explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2344: 26-Second Pulse

2020-08-11T01:13:22Z

108.162.237.172:

The transcript is calling the character "Hairbun," and while apparently Hairbun has several different renditions, one thing common to them all is that she has a single bun. This character has two buns, as can be seen in the second panel. Probably should not be conflated with a character that has a single bun. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.172|108.162.237.172]] 01:13, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

1617: Time Capsule

2018-08-19T11:32:10Z

108.162.237.172: Adding the source for Beret Guy's hat being stapled to his head

{{comic
| number = 1617
| date = December 16, 2015
| title = Time Capsule
| image = time_capsule.png
| titletext = Oh no, I changed the future and now I'm disappearing! Wait, never mind, it was just my hat slipping down over my eyes.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is watching [[Ponytail]] who has unearthed a {{w|time capsule}}, that must have been buried in the ground many years ago.

A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists or historians.

However, when she manages to open the capsule [[Beret Guy]] turns out to have been hiding inside while the capsule has been buried. It turns out that he has mixed up the purpose of a {{w|Time travel|time machine}} and a time capsule; when Ponytail asks him where he came from he tells her: ''The past! I traveled here in this time machine.''

He cannot explain how he got there, but he claims that he could not have prevented it. This is a reference to the fact that you cannot avoid being pushed forward through time, see [[1524: Dimensions]]. Beret Guy has also previously traveled to the future in a similar manner, see [[209: Kayak]].

Beret Guy claims he has been eating newspapers to survive; newspaper clippings are a stereotype content of time capsules. He also managed to live underground in the time capsule, which would typically be an airtight sealed box, for what must be assumed to be at least several years. Although some time capsules are meant to be opened after just a few years (10 or 25 years for instance) the plan should be that it is not opened for at least several years after it is created. So this comic is one more example of the [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers of Beret Guy]] - i.e. living by eating paper and without breathing oxygen. But he has before displayed patience enough to sit still for five years in [[1088: Five Years]].

Beret Guy mentions he got inside his "time machine" to attempt an assassination of {{w|Adolf Hitler}} (using the hammer he is holding). Traveling to the past in a time machine to assassinate Hitler is a common trope in speculative fiction, as a way to try to prevent the {{w|second world war}} - however the scheme only works via travel into the past, to some time before Hitler rose to power and started the war, rather than "into the future" as Beret Guy did. Of course, when Beret Guy entered the "time machine" Hitler may still have been alive. If it was realized early enough what kind of threat Hitler was posing a plan could have been devised, where Beret Guys traveled to a future time where it would become possible to kill Hitler, and where it would still make a difference if he did (however, it would have been more practical to just wait, though Beret Guy is never practical).

Since he did not travel into the past, but forward in time by letting time pass normally, and since he did not get out until long after Hitler's demise, Ponytail can tell him that Hitler has been dead for a long time (70 years at the time of the comic's release). So if the capsule was opened on the day of the release of the comic, then he was 70 years too late. But of course the comic could be set at any time after the war, also in the future, as long as it would make sense to say that Hitler died long ago.

The fact that Hitler is already dead does not bother Beret Guy, on the contrary he is pleased, as he just realizes his job has already been done. What he thus fails to realize, is that he was probably supposed to kill Hitler before he got the second world war started. This was the same type of failure made by [[Black Hat]] in [[1063: Kill Hitler]]. Black Hat did actually travel 67 years back in time and killed Hitler, sadly it was in the last days of the war in 1945 just before Hitler would have died anyway, so it had no effect on history either, and the time machine was a one shot thing.

When he finds out that his job is done he asks Ponytail if they should get some sandwiches. It is a known feature of Beret Guy that he likes bakers and bread, though not specifically sandwiches. Realizing he is in the future he suddenly becomes aware that this concept may have been forgotten, and he asks if they still exist in this future. This is a reference to another comic where Megan has traveled through time in the same way as Beret Guy; see [[630: Time Travel]]. It may also be a reference to the new version of [http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Montgomery_Scott_%28alternate_reality%29 Star Trek], in which Scotty's response to learning someone is from the future is "Do they still have sandwiches there?"

In the title text Beret Guy becomes afraid that he will now disappear because he has changed the future in a way so he would no longer exist. A typical example would be to go back and kill your parents before you were born (or just prevent them from falling in love as in the movie ''{{w|Back to the Future}}''). This creates a {{w|Grandfather paradox|paradox}} where you will never be born, and thus cease to exist. Of course the paradox is that you could thus not have prevented your birth in the first place, if you did not already exist. (Another good example of how this might feel is displayed in the movie {{w|Timecop}}).

However, it turns out that in Beret Guy's case it was only his sight that was "disappearing", and that was only because his beret had fallen over his eyes. In any case the fear is baseless since he only traveled forward in time, not backwards, and thus could not have changed his own past. It is also unknown how his hat could slip over his eyes, as it is [[291|stapled to his head]].

