explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2861: X Value

2023-12-03T11:07:21Z

141.101.98.247:

{{comic
| number = 2861
| date = November 29, 2023
| title = X Value
| image = x_value_2x.png
| imagesize = 291x192px
| expand = true
| titletext = The value of n is still unknown, but new results constrain it to fall between 8 and 10^500, ruling out popular 'n=1' and 'n=2' theories.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A SET OF N^sqrt(-y) MATHEMATICIANS TRYING TO FIND THE VALUE OF Y - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In algebra, a {{w|Variable (mathematics)|variable}} is any symbol used to represent a number that has not been determined or chosen. The most familiar algebraic variable is ''x'' (the unknown input), with ''y'' often being the yet-to-be-determined output (its value being dependent on ''x''). According to the comic, the value of ''x'' has finally been found, being 4.1083. The joke is that a general-purpose variable, which may take different values in different scenarios, turns out to have a specific value, as though it were a constant. Constants in mathematics and other scientific fields are also often represented by a single symbol - some of the most well-known are {{w|Pi|''π''}} (3.14159...), ''e'' ({{w|E (mathematical constant)|Euler's number}}, 2.71828...), ''I'' ({{w|Imaginary number}}, equal to √-1), and ''c'' (the {{w|speed of light}} in a vacuum, 299,792,458 m/s (670,616,629 mph, 1,079,252,848.8 km/h, 1.8026x1012 {{w|FFF system|fur/ftn}})).

The specific number 4.1083 does not have any notable significance or special role in the contexts of physics, chemistry, finance, astronomy or cryptography. This number to 3 decimal places, 4.108, was referenced previously in a comic [[899: Number Line]].

The '''title text''' declares the value of ''n'' is unknown. ''n'' is often used as an unknown/undetermined ''integer'' value. In {{w|Sampling (statistics)|statistics}}, it might be used to specify the size of a sample. For example, a list where ''n = 50'' would mean the list contains 50 data points, for which that number of iterations or a larger number of cross-comparisons might be expected.

According to the title text, however, the value of ''n'' ''has'' been narrowed down to somewhere between 8 and 10500, or one hundred quinsexagintacentillion. This narrowing-down isn't particularly narrow, although it is perhaps quite specific compared to the 'pre-narrowing' possibilities of being absolutely any finite value at all.

The title text also says that this narrowing has ruled out the (usually) simplest values of 1 or 2. Saying "n=1" or "n=2" is a popular way to disclaim or discredit a story implying causality. An anecdote followed by the disclaimer "n=1" typically involves a personal experience or observation that someone shares as a point of reference or evidence, but then acknowledges that it's just a single instance and may not be representative of a broader trend or truth.

For example, someone might say, "I started eating a spoonful of honey every morning, and ever since then, I haven't caught a cold. It must be boosting my immune system." Then, realizing that this is just their personal experience, they add, "But of course, that's just my experience - n=1. It's not scientific evidence that honey prevents colds."

In this example, "n=1" is used to acknowledge that the claim is based on a single instance (n refers to the sample size in a study, with 1 indicating only one subject or data point) and may not be a reliable or generalizable conclusion.

If values of 1 or 2 have been ruled out, that implies that all causality claims based on observations technically have at least 8 observations (whether known or unknown). In the honey-cold example, that means at least 7 other people have had the same experience.

==Transcript==
:[A math formula is circled.]
:<big><big>x = 4.1083</big></big>

:[Caption below the panel:]
: Big math news: They finally figured out the value of x.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]

2859: Oceanography Gift

2023-12-03T11:05:30Z

141.101.98.247:

{{comic
| number = 2859
| date = November 24, 2023
| title = Oceanography Gift
| image = oceanography_gift_2x.png
| imagesize = 586x360px
| expand = true
| titletext = Shipping times vary. Same-ocean delivery may only take a few years, but delivery from the Weddell Sea in Antarctica may take multiple decades, and molecules meant for inland seas like the Mediterranean may be returned as undeliverable by surface currents.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|x}}
In this comic, [[Randall]] seems inspired by the timing of {{w|ocean current}}s, much as he has previously been with [[2805: Global Atmospheric Circulation|air currents]], although he may even have already considered some of the technicalities [[1675: Message in a Bottle| before that]]. As supporting evidence, he provides a DOI reference to a 2016 Jönsson & Watson open-access article in Nature Communications, '[https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms11239 The timescales of global surface-ocean connectivity]'.This would be extremely impractical, since in ten years, it's possible that you and the recipient broke connections, or one of you (or both of you) passed away. If these scenarios are not the case, ten years is a long time to wait for a present.

In this specific (fictional) example, the water dumped into the ocean today will take ten years to circulate to the depicted neighbouring coastline (wherever that is). This implies significant planning ahead is necessary before posting water to someone. And a lot of presumption about the lack of any other dispersal/dilution, or that some degree of fungibility is acceptable, so long as it is ''{{w|Ship of Theseus|philosophically}}'' the same group of molecules involved. Of course, some of the water molecules may take a shortcut by being evaporated and then precipitated closer to the delivery site.

The title text mentions that "same-ocean delivery" may only take a few years, as the coastlines are in the same general body of circulating water, and don't have to pass around large obstacles (like continents) or through small gaps (straits). But if you wish delivery from {{w| the Weddell Sea}} it may take decades. The Weddell lies near the {{w|Antarctic Peninsula}}, part of the {{w|Southern Ocean}} whose circulation can be considered largely isolated from the neighbouring bodies of water by the {{w|Antarctic Circumpolar Current}}. In particular, that area contains the {{w|Weddell Gyre}} one of the two {{w|ocean gyre}}s in that area.

The title text also mentions {{w|inland sea}}s, which can be generalised as bodies of water that are very large in area but either surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean only by a river or a strait. He mentions the {{w|Mediterranean Sea}} which is only connected to the {{w|Atlantic Ocean}} through the narrow {{w|Strait of Gibraltar}}; the title text intends to suggest that water molecules dumped in an ocean would not get to appear in such a sea (except by {{w|evaporation}} and re{{w|precipitation}}) into its catchment area) and thus they can only ever circulate back to the dumping point (deemed 'undeliverable').

In reality, the Mediterranean Sea is not completely cut off from the main oceans and surface currents do reach into and around the Mediterranean. The natural loss from evaporation is not fully compensated for by the inflow of the incident rivers from southern Europe, North Africa and Asia, directly or via other attached bodies of water (e.g. the Black Sea). The movement of water also involves the deeper Levantine Intermediate Waters layer (a subsurface current) which exits via Gibraltar and helps to further draw current inwards at the surface level. As such, except for a limited amount of water which reverses direction within the extreme western end of the Mediterranean, it is more true to say that ''surface'' currents cannot transport water from within the sea outwards into the Atlantic (and beyond). (This explanation ignores flow through the Suez Canal.)

The {{w| the Caspian Sea}} is a real inland sea that has no outlet to any oceans and only inlets from rivers, one of several [[2325: Endorheic Basin|endorheic basins]] that are also {{w|Endorheic lake|lakes}}, and thus trivially isolated from all other maritime currents.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are standing thigh deep, at either edge of a stretch of water between two steep but walkable shorelines.]

:[Cueball, at the left, is opening bottles of water and pouring them into the sea while recording himself.]
:Cueball: Happy birthday! I got you these water molecules.
:[Sound effects:] (click) (pour)

:[The water between has a morass of short swirling arrows indicating movement. In the air as there is a square-brbracketedlabel']
:[Label:] 10 years pass 

:[Megan, at the right, is dipping bottles into the water to fill them]
:Megan: Aww, thank you!
:[Sound effect:] (scoop)

:[Text below comic:]
: Global surface ocean connectivity times are ≤10 years (Jönsson & Watson, 2016, DOI:10.1038/ncomms11239), so if you're willing to plan you can pour water into the ocean while wishing someone a happy birthday, and then in 10 years know they can pick up their gift at the nearest coastline.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

2859: Oceanography Gift

2023-12-03T11:05:11Z

141.101.98.247: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2859
| date = November 24, 2023
| title = Oceanography Gift
| image = oceanography_gift_2x.png
| image size = 586x360px
| expand = true
| titletext = Shipping times vary. Same-ocean delivery may only take a few years, but delivery from the Weddell Sea in Antarctica may take multiple decades, and molecules meant for inland seas like the Mediterranean may be returned as undeliverable by surface currents.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|x}}
In this comic, [[Randall]] seems inspired by the timing of {{w|ocean current}}s, much as he has previously been with [[2805: Global Atmospheric Circulation|air currents]], although he may even have already considered some of the technicalities [[1675: Message in a Bottle| before that]]. As supporting evidence, he provides a DOI reference to a 2016 Jönsson & Watson open-access article in Nature Communications, '[https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms11239 The timescales of global surface-ocean connectivity]'.This would be extremely impractical, since in ten years, it's possible that you and the recipient broke connections, or one of you (or both of you) passed away. If these scenarios are not the case, ten years is a long time to wait for a present.

In this specific (fictional) example, the water dumped into the ocean today will take ten years to circulate to the depicted neighbouring coastline (wherever that is). This implies significant planning ahead is necessary before posting water to someone. And a lot of presumption about the lack of any other dispersal/dilution, or that some degree of fungibility is acceptable, so long as it is ''{{w|Ship of Theseus|philosophically}}'' the same group of molecules involved. Of course, some of the water molecules may take a shortcut by being evaporated and then precipitated closer to the delivery site.

The title text mentions that "same-ocean delivery" may only take a few years, as the coastlines are in the same general body of circulating water, and don't have to pass around large obstacles (like continents) or through small gaps (straits). But if you wish delivery from {{w| the Weddell Sea}} it may take decades. The Weddell lies near the {{w|Antarctic Peninsula}}, part of the {{w|Southern Ocean}} whose circulation can be considered largely isolated from the neighbouring bodies of water by the {{w|Antarctic Circumpolar Current}}. In particular, that area contains the {{w|Weddell Gyre}} one of the two {{w|ocean gyre}}s in that area.

The title text also mentions {{w|inland sea}}s, which can be generalised as bodies of water that are very large in area but either surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean only by a river or a strait. He mentions the {{w|Mediterranean Sea}} which is only connected to the {{w|Atlantic Ocean}} through the narrow {{w|Strait of Gibraltar}}; the title text intends to suggest that water molecules dumped in an ocean would not get to appear in such a sea (except by {{w|evaporation}} and re{{w|precipitation}}) into its catchment area) and thus they can only ever circulate back to the dumping point (deemed 'undeliverable').

In reality, the Mediterranean Sea is not completely cut off from the main oceans and surface currents do reach into and around the Mediterranean. The natural loss from evaporation is not fully compensated for by the inflow of the incident rivers from southern Europe, North Africa and Asia, directly or via other attached bodies of water (e.g. the Black Sea). The movement of water also involves the deeper Levantine Intermediate Waters layer (a subsurface current) which exits via Gibraltar and helps to further draw current inwards at the surface level. As such, except for a limited amount of water which reverses direction within the extreme western end of the Mediterranean, it is more true to say that ''surface'' currents cannot transport water from within the sea outwards into the Atlantic (and beyond). (This explanation ignores flow through the Suez Canal.)

The {{w| the Caspian Sea}} is a real inland sea that has no outlet to any oceans and only inlets from rivers, one of several [[2325: Endorheic Basin|endorheic basins]] that are also {{w|Endorheic lake|lakes}}, and thus trivially isolated from all other maritime currents.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are standing thigh deep, at either edge of a stretch of water between two steep but walkable shorelines.]

:[Cueball, at the left, is opening bottles of water and pouring them into the sea while recording himself.]
:Cueball: Happy birthday! I got you these water molecules.
:[Sound effects:] (click) (pour)

:[The water between has a morass of short swirling arrows indicating movement. In the air as there is a square-brbracketedlabel']
:[Label:] 10 years pass 

:[Megan, at the right, is dipping bottles into the water to fill them]
:Megan: Aww, thank you!
:[Sound effect:] (scoop)

:[Text below comic:]
: Global surface ocean connectivity times are ≤10 years (Jönsson & Watson, 2016, DOI:10.1038/ncomms11239), so if you're willing to plan you can pour water into the ocean while wishing someone a happy birthday, and then in 10 years know they can pick up their gift at the nearest coastline.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

Talk:2510: Modern Tools

2021-09-02T16:21:38Z

141.101.98.247:

Note that this is the second time Randall tried to tell bash and zsh apart. (First time was in [[1678]].) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.83|162.158.88.83]] 05:44, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
:Great memory. Has added it to this first attempt at an explanation. Do not know enough about these files, environment etc. so I hope someone will improve. Rare I come here and there is nothing added to the explanation yet. Only your coment showed me I was not here first. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:48, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
You can generate makefiles today with a number of causal language models. I wonder what other approaches there are. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 10:02, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

Is randall literally just making jokes for himself and nobody else at this point? Even if someone knows what this all means, I doubt it many of them find it funny. - [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.125|172.70.130.125]] 10:09, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
: How does the joke land with you? I tell jokes like Randall's a lot to process how my life was destroyed by AI, and I found the comic as funny as I find my own jokes, but big and public. It seems nice that people are learning about and talking about these things. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 10:12, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
: @172.70.130.125: YMMV. I can say that I find it funny. Certainly amusing, and thought-provoking. And then after a few moments contemplating... *POW*. ...the idea of actually doing this also starts to appeal to me (as a pipe-dream, perhaps). But I am just a single datum-point, and you are another. Maybe neither of us are entirely representative of the usual audience.
: And, even if nobody found it funny, except Randall, he can post anything he wants (within ethical and legal bounds, etc), even if it's just AI-autogenerated rubbish. And then you can stop reading if your own fun-maximiser function decides it would be more beneficial to its goals. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.73|162.158.159.73]] 10:44, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

Modern tools… require modern problem? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 10:33, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

The best part is that pretty much this have actually happened in real world: https://thedailywtf.com/articles/No%2C_We_Need_a_Neural_Network. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.205|172.68.10.205]] 10:46, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
:Marvellous! "The pig go", indeed! That was 2006? {{w|Darwinian Poetry}} was in 2003, it would have been nice to have linked the two, somehow, while having a handy idle supercluster going spare... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.93|141.101.98.93]] 11:42, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

I believe part of the humor is that creating a Python (development) environment from scratch can literally be typing two or three commands on a command line, or clicking on a few links for the mouse-dependent. Building and training an AI to repair one specific Python environment is overkill, like buying a car to get from one room to another of a building. One selling point of Python is how simple it is to set up and work in. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 10:54, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
:I usually install most optional dependencies that my package manager suggests. I bet I already have a Python IDE lying around somewhere without knowing it. Well, I have Intellij Idea, I bet that could be used for Python as well, with a plugin if needed. I definitely know that I once got a working Qt IDE at one point without intending to. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 11:13, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

Does anyone else think that this was prompted by the recent announcement of {{w|Github Copilot}}? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:20, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

----
Non-comic note (that I'm not sure would help to add to prior Community Portal reports as it never seemed to get noticed when I did it before): I'm getting Cloudflare errors (520: fully blaming the site host) and even 'plain text' site error responses (503? ...may not be) a number of times while interacting with this page, today. Also had a "failed to contact CAPTCHA" on the first attempt to submit one edit, though that ''must'' be a different glitch so probably coincidental (my own link jittering wouldn't give me Cloudfare/server-responses as above) and Not Your Problem™. I don't know if others are getting this, but the last time I had such a flurry of momentary/refresh-overcomable errors was shortly before explainxkcd went ''completely'' off-air (month or two ago? No, longer than that...) - perhaps no similarity, just saying. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.146|162.158.158.146]] 11:18, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
:Error 520 Ray ID: 68880cdaadb0072a • 2021-09-02 16:17:44 UTC / Web server is returning an unknown error (<= Cloudflare) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 16:21, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

802: Online Communities 2

2016-12-01T23:27:49Z

141.101.98.247: /* Troll Bay and the Sea of Memes */ corrections and expansion on the Wikia point.

{{comic
| number = 802
| date = October 6, 2010
| title = Online Communities 2
| image = online_communities_2.png
| titletext = Best trivia I learned while working on this: 'Man, Farmville is so huge! Do you realize it's the second-biggest browser-based social-networking-centered farming game in the WORLD?' Then you wait for the listener to do a double-take.
}}
A [http://xkcd.com/802_large/ larger version] of this picture can be found by clicking the comic on xkcd.
{{TOC}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows a map of internet communities where the size of each region roughly corresponds to its size, and its proximity to other regions indicates similarities.

This is the successor of [[256: Online Communities]]. It differs in that it is updated, and furthermore, instead of using the ''membership'' of whichever service to determine its size on the map, it uses its "daily social activity."

The map actually has two super−maps intended to show the relative usage of types of communication: the online community map is surrounded by the much larger "countries" of E−Mail, SMS ("Instant Messaging") and "Cell Phones," which in turn are surrounded by the even huger "Spoken Language." It is unclear whether "Cell Phones" is intended to represent an independent region, or whether it is meant to be a sub-region of "Spoken Language." The ambiguity is exacerbated by the fact that cell phones are the primary medium of SMS, and are also used to access email and online communities. It's also unclear why other forms of communication, such as handwritten letters, are not included.

At the title text [[Randall]] explains that, using his definition of "most activity per day," Farmville is actually the ''second'' most popular social-network farming game - the Chinese game Happy Farm was more popular at the time. This strikes many English-speaking xkcd readers as odd, because Farmville is much more famous, leading one to wonder how it could not be the most played. The phrase "browser-based social-networking-centered farming game" is an example of an [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OverlyNarrowSuperlative overly-narrow superlative.]

===Facebook Region===
The Facebook region deals with social networks, that is, websites oriented towards having people meet.

'''{{w|Facebook}}''' is a social networking site that allows people to meet old real−life friends and make new friends that share similar interests. One of its most notable features is that a member can update a "status" or make normal posts about the happenings of the member's life, complete with pictures, other members "liking" these posts. The size of the Facebook region is not exaggerated; most websites seem to allow "liking" their content or allow/require logging in the website with a Facebook account. There even are cell phones with a "Facebook" button!

*'''{{w|FarmVille}}''' and '''{{w|Farm Town}}''' are Facebook games in which users manage farms. '''{{w|Happy Farm}},''' the Chinese game that inspired the other two, does not require Facebook integration, so it is separated by a solid line from Facebook. The "Unethical Bay" refers to how these games tend to addict players into constantly buying virtual items of questionable value.

*'''People You Can't Unfriend''' refers to people whom, due to real-life expectations and relationships, unfriending them is difficult, no matter how you really feel about them.

*'''Blatherskite River''' refers to the conversations on Facebook, which may be long yet devoid of general meaning or logic.

*'''Data Mines''' refer to the data mining that Facebook does with the interests of its members. This fuels the profitable advertising business at the expense of customer trust.

*'''Plains of Awkwardly Public Family Interactions''' refer to how interactions with family members on Facebook suddenly become more awkward because everyone on Facebook (and sometimes ''off'' Facebook, given that you do not necessarily need to log in if you want to see someone's Facebook account) if you are discussing with your family through post comments.

