explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-18T13:20:15Z

141.101.99.73: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2960
| date = July 17, 2024
| title = Organ Meanings
| image = organ_meanings_2x.png
| imagesize = 407x346px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = IMO the thymus is one of the coolest organs and we should really use it in metaphors more.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT'S PINEAL GLAND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a graph by [[Randall]] ranking how well he understands the function of certain human organs, compared to how much he understands {{w|metaphor}}s using them. 

One might expect understanding an organ's role and its use in metaphor to be strongly correlated, since the metaphors work by drawing a parallel to biological function. However, since our understanding of biological functions has evolved dramatically over time, and metaphorical language does not always keep up, the correspondence is often much looser. To complicate matters, many such anatomical metaphors vary from culture to culture, even though the biological functions remain largely consistent {{Citation needed}}.

The {{w|pineal gland}}, located in the center of the brain, was described as the “Seat of the Soul” by the dualist {{w|René Descartes}} in the 17th century. If this was what it was, the metaphors that might be derived from it would be pretty explicit. It was only in the mid-20th century that its real neuroendocrine (hormone-producing) biological role was grasped. Thus, the real meaning of the metaphor "the pineal gland of something" is uncertain, as is its actual function for the layman.

The {{w|thymus}}, highlighted in the title text, plays an important role in the immune system. It is not commonly used in metaphors,{{Citation needed}} but is perhaps ripe for use in ones describing such things as resilience, indomitability, and adaptability to changing circumstance, were more people to know what it was.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Organ !! Biological understanding !! Metaphor understanding !! Biological function !! Metaphor meaning(s)
|-
| {{w|Appendix_(anatomy)}} || 3% || 85% || Maintaining gut flora || Uselessness
|-
| {{w|Nerves}} || 40% || 90% || Sensing stimuli, and controlling muscles and organs || Courage; lack of courage; unsettledness
|-
| {{w|Spine}} || 50% || 80% || Holding other bones up || Courage; structural integrity
|-
| {{w|Heart}} || 80% || 90% || Circulation of blood || Emotion; feeling; sympathy; love; courage; resilience
|-
| {{w|Bones}} || 75% || 80% || Holding the skin up || Basic/underlying structure; something hidden; core; essence
|-
| {{w|Stomach}} || 70% || 65% || Repository for cake || Ability to tolerate unpleasant circumstances
|-
| {{w|Liver}} || 10% || 48% || Processing alcohol ||
|-
| {{w|Lungs}} || 60% || 52% || Oxygenation of blood; speaking ||
|-
| {{w|Spleen}} || 22% || 34% || Storing extra blood || Anger
|-
| {{w|Thymus}} || 10% || 13% || Training immune cells (T-Cells) ||
|-
| {{w|Kidneys}} || 47% || 19% || Filtering blood ||
|-
| {{w|Pineal gland}} || 2% || 2% || Produces melatonin ||
|-
| {{w|Tongue}} || 70% || 5% || Taste; chewing; speaking || Speaking
|}

==Transcript==
:[A graph is shown with X and Y-axis without arrow or ticks. To the left of the Y-axis and below the X-axis there are labels with an arrow pointing up from the top of the Y-axis label and an arrow pointing right above the X-axis label, just beneath the x-axis.]
:Y-axis: How well I understand what it means when used in metaphors
:X-axis: How well I understand its actual biological function

:[On the graph is a scatter plot with 13 labels. Each label is written inside a line that goes just around the words. There are most in the top right corner, but they are spread all over the graph. Here in approximate reading order from top left with indicating of where on the graph the words are located:]
:[Top left:]
:Appendix
:[Top middle:]
:Nerves
:Spine
:[Top right:]
:Heart
:Bones
:Stomach
:[Center left:]
:Liver
:Spleen
:[Center right:]
:Lungs
:[Bottom left:]
:Thymus
:Pineal gland
:[Bottom middle:]
:Kidneys
:[Bottom right:]
:Tongue

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Language]]

2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-18T13:19:40Z

141.101.99.73: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2960
| date = July 17, 2024
| title = Organ Meanings
| image = organ_meanings_2x.png
| imagesize = 407x346px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = IMO the thymus is one of the coolest organs and we should really use it in metaphors more.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT'S PINEAL GLAND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a graph by [[Randall]] ranking how well he understands the function of certain human organs, compared to how much he understands {{w|metaphor}}s using them. 

One might expect understanding an organ's role and its use in metaphor to be strongly correlated, since the metaphors work by drawing a parallel to biological function. However, since our understanding of biological functions has evolved dramatically over time, and metaphorical language does not always keep up, the correspondence is often much looser. To complicate matters, many such anatomical metaphors vary from culture to culture, even though the biological functions remain largely consistent {{Citation needed}}.

The {{w|pineal gland}}, located in the center of the brain, was described as the “Seat of the Soul” by the dualist {{w|René Descartes}} in the 17th century. If this was what it was, the metaphors that might be derived from it would be pretty explicit. It was only in the mid-20th century that its real neuroendocrine (hormone-producing) biological role was grasped. Thus, the real meaning of the metaphor "the pineal gland of something" is uncertain, as is its actual function for the layman.

