explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

141: Parody Week: Achewood

2015-06-01T18:52:58Z

108.162.237.192: Fixed incorrect word

{{comic
| number = 141
| date = August 14, 2006
| title = Parody Week: Achewood
| image = achewood.png
| titletext = I always wanted to impress them with how well I could hear, didn't you? Also, this sets the record for number of awkward-pause panels in one strip (previously held by Achewood)
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Achewood}} is a webcomic by {{w|Chris Onstad}}. It portrays the lives of a group of anthropomorphic stuffed toys, robots, and pets. The comic's humor often lacks a traditional punchline, and utilizes numerous awkward pause panels.

This comic includes three of the prominent characters from the strip: Phillippe, Ray and Roast Beef. In the first panel, Phillippe is dreaming of having his ears checked. There's an eye chart on the wall behind him. The doctor informs him that because of his superhearing power he is needed at Hogwarts.

Afterwards, the comic is a conversation between Roast Beef and Ray about Ray being invited to participate in what seem to be a talent show, with no further reference to Philippe.

The comic is written in the style of Onstad and his humor. The last 11 panels are "awkward-pause panels", which are used frequently in Achewood, in what appears to be a joke about overuse of dialogue-free panels. This joke is continued in the title-text, where [[[Randall]]] claims that this strip set the record for panels of this kind, previously held by Archewood.

Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song is a 1971 {{w|Blaxploitation}}film that is generally regarded as an exemplar of its genre.

This comic is a part of the Parody Week, just joking about other webcomics.
*[[141: Parody Week: Achewood]]
*[[142: Parody Week: Megatokyo]]
*[[143: Parody Week: TFD and Natalie Dee]]
*[[144: Parody Week: A Softer World]]
*[[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]]

==Transcript==
:Doctor (out of frame): Philippe, your hearing is perfect! In fact, you heard ALL the beeps! You have super-hearing! You're needed at Hogwarts!
:Philippe: Oh boy!
:Meanwhile ...
:Ray: Beef, check this out. I got an invite to that The Dude Is Pretty Awesome In Most Measurable Ways I Mean Wow competition.
:Beef: Alright that is pretty sweet dogg what is your strategy gonna consist of
:Ray: I'm thinkin' I need to point out my best features--maybe go holdin' a sign with an arrow toward my junk.
:[A panel with Ray holding a sign with "Yes." in bold text and an arrow pointing down and across.]
:Beef: Yeah well I always said subtlety was your middle name dogg
:Beef: And also your first and last in case they didn't get the point
:Ray: How do you think I should play it?
:Beef: Well basically you got no chance as I see it these dudes are all lovers and fighters to the last
:Beef: All sprung fully formed from the head of Sweet Sweetback
:Beef: You are gonna stand out as the sort of dude who stays at home all night playing fleshlight tag
:Ray: These words you got are crazy. Didn't I win the outdoor fight?
:Beef: Uh huh about the fight I wasn't gonna tell you but how could you miss that I was setting you up
:Ray: What?
:Beef: You got played dogg
:Beef: I basically just didn't have the heart to go through with it in the end.
:Beef: Anyway the point is that you are gonna lose this thing so hard
:Beef: All cheap McD's hamburger to their slabs of steak
:Beef: A couple 12-oz sirloins garnished with nothing but pure manhood
:Beef: Maybe some sprigs of parsley
:Beef: You are pretty much going down
:[Closeup of a shocked Ray.]
:[Silence.]
:[Silence. Beef looks perturbed and his ear is twitching. Ray's mouth is open.]
:[Silence. Beef looks sorry.]
:[Silence. Beef looks sorry and Ray looks annoyed.]
:[Silence.]
:[Silence.]
:[Silence. Beef is looking down and Ray's mouth is open.]
:[Silence.]
:[Silence. Beef is looking down and Ray's mouth is open.]
:[Silence. Beef looks surprised.]

==Trivia==
*According to [[Randall]], it also mildly references to {{w|Athena#Birth|The birth of Greek Goddess Athena}}.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Parody Week]]

141: Parody Week: Achewood

2015-06-01T18:51:31Z

108.162.237.192: Fixed grammar, spelling, sentence fluency

{{comic
| number = 141
| date = August 14, 2006
| title = Parody Week: Achewood
| image = achewood.png
| titletext = I always wanted to impress them with how well I could hear, didn't you? Also, this sets the record for number of awkward-pause panels in one strip (previously held by Achewood)
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Achewood}} is a webcomic by {{w|Chris Onstad}}. It portrays the lives of a group of anthropomorphic stuffed toys, robots, and pets. The comic's humor often lacks a traditional punchline, and utilizes numerous awkward pause panels.

This comic includes three of the prominent characters from the strip: Phillippe, Ray and Roast Beef. In the first panel, Phillippe is dreaming of having his ears checked. There's an eye chart on the wall behind him. The doctor informs him that because of his superhearing power he is needed at Hogwarts.

Afterwards, the comic is a conversation between Roast Beef and Ray about Ray being invited to participate in what seem to be a talent show, with no further reference to Philippe.

The comic is written in the style of Onstad and his humor. The last 11 panels are "awkward-pause panels", which are used frequently in Achewood, in what appears to be a joke about overuse of dialogue-free panels. This joke is continued in the title-text, where [[[Randall]]] claims that this strip set the record for panels of this kind, previously held by Archewood.

Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song is a 1971 {{w|Blaxploitation}}film that is generally regarded as an exemplar of this genre.

This comic is a part of the Parody Week, just joking about other webcomics.
*[[141: Parody Week: Achewood]]
*[[142: Parody Week: Megatokyo]]
*[[143: Parody Week: TFD and Natalie Dee]]
*[[144: Parody Week: A Softer World]]
*[[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]]

==Transcript==
:Doctor (out of frame): Philippe, your hearing is perfect! In fact, you heard ALL the beeps! You have super-hearing! You're needed at Hogwarts!
:Philippe: Oh boy!
:Meanwhile ...
:Ray: Beef, check this out. I got an invite to that The Dude Is Pretty Awesome In Most Measurable Ways I Mean Wow competition.
:Beef: Alright that is pretty sweet dogg what is your strategy gonna consist of
:Ray: I'm thinkin' I need to point out my best features--maybe go holdin' a sign with an arrow toward my junk.
:[A panel with Ray holding a sign with "Yes." in bold text and an arrow pointing down and across.]
:Beef: Yeah well I always said subtlety was your middle name dogg
:Beef: And also your first and last in case they didn't get the point
:Ray: How do you think I should play it?
:Beef: Well basically you got no chance as I see it these dudes are all lovers and fighters to the last
:Beef: All sprung fully formed from the head of Sweet Sweetback
:Beef: You are gonna stand out as the sort of dude who stays at home all night playing fleshlight tag
:Ray: These words you got are crazy. Didn't I win the outdoor fight?
:Beef: Uh huh about the fight I wasn't gonna tell you but how could you miss that I was setting you up
:Ray: What?
:Beef: You got played dogg
:Beef: I basically just didn't have the heart to go through with it in the end.
:Beef: Anyway the point is that you are gonna lose this thing so hard
:Beef: All cheap McD's hamburger to their slabs of steak
:Beef: A couple 12-oz sirloins garnished with nothing but pure manhood
:Beef: Maybe some sprigs of parsley
:Beef: You are pretty much going down
:[Closeup of a shocked Ray.]
:[Silence.]
:[Silence. Beef looks perturbed and his ear is twitching. Ray's mouth is open.]
:[Silence. Beef looks sorry.]
:[Silence. Beef looks sorry and Ray looks annoyed.]
:[Silence.]
:[Silence.]
:[Silence. Beef is looking down and Ray's mouth is open.]
:[Silence.]
:[Silence. Beef is looking down and Ray's mouth is open.]
:[Silence. Beef looks surprised.]

==Trivia==
*According to [[Randall]], it also mildly references to {{w|Athena#Birth|The birth of Greek Goddess Athena}}.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Parody Week]]

1529: Bracket

2015-05-26T13:00:36Z

108.162.237.192: Added part about forgetting to turn off the Doctor from Voyager

{{comic
| number = 1529
| date = May 25, 2015
| title = Bracket
| image = bracket.png
| titletext = I'm staring at the "doctor" section, and I can't help but feel like I've forgotten someone.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain the specific groupings and probabilities.}}
A {{w|Bracket (tournament)|tournament bracket}} shows the planned series of matchups in a tournament. In this comic Randall has shown a plan for a tournament between a wide range of cultural icons, both real and fictional, based mostly on similarities in their names. Various Internet groups have speculated on who would win in a fight between characters from different films. It may be relevant that the film {{w|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}} is soon to be released where the two namesake {{w|superheros}}, {{w|Batman}} and {{w|Superman}}, fight against each other.

The individual starting pairings are generally based on common or similar given or surnames. Some adjacent brackets are "segued" by someone like Jeff Daniels who segues from a bracket of "Jeff"s into a bracket of "Daniels"es. The bracket itself is fairly arbitrary. Most initial matchups are pairs, although several are trios and there's a quadruplet in the Russels group, while a single entry, Beyoncé, is given a first- and second-round {{w|bye (sports)|bye}}. Most of the participants in the tournament are people with a few exceptions. {{w|Shallots}} (small onions), {{w|scallops}} (bivalve mollusks), and {{w|scallions}} (green onions) are similar sounding foods, therefore may be confusing for some individuals (perhaps including [[Randall]]). The final grouping on the lower right of the bracket features a several retail stores and a film.

The [[title text]] may be referring to {{w|Dr. Dre}}, particularly as a reference to his 2001 song "{{w|Forgot About Dre}}" or it could be a reference to {{w|Dr. Who}} where {{w|Asylum of the Daleks}} the Dalek's memory of The Doctor is wiped implying that Randall is a {{w|Dalek}}. Alternatively, the title text could simply be a reference to the large number of pop culture personas that include the word "Doctor", such as {{w|Gregory House|Doctor House}}, {{w|Mehmet Oz|Dr. Oz}}, {{w|Phil McGraw|Dr. Phil}}, {{w|Dr. Watson}}, {{w|Emmett Brown|"Doc" Brown}}, {{w|Dr. Seuss}}, {{w|Dr Pepper}}, {{w|Doctor Doom}}, and {{w|List of fictional doctors|many others}} (or, in fact, [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/futurama-zoidberg-why-not-zoidberg why not Dr. Zoidberg]?). Another possibility is that the [[title text]] is supposed to make the readers ask themselves "{{w|Doctor who}}?" Though "The Doctor" is already listed, this could refer to either {{w|The Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor from ''Doctor Who''}} or {{w|Doctor (Star Trek: Voyager)|the ''Star Trek: Voyager'' character}}, whom the Voyager crew was always forgetting to deactivate (and sometimes evacuate from the vessel). Notably, while the Doctor in "Doctor Who" is technically one character, the Doctor has currently been played on screen by 13 different actors. The mythos of the Doctor Who even includes individual incarnations of the Doctor interacting with each other; knowing they are the same person, yet often expressing annoyance when grouped together. So perhaps Randall is implying that to just include the Doctor as one individual is not an accurate representation of this character.

