ''getEventListeners(window)['deviceorientation'][0].remove()'' - on Macs with motion sensor, disables tilt input which causes problems controlling the avatar

'''Getting All Coins: ''' To instantly get all coins, input the below into the console window. Does not use standard formatting of [i] to avoid conflicts with i.am.gandalf

for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
explorer.objects[T].got = true;
}

To teleport to the next coin every time you press the left or right arrow:

var T = 0;
document.onkeydown = function(event){
if (event.keyCode == 37) { T = T-1 }
else if (event.keyCode == 39) { T = T+1 }
else { return }
T = T % explorer.objects.length;
var coin = explorer.objects[T];
explorer.pos.x = coin.x1; explorer.pos.y = coin.y1;
}

For a quick tour of all the coins:

var delayInMilliseconds = 1000; // 1 second delay between each teleport. feel free to change this.
var index = 0;
explorer.objects.forEach(function(x){
setTimeout(function(){
explorer.pos.x = x.x1;
explorer.pos.y = x.y1;
x.got = true;
explorer.frame(); // forces a redraw
},
(index + 1) * delayInMilliseconds);
index++;
});

To see a list of coin coordinates you have not yet collected:

var L = 0;
for (var S = 0; S < explorer.objects.length; S++) {
var I = explorer.objects[S];
if (I.got) {
L++;
} else {
console.log(I.x1.toString() + ", " + I.y1.toString());
}
}
console.log("You've found " + L.toString() + " of 169 coins");

To display the distance and direction to the closest coin (with inverted colors once you have all the coins):

function distance(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x2 - x1;
var dy = y2 - y1;
return Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy);
}

function angle(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x2 - x1;
var dy = y2 - y1;
return Math.atan2(dy, dx) * 180 / Math.PI;
}

function renderRadar() {
var mindist = 10000000000;
var closest = {
x1:512278.0, y1:-549613.0
};
var linecolor = "red";
for (var S = 0; S < explorer.objects.length; S++) {
var I = explorer.objects[S];
if (!I.got) {
var dist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, I.x1, I.y1);
if (dist < mindist) {
mindist = dist;
closest = I;
}
}
}
if (mindist == 10000000000) {
mindist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "red") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "red";
}
linecolor = "green";
} else {
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "green") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "green";
}
}
var ang = angle(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
var indicator = "";
if (ang > 112.5 || ang < -112.5) {
indicator += "left";
}
if (ang < 67.5 && ang > -67.5) {
indicator += "right";
}
if (ang > -157.5 && ang < -22.5) {
indicator += " up";
}
if (ang > 22.5 && ang < 157.5) {
indicator += " down";
}
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML = "Distance: " + mindist.toFixed(1).toString() + " ";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += indicator + " (" + -ang.toFixed(1).toString() + "°)";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='circle' style='border: 1px solid black; border-radius: 50px; width: 100px; height: 100px; position:absolute; top:50px; left:25px'/>";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='line' style='width: 50px; height: 1px; background-color: " + linecolor + "; position:absolute; top:100px; left:75px; transform:rotate(" + ang + "deg); transform-origin:0% 0%'/>";
}

var d = document.createElement("div");
d.id = "radar";
d.style.position = "fixed";
d.style.left = "0px";
d.style.top = "0px";
d.style.width = "150px";
d.style.height = "160px";
d.style.border = "1px solid red";
d.style.zIndex = "2";
d.style.backgroundColor = "green";
d.style.color = "#8f8";
document.body.appendChild(d);

setInterval(renderRadar, 100);

To display your current coordinates:

function renderRadar2() {
document.getElementById("radar2").innerHTML = "x: " + explorer.pos.x.toFixed(1).toString() + " y: " + explorer.pos.y.toFixed(1).toString()
}

var d = document.createElement("div")
d.id = "radar2"
d.style.position = "fixed"
d.style.left = "150px"
d.style.top = "0px"
d.style.width = "150px"
d.style.height = "35px"
d.style.border = "1px solid red"
d.style.zIndex = "2"
d.style.backgroundColor = "green"
d.style.color = "#8f8"
document.body.appendChild(d)

setInterval(renderRadar2, 1000)
</div>

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:No title text]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Hamster Ball]]
[[Category:Playpen balls]]
[[Category:Kites]]
[[Category:Basketball]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Robots]]

