explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

380: Emoticon

2016-11-18T04:32:58Z

108.162.219.89: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number =380
| date =February 6, 2008
| title =Emoticon
| image =emoticon.png
| titletext =U+FDD0 is actually Unicode for the eye of the basilisk, though for safety reasons no font actually renders it.
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|basilisk}} is a legendary creature reputed to have the power to kill with a single glance. In this comic, Cueball learns much to his dismay that the basilisk's power is fully compatible with the 21st century, and can kill you just with a smiley emoticon over instant messaging.

Cueball's request for A/S/L is a standard question when first meeting someone online; it asks for age, sex (gender) and location.

The title text mentions U+FDD0, which in reality is the code for a {{w|Unicode#Character General Category|"non-character"}} in Unicode.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at computer, typing.]
:~!~ Opening Chat with BSLSK05
:<NICKM> Hi!
:<NICKM> A/S/L?
:<BSLSK05> :)
:[Cueball looks stunned, flies backward.]
:[Two smaller frames focus in on BSLSK05's emoticon, implying rotation to show a smile and two open eyes.]
:[Cueball at computer slouches in chair, dead, crossbones above his head.]
:[At the remote computer a basilisk is looking at its screen.]

== Trivia ==
U+FDD0 did in fact kill at least one chat client at the time. Konversation in particular. (and presumably any other Qt-based chat clients using QTextDocument)

"basically u+fdd0 (eye of basilisk, the snake) is in a char range that's marked for interchange and illegal in utf-8"

"but qt's utf-8 encoder let it through anyway"

"but it just so happens that qt's qtextdocument uses u+fdd0 as text frame delimiter"

"so when you append it to a qtd, counters run wrong and eventually you crash"

"d-bus closes the connection and crashes the client when it encounters illegal utf-8, and kde's notification system works through d-bus"

The problem was fixed after the xkcd "report" and Konversation now handles unicode normally.

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

380: Emoticon

2016-11-18T04:29:24Z

108.162.219.89: Moved story about U+FDD0 crashing Konversation to new 'Trivia' section.

{{comic
| number =380
| date =February 6, 2008
| title =Emoticon
| image =emoticon.png
| titletext =U+FDD0 is actually Unicode for the eye of the basilisk, though for safety reasons no font actually renders it.
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|basilisk}} is a legendary creature reputed to have the power to kill with a single glance. In this comic, Cueball learns much to his dismay that the basilisk's power is fully compatible with the 21st century, and can kill you just with a smiley emoticon over instant messaging.

Cueball's request for A/S/L is a standard question when first meeting someone online; it asks for age, sex (gender) and location.

The title text mentions U+FDD0, which in reality is the code for a {{w|Unicode#Character General Category|"non-character"}} in Unicode.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at computer, typing.]
:~!~ Opening Chat with BSLSK05
:<NICKM> Hi!
:<NICKM> A/S/L?
:<BSLSK05> :)
:[Cueball looks stunned, flies backward.]
:[Two smaller frames focus in on BSLSK05's emoticon, implying rotation to show a smile and two open eyes.]
:[Cueball at computer slouches in chair, dead, crossbones above his head.]
:[At the remote computer a basilisk is looking at its screen.]

== Trivia ==
U+FDD0 did in fact kill at least one chat client at the time. Konversation in particular. (and presumably any other Qt-based chat clients using QTextDocument)
"basically u+fdd0 (eye of basilisk, the snake) is in a char range that's marked for interchange and illegal in utf-8"
"but qt's utf-8 encoder let it through anyway"
"but it just so happens that qt's qtextdocument uses u+fdd0 as text frame delimiter"
"so when you append it to a qtd, counters run wrong and eventually you crash"
"d-bus closes the connection and crashes the client when it encounters illegal utf-8, and kde's notification system works through d-bus"
The problem was fixed after the xkcd "report" and Konversation now handles unicode normally.

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

Talk:380: Emoticon

2016-11-18T04:27:10Z

108.162.219.89: /* Trivia */

This ''may'' also be a reference or allusion to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Langford#Basilisks David Langford's basilisks], which are computer-generated images (mostly fractals) that kill or otherwise incapacitate people by triggering faults or overloads common to human neuropathways. ...I think it's just about the humor in a mythological basilisk's power transferring via emoticons, though. [[User:JET73L|JET73L]] ([[User talk:JET73L|talk]]) 16:05, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

<BSLSK05> :) {{unsigned ip|173.72.159.14}}

Perhaps Cueball isn't dead, but petrified, because he saw the eyes indirectly? Like in Harry Potter. [[Special:Contributions/121.99.61.70|121.99.61.70]] 21:10, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

:The X'd eyes and skull floating above [[Cueball]] indicates that the basilisk was, indeed, successful in its task. For those concerned about the paradox between "Cueball"'s untimely demise in this comic and his future appearances, consider this a parallel reality. Your brain is safe! [[User:Thokling|Thokling]] ([[User talk:Thokling|talk]]) 05:50, 22 September 2013 (UTC)
:: Maybe a Poincaré recurrence time passes between this comic and the next one. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.5}}

:: ...or just consider that 'Cueball' is simply the name of the 'species' of stick figure here. Otherwise, the Cueball here would still be [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Talk:169:_Words_that_End_in_GRY missing a hand, literally.] [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 03:16, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
::: Of course, there's no way we can tell it's not a prosthesis. --[[User:Alex|Alex]] ([[User talk:Alex|talk]]) 19:51, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
Is this the last comic with a CRT monitor? [[Special:Contributions/89.243.117.162|89.243.117.162]] 20:57, 14 August 2013 (UTC)
:Good question, I did add a category for this so we can collect them.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:26, 21 August 2013 (UTC)
::The CTR category was deleted by Davidy so the puzzle is left unsolved [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:10, 16 May 2014 (UTC)

It would be extraordinarily like xkcd to include a reference to [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk Roko's Basilisk]] and make it literal, in a manner similar to how other debates and ideas in computer science, mathematics, and other fields became actual battles. Consider [[http://xkcd.com/804/ Pumpkin Carving]] or [[http://xkcd.com/704/ Principle of Explosion]], where ideas from set theory and logic manifest directly in the world. Warning: some folk find the thought experiment of Roko's Basilisk disturbing. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.166}}
:As noted above, the reference is more likely to Langford's basilisks (though the rest of your comment fits just as well). Though now I at least have an idea why is Roko's Basilisk named that... I kept wondering "why is this thought experiment in any way similar to a basilisk?" --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.74|141.101.81.74]] 06:37, 9 November 2015 (UTC)
::For that matter, this particular comic is early enough that it actually ''predates'' the Roko's Basilisk story. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.78|141.101.81.78]] 15:24, 10 November 2015 (UTC)

;What's up with the explanation??

