explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2445: Checkbox

2021-04-02T08:50:06Z

141.101.96.82: -> Special Responses ILOVEYOU

{{comic
| number = 2445
| date = April 1, 2021
| title = Checkbox
| image = checkbox.gif
| titletext = Check check check ... chhecck chhecck chhecck ... check check check
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHECKBOX. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is an April Fools comic that looks similar to a loading screen. The actual comic (this “loading screen”) consists of a gif of a checkbox (hence the name).

The frame is replaced with an interactive panel. In the centre is a check box, which clears itself immediately when checked. In the bottom right is a mute button, which begins muted.

Under the checkbox is a scrolling visual representation of the timing and duration of clicks in the check box, which also produce matching beeping sounds when unmuted.

By varying between brief and long presses, and brief and long intervals between presses, it is possible to enter characters in Morse Code.

The title text hints at the use of Morse Code in the comic; interpreting the "check" as a Morse Code dot and the "chhecck" as a Morse Code dash gives ...---..., which is the Morse Code for "SOS", the international distress signal. Incidentally, inputting the SOS signal gives "YOU TOO?".

The check box then begins operating by itself, producing sounds which can be decoded as Morse Code. These responses are also printed in the browser's JavaScript console in both plain text and a textual representation of Morse code.

For the majority of inputs, the check box responds with a random selection from the following list:
* COME AGAIN
* HUH
* NOT FOLLOWING
* SAY AGAIN
* TRY THAT AGAIN
* WHAT

Some keywords, however, have special responses.

Help on the comic is ascribed to Max Goodhart, Patrick, Amber, Benjamin Staffin, Kevin Cotrone, and Michael Leuchtenburg.

===Special Responses===
[.s are short presses, -s are long presses, and /s are spaces (just for readability)]

xkcd -> FILE NOT FOUND

xkcd -> A CROSS THREE LETTERS

[-..- -.- -.-. -..]

HI -> HELLO! ANYBODY OUT THERE?

[.... ..]

HELLO -> HELLO TO YOU TOO!

[.... . .-.. .-.. ---]

HELP -> ENTER IMAGE NUMBER
HELP -> YES PLEASE

[.... . .-.. .--.]

WHAT -> ECHO

[.-- .... .- -]

ECHO -> ECHO

[. -.-. .... ---]

CHECK -> MATE

[-.-. .... . -.-. -.-]

CHECKBOX -> RADIO BUTTON (and vice versa)

[-.-. .... . -.-. -.- -... --- -..-]

ILOVEYOU -> LESSTHANTHREE

[.. .-.. --- ...- . -.-- --- ..-]

E (''repeat n times'') -> E (''repeat n times'') (where n < 7. n=6 returns 'AAAAAA' instead)

[.]

T (''repeat n times'') -> T (''repeat n times'') (where n < 7)

[-]

E-> E ''then'' I -> EIEIO

I (''repeat n times'') -> I (''repeat n times'') (where n < 4. n=4 returns 'IV', which is probably the roman numeral for 4)

FLIPCOIN -> HEADS ''or'' TAILS

[..-. .-.. .. .--. -.-. --- .. -.]

LOOK AROUND -> NOT ENOUGH POWER

[.-.. --- --- -.- / .- .-. --- ..- -. -..]

WHO ARE YOU ''or'' WHAT IS YOUR NAME -> SOJOURNER

[.-- .... --- / .- .-. . / -.-- --- ..-]

SOJOURNER -> CFM (short for Confirm)

[... --- .--- --- ..- .-. -. . .-.]

ET -> PHONE HOME

[. -]

LS -> DID YOU MEAN DIR

DIR -> ENTER IMAGE NUMBER

(any number <=2445) -> (loads xkcd comic in new tab)

MAKE ME A SANDWICH -> NOT A CHANCE

[-- .- -.- . / -- . / .- / ... .- -. -.. .-- .. -.-. ….]

SUDO MAKE ME A SANDWICH -> NOT POSSIBLE HERE

[... ..- -.. --- / -- .- -.- . / -- . / .- / ... .- -. -.. .-- .. -.-. ....]

