explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2729: Planet Killer Comet Margarita

2023-01-26T17:57:28Z

108.162.221.177: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2729
| date = January 25, 2023
| title = Planet Killer Comet Margarita
| image = planet_killer_comet_margarita_2x.png
| imagesize = 607x942px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I'll take mine on the rocks, no ice.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MARGARITAFIED METEOR - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|margarita}} is a popular cocktail made from {{w|tequila}}, {{w|agave}}, {{w|triple sec}}, and {{w|lime juice}}. The frozen margarita variety is blended with ice, and this comic suggests making an enormous drink using the ice from a {{w|comet nucleus}} – the one depicted having more than a passing similarity to the much studied {{w|67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko}}. Based on the amount of ice in a typical comet, it extrapolates the quantity of the other ingredients. The size of this drink will fill {{w|Lake Mead}}, a massive reservoir on the {{w|Colorado River}} created by the water held by the {{w|Hoover Dam}}.

Beyond the unusual quantities and mixing method, Randall uses the general term "orange liqueur" here rather than specifying triple sec. (As of this writing, {{w|orange liqueur}} redirects to "triple sec" on Wikipedia.) Assuming that each oil tanker holds exactly the same amount of liquid, the tequila:triple sec ratio in the comic is 4:1, meaning more tequila is used than necessary (the ratio should be 5:2).

''{{w|Armageddon_(1998_film)|Armageddon}}'' is a movie starring {{w|Bruce Willis}} about a team of astronauts and oil drill engineers on a mission to blow up an asteroid that's on a collision course with the Earth. The oil drill would be used to drill a hole deep into the asteroid, into which they'll drop a nuclear bomb to destroy it. The comic suggests using the same technique to explode the comet nucleus to get the ice.

In the title text, he asks for it "{{w|on the rocks}}", with no ice. In the context of cocktails this means to serve with ice. But the comet nucleus also contains lots of rocky material. If you explode the nucleus and remove the ice, the drink will be full of rocks.

In the header, it says "Today's comic was drawn for Daniel Becker, based on [https://what-if.xkcd.com/162/ his winning question] submitted to the [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ What If? 2] contest." As explained in the What If? entry melting a comet on Earth has enough negative effects on the climate to negate the cooling effect a couple thousand times over – thus this margarita may in fact proudly wear the title "planet killer".

Assuming an average oil tanker size of 25.8 million gallons, this provides approximately 1,705 servings of tequila per adult on the planet. Therefore it is a planet killer in terms of alcohol poisoning and killing off all humans of adult drinking age.

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

:<big>The Planet Killer</big>
:Comet Ice Margarita

:Ingredients
:4,000 oil tankers full of tequila
:1,000 tankers full of orange liqueur
:1,000 tankers full of agave
:The juice from 20 trillion limes
:One comet nucleus

:Instructions
:(1) Drain Lake Mead, combine ingredients behind Hoover Dam
:(2) Detonate comet using Bruce Willis's drilling rig from ''Armageddon'' (1998)
::''Boom''
:(3) Dispense drink through Hoover Dam turbines

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Food]]

Talk:2611: Cutest-Sounding Scientific Effects

2022-07-03T23:56:26Z

108.162.221.177: Less Practical Items

I refuse to acknowledge any list that does not include the "atto-fox effect (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267293649_Killing_the_atto-fox_A_new_algorithm_for_deterministic_simulation_in_discrete_state_space) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.177|108.162.221.177]] 23:56, 3 July 2022 (UTC) Abbysaurus_Rex