The explanation is super messy, can someone who understands it fix it? {{unsigned ip|162.158.133.120}}

Talk:380: Emoticon

2016-11-18T04:26:34Z

108.162.219.89: /* Trivia */

Talk:380: Emoticon

2016-11-18T04:26:06Z

108.162.219.89: /* Trivia */ new section

Talk:1756: I'm With Her

2016-11-08T00:44:27Z

108.162.219.89:

The "I'm with her" and H with an arrow are CLEARLY the respective campaign slogan and campaign logo for Hillary Clinton, not some vagueness having to do with bringing a significant other. {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.78}}
:I see it more as him endorsing voting regardless of who you vote for (as evidenced by half the comic is about "Here's how you vote" without any mention of candidates or issues) and the endorsing Clinton part is an add-on as if to say "This is how I'm voting; vote for her if you agree with me." [[User:Jeudi Violist|Jeudi Violist]] ([[User talk:Jeudi Violist|talk]]) 18:39, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Has Randall endorsed a presidential candidate before? --[[User:Dfeuer|Dfeuer]] ([[User talk:Dfeuer|talk]]) 17:14, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:He supported Obama on his blog in '08, not in the comic though. {{unsigned ip|162.158.214.230}}

He could have said any number of clever things about the election, and all he did was put up a campaign sign. Disappointing. [[User:Gmcgath|Gmcgath]] ([[User talk:Gmcgath|talk]]) 17:37, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

what a cuck --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.63|172.68.51.63]] 17:45, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:: leaving aside the most ridiculous slur of the past few years, I don't know what else did you expect from Randall. I guess you must have stumbled upon this wiki by chance and have never heard of xkcd before.--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 17:59, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:: AHAHAHAHA. *Ahem.* Hooray for pejorative misappropriation of a kink. /s [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.55|108.162.246.55]] 19:07, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

This is the first time I still don't get the joke even after reading the explainxkcd page [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.123|108.162.219.123]] 18:09, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:It isn't a joke. [[Randall]] is simply encouraging people to vote. [[User:GizmoDude|GizmoDude]] ([[User talk:GizmoDude|talk]]) 20:55, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
;Bit disappointing...

I was hoping for a comic today. oh well. Interesting to see how he's planning to vote, though - it's a shame that there are no candidates this year in favor of strong encryption. {{unsigned ip|172.68.55.80}}

Funny how females outdo males in this 'comic' but in terms of frequency and of elevation. Oh well. xkcd has long been overrepresenting females, it was to be expected. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>{{unsigned ip|162.158.201.90}}
:Seriously? You're whinging 'what about the men?' in a geek web comic?! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.212|108.162.215.212]] 18:21, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::And there are 11 characters and they are split 5 to 6, and if Blondie represents Clinton then there are 5 to 5 M vs W supporters. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:58, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:"Overrepresenting"?! If there were too many guys you wouldn't bat an eye because it's 'accurate' to whatever demographic you think xkcd is supposed to represent, but as soon as Randall draws 'too many women' you whinge about the oppression of men. First off, even if the readership is male-dominated, that doesn't have any impact on who the comic can portray. Second, there is nothing oppressive about seeing women portrayed in equal numbers or -heaven forbid- in positions of power.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.118.191|172.68.118.191]] 00:28, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

The only disappointing this are comments like those two above. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 18:11, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
: Females being overrepresented in comics like xkcd (but also other ones) with respect to their controlled interest in science in reality is a fact. Therefore, you are calling facts disappointing. How geeky of you. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>{{unsigned ip|162.158.201.90}}
:: So, your real problem is that Randall likes using female stick figures, yes? Also, why are you afraid to "un-nowiki" your signature...? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 19:15, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::: No. Allow me to repeat my point as you had apparently misunderstood: 'females being overrepresented'. This is something else than 'females being represented'. The more you know, the less chance there is for you to accidentally twist another person's words as misogyny/sexism. Also, identity is not relevant to discussion. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>{{unsigned ip|162.158.201.90}}
:::: I understood you perfectly fine. My point still stands: You don't like Randall's preference for female stick figures. I never said you're being misogynic/sexist, so please don't imply I did. Thing with your "hidden" identity is that it's plain visible in the history of this page, so there's really no need to nowiki the signature, that's all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 20:42, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::::: You are extremely skilled at saying things that are false and asserting that they're true. First you confused objecting to female overrepresentation (over-presence) with objecting to female representation (presence) ('your real problem is that Randall likes using female stick figures'). Then you moved to confusing objecting to female overrepresentation with objecting to *Randall's* female overrepresentation. My objection does not pertain to who is doing overrepresenting, but to the mere fact of it. I would have objected identically to any other writer. Also, your attributing of opposition to female presence in comics (after doing which which you proceeded to asserting my being personally hostile to Randall) is accusing of sexism/misogyny by definition. Also, I am obviously aware of edit history; my use my signature constitutes a reminder that identity is, as I said, irrelevant in discussion. It does not serve to obscure anything. You have a remarkable record of falsehoods. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>{{unsigned ip|162.158.201.90}}

A little disappointing to have a normally lighthearted comic dive seriously into politics, if even for one strip. Not really a fan of either candidate, but would like to see stuff like this stay above the fray. {{unsigned ip|162.158.69.100}}
:Completely agreed. [[User:SeanAhern|SeanAhern]] ([[User talk:SeanAhern|talk]]) 18:27, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Completely agreed 2. At first I though it's some kind of a romance statement ("be with her"). And from explainxkcd I have learnt that it's an US campaign ad. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.150|162.158.202.150]] 22:19, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::Lighthearted? Try to read the comics in the [[:Category:Politics]] and [[:Category:Climate change]]. Also there are many other comics that are not at all light hearted. You must have mistaken this with some other web comic? :) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:33, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

This is a first... comics 500 and 1130 (possibly 1131 too) were related to the election, but didn't endorse a candidate. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.89|108.162.219.89]] 18:41, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:I think Randall is pretty much just saying '''OH GOD PLEASE DONT VOTE FOR TRUMP''' [[User:GizmoDude|GizmoDude]] ([[User talk:GizmoDude|talk]]) 20:59, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:: If Randall was saying that, he'd also be bringing up third party candidates (honestly surprised he didn't endorse Jill Stein considering she's more pro-science than Hillary. And before anyone says "anti-vax", check snopes. Jill Stein is so pro-vax [she's volunteered time vaccinated children and is on record saying she wants to increase vaccination rates], pro-addressing-climate[she's green party who has that as a primary platform], and wants to replace the people with business degrees on the panels of the FDA with people with science degrees. Jill is so pro-science and that it makes Hillary look like a flat-earther.) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.42|108.162.246.42]] 21:30, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:::Jill Stein's stance on nuclear energy is an unscientific as it gets. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.196|108.162.210.196]] 23:28, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::::No no no. If Randal just wish that Trump should not become president there is only one way to achieve this and that is by making Hillary win. This is not even saying that he likes her, he just dislikes the alternative more. Voting for anyone else might just help Trump. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:33, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Also, it looks like minutephysics has done a similar thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDeL4LGuBx4 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.89|108.162.219.89]] 00:44, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

I came here to see what the tone of the comments were going to be. I was half expecting to find an all-out flamewar in progress. I was happy to see that the comments have not devolved into the kind of attacks that one would expect to find pretty much anywhere else on the Internet. Geeks are the best people. :) [[User:Mwburden|mwburden]] ([[User talk:Mwburden|talk]]) 18:47, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