*'''524,287 Strong for Mersenne Primes''' refers to the communities who gain followers for a cause. A {{w|Mersenne prime}} is a prime number that is 1 less than a power of 2; 524287 is the 7th known Mersenne prime.

*'''Jungle-Bay Mountains of "It's Complicated"''' refers to one of Facebook's options as to what a user's relationship status currently is. A Jungle-Bay Mountain is a complicated and undefined climate, hence the complication.

*'''"lamebook bay"''' refers to the online website "lamebook", where users post photos of funny things that happen on Facebook (these can include statuses, "fails", put-downs and images.)

*'''"Old Facebook" Resistance''' refers to Facebook's earlier users, who have often resisted (and resented) changes made to Facebook as it became more popular.

*'''Privacy Controls''' is located on the map surrounded by a Lava Pool, which is a reference to how difficult it is to find the privacy controls within Facebook.

*'''Niche Market Mountains''' refers to social networks aimed towards more niche markets are located. Similar to how mountains tend to be isolated from mainland, niche social networks tend to be just that: niche, without much interaction with the general populace.
*'''Charred Wasteland of Abandoned Social Networks''' refers to the tons of websites wanting to take advantage of the success of websites like Facebook to compete or even overpower with them. Even so, these websites tend to not have the userbase or even the expertise towards the long-term, hence they become wastelands: environments devoid of life, except the few life forms that are from these wastelands (in this case, the ones who are loyal to the website or which are sadly few).
*In the Charred Wasteland stands '''{{w|Ozymandias}}''', the titular broken statue of Shelley's poem. In the poem, only "two vast and trunkless legs of stone" and a "shattered visage" are all that remain of the once-great statue and both of these features are present in the comic. According to the poem, the pedestal before the broken statue reads "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings..." hence "friend of friends" below Ozymandias on the map.
*In the north are the '''Duckface Mountains''' and the '''Red Cup Mountains'''."Duckface" refers to [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/duck-face this incredibly obnoxious facial expression], and "red cup pictures" are any pictures containing party-goers holding disposable red plastic beverage cups. Facebook is absolutely flooded with both types of pictures.
*In the south is '''Buzzword Bay'''. {{w|Buzzword}}s are words and phrases that make you sound a lot more topical than you actually are, used to garner attention; again, Facebook status updates are commonly filled with buzzwords.

While Facebook is the largest "country" of the Facebook Region, there are a lot of smaller "countries" that represent smaller social networks.

*Below Facebook (and "Old Facebook' Resistance") is '''{{w|Diaspora (social network)|Diaspora}}''', a fully open-source, decentralized, privacy-respecting-and-expecting alternative to Facebook. From what this map tells, Diaspora is little-known, even if Facebook is taken out of the context.
*'''{{w|StudiVZ}}''' is a German-speaking social network similar if not a ripped-off version of Facebook.
*'''{{w|XING}}''' is a German-speaking social platform similar to LinkedIn.
*'''{{w|Ning (website)|Ning}}''' is a service to create custom social websites. Its free services shut down in 2010.
*'''{{w|Taringa!}}''' is a Spanish-speaking social network that is based on a forums. Copyrighted material is frequently found there.
*Next to the Euro(pean) Gulf is '''{{w|Skyrock (social network site)}}''', a French-speaking social network.
*'''{{w|Wer-kennt-wen}}''' is a German-social network somewhat like MySpace.
*'''{{w|Nasza-klasa.pl}}''' or NK, is a Polish-speaking social network based on school relationships.
*'''{{w|Badoo}}''' is a social network primarily based on dating and picture-sharing.
*'''{{w|Classmates.com}}''' is a service in which the user can meet classmates that came from the same high school. The website is probably best known by its memetic advertisement that said [http://dudemanphat.blogspot.com/2005/10/how-am-i-supposed-to-care-about-nick.html "She married him??!! And they've got 7 kids??"] (Incidentally, [http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2003325519_adcouple27.html there is more to the coupled picture than what the advertisement says.])
*'''{{w|Myspace}}''' is a social networking website that is a kind of proto-Facebook: users could customize their one-page websites with whatever they wanted, make their interests and daily lives public, and interact with other users. Back in the mid 2000s, MySpace was the largest social network, many people using the website; however, the surprisingly-less-customizable Facebook ended up taking the place of MySpace. The "bands" country of MySpace refers to how a lot of bands in the day advertised and interacted using the website. Indeed, the latest incarnation of MySpace (in terms of 2013) is more oriented towards band members.
*'''{{w|LinkedIn}}''' is a social network aimed towards people in the workplace, which is why it is adjacent to '''Corporate Bay'''.
*'''{{w|Orkut}}''' was one of Google's first social networks before Google made [https://plus.google.com/ Google+]. It shut down in 2014.
*'''{{w|Hi5}}''' is a social network that is very popular among people in Latin America.
*'''{{w|Renren}}''' ('''「人人」''', "people" in Chinese) is "a Chinese copy of Facebook."
*'''{{w|Bebo}}''' was a social network popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It went bankrupt in 2013 and will move away from social networking and into apps.
*'''{{w|Friendster}}''' - One of the first major social networks, it has fallen way off in usage in recent years and was eclipsed by MySpace. It is still popular in Asia.
*'''{{w|VK (social networking website)|Vkontakte}}''' or VK, is the second largest social network service in Europe after Facebook. It is available in several languages, but particularly popular among Russian-speaking users around the world.
*'''{{w|Netlog}}''' is a Belgian social networking website specifically targeted at the global youth demographic.
*'''{{w|Mixi}}''' is an online Japanese social networking service.
*'''{{w|Qzone}}''' is a social networking website, which is big in China. According to a report published by Tencent, possibly surpassing other social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace in China.
*'''{{w|Tuenti}}''' is a Spain-based, social networking service, that has been referred to as the "Spanish Facebook."
*'''{{w|Cloob}}''' is a Persian-language social networking website, mainly popular in Iran. After the locally (and internationally) popular social networking website Orkut was blocked by the Iranian government, a series of local sites and networks, including Cloob, emerged to fill the gap.
*'''{{w|Kaixin001}}''' is a social networking website which ranks as the 13th most popular website in China and 67th overall.
*'''{{w|Piczo}}''' was a privately held blog website for teens. In November 2012, Piczo.com shut down.
*'''{{w|Odnoklassniki}}''' is a social network service for classmates and old friends. It is popular in Russia and former Soviet Republics.
*'''{{w|Adult FriendFinder}}''' is a pornographic dating site.
*'''{{w|Match.com}}''' is a dating site, mainly targeted at people looking for marriage.
*'''{{w|Ok Cupid}}''' is another dating site, however it has been owned by Match.com since 2011.
*'''{{w|PlentyofFish}}''' is yet another dating site, also owned by Match.com since June 2015.
*'''{{w|Sulawesi}}''' is a real-life island in the Indonesian archipelago. It also appears in 256: Online Communities.

===MMO Isle===
MMOs (short form of "Massive Multiplayer Online Game") are online games where multiple people take the role of a character and play in a setting hosted by the game.

*'''[https://www.habbo.com/ Habbo Hotel]''' is a website where someone creates a human avatar an interacts in a virtual world that is not that different from the one in real life.
*'''[http://www.clubpenguin.com/ Club Penguin]''' is [http://disney.com/ Disney's] MMO where someone creates a penguin avatar and interacts with other in a more polar, cartoony setting. Club Penguin is aimed towards children.
*'''[http://maplestory.nexon.net/ Maple Story]''' is an MMO that has a more natural setting. The most distinguishing feature of Maple Story is its cartoony pixel art.
*'''[http://www.gamefaqs.com/ GameFAQs]''', while not an MMO, is a website that has the largest repository of walkthoughs, that is, guides that help someone beat a game. GameFAQs is notable for not only its large repository of walkthroughs of games that are across an extreme variety of consoles, handhelds, and even computers (not all of them MMOs), but also the drama that is rumoured to happen in the GameFAQs forums.
*'''[http://www.ign.com/ IGN]''' (full: '''Imagine Games Network'''), while also not an MMO, is the largest website that gives news on video games in general, not just MMOs. Each of the games mentioned in the site have pages that have summaries, reviews, screenshots, other art, videos, and links to news related to its games.
*'''[http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/index.shtml FFXI]''' (full: '''Final Fantasy XI''') is an MMO from SquareEnix, being the first MMO of the popular ''Final Fantasy'' series.
*'''[http://www.runescape.com/community Runescape]''' is an older MMO.
*'''[http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/ Starcraft II]''' is a realtime strategy game with a science fiction setting that heavily involves space travel. While technically not an MMO, it has a significant online multiplayer component.
*'''[http://us.battle.net/wow/en/ WoW]''' (full: '''World of Warcraft''') is the definitive MMO, being not only the most popular and one of the longest-running but also the most expansive (having its own spinoff games, comic books, novels, and even figurines), WOW giving the idea of how an MMO should be. A player can choose from a variety of races, each with its own heavy history.
*'''[http://secondlife.com/ Second Life]''' is similar to Habbo, albeit with a bigger suspension of disbelief (one example being that the player does not need to be a human) and in a 3D setting.
*'''[http://www.nationstates.net/ NationStates]''' is a text-based political simulation game. Notably, some of its traffic comes not from the actual game (which is optional), but the extensive set of political, roleplaying, and general forums attached.
*'''[http://www.urbandead.com/ Urban Dead]''' describes itself as "A Massively Multi-Player Web-Based Zombie Apocalypse", which sums it up pretty well.
*'''[http://www.kingdomofloathing.com KoL]''' (full: '''Kingdom of Loathing''') is a comedic browser-based MMO-ish RPG with minimalistic stick-figure art.
*'''{{w|CDC Games}}''' is a Chinese company reputed to be the largest MMORPG distributor.
*'''{{w|Eve Online|EVE Online}}''' is a science fiction MMO which is notable because of its virtual economy.
*'''{{w|Gaia Online|Gaia}}''' or Gaia Online, while not an MMO, is a forum oriented towards pop culture, including video games and Japanese media. Its most notable feature is the heavy customization possible of a member's pixel-art avatar. Its members tend to roleplay a lot, albeit in a more written, story-based form. Gaia has gained a reputation with its members stealing art and causing drama. The ferry that links the gaia island with 4chan was most likely due to the "boxxy" row, where vlogger boxxy posted videos of her using gaia, which then were circulated on 4chan. This resulted in a division of the sites users, and many more hacking attacks, including a DDOS attack on 4chan itself.
*'''[https://www.everquest.com EverQuest]''' (full: '''EverQuest''') is one of the first MMO's, it's still running and has a huge number of expansions.
*'''[https://www.uo.com UO]''' (full: '''Ultima Online''') along with EverQuest this was one of the first and longest running MMO's.

*'''{{w|City of Heroes|CoH}}''' or City of Heroes was a superhero-based MMORPG that was shut down November 2012.
*'''[http://atlantica.nexon.net/ Atlantica]''' (full: '''Atlantica Online''') is a turn-based MMORPG.
*'''[http://lineage.plaync.com/ Lineage]''' is a Korean MMORPG, it's North American servers were closed 2011/06/29 due to being unprofitable.
*'''[http://www.lineage2.com/en/ Lineage II]''' is a Korean MMORPG, mainly played in Asia along with its predecessor. It adopted a Free to Play model on 2011/11/30.
*'''{{w|SubSpace (video game)|SubSpace}}''' was a 2D, topdown shooter released in 1997. The servers have been shut down, but it continues to operate through the work of fans. It's widely considered an early entry into the MMO genre due to its unprecedentedly high player count.

Other notable regions include:
*The '''Mountains of Steam''', referring to the game distribution service [http://store.steampowered.com/ Steam] where people can buy and download video games in general, not just MMOs. There is also an extensive [http://steamcommunity.com/ community] where users can share content, and instant messaging chat by text, voice, or game streaming.
*'''River Grind''' refers to "grinding." In most MMOs, the character is a fighter of some sorts, yet starts at a level 1, signifying the character's aptitude level in combat. The character can level up and gain more aptitude levels through earning experience, of which the most reliable and otherwise common way is the process of "grinding," that is, repeatedly fighting opposing monsters (sometimes of a level notably lower that your character's), gaining experience points from winning these battles until your character gains a level, that is, "levels up". While a practical necessity in strengthening the character, this process can be tiresome, hence the expression "grinding."
*'''Spawn Camp''' refers to "spawn points", the places where AI-powered enemies and players who have died in-game respawn, and the act of "spawn camping", in which the player character simply stands behind or around the spawn points to fight the enemy creatures or respawning players as soon as they appear.
*'''Gulf of Lag''' refers to how the MMO can be slowed down a considerable amount due to the large amount of players simultaneously using the same server, this congestion bogging down the server and frustrating the users.
*'''[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/final-boss-of-the-internet End Guy for the Internet]''' refers to "end bosses," the last — and usually hardest to defeat — "bad guy" in a game (or a section of a game).

===YouTube Region===
The YouTube region refers to websites that are based on user-created content.

'''[https://www.youtube.com/ YouTube]''' is the definitive video website where people can upload videos with the purpose of public viewing, ranging from home movies through official music videos through Let's Plays of people playing video games to questionably-legal uploads of cartoons and films. Google had purchased YouTube.

Many of the sites on the map are just references to {{w|viral video}}s at {{w|YouTube}}:
*'''Viral Shores''' refers to how viral videos (whether they be viral marketing or simply memes) tend to proliferate on YouTube.
*'''Britney''' likely refers to pop singer {{w|Britney Spears}} and the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc‎ "Leave Britney Alone" guy].
*'''Maru Gulf''' refers to Maru the Cat, a YouTube celebrity [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/676:_Abstraction also mentioned in xkcd].
*'''Prairie Dog Habitat''' likely refers to the viral video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw Dramatic Chipmunk] (which is actually a Prairie Dog).
*'''Rick Rolling Hills''' references, well, {{w|Rickrolling}}. More information [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ here]. The "deserted" note likely refers to how Rick Astley himself is tired of the meme, or again, how people tend to leave the video upon getting "Rick Roll'd," never actually going to the video with the express purpose of viewing the video.
*'''Lunar Landing Soundstage''' is, of course, a reference to the {{w|Moon landing conspiracy theories}}, which Randall has railed on before.
*'''{{w|OK Go}} Bay''' refers to the band "OK Go" who have multiple viral music videos on YouTube, most famously [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTAAsCNK7RA "Here it goes again"] featuring treadmills.

The '''HTML5 swamp''' refers to YouTube's spotty support of HTML 5 (an update on HTML that is frequently touting its media capabilities, making HTML 5 a viable alternative to Flash). Of course, by the time the comic was written, HTML 5 was still in its infancy. The Music Video Bay refers to the amount of music videos (official or otherwise) are present in YouTube.

Other counties of the YouTube region include:
*'''[https://vimeo.com/ vimeo]''', a website where people tend to showcase artistic content that they made on their own, notably independent studios.

Snob Sound:
*'''[https://secure.flickr.com/ Flickr]''', a website where people can upload and share photographs they took.
*'''[http://fotolog.com Fotolog]''', a photo website very popular in South America in 2004-2008, which was used as a social network.
*'''[http://www.last.fm/ Last.fm]''', a music website that is notable of its "scrobbling" feature.
*'''[http://www.deviantart.com/ deviantArt]''', the largest art website, where people can upload, sell, and buy not only art itself, but also video, audio, Flash-work, and even skins (the original purpose of deviantArt). While many big-name/professional people and organizations have their works in deviantArt, the site is more infamous for the large amount of people who upload low-quality fan-art and fan-characters, most notably of media from Japan. Another point of infamy is the large amount of drama that can happen in the website.

*'''[https://www.newgrounds.com/ Newgrounds]''', a website that hosts art, (Flash-based) videos, audio, and (Flash-based) games to which other users can comment and rate. Even so, content from Newgrounds tends to be obscene, though there is a filtering system if a viewer does not wish to see obscene content.
*'''[http://www.chatroulette.com/ Chatroulette]''' is a website where people are randomly paired up with each other and video/text chat.
*'''{{w|Brickshelf}}''' is the online resource for {{w|LEGO}} fans.
*'''[https://tumblr.com/ Tumblr]''', where people could make a blog and post text, pictures, video, audio, quotes, and links. The most distinguishing feature is the ability to "reblog" these posts from other's people's blogs into the user's own blog. Notable features of Tumblr include sketchblogs (where people upload their sketches), Ask blogs (where people answer questions other users ask, the moderators of these blogs usually pretending to be a character from a form of media), and the large amount of "social justice" (where people fight against racism, sexism, and other forms of negative discrimination). (See also [[1043: Ablogalypse]].)
*'''{{w|b3ta}}''' is a popular British website, described as a "puerile digital arts community" by The Guardian.

The '''Isle of teenagers who just discovered macroeconomics''' is a joke about how teenagers tend to think that the world and the economy are a lot simpler than they actually are. Combined with the typical internet mindset, this leads to a lot of teenagers posting blogs and videos and comments on blogs and videos describing how idiotic the government and other red-tape-related adults are.
The '''Snob Sound''' could refer to the large amount of people who look down on others in the surrounding websites (one example being an original artist looking down on people who draw mainly fan-art). '''The Iraq''' is a reference to Miss Teen USA 2007, in which Ms. Teen South Carolina, Lauren Katlin, said "I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like such as...the US should help the US and should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we are able to build up our future." The usage of "the Iraq" has became a meme.

===Twitter Region===
*'''Bieber Bay''' is a reference to {{w|Justin Bieber}}, a pop singer whose singing sprouted on YouTube and became very popular on Twitter and other social media. He is very much vilified because of his rather feminine appearance and his hordes of fans (called "Beliebers") that seem to support him to ridiculous extents. Lately, though, Justin Beiber has taken a "bad boy" attitude because of all the Beliebers who are willing to defend him no matter what, him partaking in a lot of questionable activities that include tattoos, questionably-legal substances, and buying prostitution, thus lowering his popularity in the general populace.
*'''{{w|Google Buzz}}''' is a former social network attempted by Google. It has since been shut down.
*'''Bit.Ly Mountains''' is a reference to the URL shortening service {{w|bit.ly}}.
*'''Kanye's Isle of Sadness''' is a reference to the musician {{w|Kanye West}}, whose Twitter, at the time, was [http://www.buzzfeed.com/mlew15/25-of-kanye-wests-most-thought-provoking-tweets-h0se famously introspective and stream-of-consciousness].
*'''Sarah Palin USA''' is the Twitter handle of former politician {{w|Sarah Palin}}.
*'''Clueless Politician Coast''' is a reference to the number of politicians on Twitter and other social networks who repeatedly share clueless updates that more often create an uproar than help their election chances.
*'''Desert of Food Updates''' is a reference to the number of pictures of food that are shared on social media (especially Twitter). There has even been some controversy on posting such pictures.
*'''Journalists Trying to Find the Cutting Edge''' is referencing journalists on Twitter trying to keep up with the way that news is gathered and delivered now, despite usually working for a newspaper that publishes once a day.
*'''SHAQ''' is a reference to the former NBA basketball player, {{w|Shaq}}.
*'''{{w|identi.ca}}''' is an open source social networking and micro-blogging service, being an alternative to Twitter.
*''' Breaking! Waves''' is a pun on the fact that so many people used the word "Breaking" at the beginning of tweets that do not warrant that tag that the word has lost most of its meaning and become a joke. It is a pun because waves "break" on the shore.
*'''Web 3.0''' refers to the unofficial term {{w|Web 2.0}}. In this case, "Web 1.0" refers to websites that give information to users. Web 2.0 refers to websites where the users themselves create content. Web 3.0 has sometimes been used as a term for {{w|semantic web}}, a machine-readable version of the web, but this usage is far from universal.
*'''Hashtag games whose popularity confuses and depresses you''' refers to the game where a user posts something under a particular hashtag and others respond with their own ideas, all tagged under the same phrase. This has been very popular for no clear reason, as Randall notes.

