explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2447: Hammer Incident

2021-04-08T02:17:38Z

108.162.250.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2447
| date = April 7, 2021
| title = Hammer Incident
| image = hammer_incident.png
| titletext = I still think the Cold Stone Creamery partnership was a good idea, but I should have asked before doing the first market trials during the cryogenic mirror tests.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A REALLY LARGE IMAGE WOW. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands before a seated panel of four people.]
:Cueball: Yes, I know you're mad that I dropped that hammer.
:Cueball: But think about me—
:Cueball: ''Seven years of bad luck!''
:[Caption below the panel]:
:Man, NASA is really on my case about the James Webb Space Telescope.

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

2402: Into My Veins

2020-12-25T12:55:29Z

108.162.250.127:

{{comic
| number = 2402
| date = December 23, 2020
| title = Into My Veins
| image = into_my_veins.png
| titletext = "Okay, for the last time, the shot is free, so we can't--" "Shut up and take my money!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by PHILIP J. FRY. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic references both the {{w|COVID-19 vaccine}} and a common {{w|Internet meme|meme}} for when people are excited about something.

COVID-19 has inconvenienced some people,{{Citation needed}} so many are excited for the vaccine (which will hopefully end the pandemic). This comic shows [[Cueball]] receiving the vaccine reacting with "Inject it directly into my veins," a modified version of the phrase "just hook it to my veins" (from ''{{w|The Simpsons}}'') that Barney says after winning a lifetime supply of beer in a movie making contest in the 1995 episode "{{W|A Star Is Burns}}". This sort of phrase is used to express enthusiasm for something, usually something which is not generally injected into any part of the human body. Like some other vaccines, however, it is {{w|Intramuscular injection|injected into a muscle}}, not {{w|Intravenous therapy|directly into one's veins}}.

The title text references another such meme, [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/shut-up-and-take-my-money "Shut up and take my money,"] which derives from the 2010 "{{w|Attack of the Killer App}}" episode of ''{{w|Futurama}}''. The COVID-19 vaccine is being provided free of charge to Cueball, so taking money is entirely unnecessary (and possibly illegal).

The attitude of the comic shows how badly many people want this vaccine, how frustrated people all over the experiences of the pandemic. The combination of memes ends up possibly comparing the experience of getting the vaccine to that of being a street drug addict.

==Transcript==

:Cueball: Yesssss
:Cueball: Inject this directly into my veins

:[Beat panel. Ponytail looks down at a clipboard.]

:[Zoom out to reveal that Cueball is standing by a stool, with Ponytail in front of him with a clipboard and syringe and Hairy behind him with a box of bandages and a first-aid kit.]

:Ponytail: Ok, but the vaccine is intramuscular...
:Hairy: Why do people keep ''saying'' that?
:Cueball: Sorry, sorry.
:Cueball: Just excited.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

2394: Contiguous 41 States

2020-12-05T07:08:16Z

108.162.250.127: Altered title text explanation to better explain the use of "backdated", changed punctuation to clarify the section on missing states.

{{comic
| number = 2394
| date = December 4, 2020
| title = Contiguous 41 States
| image = contiguous_41_states.png
| titletext = Linguists, settling some inscrutable grudge, have been steadily sneaking more backdated synonyms for 'sharing borders' into the dictionary. They've added 'contiguous,' 'coterminous,' 'conterminous,' and next year they're adding 'conterguous.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MISSING STATE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The United States of America is composed of 50 states,{{Citation needed}} {{w|Contiguous United States|48 of which are contiguous}} – meaning they share a common border. Two states are separated from the other 48 states, {{w|Alaska}} and {{w|Hawaii}}. Alaska, purchased from Russia in 1867, is separated from the rest of the United States by the country of Canada. Hawaii, annexed in 1898, is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. As these states are not ''contiguous'' to the rest of the 48 states, they may not be included in maps of the United States. Typically, these 2 states are included in inset maps, separate sections at the bottom of the map.