Time machines have been referenced in many xkcd comics, see the [[:Category:Time travel|Time travel category]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is watching and Ponytail is about to open a time capsule that has just been dug out. A shovel is stuck in the ground next to a heap of dirt on the right side of a hole in the ground. Cueball is standing on the other side and Ponytail is in the hole, proceeding to lift up the lid of the box that makes up the time capsule.]
:Ponytail: All right, let's open the time capsule.

:[Slight zoom in on Ponytail and the box, without Cueball but still the shovel and dirt, when Beret Guy comes out of the capsule looking up at Ponytail who takes a step back up.]
:Beret Guy: Hi!
:Ponytail: Where did you come from?!
:Beret Guy: The past! I traveled here in this time machine.

:[Frame widens to include Cueball, in the same position as in the first frame. Ponytail relaxes a little and Beret Guy turns in the capsule to face Cueball.]
:Cueball: How did you... '''''get''''' here from the past?
:Beret Guy: I dunno. I couldn't '''''not'''''.
:Cueball: But... what did you ''eat?''
:Beret Guy: Newspapers, mostly.

:[Zoom in again in a bigger frame with Ponytail and the capsule, shovel and dirt. Beret Guy faces her again, but now he is holding a hammer.]
:Beret Guy: Anyway, I'm here to kill Hitler.
:Ponytail: But he died long ago!
:Beret Guy: Oh, good! That was easy.
:Beret Guy: Want to get sandwiches?
:Beret Guy: Do you still have sandwiches?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hitler]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Time travel]]

2003: Presidential Succession

2018-07-27T20:07:32Z

108.162.237.172: /* Order of succession */

{{comic
| number = 2003
| date = June 6, 2018
| title = Presidential Succession
| image = presidential_succession.png
| titletext = Ties are broken by whoever was closest to the surface of Europa when they were born.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|United States presidential line of succession}} is the order of people who serve as president if the current incumbent president is incapacitated, dies, resigns, or is removed from office.

The {{w|Presidential_Succession_Act#Presidential_Succession_Act_of_1947|Presidential Succession Act of 1947}} was an act by the U.S. Congress that revised the presidential order of succession to its current order. This Act, though never challenged in the courts, may not be constitutional for two reasons. First, it is unclear whether members of Congress can be designated in the line of succession. Secondly, the Act allows for a cabinet officer to be "replaced" as acting President by a new Speaker of the House or a new President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

An additional concern regarding the Act is that after the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the line of succession list the members of the Cabinet in the order that their department was established with the oldest departments first, irrespective of the Secretary's personal fitness or appropriateness of the office. The Department of Homeland Security is in charge of the security and protection of the United States and its citizens and would probably already be privy to sensitive intelligence and briefings related to national security, but because it is the latest of the Departments to have been established (in 2003), the Secretary of Homeland Security is all the way at the bottom of the current Presidential line of succession at 18th, behind other Secretaries such as that of Agriculture (9th) and Education (16th).

Another practical concern is that, by including the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate immediately after the Vice President, there is a serious risk that the simultaneous death of the President and Vice President could cause the Presidency to change to the opposing party, which (in the current American political climate) could lead to serious political instability at the precise moment when the country is facing a national crisis, and could even encourage assassinations.

The full text of the Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission can be found here: <https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/06_continuity_of_government.pdf>. A short, readable summary, including the report's recommended new line of succession, is here: <https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-continuity-of-the-presidency-the-second-report-of-the-continuity-of-government-commission/>. The first 6 members of the commission's list are included in the current line of succession, after which they specificy that 5 new people should be appointed specifically for the purpose of succeeding the presidency if needed. Randall's list begins with these 11 people (stuffing all 5 of the new appointees into #7); afterwards, his list continues with more politicians, actors who have played Presidents, athletes, and others.

Randall's list omits the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, as well as many other cabinet positions. He is probably simply following the commission's report in this. But perhaps he does not find those people qualified to become President of the United States, or is concerned about the constitutionality of lawmakers becoming President. However, he does not seem to be concerned about constitutionality, because he included the entire line of succession to the British throne, most of whom do not meet the requirement to be a natural-born citizen of the United States.{{Citation needed}} {{w|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_Two_of_the_United_States_Constitution#Clause_5:_Qualifications_for_office|Article Two of the US Constitution}} establishes that the President must be a "{{w|Natural-born-citizen clause|natural-born}}" US citizen at least 35 years of age and had lived in the US for the last 14 years.