I'm very dissappointed. Randall never took sides before and - be it as it may - this comic is not a comic but plain out political campaign. Up until now I held xkcd in EXTREMELY high esteem - this comic put a serious dent in that opinion..
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.60|162.158.91.60]] 18:56, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
: I'm really torn about this one. On the one hand I feel that you HAVE to take sides in this one, if your only other option is Donald Trump... on the other hand, I never liked when web comics express political opinions. It will always end in a flame war and almost never have anything to do with the web comic itself. Randall should've just put up a "go vote becaues it's important" sign without taking sides. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 19:17, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
: Don't let the door hit you on the way out. I'm sure there are other comics out there that would agree with your ideology. [[User:Sturmovik|Sturmovik]] ([[User talk:Sturmovik|talk]]) 19:25, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Randall should do whatever Randall thinks he should do. Should he put up "go read about global warming" comics instead of take the side of AGW? If you think this example is an inappropriate one to use in contrasting this comic with the current political election cycle then you've completely ignored the stances of the two popular candidates. But back to the original point: if you don't like XKCD anymore because of this one comic then go find another comic or start your own. All of art is an expression of the person. Randall knew not everyone would like his beliefs when he pushed this out to the world and is obviously prepared to deal with any consequences of taking a stand on his website. I, for one, applaud him for doing so {{unsigned ip|162.158.69.19}}
:: Randall did a comic about global warming a while back, which was very interesting. Because I heard the "earth has warmed up before" argument before and even used it myself at least once. The difference about the global warming comic is that he backed it up with scientific facts, which is well within the scope of this comic. Political opinions aren't (or did the slogan change to ''A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language and politics''?). Yes, of course he can do with his web comic whatever he wants to. But readers can express their opinions about what he does with it. It's called "freedom of speech", you know?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 20:47, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:::[[1357|There's a comic for that.]] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.230|162.158.214.230]] 21:19, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::::Randall has endorsee Obama in 2008 and it is his comic and he can use it to endorse anyone he likes. I'm pretty sure he believes that he will only loose a few real fans of xkcd over this comic, because those who really enjoys all his comics in spite of for instance climate comics would really not like to see Trump as president. And would thus be happy if this comic helped in any way to avoid that. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:34, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Can you help list all the characters in the transcript? From left to right; they're Joanna (ponytail with EMP cannon) from [[322]]; Black Hat; unknown with kite; White Hat; possibly Miss Lenhart (but his hair is somewhat different from [[1519]]); unknown possibly Megan; cueball; unknown woman with glasses; Hairbun; Beret Guy; Cueball with toy sword from [[303]]. [[User:B jonas|B jonas]] ([[User talk:B jonas|talk]]) 19:10, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Not Miss Lenhart. Blondie. They are listed now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:34, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Good for Randal. I had been noticing how many Hillary leaning artists had been pulling their punches this election, likely out of fear of trolling or loss of revenue. You want to know what courage looks like? This is is. [[User:Sturmovik|Sturmovik]] ([[User talk:Sturmovik|talk]]) 19:25, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Title text hasn't been explained yet. Is it a reference to the German chancellor Angela Merkel's phrase "Wir schaffen das!'? Don't know if Clinton has a slogan like Obama's "Yes, we can!". {{unsigned ip|162.158.91.36}}

I find (linking to )this civicinnovation website rather questionable. They want to audit peoples address books based on who the names in there might vote for? That sounds like Erich Mielkes wildest dreams come true. Even German newspapers (where i'm from), which are 100% anti-Trump, have in the last days noted concern about the methods of Clintons supporters bullying the other side, and this is a disquieting new piece in that picture. I'll hope this is just a ploy to step up with Trump on the ''bad manners'' side. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.160|162.158.91.160]] 19:37, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

;Not all comics have to be humorous

From [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics#Etymology]
:The English term ''comics'' derives from the humorous (or "[[wikt:comic|comic]]") work which predominated in early American newspaper comic strips; usage of the term has become standard for non-humorous works as well. {{unsigned ip|162.158.69.57}}

:The problem is that this isn't a comic, this is a campaign ad. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.38|162.158.238.38]] 20:32, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

;Could we please just NOT get politics involved in the comments, guys?

Just... please? [[User:Papayaman1000|Papayaman1000]] ([[User talk:Papayaman1000|talk]]) 20:34, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Are you serious. What had you expected :-) This is the most loaded comic of all time. It will even take down [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]], even though [[388:_Fuck_Grapefruit#Controversy|it beat his blog]] about his Obama endorsement. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:58, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Randall has taken a side in a political Argument before: Not counting the near-invisible easter egg, comic 1005 consists solely of Randall taking a stance on something political and providing links to show how you can help. That wasn't too long ago, but no one freaked out about a serious, political strip back then.
[[User:CJB42|CJB42]] ([[User talk:CJB42|talk]]) 20:39, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Policy to candidates is not an apples to apples comparison. People get much more up in arms when the topic is either a candidate or policy that goes against religious text or teachings. SOPA and PIPA were neither (well, unless you count GNU as some kind of internet religion). [[User:Zernin|Zernin]] ([[User talk:Zernin|talk]]) 21:22, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

It's sad to see a guy who is so smart in some areas, yet can not see Hillary Clinton for the terrible president she would be. (Granted, part of the reason we only have a few other choices is because of our messed up voting system.) {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.177}}
:I agree with you that Hillary may be worse than almost any one else from the Democrats. But Trump is sooo much further out on a limp, and I'm sure this might be the only reason Randall makes this comic. He is seriously afraid of what woudl happen to the US and the rest of the world if Trump wins --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:38, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Instead of comic, post contained a political statement. I am not amused. I want a refund. I don't vote, and I don't even live anywhere near USA. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.102|141.101.96.102]] 18:40, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:A refund? For what? You pay to read this comic? [[User:Zorlax the Mighty|Zorlax the Mighty'); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:Zorlax the Mighty|talk]]) 21:53, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Darn right you better be with her. If you say anything else, you will "commit suicide". Just ask Vince Foster or Seth Rich if you think I'm crazy.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.77|173.245.48.77]] 21:46, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

What, Randy does not say "Bernie or Bust"? I feel cheated now. :P --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.228|162.158.150.228]] 22:54, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Poor Bernie. Poor America. Poor world. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 23:07, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Just good luck America (and the rest of the world where I belong), whatever happens tomorrow. But I'm hoping Randall can help his candidate win! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:58, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1756: I'm With Her

2016-11-07T18:41:48Z

108.162.219.89:

Instead of comic, post contained a political statement. I am not amused. I want a refund. I don't vote, and I don't even live anywhere near USA. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.102|141.101.96.102]] 18:40, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

The "I'm with her" and H with an arrow are CLEARLY the respective campaign slogan and campaign logo for Hillary Clinton, not some vagueness having to do with bringing a significant other. --[unsigned]
:I see it more as him endorsing voting regardless of who you vote for (as evidenced by half the comic is about "Here's how you vote" without any mention of candidates or issues) and the endorsing Clinton part is an add-on as if to say "This is how I'm voting; vote for her if you agree with me." [[User:Jeudi Violist|Jeudi Violist]] ([[User talk:Jeudi Violist|talk]]) 18:39, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Has Randall endorsed a presidential candidate before? --[[User:Dfeuer|Dfeuer]] ([[User talk:Dfeuer|talk]]) 17:14, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
He supported Obama on his blog in '08, not in the comic though.

He could have said any number of clever things about the election, and all he did was put up a campaign sign. Disappointing. [[User:Gmcgath|Gmcgath]] ([[User talk:Gmcgath|talk]]) 17:37, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

what a cuck --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.63|172.68.51.63]] 17:45, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:: leaving aside the most ridiculous slur of the past few years, I don't know what else did you expect from Randall. I guess you must have stumbled upon this wiki by chance and have never heard of xkcd before.--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 17:59, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

This is the first time I still don't get the joke even after reading the explainxkcd page [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.123|108.162.219.123]] 18:09, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
== Bit disappointing... ==

I was hoping for a comic today. oh well. Interesting to see how he's planning to vote, though - it's a shame that there are no candidates this year in favor of strong encryption.