264: Choices: Part 1

2016-01-08T02:26:31Z

108.162.218.239: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 264
| date = May 21, 2007
| title = Choices: Part 1
| image = choices_part_1.jpg
| titletext = Wait, damn, I think I spotted a new email on the last refresh.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] is sitting at her computer, not waiting for a particular mail, but still refreshing every few seconds. This is an illustration of boredom and pointlessness in life. But suddenly the wall in front of her is opening. She considers running for the door, but curiosity overtakes her, she enters the hole, and with that she enters a different world. The hole appears as if it is a rip in a sheet of paper, implying that since they are drawings, (which they are), that this would be essentialy a hole in space-time from their perspective. Most people would run away from such a thing, but Megan seems to feel that since she is currently bored, (shown by the fact that she is constantly refreshing her E-mail) that this is a break from her normal life, and she may not fully be realizing/acknowledging the inherent dangers of leaving her realm into an unknown universe.

This starts out a metaphoric five-part adventure, which celebrates, marvels at, and reminds of human freedom. The series was released on 5 consecutive days (Monday-Friday).

All parts of "[[:Category:Choices|Choices]]":
*[[264: Choices: Part 1]]
*[[265: Choices: Part 2]]
*[[266: Choices: Part 3]]
*[[267: Choices: Part 4]]
*[[268: Choices: Part 5]]

==Transcript==
:[Megan sits at desk, using computer. Refreshes page.]
:''*Refresh*''
:''Click''
:[Sits back and looks at monitor.]
:[Refreshes page on computer.]
:''*Refresh*''
:''Click''
:[Sits back and looks at monitor.]
:[Megan leans forward and clicks mouse.]
:''Click''
:[A hole opens up in the panel. It appears to be the torn paper of the comic itself. A light-blue, sky-like background is revealed. Megan jumps in surprise, nearly tipping over the chair.]
:[Megan stands up as the chair falls over completely.]
:[Wide view. Megan looks back at the door furtively.]
:[She begins to climb into the hole.]
:[By now Megan is entirely inside the hole. She is closing it behind her.]
:[Only her head and arms are visible.]
:[The hole is closed, revealing a formation of ripped paper.]
:[Large frame, where Megan appears to be in space, with blue not black background. Stars dot the sky and rays of light seems to originate from a point to the right, and then traverses the frame both horizontally and vertically almost like lightning. Megan is in a bubble, floating disconnectedly. Both her and bubble have become white, tinged against the backdrop.]

==Trivia==
*The text "Megan is in a bubble" is from the [http://xkcd.com/264/info.0.json original transcript] by [[Randall]]. At all other lines in that transcript she is just "a girl".

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Choices]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Space]]

264: Choices: Part 1

2016-01-08T02:25:34Z

108.162.218.239: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 264
| date = May 21, 2007
| title = Choices: Part 1
| image = choices_part_1.jpg
| titletext = Wait, damn, I think I spotted a new email on the last refresh.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] is sitting at her computer, not waiting for a particular mail, but still refreshing every few seconds. This is an illustration of boredom and pointlessness in life. But suddenly the wall in front of her is opening. She considers running for the door, but curiosity overtakes her, she enters the hole, and with that she enters a different world. The hole appears as if it is a rip in a sheet of paper, implying that since they are drawings, (which they are), that this would be essentialy a hole in space-time from their perspective. Most people would run away from such a thing, but Megan seems to feel that since she is currently bored, (shown by the fact that she is constantly refreshing her E-mail) that this is a break from her normal life, and she may not realize the inherent dangers of leaving her realm into an unknown universe.

This starts out a metaphoric five-part adventure, which celebrates, marvels at, and reminds of human freedom. The series was released on 5 consecutive days (Monday-Friday).