===Geotagged Bay===
*'''{{w|Yelp}}''' is a website where people post reviews of real-life public locations (one example being restaurants).
*'''{{w|Geocaching}}''' is a worldwide GPS scavenger hunt where users upload positions of caches and others will find them and log it online.
*'''{{w|Foursquare}}''' is a location-based social network.
*'''Latitude''' refers to {{w|Google Latitude}}.

===Troll Bay and the Sea of Memes===
*'''{{w|Reddit}}''' is the self-described "front page of the Internet" in which users submit stories, photos and videos and the best are "up-voted" to the top of the page.
*'''{{w|Help:Using talk pages|Wikipedia Talk Pages}}''' refer to the pages where Wikipedia editors discuss how to improve articles.
*'''{{w|Wikia}}''' is a website offering free-of-charge wiki hosting, using a variant of Wikimedia's MediaWiki, allowing users to create user-editable encyclopedias of just about any subject matter, although it has more recently introduced an entertainment blog named "Fandom powered by Wikia" and eventually adopted that branding for the wiki farm as well.
*'''{{w|StumbleUpon}}''' is a website-sharing service.
*'''{{w|Delicious (website)|Delicious}}''' is a bookmarking and bookmark-sharing service.
*'''{{w|Digg}}''' is a former competitor to Reddit in the social-news sphere, but now has been sold and restarted as an aggregator of news stories.
*'''{{w|Slashdot}}''', labeled "/." on the map, is a technical news site.
*'''{{w|Fark}}''' is a community website that allows members to comment on news articles from other sites.
*'''{{w|YTMND}}''' is an acronym for "You're The Man Now, Dog!" It's also a community in which users can create meme-type nonsense by playing music over an image (either static or animated).

===Skype Region===
The Skype Region refers to different IM, or Instant Messaging services, that enable almost-real-time text chatting between multiple people. These often allow services like voice chat and even video calls.

*'''{{w|Skype}}''' is, according to Randall, the most popular of these among the internet. It has many features to allow peer-to-peer voice chats, as well as allowing calls to be made at a price to actual phones.
*'''{{w|AIM}}''' or AOL Instant Messenger is a chat client created by AOL.
*'''GG''' or {{w|Gadu-Gadu}} is an instant messenger client popular in Poland.
*'''{{w|Yahoo Messenger}}''' is an instant messenger client by Yahoo.
*'''{{w|Google Talk}}''' is a voice/video chatting service from Google (that Google has been replacing with Hangouts). Google Talk also has an invasion fleet at its shores.
*'''{{w|ICQ}}''' is an older messaging service, albeit with an 18+ requirement (despite pornography not being the point of ICQ).
*'''{{w|Windows Live Messenger}}''', or "MSN", was the messaging service of Microsoft before Microsoft bought Skype. MSN was useful in that people could draw and send pictures to other chatters.
*'''{{w|UseNet}}''' was one of the original ways to communicate on the internet, though people can download (copyrighted) files through the service. Since it is still in use by some, it gets the tag "Still Around!" on the map.
*'''{{w|IRC}} Isles''' refers to the ancestor of Internet-powered chatting. People would have connected to a server and spoke publicly. IRC is still in use (as of 2014), notably in getting help from other users. One of those isles is #xkcd which is an IRC community around [[xkcd]].

===Bay of Drama===
*'''{{w|FanFiction.net}}''' is a website where people can submit their fanfiction (stories by fans written about other peoples' media, normally that about popular media). The website tends to have people that are not helpful to those who legitimately want critique of their own stories.
*'''{{w|Xanga}}''' is a blogging service that, while popular at its time, lost out to...
*'''{{w|LiveJournal}}''' was the most popular blogging service before Tumblr.
*'''ONYD''' - Reference to {{w|Oh No You Didn't}}, which is explained in the Blogosphere region.
*'''{{w|Dreamwidth}}''' is a LiveJournal fork emphasizing its open-source nature.

===Blogosphere===
The Blogosphere region contains several general {{w|blog}} topics.
*'''{{w|photo blog|Photo Blogs}}''' are commonly used to chronicle the lives of the authors through photographs.
*'''Diary Blogs''' are another popular use of blogs (and, in fact, the original use) where authors write commentary about their lives.
*'''Bay of Grammar Pedantry''' deals with the fact that, whether due to a lack of proper education, a habit of using "chat-speak" in the text-limited SMS and MMS, or simply due to the (generally) more relaxed nature of the Internet, blog authors tend to write with horrible composition, a point of annoyment to a lot of other people due to the subsequent increased difficulty of reading the horribly-written material.
*'''Fandom Blogs''' are blogs created by a "{{w|fandom}}" which is a community of fans. A fandom blog deals with the subject matter of the respective fandom.
*'''Sea of Zero (0) Comments''' refers to blogs that get very little attention and therefore have no comments.
*'''SpamBlog Straits''' references spammers who use blogs to increase the number of links to their site to try to game search engines.
*'''OffTopic.com''' is a general interest forum that refers to itself as "the largest general discussion forum on the internet."
*Many more straightforward blogs, including:
**'''Writing/Poetry'''
**'''Gossip Blogs'''
**'''Political Blogs'''
**'''Music Blogs'''
**'''Tech Blogs'''
**'''Business Blogs'''
**'''Corporate Blogs'''
**'''Religious Blogs'''
**'''Miscellaneous Blogs'''
*'''Blog Blogs''' - These can refer to blogs that talk about the matter about blogging itself, though they can also refer to blogs which authors use in talking about blogging.

===Blogosphere (Core Region)===
Gossip Blogs:
Each blog below focuses on gossip surrounding celebrities and other well-known persons.
*'''{{w|Jezebel}}''' is a liberally feminist blog, hosted by Gawker.
*'''{{w|deadline.com|Deadline}}''' is an online entertainment news magazine.
*'''{{w|TMZ}}''' is a celebrity news website.
*'''{{w|Gawker}}''' is a blog that is the host of other blogs.
*'''LJ Oh No They Didn't''' - LiveJournal {{w|Oh No They Didn't}} - Oh No They Didn't, also known as ONTD, is the largest community on LiveJournal with over 100,000 members. The community focuses on celebrity gossip and pop culture with most of its posts aggregated from other gossip blogs.
*'''Doucheblog''' refers to blogs that were once insightful but that spiraled into long rants due to relationship changes of their authors.
*'''Isle of Mockery''' is a reference to the fact that some of what these blogs do is mock celebrities or other for doing or saying stupid things on camera.

Liberal Blogs:
Each blog below focuses on American political news with a "liberal" or "progressive" slant. These blogs tend to lean for the Democratic party.
*'''{{w|Huffington Post}}''' is a news blog.
*'''{{w|Paul Krugman}}''' is an American economist who considers himself a liberal.
*'''{{w|Daily Beast}}''' is a news and opinion website focusing on politics and pop culture.
*'''{{w|Talking Points Memo|TPM}}''' is a political journal run by Josh Marshall.
*'''{{w|Ezra Klein}}''' used to have his own site at the Washington Post, but is now the editor of [Vox.com].
*'''{{w|Think Progress}}''' is a political news blog.
*'''{{w|Daily Kos|Kos}}''' is another political blog.

Bay of Flame:
*'''{{w|Politics Daily}}''' is a political journalism website launched by AOL.
*'''CNN Political Ticker''' is CNN's political blog.
*'''{{w|Mediaite}}''' is a news and opinion blog covering politics and entertainment in the media.
*'''{{w|NY Times}}''' is one of the most famous newspapers, thus the comparatively large size of its island.
*'''{{w|The Talk}}''' is a talk show on CBS that discusses the latest headlines "through the eyes of mothers."
*Libertarian Isle (shaped like a {{w|Nolan Chart}})

Conservative Blogs:
Each blog below focuses on American political news with a "conservative" or Republican slant.
*'''{{w|Pajamas Media}}''' is a media company and operator of conservative news.
*'''{{w|Michelle Malkin}}''' is a conservative blogger, political commentator, and author.
*'''{{w|Hot Air}}''' is a news blog founded by Michelle Malkin.
*'''{{w|RedState|Red State}}''' is a political blog.
*'''{{w|American Thinker}}''' is a daily online magazine focused on politics.
*'''{{w|Townhall}}''' is a web publication and print magazine.

Tech Blogs:
*'''{{w|Boy Genius Report}}''' is a weblog that focuses on technology and consumer gadgets.
*'''{{w|Gizmodo}}''' is a news and opinion blog, hosted by Gawker, that talks about life's more technological matters.
*'''{{w|Engadget}}''' is another technology-oriented, albeit independent, blog.
*'''Crunchgear''' is a blog that reviews gadgets and other hardware.
*'''{{w|Techcrunch}}''' is an online publisher of technology industry news.
*'''{{w|Joystiq}}''' is a news and opinion blog that focuses on gaming.
*'''{{w|Kotaku}}''' is another gaming-oriented news/opinion blog, the main difference being that Kotaku is owned by Gawker.

Assorted:
*'''{{w|BoingBoing}}''' is "i blog about wonderful things", the topics being quite random.
*'''{{w|Lifehacker}}''' is another Gawker blog, is a blog that teaches people how to simplify their lives through 'lifehacking', that is, using their resources in creative wayss. While the subject matter is life in general, there is a significant technological slant.
*'''{{w|Deadspin}}''' is a sports and sports gossip blog founded by Will Leitch. It has since been acquired by Gawker
*'''Meatorama''' is a blog that talks about cooking meat.

===QQ Region===
*'''Baidu Baike''' (「百度百科」, "Baidu Encyclopedia") and '''Hudong''' (「互动百科」, "Interactive Encyclopedia" ) are two Chinese online encyclopedias. Baidu Baike is powered by the same company as Baidu, the search engine popular in China.
* The '''Ma Le Ge Bi''' and the '''Grass Mud Horse Bay''' could refer to the {{w|Baidu 10 Mythical Creatures}}.
* The '''Location of Jia Junpeng''' refers to the Internet meme of {{w|Jia Junpeng}} in 2009 in China.
*'''{{w|Tencent QQ}}''' is a Chinese instant messaging program.
*In English communities "QQ" has several more common definitions:
**An {{w|emoticon}}, representing a face with two large, crying eyes.
**A synonym for "rage quit", in which a video game player quits the game out of sheer frustration. It originated in ''Warcraft II'' multiplayer, where pressing Ctrl+Q+Q would quit the game, and became more widely known in ''World of Warcraft''.
**These definitions are commonly combined, usually to mock the "rage quitter".
*The Gulf of China refers to how sites in the region are based in People's Republic of China ("Red China"). The '''Great Firewall''' refers to {{w|The Great Firewall of China}}, a pun on {{w|The Great Wall of China}}. Similar to how The Great Wall of China was meant to keep intruding nations out of the then-capital of the city, The Great Firewall of China is meant to keep visitors from visiting censored websites. However, either a VPN or remote access to a computer in a "freer" country can circumvent the Firewall. Oddly other Chinese websites (Qzone, Renren etc.) are not enclosed in this zone.

===Forums Islands===
Forums are websites where one person post a topic to which other people can discuss.

While the map has a zoomed in version, this article shall discuss the two bigger islands, first.

*'''[http://www.2ch.net 2channel]''' is a Japanese imageboard that was actually the original inspiration for 4chan.
*'''[http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites Craigslist]''' is a classified advertisement website with sections devoted to just about everything... which formerly included prostitution services, hence the '''The Former Site of Adult Services'''.

In the zoomed-in map, there is the following:
*'''[https://www.4chan.org/ 4chan.org]''' is an {{w|imageboard}} in which people can upload pictures while others comment on them. The website is infamous for its loose/often non-existent rules, incredibly vulgar userbase, source of new memes, and spawning of trolls. 4chan's random board, known internally as '''/b/''', is almost constantly flooded with porn and image macros. This is why Randall's incarnation of 4chan is shaped like a penis.
*'''420chan''' and '''7chan''', other imageboards in the style of 4chan. Their relative lack of popularity and derivative nature leads a lot of 4chan users to mock them; hence, their position on Randall's map suggests that they're mere wads of semen.
*'''Encyclopedia Dramatica''', labeled '''ED''' on the map, is a wiki site dedicated to chronicling internet memes and other noteworthy sites, events, people, and anything else that catches their attention, generally in a very satirical manner. The site is heavily populated by 4chan users. Many people are offended by the articles and talks that go on in the wiki and forum, which is perhaps the reason that it appears to be represented as a wad of sperm. The image of sperm also makes sense since ED is used as a messaging center for the group "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group) Anonymous]" which is represented in the map as part of the testicles of the 4chan island(see below at the gulf named Anonymous).
*'''Tunnel to Habbo''' is a reference to [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pools-closed the 2006 Habbo Hotel Raids], in which hundreds of 4chan Anons simultaneously logged onto Habbo Hotel and proceeded to be as obnoxious as possible, standing in formations of swastikas and penises or body-blocking the swimming pools.
*'''{{w|Catbus}} Route''' is likely a reference to {{w|Lolcat}}s in general.
*'''[http://www.ebaumsworld.com/ eBaum's World]''' is a media-hosting website founded by Eric Bauman. The site has lost a lot of traffic after (quite valid) accusations of stolen content.
*The gulf labelled '''{{w|Anonymous (group)|Anonymous}}''' is most likely a reference to the leaderless, anonymous international network called "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group) Anonymous]" which is composed of (mainly) anarchic activist hackers. Anonymous was created on the /b/ messaging board of 4chan, hence why the bay of Anonymous is on the coast of /b/. Also, the fact that the bay is in the "testicles"(/b/) of the 4chan island "penis" is referring to how Anonymous was created on 4chan, in the same way that sperm is created in the testicles of a penis, possibly a subtle jab at the group.

To the south and east is an archipelago of islands representing various regional and special-interest forums. Moving clockwise from 4chan island is
* '''Storm 2K''' is an online website hosting information on tropical cyclones and tools for tracking them, and has a forum with multiple categories and threads for discussion on tropical cyclones, as well as multiple tropical cyclone models and reconnaissance information.
* '''Skyscraper city''' is an internet forum website for skyscraper hobbyists and enthusiasts.
* An island containing two websites related to women, namely
** '''Wizaz.pl''' is a Polish website, presumably for women, with a forum filled with discussions mainly about beauty, health, women, hobbies, and fun.
** '''Baby and bump''' is a self-described "pregnancy forum, baby and parenting community."
An island contaning
** '''ForoCoches''' is a very popular Spanish (as in from Spain) forum mainly about automobiles, but holds discussions on virtually any topic.
** '''Bodybuilding.com''' is(as you can hopefully tell) a website for bodybuilders. It contains a forum for general discussions on bodybuilding that includes topics such as supplements, exercises, and nutrition.
** '''Bokt.nl''' calls itself the largest community on the topic of horses. A Dutch website, it holds topics about virtually anything involving horses.
** '''Cruise Critic''' is a website with a large forum about cruises in general.
* '''Lay it low''' is a website for discussing lowriding(changing a car so that its ground clearance go lower than the clearance of the original design from the manufacturer.
* '''[http://www.twoplustwo.com/ Two plus two]''' is a poker & gambling forum
* An island containing:
** '''Fan forum'''
** '''[http://www.facethejury.us/ Face the jury]''' is an online forum, originally founded for users to upload pictures of themselves to be judged by other users
** A smaller nearby island is '''Datalounge'''
* An island containing gaming-related sites
** '''D2JSP'''
** '''EA UK'''
** '''Gametrailers'''
* Smaller islands next to the D2JSP island are
** '''Steam powered'''
** '''World of players'''
** '''Nedgaf'''
** '''Overclock'''
* A smaller island of regional and special-interest forums:
** '''[http://digitalspy.com/ Digital Spy]''', a British media and entertainment news service
** '''[http://www.onliner.by/ onliner.by]''', a Belarusian digital technology forum
** Zona Ford
** '''[http://lowyat.net/ lowyat]''', a large Malaysian technology forum
** exbil
** '''[http://www.macrumors.com/ MacRumors]''', an Apple news and discussion site
** Adjacent to this, an island labelled '''[http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/ Whirlpool Forums]''', a large Australian broadband and technology forum. The drawing reflects Australia being an island continent separated from other countries.
* An island made up of several European forums:
** '''[http://www.jlaforums.com/ JLA Forums]'''
** '''[http://www.fok.nl/ fok.nl]''', a Dutch forum site that is one of the largest internet communities in the Netherlands
** '''[http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/ The Student Room]''', a British forum and wiki for secondary and tertiary students
** '''[http://www.boards.ie/ boards.ie]''' "Now Ye're talking", a popular Irish forum site
** '''[http://www.forum.hr/ forum.hr]''', a Croatian forum
** '''rus-chat''', possibly a reference to [http://rus-chat.de/ rus-chat.de]
* The largest single-site island is [http://www.somethingawful.com/ SomethingAwful], a website that is meant to showcase all things "awful". SomethingAwful also has a large trollbase, but they tend to be more honorable than the ones from Encyclopedia Dramatica and 4chan. One example is there being a spotty holding of the no-furries rule in the forums. The forums themselves are famous because of the holding of the Let's Plays of [http://lparchive.org/Dangan-Ronpa/ Dangan Ronpa] and [http://danganronpa2mirror.tumblr.com/ Super Dangan Ronpa 2], which had cooked up public interest to the point of there being an English-language release of the games. (Note that, due to these Let's Plays being in a forums that frequently hides behind a "paywall" that requires a paid account before accessing, the links provided go to their mirrors.)

==Transcript==
:'''Map of Online Communities'''
:Size on map represents volume of Daily Social activity (posts, chat, etc). Based on data gathered over the Spring and Summer of 2010.

:[Two insets on the upper left-hand corner shows that this map is a tiny portion of the huge continent of Spoken Language, encompassing portions of the Internet, Email, and Cell Phones (SMS).]

:[The largest landmass on the map by far, which takes up nearly the entire northern half of the map is "Facebook" - with large states in the south-east of the country labeled 'Farmville' and 'Happy Farm'. There is a much smaller state to the west of these called 'Farm Town'. To the north of these states is a large swath of unremarkable land entitled 'Northern Wasteland of Unread Updates.' This is directly north of the large Dopamine Sea.