<nowiki />:) -> :D

[---... -.--.-]

<nowiki />:( -> :C

[---... -.--.]

<nowiki />;) -> :O

[-.-.-. -.--.-]

<nowiki />:O -> :X

[---... ---]

UWU -> OWO

[..- .-- ..-]

OWO -> UWU

[--- .-- ---]

UNIX -> (''Opens [https://uni.xkcd.com uni.xkcd.com]'')

[..- -. .. -..-]

GET YE FLASK -> YE WISH! IF THERE WAS A FLASK IN THIS GAME, WE'D KNOW ABOUT IT.

[--. . - / -.-- . / ..-. .-.. .- ... -.-]

YO -> YO

[-.-- ---]

DROP TABLE -> HAHA NO

[.... .- .... .- / -. ---]

WHY -> TO STUDY THE RED PLANET

[.-- .... -.--]

EAT -> I PHOTOSYNTHESIZE

[.. / .--. .... --- - --- ... -.-- -. - .... . ... .. --.. .]

BATTLE ''or'' FIGHT -> THROW

====Controls====

QUIET -> (turns the volume off)

[--.- ..- .. . -]

MUTE -> (turns the volume off)

[-- ..- - .]

BEEP -> (turns the volume on)

[-... . . .--.]

(see also QRS and QRQ)

====Q codes and radio shorthand====
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_code

CQ -> CQD DE SOJ

[-.-. --.-]

SOS -> YOU TOO?

SOS -> OH NO

[... --- ...]

QRS -> (reduces playback speed)

[--.- .-. ...]

QRQ -> (increases playback speed)

[--.- .-. --.-]

QRA -> QRA SOJOURNER

[--.- .-. .-]

QRB -> QRB 264 MILLION KM

[--.- .-. -…]

QRH -> QRH 0.652 METERS

[--.- .-. ....]

QRG -> QRG PATHFINDER

[--.- .-. --.]

QRZ -> QRZ SOJOURNER

[--.- .-. --..]

QRT -> PLEASE DON'T GO

[--.- .-. -]

QTH -> QTH ARES VALLIS

[--.- - ....]

QSL -> QSL

[--.- ... .-..]

73 -> 73 KN

====FORTUNE====

F -> DID YOU MEAN FORTUNE

[..-.]

FORTUNE -> OPEN ME

[..-. --- .-. - ..- -. .]

OPEN -> ''returns one of the following fortunes''

[--- .--. . -.]

* NEVER FEAR THE END OF SOMETHING MARKS THE START OF SOMETHING NEW
* YOUR DREAMS ARE NEVER SILLY DEPEND ON THEM TO GUIDE YOU
* YOU WILL BE A GREAT SUCCESS BOTH IN THE BUSINESS WORLD AND SOCIETY
* CHANGE IS HAPPENING IN YOUR LIFE SO GO WITH THE FLOW
* YOUR MOODS SIGNAL A PERIOD OF CHANGE
* YOUR MENTALITY IS ALERT PRACTICAL AND ANALYTICAL
* YOU SHOULD PAY FOR THIS CHECK BE GENEROUS
* EVERYWHERE YOU CHOOSE TO GO FRIENDLY FACES WILL GREET YOU
* DILIGENCE AND MODESTY CAN RAISE YOUR SOCIAL STATUS

OPEN -> HUH (if after something other than "FORTUNE")

====ENCABULATOR====

STATUS -> RADIO ONLINE, MOTOR ONLINE, UNILATERAL PHASE DETRACTOR UNPOWERED, CARDINAL GRAMMETER UNSYNCHRONIZED

[... - .- - ..- ...]

YOUTUBE -> RXJKDH1KZ0W ''(Note: video ID for [https://youtu.be/RXJKdh1KZ0w Rockwell Retro Encabulator])''

[-.-- --- ..- - ..- -... .]

REPAIR, ENCABULATOR, FIX, ''or'' SYSTEM -> ENTERING ENCABULATOR RECOVERY SYSTEM. OPTIONS 1 INITIATE SIDE FUMBLING 2 ALIGN SPURVING BEARINGS 3 REVERSE TREMIE PIPE

[.-. . .--. .- .. .-.]