The map in this comic is "Alaska and Hawaii's revenge", with seven additional states removed: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Most of these are accomplished by eliminating a column of states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. Oklahoma and Texas, which are directly south of these, are slid over to the west into the space freed up by deleting New Mexico. The other two deleted states are Pennsylvania and Delaware, with the states to their south and north slid/extended to fill the gap.

The United States did have exactly 41 states for a few days in 1889, from the admission of Montana, the 41st state, on November 8, to the admission of Washington (the state, not DC), the 42nd state, on November 11. However, it was not the same 41 as shown here; for example, Pennsylvania and Delaware were two of the original 13 states (Delaware calls itself the first state, based on date of ratification of the Constitution) and Arizona and Oklahoma did not become states until the early 1900s.

The omission of Pennsylvania could be a reference to {{w|2020 United States presidential election#Subsequent events|the lawsuits following the 2020 presidential election}}.

The title text riffs on synonyms for "shared borders", which, according to Randall, linguists are inventing more of (while claiming they already existed) to make life more complicated for modern English users, for obscure reasons.

In fact, 'contiguous', 'coterminous', and 'conterminous' all date from early modern English, early-to-mid 17th century (just after the time of Shakespeare). 'Coterminous' and 'conterminous' are alternate spellings from the same Latin root ('cum' + 'terminus'), whereas 'contiguous' is from a different root (Latin 'contiguus').

'Conterguous' is a neologism by Randall, though he blames it on linguists. It is a portmanteau of 'CONTERminous' and 'contiGUOUS'. It is etymologically absurd (the prefix 'conter-' is meaningless). Its prescriptivist ('top-down') introduction into the language would simply be for the purpose of messing with people's minds, as Randall suggests. However, should the word catch on with English speakers, perhaps precisely because it is a joke, its descriptivist ('bottom-up') entry into the language is certainly possible. One could then argue just how much Randall would have to answer for.

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

:The Contiguous 41 States

:[A map of the United States, missing Delaware, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota, along with Alaska and Hawaii]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Tired of being left off maps of the US, Alaska and Hawaii begin producing maps with ''other'' states missing, too.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Language]]

2288: Collector's Edition

2020-04-04T00:26:58Z

108.162.250.127: /* Hints */ Solved one

{{comic
| number = 2288
| date = April 3, 2020
| title = Collectors Edition
| image = collectors_edition.png
| titletext = I'm sure you can find some suitable worldbuilding material if you scavenge through the archives.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is an April 1st comic. It is a large image, of which only part is visible, but it can be dragged around. This Space acts as a virtual common sandbox where viewers can interact. "Items" (small, often humorous images) can be 'collected' from other comics and then placed in this image by viewers. The collection then updates for all viewers in real-time. Multiples of the same item are often seen.

There is a "backpack" at the bottom, similar to "backpacks" in video games containing items collected by the player. Items can be found by visiting different XKCD comics/pages. Randomly, some pages will have a treasure chest which will contain the sticker related to the page. It is believed that the hint represents what page currently has a chest.

The sticker images can be seen at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot_XXX.png, where XXX is a number from 001-253. Additionally, some images can be found at custom URLs, for example the periodic elements can be found at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/element-XX.png, where XX is the element, and text loot at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot-words-X.png, where X is the sentence.