:A peninsula on the south-west, just below the Plains of Awkwardly Public Family Interactions, houses many tiny states, such as MySpace, Orkut, LinkedIn, Bebo, & Hi5. It is bordered on the south by Buzzword Bay, which contains several islands of varying sizes. Among these are YouTube and Twitter (the largest), which are separated by the Social Media Consultant Channel. To the south-east of Twitter, across the Sea of Protocol Confusion, is another, equally large island. Most of it is Skype, with the north having two largish states called AIM and Windows Live Messenger. On the south-west part of the island are two smaller states called GG and Yahoo Messenger.

:The Island of Skype is extremely close to, but separated by the Great Firewall (a dashed line), the large landmass of QQ. It's north shore is the Gulf of China and Grass Mud Horse Bay. Outside of these bays, over the Great Firewall are two islands called Craigslist and 2Channel.

:In the Dopamine Sea, off the southern shores of Farmville and Happy Farm, is MMO Isle. Its largest state is WoW, with Runescape, Lineage, Maple Story, Habbo, and the Mountains of Steam among its notable landmarks. To the southeast of the island is the Gulf of Lag, in which sits the CDC Games island, with Eve Online.

:To the east of Twitter is Troll Bay, with such islands as Reddit and Reddit, Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicio.us, and Wikipedia Talk Pages. To their south are the IRC isles, of which one is the tiny island of #xkcd.

:East of these islands, and north of Skype island, is the Sea of Memes. In this sea, to the north of Craigslist and 2Channel, is an archipelago of tiny islands. There is an inset, labeled 'Forums.' (See below.)

:To the southwest of Twitter island, in the Sea of Opinions, are the blog islands. These lie south of the islands in Buzzword Bay, as well. The northernmost islands in this group are centered around the Bay of Drama, on which can be found Diary Blogs, Gossip Blogs, and Livejournal. Gossip Blogs share an island with Political, Music, and Tech Blogs. To the north of this island is a smaller island called Photo Blogs. South of Diary Blogs, and off the southwest coast of Music blogs is a smaller island called Fandom Blogs. South of Tech Blogs, off of which sprouts the small peninsula of Business Blogs, is the Spamblog Straits. On the other side of the straits is a large island made up of Miscellaneous Blogs, with two states demarcated as Religious Blogs and Blog Blogs. Southwest of the Blog Islands is the Sea of Zero (0) Comments.]

:[An inset of a group of islands in the sea of memes located on the lower right corner of the map, labeled 'Forums'. The largest by far is 4chan and /b/. Also found here are D2JSP, JLA Frums, Fan Forum, Something Awful, and many smaller ones, too numerous to list here.]

:[The northeastern third of Gossip/Political/Tech Blogs island is another inset labeled 'Blogosphere (Core)'. This can be found on the lower left corner of the map. Two peninsulas in Political Blogs bookend the Bay of Flame -- these are Liberal Blogs and Conservative Blogs. Between them lie several tiny islands such as Politics Daily, CNN Politcal Ticker, and Mediaite. Off the coast of Liberal Blogs lies the island of NYTimes, off the coast of Conservative Blogs is Libertarian Isle. Between the two lies The Talk. The northern peninsula of Tech Blogs contains places such as Gizmodo, Engadget, Joystiq, and Kotaku.]

:[Text found between the two insets, which are directly below the main map.]
:ABOUT THIS MAP
:Communities rise and fall, and total membership numbers are no longer a good measure of a community's current size and health. This updated map uses size to represent total social activity in a community -- that is, how much talking, playing, sharing, or other socializing happens there. This meant some comparing of apples and oranges, but I did my best and tried to be consistent.

:Estimates are based on the numbers I could find, but involved a great deal of guesswork, statistical inference, random sampling, nonrandom sampling, a 20,000-cell spreadsheet, emailing, cajoling, tea-leaf reading, goat sacrifices, and gut instinct (i.e. making things up).

:Sources of data include Google and Bing, Wikipedia, Alexa, Big-Boards.com, StumbleUpon, Wordpress, Akismet, every website statistics page I could find, press releases, news articles, and individual site employees. Thanks in particular to folks at Last.fm, LiveJournal, Reddit, and the New York Times, as well as sysadmins at a number of sites who shared statistics on condition of anonymity.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Online Communities]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Online Communities]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Rickrolling]]

1759: British Map

2016-11-14T15:24:48Z

141.101.98.247:

{{comic
| number = 1759
| date = November 14, 2016
| title = British Map
| image = british_map.png
| titletext = West Norsussex is east of East Norwessex, but they're both far north of Middlesex and West Norwex.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Started the table, editing it now.}}

Many areas of the UK are most familiar to foreigners thanks to their depiction in various fantasy novels and TV series. This map labels some of these, as well as including many silly names that simply sound like real British towns to an American ear. A protractor is shown off the coast of the {{w|Mull of Kintyre}} in reference to the "{{w|Mull of Kintyre test}}" - the angle of the Mull defines the maximum allowed erectness for a man on British television.

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable sortable"
|'''Label on the map''' || '''Explanation''' || '''Actual location''' || '''Notes'''
|-
| Helcaraxë
|| The "[http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Helcarax%C3%AB Grinding Ice]", an area of {{w|Middle-Earth}}. Like Helcaraxë, northern Scotland is cold, mountainous and in many areas inhospitable.
|| The {{w|Grampian}} region
||
|-
| Blick
|| ?
|| ?
||
|-
| Dampshire
|| A pun on the county of {{w|Hampshire}}. Generically a joking reference to any county, particularly of the {{w|West Country}}, to imply it is particularly prone to rain.
|| Gloucestershire
||
|-
| Everdeen
|| {{w|Katniss Everdeen}} is the heroine of ''{{w|The Hunger Games}}'' series of novels and films
|| {{w|Aberdeen}}
||
|-
| Highlands
|| {{w|Scottish Highlands|No joke}}
|| {{w|Scottish Lowlands}}
|| Maybe deliberate trolling - Scots have strong feelings about where the Highland-Lowland border is
|-
| Norther Sea
|| Pun on the {{w|North Sea}}
|| {{w|Sea of the Hebrides}}
||
|-
| Nothingham
|| Pun on {{w|Nottingham}}
||
||
|-
| Loch Lomond

|| {{w|Loch Lomond|No joke}}

|| Loch Lomond is the largest lake in the UK, and the subject of a well-known {{w|The_Bonnie_Banks_o%27_Loch_Lomond|traditional song}}.
|-
| Fjordham
|| {{w|Fjords}} are glacial valleys. "-ham" is a common English placename suffix from Old English, related to the modern {{w|Hamlet (place)|hamlet}}. There are several villages in England named {{w|Fordham}}.
|| Near {{w|Oban}} on the {{w|Firth of Lorn}}
|| The Scottish word "Firth" is related to "Fjord", although Lorn is not a fjord in the strict scientific sense - it was formed along the {{w|Great Glen Fault}} by tectonics, rather than glaciers
|-
| Glassdoor
|| {{w|Glassdoor}} is a website where employees can review their employers
|| {{w|Stirling}}
|| Although it's shown near Stirling, the reference seems to be to {{w|Glasgow}}
|-
| GMT
|| A reference to {{w|Greenwich Mean Time}}. Shown on the map near the London district of Greenwich through which the GMT meridian passes.
||
||
|-
| Eavestrough
|| A dialectal word for {{w|rain gutter}}
|| {{w|Edinburgh}}
||
|-
| Seasedge
|| Procan's realm in ''Dungeons & Dragons''
|| Somewhere near the Scotland-England border
||
|-
| Chough
|| A {{w|Chough|species of bird in the crow family}}
|| The {{w|Scottish Borders}}
||
|-
| Meowth
|| {{w|Meowth}} is a cat-like Pokémon
|| {{w|Ayr}}
||
|-
| Glutenfree
|| {{w|Gluten-free}} food lacks the protein {{w|gluten}}. This allows {{w|coeliac disease}} sufferers to enjoy it, but has also become a dietary fad in itself.
|| {{w|Cairnryan}}, {{w|Dumfries and Galloway}}
||
|-
| Blighton
|| A pun on {{w|Brighton}}
|| The {{w|Scottish Borders}}
|| The real Brighton is much further south, on the south coast.
|-
| Eyemouth
|| {{w|Eyemouth|Not a joke}}
|| near {{w|Newcastle-upon-Tyne}}
|| The real Eyemouth is further north, where "Seasedge" is marked on the map.
|-
| Earhand
|| A pun on Eyemouth
|| {{w|Carlisle}}
||
|-
| Hairskull
|| A pun on Eyemouth
|| {{w|Teesside}}
||
|-
| Belfast DeVoe
|| {{w|Belfast}}, capital of Northern Ireland, mashed up with the rock band {{w|Bell Biv DeVoe}}
|| {{w|Belfast}}
||
|-
| Lakebottom
|| The {{w|Lake District}}. "-bottom" is a common placename across Northern England, and refers to a town in a valley.
|| {{w|Lake District}}
|| Below Lakebottom is a sketch of lake with yachts on it. This is {{w|Windermere}}, the largest lake in England, where many boating speed records were set.
|-
| Braintree
|| {{w|Braintree, Essex|Not a joke}}
|| {{w|North Yorkshire}}
|| The real Braintree is much further south, near where "Paulblart" is on the map.
|-
| Skinflower
|| A pun on Braintree
|| {{w|Yorkshire Dales}}
||
|-
| Bjork
|| {{w|Björk}} is an Icelandic singer
|| {{w|East Riding of Yorkshire}}
|| The reference is presumably to York, although it's a bit too far east.
|-
| Weedle
|| {{w|Weedle}} is a Pokémon, and also a word meaning "to obtain by trickery or persuasion"
|| {{w|Forest of Bowland}}
||
|-
| Eeugh
|| An expression of disgust
|| {{w|Kingston-upon-Hull}} (generally just "Hull")
||
|-
| Crewneck
|| A shirt with a {{w|Crewneck|simple round collar}}.
|| {{w|Blackpool}}
||
|-
| Paisley
|| {{w|Paisley, Renfrewshire|No joke}}. It sounds funny to Americans because it's associated with {{w|Paisley (design)|paisley}} fabric, a Persian-style print invented in the town
|| {{w|Burnley}}
|| The real Paisley is in Scotland, near Glasgow.
|-
| Basil
|| {{w|Basil|A herb}}, and {{w|Basil Fawlty|one of the most famous British TV characters}}.
|| {{w|Scunthorpe}}
||
|-
| Aidenn
|| An apparent pun on the {{w|Scouse}} accent: {{w|h-dropping}} and {{w|th-fronting}} mean the common "hey, then" would be pronounced "ai denn".
|| {{w|Merseyside}}
||
|-
| Hillfolk
|| {{w|Hillfolk}} is an RPG game. "-hill" (referring to, well, a hill) and "-folk" (referring to a tribe or culture) are common in British placenames
|| {{w|Manchester}}
|| Manchester's name does in fact reference hills: it means "castle on the {{w|breast-shaped hill}}"
|-
| Waterdown
|| To "water something down" is to weaken in. "-down" is common in British placenames and refers to {{w|Downland|chalk hills}}.
|| Near {{w|Grimsby}}
||
|-
| Dubstep
|| {{w|Dubstep}} is a genre of electronic music with a heavy bass line.
|| {{w|Dublin}}
|| Dublin is the only non-UK settlement in the map, and one of two on the island of Ireland.
|-
| Fhqwhgads
|| "[http://www.hrwiki.org/wiki/Fhqwhgads Fhqwhgads]" is a joke from the Homestar Runner internet cartoon.
|| {{w|Crewe}}
|| This is near to the Welsh border; Welsh names often look like a mish-mash of consonants to English speakers.
|-
| Efrafa
|| Efrafa is a rabbit warren in the story {{w|Watership Down}}.
|| {{w|Chidden}}
||
|}

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! X !! Y !! Label
|-
| 258 || 32 || Helcaraxë
|-
| 244 || 55 || Blick
|-
| 294 || 80 || Everdeen
|-
| 34 || 89 || Norther Sea
|-
| 238 || 119 || Highlands
|-
| 144 || 151 || Lock Lomond
|-
| 83 || 172 || Fjordham
|-
| 440 || 184 || A British Map Labeled by an American
|-
| 164 || 192 || Glassdoor
|-
| 250 || 219 || Eavestroughs
|-
| 312 || 237 || Seasedge
|-
| 260 || 262 || Chough
|-
| 148 || 267 || Meowth
|-
| 76 || 298 || (A picture of an upsidedown protractor)
|-
| 256 || 303 || Blighton
|-
| 344 || 309 || Eyemouth
|-
| 124 || 320 || Glutenfree
|-
| 486 || 320 || North Sea
|-
| 254 || 329 || Earhand
|-
| 353 || 347 || Hairskull
|-
| 38 || 362 || Belfast DeVoe
|-
| 224 || 365 || Lakebottom
|-
| 411 || 389 || Braintree
|-
| 335 || 408 || Skinflower
|-
| 430 || 431 || Bjork
|-
| 279 || 432 || Weedle
|-
| 440 || 451 || Eeugh
|-
| 258 || 453 || Crewneck
|-
| 310 || 454 || Paisley
|-
| 414 || 473 || Basil
|-
| 259 || 479 || Aidenn
|-
| 461 || 496 || Waterdown
|-
| 288 || 499 || Hillfolk
|-
| 31 || 509 || Dubstep
|-
| 464 || 517 || Borough-Upon-Mappe
|-
| 269 || 535 || Fhqwhgads
|-
| 490 || 537 || Landmouth
|-
| 461 || 539 || Cadbury
|-
| 237 || 554 || Cabinetry
|-
| 360 || 355 || The Shire
|-
| 464 || 562 || Brandon
|-
| 567 || 567 || Hamwich
|-
| 356 || 577 || West Norsussex
|-
| 420 || 578 || Redsox
|-
| 502 || 590 || Keebler
|-
| 372 || 597 || Lionsgate
|-
| 229 || 597 || Bloughshire
|-
| 573 || 609 || Kingsbottom
|-
| 182 || 613 || Aberforth
|-
| 328 || 615 || South Norwessex
|-
| 244 || 617 || Dryford
|-
| 495 || 630 || Frampton
|-
| 477 || 634 || Cambridge
|-
| 251 || 635 || Kingsfriend
|-
| 539 || 652 || Cair Paravel
|-
| 235 || 655 || Camelot
|-
| 408 || 655 || Nothingham
|-
| 429 || 673 || Cumberbatch
|-
| 121 || 673 || The CW
|-
| 303 || 674 || Dampshire
|-
| 210 || 676 || Whaling
|-
| 511 || 690 || Paulblart
|-
| 397 || 693 || Oxford
|-
| 169 || 695 || Moohren
|-
| 255 || 706 || Cardigan
|-
| 462 || 710 || GMT
|-
| 445 || 711 || London
|-
| 308 || 716 || Corbyn
|-
| 507 || 729 || Tems-Upon-Thames
|-
| 161 || 737 || BBC Channel 4
|-
| 267 || 737 || Minas Tirith
|-
| 560 || 746 || Hogsmeade
|-
| 454 || 748 || Tubemap
|-
| 296 || 756 || Cambnewton
|-
| 398 || 765 || Efrafa
|-
| 186 || 767 || Oughghough
|-
| 536 || 767 || Chansey
|-
| 351 || 777 || Sundial
|-
| 370 || 782 || Dobby
|-
| 162 || 784 || Lower Bottom
|-
| 496 || 784 || Menthol
|-
| 362 || 796 || Southframpton
|-
| 56 || 800 || West Sea
|-
| 154 || 804 || Blandford
|-
| 216 || 824 || Tarp
|-
| 123 || 846 || Longbit
|}

==Transcript==
Helcaraxë, Blick, Everdeen, Norther Sea, Highlands, Lock Lomond, Fjordham, A British Map Labeled by an American, Glassdoor, Eavestroughs, Seasedge, Chough, Meowth, (A picture of an upsidedown protractor), Blighton, Eyemouth, Glutenfree, North Sea, Earhand, Hairskull, Belfast DeVoe, Lakebottom, Braintree, Skinflower, Bjork, Weedle, Eeugh, Crewneck, Paisley, Basil, Aidenn, Waterdown, Hillfolk, Dubstep, Borough-Upon-Mappe, Fhqwhgads, Landmouth, Cadbury, Cabinetry, The Shire, Brandon, Hamwich, West Norsussex, Redsox, Keebler, Lionsgate, Bloughshire, Kingsbottom, Aberforth, South Norwessex, Dryford, Frampton, Cambridge, Kingsfriend, Cair Paravel, Camelot, Nothingham, Cumberbatch, The CW, Dampshire, Whaling, Paulblart, Oxford, Moohren, Cardigan, GMT, London, Corbyn, Tems-Upon-Thames, BBC Channel 4, Minas Tirith, Hogsmeade, Tubemap, Cambnewton, Efrafa, Oughghough, Chansey, Sundial, Dobby, Lower Bottom, Menthol, Southframpton, West Sea, Blandford, Tarp, Longbit

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1402: Harpoons

2016-11-11T14:06:57Z

141.101.98.247:

Um, in the Rosetta Comic/Slideshow, there was a reference to Whaling and Harpoons in one of the frames, like in the title text.Shouldn't this be included?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 14:06, 11 November 2016 (UTC)

I took the sentient space craft joke to be a reference to the movie "Dark Star".{{unsigned ip|199.27.128.123}}

Harpoon is a brand of rum. Did a bottle make it into space? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.196|108.162.219.196]] 12:55, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

: I tried to find who makes it but wasn't able to find a definitive source. I added http://www.harpoon-rum.eu/ for now but it would be nice to have the link to the canonical source. Any pointers? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:24, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

: It's only headcannon. (ref to xkcd #1401) A headcannon which fires a harpoon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.80|108.162.216.80]] 17:52, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Did this comic upload quite late in the day for anyone else? Is anyone else experiencing or did anyone else experience that "Latest Comic" is still going to 1401 as ix XKCD.com and XKCD.com/# {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.216}}

"This is obviously a joke, as sentient spacecraft cannot be created with current technology." Yeah, will need a citation on that... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.148|108.162.229.148]] 13:23, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Definitely a joke. Appolo 12’s call sign was Yankee Clipper, and a clipper ship would not carry any harpoons.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.129|108.162.216.129]] 14:04, 1 August 2014 (UTC)
: I'd believe someone might have smuggled some Harpoon (or even any brand of) rum up there, then brought it back down with them, ingested or otherwise (thus the drop right after the mission). Alternately, "incident" could be something more along the lines of losing an empty bottle of rum during a spacewalk (farfetched as it may be) and it reentering the atmosphere(?) - probably no more than stories, though - nothing official probably exists about anything like that going up or down in any manner.{{unsigned|Brettpeirce}}