Randall's list includes several other people who also might not be eligible to become President either because they are not natural-born U.S. citizens (e.g., as of the time of the comic's publication, {{w|Serena Williams}} had withdrawn from her last match in the {{w|French Open}} to {{w|Maria Sharapova}}, who is Russian) or they are under 35 years of age ({{w|Russell Westbrook}}, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player at the time of the comic's publication, was only 29 years old). These would mainly be athletes due to the relatively global reach of the four major professional sports leagues in North America and the fact that 35 is quite old for a professional athlete, let alone one who is good enough to win the league MVP. Presumably, those who wouldn't qualify for the office of President would be skipped over like in real life -- at the comic's publication, {{w|Elaine Chao}} was the Secretary of Transportation and would normally be 14th in line, but because she is a naturalized citizen of the US (she was born in Taiwan) she would not qualify for the office if the line came to her.

The title text mentions whoever was closest to the surface of {{w|Europa}} when they were born. Europa is a moon of Jupiter and one of the most likely locations in the Solar System for {{w|Habitability of natural satellites|potential habitability}}. Nevertheless it's a completely meaningless way of settling a tie. However, depending on the relative positions of Earth and Jupiter when you were born, you could easily have been tens of millions of kilometers closer. Alternatively, Randall could be playing on how Europa sounds like Europe.

==Order of succession==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!#
!Randall's order
!Current order by the 1947 Act
!Notes
|-
|1
|President
|President
|Not generally considered part of the line of succession, as incumbents cannot "succeed" to their own post. (This should really be item 0 on the list.)
|-
|2
|Vice president
|Vice president
|No change
|-
|3
|Secretary of State
|Speaker of the House of Representatives
|Moved up from 5th position. This is likely a serious suggestion. Existing rules of succession hand Executive power to the leaders of the Legislative branch if the President and Vice-President are both killed or removed from power. This is troubling for a number of reasons. One is that the Executive and Legislative branches are supposed to act as independent checks on one another's power, and so are supposed to be kept separate. Another issue is that the Executive and Legislative branches are frequently controlled by political rivals from different political parties. In such a case, assassins could effectively reverse the results of Presidential elections if they managed to kill the President and Vice-President in a short period of time (which is used as part of the twist ending in {{w|White House Down}}). Additionally, leaders of the House and Senate aren't as deeply connected to the military and diplomatic missions of the country, and so would have a hard time maintaining continuity, particularly if an attack or disaster killed multiple national leaders at once. These problems could all be addressed by keeping the initial Line of Succession confined to the Executive branch of government.
|-
|4
|Secretary of Defense
|President pro tempore of the Senate
|Moved up from 7th position
|-
|5
|Secretary of Homeland Security
|Secretary of State
|Moved up from 19th position, possibly to highlight the Attorney General's place in the current order
|-
|6
|Attorney General
|Secretary of the Treasury
|Moved up from 8th position
|-
|7
|Five people who do not live in Washington DC, nominated at the start of the President's term and confirmed by the Senate
|Secretary of Defense
|{{w|Washington, D.C.}} is the capital of the United States, and is where the {{w|White House}}, the President's residence, is located. Presumably this provision covers the case where much of the government, including positions 1–6 here, are killed by a natural disaster or attack in Washington, D.C.

This suggestion establishes no qualifications for these people, but the fact that they'd need to be confirmed by the Senate suggests that they would be chosen to be competent for the role. It is also unclear if an order is determined among these five or if they take up a joint presidency. This suggestion is taken from the Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission as a potential mechanism to ensure members of succession are not in Washington DC during a catastrophic attack.
|-
|8
|{{w|Tom Hanks}}
|Attorney General
|Academy Award-winning American actor. This is the first unambiguously unserious suggestion.{{Citation needed}} Tom Hanks is very popular and considered exceptionally likeable by many Americans, but has never served in public office or displayed any particular affinity for politics. He has also never played a president, though he has received a {{w|Presidential Medal of Freedom}}, and appeared in a {{w|Last Week Tonight with John Oliver}} [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyPRssh2rk0 skit], where he rallies five (wax) presidents to action. The implication is that Mr. Hanks would be easily accepted as a leader, based solely on his personal charm.
|-
|9
|State Governors, in descending order of state population at last census
|Secretary of the Interior
|Also taken from Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission. At the time of publication, the last {{w|United States Census}} was the 2010 Census. As California is the most populous state, Gov {{w|Jerry Brown}} would be first in line.

See also the {{w|2010_United_States_Census#State_rankings|state population rankings}} and the {{w|list of current United States governors}}. As worded, this criterion would exclude territorial governors (and the Mayor of Washington, D.C.).
|-
|10
|Anyone who won an Oscar for playing a governor
|Secretary of Agriculture
|Oscars, or {{w|Academy Awards}}, are annual film awards awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the time of publication, the only Oscar awarded for playing a governor was {{w|Broderick Crawford}}'s 1949 Best Actor award for the fictional Willie Stark in ''{{w|All the King's Men (1949 film)|All the King's Men}}'' (a character based on {{w|Huey Long}}). However, Crawford died in 1986, so would be unable to serve as President.