The {{w|thymus}}, highlighted in the title text, plays an important role in the immune system. It is not commonly used in metaphors,{{Citation needed}} but is perhaps ripe for use in ones describing such things as resilience, indomitability, and adaptability to changing circumstance, were more people to know what it was.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Organ !! Biological understanding !! Metaphor understanding !! Biological function !! Metaphor meaning(s)
|-
| {{w|Appendix_(anatomy)}} || 3% || 85% || Maintaining gut flora || Uselessness
|-
| {{w|Nerves}} || 40% || 90% || Sensing stimuli, and controlling muscles and organs || Courage; lack of courage; unsettledness
|-
| {{w|Spine}} || 50% || 80% || Holding other bones up || Courage; structural integrity
|-
| {{w|Heart}} || 80% || 90% || Circulation of blood || Emotion; feeling; sympathy; love; courage; resilience
|-
| {{w|Bones}} || 75% || 80% || Holding the skin up || Basic/underlying structure; something hidden
|-
| {{w|Stomach}} || 70% || 65% || Repository for cake || Ability to tolerate unpleasant circumstances
|-
| {{w|Liver}} || 10% || 48% || Processing alcohol ||
|-
| {{w|Lungs}} || 60% || 52% || Oxygenation of blood; speaking ||
|-
| {{w|Spleen}} || 22% || 34% || Storing extra blood || Anger
|-
| {{w|Thymus}} || 10% || 13% || Training immune cells (T-Cells) ||
|-
| {{w|Kidneys}} || 47% || 19% || Filtering blood ||
|-
| {{w|Pineal gland}} || 2% || 2% || Produces melatonin ||
|-
| {{w|Tongue}} || 70% || 5% || Taste; chewing; speaking || Speaking
|}

==Transcript==
:[A graph is shown with X and Y-axis without arrow or ticks. To the left of the Y-axis and below the X-axis there are labels with an arrow pointing up from the top of the Y-axis label and an arrow pointing right above the X-axis label, just beneath the x-axis.]
:Y-axis: How well I understand what it means when used in metaphors
:X-axis: How well I understand its actual biological function

:[On the graph is a scatter plot with 13 labels. Each label is written inside a line that goes just around the words. There are most in the top right corner, but they are spread all over the graph. Here in approximate reading order from top left with indicating of where on the graph the words are located:]
:[Top left:]
:Appendix
:[Top middle:]
:Nerves
:Spine
:[Top right:]
:Heart
:Bones
:Stomach
:[Center left:]
:Liver
:Spleen
:[Center right:]
:Lungs
:[Bottom left:]
:Thymus
:Pineal gland
:[Bottom middle:]
:Kidneys
:[Bottom right:]
:Tongue

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Language]]

2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-18T13:18:54Z

141.101.99.73: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2960
| date = July 17, 2024
| title = Organ Meanings
| image = organ_meanings_2x.png
| imagesize = 407x346px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = IMO the thymus is one of the coolest organs and we should really use it in metaphors more.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT'S PINEAL GLAND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a graph by [[Randall]] ranking how well he understands the function of certain human organs, compared to how much he understands {{w|metaphor}}s using them. 

One might expect understanding an organ's role and its use in metaphor to be strongly correlated, since the metaphors work by drawing a parallel to biological function. However, since our understanding of biological functions has evolved dramatically over time, and metaphorical language does not always keep up, the correspondence is often much looser. To complicate matters, many such anatomical metaphors vary from culture to culture, even though the biological functions remain largely consistent {{Citation needed}}.

The {{w|pineal gland}}, located in the center of the brain, was described as the “Seat of the Soul” by the dualist {{w|René Descartes}} in the 17th century. If this was what it was, the metaphors that might be derived from it would be pretty explicit. It was only in the mid-20th century that its real neuroendocrine (hormone-producing) biological role was grasped. Thus, the real meaning of the metaphor "the pineal gland of something" is uncertain, as is its actual function for the layman.

