https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=108.162.254.75explain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-06-27T23:53:43ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1540:_Hemingway&diff=959571540: Hemingway2015-06-19T16:54:28Z<p>108.162.254.75: </p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1540<br />
| date = June 19, 2015<br />
| title = Hemingway<br />
| image = 1540.jpg<br />
| titletext = Instead of bobcat, package contained chair.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{Incomplete|Finished with Edit Conflict assimilation, but prior author(s) invited to rejig}}<br />
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This comic is a reference to the six-word short story {{w|For sale: baby shoes, never worn}}, which has been attributed to famous author {{w|Ernest Hemingway}}, however, [[Randall|Randall Munroe]] explicitly states that this might not be the case at all. The comic plays on the fact that the original story takes the form of a short advertisement that might have been seen in a newspaper, and for these examples uses various modern 'standards' that did not exist in Hemingway's time.<br />
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Each example remains six 'words' long!<br />
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(Title-text obeys this meme, also.)<br />
<!-- Yes, these statements ''are'' self-referential! --><br />
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Most exhibit common 'click bait' wording, such as "This Weird Trick...", whilst others make use of annotating tokens from an online site. One line references Roguelike conventions for item descriptions, obviously also unfamiliar to Hemmingway's generation and there's also a direct example of HTML formatting tags from the early 1990s; the <BLINK> tag was infamously introduced to the early Netscape browsers. <!-- Should we mention the "Netscape Unfriendly" backlash? --><br />
Others poke fun at the tragedy that the original story suggests. The six words (For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn) are written like an advertisment, and the reader is supposed to infer that the baby who would have worn the shoes must have died. Randall tries to make the reader infer other things.<br />
'For Sale: This gullible baby's shoes' suggests that the seller somehow tricked the baby out of its shoes. 'Baby shoes for sale by owner' suggests that a very intelligent baby is somehow selling its own shoes. <br />
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In the case of the HTML, the normally invisble-and-rendered tag elements can be seen and are part of the six words count. This could have been due to 'sanitising' of uploaded text where HTML tags (other than any that are specifically allowed, like it appears Strikethrough formatting might be) are deliberately deactivated by the server, or because the incorrectly closed final tag breaks any intended rendering support.<br />
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The title text (and the penultimate line in the comic itself) makes a reference to the third pane of [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]] in which [[Cueball]] says: 'Instead of office chair, package contained bobcat'<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
[Caption above comic:]<br><br />
Hemingway's Rough Drafts<br><br />
[A list of rough draft titles]<br><br />
For sale: This Gullible Baby's Shoes<br><br />
Baby Shoes For Sale By Owner<br><br />
<strike>Actually, There's no evidence Hemingway wrote</strike><br><br />
Free Shoes, Provided You Overpower Baby<br><br />
For Sale: Weird Baby's Toe Shoes<br><br />
For Sale: Baby Shoes [an "Amazon Prime eligible" logo]<br><br />
<strike>Though popularly attributed to Hemingway, the</strike><br><br />
This Weird Trick Covers Baby Feet!<br><br />
For Sale: Baby Shoes, Just Hatched<br><br />
Sale: Seven-League Boots (Expedited Shipping)<br><br />
Complete this survey for free shoes!<br><br />
''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway (citation needed)<br><br />
This is my greatest short story.<br><br />
For sale: Baby shoes (-1) [cursed]<br><br />
<blink><marquee>Baby Shoes!</marquee><blink><br><br />
For Sale: Baby-sized Saddle, Bobcat<br><br />
Hemingway Busted for Craigslist Shoe Scam<br><br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.254.75https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:106:_Wright_Brothers&diff=83671Talk:106: Wright Brothers2015-01-28T18:52:51Z<p>108.162.254.75: fixed typo</p>
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<div>The issue date is definitely not correct, because the file doesn't have a create-date. Anyone? --[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) 06:30, 3 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
:Fixed. Date from Archive page is May 24, 2006. --B.P. 16:07, 8 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
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This reminds me of Doctor Who: "The key to a fair compromise is not knowing which side you're on." In this case, however, the humans and zygons actually have their memories erased. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.202}}<br />
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I guess the title text is more a joke on his previously often used sentence "It's true, do this all the time" or similar but now switched sides<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.75|108.162.254.75]] 18:50, 28 January 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.254.75https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:106:_Wright_Brothers&diff=83670Talk:106: Wright Brothers2015-01-28T18:50:49Z<p>108.162.254.75: alternativ title text proposal</p>
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<div>The issue date is definitely not correct, because the file doesn't have a create-date. Anyone? --[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) 06:30, 3 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
:Fixed. Date from Archive page is May 24, 2006. --B.P. 16:07, 8 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This reminds me of Doctor Who: "The key to a fair compromise is not knowing which side you're on." In this case, however, the humans and zygons actually have their memories erased. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.202}}<br />
<br />
I guess the title text is more a joke on his previously often used sentence "It's true, I DI this all the time" or similar but now switched sides<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.75|108.162.254.75]] 18:50, 28 January 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.254.75