The names and other entries in the bracket are:

{| class="wikitable"
!Grouping
!Person/Entry
!Known as
!Winning probability
|-
|rowspan="4"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> Armstrong
|{{w|Louis Armstrong}}
|Musician
| rowspan="4" |1/32
|-
|{{w|Neil Armstrong}}
|First human on the moon
|-
|{{w|Lance Armstrong}}
|Cyclist
|-
|{{w|Stretch Armstrong}}
|Action figure
|-
|rowspan="2"|Jeff *
|Jeff Gordan (Probably {{w|Jeff Gordon}})
|Race car driver
| rowspan="8" |1/64
|-
|{{w|Jeff Bridges}}
|Actor
|-
|rowspan="2"|J* Daniels
|{{w|Jeff Daniels}}
|Actor in ''Dumb and Dumber''
|-
|{{w|Jack Daniels}}
|Alcoholic beverages
|-
|rowspan="2"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> Well*s
|{{w|Orson Welles}}
|Director of ''{{w|Citizen Kane'' and known for his {{w|The War of the Worlds (radio drama)|radio-play}} of {{w|H. G. Wells}}' ''{{w|The War of the Worlds}}''
|-
|{{w|H.G. Wells}}
|Author, known for ''The War of the Worlds'' and ''{{w|The Time Machine}}''
|-
|rowspan="2"|<nowiki>*</nowiki>well*
|{{w|George Orwell}}
|Author of ''{{w|Nineteen Eighty-Four}}'' and ''{{w|Animal Farm}}''
|-
|{{w|Wells Fargo}}
|Bank and stage coach company
|-
|rowspan="4"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> Russell *
|{{w|Kurt Russell}}
|Actor
| rowspan="4" |1/128
|-
|{{w|Russell Brand}}
|Comedian
|-
|{{w|Russell Crowe}}
|Actor
|-
|{{w|Russell Simmons}}
|Rapper
|-
|rowspan="2"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> Simmons
|{{w|Richard Simmons}}
|Host of exercise program
| rowspan="2" |1/64
|-
|{{w|Gene Simmons}}
|Musician
|-
|rowspan="3"|<nowiki>*</nowiki>ckman
|{{w|Gene Hackman}}
|Actor
| rowspan="3" |1/96
|-
|{{w|Hugh Jackman}}
|Actor in the ''{{w|X-Men}}'' franchise as {{w|Wolverine (character)|Wolverine}}
|-
|{{w|Alan Rickman}}
|Actor
|-
|rowspan="2"|Alan Par*
|{{w|Alan Parsons}}
|Musician
| rowspan="6" |1/64
|-
|{{w|Alan Partridge}}
|Fictional radio character
|-
|rowspan="4"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> McCarthy/Eugene *
|{{w|Jenny McCarthy}}
|Anti-vaccination activist
|-
|{{w|Joseph McCarthy}}
|Senator known for anti-communist witchhunt
|-
|{{w|Eugene McCarthy}}
|Senator and Presidential candidate
|-
|{{w|Eugene V. Debs}}
|Labor leader
|-
|rowspan="3"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> Wilde*
|{{w|Gene Wilder}}
|Actor
| rowspan="3" |1/96
|-
|{{w|Olivia Wilde}}
|Actress
|-
|{{w|Oscar Wilde}}
|Writer
|-
|rowspan="2"|Oscar De La *
|{{w|Oscar De La Renta}}
|Fashion Designer
| rowspan="2" |1/32
|-
|{{w|Oscar De La Hoya}}
|Boxer
|-
|rowspan="2"|Jack Nic*
|{{w|Jack Nicklaus}}
|Golf player
| rowspan="8" |1/32
|-
|{{w|Jack Nicholson}}
|Actor
|-
|rowspan="2"|<nowiki>*</nowiki>ickle* / *ickel*
|{{w|Phil Mickelson}}
|Golf player
|-
|{{w|Nicholas Nickelby}}
|Novel by Charles Dickens and name of main character
|-
|rowspan="2"|<nowiki>*</nowiki>ryan Adams
|{{w|Ryan Adams}}
|Singer
|-
|{{w|Bryan Adams}}
|Singer
|-

|rowspan="2"|Singers with Stage Names Referencing Weight/Games
|{{w|Chubby Checker}}
|Singer famous for "The Twist"
|-
|{{w|Fats Domino}}
|Rock and Roll Singer
|-

|rowspan="2"|Colin F*
|{{w|Colin Firth}}
|Actor, ''Pride and Prejudice'', ''Love Actually''
| rowspan="4" |1/64
|-
|{{w|Colin Farrell}}
|Actor
|-

|rowspan="2"|F*rell*
|{{w|Will Ferrell}}
|Comic actor, ''Anchorman'' and ''The Other Guys''
|-
|{{w|The Farrelly Brothers}}
|Comedy film-makers
|-

|rowspan="2"|<nowiki>*</nowiki>evitt/*ewitt
|{{w|Joseph Gordon-Levitt}}
|Actor
| rowspan="2" |1/32
|-
|{{w|Jennifer Love Hewitt}}
|Actress
|-

|rowspan="2"|D* Glover
|{{w|Danny Glover}}
|Actor, ''Lethal Weapon'' series
| rowspan="4" |1/64
|-
|{{w|Donald Glover}}
|Actor, ''Community''
|-

|rowspan="2"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> Wahlberg
|{{w|Donnie Wahlberg}}
|Singer, ''{{w|New Kids on the Block}}''
|-
|{{w|Mark Wahlberg}}
|Actor
|-

|rowspan="2"|Mark *
|{{w|Mark Ruffalo}}
|Actor, known for his role as {{w|Hulk (comics)|the Hulk}} in the film ''{{w|The Avengers (2012 film)|The Avengers}}''
| rowspan="2" |1/32
|-
|{{w|Mark Shuttleworth}}
|Entrepreneur, founder of {{w|Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu}}
|-

|rowspan="3"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> Pullman/Bill P*
|{{w|Philip Pullman}}
|Author
|
|-
|{{w|Bill Pullman}}
|Actor in ''Spaceballs'', and ''Independence Day''
|
|-
|{{w|Bill Paxton}}
|Actor in ''Apollo 13'', ''Aliens''
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|Ghostbusters
|{{w|Bill Murray}}
|Actor in ''Ghostbusters'', ''Groundhog Day''
|
|-
|{{w|Dan Aykroyd}}
|Actor
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> Rogers
|{{w|Ginger Rogers}}
|Actress known for dancing with {{w|Fred Astaire}}
|
|-
|Mister/Fred Astaire/Rogers
|Confusing reference to {{w|Fred Rogers}} (host of children's show, popularly known as "Mister Rogers") and to {{w|Fred Astaire}} (Dancer, actor, and singer)
|
|-

|rowspan="3"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> Spock/Doctor *
|{{w|Mister Spock}}
|Character on ''Star Trek'' portrayed by {{w|Leonard Nimoy}}
|
|-
|{{w|Doctor Spock}}
|Author of book on childcare
|
|-
|{{w|Doctor Octopus}}
|Villain in Spider-Man comic books
|
|-

|rowspan="3"|Doctors
|{{w|Doctor Manhattan}}
|Character in Alan Moore's Watchmen
|
|-
|{{w|Doctor Strangelove}}
|Character in a movie about nuclear war by {{w|Stanley Kubrick}}
|
|-
|{{w|Doctor Strange}}
|Sorceror Supreme in Marvel Comics
|
|-

|rowspan="3"|More doctors
|{{w|Julius No|Dr. No}}
|Main villain in the {{w|Dr. No (film)|first James Bond movie}}
|
|-
|{{w|The Doctor (Doctor Who)|The Doctor}}
|Main protagonist of the science fiction series ''{{w|Doctor Who}}''
|
|-
|{{w|Cory Doctorow}}
|Real person - [[:Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow| who has been in a number of xkcd comics]]
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|Jerry * Lewis
|{{w|Jerry Lee Lewis}}
|Rock and Roll singer
|
|-
|{{w|Jerry Lewis}}
|Comedian and former chairman of charitable organization
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|Sounds like Jenny *
|{{w|Jenny Lewis}}
|Indie singer-songwriter
|
|-
|{{w|Xeni Jardin}}
|Digital commentator, Boing Boing co-editor
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|Chris *
|{{w|Chris Evans}}
|Actor, ''Captain America''
|
|-
|{{w|Chris Hemsworth}}
|Actor, ''Thor''
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|Chris P*
|{{w|Chris Pine}}
|Actor, ''Star Trek''
|
|-
|{{w|Chris Pratt}}
|Actor, ''Guardians of the Galaxy''
|
|-

|rowspan="3"|Homophones of Shallots
|{{w|Shallots}}
|Small onions
|
|-
|{{w|Scallops}}
|Bivalve mollusks
|
|-
|{{w|Scallions}}
|Green onions
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|Suz* (Similar phonetics)
|{{w|Siouxie Sioux}}
|Rock singer
|
|-
|{{w|Suzanne Vega}}
|Folk rock singer-songwriter
|
|-

|rowspan="3"|<nowiki>*</nowiki> Arnold */A* Palmer
|{{w|Tom Arnold}}
|Ex-husband of Roseanne Barr
|
|-
|{{w|Arnold Palmer}}
|Golf player
|
|-
|{{w|Amanda Palmer}}
|Singer/songwriter
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|Wes *
|{{w|Wes Craven}}
|Film maker
|
|-
|{{w|Wes Anderson}}
|Movie Director
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|P* Anderson
|{{w|Paul Thomas Anderson}}
|Film maker
|
|-
|{{w|Poul Anderson}}
|Science fiction author
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|Sir Walter *
|{{w|Sir Walter Scott}}
|Scottish poet and writer
|
|-
|{{w|Sir Walter Raleigh}}
|British explorer of Virginia
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|F* Drake
|{{w|Sir Francis Drake}}
|British explorer, 2nd to circumnavigate the Earth
|
|-
|{{w|Frank Drake}}
|Astrophysicist, SETI pioneer
|
|-

|rowspan="3"|Van *
|{{w|Van Halen}}
|Rock band
|
|-
|{{w|Van Morrison}}
|Singer/songwriter
|
|-
|{{w|Van Wilder}}
|Comedy film
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|R* Van Winkle
|{{w|Robert Van Winkle}}
|AKA Vanilla Ice, rapper
|
|-
|{{w|Rip Van Winkle}}
|Fictional character
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|Rip/Torn
|{{w|Rip Torn}}
|Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, actor on ''Cross Creek'', ''Larry Sanders Show''
|
|-
|{{w|Natalie Imbruglia}}
|Singer of "Torn"
|
|-

|rowspan="2"|Businesses with the word "Body" in their name
|{{w|The Body Shop}}
|Shop
|
|-
|{{w|Bath and Body Works}}
|Shop
|
|-

|rowspan="3"|Beyon*
|{{w|Bed Bath and Beyond}}
|Shop
|
|-
|{{w|Beyond Thunderdome}}
|Motion picture
|
|-
|{{w|Beyoncé}}
|Singer
|1/16

|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Is it useful to have all the 'Winner of A and winner of B' details?}}