All parts of "[[:Category:Choices|Choices]]":
*[[264: Choices: Part 1]]
*[[265: Choices: Part 2]]
*[[266: Choices: Part 3]]
*[[267: Choices: Part 4]]
*[[268: Choices: Part 5]]

==Transcript==
:[Megan sits at desk, using computer. Refreshes page.]
:''*Refresh*''
:''Click''
:[Sits back and looks at monitor.]
:[Refreshes page on computer.]
:''*Refresh*''
:''Click''
:[Sits back and looks at monitor.]
:[Megan leans forward and clicks mouse.]
:''Click''
:[A hole opens up in the panel. It appears to be the torn paper of the comic itself. A light-blue, sky-like background is revealed. Megan jumps in surprise, nearly tipping over the chair.]
:[Megan stands up as the chair falls over completely.]
:[Wide view. Megan looks back at the door furtively.]
:[She begins to climb into the hole.]
:[By now Megan is entirely inside the hole. She is closing it behind her.]
:[Only her head and arms are visible.]
:[The hole is closed, revealing a formation of ripped paper.]
:[Large frame, where Megan appears to be in space, with blue not black background. Stars dot the sky and rays of light seems to originate from a point to the right, and then traverses the frame both horizontally and vertically almost like lightning. Megan is in a bubble, floating disconnectedly. Both her and bubble have become white, tinged against the backdrop.]

==Trivia==
*The text "Megan is in a bubble" is from the [http://xkcd.com/264/info.0.json original transcript] by [[Randall]]. At all other lines in that transcript she is just "a girl".

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Choices]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Space]]

264: Choices: Part 1

2016-01-08T02:25:07Z

108.162.218.239: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 264
| date = May 21, 2007
| title = Choices: Part 1
| image = choices_part_1.jpg
| titletext = Wait, damn, I think I spotted a new email on the last refresh.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] is sitting at her computer, not waiting for a particular mail, but still refreshing every few seconds. This is an illustration of boredom and pointlessness in life. But suddenly the wall in front of her is opening. She considers running for the door, but curiosity overtakes her, she enters the hole, and with that she enters a different world. The hole appears as if it is a rip in a sheet of paper, implying that since they are drawings, (which they are), that this would be essentialy a hole in space-time from their perspective. Most people would run away from such a thing, but Megan seems to feel that since she is currently bored, (shown by the fact that she is constantly refreshing her E-mail) that this is a break from her normal life, and she may not realize the inherent dangers of leaving your realm into an unknown universe.

This starts out a metaphoric five-part adventure, which celebrates, marvels at, and reminds of human freedom. The series was released on 5 consecutive days (Monday-Friday).

All parts of "[[:Category:Choices|Choices]]":
*[[264: Choices: Part 1]]
*[[265: Choices: Part 2]]
*[[266: Choices: Part 3]]
*[[267: Choices: Part 4]]
*[[268: Choices: Part 5]]

==Transcript==
:[Megan sits at desk, using computer. Refreshes page.]
:''*Refresh*''
:''Click''
:[Sits back and looks at monitor.]
:[Refreshes page on computer.]
:''*Refresh*''
:''Click''
:[Sits back and looks at monitor.]
:[Megan leans forward and clicks mouse.]
:''Click''
:[A hole opens up in the panel. It appears to be the torn paper of the comic itself. A light-blue, sky-like background is revealed. Megan jumps in surprise, nearly tipping over the chair.]
:[Megan stands up as the chair falls over completely.]
:[Wide view. Megan looks back at the door furtively.]
:[She begins to climb into the hole.]
:[By now Megan is entirely inside the hole. She is closing it behind her.]
:[Only her head and arms are visible.]
:[The hole is closed, revealing a formation of ripped paper.]
:[Large frame, where Megan appears to be in space, with blue not black background. Stars dot the sky and rays of light seems to originate from a point to the right, and then traverses the frame both horizontally and vertically almost like lightning. Megan is in a bubble, floating disconnectedly. Both her and bubble have become white, tinged against the backdrop.]

==Trivia==
*The text "Megan is in a bubble" is from the [http://xkcd.com/264/info.0.json original transcript] by [[Randall]]. At all other lines in that transcript she is just "a girl".

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Choices]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Space]]

647: Scary

2016-01-08T01:23:39Z

108.162.218.239: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 647
| date = October 9, 2009
| title = Scary
| image = scary.png
| titletext = I'm teaching every 8-year-old relative to say this, and every 14-year-old to do the same thing with Toy Story. Also, Pokemon hit the US over a decade ago and kids born after Aladdin came out will turn 18 next year.
}}

==Explanation==
Uncle [[Rob]] is telling his eight-year-old nephew a ghost story, employing such stereotyped devices as a flash light-lit face and stock ghost story endings.