The {{w|thymus}}, highlighted in the title text, plays an important role in the immune system. It is not commonly used in metaphors,{{Citation needed}} but is perhaps ripe for use in ones describing such things as resilience, indomitability, and adaptability to changing circumstance, were more people to know what it was.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Organ !! Biological understanding !! Metaphor understanding !! Biological function !! Metaphor meaning(s)
|-
| {{w|Appendix_(anatomy)}} || 3% || 85% || Maintaining gut flora || Uselessness
|-
| {{w|Nerves}} || 40% || 90% || Sensing stimuli, and controlling muscles and organs || Courage; lack of courage; unsettledness
|-
| {{w|Spine}} || 50% || 80% || Holding other bones up || Courage
|-
| {{w|Heart}} || 80% || 90% || Circulation of blood || Emotion; feeling; sympathy; love
|-
| {{w|Bones}} || 75% || 80% || Holding the skin up || Basic/underlying structure; something hidden
|-
| {{w|Stomach}} || 70% || 65% || Repository for cake || Ability to tolerate unpleasant circumstances
|-
| {{w|Liver}} || 10% || 48% || Processing alcohol ||
|-
| {{w|Lungs}} || 60% || 52% || Oxygenation of blood; speaking ||
|-
| {{w|Spleen}} || 22% || 34% || Storing extra blood || Anger
|-
| {{w|Thymus}} || 10% || 13% || Training immune cells (T-Cells) ||
|-
| {{w|Kidneys}} || 47% || 19% || Filtering blood ||
|-
| {{w|Pineal gland}} || 2% || 2% || Produces melatonin ||
|-
| {{w|Tongue}} || 70% || 5% || Taste; chewing; speaking || Speaking
|}

==Transcript==
:[A graph is shown with X and Y-axis without arrow or ticks. To the left of the Y-axis and below the X-axis there are labels with an arrow pointing up from the top of the Y-axis label and an arrow pointing right above the X-axis label, just beneath the x-axis.]
:Y-axis: How well I understand what it means when used in metaphors
:X-axis: How well I understand its actual biological function

:[On the graph is a scatter plot with 13 labels. Each label is written inside a line that goes just around the words. There are most in the top right corner, but they are spread all over the graph. Here in approximate reading order from top left with indicating of where on the graph the words are located:]
:[Top left:]
:Appendix
:[Top middle:]
:Nerves
:Spine
:[Top right:]
:Heart
:Bones
:Stomach
:[Center left:]
:Liver
:Spleen
:[Center right:]
:Lungs
:[Bottom left:]
:Thymus
:Pineal gland
:[Bottom middle:]
:Kidneys
:[Bottom right:]
:Tongue

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Language]]

Talk:2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-18T13:17:41Z

141.101.99.73:

how is thymus formed [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.102|172.70.85.102]] 07:00, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
: It grows from seed.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.97|172.69.194.97]] 12:23, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

You think Randall might have made this one as a ploy to have explain xkcd educate him on the organs and metaphors mentioned? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.33|162.158.146.33]] 07:59, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Why is 'Liver' so high up on the metaphor scale? The only one I can think of is 'lily-livered', which doesn't appear to make much sense at all. On the other hand, I'd have 'Spleen' nearer the top, and 'Tongue' fairly high up as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.185|172.70.162.185]] 08:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:Agreed; personally I’d have liver and tongue switch places, and I’d guess the one who added silver-tongued and biting one’s tongue would probably agree also. But that might be because I understand the biological function of a liver better than the average person does. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.5|172.70.210.5]] 08:21, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:: Are those really metaphors, though? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.40.152|162.158.40.152]] 09:24, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
::: They aren't, or at least not metaphors to the tongue. Just done an edit, before having read this, to remove the visibility of "silver tongue" (a tongue that is metaphorically as silver... or maybe even quicksilver) and a "bitten tongue" (the tongue as if restrained by biting). Though there are other forms, the metaphor to biological function must be of the general "it is the tongue of the <something else>" type, maybe such as a tongue of lava or the tongue of an oil-can (one being an extending appendage, the other additionally being a contact depositor of liquid - though not always consistent in application).
:::: Your understanding of metaphors is... unique. A "silver tongue" certainly is a tongue-based metaphor; we're referring to someone's manner of speech as their "tongue".
::: Something can more easily be understood as the metaphorical heart/nerves/spine/etc of something, and we also have a good understanding of what the originals do. A sewage treatment plant can be considered the kidneys of a town (arguably more understood than a liver of one, for example, so I'd have personally switched the two), but it gets more complex with some of them. In the case of the appendix, we pretty much ''only'' know (in lay-use) that it's a spare fleshy bit that might or might not have any use, so the metaphorical 'equivalent biological function' of a "town's 'appendix'" is probably more understood than a body's ''actual'' appendix, for most people, the opposite of the situation with metaphorical/actual tongues. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.64|172.70.91.64]] 10:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
: The one I think of is "What am I chopped Liver". Though according to google that is usually a Jewish metaphor (which I am)

I'm not convinced that 'Metaphor meaning' is going to work as a column in the table - several of these have multiple metaphors associated, often with varied and little-related meanings.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.249|172.70.160.249]] 12:20, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

I just added the line about anatomical metaphors varying from culture to culture. Would people like to include any examples of culturally variable metaphors? I think it was Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything Is Illuminated" where an Eastern European character kept shouting out "spleen". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.46.172|172.70.46.172]] 12:58, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

2783: Ruling Out

2024-07-13T10:23:39Z

141.101.99.73: /* Explanation */ Revised for spacing *and* further shift the focus of the tag (based upon the prior rationale).