:[A tournament bracket. The matchups are the following, on left-hand side and right-hand side:]

{| class="wikitable" style="background:transparent;border:none;width:100%;"
| style="background:transparent;border:none;"|
 (1) Louis Armstrong and Neil Armstrong
 (2) Lance Armstrong and Stretch Armstrong

 (3) Jeff Gordan and Jeff Bridges
 (4) Jeff Daniels and Jack Daniels

 (5) Orson Welles and H.G. Wells
 (6) George Orwell and Wells Fargo

 (7) Kurt Russell, Russell Brand, Russell Crowe and Russell Simmons
 (8) Richard Simmons and Gene Simmons
 (9) Gene Hackman, Hugh Jackman and Alan Rickman
 (10) Alan Parsons and Alan Partridge

 (11) Jenny McCarthy, Joseph McCarthy, Eugene McCarthy and Eugene V. Debs
 (12) Gene Wilder, Olivia Wilde and Oscar Wilde
 (13) Oscar De La Renta and Oscar De La Hoya

 (14) Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicholson
 (15) Phil Mickelson and Nicholas Nickelby

 (16) Ryan Adams and Bryan Adams

 (17) Chubby Checker and Fats Domino

 (18) Colin Firth and Colin Farrell
 (19) Will Ferrell and The Farrelly Brothers

 (20) Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jennifer Love Hewitt

 (21) Danny Glover and Donald Glover
 (22) Donnie Wahlberg and Mark Wahlberg
 (23) Mark Ruffalo and Mark Shuttleworth

| style="background:transparent;border:none;"|
 (24) Philip Pullman, Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton
 (25) Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd

 (26) Ginger Rogers and Fred Rogers|Mister/Fred Astaire/Rogers
 (27) Mister Spock, Doctor Spock and Doctor Octopus
 (28) Doctor Manhattan, Doctor Strangelove and Doctor Strange
 (29) Dr. No, The Doctor and Cory Doctorow

 (30) Jerry Lee Lewis and Jerry Lewis
 (31) Jenny Lewis and Xeni Jardin

 (32) Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth
 (33) Chris Pine and Chris Pratt

 (34) Shallots, Scallops and Scallions

 (35) Siouxie Sioux and Suzanne Vega

 (36) Tom Arnold, Arnold Palmer and Amanda Palmer

 (37) Wes Craven and Wes Anderson
 (38) Paul Thomas Anderson and Poul Anderson

 (39) Sir Walter Scott and Sir Walter Raleigh
 (40) Sir Francis Drake and Frank Drake

 (41) Van Halen, Van Morrison and Van Wilder
 (42) Robert Van Winkle and Rip Van Winkle
 (43) Rip Torn and Natalie Imbruglia

 (44) The Body Shop and Bath and Body Works
 (45) Bed Bath and Beyond and Beyond Thunderdome
 (46) Winner of 44 and winner of 45
 (47) Winner of 46 and Beyoncé
|}

[Those are later interconnected:]

<div style="column-count:4;-moz-column-count:4;-webkit-column-count:4">

 (48) Winner of 1 and winner of 2
 (49) Winner of 3 and winner of 4
 (50) Winner of 5 and winner of 6
 (51) Winner of 7 and winner of 8
 (52) Winner of 9 and winner of 10
 (53) Winner of 12 and winner of 13
 (54) Winner of 14 and winner of 15
 (55) Winner of 16 and winner of 17
 (56) Winner of 18 and winner of 19
 (57) Winner of 21 and winner of 22

 (58) Winner of 24 and winner of 25
 (59) Winner of 26 and winner of 27
 (60) Winner of 28 and winner of 29
 (61) Winner of 30 and winner of 31
 (62) Winner of 32 and winner of 33
 (63) Winner of 34 and winner of 35
 (64) Winner of 37 and winner of 38
 (65) Winner of 39 and winner of 40
 (66) Winner of 41 and winner of 42

 (67) Winner of 49 and winner of 50
 (68) Winner of 51 and winner of 52
 (69) Winner of 11 and winner of 53
 (70) Winner of 54 and winner of 55
 (71) Winner of 56 and winner of 20
 (72) Winner of 57 and winner of 23

 (73) Winner of 59 and winner of 60
 (74) Winner of 61 and winner of 62
 (75) Winner of 63 and winner of 36
 (76) Winner of 64 and winner of 65
 (77) Winner of 66 and winner of 43

 (78) Winner of 48 and winner of 67
 (79) Winner of 68 and winner of 69
 (80) Winner of 71 and winner of 72

 (81) Winner of 58 and winner of 73
 (82) Winner of 75 and winner of 76
 (83) Winner of 77 and winner of 47

 (84) Winner of 78 and winner of 79
 (85) Winner of 70 and winner of 80

 (86) Winner of 81 and winner of 74
 (87) Winner of 82 and winner of 83

 (88) Winner of 84 and winner of 85

 (89) Winner of 86 and winner of 87

</div>
 

:[The two sides finally join up in:]

:(90) Winner of 88 and winner of 89

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]

1529: Bracket

2015-05-25T17:45:53Z

108.162.237.192: Fixed factual inaccuracy

1529: Bracket

2015-05-25T17:41:58Z

108.162.237.192: comma use

1391: Darkness

2015-05-25T02:11:48Z

108.162.237.192: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1391
| date = July 7, 2014
| title = Darkness
| image = darkness.png
| titletext = This was actually wish #406. Wish #2 was for him to lose the ability to remember that each new wish wasn't my first.
}}

==Explanation==
In the comic the news anchor [[Ponytail]] describes the {{w|sunset}} as though it were an unprecedented, newsworthy event, rather than [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MundaneMadeAwesome something mundane] that happens every day. They even have a reporter ([[Cueball]]) on the spot reporting from where the ''darkness'' has spread so far.

The sunset is a common event. {{w|Isaac Asimov}} based his short story {{w|Nightfall_(Asimov_short_story_and_novel)|Nightfall}} on a fictional civilization that doesn't know darkness because the planet is always illuminated by the six stars surrounding it. The story describes how people would react (mass insanity, fall of civilization) when the orbital motion of the planet eventually leads to five of the suns setting, plus one in eclipse.

Describing mundane occurrences in unusual detail, to show off how odd they really are, is something [[Randall]] has done before (for instance about dreaming in [[203: Hallucinations]]). But the caption below the main panel adds another twist to the joke by showing that the news report wasn't a mere imagine spot, but something actually happening due to the interference of Randall's final wish to his {{w|genie}}, which caused all news reporters to forget the day-night cycle.

Another possible meaning is that this comic is a reference to the way the media often talk about {{w|global warming}} as if each weather occurrence had meaning outside of its context like in [[1321: Cold]]. That take on the weather and the day/night cycle being denied because of a skewed point of view was also used on the {{w|Daily Show}}. The segment "[http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/18l8gy/unusually-large-snowstorm Unusually Large Snowstorm]" from February 10, 2010 used the same trope. Several Daily Show correspondents have different views on the weather based on where they are, ending with a correspondent who equates nighttime with everlasting darkness.

The caption references the fact that there is a limit to the number of wishes. It is a common rule, often used in fiction, that you get [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThreeWishes three wishes] from a [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GenieInABottle genie in a bottle]. There usually is an added stipulation that no wish may be used to acquire more wishes. In the title text, however, it is stated that Randall has managed to bypass the three wish limit rule. This was accomplished by using his second (#2) wish to simply make the genie unable to remember granting the speaker any wishes. He have thus used the same trick on the genie as he used here on the media. The media wish turns out '''not''' to have been his last (i.e. #3), but rather #406. This shows just how far, "make someone forget something", can go by applying it to the genie.

It is interesting that it was his second wish that gave him unlimited wishes. What did he wish for on wish #1? Maybe he wasted the first wish, because he did not believe the genie was able to grant wishes - a common error. On the other hand, he may have used the first wish to learn a way where his second wish could circumvent the three rule limit. He did not wish for more wishes (a clear rule), but since the genie now always think the next wish is his first, it is not Randall who asks for more wishes, but the genie that forgets to stop at the limit.

There seem to be a conflict with the title text, and where the caption says ''Genie, for my last wish...'' Because if the genie thinks it is his first wish, he would be confused. It could, however, be to shock the reader, that he makes a point of him wasting a final wish on something this silly. Then in the title text, he makes it clear that it was only a wish he used, because he had an unlimited number of wishes at hand. And to the genie he would simply have said, ''...for my first wish...''

*To have three wishes from a genie, but really only need one, was the joke in [[152: Hamster Ball]]. Perhaps this genie is the same, and the first wish was for a human-sized hamster ball. Much later - inspired by the hamster ball? - he breaks the code to free, not only three, genie wishes.
*The concept of having unlimited wishes has previously been explored in [[1086: Eyelash Wish Log]] - one of the wishes is also related to news anchors - the wish is to control the direction they are looking.
*Genies are also part of [[532: Piano]] and [[879: Lamp]], although these two jokes are of a more juvenile character.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is a news anchor at a media desk and she reports:]
:Ponytail: ...getting reports that the darkness has spread as far west as Texas. Let's go live to our reporter in Houston.
:[From a breaking news window in the bottom right corner of the panel, a Cueball as a newscaster stands in darkness with two people walking behind him:]
:Cueball: It's been thirty minutes since the sun vanished...
:[There is a caption below the panel]:
:Caption: ”Genie, for my last wish, make everyone in the media forget about the day-night cycle.“

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

868: Nolan Chart

2015-05-21T03:04:17Z

108.162.237.192: Fixed a grammatical error.

{{comic
| number = 868
| date = March 4, 2011
| title = Nolan Chart
| image = nolan chart.png
| titletext = Also in the right quadrant are NFPA-compliant chemical manufacturers and Sir Charles Wheatstone. Sharing the top with the internet libertarians are Nate Silver and several politically-active kite designers.
}}

==Explanation==
The [http://www.nolanchart.com Nolan Chart] is a visual representation of the political spectrum that measures not only liberal vs conservative tendencies but also libertarian and statist tendencies. In this comic, it is taken to a different end. One one side are both Democrats and Republicans and on the other side is baseball fans. In the typical Nolan Chart, Libertarians are in the top quadrant, but in this one "Internet Libertarians" take the spot because they love the Nolan Charts (which are found online) and have a lot of political opinions.