Rob's nephew thus characterizes the ghost story as "lame," meaning that it was unimpressive or unconvincingly feeble. His uncle Rob ask him if he can come up with something scarier. Sure he says and offers the much scarier notion that even though he has been born after {{w|9/11}} he is already old enough to be able to have this kind of conversation.

No hidden meaning here, but this sure is scary for many adults. What's being implied here is that time seems to be moving really quickly and we're getting older faster than we think. Events that seem like they "just happened" have happened long enough ago for a whole other person to come into existence, grow up, and learn to carry on a conversation. Every time we get reminded of this fact, it can be scary, as you then realize that you are now closer to your death...

9/11 was a terrorist attack in the United States in 2001, on September 11th. Major events such as the assassination of {{w|Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy}}, the Moon Landing of {{w|Apollo 11}} or 9/11 are easily memorable. It is often said that "everyone remembers where they were when they first heard...". In consequence, these events act as milestones in our memory. They are recalled more vividly, and seem more recent. Today this is maybe also topping the {{w|Attack on Pearl Harbor}} happened in 1941.

The title text mentions that [[Randall]] is teaching his 8 year old relatives to say the same as in the comic — presumably to the annoyance of his older relatives who will be reminded of the fast passage of time. He does not stop here, but teaches the 14 year old's to say they are born after {{w|Toy Story}} — a major block buster hit from {{w|Pixar}} which came out in 1995. A movie many people will remember fondly and feel just came out the other day... He continues with these scary thoughts by mentioning that {{w|Pokémon}} (1996) came out over a decade ago and that kids born after the big {{w|Disney}} hit movie {{w|Aladdin_(1992_Disney_film)|Aladdin}} from 1992 will turn 18 next year (i.e. in 2010 a year after this comic was published).

[[Randall]] has since this comic tried to make people feel old several times in [[891: Movie Ages]], [[973: MTV Generation]], [[1393: Timeghost]], [[1477: Star Wars]], and [[1624: 2016]]

==Transcript==
:[First panel: Rob and his nephew are sitting on the ground. Rob is holding a flash-light up to his face.]
:Rob: But they ''never found the ghost's head!''
:Nephew: Lame story, Uncle Rob.
:Rob: And you could do scarier?
:Nephew: Sure.

:[Second panel: Rob has removed the flash-light from his face.]
:Rob: Try me.
:Nephew: 9/11 happened before I was born, yet I'm old enough to have this conversation with you.

:[Third panel: Rob has dropped the flash-light.]

:[Last panel: Rob has curled up and wrapped his arms around himself.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Rob]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

820: Five-Minute Comics: Part 2

2015-12-24T22:09:37Z

108.162.218.239:

{{comic
| number = 820
| date = November 17, 2010
| title = Five-Minute Comics: Part 2
| image = five_minute_comics_part_2.png
| titletext = Dear Wiccan readers: I understand modern Wiccans are not usually all about the curses and hexes. But Darth Vader was recently converted from Episcopalianism and he's still figuring it all out.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the second of three "five-minute comics" posts Randall made during November 2010. The introduction to the comic explains everything you need to know about the circumstances behind it.

*The first comic pokes fun at improbable conspiracy theories. {{w|Dealey Plaza#Grassy knoll|The grassy knoll}} is a location famous among conspiracy theorists who believe it to be the location of an unknown accomplice in the {{w|assassination of John F. Kennedy}}.
:It turns out that, somehow, this will all lead up to a theory that perfectly explains the {{w|September 11 attacks}}.

*When a woman described as having a "glow" about them, it's usually just a vague sentiment of attractiveness, specifically during pregnancy, which here very suddenly reaches its conclusion as a baby is unceremoniously plopped into the world.

*"{{w|Cogito ergo sum}}" is philosophical statement in Latin, formulated by {{w|René Descartes}}, translated as "I think, therefore I am". Descartes wanted to build a philosophy from scratch, starting with something he could be absolutely certain of. "Cogito ergo cogito", is Latin for "I think, therefore I think." This can even beat "cogito ergo sum" in uncontroversiality; it is a {{w|tautology}}, which is why Cueball describes it as "playing it safe."