{{comic
| number = 2783
| date = May 31, 2023
| title = Ruling Out
| image = ruling_out_2x.png
| imagesize = 295x396px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We were able to replicate and confirm prior authors' detection of a moon orbiting the Earth with high confidence.
}}

==Explanation==
Most science studies are intended to discover new knowledge. In astronomy, the goal is often to find different types of objects in space, or learn how astronomical objects are formed and behave. But often from studying things that exist, we also learn about limits of the kinds of things that ''can'' exist; when this happens, we say that we've "ruled out" the excluded phenomena.

[[Cueball]] lists five obviously{{Citation needed}} impossible objects.

* "Earthlike stars": A play on "Earth-like planets" which scientists are very interested in finding. The [https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/overview/ Earth] is not a {{w|star}}, hence stars cannot be Earthlike.
: Searches for both {{w|List of potentially habitable exoplanets|Earth-like planets}} and {{w|Solar analog|Sun-like stars}} go unabated, with various near matches found.

* "Exoplanets in our solar system": {{w|Exoplanet}}s are by definition not in our solar system.
: Planets in our solar system (even {{w|Planets beyond Neptune|undiscovered ones}}) are unaffected, as is the {{w|List of exoplanet search projects|search for exoplanets}} around other stars, with conclusive evidence of both.

* "Habitable-zone quasars": {{w|Quasar}}s in the {{w|habitable zone}}s of stars are only theoretically feasible for relatively small {{w|black hole}}s with active {{w|accretion disk}}s in a star's habitable zone, visible from the Earth and brighter than the Sun, because of the technical criteria for classifying them in terms of their {{w|apparent magnitude}} relative to that of their galaxy.[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/728/1/26] None such have ever been observed.{{fact}} While typical galaxies usually have only one quasar in their center, merging galaxies often have two far apart. Perhaps in 4-5 billion years, when the {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}} merges with our {{w|Milky Way}}, its [https://www.sci.news/astronomy/article00779.html microquasar] might qualify, but that is extremely unlikely.
:While not certain, habitable zones around some quasars have not been ruled out.[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ab1b2f/meta][https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/2364/1/012057/meta]

* "Stars with subsurface oceans": Because the temperatures inside stars are higher than that which can support the existence of liquids as we understand them, stars cannot have subsurface oceans. After many billions of years, a {{w|white dwarf}} will cool to the point where it no longer emits significant heat or light, becoming a {{w|black dwarf}}, eventually cooling to the point where it might develop subsurface liquids.{{acn}} However, the universe is not old enough for any black dwarfs to exist yet,[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/375341/pdf] and sufficiently cool black dwarfs might not even be considered stars, but rather {{w|rogue planet}}s.
: The possibility of subsurface oceans within various planets and moons is an {{w|Extraterrestrial liquid water|active subject of study}}, and was previously mentioned 10 comics ago in [[2773: Planetary Scientist]].

* "Tectonically active black holes": Black holes do not have {{w|tectonic plate}}s, so they cannot be tectonically active.
: There are theories that neutron stars can exhibit {{w|Quake (natural phenomenon)#Starquake|tectonic-like movements}} (as some of the more typical rocky bodies certainly do), but the physics of the 'inside' of a black hole are thought to involve {{w|Black hole#Singularity|strange physics}} incompatible with any form of geology, and cannot be observed anyway – it is believed that the only externally-observable properties of black holes are mass, electric charge, and angular momentum, poetically called the '{{w|no-hair theorem}}'.

The joke is that you don't actually have to study anything to come to these almost patently obvious conclusions. The counter-proposals would need far more effort to even justify them as valid theories, by common understanding, and greater still to try to observe any supporting proof.

Some studies are also done to confirm the results of previous studies, to ensure that the conclusions were not mistaken or a fluke. The title text describes a study that was done to confirm the existence of a moon orbiting Earth, even though any sighted person can walk outside and see the Moon, the existence of the Moon has been known for at least as long as humanity has existed, and the fact that it orbits the Earth has been assumed or known for upwards of 3,000 years. The ancient Greeks and Babylonians, for example, thought that the Moon orbited the Earth, though they lacked a detailed physical understanding of the system (they also believed, erroneously, that {{w|Geocentric model|everything else in the universe orbited the Earth too}}). {{w|Anaxagoras}} (c. 500–428 BC) is credited with the correct explanation of lunar eclipses, and reportedly was the first to explain that the Moon shines due to reflected light from the Sun. However, it was not until the work of {{w|Nicolaus Copernicus}} in the 16th century that a detailed and accurate model of the Moon's orbit around the Earth was developed. Regardless, at this stage, a study to confirm the validity of Copernican orbits would contribute nothing to the scientific process, much less a study confirming the mere existence of the Moon.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball is talking to Megan.]
:Cueball: So far our astronomy group has published studies ruling out the existence of Earthlike stars, exoplanets in our solar system, habitable-zone quasars, stars with subsurface oceans, and tectonically active black holes.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Science got way easier when we realized you were allowed to do studies just to rule stuff out.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]

Talk:2938: Local Group

2024-05-28T08:24:58Z

141.101.99.73:

;Far Future Comics
What other comics are there about the far future? Something maybe about the Sun swallowing the Earth in maybe 5.5B years? Btw, the Andromeda-Milky Way collision is in 4.5B years. {{w|Andromeda–Milky Way collision}} [[Special:Contributions/172.71.103.208|172.71.103.208]] 23:15, 27 May 2024 (UTC)
:There is one with the weather on that scale of time for instance [[1606: Five-Day Forecast]]. Guess Randall rounded up? Anyway how many years does the first collision take. And is the time when the edges touch or when the centers pass close to each other? And after that there will be more than one further collision before the galaxy finally merges. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:49, 28 May 2024 (UTC)

Does the estimated nutritional value include pasta sauce etc? Would it be possible to work back from the food value given to figure out the thickness of the strand? {{unsigned|MarcusRowland}}
:Seems like someone already have done this and in the scene from Lady and the Tramp the only other thing than pasta is meatballs. Maybe satellite galaxies could make up those ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:49, 28 May 2024 (UTC)

:The current calculation fails to allow for the fact that a lot of the strand is still curled in the cosmic bowl.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.73|141.101.99.73]] 08:24, 28 May 2024 (UTC)

I'm not sure if eating the "noodly appendages" is considered blasphemy (I don't even know if Pastafarianism actually knows the concept) considering that Catholics believe they're literally eating their God. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:48, 28 May 2024 (UTC)
:Completely agree and have just changed the explanation. The spoof religion was a cry out against blasphemy laws and showing how silly it is to ask people to believe something you cannot disprove. Of course you cannot blaspheme against such a religion but also the goal of the religion is to eat lots of pasta and the galaxies would thus be doing the monsters bidding if anything. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:54, 28 May 2024 (UTC)
::Great :) I removed the blaspehmy part as it's only relevant in context of this discussion and not for the explanation of the comic. You could argue that the whole FSM part is "off topic" but I get why one would jump to that idea that it's related to the comic, so I guess it's fine [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:17, 28 May 2024 (UTC)

2931: Chasing

2024-05-13T09:34:04Z

141.101.99.73: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2931
| date = May 10, 2024
| title = Chasing
| image = chasing_2x.png
| imagesize = 462x474px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Certain hybrid events can only happen in certain locations where all the conditions are present; chasers flock to the area in and around Kansas known as tumbleweed-colliding-with-possum alley.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GNAT enthusiast - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a scatter plot comparing how exciting it is to see various things with how possible it is to chase them using a convoy of coordinated vehicles.

The least chasable are stationary places like the {{w|Grand Canyon}} or {{w|International Date Line}}. It makes no sense to chase them because they don't move around, you simply go to their known locations. At the other end of the chasability spectrum are animals that move around rapidly, and fleeting astronomical and atmospherical phenomena like {{w|clouds}}, {{w|meteors}}, and {{w|aurora}}. However, some of these are difficult to chase because they're small and hard to detect from a moving vehicle, e.g. {{w|gnats}}.