Nolan may also refer to baseball hall of famer [http://baseballhall.org/hof/ryan-nolan Nolan Ryan].

In the image text, the NFPA-compliant chemical manufacturers are mentioned because of [http://ehs.okstate.edu/modules/hazcom/nfpadia2.gif this diagram]. Sir Charles Wheatstone was the inventor of the Wheatstone bridge, which is also {{w|File:Wheatstonebridge.svg|diamond-shaped}}. Lastly, the image text references Nate Silver, who previously worked for Baseball Prospectus and now writes a data-driven political and sports blog called Five Thirty Eight for ESPN. He is both a lover of diamond-shaped diagrams and has political opinions.

==Transcript==
:[Diamond-shaped four-panel diagram.]
:[Top panel labeled "internet libertarians".]
:[Left panel labeled "Democrats, Republicans".]
:[Bottom panel labeled "other".]
:[Right panel labeled "baseball fans".]
:[Axis increasing in the upper-left direction labeled "political opinions".]
:[Axis increasing in the upper-right direction labeled "love of diamond-shaped diagrams".]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Politics]]

Talk:434: xkcd Goes to the Airport

2015-05-19T18:14:57Z

108.162.237.192:

I do not understand the "churchmouse" in this context? This needs an explain. Thanks.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:39, 26 August 2013 (UTC)
:A churchmouse is a small rodent. Look it up on Wikipedia. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:23, 27 August 2013 (UTC)
::That's not true: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/church+mouse [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 23:24, 13 October 2013 (UTC)
::Alice in Wonderland creates the door mouse. A church mouse is either ameek but faithful church-goer or referencing the idiom "poor as a church mouse." Either way, I don't get it, either, Dgbrt.07:42, 18 December 2014 (UTC)Nix
:Later, [[526 | Converting to Metric]] informs us that a fieldmouse contains 3 mL of blood.--[[User:Rael|Rael]] ([[User talk:Rael|talk]]) 05:29, 6 September 2013 (UTC)
::According to my calculations, it's closer to 1.5 mL/0.05 oz. This is based on a house mouse with 80 ml/kg of blood.

Maybe I'm just dirty minded, but I thought the "stains panties" line had to do with simulating either defloration or menstruation.--[[Special:Contributions/67.243.62.50|67.243.62.50]] 17:16, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

I was under the impression that the "hacker girl" either gave him the set as a gift, or he just learned how to lock-pick from being around her so much that he acquired his own. It seems weird that it would have anything to do with smuggling. [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 01:12, 22 October 2013 (UTC)

Am I the only one who thought the second panel was a reference to '147: A Way So Familiar'? Mostly based on the character's enthusiastic obsession with a girl who is probably a very bad influence, or at least a bad match. - Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.205|108.162.249.205]] 05:44, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

1506: xkcloud/Transcript

2015-05-17T03:17:44Z

108.162.237.192: /* Reason for data loss */

*This is a valiant effort to create a transcript for the ''continually''(?) growing dynamic comic [[1506: xkcloud]].
**The front page of the comic is [[1506: xkcloud#Transcript|transcribed]] as usual on the [[1506: xkcloud|main page]].
*See pictures of the other types of pages here: [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages|Pictures of other pages]].
<div class="toclimit-3" style="float:right; margin-left: 10px;">__TOC__</div>
==Intro==
*After clicking on the red button on the [[1506: xkcloud#Transcript|front page]] (only part of the transcript written on the main page for xkcd), you will see either:
**the [[#Help! We lost the text|Help! We lost the text]] page or
**the [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] page.
*Both these pages are transcribed below.
**Here below the headings of the transcripts for the four pages, links directly to the section with the relevant images on the page with [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages|Pictures of other pages].
*From there you have to choose either a picture to a text or a text to an image.
**If you press the ''Draw one your self'' button on the ''Help! We lost the picture'' this page will change slightly:
***[[#Draw one your self|Draw one your self]].
**When you then submit a picture, or if you just picked one of the five pictures or five text suggestions, or submitted a text your self, you will go to this page:
***[[#Help us recover more data|Help us recover more data]]
*From all pages you can go back to the [[1506: xkcloud#Transcript|front page]] by clicking on the image of Cueball at his desk.
*After completing the first post, there will always be seven post shown below (also if you go back to the front page).
**When you complete a post your new post will be shown together with six new.
**When you push a button to recover more data these seven posts (including "yours") will be shown instead of only six as to begin with.
**From here you can loop between these four pages (not counting the ''Draw one for your self'' as a separate page.)
*The above mentioned pages are fully transcribed below.
*Also, there are lists for the following Randall created text and items:
**[[#Reason for data loss|Reason for data loss]]
**[[#User names|User names]]
**[[#User pictures|User pictures]] (a description of possible images next to users)
**[[#Like buttons|Like buttons]]
*Finally, there is all the user input text. This will probably be impossible to transcribe but a few examples should be provided as an example.
**These will be given here: [[#Post from users|Post from users]]
**Some of the picture can be seen on this page:
***[[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users|Pictures posted by users]].

==[[1506:_xkcloud/Pictures_of_other_pages#Help.21_We_lost_the_text_page|Help! We lost the text]]==
:[At the top of the page there are the following text:]
:'''Help! we lost the text that goes with this post!'''
:[For cases where the user has to submit or select a text according to a picture.]
:Reason for data loss:
:[Here on this same line follows a text which is a random reason taken from a list created by [[Randall]]. See [[#Reason for data loss|examples below]]).]

:[Below this text is a white box on top of the light blue background. It is the post mentioned above. At the top is a random user picture - could be a person or a galaxy etc (see [[#User pictures|descriptions below]]). Next to the picture is a random user name (see [[#User names|descriptions below]]). The picture can be used for several user names.]
:[Below the user name is the picture from the post. This picture is also chosen at random from a set which must mainly be created from user input. Randall must have given some input to start with though - at least five pictures see [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] section above).]

:[Below this and above five frames with text in two columns are this line of text:]
:Which text post do you think went with this picture?
:[The five texts below are from a random sample, created mainly by the users, but Randall must at least have made five to begin with. Some examples are [[#Post from users|transcribed here]].]
:[Below this is a box where you are invited to write and submit a text suggestion. In the box written in gray letters (rather than black, which it will turn to when you type something) are the following text:]
:Or, write your own
:[To the left is a button with the text:]
:Submit

:[By clicking on any of the five text boxes you get to a new page (see the [[#Help us recover more data|Help us recover more data]] page) where the chosen text is now standing above the picture from the post above. If you write a text and click the submit button your own text will be written above the picture.]

:[Below this submit text box is a thin black line. Below this to the left we again see Cueball sitting at his desk (as on the front page). If you click on the picture with Cueball you return to the front page.]
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Below him there are the following text and bulleted list:]
:Our policy regarding your personal data:

*Please stop sending us your personal data
*We are running out of places to put it
*Is this even yours?
*Does anyone recognize whose data this is?
*Oh jeez never mind here comes more data
*Why are you doing this
*Please stop
*Help
:[Below this list appeared late in the afternoon the following weak gray text:]
:Don't contact us

:[To the right below the thin black line are six post above each other with user picture and name above a post text and a picture. All six again random as mentioned above. Furthermore to the right above each picture (right of the first line - if there are multiple lines) of the post text are a blue like button that you can press. The buttons seems to be active links when you hover over them, but nothing happens when you click on them. The buttons have a thumbs up icon to the right. Next to the icon there is a random word taken from a list created by Randall. It seems to be from a list of words that are synonymous with want - see [[#Like buttons|below]].]

==[[1506:_xkcloud/Pictures_of_other_pages#Help.21_We_lost_the_picture_page|Help! We lost the picture]]==
:[At the top of the page there are the following text:]
:'''Help! We lost the picture that goes with this post!'''
:Reason for data loss:
:[Here on this same line follows a text which is a random reason taken from a list created by [[Randall]]. See [[#Reason for data loss|examples below]]).]

:[Below this text is a white box on top of the light blue background. It is the post mentioned above. At the top is a random user picture - could be a person or a picture of a galaxy etc (see [[#User pictures|descriptions below]]). Next to the picture is a random user name (see [[#User names|descriptions below]]). The same picture can be used for several user names (and probably likewise).]
:[Below the user name is the text of the post. This text is also random and it must mainly be user input. Randall must have given some input to start with though - at least five sentences see [[#Help! We lost the text|Help! We lost the text]] section below). Some examples are [[#Post from users|transcribed here]].]
:[Below is a blue rectangle where the missing picture should be. Instead there is only a white question mark:]
:'''?'''

:[Below this and above six picture frames in two rows is a line of text:]
:Which of these pictures do you think went with this post?
:[The five first pictures are from a random sample, created mainly by the users, but Randall must at least have made five to begin with). In the sixth and last picture frame the following text is written:]
:Draw one your self

:[By clicking on any of the five pictures you get to a new page (see the [[#Help us recover more data|Help us recover more data]] page) with the chosen picture now substituting the "?" in the post above with the chosen picture. If you click the Draw one your self the page will change slightly into the [[#Draw one your self|Draw one your self]] page - a page where you can do exactly this. From there you go to the other page mentioned before.]

:[Below these six frames is a thin black line. Below this to the left we again see Cueball sitting at his desk (as on the front page). If you click on the picture with Cueball you return to the front page.]
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Below him there are the following text and bulleted list:]
:Our policy regarding your personal data:

*Please stop sending us your personal data
*We are running out of places to put it
*Is this even yours?
*Does anyone recognize whose data this is?
*Oh jeez never mind here comes more data
*Why are you doing this
*Please stop
*Help
:[Below this list appeared late in the afternoon the following in light gray text:]
:Don't contact us ([http://euphoria.io/room/xkcd/ linking to this live chatroom])

:[To the right below the thin black line are six post above each other with user picture and name above a post text and a picture. All six again random as mentioned above. Furthermore to the right above each picture (right of the first line - if there are multiple lines) of the post text are a blue like button that you can press. The buttons seems to be active links when you hover over them, but nothing happens when you click on them. The buttons have a thumbs up icon to the right. Next to the icon there is a random word taken from a list created by Randall. It seems to be from a list of words that are synonymous with want - see [[#Like buttons|below]].]

==[[1506:_xkcloud/Pictures_of_other_pages#Draw_one_your_self_page|Draw one your self]]==
:[If you press the picture frame with the text ''Draw one your self'' on the [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] page the page changes. It is not a new page. But below the white post frame with the blue rectangle with "?" there is now no longer six frames, but only one large frame. Above the frame is written:]
:Do your best to recreate the picture you think went with this post:

:[Below is a blank white frame with five tools to the left (pencil, eraser, redo, undo and delete all) and to the right you can choose between seven line thicknesses.]