===Hints===

{| class="wikitable"
!Hint
!Comic
!Unlocked item
!Item image
!Notes
|-
|Doctors in a row||[[1529: Bracket]] [[497: Secretary: Part 4]] ||Cory Doctorow || loot_019.png || These comics all have the same hint, but only one will have the chest ||
|-
|Get out the (US) vote|| [[2224: Software Updates]] || Statue of liberty || loot_246.png ||
|-
|Find a box of nice stuff on a picture with words like these|| [[1133: Up Goer Five]] || Signpost || loot_126.png ||
|-
|Plug in or find another power source||[[1373: Screenshot]] || || loot_228.png ||
|-
|Sweet dreams, kitty||[[729: Laser Pointer]] || Cat licking laser point || loot_090.png ||
|-
|What is this hint pointing to? Hell if I know.||[[28: Elefino]] || || ||
|-
|Somebody set up us the bomb||[[286: All Your Base]] ||Exploding rock || ||
|-
|Cowabunga||[[1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] ||Women Science Fiction Authors || loot_175.png || [[197: Ninja Turtles]] also works
|-
|I want to believe||[[2156: Ufo]] ||Ufo || ||
|-
|Bleeped||[[1671: Arcane Bullshit]]|| *$@#! || loot_044.png ||
|-
|why waste time say few word when lot word do trick||[[1022: So It Has Come To This]] || First Annual Award for Excellence in Being Very Smart || loot_159.png ||
|-
|Cooler than electric scooters||[[409: Electric Skateboard (Double Comic)]]||An electric scooter|| loot_006.png ||
|-
|Take it from the top||[[1: Barrel - Part 1]] ||I am a turtle from [[889: Turtles]] || loot_095.png ||
|-
|I accept the yucca gnocchi, this meal is a success!||[[1713: 50 ccs]] ||Man carrying parentheses from [[297: Lisp Cycles]] || loot_031.png ||
|-
|Catch up on the news|| [[1699: Local News]] || || ||
|-
|Participation trophy|| [[2288: Collectors Edition]] || Server rack || loot_096.png ||
|-
|Find an opportunity for a sojourn||[[1504: Opportunity]] ||Opportunity Mars rover || ||
|-
|Tastier than tau day||[[179: e to the pi times i]] ||First annual award for excellence in being very smart || loot_159.png ||
|-
|Tastier than tau day||[[1967: Violin Plots]] || Pie sign || loot_056.png || Published on Pi day
|-
|418 I'm a teapot||[[1866: Russell's Teapot]] ||S.S. NASA: Space is Hard || ||
|-
|26th September, 1983||[[2052: Stanislav Petrov Day]] ||White dove || ||
|-
|There are 4241 as of Apr 1, 2020|| [[1071: Exoplanets]] || Little girl from [[2264: Satellite]] || loot_151.png ||
|-
|asableiK|| [[645: RPS]] || A reverse Polish hotdog || || "Kielbasa" backwards, which is "sausage" in Polish
|-
|Critical mass elements|| [[235: Kite]] || || loot_203.png ||
|-
|Some Februarys are more equal than others|| [[390: Nightmares]]? || Cueball wheelie from [[272: Linux User at Best Buy]] || || Comic-hint connection largely conjectural; 390 was the first comic published on a leap day.
|-
|Five spice||[[1554: Spice Girls]]|| Rock guitarist || loot_022.png||
|-
|Call the plumber|| [[290: Fucking Blue Shells]] || || loot_058.png ||
|-
|Was it a rat I saw?|| [[1632: Palindrome]] || Cueball with a large sack, pulling a wagon || loot_103.png || or [[1503: Squirrel Plan]] for cueball holding a balloon caught in a ceiling fan.
|-
|Churchill's gonna have to seriously rehydrate||[[1148: Nothing to Offer]]|| Bottle of soda || loot_045.png ||
|-
|Keep coming back|| || || ||
|-
|A new model released each year|| || || || Triggered by visiting all xkcd phone comics
|-
|Tea Time||[[581: The Race: Part 5]] ||Floor tea ||loot_232.png||
|-
|Try pattern-matching! Look for comic 'bout alphabet?||[[1045: Constraints]] || || ||
|-
|Where's Hilbert?||[[195: Map of the Internet]] || Hilbert Curve || loot_021.png ||
|-
|Science fiction fetish|| || || ||
|-
|The first one was funnier||[[11: Barrel - Part 2]]||Falling feather || ||
|-
|It's up to over 260 million cycles!||[[1941: Dying Gift]] || Megan on a tire swing || ||
|-
|Sleeping Beauty is the same everywhere though||[[2233: Aurora Meaning]] || Sleeping Cat || loot_163.png ||
|-
|On the internet, nobody knows you're an arachnid|| [[1530: Keyboard Mash]] || Cobwebbed frame from [[1135: Arachnoneurology]]|| ||