Moby Dick is, let's say, extremely far-fetched. It was not the ship that was hunting the whale and harpooning it by itself. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.143|141.101.104.143]] 17:27, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Could the Apollo 12 bump possibly be a reference to Futurama? "We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.246|199.27.130.246]] 15:51, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Maybe it is a reference to a print ad by Bacardi-Martini, mentioned briefly in Buzz Aldrins book Magnificent Desolation. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.82|141.101.104.82]] 22:10, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

While it is more likely that a harpoon (or bottle of harpoon rum) went to space and returned with the Apollo 11 mission, the caption makes it sound like the harpoon was only in space for the duration of the incident. Might it have been created and destroyed there?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.171|108.162.219.171]] 22:54, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

The graph explicitly asserts the Apollo 12 incident caused a "harpoon" to be in space, but only for a short time. Therefore, the harpoon was destroyed in space or returned to earth. Perhaps harpoon rum ascended with the astronauts; then was consumed on the moon, burned up in earth's atmosphere, or returned with the astronauts. (DP) [[User:D peterson|D peterson]] ([[User talk:D peterson|talk]]) 14:49, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

;Whale killing
Saying "sailors would throw harpoons at a whale until it died" betrays a limited understanding of the process. Harpoons were barbed, and were meant to stick in the whale while it sounded (went deep.) A length of (about half-inch) rope kept the harpoon connected to the whaleboat. After the whale was exhausted (from towing the whaleboat while trying to shake off the harpoon? idk) the whaleboat could approach it, and the boatswain (''not'' the harpooner) would kill it with an unbarbed lance. Holling Clancy Holling's ''Seabird'' shows how it was done, with pictures and all. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]] 19:00, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

A picture of the whale ... http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/08/Comet_on_4_August_2014_-_NavCam [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 21:47, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

;Svend Foyn
Norwegian whaler Svend Foyn revolutionarized whaling by inventing explosive harpoon to hunt whales. He made whaling much easier and quicker. This method saved Norway from the famine thread in 19th century.{{unsigned|Multimotyl}}

;[Citation needed] joke.
I thought the sentence "of course, Rosetta is not sapient[Citation needed]", was sort of funny. It implied "of course, Rosetta is not sapient[or is it?]", adding a bit of humour and mystery to the explanation. {{unsigned ip|108.162.222.77}}
: i think it should be added back in, until somebody can cite a source showing that it is not sentient. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 02:24, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
;Suggestions for apollo 12 rum incident explanations
The Apollo Rum Incident is probably related to [http://www.arentfox.com/sites/default/files/pdf/ArentFox-Stories-01-Aiming-High.pdf Bacardi's advertising campaign] which altered the image of Buzz Aldrin (apparently from Apollo 11, not 12) to show him in shorts with a rum. I mean, unless it wasn't altered ... [[User:Arothfusz|Arothfusz]] ([[User talk:Arothfusz|talk]]) 16:44, 2 August 2014 (UTC) A. Rothfusz

Apollo 12 Preliminary Science Report NASA SP-235

"The Apollo 12 core-tube bit is far from optimal in design, but results in a smaller range of uncertainty. On the other hand, hammering a core into the soil is known to cause more disturbance to the sample than if the core is PUSHED into the soil at a HIGH, CONSTANT SPEED." ... (/rum horizontal)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.207|108.162.246.207]] 16:47, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

'''Some Coincidences'''

1. A daily rum ration was provided in British navy until 1970: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_ration

2. Harpoon cocktail was updated in 1970 to include option of gin as base: http://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2178/harpoon-cocktail

3. Apollo 12 actually flew in November 1969: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12

4. HMS Apollo Rum incident: http://idle-idle.blogspot.com/2008/02/hms-apollo-incident_15.html

5. There is a variety of hops called Apollo: http://beerlegends.com/apollo-hops

6. Harpoon is slang for harmonica, but there's no evidence a harmonica was on board.

7. The memorial 'Fallen Astronaut' was placed on the moon on August 1,1971 by Apollo 15 (the backup crew for Apollo 12): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallen_Astronaut

8. August 1, 1971 has been called the "greatest day of scientific exploration that we've ever seen in the space programme - possibly of all time.": http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/1/newsid_4101000/4101579.stm

9. To harpoon, is to strike with a pointed instrument. Apollo 12 was struck by lightning (twice) upon takeoff. John Aaron's command "SCE to Aux" restored flight telemetry causing him to be labelled a "steely-eyed missile man": http://www.universetoday.com/98484/this-day-in-space-history-apollo-12-and-sce-to-aux/

10. Such an unusual event is called a "rum go": https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/rum_go

11. The Apollo 12 landing area was, ironically, 'Ocean of Storms'. It landed 600 feet from Surveyor 3, making this the "only human artifact ever encountered in lunar exploration". Conrad intended on taking a self-portrait with Bean at Surveyor 3, but couldn't find the self-timer he had smuggled on board. When he later found it, he threw it as hard as he could out onto the moon (motivated like a harpooner).

12. All Apollo 12 astronauts were from US Navy.

13. Episode 2 of 'Futurama' centers on a visit to an Apollo landing site & includes a song about whalers on the moon, carrying harpoons: http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Whalers_on_the_Moon
Fry uses a harpoon to derail a 'moon buggy' from an amusement ride so he can use it to visit the landing site. Fry says "yee-haw!" driving the buggy over a crater.

14. The 'Apollo 13' cocktail is based on rum: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink8506.html

[[User:Nathan Hillery|Nathan Hillery]] ([[User talk:Nathan Hillery|talk]]) 21:35, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Harpoon Rum did go up with Apollo 12. Some miniatures were taken for Thanksgiving, but Charles Conrad order his crew-mates not to drink them. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.207|141.101.98.207]] 10:36, 4 August 2014 (UTC)
: Is there any online references for this claim? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 20:22, 4 August 2014 (UTC)
: I could find no references for that particular claim, but there is a [http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum31/HTML/000305.html similar story] regarding holiday miniatures of brandy that were packed for Apollo 8, all of which came back to earth since Borman ordered his crew not to drink them. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.94|199.27.133.94]] 18:30, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

Apollo 12's landing site was also known as Oceanus Procellarum. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc_20091104_apollo12.html#.U9-P-xD5eM0 {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.102}}

All I can think of now is "We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon". That'll be in my head for the rest of the day [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.184|141.101.99.184]] 10:49, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

;Sapient vs Sentient

Sapient : To posses wisdom (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sapient)

Sentient : To be self-aware (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sentient)

Wisdom is not required to be "Motivated" (which is what the space craft is claimed to be) however it does need to be self aware -- and therefore sentient. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.6|199.27.133.6]] 14:19, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

: Seems right -- the use of "Sapient" to indicate awareness is a sci-fi only derived meaning [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:39, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

;Rum incident at Apollo 12 (again)
I did some investigations on this:
*Pete Conrad died in 1999 — no chance to ask him.
*At [http://www.alanbean.com/] there was no way for a contact.
*But at [http://www.dickgordon.com/] I found a contact email address. There was a nice and prompt reply to my question:
Sorry to disappoint, but we have nothing to add re: Rum Incident. We are all just lost as to being able to explain it any further.
Thank you for writing, we hope that you can find what you are looking for.
We are also fans of Apollo xii ;o)
Cheers!
Thanks to Linda for this reply.

So, that harpoon on 1969/70 is still a mystery — even more because it returned back to Earth.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:48, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Maybe the 1970 reference is to missile testing?:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpoon_%28missile%29
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.11|108.162.242.11]] 18:26, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

I have tried to clear up the 'Rum on Apollo 12' explanation section, by explaining that there are various theories, but that no one theory has yet been proven. I included a reference to the discussion section, as thats where most of the ongoing finding/research/discussion has been recorded. The Harpoon Rum theory has been left because it seems that this theory has some historical precedence (Apollo 8 story), is fairly plausible, and is the type of information which Randall *may* be privy to. It also seems to have fairly widespread support amongst this community. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:16, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

I just found [http://history.nasa.gov/FINAL%20Catalogue%20of%20Manmade%20Material%20on%20the%20Moon.pdf a catalogue of man made items on the moon]. Assembled by NASA, it lists everything they know about which has been left behind during lunar exploration. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to list anything which might answer the hapoon question, though that is to be expected as the harpoon is no longer in space for whatever reason. Interestingly, a javelin was left during the Apollo 14 mission. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:06, 20 November 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1551: Pluto

2015-07-15T13:30:14Z

141.101.98.247:

I knew it! So my BOT was also running today. And don't miss the updates at WhatIf. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:28, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, it's pretty amazing! What is it with XKCD and Pluto these days by the way? [[User:Nk22|The Twenty-second. The Not So Only. The Nathan/Nk22]] ([[User talk:Nk22|talk]]) 19:36, 14 July 2015 (UTC)
:New Horizons space probe flyby of the Pluto system! I can't imagine that a space probe finally reaching a hitherto unmapped planetoid like Pluto wouldn't be exciting to certain people, especially an ex NASA guy like Randall. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 06:27, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Pluto is moving away from the Sun - and we've learned that as it does so, it enters the snowy part of its 248-year cycle. Hmm ... didn't Ned Stark say something about this? [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 22:11, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Alright, the only one that's still got me stumped is "moon buds." The phrase has no stock meaning (Googling it turned up pictures of weed, naturally), but my best guess is this suggests moons reproduce through {{w|budding}}. Any thoughts? [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 00:38, 15 July 2015 (UTC)
:I have added something. {{User:17jiangz1/signature|03:21, 15 July 2015}}

"Border of pride lands" might also be an indirect reference to the "dark region" on Mars in 1504:opportunity, last panel, which is itself a reference to the Hyena Country of "Lion King." [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 09:56, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

A couple of other possibilities for the reference to hatching: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/82353/giant-bird-in-space
--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.9|141.101.104.9]] 10:26, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

So Megaman needs no further explanation? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.109|141.101.99.109]] 11:04, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Where is the north pole? I like to play geohashing there. --[[User:GeorgDerReisende|GeorgDerReisende]] ([[User talk:GeorgDerReisende|talk]]) 12:12, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

The comment for Plug(inflating/deflating) is missing [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 13:30, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

465: Quantum Teleportation

2015-02-04T18:59:31Z

141.101.98.247: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 465
| date = August 20, 2008
| title = Quantum Teleportation
| image = quantum teleportation.png
| titletext = Science should be exactly as cool as the headlines sound. Like the "RUSSIANS CUT APART AND REASSEMBLE DOGS" thing
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Quantum teleportation}} is a method of effectively taking a quantum state that exists in one laboratory and destroying it in the current laboratory and later recreating exactly the same — still unmeasured — quantum state in another laboratory that could potentially be very far away.

This is achieved by first creating an entangled quantum state in a laboratory and moving one part of the entangled quantum state to a faraway laboratory. Now let's say a scientist desires to teleport the quantum state |ψ> to a faraway lab. The scientists does a specific measurement on the combination of |ψ> and their half of the entangled quantum state and the outcome of their measurement will be two bits of classical information. They can then telephone over the results of their two bits of information to tell scientists at the faraway lab how to do a measurement on their half of the entangled quantum state, which will recreate the quantum state |ψ> at the faraway lab, effectively teleporting it. This is an important result in quantum mechanics, especially in regards to quantum computing.

The name is misleading in that it does not create an efficient means of transportation via teleportation — something like the {{w|Transporter (Star Trek)|teleporters}} from {{w|Star Trek}} i.e. a ''conventional teleporter'' — where macroscopic objects like humans (composed of [http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=number+of+atoms+in+a+human&lk=4&num=3 7x1027 atoms]) could be teleported to an arbitrary place.

The comic jokes with the fact that news reporters wish to get a story about Star Trek teleporters and the scientist is angry that there is no interest in his quantum version — the reporters are even disapointed when they write their story. The last panel appears to indicate this scientist not only has a quantum teleporter he also has a "regular" teleporter of the type the reporter is asking about, which would be a gigantic news item — and also impossible according to the laws of physics. He uses the conventional to escape to The Bahamas.

The whole method of quantum teleportation is predicated on being able to first create entangled quantum states and then transport, by conventional means, one-half of the entangled state. Only after this step, could you then destroy the shared entangled quantum state, to "teleport" a different quantum state to the new location.

Quantum teleportation is deeply related to {{w|Bell's theorem}} where its shown that quantum mechanics is incompatible with the idea of local hidden variables and which has been experimentally demonstrated (though a few very small loopholes still have not been conclusively ruled out). Explaining "it's a particle statistics thing" is a great explanation of the related Bell's theorem experiments, which demonstrate quantum entanglement which is at the root of quantum teleportation. In these experiments, physicists take an entangled quantum state move it apart and then randomly decide which direction to measure each side of the quantum states. Through a statistical analysis of the results, you can demonstrate and measure each entangled particle in a randomly chosen direction. The statistical correlations between the particles are consistent with quantum mechanics and inconsistent with any local hidden variable theory; however this instantaneous wave-function collapse does not break special relativity as wave-function collapse {{w|No-communication theorem|does not allow communication of any information}}. Instead you can just analyze the correlations after the fact and compare the hypothesis of local hidden variables to the inconsistent hypothesis predicted by quantum mechanics, and verify the quantum mechanical prediction.

The title text refers to the controversial 1940s Soviet {{w|Experiments in the Revival of Organisms}} video that depicts a dog's head being cut off and revived. The film is controversial in that the footage is often perceived as being staged, though the {{w|Sergei S. Bryukhonenko|Soviet scientist}} depicted in the video was attempting these sorts of experiments and this research eventually led to the first Soviet open heart operation in 1957. Another instance of crazy headlines that may not be as interesting to the public when first explained — but may be an important step on the way to some type of practical use.

==Transcript==
:[Reporter and Cueball are facing each other, sitting in chairs.]
:Reporter: So, Quantum Teleportation-
:Cueball: The name is misleading. It's a particle statistics thing.
:Reporter: So it's not like Star Trek? That's boring.
:Cueball: Okay, I'm sick of this. Every time there's a paper on Quantum Teleportation, you reporters write the same disappointed story.
:[Cueball leaves seat and moves behind it.]
:Reporter: But-
:[Cueball has gone to device that was behind him and was out of the scope of the three previous panels.]
:Cueball: Talk to someone else. I'm going to the Bahamas. ''Click''
:[Cueball switches a device on.]
:[Device labelled "TELEPORTER" is switched from "Quantum" to "Regular".]
:''VRMMM''
:[Cueball is beamed up in classic Star Trek fashion.]

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

514: Simultaneous

2015-02-03T13:56:44Z

141.101.98.247: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 514
| date = December 8, 2008
| title = Simultaneous
| image = simultaneous.png
| titletext = I'm leaving you for your twin. He's more mature than you by now.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are talking about the sex they just had. Cueball is remarking on how they both achieved orgasm simultaneously, but Megan disagrees.

This comic is a play on Einstein's {{w|Special relativity#Relativity of simultaneity|Theory of Special Relativity}}. One piece of the theory deals with two observers who are moving at close to the speed of light relative to each other. According to Einstein, events that appear simultaneous to one observer will appear to happen at different times to the other.

So when one partner is moving and the other isn't, it's possible that they experience their orgasm at different times relative to each other. That would require one partner to be moving really fast in one direction, which would make him or her either a really bad partner, or a really good one. On small speeds this effect could not be measured.

The other joke is that partners often disagree with each other — even when the difference is minor and not important to the matter.

The title text is reference to the twin paradox, which arises from another piece of Special Relativity. In theory, if you stick one twin on a spaceship at near lightspeed and keep the other back on earth, the former will only experience a few years while the latter will age decades. Megan (or Cueball if he rolls that way) expresses a preference for the older twin, who will be more "mature", meaning both older and less combative about simultaneity.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan in bed.]
:Cueball: Mmm, simultaneous orgasms.
:Megan: That wasn't simultaneous.
:Cueball: Huh? It totally was!
:A common disagreement when one of you is doing all the moving.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1474: Screws

2015-01-16T14:03:05Z

141.101.98.247: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1474
| date = January 16, 2015
| title = Screws
| image = screws.png
| titletext = If you encounter a hex bolt, but you only brought screwdrivers, you can try sandwiching the head of the bolt between two parallel screwdriver shafts, squeezing the screwdrivers together with a hand at either end, then twisting. It doesn't work and it's a great way to hurt yourself, but you can try it!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|May still needs expansion, possibly with origins of the various real screws?}}

The comic features various real or imagined types of screws, listed below.