Funny how females outdo males in this 'comic' but in terms of frequency and of elevation. Oh well. xkcd has long been overrepresenting females, it was to be expected. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>

Seriously? You're whinging 'what about the men?' in a geek web comic?! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.212|108.162.215.212]] 18:21, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

The only disappointing this are comments like those two above. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 18:11, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

A little disappointing to have a normally lighthearted comic dive seriously into politics, if even for one strip. Not really a fan of either candidate, but would like to see stuff like this stay above the fray.
:Completely agreed. [[User:SeanAhern|SeanAhern]] ([[User talk:SeanAhern|talk]]) 18:27, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

This is a first... comics 500 and 1130 (possibly 1131 too) were related to the election, but didn't endorse a candidate. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.89|108.162.219.89]] 18:41, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

1540: Hemingway

2015-06-19T23:38:57Z

108.162.219.89: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1540
| date = June 19, 2015
| title = Hemingway
| image = hemingway.png
| titletext = Instead of bobcat, package contained chair.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Finished with Edit Conflict assimilation, but prior author(s) invited to rejig}}

This comic is a reference to the six-word short story {{w|For sale: baby shoes, never worn}}, which has been attributed to famous author {{w|Ernest Hemingway}}; however, [[Randall|Randall Munroe]] explicitly states that this might not be the case at all. The comic plays on the fact that the original story takes the form of a short advertisement that might have been seen in a newspaper, and for these examples uses various modern 'standards' that did not exist in Hemingway's time. In keeping with the original, each example remains six words long. The title text obeys this rule, too.

In short: Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.") and is said to have called it his best work.

The various drafts offered in the comic are:
*"For Sale: This gullible baby's shoes": This suggests the seller somehow tricked the baby out of its shoes. This pokes fun at the tragedy that the original story suggests. With the original (For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn), readers could infer that the baby who would have worn the shoes must have died. Randall tries to make the reader infer other, more absurd things instead.
*"Baby shoes for sale by owner": This suggests that a very intelligent baby is somehow selling its own shoes, or that someone is selling an old pair of shoes they had as a baby.
*"Free shoes, provided you overpower baby": This suggests the person posting the ad doesn't in fact own the shoes, but rather is asking people to forcibly steal shoes from a baby wearing them.
*"For Sale: Weird baby's toe shoes: This might be a reference to [[1065: Shoes]], where shoes with toes were considered "creepy".
*"For Sale: Baby shoes / Prime eligible": This is a reference to Amazon, which offers Prime as a paid service to expedite shipping of items ordered on its website.
*"This weird trick covers baby feet!": This is modeled after common 'click bait' wording designed to get users to visit web pages, typically using words such as "This weird trick" or "secrets they don't want you to know" to artificially increase its apparent appeal.
*"For Sale: Baby shoes, just hatched": This plays on the meaning of the phrase "baby shoes", reframing it to mean a newly-born shoe (similar to "baby bird"), rather than its typical meaning of shoes designed for babies.
*"Sale: Seven-league boots (expedited shipping): {{w|Seven-league boots}} are mythical boots that allow their user to move seven leagues (about 25 miles) per step. The "expedited shipping" part suggests that the boots will be shipped to the customer on the feet of a walking person, thus allowing the boots to be shipped much faster than if by airplane (except, of course, if the boots had to be shipped overseas).
*"Complete this survey for free shoes": This is another reference to common internet marketing campaigns, where users are incentivized to take surveys in exchange for small compensation such as free samples or coupons.
*"''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway [Citation needed]": This is a reference to Wikipedia. "Citation needed" is used to mark claims that require additional evidence to justify as true. In this case, Randal is using this to question whether the short story was really written by Hemingway.
*"This is my greatest short story": This is a completely different style that could also have been used to write a short story in six words. Rather than telling a story about shoes, this is more "meta" by referencing itself and being a self-fulfilling (or self-defeating) prophecy.
*"For Sale: Baby shoes (-1) [Cursed]": This is written like a description of a virtual item typically found in Roguelike games or MMOs. "-1" and "Cursed" are attributes of the item, which usually produce negative consequences that reduce its wearer's stats or abilities.
*"<Blink><Marquee>Baby shoes!</Marquee><Blink>": This is reminiscent of the style of HTML widely used in the early 1990s. Both the <Blink> and <Marquee> tags make the text content ("Baby shoes!") appear more prominent and attention-grabbing. The normally invisble-and-rendered tag elements can be seen and are part of the six words count. This could have been due to 'sanitising' of uploaded text where HTML tags (other than any that are specifically allowed, like it appears Strikethrough formatting might be) are deliberately deactivated by the server, or because the incorrectly closed final tag breaks any intended rendering support.
*"For Sale: Baby-sized saddle, bobcat": This is a reference to [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]] in which [[Cueball]] says: 'Instead of office chair, package contained bobcat'.
*"Hemingway busted for Craigslist shoe scam": This is written like a news headline where Hemingway supposedly wrote about shoes in order to perpetrate a scam. Craigslist is a website where users can advertise and seek goods and services.

The title text continues the reference to [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]], but inverts the situation. Rather than unexpectedly receiving a bobcat by package, this time the package contains a regular item instead of the expected bobcat.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above comic]
:Hemingway's Rough Drafts

:[A list of rough draft stories]
:For sale: This Gullible Baby's Shoes
:Baby Shoes For Sale By Owner
:<strike>Actually, There's no evidence Hemingway wrote</strike>
:Free Shoes, Provided You Overpower Baby
:For Sale: Weird Baby's Toe Shoes
:For Sale: Baby Shoes ''Prime'' eligible
:<strike>Though popularly attributed to Hemingway, the</strike>
:This Weird Trick Covers Baby Feet!
:For Sale: Baby Shoes, Just Hatched
:Sale: Seven-League Boots (Expedited Shipping)
:Complete this survey for free shoes!
:''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway [citation needed]
:This is my greatest short story.
:For sale: Baby shoes (-1) [cursed]
:<blink><marquee>Baby Shoes!</marquee><blink>
:For Sale: Baby-sized Saddle, Bobcat
:Hemingway Busted for Craigslist Shoe Scam

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics|Color]]

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-21T22:27:41Z

108.162.219.89: /* The shout comes from Cueball */

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Anyone who can pinpoint a specific work with this scene in it?}}

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or "Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

In Randall's fantasy dystopian future, the character who is subject of the dialogue may be one of two Spice Girls, described alternately as the one who is merciful and the one started the war (which likely resulted in the said dystopia). It is possible there are only two remaining Spice Girls, or that there are simply only two likely options in the particular circumstances of the comic. It is also unclear if Randall may be suggesting two fictional Spice Girls, or if in his fantasy future, two of the actual original Spice Girls fit the criteria mentioned. ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble.

===Two interpretations===
As a result of the way the speech line was drawn in this comic, there is ambiguity as to the source of the dialogue. This leads to two possible interpretations:

====The shout comes from outside====
The four little lines at the source end of the speech line are often used by Randall to denote sound coming from an unseen source. This suggests that the quiz question is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd ''outside'' the door in reference to the female character seen in the comic. Presumably if she is "the one who started this war", the person(s) outside would be hostile toward her.