May be a reference to the {{w|Political career of Arnold Schwarzenegger}}: a highly-lauded actor who became governor of California, but did not win an Oscar or play a governor before being elected. (As a naturalized citizen, he is also ineligible for the Presidency.)
|-
|11
|Anyone who won a Governor's award for playing someone named Oscar
|Secretary of Commerce
|The {{w|Governors Awards}} are an annual award ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to present lifetime achievement awards within the film industry. As this award is a lifetime achievement award, it does not seem possible that an actor could win this award for simply playing someone named Oscar. Notwithstanding the nature of the award, at the time of publication, no recipient of a Governors Award has played a character named Oscar.

Obviously, the joke is that changing the order of the words from the previous proposal produces something that could actually exist.
|-
|12
|{{w|Kate McKinnon}}, if available
|Secretary of Labor
|Comedic actress famous for being a cast member on {{w|Saturday Night Live}}. She is known for her character work and celebrity impressions. She has recently done impersonations of members of the Trump administration including Spokeswoman {{w|Kellyanne Conway}} and Attorney General {{w|Jeff Sessions}}. She also played {{w|Hillary Clinton}} during the 2016 campaign and presumably would have played her when she was President had she won; but since Clinton lost, McKinnon has not actually played a President.
|-
|13
|Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles artists #1 through #10 (for groups, whoever is credited first in name, liner notes, etc)
|Secretary of Health and Human Services
|The {{w|Billboard Hot 100}} is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. The weekly data is aggregated into a cumulative {{w|Billboard Year-End}} (based on a "year" that ends the third week of November, in order to meet December publication deadlines). At the time of publication, the most recent such list was the {{w|Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2017}}.

Based on that list, the artists considered for the presidential succession would be: {{w|Ed Sheeran}}, {{w|Luis Fonsi}}, {{w|Bruno Mars}}, {{w|Kendrick Lamar}}, Alex Pall (of {{w|The Chainsmokers}}), {{w|Quavo|Quavoius Keyate Marshall}} (of {{w|Migos}}), {{w|Sam Hunt}}, {{w|Dan Reynolds}} (of {{w|Imagine Dragons}}), and {{w|Post Malone}}. There are only nine names instead of ten because The Chainsmokers had two of the top 10 singles in 2017. Of these, only Luis Fonsi (40 years old, born in Puerto Rico) is legally eligible for the office; Sheeran is from the UK, and the other seven are too young.
|-
|14
|The top 5 US astronauts in descending order of total spaceflight time
|Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
|Astronauts are highly respected and rigorously selected, but most have little involvement in politics. According to [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-station-astronaut-record-holders NASA], the top 5 US astronauts by cumulative space time are: {{w|Peggy Whitson}}, {{w|Jeffrey Williams (astronaut)|Jeff Williams}}, {{W|Scott Kelly (astronaut)|Scott Kelly}}, {{w|Mike Fincke}}, and {{w|Mike Foale}}. However, it isn't clear whether Foale would qualify as a natural-born citizen as he was born in the UK and his father is British but his mother is American.
|-
|15
|{{w|Serena Williams}} (or, if she lost her most recent match, whoever beat her)
|Secretary of Transportation
|As of the time of publication, Serena Williams was the top female tennis player (though not the world #1 ranking, because she took time off for pregnancy). She is arguably the greatest female tennis player of all-time, winning 39 {{w|Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam}} titles, including 23 women's singles titles. At the time of publication Serena Williams did win her most recent match (2018 French Open, third round, on June 2nd), although she withdrew from her next match against Maria Sharapova (which perhaps should count as a loss, especially if she withdrew in order to preserve her place in the line of succession and led the terrorist attack that killed everybody in place ahead of her).

If her most recent defeat was to a non-US player, presumably she would be skipped over in line although this is not explicitly stated (the current succession list skips over anyone who would not normally qualify for not being a natural-born US citizen).
|-
|16
|The most recent season NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL MVPs
|Secretary of Energy
|MVP stands for {{w|Most Valuable Player}}. The 4 listed leagues are the major sports leagues in the United States, the {{w|National Basketball Association}} (NBA), the {{w|National Football League}} (NFL), {{w|Major League Baseball}} (MLB), and the {{w|National Hockey League}} (NHL). We're assuming that Randall meant the regular season MVPs of each league, as each league also awards MVPs for their respective championships (or in the case of the NHL's {{w|Conn Smythe Trophy}}, their entire playoffs).

As of the time of publication, the most recent MVPs for the listed sports were {{w|Russell Westbrook}} (NBA), {{w|Tom Brady}} (NFL), {{w|José Altuve}} and {{w|Giancarlo Stanton}} (MLB has two, one for the American League and one for the National League), and {{w|Connor McDavid}} (NHL). Of these, only Brady would qualify for the list - Altuve and McDavid are not US citizens (the former is from Venezuela and the latter from Canada), and Westbrook (29) and Stanton (28) are too young.
|-
|17
|{{w|Bill Pullman}} and his descendants by absolute primogeniture
|Secretary of Education
|American actor, known for playing President Thomas J. Whitmore in the 1996 film ''{{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Independence Day}}''.