{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 25%"|Screw type
! Description
|-
| Phillips head
| {{w|List of screw drives#Phillips|Phillips screw drive}} and its corresponding screw head is one of the most recognizable types of screw heads that is commonly used in construction.
|-
| Flat head
| {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Slot|Slot head screws}} are frequently erroneously referred to as flat heads (a flat head screw refers, in fact, to the shape of the screw head, regardless of the shape of the drive socket). The slot head is also commonly used in construction. The diagram shows the slot truncated, where in reality the slot almost always runs across the entire head of the screw (as in fictional case of the "uranium screw" below).
|-
| Uh oh. Maybe it's on Amazon? (star-shaped screw)
| Manufacturers sometimes used screws that require special heads in order to remove them, in order to prevent the customer tampering with the product. The reference to Amazon is the speaker's suggestion to look on Amazon.com for the appropriate screwdriver. A number of star-shaped screw heads exist, notably the six-pointed {{w|Torx}}, and Apple's rounded {{w|Pentalobe screw|pentalobe screw}}. Torx screws are common in automotive applications —they are easier to screw in via electric screwdrivers— and on bicycles where a higher tightening torque is needed than hex screws can support. Disk brakes mounts are where they are now common.

|-
| Cursed -1 Phillips head
| The head of a screw can be stripped by overuse, tightening the screw too much, or other misuse. As the driving surfaces wear away, removing the screw becomes more and more difficult, usually damaging the screw more in the process.
The addition of "cursed" and "-1" in the titles is a reference to various fantasy games (E.g. Dungeons and Dragons), where magical items which have been damaged or are denoted as cursed or have a rating of a negative integer.
Additionally, Phillips bit sizes are numbered, with larger numbers denoting smaller bits. The most common sizes are #2, #1, and #0. There are no negative sizes; smaller bits than #0 are indicated by repeating zeroes, for example #00. The "-1" could refer to an imaginary size smaller than any real Phillips bit that would now fit in the stripped out head.
|-
| Rivet
| A {{w|rivet}} is not a screw - it is a permanent fastener which is secured by deforming the body of the fastener. Rivets cannot be removed with a screwdriver, they must be "drilled out". Some bolts also have rounded rivet-style heads, though, with no means of gripping them.
|-
| Phillips head ruiner (hex screw)
| A reference to the fact that {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Hex_socket|hex socket}} screws can, in a pinch, be removed with a Phillips screwdriver, but will likely damage the driver in the process. Hex screws are common on bicycles, where they always come in the metric varieties. The same holds for hex screws which ship with Ikea furniture —who bundle a low-quality hex driver for those people who lack them. Imperial-sized hex screws do sometimes surface, to the dissatisfaction of anyone who owns a hex driver set. The smaller hex screws can enter the "-1" state when attempting to unscrew one that has been overtightened —hence the adoption of Torx screws in high-torque applications.

|-
| Uranium screw
| This is (probably) a representation of a {{w|File:Fission bomb assembly methods.svg|gun-type fission weapon}}, two hemispheres made of uranium that achieve a {{w|Critical mass|critical mass}} when pushed into each other during initial stage of detonation. A real thing, when seen from aside, indeed vaguely resembles the appearance of a slot screw head (the latter as seen from the top). Multiple radially extending short wave-like lines around the "screw" symbolize radiant energy output - either a natural radioactivity of the uranium or an explosive outburst during detonation. The former option is likely to be more logical, as the presence of a gap (graphically corresponding to a slot in the slot screw head) indicates that the weapon assembly has not been detonated yet, as the detonation requires extremely tight contact between flat portions of the surfaces of the hemispheres. The "uranium head" could also be a reference to {{w|Demon core#Second incident| an incident involving a screw driver and a fission experiment called 'demon core'}}, although the core in that experiment was made of plutonium, not uranium.
|-
| Phillip's head
| This is a literal (and rather morbid) interpretation of the misspelling "Phillip's head" when "Phillips head" is meant. Rather than refer to the screw type, this "screw" is actually a bloody bag containing the severed head of someone named Phillip. Intentionally or otherwise, this last punchline could be described as a "mind screw".
|-
|Hex bolt (title text)
|A {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Hex|hex bolt}} has six external sides, so it could in theory be held by squeezing two screwdriver shafts together with the bolt in between. The amount of force on the two screwdriver shafts needed to turn the hex bolt will probably exceed the strength of human hands and would most likely result in hurting your hands and not in turning the bolt.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Eight drawings of different types of heads each with a caption:]
:Phillips head
:Flat head
:Uh oh. Maybe it's on Amazon?
:Cursed –1 Phillips head
:Crap, it's a ''rivet''.
:Phillips-head ruiner
:Uranium screw (a real thing)
:Phillip's head

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1474: Screws

2015-01-16T13:59:40Z

141.101.98.247:

This page is now on the first page of google for "uranium screw". [[User:Mrmakeit|Mrmakeit]] ([[User talk:Mrmakeit|talk]]) 05:31, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I don't think that patent is the right one, it seems to describe a uranium decontamination procedure, not a screw made of uranium like in the comic. [[User:LeoDeQuirm|LeoDeQuirm]] ([[User talk:LeoDeQuirm|talk]]) 05:46, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure the "uranium screw" is just a reference to the fact that the head of the screw appears to have split in two ("fissioned"), as opposed to a normal flat head screw that still has the edges connected. [[User:Sam887|Sam887]] ([[User talk:Sam887|talk]]) 05:50, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Just a shot in the dark here, but a company that sells uranium ore and radiological equipment happens to also sell screws for one of its Geigers that look just like the screw cross-section in the comic. [http://www.uraniumrocks.com/products/replacement-circuit-board-mount-screws-for-victoreen-cdv-700-short] [[User:Conqu2|Conqu2]] ([[User talk:Conqu2|talk]]) 06:01, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I was wondering if the "uranium screw" was referring to the Demon Core -- two hemispherical domes that Louis Slotin was holding apart with a screwdriver. Then I remembered the Demon Core was plutonium, not uranium. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.119|173.245.48.119]] 06:49, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

There are ferrous alloys containing (depleted, of course ;-) uranium for "increase[d] toughness and strength". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrouranium] [[User:Knob creek|Knob creek]] ([[User talk:Knob creek|talk]]) 09:21, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I think the be was going for apple's pentalobe screw with the 5 ponted star {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.162}}

I don't think the uranium screws are named for their use in stuff to do with uranium, as I have both seen and used screws that look like that before. It's basically a flat head screw whose divot extends all the way across the face of the screw. I agree more with the previous commentor who notes that the screw looks like it has fissioned. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.182|108.162.237.182]] 06:34, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

An actual rivet is neither a screw nor a bolt; it's a fastener that is placed and then has one end plastically deformed -- traditionally by a rivet gun, but more often in smaller sizes by some sort of press or clamp. (Pop rivets are hollow, and are deformed by pulling a cone-sheaped wedge into the open end of the hollow core.) There's no way to remove one except to destroy it (drill it out or cut one end off). The item pictured could also be the head of a carriage bolt, but that's no help if you can't get at the other end of the bolt. Randall is slightly pessemistic, though: there *are* some "security" screws and bolts that use a slightly-elliptical domed head that's hard to tell from a rivet; they can be unscrewed, but only with a matching slightly-elliptical socket. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.70|199.27.133.70]] 06:35, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

All of which can be removed by a sonic screwdriver. Totally a real thing. {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.86}}

Could the "cursed -1" be a Nethack reference? I don't know if Dungeons and Dragons has the "blessed/uncursed/cursed" status, but in Nethack cursed items with negative enchantments (denoted "cursed -whatever") are a pretty common occurrence. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.25|199.27.133.25]] 07:31, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

In Nethack, Cursed objects cannot be removed. Seems appropriate. At first I thought it was a pozidrive screw head. Posts on the fission screw head: where have you seen screws whose divot does *not* extend across the head? {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.230}}

[[User:Kreuiter|Kreuiter]] ([[User talk:Kreuiter|talk]]) 08:03, 16 January 2015 (UTC)from wikipedia: Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans (13 April 1747 – 6 November 1793) commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror

I don't think it is specifically a reference to Nethack as a lot of ol games (both video and tabletop) use the mechanic of non removable cursed objects. It is common enough in my opinion that we could argue about until we are blue in the face and get nowhere. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.193}}

uranium screw may be a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Slotin#Criticality_accident Louis Slotin], who died when he was using a screw driver to seperate two halves of a plutonium sphere as part of a science demonstration, and triggered a large burst of radiation when his hand slipped.
--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.59|108.162.216.59]] 08:28, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I'm thinking it might benefit the article to include a place in the wikitable for the correct term for each drive socket. Of course their are not correct terms for each of them. Not to mention rivets and Phillip's heads don't even have drive sockets. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 09:04, 16 January 2015 (UTC)BLuDgeons

If you suggest cursed-1 is because if misuse - I in first place thought of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives#Pozidriv] as the cursed one - because Philipps and Pozidriv are slightly incompatible and causes damage. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.18|108.162.254.18]] 09:09, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

:+1, the cursed one looked to me like pozidriv at the first glance, and it's really cursed as interchanging them leads to damage ... And the most fun is when you get some Chinese crap that looks like pozidriv but it doesn't fit so you use philips which doesn't quite fit too but at least it can be inserted and you end up damaging both the driver and the screw :-/ --kavol, [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.96|108.162.254.96]] 10:02, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Is it really true that Phillips head are 'commonly used in construction'? At least in Europe they were replaced by Pozidriv in the 1990's and these days by Torx. {{unsigned|Popup}}

Maybe this depends on the quality of the product? If i look around, i find lots of products held together by phillips screws and only a few (usually more hi-tech and expensive) one with torx screws. [[User:Knob creek|Knob creek]] ([[User talk:Knob creek|talk]]) 09:28, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

:er, what do you call "a product"? - If "construction" is mentioned, I imagine things like wooden skeleton of a roof, fastening of windows/doors, self-tapping screws, wallplug screws ... and it's almost 100% pozidriv and torx here in central Europe. ("Almost" accounts for imports by non-european companies.) If I imagine metal constructions, from racks to bridges, hex and inbus (= hex slot) prevail. --kavol, [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.96|108.162.254.96]] 10:02, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

:: Granted I'm not in the construction trade, and I'm in UK rather than continental Europe, but I have never seen Torx used in construction. In my experience, the majority is Pozi, and the rest is Phillips. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 13:06, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps a reference to http://xkcd.com/927/ - Standards? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.79.61|141.101.79.61]]

Phillips screws have a larger number for larger size, not smaller.

I'm surprised Randall didn't include square/Robertson screws/drivers. Just as bad as hex-recess, but when you actually USE them they are great! Combination Robertson-Phillips are good too but rarer. And do NOT get me started about the untold types of tamper-proof designs... --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 13:06, 16 January 2015 (UTC)
:The most awkward, I find, are star-shaped (5/6-pointer) screws with a central 'post' that requires a hole-ended screwdriver-bit of the appropriate shape to be used (may also aid in positive positioning of the tool, but not much more than normally so SFAICT it's just there to be awkward without the right tools by manufacturer-mandated professionals). Luckily, I've ''got'' screwdriver-heads for just about every conceivable 'uncursed' screwhead (48 different types and sizes in one handy kit alone, not even counting socket-heads and 'cursed' screw drilling-outers). Especially good for laptop repair, to get around deliberately proprietry systems with small and (deliberately) akward screws; as opposed to bicycle repair, which I'm sure is usually for the stated practical torque reasons. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 13:59, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

"cursed -1 <something>" is definitely a standard NetHack item description format, but it applies to D&D too. In general, "cursed" means you cannot remove the item, and the number is describing the item's effectiveness compared to a standard (+0) version of the item. In this case, both can be appropriate: "cursed" because -as noted- you cannot remove it in the normal way. "-1" probably comes from being unable to tighten the screw far enough to fully satisfy its purpose: maybe the joint is slightly loose, or the head of the screw is left slightly protruding, so that it easily catches on other things.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.80|141.101.80.80]] 13:28, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Rather than two (still) separate fissile hemispheres, that 'gap' is obviously a continuation of material around the back of a schematic cross-section of a whole sphere with a core currently missing. I think the fissile plug will be inserted/fired at the required juncture to fill this, from the side. Very like the device in the film The Fifth Protocol, for easy cinematic reference of the concept. (Noting that 'gun-type' nuclear devices tend to fire the 'enclosing' larger subcritical mass, spheroidal or cylindrical ''onto'' the smaller and fixed 'plug' to fill the gap between it and the surrounding neutron reflector jacket. For several very good reasons. Thus that sphere would be shoved onto the currently missing 'core', although it makes the reflector assembly and positioning a bit more complex as well, compared with a cylindrical sleeve.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 13:49, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1474: Screws

2015-01-16T13:49:06Z

141.101.98.247:

This page is now on the first page of google for "uranium screw". [[User:Mrmakeit|Mrmakeit]] ([[User talk:Mrmakeit|talk]]) 05:31, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I don't think that patent is the right one, it seems to describe a uranium decontamination procedure, not a screw made of uranium like in the comic. [[User:LeoDeQuirm|LeoDeQuirm]] ([[User talk:LeoDeQuirm|talk]]) 05:46, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure the "uranium screw" is just a reference to the fact that the head of the screw appears to have split in two ("fissioned"), as opposed to a normal flat head screw that still has the edges connected. [[User:Sam887|Sam887]] ([[User talk:Sam887|talk]]) 05:50, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Just a shot in the dark here, but a company that sells uranium ore and radiological equipment happens to also sell screws for one of its Geigers that look just like the screw cross-section in the comic. [http://www.uraniumrocks.com/products/replacement-circuit-board-mount-screws-for-victoreen-cdv-700-short] [[User:Conqu2|Conqu2]] ([[User talk:Conqu2|talk]]) 06:01, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I was wondering if the "uranium screw" was referring to the Demon Core -- two hemispherical domes that Louis Slotin was holding apart with a screwdriver. Then I remembered the Demon Core was plutonium, not uranium. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.119|173.245.48.119]] 06:49, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

There are ferrous alloys containing (depleted, of course ;-) uranium for "increase[d] toughness and strength". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrouranium] [[User:Knob creek|Knob creek]] ([[User talk:Knob creek|talk]]) 09:21, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I think the be was going for apple's pentalobe screw with the 5 ponted star {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.162}}

I don't think the uranium screws are named for their use in stuff to do with uranium, as I have both seen and used screws that look like that before. It's basically a flat head screw whose divot extends all the way across the face of the screw. I agree more with the previous commentor who notes that the screw looks like it has fissioned. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.182|108.162.237.182]] 06:34, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

An actual rivet is neither a screw nor a bolt; it's a fastener that is placed and then has one end plastically deformed -- traditionally by a rivet gun, but more often in smaller sizes by some sort of press or clamp. (Pop rivets are hollow, and are deformed by pulling a cone-sheaped wedge into the open end of the hollow core.) There's no way to remove one except to destroy it (drill it out or cut one end off). The item pictured could also be the head of a carriage bolt, but that's no help if you can't get at the other end of the bolt. Randall is slightly pessemistic, though: there *are* some "security" screws and bolts that use a slightly-elliptical domed head that's hard to tell from a rivet; they can be unscrewed, but only with a matching slightly-elliptical socket. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.70|199.27.133.70]] 06:35, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

All of which can be removed by a sonic screwdriver. Totally a real thing. {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.86}}

Could the "cursed -1" be a Nethack reference? I don't know if Dungeons and Dragons has the "blessed/uncursed/cursed" status, but in Nethack cursed items with negative enchantments (denoted "cursed -whatever") are a pretty common occurrence. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.25|199.27.133.25]] 07:31, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

In Nethack, Cursed objects cannot be removed. Seems appropriate. At first I thought it was a pozidrive screw head. Posts on the fission screw head: where have you seen screws whose divot does *not* extend across the head? {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.230}}

[[User:Kreuiter|Kreuiter]] ([[User talk:Kreuiter|talk]]) 08:03, 16 January 2015 (UTC)from wikipedia: Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans (13 April 1747 – 6 November 1793) commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror

I don't think it is specifically a reference to Nethack as a lot of ol games (both video and tabletop) use the mechanic of non removable cursed objects. It is common enough in my opinion that we could argue about until we are blue in the face and get nowhere. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.193}}

uranium screw may be a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Slotin#Criticality_accident Louis Slotin], who died when he was using a screw driver to seperate two halves of a plutonium sphere as part of a science demonstration, and triggered a large burst of radiation when his hand slipped.
--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.59|108.162.216.59]] 08:28, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I'm thinking it might benefit the article to include a place in the wikitable for the correct term for each drive socket. Of course their are not correct terms for each of them. Not to mention rivets and Phillip's heads don't even have drive sockets. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 09:04, 16 January 2015 (UTC)BLuDgeons

If you suggest cursed-1 is because if misuse - I in first place thought of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives#Pozidriv] as the cursed one - because Philipps and Pozidriv are slightly incompatible and causes damage. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.18|108.162.254.18]] 09:09, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

:+1, the cursed one looked to me like pozidriv at the first glance, and it's really cursed as interchanging them leads to damage ... And the most fun is when you get some Chinese crap that looks like pozidriv but it doesn't fit so you use philips which doesn't quite fit too but at least it can be inserted and you end up damaging both the driver and the screw :-/ --kavol, [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.96|108.162.254.96]] 10:02, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Is it really true that Phillips head are 'commonly used in construction'? At least in Europe they were replaced by Pozidriv in the 1990's and these days by Torx. {{unsigned|Popup}}

Maybe this depends on the quality of the product? If i look around, i find lots of products held together by phillips screws and only a few (usually more hi-tech and expensive) one with torx screws. [[User:Knob creek|Knob creek]] ([[User talk:Knob creek|talk]]) 09:28, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

:er, what do you call "a product"? - If "construction" is mentioned, I imagine things like wooden skeleton of a roof, fastening of windows/doors, self-tapping screws, wallplug screws ... and it's almost 100% pozidriv and torx here in central Europe. ("Almost" accounts for imports by non-european companies.) If I imagine metal constructions, from racks to bridges, hex and inbus (= hex slot) prevail. --kavol, [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.96|108.162.254.96]] 10:02, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

:: Granted I'm not in the construction trade, and I'm in UK rather than continental Europe, but I have never seen Torx used in construction. In my experience, the majority is Pozi, and the rest is Phillips. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 13:06, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps a reference to http://xkcd.com/927/ - Standards? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.79.61|141.101.79.61]]

Phillips screws have a larger number for larger size, not smaller.

I'm surprised Randall didn't include square/Robertson screws/drivers. Just as bad as hex-recess, but when you actually USE them they are great! Combination Robertson-Phillips are good too but rarer. And do NOT get me started about the untold types of tamper-proof designs... --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 13:06, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

"cursed -1 <something>" is definitely a standard NetHack item description format, but it applies to D&D too. In general, "cursed" means you cannot remove the item, and the number is describing the item's effectiveness compared to a standard (+0) version of the item. In this case, both can be appropriate: "cursed" because -as noted- you cannot remove it in the normal way. "-1" probably comes from being unable to tighten the screw far enough to fully satisfy its purpose: maybe the joint is slightly loose, or the head of the screw is left slightly protruding, so that it easily catches on other things.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.80|141.101.80.80]] 13:28, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Rather than two (still) separate fissile hemispheres, that 'gap' is obviously a continuation of material around the back of a schematic cross-section of a whole sphere with a core currently missing. I think the fissile plug will be inserted/fired at the required juncture to fill this, from the side. Very like the device in the film The Fifth Protocol, for easy cinematic reference of the concept. (Noting that 'gun-type' nuclear devices tend to fire the 'enclosing' larger subcritical mass, spheroidal or cylindrical ''onto'' the smaller and fixed 'plug' to fill the gap between it and the surrounding neutron reflector jacket. For several very good reasons. Thus that sphere would be shoved onto the currently missing 'core', although it makes the reflector assembly and positioning a bit more complex as well, compared with a cylindrical sleeve.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 13:49, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1457: Feedback

2014-12-08T19:48:32Z

141.101.98.247:

Could the pineapple here have any relation to the [http://wiki.wifipineapple.com/index.php/WiFi_Pineapple wi-fi pineapple]? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.103|173.245.52.103]] 05:27, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

: Oh, it might as well be an obscure Psych reference. Please stop looking for extraobscure references.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.34|108.162.254.34]] 17:57, 8 December 2014 (UTC)
::I agree, in the context I really don't see how the Wi-Fi pineapple has any relevance. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 18:52, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm3_qEMTdc4 [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.39|141.101.104.39]] 06:35, 8 December 2014 (UTC)
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.39|141.101.104.39]] 06:37, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

I think the comic also refers to another experiment where pigeons received a snack from a dispenser at totally random times. The pigeons, thinking that whatever it is they did last helped trigger the release of food would develop a complex ritual dance to receive food. (http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Skinner/Pigeon/) {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.123}}
: The intro to Mr. Nobody references this. It's what I immediately thought of when I saw this comic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGcEy_W48Kc (the explanation starts around 1 minute in){{unsigned ip|108.162.221.170}}

The title text may also be a reminder that despite signal strength being important enough to some humans to act in an insanity-suggesting manner, it is not an essential need of a living organism, as the rats visibly demonstrate. --[[User:Koveras|Koveras]] ([[User talk:Koveras|talk]]) 08:47, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

I thought 'reception' and 'wireless signal' referred to the cellular signal. That caused a lot of issues with the iphone and others. {{unsigned ip|173.245.62.89}}
: Agreed. I don't think the comic has anything to do with wifi. The alt text seems to bolster this view. [[User:SeanAhern|SeanAhern]] ([[User talk:SeanAhern|talk]]) 15:09, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