In the top-right position of most chasable and most exciting, tornadoes have a community of 'chasers' who attempt to predict their appearance and get as close to them as possible, which was the subject of a {{w|Twister_(1996_film)|1996 film}}, for which a sequel was due to be released shortly after this comic.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Entity !! colspan="2" | Estimate of... !! rowspan="2" | Explanation
|-
! Chasing || Excitement
|-
| {{w|Grand Canyon|The Grand Canyon}}|| 10% || 90% || Stationary place in Arizona. It's the largest canyon in the US (but not the world), in addition to being very beautiful due to its depth and the color changes from different geological strata. Seeing a famous tourist attraction in person is exciting.{{Citation needed}}
|-
| {{w|Niagara Falls}} || 15% || 75% || Stationary place on the border of US and Canada, between the state of New York and the province of Ontario. The waterfall is the largest in North America by width and water volume, making it very beautiful to watch.
|-
| {{w|Tourist attractions}} || 15% || 55% || Other stationary places that attract many tourists (e.g. national parks, monuments, and historic places) are exciting to see {{Citation needed}}.
|-
| {{w|Tourist traps}} || 10% || 40% || Stationary places that market themselves as tourist attractions, but don't really have much to offer and exist mainly to sell food and souvenirs.
|-
| {{w|Hazard (golf)#Bunker|Sand trap}} || 15% || 25% || Pits of sand in golf courses. If your golf ball lands in one, it's more difficult to hit it out to the grassy portions (fairways or greens), which is why it's a "trap".
|-
| The International Date Line || 15% || 10% || A jagged conceptual line running from the North to South poles around 180 degrees of longitude, used to separate the time zones that start and end each day. There's nothing to see at these locations, as the line is a concept and does not actually coincide with anything in real life, as well as mostly being in the Pacific Ocean, by-passing actual landfall, as well as across the Arctic Southern Oceans. The zones for {{w|time in Antarctica}} are already more pragmatically simplified or just fall-back to {{w|Coordinated Universal Time}}.
|-
| Meteors || 35% || 95% || Also called "shooting stars". These are fleeting streaks of light that are visible when bits of rock or dust enter the atmosphere and burn up. These are generally rare, making them exciting to see, but there are {{w|meteor showers}} when many are visible due to the Earth passing through a large cloud of dust (usually the remnants of a comet). To astronomy buffs, these can be like natural fireworks shows. Because each meteor streak lasts for a fraction of a second, it's not generally possible to chase them, although if the rock is large enough it may survive to the ground and become a {{w|meteorite}}, which chasers [[1723: Meteorite Identification|may be able to find]] by tracking its path through the sky.
|-
| {{w|Rainbows}} || 35% || 90% || A visual effect that occurs when sunlight is refracted by water droplets in the air, spreading the light into a spectrum of different colors. Their 'location' is relative to each observer, so long as the necessary components combine correctly in the first place, so any coordinated movement is restricted to finding the right sort of standpoint from which a rainbow is visible. Moving "towards" a rainbow typically results in the rainbow "moving away" from the observer at the same speed.
|-
| {{w|Comets}} || 40% || 85% || Comets are chunks of rock and ice that orbit the sun, usually in highly eccentric orbits that take them from the inner Solar System to the {{w|Kuiper Belt}} or {{w|Oort Cloud}} at the extreme outskirts of the Solar System. Few of them are visible to the naked eye. They're exciting to see because they're rare, and one of the few astronomical objects that looks like more than just a tiny dot because there's a glowing "tail". While they're moving very rapidly through the Solar System, from the Earth they don't appear to move much faster than planets. So there's no need to chase them; when near the Earth, they will be visible from much of the planet for days or weeks.
|-
| {{w|Sunsets}} || 35% || 75% || Disappearance of the Sun below the horizon, should happen usually once every 24 hours (except close to the poles). Depending on weather conditions, they can sometimes be very pretty. Traveling around the Earth from east to west is needed for a continuous view of a sunset.
|-
| {{w|The Moon}} || 40% || 70% || Earth's only natural satellite with a predictable orbit. Only 12 people (the {{w|Apollo astronauts}}) have actually visited it in person; the rest of us see it from about 250,000 miles away. Weather permitting, it's visible for about half of every day/night cycle (though may be more obvious when this occurs significantly in the night sky, for several reasons). It doesn't move quickly in the sky, by apparent movement, so little chasing is necessary. A 'supermoon' is when the Moon looks the largest and shiniest, occurring when a full moon appears closest to the Earth in its orbit, though Randall doesn't consider this phenomenon impressive (How To, chapter 21).
|-
| Unusual clouds || 40% || 55% || Clouds with unique forms or shapes, like {{w|Lenticular clouds}}.
|-
| Regular clouds || 35% || 40% || Aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets
|-
| {{w|Fog}} || 30% || 25% || Atmospheric condition where water droplets are very dense near the Earth's surface, resulting in a visible haze. Very few people will chase fog. Possibly a reference to a different {{w|Phileas_Fogg|Fogg}}, who was pursued around the world.
|-
| {{w|Rain}} || 35% || 20% || Water droplets falling from clouds. In most of the world, this is a pretty common occurrence. Unless the volume is extremely high, there's rarely much excitement due to them, but extreme cases may cause flooding that can be dangerous. The only people who typically chase them are weather reporters.
|-
| {{w|Gnats}} || 35% || 5% || Hardly anybody wants to track down gnats, as they are annoying to chase and difficult to see, but people could theoretically use advanced instruments to do so.
|-
| Aurora || 60% || 95% || Impressive light displays that result from excitement of the Earth's {{w|magnetosphere}} by charged particles in the {{w|solar wind}}. These are generally only visible in high latitudes, so most people do not live where they're visible. Their visibility can be tracked and forecasted via monitoring of solar wind output from the sun, and particularly intense episodes can be predicted (as well as locations for viewing) on the basis of the solar cycle and solar flare activity. The release of this comic coincided with the strongest geomagnetic storm warning forecasted by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 20 years [https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g4-watch-effect-may-11] ({{w|May 2024 solar storms}}).
|-
| Your favorite band's shows || 60% || 80% || Musical acts often plan tours, where they go around the country (or world) putting on shows every few days. Extreme fans with time (and money) on their hands may "chase" them by going to a series of their shows. Since the tour dates are planned and publicized well in advance, the shows are easy to find. However, depending on the popularity of your favorite band, this might be an expensive hobby, especially for optimal viewing. Also, tickets may be sold out.
|-
| Rare birds || 60% || 60% || Many birders will "twitch" to see rare birds, and this requires a fair amount of checking location, behavior, etc. Also, rare birds tend to be exciting to see.
|-
| Regular birds || 55% || 40% || These are easier to see than rare birds.{{citation needed}}
|-
| Regular balloons || 55% || 25% || Both children and adults accidentally let go of balloons, and may attempt to chase after them to retrieve them.
|-
| {{w|Tumbleweeds}} || 60% || 15% || A roughly spherical portion of certain plants that breaks off from its roots and rolls along the ground, propelled by winds. Most people don't find them very interesting to look at, and they're often used as a shorthand for nothing of interest happening. They don't usually travel very quickly, so it would be possible to chase them if you were so inclined (they may be of interest to plant biologists and ecologists).
|-
| {{w|Speed_limit_enforcement|Speed traps}} || 65% || 5% || A section of a road where police often wait for passing drivers who are exceeding the speed limit, so they can catch them and issue speeding tickets. Frequent drivers, especially truck drivers, have developed systems to warn each other of these locations ({{w|citizens band radios}} were once the most popular method, now this can be done using mobile phone using services like {{w|Waze}}).
|-
| {{w|Tornadoes}} || 85% || 95% || Wanting to witness a tornado is a typical objective of {{w|storm chaser}}s.
|-
| {{w|Whales}} || 85% || 90% || Widely distributed and diverse group of marine mammals. They are some of the largest animals to ever live, and often travel in groups, making them exciting and easy to see (when active at the surface). They have often been chased by humans, both for the purposes of hunting and exploiting them as a resource, and by tourist-oriented whale-watching trips.
|-
| {{w|Icebergs}} || 85% || 75% || Piece of freshwater ice broken off a glacier or ice shelf. These come in many sizes and shapes, making it interesting to see a new one.
|-
| {{w|Hot air balloons}} || 80% || 60% || An aircraft whose bag is filled with heated air. Hot air balloons are ridden for a variety of reasons (entertainment, sport, advertisement, etc.) and they usually involve a "chase crew" of people on the ground. To an uninvolved observer, catching an unexpected glimpse of an airborne balloon is a moderately exciting event; giving chase is not advised, however, as it may interfere with the chase crew's operation and may be perceived as a hostile act, thereby creating ''uncomfortable'' levels of excitement.
|-
| {{w|Radiosondes}} || 85% || 50% || Small instruments carried in weather balloons to gather and transmit atmospheric parameters. There's not much to see in them, but they're easy to track with a proper receiver.
|-
| Neighborhood possums || 85% || 35% || "Possum" is a common term for {{w|Virginia opossum}}s, the only species of opossum found in North America. In urban areas they will get into human garbage, and may carry diseases, so many may consider them pests and hunt them. A coordinated group of hunters can track them.
|-
| {{w|Ice cream trucks}} || 85% || 25% || Vans that sell ice cream. They're easy to chase because they often play music and/or ring a loud bell so customers will know they're coming, and make frequent stops to allow customers to make purchases. Young "chasers" also often scream when they hear the trucks coming, so others nearby (particularly parents or caregivers who are needed to provide the money) will be aware.
|-
| Other chasers || 90% || 10% || May result in an awkward encounter if met in person.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[An X Y axis graph]
:[Y axis label:]
:Exciting to see in person
:[X axis label:]
:Possible to chase in a convoy of vehicles coordinating over radio and using instruments and data to find optimal viewing locations?
:[X and Y axis values (from bottom left):]
:No
:Yes