|-
|Did James Cameron pay for the rice cooker too?||[[1598: Salvage]] ||Rice bowl || loot_152.png ||
|-
|Never going to give you up||[[351: Trolling]] || || ||
|-
|If red touches yellow, that's 24 ohms||[[1604: Snakes]]|| Yoda with an mp3 player from What If || ||
|-
|An enthusiastic but questionable business opportunity||[[1533: Antique Factory]] or [[1021: Business Plan]]|| Beret guy with a goat on leash || loot_115.png ||
|-
|Read the fine manual|| [[1343: Manuals]] or [[293: RTFM]] || "Configure the network" window with a prompt for hostname || loot_106.png ||
|-
|That thing's undecimodal!||[[1347: t Distribution]] || Floating tentacled alien || ||
|-
|Actually, it's Myanmar-Shave now||[[491: Twitter]]||Expensive bottle || ||
|-
|You don't have to find all 99|| [[121: Balloon]] ||Balloon copter || loot_002.png || Or [[51: Malaria]] ?
|-
|Going in circles|| [[378: Real Programmers]] || Cueball spinning in desk chair || loot_098.png ||
|-
|Couldn't you try knitting, or maybe stamp collecting?||[[2123: Meta Collecting]]||Phishing License sign|| loot_158.png ||
|-
|It's the ciiiiircle of HONK||[[537: Ducklings]] ||DUCKLOOP'D? || loot_069.png||
|-
|Fool me twice|| [[880: Headache]] || Raptor Attack || loot_033.png ||The second April fools' comic
|-
|oOOOoooo|| [[316: Loud Sex]] || Sleeping cat || ||
|-
|Maybe we can ask for new wishes||[[879: Lamp]] ||Genie and his bottle ||loot_004.png || If you place the genie last, you get another genie (indefinitely) ||
|-
|HACK THE PLANET||[[1337: Hack]] || Crash and Burn in the pool from the end of ''Hackers'' || loot_130.png ||
|-
|Monetization haute couteur||[[20: Ferret]]||Two bags of money ||loot_162.png||
|-
|Maybe writing a script would help||[[1319: Automation]]|| || ||
|-
|Go big to go small|| [[1365: Inflation]] || || loot_245.png ||
|-
|Are you projecting||[[850: World According to Americans]] or [[977: Map Projections]]||Squirrel on a gun||loot_237.png||
|-
|Do spiders really have six legs||[[8: Red spiders]] || || ||
|-
|Istanbul or Constantinople or St. Trimble's Island?||[[1688: Map Age Guide]] ||Cephalopod || ||
|-
|Another rulebook?||[[393: Ultimate Game]]|| Merlin in a chair from [[270: Merlin]] || loot_037.png ||
|-
|Moooooon|| [[1300: Galilean Moons]] || MOOOOOON || ||
|-
|Take a flight from LOL to FFS|| [[1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations]] || || ||
|-
|Everyone deserves a second chnace|| || || || [[745: Dyslexics]] feels like a good fit but I don't see a loot box there
|-
|Community contribution|| [[826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)]] || [Citation Needed] protester from [[285: Wikipedian Protester]] || loot_035.png ||
|-
|On the other side of the wardrobe|| [[665: Prudence]] or [[969: Delta-P]] or [[2218: Wardrobe]] ||Authentic Reindeer pulling sled from [[1776: Reindeer]] || loot_154.png ||
|-
|Today's your lucky day|| [[1053: Ten Thousand]] || Ms. Frizzle || loot_105.png ||
|-
|[This hint has been redacted due to a copyright claim]|| [[1005: SOPA]] || || ||
|-
|Try a different approach|| [[55: Useless]] || Equals sign || loot_times.png, loot_div.png ||
|-
|The cake is a lie!|| [[606: Cutting Edge]] || Cake || loot_144.png ||
|-
|Joanna, fire.||[[322: Pix Plz]] || Joanna with EMP cannon || loot_026.png ||
|-
|Everything changes from time to time when the fire nation attacks|| [[965: Elements]] || Symposium || ||
|-
|90KG x 300M|| [[382: Trebuchet]] || Trebuchet || loot_041.png ||
|-
|Copyright Enforcement Brigade|| [[344: 1337: Part 4]] || || loot_046.png ||
|-
|Where Cape Town meets Chukotka||[[1500: Upside-Down Map]] || Crater || ||
|-
|Take a ride in a barrel|| || Cueball at the door to the playpen-ball-filled apartment from [[150: Grownups]] || loot_005.png || Reliably triggered by viewing all five barrel comics in reverse order ([[31]], [[25]], [[22]], [[11]], [[1]])
|-
| || [[2288: Collectors Edition]] || Sheeple eye || loot_109.png ||
|-
| || [[2288: Collectors Edition]] || Time machine from [[1747: Spider Paleontology]] || loot_167.png ||
|}