Absolute primogeniture is a form of succession where the oldest direct descendant regardless of gender receives the title. This is contrasted to {{w|Male-preference primogeniture}}, in which males come before females in the order of the throne, whether the males were born first or not. This may be a reference to the British law {{w|Succession to the Crown Act 2013}}, which changed the order of the throne from male-preference primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. This act allows {{w|Princess Charlotte of Cambridge|Princess Charlotte}} to retain her place in line before {{w|Prince Louis of Cambridge|Prince Louis}}.

As of the present, Pullman's immediate descendants consist of three children, with Maesa Pullman being the oldest at age 29, so all are currently too young for the presidency.
|-
|18
|The entire line of succession to the British throne
|Secretary of Veterans Affairs
|According to the Constitution, only a natural-born citizen of the United States can become President, which means that at least most of the line of succession to the British throne is ineligible. However, it is possible that someone in the line of succession to the British throne either is a dual citizen (especially one who is a U.S. citizen based on place of birth and a British citizen based on having a parent who was a British citizen descended from {{w|Sophia of Hanover}}) or is not British (a person from outside of Britain can become King; for example, some, including George I, were from what is now Germany).

The first 57 names on the list are {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne#Current_line_of_succession|here}}, as of the time of publication. [https://lineofsuccession.co.uk/?date=2018-06-06 British Line of Succession on 6 June 2018] shows the list as it was at the comic's publication. American citizens [http://articles.latimes.com/1988-02-11/news/vw-42233_1_royal-house have, at times] been on the list, but no natural-born Americans are currently in the top 100. In theory, however, the full British succession list includes several thousand people (living descendants of {{w|Sophia of Hanover}} who are not Roman Catholic or otherwise disqualified), and it is possible that one or more such people would also be eligible to be President of the United States.

The humor here derives from the fact that the United States was established by declaring independence from the United Kingdom, with rejection of the British monarchy being a basic founding principle, and a core principle of US governance. To appoint the British monarchy to the American presidency would contradict the basic goals of American independence. Alternatively, it may reference the recent wedding of {{w|Prince Harry}} to {{w|Meghan Markle}}, although she is not in the order of succession to the British throne (and she is planning to give up her U.S. citizenship in favour of British citizenship, so her children (who would come immediately after Harry in the British line of succession) would not be born U.S. citizens either). A similar sequence of events was the plotline of the comedy film ''{{w|King Ralph}}'', which saw an American become the British monarch after the death of the royal family.
|-
|19
|The current champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest
|Secretary of Homeland Security
|The {{w|Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest}} is an annual American hot dog competitive eating competition sponsored by {{w|Nathan's Famous}} held on July 4th. As of the time of publication, the most recent men's winner is {{w|Joey Chestnut}} and the women's winner is {{w|Miki Sudo}}. Neither is currently old enough to assume the office.
|-
|20
|All other US citizens, chosen by a 29-round single-elimination Jousting tournament
|''None''
|Effective for a population up to 536,870,912 individuals (2^29) which would be enough to cover the entire US population (estimated at around 325 million at time of publication), although additional rounds can be added should the population grow further.

This is probably a reference to the {{w|Matter of Britain}} (e.g., {{w|The Sword in the Stone (film)|The Sword in the Stone}}), where, after the death of Uther Pendragon, with no known successor to the throne of England for years, it is decided that the winner of a jousting tournament shall be crowned. However, Arthur, the Wart, pulls the Sword from the Stone.
|}