* 1 -> SIDE FUMBLING DETECTED. MODIAL INTERACTION UNSTABLE. RECOVERY TERMINATED.
* 2 -> MODIAL INTERACTION INITIATED. OPTIONS 1 UNWIND LOTUS O DELTOID 2 INCREASE DEPLENERATION 3 CONNECT GIRDLESPRING ON DOWN END OF GRAMMETER 4 CONNECT SEVENTH CONDUCTOR TO GIRDLESPRING
** 1 -> SIDE FUMBLING DETECTED. MODIAL INTERACTION UNSTABLE. RECOVERY TERMINATED.
** 2 -> DEPLENERATION PREVENTED BY DINGLE ARM
** 3 -> SIDE FUMBLING DETECTED. MODIAL INTERACTION UNSTABLE. RECOVERY TERMINATED.
** 4 -> PANAMETRIC FAN ACTIVATED. MODIAL INTERACTION STABLE. DEFAULT CONFIGURATION MISSING. MANUALLY ENTER MARZELVANE TYPE TO COMPLETE RECOVERY
*** HYDROCOPTIC -> RECOVERY SUCCESSFUL. REBOOT Y N?
**** Y -> (''Opens [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/sojourner_repaired.png sojourner_repaired.png]'')
* 3 -> ERROR TREMIE PIPE NONREVERSIBLE

====MAZE====
RETURN -> DID YOU MEAN ENTER

ENTER -> DID YOU MEAN ENTERMAZE

ENTER MAZE -> AN EMPTY ROOM

[. -. - . .-. / -- .- --.. .]

* LOOK -> AN EMPTY ROOM
* HELP -> NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST GET
* EXIT -> CFM (''Exits the maze'')

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Maze
|-
|an open flame || a candle on a table || style="background-color: black;" |
|-
| style="background-color: black;" | || an empty room (start) || style="background-color: black;" |
|-
| style="background-color: black;" | || a hanging bell || an open book on a table (locked door)
|-
|}

Steps to complete (directions can be abbreviated as their first letter):
# NORTH
# GET CANDLE -> TAKEN
# WEST
# LIGHT CANDLE
# EAST
# SOUTH
# SOUTH
# RING BELL -> A DOOR OPENS
# EAST
# CLOSE BOOK -> CONGRATULATIONS YOU ESCAPE

====CROSSWORD====
CROSSWORD -> NUMBERANDDIRECTION (starts a crossword, you can ask for hints like "1 down" or "2 across")

Appears to be today's (2021-04-01) New York Times Crossword: https://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/2021/04/libertarian-politico-johnson-thu-4-1-21.html

{| class="wikitable"
|+Solved Crossword
|-
| m || y || g || o || d || style="background-color: black; | || d || e || v || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || e || l || f
|-
| b || u || o || n || o || style="background-color: black; | || e || y || e || s || style="background-color: black; | || s || l || u || r
|-
| a || m || o || c || o || style="background-color: black; | || c || r || a || p || style="background-color: black; | || l || m || a || o
|-
| style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || v || e || r || y || r || e || l || i || g || i || o || u || s
|-
| s || e || e || style="background-color: black; | || m || u || y || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || r || a || m || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; |
|-
| h || a || r || h || a || r || style="background-color: black; | || s || c || a || r || e || d || o || f
|-
| e || s || s || e || n || t || i || a || l || l || y || style="background-color: black; | || a || r || i
|-
| b || t || e || n || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || m || m || i || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || t || v || a || d
|-
| o || l || a || style="background-color: black; | || b || a || d || m || o || u || t || h || i || n || g
|-
| p || a || s || s || e || d || b || y || style="background-color: black; | || n || o || o || d || g || e
|-
| style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || o || a || r || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || s || u || n || style="background-color: black; | || l || e || t
|-
| b || l || e || n || d || e || d || f || a || m || i || l || y || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; |
|-
| b || o || r || g || style="background-color: black; | || p || e || l || t || style="background-color: black; | || g || e || n || r || e
|-
| q || u || i || z || style="background-color: black; | || s || p || a || y || style="background-color: black; | || h || i || c || k || s
|-
| s || t || e || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || style="background-color: black; | || p || b || r || style="background-color: black; | || t || a || h || o || e
|}