==Trivia==
* This comic is the 2020 April Fools comic and was supposed to be released April 1st. However, the below message was displayed on the top of the page until early Friday (April 3rd) morning, when the comic finally went live. It remains to be seen if Friday's intended comic will be published later.
<blockquote>
Note: For technical reasons Wednesday's comic will be posted Thursday instead. Apologies for the delay!
</blockquote>
* Placement is limited to 10,000 units from the origin. Users will receive no messages if they try placing something outside the boundary.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands to the left of a vibrating box.]
:[The words "Collector's Edition" are written above him and boxed.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]

Talk:997: Wait Wait

2020-01-21T04:31:33Z

108.162.250.127: Asking about a potential additional hidden meaning in the row 5 panel 2 paper.

The 5th Row, 3rd paper, "Wait Wait ... don't speak its name" may refer to the Lovecraftian Eldetr God Hastur, also known as "He Who is Not to be Named." Eldritch was a favorite Lovecraft word used extensively in the Cthulhu Mythos. {{unsigned ip|74.120.13.132}}

:Row three, column three should be "Wait wait, dont taze me, bro" {{unsigned ip|173.245.63.146}}
Is there a real kneed for this:
(sic)
in stories about Granny Weatherwax?
[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 06:42, 22 January 2015 (UTC)
: I guess it is impossible to find "may refer to" for all 20 headlines? because this comic pretends to be "fixed" thus not all have an explanation. -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.18|108.162.254.18]] 08:25, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

"Don't Dissect Me" reminds me of a Stephen King short story, ''Autopsy Room Four,'' from the collection ''Everything's Eventual.'' [[User:Boct1584|Boct1584]] ([[User talk:Boct1584|talk]]) 14:47, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Can we have a table for this? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.40|108.162.245.40]] 22:44, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

I think that the first one implies that he is the hostage, not the gunman. Anyone else think so? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.64|172.68.174.64]] 16:48, 17 January 2019 (UTC)

Yeah, I agree, Sagal's the hostage.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.150|172.68.65.150]] 00:46, 21 August 2019 (UTC)

Anyone else feels that this explanation would deserve an incomplete tag? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 10:50, 18 December 2019 (UTC)

Could row 5 panel 2 be referencing the "You'll Be OK" comic (https://pbfcomics.com/comics/youll-be-ok/) by the Perry Bible Fellowship, which is one of the linked comic sites at the bottom of the xkcd page? Because the sub-heading coule read "Peter Sagal accidetanlly *OK*", if you read across to the little picture. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.127|108.162.250.127]] 04:31, 21 January 2020 (UTC) Hadley