:[Below this frame is a button on which it says:]
:Upload image
:[If you press this then you picture is uploaded and shown as part of the post on the [[#Help us recover more data|Help us recover more data]] page].

:[Below the image editor nothing has changed compared to before and everything beneath the thin black line is as before.]

==[[1506:_xkcloud/Pictures_of_other_pages#Help_us_recover_more_data_page|Help us recover more data]]==
:[At the top of this third page (or fourth if coming from the paint a picture page) there are the following white text on a red button:]
:'''Help us recover more data'''

:[If you click this button you go back to one of the two pages that follows the front page that is the [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] page or the [[#Help! We lost the text|Help! We lost the text]] page. So in this way a loop will begin. The only difference is that now there will be seven pictures instead of six at the bottom, and it will be the seven that was on this page - including the one you have been involved in at the top.]

:[Below this button is a thin black line. Below this to the left we again see Cueball sitting at his desk - same as with the two pages mentioned above as are the text given here below. If you click on the picture with Cueball you return to the front page.]
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Below him there are the following text and bulleted list:]
:Our policy regarding your personal data:

*Please stop sending us your personal data
*We are running out of places to put it
*Is this even yours?
*Does anyone recognize whose data this is?
*Oh jeez never mind here comes more data
*Why are you doing this
*Please stop
*Help
:[Below this list appeared late in the afternoon the following weak gray text:]
:Don't contact us

:[To the right below the thin black line are both the post you have just finished (either by connecting a text or image with the missing part or even typing or painting your self) as well as six other posts below "yours". They are stacked above each other with user picture and name above a post text and a picture. The other six are again random chosen - it is not the ones from the page where you should choose a text/image. Furthermore to the right above each picture (right of the first line - if there are multiple lines) of the post text is a blue "like button" that you can press. The buttons seems to be active links when you hover over them, but nothing happens when you click on them. The buttons have a thumbs up icon to the right. Next to the icon there is a random word taken from a list created by Randall. (It seems to be from a list of words that are synonymous with want - see [[#Like buttons|below]]). Above these buttons there (from late in the afternoon no April 1st) appear a word which by clicking it created a permalink:]
:Link
:[This is written over all the buttons for each of the possible posts.]

==Reason for data loss==
{| class="wikitable"
!Sentence
!Explanation
|-
| +++ OUT OF CHEESE ERROR. REDO FROM START +++
|A reference to Hex, the magical computer from Terry Pratchett's Discworld, which would occasionally emit this error
|-
|<%= reason %>
|A template used by server-side frameworks such as Rails, which would normally replace this line with the actual value of the "reason" variable.
|-
|a user's middle name was <nowiki></html></nowiki>
|Having a user name containing an html tag might cause issues in the server, similar to [http://xkcd.com/327 xkcd 327].
|-
|aol window in front of netscape window
|AOL (America Online, a dial-up online service popular in the 1990s) acquired Netscape (company that developed for the original commercial browser, precursor to Firefox) in 1998
|-
|Baby ur much 2 fast
|Lyrics from the Prince song "Little Red Corvette"
|-
|bookmarks migrated to Venezuela
|Bookmarks are typically migrated from one file folder to another so that they can be accessed by another browser.
|-
|butter didn't suit the works
|Reference to "Alice in Wonderland" -- the Mad Hatter put butter into his watch to make it keep more accurate time, and explained "I used the very best butter, too."
|-
|butter overflow
|butter instead of buffer
|-
|butter to text interface not found
|A reference to speech-to-text interfaces, typically used by people who cannot see easily to enable them to use a computer.
|-
|butter underrun
|butter instead of buffer
|-
|cannot save, there's something gross on the S key
|A reference to the "Control-S" save shortcut on both Windows and Mac, and is saying that they are unable to activate the shortcut (thus saving the data) because there is "something gross" on it.
|-
|CAPTCHA response indicated parahuman intelligence
|A CAPTCHA is a tool which aims to prevent comupter-generated submissions to an online form by asking the user a question which is easy for humans but (supposedly) hard for computers. In this case, the CAPTCHA detects {{w|parahuman}} intelligence rather than human intelligence.
|-
|cat-like typing detected
|When cats walk or sit on keyboards, they can type, which can be annoying. A program called [http://bitboost.com/pawsense/ PawSense] attempted to detect this and block the typed keystrokes to reduce inconvenience.
|-
|confirmation BIOS
|Pun on "confirmation bias" (a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions, leading to statistical errors); BIOS is part of a PC's hardware
|-
|could not evade skifree yeti
|[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkiFree SkiFree] is an early 90s computer game that requires the player to ski down an endless slope. It's famous for a yeti that appears after the player reaches a certain distance, which then chases and eats the player. Possibly a reference to [[667: SkiFree]].
|-
|could not initialize sound blaster 16
|The Sound Blaster 16 is a PC sound card which used FM synthesis to play MIDI files, which was popular in the 1990s.
|-
|CRM-114 unit malfunctioning
|The CRM-114 unit's malfunction is the main plot device in the film Dr Strangelove
|-
|cumulonimbus #19 too rabbitlike
|A cumulonimbus is a type of cloud. This may be a reference to Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. The error suggests that the cloud looked too much like a rabbit.
|-
|data too big
|
|-
|database configuration violates the Prime Directive
|The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Directive Prime Directive] comes from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek Star Trek], and refers to the principle of not interfering with the natural development of primitive cultures. This error is implying that the database is being seen as a primitive life, and therefore the server is not allowed to make any changes to it.
|-
|Dave's not registered, man
|Cheech and Chong reference: "Dave's not here, man".
|-
|Desystematized chronodynamic balancing detected in VX Module core.
|References the VX community, which can be found on [http://www.reddit.com/r/VXJunkies/ its subreddit] and a WIP [http://vxmodules.wikia.com/wiki/VX_Wiki wiki]. The community is centered around making up technobabble about the fictional "VX" series of devices, without breaking character.
|-
|dictionary too stiff to read
|dictionary in addition to being a book where you can look up the definition of words can also be a data structure of key value pairings.
|-
|electrons too big, stuck in wafer
|"Wafer" refers to silicon or other material used as substrate for semiconductor fabrication.
|-
|ERR:INVALID DIM
|On the Texas Instruments TI-83 and TI-84 calculators, this is an error message shown [http://oakroadsystems.com/math/ti83oops.htm#x_InvalidDim in various situations].
|-
|error reading drive B. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abort,_Retry,_Fail%3F Abort, Retry, Fail?]
|A common error from MS-DOS, often caused by a failing floppy disk
|-
|error
|This error message is so uninformative as to be redundant.
|-
|error: error code [error] while decoding error code
|Similar to certain OS error messages which contain errors in themselves
|-
|error: operation completed successfully
|A somewhat common coding error in *nix programs. The program detected an error and tried to print the error using a function such as perror which prints a message based on the global variable errno. However, the error wasn't generated by a standard library routine so errno equals 0 (no error).
|-
|ethics in journalism
|Possibly a reference to the movement Gamergate, a group ostensibly dedicated to "ethics in video game journalism", but has been accused of misogyny and harassment.
|-
|eyelash! eyelash!
|Possibly a reference to [http://xkcd.com/1086 xkcd 1086]
|-
|files fell out
|Paper files (as would be stored in a filing cabinet) can be misplaced and items can fall out of them if mishandled. However, it would be unexpected for digital files to fall out in this way.
|-
|files overwritten with more interesting content
|
|-
|firewall caught fire
|Pun based on the inclusion of the term "fire" in "firewall"
|-
|floating point unit no longer afloat
|A floating point unit is a part of a CPU which can perform calculations on non-integers. The pun is that the floating point unit is not floating (as in on a liquid). Possibly a reference to the Jargon File's [http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/N/number-crunching.html#crunchly74-12-25 Crunchly comic].
|-
|food problematic
|Firefly quote
|-
|friday squid blogging
|Security guru Bruce Schneier regularly posts a blog post with this title, and some squid related news, primarily as a discussion thread.
|-
|general uncertainty
|Possibly reference to the general uncertainty principle in Quantum Mechanics, which gives an upper limit for the accuracy of measuring two variables at the same time.
|-
|GSM filter change required
|Possibly referring to an electronic component used to filter out GSM frequencies. Unlike automotive oil filters, electronic filters don't require changing.
|-
|guru meditation #00000025.65045338 press left mouse button to continue
|A common error from the Commodore Amiga.
|-
|hard drive oil depleted
|Hard drives don't use oil/gas like cars do, so it would be strange for the oil to have depleted.
|-
|helvetica scenario
|A reference to the episode on Calcium from the BBC TV show Look Around You.
|-
|HTTP 403 and 3/4ths
|HTTP errors are emitted when an HTTP request (e.g. to download a web page) fails. 403 is Forbidden and 404 is Not Found; 403.75 is somewhere between the two. Reference to Harry Potter's Platform 9¾.
|-
|HTTP 418
|The 4xx class of status code is intended for cases in which the client seems to have erred. For example, the well known 404 is when the client requests a web page that doesn't exist. HTTP 418 is part of the {{w|HTCPCP|Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol}}, denoting "I am a teapot," and purportedly is used when sending an instruction to brew coffee to a teapot.
|-
|http is down
|Since all the traffic is being handled by http (or https), is http were truely down, it would be a conundrum.
|-
|hung up prematurely
|Possible reference to dialup modems: The server disconnected the phone line too soon.
|-
|I got pretty distracted trying to figure out how big space is
|Possible reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which purports that space is Really Big.
|-
|i hurt myself today / to see if i still feel
|Lyrics from "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails.
|-
|illegal carrot detected in mail queue
|carrot instead of caret
|-
|insufficient smoke for current mirror array
|Refers to the phrase 'smoke and mirrors'
|-
|lights are out, hard drive is taking a nap
|
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lp0_on_fire lp0 on fire]
|lp0 is the printer port, there used to be a 'printer on fire' error/warning
|-
|Main Bus B Undervolt
|A line from Apollo 13, when the spaceship is 'having a problem'.
|-
|mean connection time exceeded
|"Maximum connection time exceeded" might be an error -- by definition, some connections must last longer than the mean (average) connection time.
|-
|microwave running
|Both microwaves and Wifi operate on the same frequency and have been known to cause interference
|-
|minimum recursion depth not reached
|"Maximum recursion depth exceeded" would be an error -- "depth not exceeded" wouldn't be (and there is no minimum limit)
|-
|nanobots in the water
|
|-
|not a hair question
|One of the error messages that the Bucket bot in the #xkcd IRC channel can emit is "That is not a hair question."
|-
|oh jeez there's a lot of you can you all just hang on for a second please oh frig this is so bad
|
|-
|our buffer runneth over
|Old-English style message for "buffer overrun" instead of more modern language. There were no computers yet at that time. Also a reference to the King James translation of Psalm 23, which includes the phrase "my cup runneth over".
|-
|out of electrons
|
|-
|out of monads
|Monads are a concept in functional programming languages, such as Haskell. They have a reputation for being hard to understand.
|-
|overcurrent undervolt caused by vacuum cleaner on same circuit
|
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_LOAD_LETTER PC LOAD LETTER]
|Error message on older printers stating to add extra letter-size sheets, which has become known to be a very cryptic error message. Reference to the film {{w|Office Space}}.
|-
|Please Insert Riven CD 4
|{{w|Riven}} is a graphical adventure game by {{w|Cyan Worlds}} that was the sequel to {{w|Myst}}, released in 1997. Due to its large amount of image and video content it was on 5 compact discs, and when you traveled from one section of the game to another, it usually prompted you to insert a different CD to load that section's content.
|-
|PRESS PLAY ON TAPE
|The prompt given by a Commodore-64 when using the LOAD command (without a filename argument)
|-
|previously-recovered files overwritten by newly-recovered ones
|
|-
|qubit indeterminate
|Possibly referring to quantum indeterminacy of qubits, which are used in quantum computing.
|-
|RDBMS completely forgot how inner joins work
|"Inner join" is a common SQL operation performed by a Relational DataBase Management System.
|-
|screws are stripped
|
|-
|server aperture too narrow for capital letters
|
|-
|server farm lost starbucks wifi signal
|
|-
|server fell in ocean
|
|-
|server had too much to drink
|Servers are unlikely to have human style issues with drinking too much alcohol.
|-
|server power cable stolen by raccoon for nest
|
|-
|server room haunted
|Maybe a reference to an UVB-76 broadcast in 2001, which said "I am 143. Not receiving the generator." and "That stuff comes from hardware room." in Russian
|-
|sitemap was held upside down
|Sitemap refers to a website directory. Paper maps can be held upside down.
|-
|Something went wrong: Something went wrong (Something went wrong)
|similar to certain OS error messages which contain errors in themselves
|-
|soonerist sperver fid dot nile
|A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism spoonerism] - spoonerist server did not find file
|-
|spin cycle still active
|Washing machines have a spin cycle. Hard-drives spin. CPUs have cycles.
|-
|spin number must be of the form n/2
|Quantum spin numbers (in atomic physics) must be integers or half-integers
|-
|spontaneous splinal dereticulation
|"Reticulating Splines" is a loading message in The Sims and SimCity video game series.
|-
|SQL ejection
|ejection instead of injection
|-
|subtle threading bug in turing-complete version numbering system
|
|-
|sysadmin trapped in well
|Reference to Timmy being trapped in a well.
|-
|tape on write-protect hole fell off
|Read-only floppy disks have a ''write-protect'' hole in the corner. A writable disk has no hole.<ref>http://oit.ua.edu/oit/services/it-service-desk/write-protect-a-floppy-diskette/</ref> It was common practice to convert read-only floppy disks (that could be obtained for free due to, e.g. shareware distribution at computer stores) into writable floppy disks by placing sticky tape over the hole.
|-
|temporal paradox
|
|-
|the butter you have dialed is invalid or no longer in service
|butter instead of number
|-
|the little plastic tab on the box the data's in broke off
|
|-
|the server is temporarily permanent. Please try another also.
|
|-
|the system / is down
|Lyrics from [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILVfzx5Pe-A "The System is Down"], also known as Strongbad Techno. Possible additional reference to the '/' root filesystem on unix/linux.
|-
|This copy of Ubuntu is not genuine and you have not yet resolved this issue.
|Similar warnings betray proprietary software designed to break when used outside the terms of its license. Messages like this are unlikely to be found in free software like Ubuntu, where anti-features are largely inviable.
|-
|This page contains content from the Open Source Initiative, who have blocked it on copyright grounds.
|It would be ironic for the Open Source Initiative, which promotes sharing and modification, to prevent the sharing of the page for copyright reasons.
|-
|too many hands on the keyboard
|Possibly a reference to a scene in NCIS where two people simultaneously used the same keyboard to "double hack".
|-
|transfer interrupted by incoming fax
|Internet access used to be on dialup modems, which is also used for telephone calls or faxing. These can't operate at the same time.
|-
|TRIED TO READ 9TH SIDE OF 8 TRACK
|Eight-track tape is an obsolete format for recorded music; the tape itself only had two sides. Nine-track tape - much wider than eight-track tape - was used for computer data storage.
|-
|turns out server was on circuit with lightswitch by door
|If you turned out the lights as you left the room, it would power down the server.
|-
|Unable to cast variable of type Int32 to Magic Missile
|Magic Missile is a spell (which you can cast) in Dungeons & Dragons. Casting can also refer (in programming) to converting variables from one type to another, e.g. from integer to string. The pun here is that a 32-bit integer is being cast to the Magic Missile spell.
|-
|undefined is not a function, which really makes you think
|"Undefined is not a function" is a Javascript TypeError.
|-
|unexpected timezone drift desynchronization
|
|-
|unimplemented trap
|"Trap" refers to a computer operation code that is not implemented in the processor's instruction set and instead performs a system call. "Unimplemented trap" was an error message in some previous versions of MacOS.
|-
|User accepted terms but not conditions
|Normally, at a EULA you must accept 'terms and conditions'. There is basically no option to only agree to terms.
|-
|User is {{w|not a typewriter}}.
|A reference to the "isatty" function in the Unix C library, which reports whether a file descriptor is connected to a teletypewriter (terminal) or not. Interactive programs generally are intended to be used from a terminal.
|-
|user put spaces/vowels in filename
|Because early FAT file systems allowed only 8 characters in the filename, users often shortened names by removing the vowels. This ostensibly kept the file names readable, but under the 8-character limit. In practice, filenames without vowels were often misunderstood.
|-
|UTF-31 decode error
|UTF-31 instead of UTF-32
|-
|virtual memory got too real
|Virtual memory is where the OS writes less-used parts of RAM to disk, so that the RAM can be used for another program, hence the less-used parts are in virtual memory. "This is getting too real" is an idiom meaning the person is approaching their wits' end.
|-
|wrong files
|
|-
|YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS
|A line frequently announced by the Protoss advisor in Starcraft.
|}