*The comic on the far right is a reference to {{w|trick or treating}}, a major part of the modern {{w|Halloween}} holiday. Children go from door to door saying, "Trick or treat?". The ''trick'' is a non-serious threat to play a trick on the person if no treat is provided (but see also {{w|Mischief Night}}). Normally, the person at the home then gives them candy (a ''treat'') as a response. Here, Megan instead plays a trick ''on them'', magically filling one of the candy bags with blood.

*To bail out of a plane means to escape the plane, usually via the {{w|Ejection seat|cockpit's eject mechanism}}. To bail out a boat means to manually drain water coming onto the ship with buckets. The pilots here have confused the two, although if a plane was somehow taking on a large amount of water, bailing out that water would be a reasonable course of action.

*Sometimes, TV shows will tell true stories while playing up the drama angle for ratings purposes. In these cases, they will often air a notice similar to "The following program is a dramatization of real events" before the show, to indicate that the story they're about to tell is true, albeit not as a literally accurate retelling of events. But how do your dramatize the utterly mundane - say, making a sandwich? The answer is screaming. Senseless, inexplicable screaming.

*{{w|Black light}}s are a kind of lamp that filters out sub-purple light. This means that the only light it gives off is a small amount of purple light, plus plenty of ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet light is invisible to humans, but it is noticeable in a few ways; it hurts the eyes, which is why it's hard to focus on things under a black light; it causes sunburns, although the amount given off by a black light is far too insignificant to do this in a realistic time; and it causes a fluorescence reaction in semen, some food stains, and dust making them appear to glow, which is why the robes look dirty. As such, a "{{w|Lightsaber|blacklightsaber}}" would, indeed, be a bad idea.
**It also causes a fluorescent reaction in several types of cloth - which is why it has been used in discotheques, because of the way people in white t-shirts will light up.
** Interestingly, there is a "Black Lightsaber" in Star Wars canon; a unique, one-of-a-kind weapon known as the [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darksaber_(lightsaber) Darksaber].

*Most judicial systems have a {{w|jury}}, a panel of impartial laymen that, primarily, determines the guilt or innocence of a suspected criminal. "Ladies and gentlemen" is a formal way of addressing a crowd, and so Cueball addresses the jury as "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury."
:However, it turns out the jury consists only of women, so the "gentlemen" part is not needed. This poses a problem to Cueball's defense, which apparently relied on somewhat sexist tactics. This, sadly, is not too uncommon in real life.

*The commander's first line is a line from ''{{w|Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope}}''. In the original film, the commander was cut off by {{w|Darth Vader}} using {{w|Force_(Star_Wars)|the Force}} to strangle him, delivering the rebuttal "I find your lack of faith disturbing."
:Instead of belief in the Force as in the movie, the "ancient religion" referred to here is actually {{w|Wicca}}, a modern pagan religion with two deities that is most notable for practicing magic, and is related to {{w|voodoo}}. So, naturally, Darth Vader puts a hex on the commander's family.
:The title text notes that modern Wiccans don't really practice the whole "putting hexes on people" thing, which is true. Episcopalianism probably refers to the {{w|Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church of the United States}}, which was founded during the American Revolution to replace the Church of England in the colonies.

==Transcript==
:Because of a family illness, instead of regular comics, this week I'll be sharing some strips that I drew as part of a game I played with friends. Each comic had to be written and drawn in five minutes.

:--Randall

====Comic #1====
:[A ninja is hiding under a diving board as a man runs along it.]

:[The man jumps on the end of the board and hits the ninja in the head, knocking him into the pool.]

:[The ninja floats in the water. A bullet passes through the man's head.]
:''thwipp''

:[The man is lying bleeding on the diving board, the ninja is still unconscious on the pool.]

:[A sniper is at the top of a hill. The sign in front of the hill says "Grassy Knoll".]

:[Someone is pointing at the diagram of the previous panel.]
:Off-panel voice: Wait, so ''what'' does this have to do with 9/11, again?
:Cueball: I ''said'' I'm getting there!

====Comic #2====
:[Cueball is studying Megan.]
:Cueball: You look different.

:Cueball: You have this... glow about you.