===List of specific individuals===
Based on the comic's defined criteria for the order of succession, these are the specific individuals in that order, including only people who are otherwise eligible to be the President of United States (35 year old and natural born US citizens who lived in US for last 14 years) as of the date the comic was published:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Order
!Name
!Reason
!Notes
|-
|1
|{{w|Donald Trump}}
|{{w|President of the United States}}
|
|-
|2
|{{w|Mike Pence}}
|{{w|Vice President of the United States}}
|
|-
|3
|{{w|Mike Pompeo}}
|{{w|United States Secretary of State}}
|
|-
|4
|{{w|Jim Mattis}}
|{{w|United States Secretary of Defense}}
|
|-
|5
|{{w|Kirstjen Nielsen}}
|{{w|United States Secretary of Homeland Security}}
|
|-
|6
|{{w|Jeff Sessions}}
|{{w|United States Attorney General}}
|
|-
|7
|{{w|Tom Hanks}}
|Tom Hanks
|As Donald Trump did not appoint anyone to fill position #7 on Randall's line of succession, Hanks immediately follows after Sessions.
|-
|8
|{{w|Jerry Brown}}
|Governor of California
|
|-
|9
|{{w|Greg Abbott}}
|Governor of Texas
|
|-
|10
|{{w|Andrew Cuomo}}
|Governor of New York
|
|-
|11
|{{w|Rick Scott}}
|Governor of Florida
|
|-
|12
|{{w|Bruce Rauner}}
|Governor of Illinois
|
|-
|13
|{{w|Tom Wolf}}
|Governor of Pennsylvania
|
|-
|14
|{{w|John Kasich}}
|Governor of Ohio
|
|-
|15
|{{w|Rick Snyder}}
|Governor of Michigan
|
|-
|16
|{{w|Nathan Deal}}
|Governor of Georgia
|
|-
|17
|{{w|Roy Cooper}}
|Governor of North Carolina
|
|-
|18
|{{w|Phil Murphy}}
|Governor of New Jersey
|
|-
|19
|{{w|Ralph Northam}}
|Governor of Virginia
|
|-
|20
|{{w|Jay Inslee}}
|Governor of Washington
|
|-
|21
|{{w|Charlie Baker}}
|Governor of Massachusetts
|
|-
|22
|{{w|Eric Holcomb}}
|Governor of Indiana
|
|-
|23
|{{w|Doug Ducey}}
|Governor of Arizona
|
|-
|24
|{{w|Bill Haslam}}
|Governor of Tennessee
|
|-
|25
|{{w|Mike Parson}}
|Governor of Missouri
|
|-
|26
|{{w|Larry Hogan}}
|Governor of Maryland
|
|-
|27
|{{w|Scott Walker (politician)|Scott Walker}}
|Governor of Wisconsin
|
|-
|28
|{{w|Mark Dayton}}
|Governor of Minnesota
|
|-
|29
|{{w|John Hickenlooper}}
|Governor of Colorado
|
|-
|30
|{{w|Kay Ivey}}
|Governor of Alabama
|
|-
|31
|{{w|Henry McMaster}}
|Governor of South Carolina
|
|-
|32
|{{w|John Bel Edwards}}
|Governor of Louisiana
|
|-
|33
|{{w|Matt Bevin}}
|Governor of Kentucky
|
|-
|33
|{{w|Kate Brown}}
|Governor of Oregon
|Born in Spain to a member of the US Air Force, should be considered a natural-born citizen until proven otherwise.
|-
|35
|{{w|Mary Fallin}}
|Governor of Oklahoma
|
|-
|36
|{{w|Dannel Malloy}}
|Governor of Connecticut
|
|-
|37
|{{w|Kim Reynolds}}
|Governor of Iowa
|
|-
|38
|{{w|Phil Bryant}}
|Governor of Mississippi
|
|-
|39
|{{w|Asa Hutchinson}}
|Governor of Arkansas
|
|-
|40
|{{w|Jeff Colyer}}
|Governor of Kansas
|
|-
|41
|{{w|Gary Herbert}}
|Governor of Utah
|
|-
|42
|{{w|Brian Sandoval}}
|Governor of Nevada
|
|-
|43
|{{w|Susana Martinez}}
|Governor of New Mexico
|
|-
|44
|{{w|Jim Justice}}
|Governor of West Virginia
|
|-
|45
|{{w|Pete Ricketts}}
|Governor of Nebraska
|
|-
|46
|{{w|Butch Otter}}
|Governor of Idaho
|
|-
|47
|{{w|David Ige}}
|Governor of Hawaii
|
|-
|48
|{{w|Paul LePage}}
|Governor of Maine
|
|-
|49
|{{w|Chris Sununu}}
|Governor of New Hampshire
|
|-
|50
|{{w|Gina Raimondo}}
|Governor of Rhode Island
|
|-
|51
|{{w|Steve Bullock (American politician)|Steve Bullock}}
|Governor of Montana
|
|-
|52
|{{w|John Carney (politician)|John Carney}}
|Governor of Delaware
|
|-
|53
|{{w|Dennis Daugaard}}
|Governor of South Dakota
|
|-
|54
|{{w|Bill Walker (U.S. politician)|Bill Walker}}
|Governor of Alaska
|
|-
|55
|{{w|Doug Burgum}}
|Governor of North Dakota
|
|-
|56
|{{w|Phil Scott (politician)|Phil Scott}}
|Governor of Vermont
|
|-
|57
|{{w|Matt Mead}}
|Governor of Wyoming
|
|-
|58
|{{w|Kate McKinnon}}
|Kate MicKinnon
|If she is available. Entries #10 and 11 on Randall's list have no eligible members.
|-
|59
|{{w|Luis Fonsi}}
|Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2017, #2 artist
|Fonsi is the only eligible individual under the Billboard criterion.
|-
|60
|{{w|Peggy Whitson}}
|Astronaut, 665 days in space
|
|-
|61
|{{w|Jeffrey Williams (astronaut)|Jeff Williams}}
|Astronaut, 534 days in space
|
|-
|62
|{{w|Scott Kelly}}
|Astronaut, 520 days in space
|
|-
|63
|{{w|Mike Fincke}}
|Astronaut, 382 days in space
|
|-
|64
|{{w|Mike Foale}}
|Astronaut, 374 days in space
|Foale was born in the UK but his mother is an American, and he holds dual citizenship with both countries. It isn't clear legally whether this situation would qualify him as being a "natural-born" citizen as US courts have never definitively ruled on what the term means, so similar to Governor Kate Brown his name is included in the list until further notice.
|-
|65
|{{w|Angelique Kerber}}
|Angelique Kerber
|Serena's most recently lost to German-born Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon finals, so all subsequent entries move up one position.
|-
|66
|{{w|Tom Brady}}
|{{w|National Football League Most Valuable Player Award|NFL MVP}}
|The MVPs of all other listed sports leagues are ineligible for the office due to age or nationality.
|-
|67
|{{w|Bill Pullman}}
|Bill Pullman
|None of his children are old enough to become President at this time.
|-
|68-100,000,000+
|''everyone else''
|Jousting tournament
|Assumes that no eligible member of the British order of succession exists due to citizenship issues. The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating champions are too young to hold the office. further assumes that the number of eligible US-Citizens does not exceed 536,870,912
|}