:[Top left quarter:]
:The Grand Canyon
:Meteors
:Rainbow
:Comets
:Niagara Falls
:Sunsets
:The Moon
:Tourist attractions
:Unusual clouds

:[Top right quarter:]
:Aurora
:Tornadoes
:Whales
:Your favorite band's shows
:Icebergs
:Rare birds
:Hot air balloons

:[Bottom left quarter:]
:Tourist traps
:Regular clouds
:Sand traps
:Fog
:Rain
:The International Date Line
:Gnats

:[Bottom right quarter:]
:Regular birds
:Radiosondes
:Neighborhood possums
:Regular balloons
:Ice cream trucks
:Tumbleweeds
:Speed traps
:Other chasers

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Tornadoes]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Weather]]

2930: Google Solar Cycle

2024-05-09T07:42:04Z

141.101.99.73: Punc, direct template

{{comic
| number = 2930
| date = May 8, 2024
| title = Google Solar Cycle
| image = google_solar_cycle_2x.png
| imagesize = 357x293px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = From Google Trends, it looks like the lag between people Googling cocktail recipes and 'hangover cure' is 14 hours.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SOLAR FLARE SEARCHING UP SOLAR FLARES - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Solar flare}}s appear on the Sun's surface in different numbers at different times. A {{w|solar cycle}} is the amount of time it takes for solar flares to occur in approximately the same proportion. This period is approximately 11 years.

People are interested in solar flares because they can sometimes cause aurorae, as well as power outages and other similar issues. Hence people will search "solar flares" on Google to learn more about them. This trend somewhat matches the solar cycle since people will be more interested/concerned about solar flares during the times they are abundant and search them up more often. Randall notes that Google has existed for long enough to see the trend in searches for "solar flare" matching the solar cycle.