==User names==
:[Below are possible (not all?) user names mentioned next to any post as for instance on the [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] page.]
:[In alphabetical order:]
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Comment
|-
|@meganamram
|Megan Amram is a comedian and writer. She became well known through her Twitter Channel @meganamram <ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Amram</ref>
|-
|Addison1
|
|-
|Addison8
|
|-
|Agric Silverfinger
|Referring to "Auric Goldfinger" in the James Bond Franchise. (Gold = Au, Silver = Ag)
|-
|Aidan2
|
|-
|Aiden1
|
|-
|Aiden5
|
|-
|Aidenn Aberforth Milne
|{{w|A. A. Milne}} is the author of {{w|Winnie-the-Pooh}}. The A. A. stands for Alan Alexander. Aidan and Aberforth are both Characters in the Harry Potter series
|-
|Alice1956
|
|-
|Amanda08
|
|-
|Anonymous
|{{w|Anonymous}} as if most of these other names are not.
|-
|Apple Martin
|Apple Martin is the name of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's daughter.
|-
|Arthur17
|
|-
|Arthur19
|
|-
|Ashley8
|
|-
|Ashley92
|
|-
|Ashley2009
|
|-
|Austin72
|
|-
|Ayden1952
|
|-
|Bailey08
|
|-
|Bailey2001
|
|-
|Barbara1974
|
|-
|Benjamin1970
|
|-
|Benjamin Kenobi Sr
|{{w|Ben Kenobi}} or Obi-Wan Kenobi well known from {{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars}}. Since Ben had no kids this person could be his father.
|-
|Bool Hand Luke
|Portmanteau of the datatype {{w|Bool}} and the film {{w|Cool Hand Luke}}.
|-
|Brandi9
|
|-
|Brittany1
|
|-
|Caden14
|
|-
|Caden2010
|
|-
|Candice10
|
|-
|Carol04
|
|-
|Chad80
|
|-
|Charles18
|
|-
|Chelsea2006
|
|-
|Cheyenne15
|
|-
|Cheyenne1988
|Reference to the 1988 Chevrolet Cheyenne
|-
|Christina Applecare
|Portmanteau of actress {{w|Christina Applegate}} and {{w|Applecare}}
|-
|CMOS Def
|Portmanteau of {{w|CMOS}} and {{w|Mos Def}}.
|-
|Curic Copperfinger
|Referring to "Auric Goldfinger" in the James Bond Franchise. (Gold = Au, Copper = Cu)
|-
|Cynthia99
|
|-
|Cynthia1995
|
|-
|Dakota09
|
|-
|Dakota94
|
|-
|{{w|David St. Hubbins}}
|Character in the mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap.
|-
|Debbie3
|
|-
|Debbie26
|
|-
|Debbie62
|
|-
|Deborah3
|
|-
|Delta Elroy Backslash
|
|-
|Destiny89
|
|-
|Destiny1983
|
|-
|Dillon2008
|
|-
|Donald19
|
|-
|Donna2
|
|-
|Dorothy7
|
|-
|DragonBall Cooper
|Merging {{w|Dragon Ball}} with {{w|D. B. Cooper}}
|-
|Dunston Chexin
|Homonym of the film {{w|Dunston Checks In}}
|-
|Dustin46
|
|-
|Earl Sinclair
|{{w|Earl Sinclair}} is the Dinosaur family father from the {{w|Dinosaurs (TV series)|Dinosaurs TV series}}.
|-
|Egbert Bentley White
|{{w|E. B. White}} was an American Writer. The E. B. in his name stand for Elwyn Brooks.
|-
|{{w|Eliezer Yudkowsky}}
|An advocate for friendly artificial intelligence.
|-
|Elon Musk
|{{w|Elon Musk}} is the founder of {{w|SpaceX}} and a confounder of {{w|Paypal}} and of {{w|Tesla Motors}}.
|-
|Emily15
|
|-
|Eowyn L'Oreal James
|{{w|E. L. James}} is a British Author. Eowyn is a character in {{w|Lord of the Rings}}. L'Oreal is a brand of makeup.
|-
|Euphegenia Doubtfire
|{{w|Euphegenia Doubtfire}} is better know as Mrs. Doubtfire from the movie by the same name and played by {{w|Robin Williams}}.
|-
|Facebook Scott Fitzgerald
|{{w|F. Scott Fitzgerald}}, with F for Francis not Facebook, is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
|-
|Flash Groupon
|Named after {{w|Flash Gordon}} the hero of a science fiction adventure of the same name (comic and movies/TV series).
|-
|Frances29
|
|-
|Frances51
|
|-
|Frances99
|
|-
|Gary8
|
|-
|Gary86
|
|-
|Gary1951
|
|-
|George Debian Bush
|{{w|George W. Bush}}, commonly called "Dubya" after his middle initial to distinguish him from his father; 43rd {{w|President of the United States}}.
|-
|George Reagan Renesmee Martin
|{{w|George R. R. Martin|George Raymond Richard Martin}}, American novelist and screenwriter best known for his book series {{w|A Song of Fire and Ice}} and its television adaptation {{w|Game of Thrones}}; {{w|Ronald Reagan}}, the 40th {{w|President of the United States}}; {{w|List_of_Twilight_characters#Renesmee_Cullen|Renesmee Cullen}}, the daughter of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan in the novel {{w|Breaking Dawn}} of the {{w|Twilight (series)|Twilight saga}}.
|-
|Green Mario
|Luigi of the Mario Brothers is green while his brother Mario wears red. In Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros Luigi and Mario are identical apart from the colour of their clothing.
|-
|Greg2004
|
|-
|Hatsy Collins
|Bootsy Collins' milliner brother.
|-
|Henry05
|{{w|Henry V (play)|Henry V}}?
|-
|Henry4
|{{W|Henry IV, Part 1|Henry IV}}?
|-
|Horsepower Lovecraft
|{{w|H. P. Lovecraft|Howard Phillips Lovecraft}}, an American author who achieved posthumous fame through his influential works of horror fiction; {{w|Horsepower}}, a common unit of measurement for the rate at which work is done ("power") commonly used in reference to engines.
|-
|J. Alfred Leftshark
|J. Alfred Prufrock from T. S. Eliot's poem {{w|The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock}}; "Left Shark" refers to one of the back-up dancers from {{w|Katy Perry}}'s performance at the {{w|Super Bowl XLIX halftime show}} who conspicuously danced out of beat.
|-
|Jack3
|
|-
|Jack39
|
|-
|Jacob10
|
|-
|Jada5
|
|-
|Jaden21
|
|-
|Jaden Riley Rufio Tolkien
|{{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}, author of {{w|The Hobbit}} and {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}; "J. J. R." stands for "John Ronald Reuel". "Jaden" perhaps from {{w|Jaden Smith}}; "Riley" is a {{w|Riley (given name)|Given Name}} and a common {{w|Riley (surname)|Surname}} but could refer to {{w|Life of Riley}} or the phrase that inspired it; "Rufio" refers either to the punk-rock band {{w|Rufio}}, the Lost Boy from the film {{W|Hook (film)|Hook}}, or one of {{w|Rufio (officer of Caesar)|Julius Caesar's officers}}.
|-
|Jaina Khloe Rowling
|{{w|J. K. Rowling}} author of {{w|Harry Potter}}. The J is for Joanne, the K is just to have a better {{w|pen name}}.
|-
|Jalen81
|
|-
|James URL Jones
|{{w|James Earl Jones}}, a prolific American stage and film actor most recognizable as the voice of {{w|Darth Vader}}; {{w|URL}} or "uniform resource locator" refers to the address of a webpage as displayed by a web browser in the address bar.
|-
|Jason15
|
|-
|Jayden79
|
|-
|Jennifer1
|
|-
|{{w|Jeph Jacques}}
|Jeph Jacques writes and illustrates the webcomic Questionable Content.
|-
|Jerry18
|
|-
|Joe Biden
|{{w|Joe Biden}} is the 47th (and current at the time of this comic) {{w|Vice President of the United States}}, jointly elected twice with President {{w|Barack Obama}} and in office since 2009.
|-
|John2
|
|-
|John Wilkes Knuth
|{{w|John Wilkes Booth}} was an American stage actor who assassinated President {{w|Abraham Lincoln}} at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. {{w|Donald Knuth}} is a computer scientist, famous for his multi-volume work ''The Art of Computer Programming'' and for developing the TeX text type-setting system.
|-
|Jonathan27
|
|-
|Joshua80
|
|-
|Joshua84
|
|-
|Justin28
|
|-
|Justin87
|
|-
|Kaden61
|
|-
|Kaitlin1976
|
|-
|Karen3
|
|-
|Kathleen78
|
|-
|Keira10
|
|-
|Keira48
|
|-
|Keira2002
|
|-
|Kelsey1970
|
|-
|Kelsey1996
|
|-
|Kenneth94
|
|-
|Kenneth96
|
|-
|Khloe2
|
|-
|Khloe14
|
|-
|Kilroy
|As in {{w|Kilroy was here}}?
|-
|Kim5
|
|-
|Kristy2007
|
|-
|Larry1994
|
|-
|Larry Ronald Hubbard
|{{w|L. Ron Hubbard}} although the L. stands for Lafayette. Was an American author and the founder of the {{w|Church of Scientology}}.
|-
|Lauren Ibsen Dolores Amit
|This is a modified version of "{{w|Lorem ipsum}} dolor sit amet," the first words of a garbled Latin text often used as a substitute for real text where the text content is irrelevant, such as in a page used to display a typeface.
|-
|Linda08
|
|-
|Lindsay2011
|
|-
|Lisa1995
|
|-
|Livemau5
|Referring to {{w|deadmau5}}
|-
|Lord Gaga
|Referring to {{w|Lady Gaga}}
|-
|Lord Mondegreen
|The term "{{w|Mondegreen}}" for a misheard word was coined in the essay "The Death of Lady Mondegreen"
|-
|Louis Reasoner
|A character in the textbook {{w|Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs}}.
|-
|Madison19
|
|-
|Madison80
|
|-
|Malik2
|
|-
|Margaret5
|
|-
|Margaret11
|
|-
|Marie3
|
|-
|Marie10
|
|-
|Marie12
|
|-
|{{w|Marissa Mayer}}
|The President and CEO of Yahoo!
|-
|Mark92
|
|-
|Mark2006
|
|-
|Mark2007
|
|-
|Mark Zuckerberg
|{{w|Mark Zuckerberg}} is the founder of {{w|Facebook}}
|-
|Martin Van Halen
|{{w|Martin Van Buren}}, 8th President of the United States, combined with the band {{w|Van Halen}}.
|-
|Matthew2006
|
|-
|Mavis Bitcoin
|{{w|Bitcoin}} is an on-line payment system. The use of the name {{w|Mavis}} was initiated by {{w|Marie Corelli|Marie Corelli's}} 1895 novel ''{{w|The Sorrows of Satan}}''. Maybe Randall gives away his opinion on the Bitcoin concept in this name? Or perhaps the fictional character from Brøderbund's ''{{w|Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing}}''?
|-
|Michaela2006
|
|-
|Michelle11
|
|-
|Minecraft Holmes
|A portmanteau of the game Minecraft and the character {{w|Mycroft Holmes}}
|-
|Misty3
|
|-
|Myspace Tom
|{{w|Myspace}} was co-founded by {{w|Tom Anderson}}.
|-
|Norton Ghost Dad
|A portmanteau of the software {{w|Norton Ghost}} and the film {{w|Ghost Dad}}.
|-
|Notorious L.H.C.
|Portmanteau of rapper {{w|The_Notorious_B.I.G.|Notorious B.I.G.}} and the {{w|LHC}}.
|-
|Padme Dorothy James
|{{w|P. D. James}} is a British Author. {{w|Padme}} is a Star Wars character. (Dorothy is actually P. D. James' middle name)
|-
|Pam06
|
|-
|Patricia03
|
|-
|Paul50
|
|-
|Paul1957
|
|-
|Player One
|As in old computer games
|-
|Player Two
|As in old computer games
|-
|Professor Monoculatus McToff
|
|-
|Raymond6
|
|-
|Ronald22
|
|-
|Ruth3
|
|-
|S. G. Dukat
|[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Dukat Dukat, S.G.], better known as "Gul Dukat" of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
|-
|Samuel19
|
|-
|Samuel49
|
|-
|Sarah55
|
|-
|Sarah1976
|
|-
|Sarah2005
|
|-
|Sharon91
|
|-
|Sharon99
|
|-
|Shaun6
|
|-
|Shaun46
|
|-
|Shaun1960
|
|-
|Sheena2005
|
|-
|Sherri97
|
|-
|{{w|Sidd Finch}}
|The subject of the notorious article and April Fools' Day hoax "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch"
|-
|Sierra3
|
|-
|Sierra7
|
|-
|Sierra10
|
|-
|Stacy07
|
|-
|Stacy14
|
|-
|Steven02
|
|-
|Steven50
|
|-
|Steven2002
|
|-
|Susan11
|
|-
|Susan25
|
|-
|Taylor1990
|
|-
|Taylor1998
|
|-
|Thomas2
|
|-
|Tim21
|
|-
|Tim87
|
|-
|[http://bobs-burgers.wikia.com/wiki/Tina_Belcher Tina Belcher]
|A character in {{w|Bob's Burgers}}
|-
|Todd33
|
|-
|Tonya22
|
|-
|Tonya38
|
|-
|Tracy1977
|
|-
|Tricia1
|
|-
|Tricia14
|
|-
|Trinity1989
|
|-
|Virginia1961
|
|-
|Virginia2006
|
|-
|Wil
|{{w|Will Wheaton}}'s [http://reddit.com/user/wil reddit username].
|-
|Wric Tungstenfinger
|Referring to "Auric Goldfinger" in the James Bond Franchise. (Gold = Au, Tungsten = W)
|}