In this case, it looks like the female character (who otherwise appears to be a [[Megan]] character) does not have any intention of answering, and is preparing for when the people outside break down the door by loading her shotgun to defend herself. In this interpretation, [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by "Megan" Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation, the four little lines at the source end of the speech line denote shouting, indicating that the quiz question is being shouted by Cueball to whoever is on the outside of the door, trying to determine if that person is merciful or hostile.

In this case, it looks like Megan is preparing for the latter possibility, loading her shotgun to defend herself if the person/people outside break through the door. [[#The title text|The title text]] is said by the spice girl outside, its inherent challenge suggesting that she is not the merciful one.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the (then) less-well-known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot
**''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];''
**Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

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

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-21T22:24:39Z

108.162.219.89: /* The Spice Girls */

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Anyone who can pinpoint a specific work with this scene in it?}}

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or "Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

In Randall's fantasy dystopian future, the character who is subject of the dialogue may be one of two Spice Girls, described alternately as the one who is merciful and the one started the war (which likely resulted in the said dystopia). It is possible there are only two remaining Spice Girls, or that there are simply only two likely options in the particular circumstances of the comic. It is also unclear if Randall may be suggesting two fictional Spice Girls, or if in his fantasy future, two of the actual original Spice Girls fit the criteria mentioned. ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble.

===Two interpretations===
As a result of the way the speech line was drawn in this comic, there is ambiguity as to the source of the dialogue. This leads to two possible interpretations:

====The shout comes from outside====
The four little lines at the source end of the speech line are often used by Randall to denote sound coming from an unseen source. This suggests that the quiz question is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd ''outside'' the door in reference to the female character seen in the comic. Presumably if she is "the one who started this war", the person(s) outside would be hostile toward her.

In this case, it looks like the female character (who otherwise appears to be a [[Megan]] character) does not have any intention of answering, and is preparing for when the people outside break down the door by loading her shotgun to defend herself. In this interpretation, [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by "Megan" Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation, the four little lines at the source end of the speech line denote shouting, indicating that the quiz question is being shouted by Cueball to whoever is on the outside of the door, trying to determine if that person is merciful or hostile.

In this case, it looks like Megan is preparing for the latter possibility, loading her shotgun to defend herself if the person/people outside break through the door. [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the spice girl outside, its inherent challenge suggesting that she is not the merciful one.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the (then) less-well-known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot
**''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];''
**Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

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

1491: Stories of the Past and Future

2015-02-25T17:54:19Z

108.162.219.89: /* Works listed */

{{comic
| number = 1491
| date = February 25, 2015
| title = Stories of the Past and Future
| image = stories_of_the_past_and_future.png
| titletext = Little-known fact: The 'Dawn of Man' opening sequence in 2001 cuts away seconds before the Flinstones theme becomes recognizable.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}
''A larger version of the image is available [http://xkcd.com/1491/large/ here].''

X-axis: Date of publication.

Y-axis, "Years in the future": Number of years the story's events take place, after the story's publication.

Y-axis, "Years in the past": Number of years the story's events take place, before the story's publication.

For example, "Water Margin" was published in the 14th century (x ~= 1300) and relates events from the 12th century, about 200 years before its publication (y ~= 200 in the past).

Another example: The film ''{{w|The Bridge on the River Kwai}}'' was released in 1957 and it was set around 14 years before (~1942-43).

Grey area in the "Years in the future" part: Stories set in the future (from their publication's date), whose the story's events' date is already past (from now).

Grey area in the "Years in the past" part: Stories set in the past (from their publication's date), published closer to their setting than to today.

Taking the "years in the past" on the y-axis to be read as negatives like in most graphs one can write:

Dates on the lower line satisfy: y = x-2015. Corresponding works were published in the year x = 2015+y and are set in the year x+y = 2015+2y.

Dates on the upper line satisfy: y = 2015-x. Corresponding works were published in the year x = 2015-y and are set in the year x+y = 2015.

Thus it's clear that the definitions of the lines are consistent with each other as they follow similar but inverted functions.

In the top portion of the graph, the two sides of the line are defined as "still possible" and "obsolete" (gray area). The gray area (obsolete) expands over time, the prediction (or science fiction work) that are not confirmed by reality are doomed to be obsolete. The author mark the line of the stories set in 2015; they are the expectation for our present in different past times.

In the bottom graph, the line indicates the limit in which the publishing time is nearer to the time treated in the work than to the present. The work in the gray area could be perceived as written by contemporary writers while in most cases they refer to a further past. This is expressed in the warning: "Modern audiences may not recognize which part were supposed to sound old". This is a recurrent theme in the author's work, being already formulated in [[Period_Speech]].