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ Words
! index !! down word !! across word
|-
| 1 || MBA || MYGOD
|-
| 2 || YUM ||
|-
| 3 || GOOVERSEAS ||
|-
| 4 || ONCE ||
|-
| 5 || DOORMAN ||
|-
| 6 || DECRY || DEV
|-
| 7 || EYRE ||
|-
| 8 || VEAL ||
|-
| 9 || ELMO || ELF
|-
| 10 || LUAU ||
|-
| 11 || FROS ||
|-
| 12 || || BUONO
|-
| 13 || || EYES
|-
| 14 || SPIRAL ||
|-
| 15 || SLIME || SLUR
|-
| 16 || || AMOCO
|-
| 17 || || CRAP
|-
| 18 || || LMAO
|-
| 19 || || VERYRELIGIOUS
|-
| 20 || YURT ||
|-
| 21 || GARY ||
|-
| 22 || SHEBOP || SEE
|-
| 23 || EASTLA ||
|-
| 24 || || MUY
|-
| 25 || || RAM
|-
| 26 || || HARHAR
|-
| 27 || HEN ||
|-
| 28 || SAMMY || SCAREDOF
|-
| 29 || CLIO ||
|-
| 30 || DAVIDLYNCH ||
|-
| 31 || ORANGE ||
|-
| 32 || FIDGET ||
|-
| 33 || || ESSENTIALLY
|-
| 34 || IMDB ||
|-
| 35 || || ARI
|-
| 36 || || BTEN
|-
| 37 || || MMI
|-
| 38 || THO || TVAD
|-
| 39 || || OLA
|-
| 40 || BEAD || BADMOUTHING
|-
| 41 || ADREPS ||
|-
| 42 || UNUM ||
|-
| 43 || TONIGHT ||
|-
| 44 || || PASSEDBY
|-
| 45 || SONGZ ||
|-
| 46 || || NOODGE
|-
| 47 || || OAR
|-
| 48 || SATYR || SUN
|-
| 49 || || LET
|-
| 50 || BBQS || BLENDEDFAMILY
|-
| 51 || LOUT ||
|-
| 52 || ERIE ||
|-
| 53 || DEPP ||
|-
| 54 || FLAB ||
|-
| 55 || LEIA ||
|-
| 56 || || BORG
|-
| 57 || || PELT
|-
| 58 || || GENRE
|-
| 59 || RKO ||
|-
| 60 || ESE ||
|-
| 61 || || QUIZ
|-
| 62 || || SPAY
|-
| 63 || || HICKS
|-
| 64 || || STE
|-
| 65 || || PBR
|-
| 66 || || TAHOE
|}

===Rover Scene===
After successfully repairing and rebooting Sojourner, a comic is opened which depicts it seeking out and finding its friends, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, Perseverance, and Ingenuity. Curiosity and Perseverance are locked in a swordfight, and either Spirit or Opportunity is carried off by Ingenuity while the other speeds off a small mound of dirt.

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

[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:April fools' comics]]

Talk:2420: Appliances

2021-02-04T21:08:17Z

141.101.96.82: more green for stove/oven!

This seems related to [[1890: What to Bring]]. [[User:Bubblegum|bubblegum]]-[[User_talk:Bubblegum|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Bubblegum|contribs]] 02:55, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

I actually disagree with the stove and washing dishes. In a large pot with water and with some stirring one can remove stains from cloths and kill germs. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.28|141.101.96.28]] 07:08, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

It's interesting that all green squares are mirrored along the diagonal, with one exception, but no yellow ones at all. Usually you would assume that somewhat similar things result in a yellow square on both sides. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 07:35, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

== A washing mashine can (and does) spin-dry clothes ==

A spin-drying program can usually be selected separately without getting the clothes wet. While this is not effective as a dryer, still much better than nothing.
----