==Transcript==
: A proposal for a new presidential line of succession
: Current politics aside, most experts agree the existing process is flawed. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 is probably unconstitutional on several counts, and there are many practical issues with the system as well.
: (For more, see the surprisingly gripping ''Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission'', June 2009.)
: Proposed line of succession:
:# President
:# Vice president
:# Secretary of State
:# Secretary of Defense
:# Secretary of Homeland Security
:# Attorney General
:# Five people who do not live in Washington DC, nominated at the start of the president's term and confirmed by the Senate
:# Tom Hanks
:# State Governors, in descending order of state population at last census
:# Anyone who won an Oscar for playing a governor
:# Anyone who won a Governor's award for playing someone named Oscar
:# Kate McKinnon, if available
:# Billboard year-end Hot 100 singles artists #1 through #10 (for groups, whoever is credited first in name, liner notes, etc)
:# The top 5 US astronauts in descending order of total spaceflight time
:# Serena Williams (or, if she lost her most recent match, whoever beat her)
:# The most recent season NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL MVPs
:# Bull Pullman and his descendants by absolute primogeniture
:# The entire line of succession to the British throne
:# The current champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest
:# All other US citizens, chosen by a 29-round single-elimination Jousting tournament

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Politics]]

Talk:536: Space Elevators

2016-08-20T23:55:44Z

108.162.237.172:

It could also be that Cueball misunderstood the 'stop laughing' part to mean stop laughing in general not related to a specific topic (in this case the space elevator) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.212|162.158.90.212]] 09:19, 16 October 2015 (UTC)
Does it look like Randall is paying homage to Calvin and Hobbes here?

Talk:928: Mimic Octopus

2016-07-25T18:35:23Z

108.162.237.172:

How does the mimic octopus manage to mimic multiple fish? Does it split it's own body up or something? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:30, 8 January 2013 (UTC)
:"When under attack, some octopuses can perform arm autotomy, in a similar manner to the way skinks and other lizards detach their tails. The crawling arm serves as a distraction to would-be predators. Such severed arms remain sensitive to stimuli and move away from unpleasant sensations.[23]"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus#Defense] {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.113}}
::Fine, but in the SCUBA diver depiction, would it really need to rip parts out of itself to mimic bubbles? I don't think that that is quite necessary. {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.131}}
:::It could also hypothetically mimic bubbles by *actually blowing bubbles*. (No word on how it does this.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.30|108.162.216.30]] 02:36, 2 January 2016 (UTC)Anon
::::Simple: This is a 2D {{w|Tomography|cut-out}} of the octopus mimicking the fishes or the scuba '''in 3D'''. It assumes a very complex figure, so that in the cut-out we only see the 2D pictures above. {{unsigned ip|162.158.83.144}}

For the record, octopus is from the Greek ὀκτάπους, a compound of ὀκτά (eight) and πούς (foot); πούς is a third declension masculine noun, whose plural is πόδες. Therefore, the etymologically correct plural of octopus should be octopodes, not (as Orson Scott Card suggests) octopoda, since πούς is not a neuter.
:Actually, it would be "octopuses", as it showed up ''after'' the regularization of English plurals to a final -s. As the video in the explanation explains, someone in the Victorian Grammarian Era "realized" it was "Latin" and pluralized it as such. This caught on and still haunts us to this day. "Octopdes" was coined around the same time by a more observant someone, who realized it was actually Greek. Personally, I avoid the whole trichotomy by saying "octopods". Unrelated etymologically, but has the same meaning and is unequivocally regular. Anonymous 08:08, 5 December 2013 (UTC)

Has anyone checked to see if the title text is true? Whether it is or not, this should be added to the description. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.18|108.162.212.18]] 11:53, 16 October 2015 (UTC)

What exactly is the pun here? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.78|199.27.133.78]] 00:53, 13 July 2016 (UTC)
:I don't know, either!?! "''Too many'' octopuses"???