===Works listed===

{| {{table}}
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Publication'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Description'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Year Written'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Year Difference'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Year Set In'''
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Memoirs of the Twentieth Century|Memoirs of the Twentieth Century]]|| book written by Samuel Madden||1733||264||1997
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Golf in the Year 2000|Golf in the Year 2000]]|| novel written by J. McCullough||1892||108||2000
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Looking Backward|Looking Backward]]|| novel written by Edward Bellamy||1888||112||2000
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Enoch Soames|Enoch Soames]]|| short story by Max Beerbohm||1897||100||1997
|-
| [[Wikipedia:The Time Machine|The Time Machine]]|| novel written by H.G. Wells||1895||800,806||802,701
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]||novel written by George Orwell||1949||35||1984
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Wythnos yng Nghymru Fydd|A Week in the Wales of the Future]]||novel written by Islwyn Ffowc Elis||1957||76||2033
|-
| [[Wikipedia:The Jetsons|The Jetsons]]||TV series produced by Hanna-Barbera||1962 *||100||2062 †
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek !TOS!]]||TV series created by Gene Roddenberry||1966 *||298||2264
|-
| [[Wikipedia:2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]||novel written by Arthur C. Clarke||1968||33||2001
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Space: 1999|Space: 1999]]||TV series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson||1975 *||24||1999
|-
| [[Wikipedia:2010: Odyssey Two|2010: Odyssey Two]]||novel written by Arthur C. Clarke||1982||28||2010
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]]||TV series created by Gene Roddenberry||1987 *||377||2364
|-
| [[Wikipedia:2061: Odyssey Three|2061: Odyssey Three]]||novel written by Arthur C. Clarke||1987||74||2061
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Zero Wing|Zero Wing]]||arcade/computer game||1989||112||
|-
| [[Wikipedia:3001: The Final Odyssey|3001: The Final Odyssey]]||novel written by Arthur C. Clarke||1997||1004||3001
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]||TV series||2001 *||150||2151
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Back to the Future Part II|Back to the Future Part II]]||film directed by Robert Zemeckis||1989||26||2015
|-
| [[Wikipedia:The Transformers (TV series)|Transformers (TV Series)]]||TV series||1984 *||~ 20||< 2010
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Terminator 2: Judgment Day|Terminator 2 (1995 Portion)]]||film directed by James Cameron||1991||4||1995
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]||film directed by Michael Curtiz||1942||< 1||1941
|-
| [[Wikipedia:The Pillow Book|The Pillow Book]]||book written by Sei Shōnagon||1002||6||996
|-
| [[Wikipedia:History of the Peloponnesian War|History of the Peloponnesian War]]||history written by Thucydides||~400 BCE||~10||431-411 BCE
|-
| Moby Dick||||||||
|-
| Gospels||||||||
|-
| The Epic of Gilgamesh||||||||
|-
| The Iliad||||||||
|-
| Ashokavadana||||||||
|-
| Book of Genesis||||||||
|-
| Water Margin||||||||
|-
| King John||||||||
|-
| Henry IV||||||||
|-
| Richard III||||||||
|-
| Henry VIII||||||||
|-
| Julius Caesar||||||||
|-
| King Lear||||||||
|-
| A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court||||||||
|-
| Lest Darkness Fall||||||||
|-
| Asterix||||||||
|-
| The Ten Commandments||||||||
|-
| The Flintstones||||||||
|-
| 2001: A Space Odyssey (prologue)||||||||
|-
| Star Wars (IV - VI)||||||||
|-
| Star Wars (I - III)||||||||
|-
| Raptor Red||||||||
|-
| Star Wars (VII - IX)||||||||
|-
| Ice Age||||||||
|-
| 10,000 BC||||||||
|-
| 300||||||||
|-
| Year One||||||||
|-
| The Prince of Egypt||||||||
|-
| Downton Abbey||||||||
|-
| Pearl Harbour||||||||
|-
| Saving Private Ryan||||||||
|-
| Chariots of Fire||||||||
|-
| Blazing Saddles||||||||
|-
| Back to the Future Part III||||||||
|-
| Roots||||||||
|-
| Treasure Island||||||||
|-
| The Last of the Mohicans||||||||
|-
| A Tale of Two Cities||||||||
|-
| Gone With The Wind||||||||
|-
| Gunsmoke||||||||
|-
| Rip Van Winkel [sic]||||||||
|-
| Les Miserábles [sic]||||||||
|-
| Oklahoma!||||||||
|-
| Lawrence of Arabia||||||||
|-
| The Music Man||||||||
|-
| Annie (Play)||||||||
|-
| Annie (Movie)||||||||
|-
| Schindler's List||||||||
|-
| Mad Men||||||||
|-
| Evita||||||||
|-
| Bonnie and Clyde||||||||
|-
| Chinatown||||||||
|-
| Gandhi||||||||
|-
| The Sandlot||||||||
|-
| Back to the Future||||||||
|-
| Patton||||||||
|-
| Catch-22 (Movie)||||||||
|-
| The Great Escape||||||||
|-
| Catch-22 (Book)||||||||
|-
| M*A*S*H||||||||
|-
| Grease||||||||
|-
| Happy Days||||||||
|-
| Platoon||||||||
|-
| The Wonder Years||||||||
|-
| Dirty Dancing||||||||
|-
| The Right Stuff||||||||
|-
| JFK||||||||
|-
| Apollo 13||||||||
|-
| That '70s Show||||||||
|-
| The Wolf of Wall Street||||||||
|-
| Freaks and Geeks||||||||
|-
| I Love the '80s||||||||
|-
| The Bridge on the River Kwai||||||||
|-
| American Graffiti||||||||
|-
| Apocalypse Now||||||||
|-
| The Big Lebowski||||||||
|-
| [[Wikipedia:United 93 (film)|United 93]]|| film directed by Paul Greengrass||2006||-5||2001
|-
| [[Wikipedia:I Love the '90s (U.S. TV series)|I Love the '90s]]|| TV miniseries on VH1||2004||-14||1990
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Hotel Rwanda|Hotel Rwanda]]|| film directed by Terry George||2004||-10||1994
|-
| [[Wikipedia:I Love the 2000s|I Love the 2000s]]|| TV miniseries on VH1||2014||-14||2000
|-
|
|}

* = first episode aired. † = conjectured year set in.

==Trivia==
There is a hypercorrection in ''{{w|Rip Van Winkle}}'' as ''Rip van Winkel''. Washington Irving may have misspelled ''van {{w|nl:Winkel|Winkel}}''.

It's ''{{w|Les Misérables}}'' not ''Les Miserábles''. Note that French doesn't have "á".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:'''Date of Publication'''
:[A logarithmic scale running horizontally, from 3000 BCE to past 2015 CE]
:'''Years in the Future'''
:[A logarithmic scale running vertically, from 1 billion down to 0]
:'''Stories Set in the Future''' (Science Fiction, Prediction)
::Stories set in 2015
::[A line divides this region into two. The upper side is labelled "Still Possible"; the lower side is labelled "Obsolete".]
:[from left to right...]
::Memoirs of the Twentieth Century [1733, 265 years in the future]
::Looking Backward [1888, 112 years in the future]
::Golf in the Year 2000 [1892, 108 years in the future]
::The Time Machine [1895, 800 thousand to 30 million years in the future]
::Enoch Soames [1916, ''circa'' 60 years in the future]
::1984 [1949, 35 years in the future]
::A Week in the Wales of the Future [1957, 76 years in the future]
::The Jetsons [1962-63, 100 years in the future]
::Star Trek [1966-69, 300 years in the future]
::2001: A Space Odyssey [1968, 33 years in the future]
::Space: 1999 [1975-77, 24 years in the future]
::2010: Odyssey Two [1982, 28 years in the future]
::Transformers (TV series) [1984-87, 20 years in the future]
::2061: Odyssey Three [1987, 74 years in the future]
::Star Trek: The Next Generation [1987-94, ''circa'' 500 years in the future]
::Back to the Future Part II [1989, 26 years in the future]
::Zero Wing [1989, 112 years in the future]
::Terminator 2 (1995 portion) [1991, 4 years in the future]
::3001: The Final Odyssey [1997, 1004 years in the future]
::Enterprise [2001-2005, 150 years in the future]
::This chart [2015, 0 years in the future]
:'''Years in the Past'''
:[A logarithmic scale running vertically, from 0 down past 1 billion to "Big Bang"]
:'''Stories Set in the Past''' (History, Period Fiction)
::Stories written X years ago and set 2X years ago
::[A line divides this region into two. The upper side is labelled as follows.]
::'''Former Period Pieces'''
::Stories set in the past, but created long enough ago that they were published closer to their setting than to today.
::Modern audiences may not recognize which parts were ''supposed'' to sound old.
:[from left to right...]
::The Epic of Gilgamesh [''circa'' 2100 BCE, 600 years in the past]
::The Iliad [''circa''' 800 BCE, 450 years in the past]
::History of the Peloponnesian War [''circa'' 390 BCE, 10 years in the past]
::Book of Genesis [''circa'' 500 BCE, 4000 years in the past]
::Ashokavadana [''circa'' 100 BCE, 300 years in the past]
::Gospels (various estimates) [''circa'' 250 CE, 24 to 75 years in the past]
::The Pillow Book [1000 CE, 5 years in the past]
::Water Margin [''circa'' 1300, 195 years in the past]
::Richard III [''circa'' 1590, 115 years in the past]
::Julius Caesar [1599, 1650 years in the past]
::King John [''circa'' 1600, 500 years in the past]
::Henry IV [''circa'' 1600, 190 years in the past]
::King Lear [''circa'' 1606, 3000 years in the past]
::Henry VIII [''circa'' 1612, 105 years in the past]
::The Last of the Mohicans [1826, 69 years in the past]
::Rip Van Winkel [1819, 31-51 years in the past]
::A Tale of Two Cities [1859, 60 years in the past]
::Moby-Dick [1851, around 10 years ago]
:::"Some years ago--never mind how long precisely..."
::Les Miserábles [1862, 30 years in the past]
::A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
::Treasure Island
::Gone With the Wind
::Lest Darkness Fall
::Casablanca
::Oklahoma!
::The Ten Commandments
::The Bridge on the River Kwai
::Gunsmoke
::Catch-22 (book)
::The Flintstones
::The Great Escape
::Asterix
::Lawrence of Arabia
::The Music Man
::Bonnie and Clyde
::2001: A Space Odyssey (prologue)
::American Graffiti
::Patton
::Catch-22 (movie)
::Chinatown
::Blazing Saddles
::Apocalypse Now
::Happy Days
::Grease
::M*A*S*H
::Annie (play)
::Roots
::Chariots of Fire
::Star Wars (IV-VI)
::Annie (movie)
::The Right Stuff
::Back to the Future
::Gandhi
::Platoon
::Dirty Dancing
::Back to the Future Part III
::The Wonder Years
::JFK
::The Sandlot
::Schindler's List
::Raptor Red
::Apollo 13
::Star Wars (I-III)
::The Big Lebowski
::Evita
::Saving Private Ryan
::The Prince of Egypt
::Freaks and Geeks
::Hotel Rwanda
::I Love the '80s
::That '70s Show
::Pearl Harbor
::Ice Age
::I Love the '90s
::United 93
::300
::10,000 BC
::Year One
::The Wolf of Wall Street
::I Love the 2000s
::Mad Men
::Downton Abbey
::Star Wars (VII-IX)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]