Can I suggest that anyone who replaces the hyphen/minus-sign in "foo - bar" (or, usually, "foo - breakout - bar" as some sort of bracketting side-comment) don't replace " - " with "–” or "—” ''without the spaces'', as it makes it look even more like the unintended hyphenisation that they probably think they're avoiding. At least preserve the spacing. That said, there generally is another way. 
If commas would be too confusing (e.g. proximity to a list (and especially Oxford Commas, which confuse things more!)) then parenthesising would be best. If you're too scared to nest brackets (and ellipses/etc don't seem viable …perhaps leave to the Discussion page?) then probably you just need to rewrite into several more atomic sentences rather than one huge run-on one that needs so many different pause/''sotto-voce''-effect in the internalised narration. As you can see, I run into this problem often enough. In this comment I've slightly broken a couple of my own rules (by omission) just because it makes a better exemplar to not rewrite to avoid. 
''However'' this is just general advice to the other mdash/ndash 'correctors' who pop up. In this article it was the transcript where "Effect A - Effect B" became "Effect A–Effect B", looking like "A-Effect" (or, actually "Effect-B", to reflect the true ordering seen). Obviously it represents the line between, but no hyphen ''or'' dash is there to be read, and it would have been as valid to use " / " as separator, except for the use (unspaced) in "Bouba/kiki". It would be nice to know what screen-readers think of every option — how they voice them, etc… 
Perhaps a " [is bracketed with] " transcript-label would be best (with the spaces, naturally). But I leave it up to someone else to think about. I'm still a bit overinvolved with the 'hyphen-like dashes' issue, as you can see, which often makes me a bit sharp and terse. For which I apologise, as with this whole 'getting off of my chest' commentary that I've a feeling I have either under-explained or over-explained. Or, simultaneously, both! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.145|172.70.90.145]] 08:44, 26 April 2022 (UTC)
:Maybe [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.209|172.69.79.209]] 08:54, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

:It was I who changed to dashes. Both dash length and spacing was, to the best of my ability, those that Wikipedia described for sport games and other “symmetrical” pairs. If it turned out unsuitable for this page, I think that another layout entirely would be preferable to the current solution. But for sure I won’t fight for it.

:[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 09:03, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

Clearly this is going to end with a final of Cutaneous Rabbit - Woozle. Which combines to give you a self-reinforcing erroneous belief that someone is tapping your arm. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.209|172.69.79.209]] 08:56, 26 April 2022 (UTC)
:I could see there being an actual Perky/Cutaneous Rabbit draw (in both senses of the word, though I haven't checked to see if either have lost out yet on the official poll), whichbis when you are convinced that you are in fact only imagining the tapping moving up your arm, ''but it actually is!!!'' [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 09:59, 26 April 2022 (UTC)
::Russian bots have obviously got involved and manipulated the polling, because 5 out of the 8 have gone the wrong way, and the Cutaneous Rabbit has been eliminated.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.153|172.69.79.153]] 09:36, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

So... Who's setting up an actual bracket for this? Should we each create our own brackets?{{unsigned ip}}
:Randall's running one (see Twitter link near top), though I forget when the first-round polls are said to be closing (did it say 10 hours, when I checked for myself?) and as I'm not registered on a Twitter it's just a spectator sport for me and I'll probably rely on some other editor bringing the results over to ExplainXKCD when they are made known and putting them in the section now prepared on the Explanation page. Nothing to stop you making your own predictions/desires known ahead of the actual results, but it'd be purely a personal thing until enough people locally state their thoughts this to establish a (possibly different) ExpXKCD consensus result by manual collation of a completely scientifically-unregorous alternate poll. (Sounds like too much work for little added benefit, but maybe someone wants to do it anyway...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.211|172.70.90.211]] 16:44, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

Reading the wiki article about the Dr. Fox effect, in which they used "an actor, Michael Fox" I had to do a double take because I thought they were talking about Michael J. Fox. Now that would be a charismatic teacher! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.72|172.70.211.72]] 01:45, 27 April 2022 (UTC)
:The J in Michael J. Fox's name is completely meaningless, it is ONLY there to differentiate him from this other Michael Fox. :) (I've heard that he has said in interviews it stands for "Genius") [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:32, 1 May 2022 (UTC)

I can't think of a reason why "Bouba/kiki effect" was the winner of the tournament. The name isn't particularly funny or cute. The effect itself isn't the most interesting one offered. Is it a meme or a popular culture reference? Or bots? [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 22:18, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
:Obviously Randall rigged the voting right throughout the tournament, solely so that he could make the Bouba vs Kiki joke. That explains the travesty of it beating Cutaneous Rabbit in the first round. I mean, it's a rabbit! And how can it be cuter than having cute-aneous in its name?[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.153|172.69.79.153]] 10:23, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

The {{w|Bouba effect}} won! https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1520519518388375557 [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.17|172.69.134.17]] 01:31, 2 May 2022 (UTC)
: I tried to upload the image at https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FRn4cWjWUAAtwIs?format=jpg but it says I don't have permissions. [[User:Omgwtfargh|Omgwtfargh]] ([[User talk:Omgwtfargh|talk]]) 01:53, 2 May 2022 (UTC)

2520: Symbols

2021-09-29T23:36:16Z

108.162.221.177: /* Transcript */ fix

{{comic
| number = 2520
| date = September 24, 2021
| title = Symbols
| image = symbols.png
| titletext = "röntgen" and "rem" are 20th-century physics terms that mean "no trespassing."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by VERY EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. Bare-bones explanation is in, but needs much more detail.}}

This comic refers to elements of (mostly mathematical or engineering) notation commonly used in various fields of math and science. Each piece of notation is presented as "symbolizing" not what it specifically means, but a typical ''context'' in which it might be encountered. Many of the individual descriptions look like verbiage that might be found on informational or warnings signs or placards, although typically with a silly edge.