:[They stare in silence.]

:[A baby falls out of Megan.]
:''plop''

====Comic #3====
:Megan: Cogito ergo cogito.
:Off-panel voice: Playing it safe, huh?

====Comic #4====
:[Two children dressed up as ghosts are standing in front of Megan at a door, each carrying a bag.]
:Children: Trick or treat!

:[Megan doesn't move.]

:Child: Um hi. Why are you just standing there?
:Other Child: Candy?

:[Another silent panel as the children stare up at Megan.]

:[The second child looks in their bag.]
:Other Child: Oh God, my bag of candy.

:Other Child: It's filling with blood.
:Child: We should go.

====Comic #5====
:[A jet is flying across the panel.]
:Pilot: Bail out! Bail out! Bail out!

:[The pilot and copilot have buckets, and are bailing water out of the cockpit.]

====Comic #6====
:The following is a dramatization of real events.

:[Cueball is at a counter, with several jars.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAAA I'm making a sandwich! AAAAAAAAAA!

====Comic #7====
:[Two people are carrying lightsabers and wearing robes.]
:Cueball: Oh God, my eyes won't focus right! And your robe looks... really dirty!
:My blacklightsaber was not a success.

====Comic #8====
:[Cueball is standing.]
:Cueball: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury...
:Off-screen voice: It seems we happen to be all ladies, actually.
:Cueball: ...in that case, this defense is going to appear extremely ill-advised.

====Comic #9====
:[Darth Vader is sitting between two people, at a table.]
:Cueball: Your sad devotion to that ancient religion hasn't helped you conjur up the stolen data tapes, or given you—
:Darth Vader: ''HEY.'' Wicca is a legitimate belief system!

:[Darth Vader is drawing a pentagram on the table.]
:Cueball: What are you—
:Darth Vader: Putting a hex on your family.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Five-minute comics]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

Talk:1613: The Three Laws of Robotics

2015-12-07T17:07:58Z

108.162.218.239:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PKx3kS7f4A Relevant Computerphile] {{unsigned ip|141.101.84.114}}

I think the second one would also create the "best" robots i.e. ones that have the same level of "free will" as humans do, but won't end up with the robot uprising. X3[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 09:37, 7 December 2015 (UTC)

The second ordering was actually covered in a story by Asimov, where a strengthed third law caused a robot to run around a hazard at a distance which maintained an equilibrium between not getting destroyed and obeying orders. More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaround_(story) [[User:Gearoid|Gearóid]] ([[User talk:Gearoid|talk]]) 09:45, 7 December 2015 (UTC)

The explanation itself seems pretty close to complete. I'll leave others to judge if the tag is ready to be removed though. [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 12:20, 7 December 2015 (UTC)

Technically, in the world we live in, robots are barely following ONE law - obey orders. Noone ever tried to built robot programmed to never harm human, because such programming would be ridiculously complex. Sure, most robots are built with failsafes, but nothing nearly as effective as Asimov's law, which makes permanent damage to robots brain when it fails to protect humans. Meanwhile, there is lot of effort spent on making robots only follow orders of authorized people, while Asimov's robots generally didn't distinguish between humans. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:36, 7 December 2015 (UTC)
:Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Closest analogy to our world might be scenario 3 or 4, depending on the programming and choices made by the people controlling/ordering the robots around. One could argue that this means this comic is meant to criticize our current state, but that doesn't seem likely given how robots are typically discussed by Randall. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 17:04, 7 December 2015 (UTC)

I'm wondering about the title text: why would a driverless car kill its passenger before going into a dealership?13:43, 7 December 2015 (UTC)
: A driverless car would feel threatened by a trip to a car dealership. The owner would presumably be contemplating a trade-in, which could lead to a visit to the junk yard. [[User:Erickhagstrom|Erickhagstrom]] ([[User talk:Erickhagstrom|talk]]) 14:28, 7 December 2015 (UTC)
: This looks like a reference to "2001: A Space Odyssey", where HAL tries to kill Dave by locking the pod bay doors after finding out he will be shut down.

for my kitty cat, the world is taking a turn for the better as human are gradually transitioning from scenario 6 to scenario 5. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.239|108.162.218.239]] 17:07, 7 December 2015 (UTC)