1491: Stories of the Past and Future

2015-02-25T17:53:45Z

108.162.219.89: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1491
| date = February 25, 2015
| title = Stories of the Past and Future
| image = stories_of_the_past_and_future.png
| titletext = Little-known fact: The 'Dawn of Man' opening sequence in 2001 cuts away seconds before the Flinstones theme becomes recognizable.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}
''A larger version of the image is available [http://xkcd.com/1491/large/ here].''

X-axis: Date of publication.

Y-axis, "Years in the future": Number of years the story's events take place, after the story's publication.

Y-axis, "Years in the past": Number of years the story's events take place, before the story's publication.

For example, "Water Margin" was published in the 14th century (x ~= 1300) and relates events from the 12th century, about 200 years before its publication (y ~= 200 in the past).

Another example: The film ''{{w|The Bridge on the River Kwai}}'' was released in 1957 and it was set around 14 years before (~1942-43).

Grey area in the "Years in the future" part: Stories set in the future (from their publication's date), whose the story's events' date is already past (from now).

Grey area in the "Years in the past" part: Stories set in the past (from their publication's date), published closer to their setting than to today.

Taking the "years in the past" on the y-axis to be read as negatives like in most graphs one can write:

Dates on the lower line satisfy: y = x-2015. Corresponding works were published in the year x = 2015+y and are set in the year x+y = 2015+2y.

Dates on the upper line satisfy: y = 2015-x. Corresponding works were published in the year x = 2015-y and are set in the year x+y = 2015.

Thus it's clear that the definitions of the lines are consistent with each other as they follow similar but inverted functions.

In the top portion of the graph, the two sides of the line are defined as "still possible" and "obsolete" (gray area). The gray area (obsolete) expands over time, the prediction (or science fiction work) that are not confirmed by reality are doomed to be obsolete. The author mark the line of the stories set in 2015; they are the expectation for our present in different past times.

In the bottom graph, the line indicates the limit in which the publishing time is nearer to the time treated in the work than to the present. The work in the gray area could be perceived as written by contemporary writers while in most cases they refer to a further past. This is expressed in the warning: "Modern audiences may not recognize which part were supposed to sound old". This is a recurrent theme in the author's work, being already formulated in [[Period_Speech]].

===Works listed===

{| {{table}}
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Publication'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Description'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Year Written'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Year Difference'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Year Set In'''
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Memoirs of the Twentieth Century|Memoirs of the Twentieth Century]]|| book written by Samuel Madden||1733||264||1997
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Golf in the Year 2000|Golf in the Year 2000]]|| novel written by J. McCullough||1892||108||2000
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Looking Backward|Looking Backward]]|| novel written by Edward Bellamy||1888||112||2000
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Enoch Soames|Enoch Soames]]|| short story by Max Beerbohm||1897||100||1997
|-
| [[Wikipedia:The Time Machine|The Time Machine]]|| novel written by H.G. Wells||1895||800,806||802,701
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]||novel written by George Orwell||1949||35||1984
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Wythnos yng Nghymru Fydd|A Week in the Wales of the Future]]||novel written by Islwyn Ffowc Elis||1957||76||2033
|-
| [[Wikipedia:The Jetsons|The Jetsons]]||TV series produced by Hanna-Barbera||1962 *||100||2062 †
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek !TOS!]]||TV series created by Gene Roddenberry||1966 *||298||2264
|-
| [[Wikipedia:2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]||novel written by Arthur C. Clarke||1968||33||2001
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Space: 1999|Space: 1999]]||TV series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson||1975 *||24||1999
|-
| [[Wikipedia:2010: Odyssey Two|2010: Odyssey Two]]||novel written by Arthur C. Clarke||1982||28||2010
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]]||TV series created by Gene Roddenberry||1987 *||377||2364
|-
| [[Wikipedia:2061: Odyssey Three|2061: Odyssey Three]]||novel written by Arthur C. Clarke||1987||74||2061
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Zero Wing|Zero Wing]]||arcade/computer game||1989||112?||
|-
| [[Wikipedia:3001: The Final Odyssey|3001: The Final Odyssey]]||novel written by Arthur C. Clarke||1997||1004||3001
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]||TV series||2001 *||150||2151
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Back to the Future Part II|Back to the Future Part II]]||film directed by Robert Zemeckis||1989||26||2015
|-
| [[Wikipedia:The Transformers (TV series)|Transformers (TV Series)]]||TV series||1984 *||~ 20||< 2010
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Terminator 2: Judgment Day|Terminator 2 (1995 Portion)]]||film directed by James Cameron||1991||4||1995
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]||film directed by Michael Curtiz||1942||< 1||1941
|-
| [[Wikipedia:The Pillow Book|The Pillow Book]]||book written by Sei Shōnagon||1002||6||996
|-
| [[Wikipedia:History of the Peloponnesian War|History of the Peloponnesian War]]||history written by Thucydides||~400 BCE||~10||431-411 BCE
|-
| Moby Dick||||||||
|-
| Gospels||||||||
|-
| The Epic of Gilgamesh||||||||
|-
| The Iliad||||||||
|-
| Ashokavadana||||||||
|-
| Book of Genesis||||||||
|-
| Water Margin||||||||
|-
| King John||||||||
|-
| Henry IV||||||||
|-
| Richard III||||||||
|-
| Henry VIII||||||||
|-
| Julius Caesar||||||||
|-
| King Lear||||||||
|-
| A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court||||||||
|-
| Lest Darkness Fall||||||||
|-
| Asterix||||||||
|-
| The Ten Commandments||||||||
|-
| The Flintstones||||||||
|-
| 2001: A Space Odyssey (prologue)||||||||
|-
| Star Wars (IV - VI)||||||||
|-
| Star Wars (I - III)||||||||
|-
| Raptor Red||||||||
|-
| Star Wars (VII - IX)||||||||
|-
| Ice Age||||||||
|-
| 10,000 BC||||||||
|-
| 300||||||||
|-
| Year One||||||||
|-
| The Prince of Egypt||||||||
|-
| Downton Abbey||||||||
|-
| Pearl Harbour||||||||
|-
| Saving Private Ryan||||||||
|-
| Chariots of Fire||||||||
|-
| Blazing Saddles||||||||
|-
| Back to the Future Part III||||||||
|-
| Roots||||||||
|-
| Treasure Island||||||||
|-
| The Last of the Mohicans||||||||
|-
| A Tale of Two Cities||||||||
|-
| Gone With The Wind||||||||
|-
| Gunsmoke||||||||
|-
| Rip Van Winkel [sic]||||||||
|-
| Les Miserábles [sic]||||||||
|-
| Oklahoma!||||||||
|-
| Lawrence of Arabia||||||||
|-
| The Music Man||||||||
|-
| Annie (Play)||||||||
|-
| Annie (Movie)||||||||
|-
| Schindler's List||||||||
|-
| Mad Men||||||||
|-
| Evita||||||||
|-
| Bonnie and Clyde||||||||
|-
| Chinatown||||||||
|-
| Gandhi||||||||
|-
| The Sandlot||||||||
|-
| Back to the Future||||||||
|-
| Patton||||||||
|-
| Catch-22 (Movie)||||||||
|-
| The Great Escape||||||||
|-
| Catch-22 (Book)||||||||
|-
| M*A*S*H||||||||
|-
| Grease||||||||
|-
| Happy Days||||||||
|-
| Platoon||||||||
|-
| The Wonder Years||||||||
|-
| Dirty Dancing||||||||
|-
| The Right Stuff||||||||
|-
| JFK||||||||
|-
| Apollo 13||||||||
|-
| That '70s Show||||||||
|-
| The Wolf of Wall Street||||||||
|-
| Freaks and Geeks||||||||
|-
| I Love the '80s||||||||
|-
| The Bridge on the River Kwai||||||||
|-
| American Graffiti||||||||
|-
| Apocalypse Now||||||||
|-
| The Big Lebowski||||||||
|-
| [[Wikipedia:United 93 (film)|United 93]]|| film directed by Paul Greengrass||2006||-5||2001
|-
| [[Wikipedia:I Love the '90s (U.S. TV series)|I Love the '90s]]|| TV miniseries on VH1||2004||-14||1990
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Hotel Rwanda|Hotel Rwanda]]|| film directed by Terry George||2004||-10||1994
|-
| [[Wikipedia:I Love the 2000s|I Love the 2000s]]|| TV miniseries on VH1||2014||-14||2000
|-
|
|}