*d⁄dx: An undergrad is working very hard
d/dx is the symbol for a single-variable {{w|Derivative|derivative}}. This is one of the basic operations in {{w|calculus}} and consequently is ubiquitous in the work of undergraduates in the sciences. A hard-working undergraduate in the relevant fields would churn through exercises using this symbol.

*∂⁄∂x: A grad student is working very hard
The replacement of the standard "d" letters with the curly letters "∂" denotes the partial derivative, which generalizes the ordinary derivative to multi-variable calculus. Problems with partial derivatives, especially partial differential equations, can be extremely challenging. Although PDEs would typically be first taught at an undergraduate level, difficult partial derivatives would be encountered in graduate-level work.

*ħ: Oh wow, this is apparently a quantum thing
ħ (pronounced "h-bar") is a symbol used for (the reduced) {{w|Planck's constant}}, a universal, fundamental constant in quantum physics. ħ is equal to the energy of a photon divided by its frequency, and angular momentum in quantum mechanical systems is measured in quantized integer or half-integer units of ħ.
Classical physics appears as a limit of quantum physics if all "actions" (quantities of dimension energy * time, momentum * length, or angular momentum) are much larger than ħ. Conversely you can also formally set ħ=0 to get classical results from quantum formulae. This means that effects which are proportional to some power of ħ cannot be explained classically, and instead are "a quantum thing".

*Rₑ: Someone needs to do a lot of tedious numerical work; hopefully it's not you
The {{w|Reynolds number}} (which is actually usually denoted by "Re," not "Re" as it appears in the comic) is the most important dimensionless group in fluid mechanics. Named for Osborne Reynolds, Re characterizes the relative sizes of inertial and viscous effects in a moving fluid. Large values of Re are indicative of turbulent flow, which cannot usually be solved for analytically, and so numerical modelling is necessary. Accurate numerical studies of high-Reynolds-number flows are notoriously difficult to create and program.

Alternatively, Rₑ could stand for electronic {{w|transition dipole moment}} in a molecule. This appears in quantum-mechanical calculations of transition probabilities and also includes a lot of unpleasant numerical work. Rₑ is also a term used for the radius of the Earth at mean sea level, though this definition has fallen out of regular usage (more recently it's denoted by a) and it's not necessarily a complex term in and of itself.

*(Ta⁴ - Tb⁴): You are at risk of skin burns
The {{w|Stefan-Boltzmann law}} says that a perfectly absorbing ("black body") source emits electromagnetic radiation with a power per unit area of σT4, where σ is a known constant and T is the absolute temperature. The quantity (Ta4 – Tb4) thus appears in any calculation of purely radiative energy transfer between two bodies, one at temperature Ta and the other at Tb. When radiative transfer is large enough to be the most important form of heat interchange, it is normally also large enough to sear the skin with thermal or ultraviolet burns.

*NA: You are probably about to make an incredibly dangerous arithmetic error
NA, or {{w|Avogadro's number}}, is the number of molecules in a mole of a substance—roughly the number of protons plus neutrons in 1 gram of matter. This is an enormous number, exactly 6.022 140 76 × 10²³, or 602 214 076 000 000 000 000 000. Adding up molecular weights and converting between grams and moles of several substances is a lot of arithmetic on a scale where intuition won't help you catch mistakes. Working with NA, it is easy to make errors of one or more powers of ten without noticing. If this kind of error is made in the calculation of the stoichiometrically correct amount of a reagent in a chemical reaction, it is possible to accidentally create dangerous amounts of unwanted chemical products.

*µm: Careful, that equipment is expensive
{{w|Micrometre|Micrometer}}s are a very small unit of distance. Micrometers are commonly used to measure wavelengths in the infrared, and infrared detectors are very expensive, compared with visible wavelength counterparts. Of course, micrometers are used as a measurement of distance in other contexts, but any distance-measuring device capable of accurately measuring micrometer distances would also be expensive. Similarly, tools used to create or calibrate items within micrometer tolerances can also be expensive.