==User pictures==
:[Below are descriptions of possible (not all?) user pictures shown next to any user name as for instance on the [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] page.]
:[The 20 user images can be directly accessed on xkcd from http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-1.png to http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-20.png.]
:[Picture of all users in number order from User-1 to User-2, ordered left to right, top to bottom:
:[[File:All users.png]]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-1.png User-1 Knit Cap Girl] [From [[1350: Lorenz]].]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-2.png User-2 Man with black hair] [Could be [[Hairy]].]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-3.png User-3 Baseball]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-4.png User-4 White silhouette]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-5.png User-5 Galaxy with jets from central black hole] (Similar picture can be found in [[505: A Bunch of Rocks]].)
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-6.png User-6 White planet Saturn with ''Space kills'' written above and below the planet]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-7.png User-7 Squirrel] [xkcd has had squirrels as a theme for a long time - see [[1503: Squirrel Plan]]).
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-8.png User-8 Squirrel close up]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-9.png User-9 Beret Guy with hair] [So not [[Beret Guy]].]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-10.png User-10 Man with Gray Hat] [So neither [[Black Hat] or [[White Hat]].]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-11.png User-11 Penrose triangle] [A {{w|Penrose triangle}}]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-12.png User-12 Standing hairy man] [Could be [[Hairy]].]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-13.png User-13 eiπ≈0]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-14.png User-14 Running black haired girl] [Could be [[Megan]].]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-15.png User-15 Walking hairy man] [Could be [[Hairy]].]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-16.png User-16 Close up of male face with black hair on a gray background]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-17.png User-17 Flying girl plus more in background] [Could be [[Megan]] from [[1416: Pixels]]. See also [[353: Python]]]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-18.png User-18 Hairy stick figure from a far distance]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-19.png User-19 Hair stick figure on a skateboard] [Could be [[Megan]]. She has been seen on [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=megan+skateboard&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch skateboards].]
*[http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-20.png User-20 Hairy stick figure fencing] [Could be [[Megan]]].