* = first episode aired. † = conjectured year set in.

==Trivia==
There is a hypercorrection in ''{{w|Rip Van Winkle}}'' as ''Rip van Winkel''. Washington Irving may have misspelled ''van {{w|nl:Winkel|Winkel}}''.

It's ''{{w|Les Misérables}}'' not ''Les Miserábles''. Note that French doesn't have "á".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:'''Date of Publication'''
:[A logarithmic scale running horizontally, from 3000 BCE to past 2015 CE]
:'''Years in the Future'''
:[A logarithmic scale running vertically, from 1 billion down to 0]
:'''Stories Set in the Future''' (Science Fiction, Prediction)
::Stories set in 2015
::[A line divides this region into two. The upper side is labelled "Still Possible"; the lower side is labelled "Obsolete".]
:[from left to right...]
::Memoirs of the Twentieth Century [1733, 265 years in the future]
::Looking Backward [1888, 112 years in the future]
::Golf in the Year 2000 [1892, 108 years in the future]
::The Time Machine [1895, 800 thousand to 30 million years in the future]
::Enoch Soames [1916, ''circa'' 60 years in the future]
::1984 [1949, 35 years in the future]
::A Week in the Wales of the Future [1957, 76 years in the future]
::The Jetsons [1962-63, 100 years in the future]
::Star Trek [1966-69, 300 years in the future]
::2001: A Space Odyssey [1968, 33 years in the future]
::Space: 1999 [1975-77, 24 years in the future]
::2010: Odyssey Two [1982, 28 years in the future]
::Transformers (TV series) [1984-87, 20 years in the future]
::2061: Odyssey Three [1987, 74 years in the future]
::Star Trek: The Next Generation [1987-94, ''circa'' 500 years in the future]
::Back to the Future Part II [1989, 26 years in the future]
::Zero Wing [1989, 112 years in the future]
::Terminator 2 (1995 portion) [1991, 4 years in the future]
::3001: The Final Odyssey [1997, 1004 years in the future]
::Enterprise [2001-2005, 150 years in the future]
::This chart [2015, 0 years in the future]
:'''Years in the Past'''
:[A logarithmic scale running vertically, from 0 down past 1 billion to "Big Bang"]
:'''Stories Set in the Past''' (History, Period Fiction)
::Stories written X years ago and set 2X years ago
::[A line divides this region into two. The upper side is labelled as follows.]
::'''Former Period Pieces'''
::Stories set in the past, but created long enough ago that they were published closer to their setting than to today.
::Modern audiences may not recognize which parts were ''supposed'' to sound old.
:[from left to right...]
::The Epic of Gilgamesh [''circa'' 2100 BCE, 600 years in the past]
::The Iliad [''circa''' 800 BCE, 450 years in the past]
::History of the Peloponnesian War [''circa'' 390 BCE, 10 years in the past]
::Book of Genesis [''circa'' 500 BCE, 4000 years in the past]
::Ashokavadana [''circa'' 100 BCE, 300 years in the past]
::Gospels (various estimates) [''circa'' 250 CE, 24 to 75 years in the past]
::The Pillow Book [1000 CE, 5 years in the past]
::Water Margin [''circa'' 1300, 195 years in the past]
::Richard III [''circa'' 1590, 115 years in the past]
::Julius Caesar [1599, 1650 years in the past]
::King John [''circa'' 1600, 500 years in the past]
::Henry IV [''circa'' 1600, 190 years in the past]
::King Lear [''circa'' 1606, 3000 years in the past]
::Henry VIII [''circa'' 1612, 105 years in the past]
::The Last of the Mohicans [1826, 69 years in the past]
::Rip Van Winkel [1819, 31-51 years in the past]
::A Tale of Two Cities [1859, 60 years in the past]
::Moby-Dick [1851, around 10 years ago]
:::"Some years ago--never mind how long precisely..."
::Les Miserábles [1862, 30 years in the past]
::A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
::Treasure Island
::Gone With the Wind
::Lest Darkness Fall
::Casablanca
::Oklahoma!
::The Ten Commandments
::The Bridge on the River Kwai
::Gunsmoke
::Catch-22 (book)
::The Flintstones
::The Great Escape
::Asterix
::Lawrence of Arabia
::The Music Man
::Bonnie and Clyde
::2001: A Space Odyssey (prologue)
::American Graffiti
::Patton
::Catch-22 (movie)
::Chinatown
::Blazing Saddles
::Apocalypse Now
::Happy Days
::Grease
::M*A*S*H
::Annie (play)
::Roots
::Chariots of Fire
::Star Wars (IV-VI)
::Annie (movie)
::The Right Stuff
::Back to the Future
::Gandhi
::Platoon
::Dirty Dancing
::Back to the Future Part III
::The Wonder Years
::JFK
::The Sandlot
::Schindler's List
::Raptor Red
::Apollo 13
::Star Wars (I-III)
::The Big Lebowski
::Evita
::Saving Private Ryan
::The Prince of Egypt
::Freaks and Geeks
::Hotel Rwanda
::I Love the '80s
::That '70s Show
::Pearl Harbor
::Ice Age
::I Love the '90s
::United 93
::300
::10,000 BC
::Year One
::The Wolf of Wall Street
::I Love the 2000s
::Mad Men
::Downton Abbey
::Star Wars (VII-IX)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]