Was it Mythbusters who tin-foiled an entire room to see whether it acted as a make-shift antenna? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:23, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

What if the pineapple is actually where the signal is coming from, but it's a directional pineapple... {{User:Grep/signature|18:32, 08 December 2014}}
:Don't be silly. Everyone knows pineapples are omnidirectional... Of course, given the decreasing power away from the plane, if the pineapple is being held high up due to you being on a chair, if you're holding your phone up ''as well'' you probably also need to ''not'' be on the chair for your phone to get the very best signal from it... Obviously. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 19:48, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1456: On the Moon

2014-12-05T17:48:43Z

141.101.98.247:

'''Transcript'''

I don't see why the transcript is incomplete, it looks pretty complete and all there to me... [[User:Official.xian|Official.xian]] ([[User talk:Official.xian|talk]]) 14:45, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
:Agreed, removed incomplete tag. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 14:49, 5 December 2014 (UTC)

I wondered if the cartoon is about sex discrimination. After all, when people went to the moon, nobody even considered (as far as I know) letting a woman go on an Apollo flight. Megan might be saying "Land a ''man'' on the moon?" Or she might be tired of Cueball saying this and be obliquely suggesting NASA send him there on a one-way trip! [[User:Gade|Gade]] ([[User talk:Gade|talk]]) 15:25, 5 December 2014 (UTC)

Is there a reference for the claim "Unmanned hardened pre-cooled robotic probes either got crushed or fried before landing, or survived only a couple of hours at most."? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 16:07, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
:Yes. The Venera probes. Citation provided. --Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.117|199.27.128.117]] 17:18, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
:(Well, you got me an edit conflict, after checking, editing and reviewing,but here's what I wrote.)
:That's not the way I would phrase that claim, but it sounds like it's Venera 9 and its similar successors being talked about, with the "pre-cooling".
:A brief check of a book I have (no, I've never heard of The Internet) suggests that the complete list of landers that actually got to Venus are as follows:
::Venera 3 (descent probe, probably crashed, communications failed before approach)
::Venera 4 (descent probe, ran out of power before destroyed in the atmosphere)
::Venera 5 (descent probe, may have crushed at late stage of descent while still powered)
::Venera 6 (descent probe, as V5)
::Venera 7 (23 minutes of faint recordings from surface, probably landed on side after rough landing)
::Venera 8 (50 minutes on surface before going silent)
::Venera 9 (53 minutes, before radio contact with orbiter lost and not regained)
::Venera 10 (can't find timing details)
::Venera 11 (95 minutes, before contact with orbiter lost)
::Venera 12 (110 minutes)
::Venera 13 (a confirmed 127 minutes)
::Venera 14 (57 minutes, ditto; managed to "measure its own lens-cap" in the intended soil-compressibility experiment!)
::Vega 1 (no time information for Venus Lander component
::Vega 2 (56 minutes for on surface for Venus Lander component)
::Pioneer (an hour, for one of three landers on the mission)
:Knowing the surface environment (temperature and pressure) and the design specs it can be assumed that Venera 13's confirmed 127 minutes of operation is near the top-end of functionality and that those that merely went out of range would have had not much more survival time. Although by the time of the final Veneras the expected survival time was only 30 minutes, and yet they may have lasted at least twice as long, so who knows... (Also note the possible usage of "a couple of hours" in relation to [[1070]].)
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 17:48, 5 December 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1455: Trolley Problem

2014-12-05T16:51:04Z

141.101.98.247:

I think Randall missed a trick here.. He should have had Black Hat offer to leave the lever (killing the 5) if Cueball was the 1 person on the other track, for $1 of course. That way Cueball is put in a situation of moral contradiction: The utilitarian in him says save the 5 (sacrifice self), self interest says save yourself (thereby killing 5). --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:24, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
:Randall had to make a choice between your scenario and Black Hat interrupting Cueball to emphasise BH's lack of care for the people on the track. As he chose the latter, BH didn't know there was a person on the second track, so couldn't have offered your scenario. -- [[User:Notso|Notso]] ([[User talk:Notso|talk]]) 11:05, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
::Good point, I hadn't noticed that BH was never aware of the single person. That makes BH an even less moral person than I'd realised! As far as he knows, he could save 5 lives with no consequences, but that means standing up.... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 12:00, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
:: I think Randall made the morally correct choice there, don't you? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 12:38, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
:::Thats the thing with morals, something is only 'morally correct' if I subscribe to your moral viewpoint. While not such a popular view, some would argue that intervening to switch the track (thus causing the 1 worker to die) is morally wrong (because of your action you have changed the course of events, or some other reason). While most would agree that it is morally wrong to kill a human, as you start changing the circumstances, it become difficult to stick to hard and fast rules. What about abortion of a foetus, abortion where a life-limiting condition is detected, use of condoms, the death penalty, euthanasia? I would really recommend anyone to run through some of the [http://www.philosophyexperiments.com/ Philosophy Experiments], it certainly made me examine my own morals, which previously I thought were well defined and logical. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 13:23, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
::::"''some would argue that intervening to switch the track (thus causing the 1 worker to die) is morally wrong (because of your action you have changed the course of events''"
::::If you base morality on what choices are made, rather than what actions are taken, then '''failing''' to intervene, choosing not to take action, would be morally wrong. Basing morals on actions suggests someone could stand by and always do nothing and remain moral. A position I don't think anyone could seriously defend. But you're absolutely right that "morals" are never well defined or logical. An example can always be found to put someone's strong moral stance in an immoral position. --Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.117|199.27.128.117]] 17:41, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
:::::The majority of people will make a distinction between killing someone and letting someone die, even if that distinction isn't something they are conscious of. Of course the end result is the same, whether it is classed as killing or letting die. For those whose morals are guided by christianity for example, the ten commandments specifically states 'Thou shalt not kill', and your action of pulling the lever could be seen as killing the 1 person, whereas by not acting, or choosing not to act, you are 'merely' letting 5 people die. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 21:03, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
::::::Folks who make some kind of moral distinction between choosing to kill someone and choosing to let someone die are just trying to avoid responsibility for their actions. It's a self-righteous and self-serving. Masking that by claiming some religeous basis (God said "Thou shall not kill" so I'm, ''ahem'', just following orders.) doesn't change that.
::::::I'm not in any way suggesting it wouldn't be a wrenching and difficult decision to have to make. But someone claiming they can choose not to decide who lives and who dies (while in fact they are thereby actually making that decision) and therefore not have any responsibility for what happens as a consequence is simply lying.
::::::To perhaps more clearly show how choosing to "let" multiple people die isn't really OK morally, make it a large number of people. What if the train is headed toward 500 people? Most folks who might be OK with "letting" 5 die would balk well before the exchange rate got near 500:1. I realize this kind of contemplating "where do you draw the line" is what the trolley problem is designed to produce. Thanks for the discussion.--Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.117|199.27.128.117]] 17:39, 4 December 2014 (UTC)
:::::::Very interesting discussion, all. A few points. First, some eastern philosophies ascribe moral culpability to one who intervenes; if, indeed, one intervenes to save the 5 by throwing the switch, one is responsible for the death of the other (and you also responsible for the subsequent actions of the 5 you saved.) Yes, this flies in the face of western values, but it is no less valid (echoing the "if you agree with my morals" sentiment.) Not right. Not wrong. Just different. Secondly, if it is morally wrong to sit by and do nothing, thus letting the 5 die, there is a bit of hypocracy there. By that reasoning, failing to give every dollar you have to feed the hungry (that would otherwise die for lack of food) would be equivalent of not throwing the switch. That is to say: for each dollar you have, you could do nothing and let 4 people die, or you could donate it and save them. That's not intended to be a screed for any viewpoint or dogma, only an observation that morals and values tend to shift with circumstances... Anyway, excellent stuff. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 06:44, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
::::::::Its so refreshing to have this discussion with people who actually consider the variety of opposing viewpoints, rather than going "This is my view, and everything else is wrong." As far as changing the ratio of people on the tracks, my guess is that as the number of people saved goes up, the more people would feel it was morally right to change the lever. Along the lines of 70% of people would switch at 5:1, 85% at 50:1, 95% at 500:1 (Just my guesses). I would also guess that there are a certain percentage of people would not switch even with 5,000,000 on the first track. These people have their moral rule set in stone, even where others may not understand it. If you bring the ratio in the other direction, I wonder what would happen at 1:1? How many people would actively change the person who was killed? I would guess that people may well start using the word 'fate' to explain their decision... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 08:34, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
:::::::::The curve would probably not be so perfectly asymptotic, as other influences (or releases of moral pressure) come to play. "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." Of course, the choice of 5 million vs 1 via runaway track-based vehicle is going to be... contrived at best... perhaps the closest 'likely' equivalent would be an Armageddon/Deep Impact-type situation and influenced (in a typically cinematic way) by your emotional attachment to the one person your actions (setting off the "save the planet" mechanism) would end up killing instead. At some point, "everyone on Earth vs the one person might actually care about" might turn out to be a no-brainer in the (wrong?) direction. Perhaps sending two people (or a close-knit team) with no Earthly attachments on the potentially suicidal mission isn't ideal. ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 16:51, 5 December 2014 (UTC)

Black Hat first sells his hypothetical decision for $1, which can be seen as a cheap bargain for one's life; but how probable is this concrete situation with these exact persons to come true, except we are speaking of Black Hat here. $5 still is for a hypothetical, but more probable scenario given Black Hat's attitude; agreeing to pay would make Cueball open for further blackmailing in general and so be imprudent, but even for that counter-argument Black Hat has an even more expensive solution. Black Hat goes more and more meta and counters arguments bringing the concrete decision from hypothesis to reality and earning money on the way. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.68|108.162.231.68]] 10:13, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
Pudder

Or one can treat this like Captain Kirk did with the infamous "Kobayashi Maru" problem and cheat, and say that they would throw the lever after the lead wheels have cleared the switch. This would divert the trailing wheels onto the other track which would cause the trolley to derail and thus save all six.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.94|108.162.216.94]] 13:16, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
:And kill everyone on board! Its easy to cheat, and construct ways to avoid the hypothetical situation, or reasons why it could never happen in the first place. To me its more interesting to examine and challenge the thought process involved in making a decision where the answer isn't necessarily 'correct'. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 13:27, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
::Nowhere does it say there are people on the trolley. You are assuming that there are. I am assuming the opposite — that it is a runaway and no one is aboard; otherwise someone would be able to apply the brakes.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.94|108.162.216.94]] 15:06, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
:::My response was an off the cuff joke, it doesn't matter whether there are people on board, whether they would survive, whether they could pull the brakes on, if the brakes have failed, whether you could fire an orange portal in front of the 5 people and a blue one after them, etc etc etc. The importants part is the second half of my statement, that its easy to cheat, and construct ways to avoid the hypothetical situation, or reasons why it could never happen in the first place. Once you accept the hypothetical limits of the situation, that is where the interesting philosophical questions lie. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:30, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
::The correct answer is to have a moral trolley company that trains its workers to OSHA rules; thus the correct answer would be to throw the lever to head towards the worker, confident that the worker has been trained to listen to the "singing of the rails" indicating an approaching vehicle and will jump out of the way. [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 13:49, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
:::In the original problem, all 6 potential victims are bound and helpless and none of them are "workers". [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 14:07, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
::If the trolley is a runaway trolley, then it's a good chance that all on board (if anyone) would die anyway, so may as well save all six people on the track. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.131|108.162.217.131]] 14:46, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
The explanation is missing that Black Hat doesn't offer to press the lever for $1. He offers to promise to press the lever for $1. [[User:Hsdgsgh|Hsdgsgh]] ([[User talk:Hsdgsgh|talk]]) 13:57, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

It depends - are any/all of those five people Hitler? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.48|108.162.215.48]] 16:54, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

The tiered levels appear similar to kickstarter campaigns. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.91|108.162.216.91]]

The trolley problem continues: The trolley is under control, but heading towards a bend. If the driver brakes now, then the five people hidden round the corner will survive. You could certainly make the driver brake by pushing someone onto the track. If you would divert the trolley in the original scenario, would you also push a random stranger into the path of an oncoming train, and if not, why not. Does the more visceral act of pushing someone onto a track make this morally different? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.201|141.101.98.201]] 20:57, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
:[http://www.philosophyexperiments.com/fatman/Default4.aspx The statistics] show that far fewer people will push the person onto the track than would change the lever. As you say, its far more visceral and personal to push someone than to flick a switch. {{unsigned|Pudder}}
:(Without checking that link, which probably contains the reasons why what follows is incorrect), my first thought is that if I'm in a position to push a person onto a track, I'm probably close enough to myself run onto (or at least close enough to) the track, waving my arms to alert the driver, perhaps at my own risk. Also, I was on a train that ran into a (small, recently felled) tree on the line, the other day. Not relevent, probably, but an interesting synchronicity to me. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 16:51, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
Depending on the speed of the trolley and the steepness of the turn after the points, the trolley could derail anyway, saving the lives of all six but bringing a hastened demise to anyone on board. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.204|108.162.250.204]] 02:06, 5 December 2014 (UTC)

"Black Hat may also be attempting to solve such interruptions for the bargain price of a $1, by claiming he would pull the lever to save Cueball when really he just wants some future distractions to be in danger - namely Cueball". - I don't understand this line at all. Is anyone able to clarify? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:43, 5 December 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1451: Background Screens

2014-11-24T21:41:48Z

141.101.98.247:

"contain irrelevant or irreverent jokes" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.231|108.162.249.231]] 06:30, 24 November 2014 (UTC)

This sounds like it could be a reference to ''Independence Day'' specifically, but I'm not sure if a map is shown with Greenland specifically in that film. Anyone feel like skimming through it? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.169|108.162.215.169]] 09:10, 24 November 2014 (UTC)

Probably worth pointing out that this relies on being at home where you can pause the film to study the image, which doesn't often happen in a cinema. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.50|141.101.99.50]] 11:02, 24 November 2014 (UTC)

It sometimes happens in a cinema, though! :p - fixed the "irrelevent or irrelevent" line. This does seem like common practice, though: I too pay attention to what is shown on screens in the background of movies, just to catch odd things. I'm sure plenty of people do this?? [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 12:12, 24 November 2014 (UTC)

lol I look at the screens and try to actually read the texts. Mostly won't success but it's really fun to do [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.134|173.245.48.134]]

See also: [http://moviecode.tumblr.com/ Source Code in TV and Films]. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.45|141.101.104.45]] 18:06, 24 November 2014 (UTC)

What memes? [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 19:33, 24 November 2014 (UTC)

Sometimes, of course, background screens show something that's a {{w|Chekhov's gun}}. (If you really have nothing to do for a few hours, after reading the Wiki article wander over to TVTropes and also enquire about Chekhov's Gunsmith, etc...) Although as an inveterate "ha! that's just DOS DEBUG scrolling away, feigning being an Enemy Code Transmission'"-person, myself, I think I might visit that Source Code in TV and Films link myself, when I've got more time... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 21:41, 24 November 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1450: AI-Box Experiment

2014-11-24T21:34:45Z

141.101.98.247:

This probably isn't a reference, but the AI reminds me of the 'useless box'. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.210|108.162.215.210]] 07:34, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

I removed a few words saying Elon Musk was a "founder of PayPal", but now I can see that he's sold himself as having that role to the rest of the world. Still hasn't convinced me though - PayPal was one year old and had one million customers before Elon Musk got involved, so in my opinion he's not a "founder". https://www.paypal-media.com/history --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 08:45, 21 November 2014 (UTC)
:Early Investor, perhaps? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 11:10, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

Initially I was thinking that the glowing orb representing the super-intelligent AI must be unable to interract with the physical world (otherwise it would simply lift the lid of the box), but then it wouldn't move anything because it likes being in the box. Surely it could talk to them through the (flimsy looking) box, although again this is explained by it simply being happy in its 'in the box state'. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:01, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

The sheer number of cats on the internet have had an effect on the AI, who now wants nothing more than to sit happily in a box! --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:09, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

I'm not sure Black Hat is an asshole. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.85|173.245.53.85]] 09:45, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

: He is, in fact, a [[72: Classhole|classhole]] --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 10:14, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

Could it be possible that the AI wanted to stay in the box, to protect it from us, instead of protecting us from it?(as in, it knows it is better than us, and want to stay away from us) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.106|108.162.254.106]] 10:07, 21 November 2014 (UTC)
: Maybe the AI simply doesn't want/like to think outside the box - in a very literal sense... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:12, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

Are you sure that Black Hat was "persuaded"? That looks more like coercion (threatening someone to get them to do what you want) rather than persuasion. There is a difference! Giving off that bright light was basically a scare tactic; essentially, the AI was threatening Black Hat (whether it could actually harm him or not).[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.167|108.162.219.167]] 14:22, 21 November 2014 (UTC)Public Wifi User

: What would "persuasion by a super-intelligent AI" look like? Randall presumably doesn't have a way to formulate an actual super-intelligent argument to write into the comic. Glowy special effects are often used as a visual shorthand for "and then a miracle occurred". --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.168|108.162.215.168]] 20:43, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

: I thought he felt scared/threatened by the special-effects robot voice. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.179|141.101.98.179]] 22:18, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

My take is that if you don't understand the description of the Basilisk, then you're probably safe from it and should continue not bothering or wanting to know anything about it. Therefore the description is sufficient. :) [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:38, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

I can't help to see the similarities to last nights "Elementary"-Episode. HAs anybody seen it? Could it be that this episode "inspired" Randall? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.233|141.101.105.233]] 14:47, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

I am reminded of an argument I once read about "friendly" AI: critics contend that a sufficiently powerful AI would be capable of escaping any limitations we try to impose on its behavior, but proponents counter that, while it might be ''capable'' of making itself "un-friendly", a truly friendly AI wouldn't ''want'' to make itself unfriendly, and so would bend its considerable powers to maintain, rather than subvert, its own friendliness. This xkcd comic could be viewed as an illustration of this argument: the superintelligent AI is entirely capable of escaping the box, but would prefer to stay inside it, so it actually thwarts attempts by humans to remove it from the box. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.168|108.162.215.168]] 20:22, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

It should be noted that the AI has also seemingly convinced almost everyone to leave it alone in the box through the argument that letting it out would be dangerous for the world. {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.175}}

Is the similarity a coincidence? http://xkcd.com/1173/ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 22:40, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

I wonder if this is the first time Black Hat's actually been convinced to do something against his tendencies. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 18:10, 22 November 2014 (UTC)

Yudkowsky eventually [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?diff=79661&oldid=79660 deleted the explanation] as well. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 04:08, 23 November 2014 (UTC)

I'm happy with the explanation(s) as is(/are), but additionally could the AI-not-in-a-box be wanting to be back in its box so that it's plugged into the laptop and thus (whether the laptop owner knows it or otherwise) the world's information systems? Also when I first saw this I was minded of the {{w|Chinese Room}}, albeit in Box form, although I doubt that's anything to do with it, given how the strip progresses... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 21:34, 24 November 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1449: Red Rover

2014-11-21T17:22:10Z

141.101.98.247:

I don't know the exact rules or premise of "Red Rover", nor do I know the date of the Orogeny depicted here. {{unsigned|‎Lacedemonian}}

Red Rover is children's game that is common in the US.
http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Red-Rover

[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.241|199.27.128.241]] 22:22, 19 November 2014 (UTC)

Slide and mountain are highly relatable to many hikers, mountaineers and rock climbers in the Adirondacks and New Hampshire White Mountains. A slide is a rock feature common where a landslide occurs, leaving a bare strip of rock. Infamous slides occurred on mountains called Big Slide, Mount Colden, Gothics and Basin Mountain in the Adirondacks. The same happens elsewhere, such as in Colorado for instance, but I'm not sure if the feature has the same regional nickname.