*mK: Careful, that equipment is very expensive
Kelvin is a temperature scale proportional to Celsius, but taking absolute zero as its zero point instead of the freezing point of water. {{w|Millikelvin}}s (1/1000 of a Kelvin) are used for high precision temperature work. Frequently this is used in processes of cooling temperatures to near absolute zero - such as superconductors or other quantum effects that occur when atoms are almost still. This is suggesting that the symbol appears on a sensitive experimental system probing quantum mechanical behavior that would likely only exist in an advanced laboratory. Any equipment that works down at mK temperatures, or at least to mK precision and accuracy, is likely to be very expensive.

*nm: Don't shine that in your eye
{{w|Nanometer}}s are frequently seen in the listed wavelengths for lasers. Pointing a visible or infrared laser at someone's eye is notoriously dangerous; the tightly-focused coherent light can cause permanent damage very quickly.

*eV: Definitely don't shine that in your eye
{{w|Electron volt}} energies are typical of moderate-energy particle beams, produced by accelerating electrons (or protons) over macroscopic voltages. These particle beams can be {{w|Anatoli Bugorski|even more damaging}} to soft tissues than optical-wavelength lasers.

*mSv: You are about to get into an Internet argument
The {{w|millisievert}} is a unit of radiation dose absorbed. It is actually a very small dosage, but the joke refers to Internet trolls debating the effects of low-dose radiation sources, such as 5G wireless networks. [[Randall|Randall's]] comment may also be referring to [https://xkcd.com/radiation/ this chart].

*mg/kg: Go wash your hands
This unit measures the dose of a drug or other chemical in milligrams per kilogram of body mass. If the appropriate dose - or worse, the lethal dose - is measured in mg/kg (parts per million), then the substance may be quite toxic.

*µg/kg: Go get in the chemical shower
A unit 1/1000 times the size of mg/kg. If a dosage is measured in micrograms per kilogram (parts per billion), any accident probably requires whole-body decontamination procedures.

*π or τ: Whatever answer you get will be wrong by a factor of exactly two
π is defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, while τ is defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its radius (and is therefore equal to 2π). {{w|pi|π}} has been used as the primary constant for describing the circumference and area of circles for millennia, but proponents of {{w|Turn (angle)|τ}} claim that τ is actually more natural in most contexts, since it makes working in radians more straightforward. The joke here is that whichever constant you use, it will probably be the wrong one (off by a factor of two, one way or the other) for the formula you are trying to use. The debate over Tau vs Pi was solved by Randall in this compromise: [[1292: Pi vs. Tau]].

The title text refers to two non-SI units of radiation measurement, {{w|Roentgen (unit)|röntgen}} and {{w|Roentgen equivalent man|rem}}. In the mid-20th century when they were in use, the dangers of radiation weren't as well understood as today, so an area with radiation that was noteworthy back then is probably dangerous ( https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-28/france-is-still-cleaning-up-marie-curie-s-nuclear-waste ), hence the no trespassing part.

==Transcript==
:[A list with 14 different scientific constants/symbols are shown. Next to each symbol is a description. Above the list is a heading and beneath that a subheading.]
:::::<big>Symbols</big>
::::And what they mean

:::d⁄dx    An undergrad is working very hard
:::∂⁄∂x    A grad student is working very hard
:::ħ       Oh wow, this is apparently a quantum thing
:::Rₑ     Someone needs to do a lot of tedious numerical work; hopefully it's not you
:(Ta⁴ - Tb⁴)    You are at risk of skin burns
:::NA    You are probably about to make an incredibly dangerous arithmetic error
:::µm    Careful, that equipment is expensive
:::mK    Careful, that equipment is very expensive
:::nm    Don't shine that in your eye
:::eV     '''''Definitely''''' don't shine that in your eye
:::mSv  You are about to get into an internet argument
::mg/kg      Go wash your hands
::µg/kg      Go get in the chemical shower
::π or τ      Whatever answer you get will be wrong by a factor of exactly two

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:5G]]

Talk:1756: I'm With Her

2016-11-07T22:21:41Z

108.162.221.177:

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)


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)

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)
:: 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.

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)
: 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>
:: 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>
:::: 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>

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)
: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)

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)

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
:: 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)

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)

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!".

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.

: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)

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.)