Talk:1659: Tire Swing

2016-03-24T04:44:48Z

108.162.237.172:

my explanation of the comic, which was sort-of obsoleted by someones edit:
<blockquote>Girl1 and Girls2 just finished making a tire swing. They did not use a discarded tire but rather stole one, even fighting the rightful owner turning the theft into a robbery.</blockquote>

the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.
I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}

I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

:The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

::As the tire comes from a truck and it's diameter is more than half the height of these small girls they are definitely kids (not that Randall could not have made adults make a swing as like in [[150]]). Also this makes it much more funny that they both stole a car and beat up an angry adult. And now they are going all environmental after wards. So they are not Megan (which looks nothing like a curly haired girl) and also not Hair Bun Girl as it is defined that these characters are adults. There are many stories using kids and they will never represent Cueball, Megan or Ponytail etc. Those with hats are for instance never drawn small! Have thus corrected the explanation. But it still seems to miss much more on the environmental issue which is the subject/point of the comic if not the joke --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:19, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

:She looks like the girl in #1058, who is also a child. I feel like she's been in multiple strips but I didn't see a tag for her anywhere.

Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
:Then they would have lost the fight: [[433: Journal 5]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
:I think you are correct. We have one for our kids (though it sucked and we took it down again) and that was a brand new tire, but not one I think would be suitable for any car though. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
::Not sure how that's relevant, would you explain for me? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 00:42, 24 March 2016 (UTC)
:::I think it's relevant because the previous post was about whether tire swings were made out of used tires. You can make them out of used tires if you use good ones. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.172|108.162.237.172]] 04:44, 24 March 2016 (UTC)

1204: Detail

2014-07-18T21:39:54Z

108.162.237.172: Fixed a typo (imcreasing --> increasing)

{{comic
| number = 1204
| date = April 26, 2013
| title = Detail
| image = detail.png
| titletext = 2031: Google defends the swiveling roof-mounted scanning electron microscopes on its Street View cars, saying they 'don't reveal anything that couldn't be seen by any pedestrian scanning your house with an electron microscope.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Google Earth}} is a mapping software service provided by Google that allows people to view the Earth from above. If zoomed in to maximum magnification, one can obtain clear views of individual streets and homes.

An image's {{w|Optical resolution|resolution}} is the smallest length detectable in that image. In terms of Google Earth, this refers to the real-life distance corresponding to one pixel in an aerial image. [[Randall]] points out that the level of detail in Google Earth's images has been increasing exponentially since its introduction, as aerial imaging technology improves and better ways of collecting the data are found. Each tick in the scale represents a resolution improvement by 1000 times.

In {{w|quantum mechanics}}, the {{w|Planck length}} is (in layman's terms) the smallest measurable distance, defined as approximately 1.6×10−35 meters, or around 1020 times smaller than the diameter of a proton. As the graph indicates, this may be called the "resolution" of the universe.

Randall extrapolates the exponential trend of Google Earth's increasing resolution, 'revealing' that by the year 2120 or so, Google Earth's resolution will approach and even possibly exceed the Planck length, an obviously fanciful and impossible idea. Current laboratory instruments cannot even get close to measuring the Planck length, barely able to reach the level of the atom.

Other comics exploring unwarranted extrapolation include [[605: Extrapolating]], [[1007: Sustainable]] and [[1281: Minifigs]].

The title text refers to controversy that Google received at one point regarding their use of vehicle-mounted {{w|Google Street View|Street View}} cameras to take images of streets and houses, and how such photography could constitute an invasion of privacy. Google defended itself by stating that the cameras can see nothing more than a pedestrian walking by. Given the trendline in this comic however, Google would need to produce resolution in the nanometer range by 2031, which (using today's technology) would require the use of {{w|scanning electron microscope}}s. The same 'invasion of privacy' defense would obviously not work here, as 1) current scanning electron microscopes in labs can only be used with small specimens at very close range, and are completely unsuitable for observing something as large as a house or for observations from a passing car, and 2) it is probably not too likely for the average pedestrian to be equipped with such a microscope.

==Transcript==
:My Neighborhood's Resolution in:
:[A two-axis graph with years from 2000 to 2100 plotted on the x-axis and resolution from 1 meter to the Planck length plotted on a logarithmic scale on the y-axis. Three points in a line close to (~2010, 1 meter) are plotted at the bottom left of the graph; they have a strong positive correlation. Two trendlines are drawn on the graph; one is labeled "Earth" and remains constant at the Planck length over time; the other is labeled "Google Earth" and connects the aforementioned three points, extending upward in a straight line and approaching the Planck length around 2100. Both trendlines break up into question marks before the point they would intersect.]

==Trivia==
* An earlier version of this comic misspelled "neighborhood" as "neghborhood". This has since been corrected.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Extrapolation]]
[[Category:Google Maps]]