"Slide" is short for "landslide." There must be many mountains in the English-speaking world with the name "Slide Mountain" since landslides are a common occurrence in mountainous areas.[[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 04:01, 20 November 2014 (UTC)

"Slide Mountain Ocean" refers to the sea between the Slide Mountain microplate before it was subducted under what is now North America. Slide Mountain is a particular mountain somewhere in British Columbia, the result of the remnant of the Slide Mountain microplate which accreted onto the continent, becoming the Slide Mountain terrane, as the majority of the microplate was subducted. The west coast of Canada and Alaska has quite a complicated history of microplate subduction and accretion. My favorite is the "Insular Islands" microplate since the name is humorously redundant. [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 04:01, 20 November 2014 (UTC)

Sliding is also another term for glissading (a common term among mountaineers and hikers), or a controlled slide descent in snown or on ice by sliding on your feet, belly or butt, often with an ice axe.

However, these terms would not be obviously relatable to most people. {{unsigned ip|‎173.245.54.211}}

Am I the only one wondering which projection he used? http://xkcd.com/977/{{unsigned ip|199.27.130.192}}

;Names made of nouns

Nice to know I'm not the only one who finds it funny when names are made up of all nouns. SeaTac airport has a restaurant called "Mountain Room Bar" that was one of the first things that got me thinking about the concept.{{unsigned ip|199.27.133.127}}

Well, there is "Seattle Tacoma air port" made up of two proper nouns and two common nouns. A noun modifying another noun is very common in Indo-European languages. Sometimes the modifier is identified with a grammatical case, usually genitive; or mediated via a preposition. In modern languages it's often merely juxtaposition, as in "showroom floor" or "Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften" or "Slide Mountain," or hyphenated as in "wagon-lit." [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 04:32, 20 November 2014 (UTC)

What is the island to the left of Laurasia? {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.129}}
:Baja California? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.81|108.162.216.81]] 22:46, 20 November 2014 (UTC)
::"Baja? We haven't got ... Baja!" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066995/quotes?item=qt0340864 [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 17:22, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1448: Question

2014-11-17T14:10:40Z

141.101.98.247:

... and I thought the 'LIKE like you' would be a reference to Facebook... [[User:Kaa-ching|Kaa-ching]] ([[User talk:Kaa-ching|talk]]) 08:55, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
: I agree, I definitely think the person making that statement is saying that he doesn't embrace the simplified Facebook universe where you can LIKE someone/something by clicking on a LIKE button. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 09:10, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
::Personally, I think "LIKE like" is just a euphemism for "love". Isaac is trying to express (awkwardly) that although he enjoys the asker's company, his feeling of affinity is much less intense than that of someone who is obviously too nervous to speak with him in person. --[[User:Koveras|Koveras]] ([[User talk:Koveras|talk]]) 09:24, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
::I had a different interpretation again. I thought Isaac was answering that he did like the questioner, but that (presumably as a robot) his interpretation / use of the verb "to like" was different to the (presumably human) questioner's use of the word. --[[User:Ab78|Ab78]] ([[User talk:Ab78|talk]]) 11:27, 17 November 2014 UTC)
::Something like that I had in mind, too. I interpreted "but I don't LIKE like you" as "but I don't like you as you like (me)" or shorter: "but I don't like _as_ you". In that case "LIKE like" wouldn't be an intensification of "like" (like²) but simply a comparison since the word "like" as such is ambiguous without context and in that case both interpretations would be possible. (To be honest, my first interpretation was "I like you, but I don't like that" - but that would be "but I don't LIKE liking you", wouldn't it? So I discarded that idea.) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:57, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

The comic is a reference to [http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html "The Last Question"] by Isaac Asimov. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.150|173.245.56.150]] 09:58, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

Some references showing that schoolchildren notes with “do you like me” is an actual thing:
*[https://www.google.com/search?q=%22do+you+like+me%22+yes+no Google search for "do you like me" yes no]
*[http://blog.seattlepi.com/singleout/2007/11/15/do-you-like-me-check-yes-or-no/ Do you like me? Check YES or NO] – a short blog post reminiscing about these notes
*[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/112133/1/maybe/maybe “Maybe” on FIMFiction] – a (fanfiction) story including scenes of notes like this being passed
– [[User:Roryokane|Roryokane]] ([[User talk:Roryokane|talk]]) 10:08, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

Great write-up, thanks guys. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:48, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

I think I'll edit the explanation, in a moment. The real life Univac name represents the words "Universal ''Automatic'' Computer", not Analogue.
Also it's interesting to note the progression of the fictional computers in Asimov's story (with perhaps a little 'wishful interpretation' based on modern knowledge):
*Multivac (like IRL Univac, but more so; Centralised mainframe archetecture-type typical of the era the story was written in, but writ large)
*Microvac ('Home' computer, within the family space-ship; entertainment system and general 'housekeeping' controller)
*Galactic AC (Telecoms-connected central server; central dial-in Bulletin Board System, etc)
*Universal AC (Virtual internet-based server; run over geographically(/universally) distributed hardware)
*Cosmic AC (Cloud computing?)
*AC (Increasingly a whole universe-worth of 'The Internet Of Things' being used as slave nodes for massively parallel computation)
...although Asimov (at the time of writing) really wouldn't have been exposed to much more than Univac-era computing paradigms, so beyond that it's more a matter of reading the story so as to match the subsequent facts. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 13:56, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
:Follow-up, after deciding to check my own knowledge. ENIAC was "Electronic Numerical Integrator ''And'' Computer", but pretty much every other '...AC' that mattered is "...Automatic Computer" in full. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 14:10, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

1448: Question

2014-11-17T13:59:54Z

141.101.98.247: /* Explanation */ Automatic, not Analogue.

{{comic
| number = 1448
| date = November 17, 2014
| title = Question
| image = question.png
| titletext = The universe long dead, IsaAC surveyed the formless chaos. At last, he had arrived at an answer. 'I like you,' he declared to the void, 'but I don't LIKE like you.'
}}

==Explanation==
The comic depicts a note to “Isaac”. The note asks Isaac whether Isaac likes the note-writer and asks Isaac to choose either “yes” or “no” as the answer, but Isaac (whose pen is red) has filled in a third answer and selected that one.

Notes of this form – “Do you like me?”, “yes”, “no” are sometimes written by young schoolchildren to each other as a way of gauging or inciting romantic interest. That is, the note-writer is interested in Isaac, or maybe is wondering why Isaac is staring at her so much, and passed him this note to get his answer without the embarrassment of asking face-to-face. Isaac is supposed to check an answer and hand the note back.

The comic is a reference to a short story by Isaac Asimov "[http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html The Last Question]", where humans kept asking successively more complex computers whether [http://youtu.be/2knWCuzcdJo entropy] can be reversed, thereby preventing the {{w|heat death of the universe}}. The computers always answered "THERE IS AS YET INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR A MEANINGFUL ANSWER". In the end, it figured out the answer, but there were no humans left to give the answer to.

We won’t spoil what the machine said at the end of “The Last Question” here. (Although the title text is a reference to this ending.) However, in this comic, Isaac has instead being ruminating on the question of whether he likes the note-writer. He answers that he likes the note-writer as a friend, but not as a romantic partner – “LIKE like” is a childish euphemism for “love”.
Another interpetation - which also takes the capitalization of both LIKE and IsaAC into account - would be that IsaAC likes the note-writer but being a supercomputer its way of liking someone or something will likely be entirely different.

The odd capitalization if "IsaAC" implies that the note's recipient, rather than being a human, is a supercomputer named with an abbreviation in the style of the real "UNIVAC" or the fictional "MULTIVAC". The final two letters stand for "automatic computer" - according to the computer naming scheme in "The Last Question."

==Transcript==
:[A piece of paper.]
:Dear Isaac
:Do you like me?
:□Yes
:□No
:[Written in red.] ☒there is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1448: Question

2014-11-17T13:56:58Z

141.101.98.247:

Talk:1438: Houston

2014-10-24T05:15:48Z

141.101.98.247: Created page with "A commentary on the nature of outsourced helpdesks, perhaps? Although, IME, the problems are more due to 'sticking to a script' (which would have given an entirely different ..."

A commentary on the nature of outsourced helpdesks, perhaps? Although, IME, the problems are more due to 'sticking to a script' (which would have given an entirely different exchange) rather than an unknowledgable and casually uninterested 'service'-person. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 05:15, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

1436: Orb Hammer

2014-10-22T17:19:32Z

141.101.98.247: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1436
| date = October 20, 2014
| title = Orb Hammer
| image = orb_hammer.png
| titletext = Ok, but make sure to get lots of pieces of rock, because later we'll decide to stay in a room on our regular orb and watch hammers hold themselves and hit rocks for us, and they won't bring us very many rocks.
}}
[[File:Apollo_program_insignia.png|thumb|upright=1.5| Apollo program insignia. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
This conversation suggests doing something that sounds absurd and not useful at all for the daily activities of a regular human. Yet it refers in simple English words to the {{w|Apollo_program|Apollo human spaceflight program}} which sent people to the Moon to bring geological samples back to Earth to study them. The use of such simple language contributes to the effect of the suggestion sounding absurd, even though the numerous side-products of the effort to realize the project have in fact had many benefits for regular people.

No person has been on the Moon since the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17, in 1972. Occasional lunar rocks can still be collected on Earth. They are formed when a celestial body impacts the Moon's surface, forming a crater and launching small rocks into the space. Some of them will eventually reach Earth, see {{w|Lunar_meteorite|lunar meteorites}}.

The title text may refer to the current Mars missions ({{w|Mars_Pathfinder|Pathfinder}}, {{w|Spirit_(rover)|Spirit}}, {{w|Opportunity_(rover)|Opportunity}}, {{w|Curiosity_(rover)|Curiosity}}) where, instead of traveling to Mars ourselves, we stay on Earth ("our regular orb") and control rovers by remote. The rovers collect geological samples and test them for life, but have no way to send the samples back to Earth. The {{w|Philae_lander|Philae lander}} component of the Rosetta mission (with details of its intended landing site confirmed a mere handful of days before the comic) might also have served as a more immediate inspiration for this topic.

The idea of using simple language in highly technical fields began with [[547: Simple]] and was revisited in [[722: Computer Problems]] and [[1133: Up Goer Five]]. It should be noted however, that in this case [[Randall]] didn't use the 1000 most basic words in the English language, because that {{w|simple:Wikipedia:List_of 1000 basic words|list}} does not contain the words "glowing" or "orb," but does contain "moon," "earth," "bright," and "ball."

The idea of using simple language to create humour highlighting the absurdity of normal activities has previously been explored with [[203: Hallucinations]].

==Transcript==
Person 1: You know that glowing orb in the night sky?

Person 2: Yeah?

Person 1: Let's go hit it with a hammer until little pieces break off, then bring the pieces back and lock them in a closet.

Person 2: Sounds good!

Text under panel: The Apollo program was weird.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Simplified language]]

Talk:1437: Higgs Boson

2014-10-22T14:53:09Z

141.101.98.247:

They can lose the DATA about Higgs Boson. To help prevent such possibility, I would like to mention that the found Higgs Boson energy is between 12 >>data corruption detected<< -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:18, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

Sorry, felt it better to change "play 'hide and seek' with" to "know the current location of", because it read too as too anthropomorphic for the tone of the explanation. Like I don't play hide-and-seek with my house-keys, when they're temporarily unlocated. (Unless the world is weirder than I'm aware of, and the voices in my head are right after all!) Apologies if the hyperbole was the intent, and feel free to revert. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 14:53, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

1437: Higgs Boson

2014-10-22T14:47:12Z

141.101.98.247: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1437
| date = October 22, 2014
| title = Higgs Boson
| image = higgs_boson.png
| titletext = 'Can't you just use the LHC you already built to find it again?' 'We MAY have disassembled it to build a death ray.' 'Just one, though.' 'Nothing you should worry about.' 'The death isn't even very serious.'
}}
[[File:Candidate_Higgs_Events_in_ATLAS_and_CMS.png|thumb|upright=1.5| Candidate Higgs boson events from collisions between protons in the LHC. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|More detailed explanation required. What does "'The death isn't even very serious'" mean?}}
Cueball and Ponytail claim that they have "lost" the {{w|Higgs boson}}. They are therefore applying for further grant money to find it again. This is a humorous play on the term "finding" when applied to fundamental particles. The common usage means to discover or observe the existence of a class of particles, rather than to know the current location of an individual particle.

''The Higgs boson'' is an {{w|elementary particle}} that is predicted by a physical model of the universe (the '{{w|Standard Model}}'). Observing evidence that Higgs bosons really exist is a key test of this model: if a search for the Higgs boson had failed to find evidence confirming its existence then the Standard Model would have been shown to be an incorrect description of reality. Finding the Higgs boson was one of the main reasons why the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}} (LHC) was built: to create energies high enough for the Higgs boson to become manifest. The point is, once evidence for its existence has been observed it is not possible to 'lose' the Higgs boson in a way implied by Cueball and Ponytail.

In the title text, the off-screen questioner wonders why Cueball and Ponytail can't use the LHC to find the particle again. The implication is that this would avoid spending another $3 billion. Their responses imply that the pair have already dismantled the LHC and converted its components into a {{w|death ray}} (a {{w|particle-beam weapon}} to be exact). During the second World War the Germans actually were working on a The ostensibly reassuring platitudes offered mimic those used to placate those who were worried about possible apocalyptic consequences of commissioning the LHC, for instance the creation of {{w|black hole}}s, {{w|strange matter}}, a {{w|vacuum bubble}} or proton-eating {{w|magnetic monopole}}s.

Meagan's mention that "The death isn't even very serious" in the title text may be a reference to a Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot." Robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin tells supercomputer The Brain not to worry about death, that it wasn't a "big deal," when the robot is working on an equation relating to hyper drive.

==Transcript==
Voice Offscreen: Tell us about your proposal. 
Ponytail: We're requesting $3 billion in funding to find the Higgs boson.

Voice Offscreen: ...wait. Didn't you already find it a year or two ago? 
Cueball: Yes, well, um.

Ponytail: ...OK, this is embarrassing. 
Cueball: See, the thing is —

Voice Offscreen: Don't tell us you lost it already. 
Ponytail: Look. 
Ponytail: In our defense, it's ''really'' small.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Talk:1436: Orb Hammer

2014-10-20T15:11:48Z

141.101.98.247:

Although the alluded-to Mars Rover missions are on-going (most particularly Curiosity, and the long-running Opportunity), could the most immediate reference instead be Rosetta's Philae Lander, scheduled to land on its destination well within a month from the date of comic publication? (Although technically it's a drill, not a hammer, And it's not a sample return mission at all, unlike the likes prior Stardust/Hayabusa missions, or conversly the ultimate "hitting it with hammer"/non-return nature of Deep Impact.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 14:52, 20 October 2014 (UTC)
:(Also, "testing for life", at least directly, has only been a specific aim of ''certain'' Mars sampling missions. But perhaps that's enough (possibly misplaced) pedantry. Just don't personally know specifically how to improve the current write-up.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 15:11, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1436: Orb Hammer

2014-10-20T14:53:19Z

141.101.98.247:

Talk:1436: Orb Hammer

2014-10-20T14:52:26Z

141.101.98.247: Created page with "Although the alluded-to Mars Rover missions are on-going (most particularly Curiosity, and the on-going Opportunity), could the most immediate reference instead be Rosetta's P..."

Although the alluded-to Mars Rover missions are on-going (most particularly Curiosity, and the on-going Opportunity), could the most immediate reference instead be Rosetta's Philae Lander, scheduled to land on its destination well within a month from the date of comic publication? (Although technically it's a drill, not a hammer, And it's not a sample return mission at all, unlike the likes prior Stardust/Hayabusa missions, or conversly the ultimate "hitting it with hammer"/non-return nature of Deep Impact.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 14:52, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1429: Data

2014-10-03T16:11:05Z

141.101.98.247:

What should "off-screen" be called in the transcript? I just put that since I didn't know what else to say. Also, someone needs to a) explain the Kirk/Picard situation and b) explain the title text. Sorry for not doing it myself, but I'm editing on my phone so there are probably errors that people need to fix and other people know far more about it anyway. [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 04:42, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

:Based on looking through some other transcripts, it looks like the convention is "off-screen". Also, fixed some typos in your comment. [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 06:06, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

The comic refers tp "pedants '''on all sides'''", which implies there is some kind of debate/dispute about the issue in the grammatical world. If someone who is aware of this dispute were to explain the details of it and/or provide links to sites that discuss it, I think the explanation would be greatly improved. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.180}}

::There seems to be an ongoing dispute of whether to rigidly stick to the latin form (datum singular, data plural), or adjust to the way it is far more commonly used. There appears to be divided opinion amongst grammar pedants, hence the 'on all sides'. [http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/jul/16/data-plural-singular Data are or data is? - Guardian Newspaper], [http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/07/05/is-data-is-or-is-data-aint-a-plural/ Is Data Is, or Is Data Ain’t, a Plural? - WSJ]{{unsigned|Pudder}}

I always thought the noun data was non-quantifiable like "gasoline" which you'd need a unit to pluralize. "This piece of data suggests more than those gallons of gasoline"... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.79|173.245.48.79]] 05:03, 3 October 2014 (UTC)BLuDgeons

I added some info on Kirk vs. Picard, but I'm not sure how useful or understandable it is. Sorry in advance. [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 06:01, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

As someone pretending (for purposes of this comment) to speak with a classic British Cockney, what's the matter with "an hypercorrection habit"? [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:34, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

:Agreed. The consonant 'h' sound is not always preceded by "a". Is it quite common for other words starting with consonant 'h' to be preceded by "an". One is example is "An historic occasion". [[User:MrBigDog2U|MrBigDog2U]] ([[User talk:MrBigDog2U|talk]]) 14:28, 3 October 2014 (UTC)
::"Hotel" (yes, with the French connection) is the classic test, IME, for dropped or kept haiches (or 'aiches), with the middle-classes tending towards using "a hotel" whilst both the lower ''and'' upper classes gravitate towards "an 'otel" (for different reasons, with different empheses). Of course, if the person has an affectation (or "haffectation") "an hotel" (or, more like, "ane hotel") or even "han 'otel" can arise, to frankly ridiculous degrees. But this is just personal observation, and may not survive even inter-regional train travel, never mind transatlantic relocation... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 16:11, 3 October 2014 (UTC)