I microwave can boil eggs, you just nweed to wrap them in foil and ensure they are covered by the boiling water. The foil acts as a faraday cage and ensures they only cook by conduction from the outside and the water stops arcing.
You cvan also make scrabled eggs and omlettes. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 09:31, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
:You seriously suggest putting foil into the microwave? I guess you don't mean tinfoil/aluminum? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 09:58, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
:: You can put a foil there IF you know what you are doing. Try dissecting a microwave popcorn bag - its bottom has an aluminium foil inside and acts as a pan. I was surprised by inclusion of egg as okay by Randall though - I thought egg yolks were famous for infrequent but nasty [https://abcnews.go.com/Health/dangers-microwaving-eggs/story?id=51630977 superheating surprises] when microwaved. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.116|162.158.165.116]] 10:41, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

----
I didn't get this at all until I read the explanation, as I am red-green colorblind and the shades of red and green that Randall chose appear completely identical to me.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.35|141.101.104.35]] 09:47, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
:Oh man, I wonder whether Randall is aware of the difficulty his choice in colors creates for colorblind readers. He's done comics referring to colorblindness before, hasn't he? I wonder if a subtle edit should be in order, on his part. (Alternatively, a confusion map of which vision types perceive differences between which colors, labeled in the same problematic colors, might have a certain apropos irony...?)
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 18:42, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
----

What a microwave does to bread is very weird. It seems to make the bread tougher (i.e., harder to bite through; in one case of a microwaved sandwich I was totally unable to bite off pieces), but doesn't make it stiffer (it ends up kind of like rubber). It doesn't wind up unevenly toasted like in the picture, but rather cooked in a completely different way. [[User:Magic9mushroom|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom|talk]]) 11:22, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

----
Using a microwave to dry clothes is generally a bad idea, there is quite a high chance of burns. The most household appliance to quickly dry clothes beside a dryer is actually the freezer. [[User:Perigril|Perigril]] ([[User talk:Perigril|talk]]) 13:20, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

----
Updated transcript from [[1890: What to Bring]]. Considering the increased size of this table maybe something else is wiser? Does anyone know why the three first items are separate, or why the washing machine appears only to wet parts of the shirt? Should the cited text from the comic be written in all caps to match the comic? Should the "with a" between the pairs be replaced with something better to indicate that unlike What to Bring, Appliances does not have an equivalent to the "Should you bring _____ to ______"-text? --[[User:IonIceXIII|IonIceXIII]] ([[User talk:IonIceXIII|talk]]) 13:22, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

----
Attempting to do as well as possible in each square could make an interesting short video series. Stove/oven could probably achieve 6 greens, at least for quality of results if not for the time required [[User:Jgt|Jgt]] ([[User talk:Jgt|talk]]) 13:41, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
:I love this. Where do I click "Like" & "Subscribe"? [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:06, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
:I agree that the stove/oven deserves more green. I'm using the oven to dry (not just) clothes pretty often ;-) --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.82|141.101.96.82]] 21:08, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
----
A classic example of a diagonally dominant matrix. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.41|162.158.62.41]] 18:35, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

----
I'm surprised how many people persist in using "bad" toasters (slot loading). They're terrible at handling pretty much everything except sliced bread, & are completely impractical for more than half the things one might want "toasted". Even a sliced bagel turns out better in a half-decent "toaster oven" than in any slot-loader I've seen; & with a toaster oven you can toast the toppings too. (For instance: peanut butter is better toasted! Warm gooey cream cheese! Reheat muffins with loads of butter on top!) Try making a toasted sandwich in a slot loader; they're a nightmare. Even cleaning them is more effort than a toaster oven. Slot loaders are terrible, obsolete fire hazards, as far as I'm concerned. Yet when you say "toaster", people still visualize a slot loader. It's like if you said "pencil" & everyone visualized a stick of bare graphite. The graphite can conditionally be used for some purposes related to "pencil" but the wood cased design with rubber eraser is far more practical. Same situation with toasters; why use a slot-loader when you can get a good toaster instead?
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:06, 4 February 2021 (UTC)