==Like buttons==
:[xkcloud has "''Like''" buttons next to each post (next to the post text above the picture), similar to those on Facebook, but with random text from this alphabetical list below where all words are [http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/want synonyms for want].]
*Covet
*Crave
*Hanker
*Thirst
*Yearn

==Post from users==
:[Some of the picture can be seen on this page: [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users|Pictures posted by users]].]
:[It will likely be impossible to transcribe all this as it is user input, and thus not Randall's own text. But at least a few examples should be given here as a reference. If anyone wish to expand beyond a few feel free to contribute.]
*Meritocracy is a pipe dream
''The Mushroom Kingdom (from Super Mario Bros.) is a monarchic meritocracy''
*The prophecy was true!
*The tea party was right about GMO bicycles
*Everything makes sense now
*Turkey drumstick Stonehenge was surprisingly compelling
*I've made a huge mistake
*Um, I think somethings wrong with my carrot...
*The rest is darkness and decay
*Howerboard to full power!
*My hobby: Freaking people out
*Is this real life?
''Reference to Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody''
*Where should I put this new cool tatto?

*Exact composition of this... thing... is yet to be determined.
*AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
*Man, that cool-ade guy really lost some weight lately.
*Lol, no I didn't jump
*In hindsight, it makes perfect sense
*Whoops I left the Lens Cap on for this one. :S
*Duck Duck Go's secret algorithm
''Duck Duck Go is a search engine which doesn't track you. Somewhat ironically, their algorithm is a bit secretive''
*This isn't where I parked my zeppelin!
*Who stepped on my pop tart?
*Big Ben is going down
*Do my feet look fat?
*I say; Nuts to that!
*I can take photo's with my teeth!
*To infinity and birdyond!
''Reference to Toystory''
*I wish I could afford the monopolar model...
*I can control the BEES! But I only make them turn right
*the saddest moment of my childhood
*hey, so, we need to talk about your sphere-packing problem.

==References==
<references/>

Talk:225: Open Source

2015-03-25T16:25:46Z

108.162.237.192:

"Richard Stallman is famous for beginning the GNU Project and is outspoken on the topic of Open Source software and Free software." Specifically, he is an outspoken critic of Open Source, and an outspoken proponent of Free Software. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 02:09, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

:Ah, thank you. That's good to note. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:25, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

GPL isn't a recursive abbreviation for ‘GNU Public License’, then it would have to be called ‘GPL Public License’. GNU in itself, on the other hand, ''is'' a recursive abbreviation for 'GNU's Not Unix'. --[[Special:Contributions/188.113.76.15|188.113.76.15]] 15:38, 9 March 2013 (UTC)
:{{done}} (Though I actually noted this myself and fixed it; then noticed your comment :-) ) [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 10:45, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

The pronunciation of GNU is actually "g'new" not "new". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.8|108.162.249.8]] 02:06, 29 December 2013 (UTC)

~ ~ ~ ~ Aren't ninjas supposed to be stealthy and silent? Of course, they could have been made to announce their mission to Richard before (perhaps) killing him, but still... {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.223}}
: The point is not to kill him, but to startle him into a response to an absurd situation which the pranksters find humorous. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.205|108.162.249.205]] 03:00, 15 January 2015 (UTC)

The comic isn't quite explained here. Did the ninjas kill RMS, or were they just pretend-ninjas trying to scare him? Is the blob in the last panel a blood smear or a hood being carried? {{unsigned ip|173.245.55.61}}
: Read harder, there is RMS's comment on them running away. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.154|173.245.56.154]] 21:02, 22 July 2014 (UTC)

I have a bit of an issue with calling non-free software traditional. RMS is the traditionalist here. He created GNU for that very purpose, to get back to the traditional method of being able to access and modify your source, and then share any fixes you made with the wider community. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.154|173.245.56.154]] 21:02, 22 July 2014 (UTC)

Linus Torvalds isn't "mostly harmless". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.192|108.162.237.192]] 16:25, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

1456: On the Moon

2014-12-05T18:52:05Z

108.162.237.192: Made a bit more concise

--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.192|108.162.237.192]] 18:52, 5 December 2014 (UTC){{comic
| number = 1456
| date = December 5, 2014
| title = On the Moon
| image = on_the_moon.png
| titletext = "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on Venus and returning him safely to--" [an aide frantically whispers in the president's ear for a moment] "... of landing a man on Venus."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Check for completeness.}}
The phrase "If we can land a man on the Moon, why can't we <blank>" is commonly used to question a perceived shortcoming of some company, government or humanity in general. The premise is that "we" (usually a generalized blanket identification of humanity, or the United States) have been able to achieve the extraordinary feat of landing men on the Moon and bringing them back to Earth safely; thus our inability to achieve some lesser goal is questionable and/or ironic.

Here, Megan is cutting Cueball's argument's short by reminding him that humanity has not put another man on the Moon since the end of the Apollo program in December 1972, and that new manned programs to return to the Moon, such as the US Constellation Program, have been repeatedly cancelled.

The title text is a retelling of the famous inspirational [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/xzw1gaeeTES6khED14P1Iw.aspx Kennedy address to the US Congress in May 1961], which set into motion the Apollo program, except that this time, the speaker is talking about putting a man on planet Venus. The aide presumably explains to the president that it is unlikely that anybody could land on Venus longer than a few seconds and come back alive. (The atmosphere of Venus is extremely hostile with high pressure, high temperature, strong winds, sulfuric acid rains and lakes, etc.) As a result, the president backtracks from the goal of bringing the astronauts home again. Unmanned hardened pre-cooled robotic probes either got crushed or fried before landing, or survived only [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera a couple of hours at most].

==Transcript==
:Cueball: If we could land a man on the Moon, why can't we -
:Megan: -land a man on the Moon?
:Cueball: ...ok, fair. But we're working on it, OK?

{{comic discussion}}

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

Talk:1024: Error Code

2014-11-20T21:34:50Z

108.162.237.192:

The joke is probably that "sit by a lake" is the name of the tune corresponding with motherboard error -41

Motherboard error codes are not numbered like other error codes are. Motherboard error codes are just referred to by how the beeps sound (ex. 1 long, 2 short) [[User:Luke1042|Luke1042]]

Personally, of all motherboard beeping codes, I always liked "No beep = Power supply, system board problem, disconnected CPU, or disconnected speaker...." (Well, when not suffering it myself. And even then I could stand it when it was just the latter and thus of no ''immediate'' consequence...) [[Special:Contributions/31.111.103.76|31.111.103.76]] 22:04, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

: Well then, laptop computers dont beep at all, I guess that must mean that something is always missing --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.111|108.162.250.111]] 03:03, 26 November 2013 (UTC)

::Yes. You are missing a Desktop. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.60|108.162.216.60]] 20:49, 14 May 2014 (UTC)BK201

This is one of my favourite xkcd comics, it makes me take a long breath and just chill out a bit. Probably the only comic that could be described as 'relaxing' [[Special:Contributions/77.103.5.201|77.103.5.201]] 20:13, 5 May 2013 (UTC)

Unfortunately the beep codes thing is archaic. Most new computers built since the early to mid-2000s haven't made a beep - instead, the trend has been to rely on visual codes from built-in LEDs (and, later on, from pairs of eight-segment displays relaying hex codes). So a modern code will run from 00 to FF - but it will also be completely silent. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.216|141.101.81.216]] 11:47, 25 February 2014 (UTC)

: Every computer ever booted in my presence, some before many during and a few shortly after stated time period as well as several brand new this year, has beeped at the end of the POST, with one exception. That one would have beeped, but it's PC speaker was removed because it annoyed the owner. So I don't think hex code error indicators have quite made beepcodes "archaic".--[[User:guest|guest]] 08:46, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

::I built my own computer about a year ago, with a motherboard that was quite modern. It definitely uses beep codes. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.107|199.27.133.107]] 04:34, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

The guy at the computer is [[Cueball]], isn't he? So Cuball and friend is the common way here. If not, the the category [[:Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] has also to be removed. But I don't see that. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:02, 23 April 2014 (UTC)

Anyone got any idea what the yellow things in the lake are? They look like they should be significant? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.94|141.101.104.94]] 05:48, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

: Those are lily pad flowers. Before they bloom they look like small balls, and some are yellow[https://www.google.com/search?q=yellow+lily+pad+flower&tbm=isch]. {{unsigned ip|199.27.130.216}}

The guy at the computer should say at the first panel "That's UNhelpful" instead of "That's helpful", shouldn't he? Or maybe I don't know something in english? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.185|108.162.254.185]] 09:35, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

It's called a sarcastic comment, though it's technically irony. It's very common for english speaking people to say "well, that's helpful" when the intended understanding is exactly the opposite.--[[User:guest|guest]] 08:41, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

Did... did anyone ever make this book? Somebody should get on that.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.192|108.162.237.192]] 21:34, 20 November 2014 (UTC)

Talk:919: Tween Bromance

2014-08-22T08:52:27Z

108.162.237.192:

Language elitist. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:26, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

I think this needs an incomplete flag: the explanation needs more contextual detail, about colloquial portmanteaus like 'frenemy' and the common disapproval of 'words' like 'irregardless'. --[[User:Mynotoar|Mynotoar]] ([[User talk:Mynotoar|talk]]) 08:59, 9 February 2014 (UTC)

GAH! He's not DICTATING, the title is another joke! Tween? Bromance? Come on fellas and ladies. They are the first two portmanteaus! Cueball is essentially spitting out a sentence with an endless stream of irritating, inane, infintilisms, in an incredibly insensitive, lol, effort to drive Megan to the brink of insanity! Couldn't resist that last one. Yiffed made me giggle, the rest, connected to it, made my abs hurt from laughing, especially after Megan's reaction. He deserves a medal. Oh goodness. No profile so please don't use my IP address to violate me via the Internetz, if that is possible to do with an IP address. I would not know. Grazie. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.84|173.245.55.84]] 09:32, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

I'm not anybody here, I was just passing by and enjoying the annotations on these xkcd comics, but it seems to me like no explanation of this comic would be complete without talking about word aversion, sometimes called "the moist panties phenomenon", if someone wants to be funny. Basically, he is listing words that make people (or Randall himself?) uncomfortable. This page --- http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004835.html -- talks about word aversion in relation to the more common "word rage" that some neologisms and words that began as errors provoke. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.192|108.162.237.192]] 08:52, 22 August 2014 (UTC)