The title text comments that people usually Google "hangover cure" 14 hours after they search for cocktail recipes. This suggests that people decide they want cocktails, look for ways to make cocktails, make (and presumably drink) the cocktails, wake up with a hangover and look for ways to get rid of the hangover. However, Google Trends is not nearly precise enough for that,{{Citation needed}} so this is clearly a joke.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Google Trends search traffic for "Solar Flare"
:[A graph starting in 2005, peaking in 2013. It rises until 2024, where the graph cuts off. There is an arrow in between the two peaks labeled "11 years".]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I like that Google has existed almost long enough for us to observe the solar cycle using Google Trends.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Google Search]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Food]]

2917: Types of Eclipse Photo

2024-04-13T09:42:56Z

141.101.99.73: /* Explanation */ No doubt that there's in-camera tools, too (Googlephone-like features), but for now sufficient to extend from strictly "professional"s across to the amateurs still familiar with the capabilities and possibilities.

{{comic
| number = 2917
| date = April 8, 2024
| title = Types of Eclipse Photo
| image = types_of_eclipse_photo_2x.png
| imagesize = 594x460px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The most rare, top-tier eclipse photo would be the Solar Earth Eclipse, but the Apollo 12 crew's attempt to capture it was marred by camera shake. They said it looked spectacular, though.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an AUSTRALIAN CLOUD FROM THE FUTURE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

On the day of this comic's release, {{w|Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024|a total solar eclipse}} traversed North America, allowing a substantial portion of the United States to view this phenomenon. Total {{w|eclipse}}s in any given area are rare enough and impressive enough that witnessing it was a huge event for many people, both those living in the zone of totality and the many people who traveled specifically to view it. This strip addresses the event through different types of photos that people might take.

'''The Standard:''' A photo of the solar eclipse during totality, a typical photo most people might hope to take (examples shown [https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kyhZsybgc7dnqLsphVL88R-650-80.jpg.webp here] and [https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1376xn/p0hq71pb.jpg.webp here]). This photograph captures the Sun totally blocked by the Moon, with a barely visible ring of light around the outside, which comes from its 'atmosphere' and other external features, rather than the solar surface that would normally be visible.

'''The Partial:''' A photo of the eclipse in progress, likely approaching totality (example shown [https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/24074589/20240126/011227/styles/patch_image/public/eclipse-shutterstock-149065532___26131150810.jpg?width=1200 here]). Another typical photo most viewers take as the eclipse progresses, and the only type of image available to people [[2914: Eclipse Coolness|outside the zone of totality]].

'''The Reaction Shot:''' During an eclipse, people tend to gather outside in crowds to witness the event in person. Images of people gathering and looking up at the sky capture the human side of this event, and is likely to be more personal to the person taking the photo (particularly since the people may be their friends and family). This [https://globalnews.ca/news/10410279/eclipse-photos-2024-north-america/ article] by Global news shows several reaction pictures such as [https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CP170420992.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&w=1200 this] and [https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CP170420242.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&w=1200 this].

'''The Fancy Lens:''' A photo of this type (examples shown [https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x7btBqQ4yaUGUFUCT6F95F-1600-80.png here] and [https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1024xn/p0hq71zc.jpg.webp here]), that features conspicuous {{w|solar prominence}}s, will almost certainly require a lot more preparation and equipment (the 'fancy lens', a tripod or other mounting, etc). The prominences are dim, compared to the Sun, and usually are visible only when the Sun is completely covered because of contrast issues. Due to the lack of significant atmosphere on the Moon, the hard edge of the similarly-sized Moon can reveal these details whilst obscuring the usually dominant sunlight.
:The eclipsing body can't extend much beyond the Sun without also hiding the prominences, but that is the fortunate situation with Earth-Moon-Sun eclipses having the Moon, often ''just'' large enough to cut out the solar disc. It varies, but the {{w|Solar eclipse#Types|usual exception}} is the Moon being slightly too far away in its orbit (combined with the Earth being marginally closer to the Sun, in its own orbit) to obscure the whole body of the Sun, leaving a bright ring of solar surface visible. Such an annular eclipse gives similar lighting problems as with a high-percentage partial one; or during the phases leading up to/away from actual totality.

'''The Focus Issues:''' People new or unaware of the difficulties of astral photography typically experience challenges focusing their lenses on astral bodies, especially if they are trying to fight against a confused auto-focus. The eclipse is no exception to this, and this type of photo popped up more frequently during this event because more people were taking this fleeting opportunity to take photos of the sky than usual. This [https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-eclipse-photo-advice-pro-photographer-2024-4 article] explains some of the tips (such as using a tripod to steady the camera and using manual settings for exposure and focus) to get professional looking pictures of eclipses and shows pictures of an [https://i.insider.com/661462313f923f7dab05ba2e?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp amateur (left) vs a professional (right)] picture.

'''The Traffic Jam:''' Since the experience of a total eclipse is only available in a specific geographical range, it's extremely common for people to travel to view them, particularly when this range is near to heavily populated areas (as in this case). The number of people trying to get into a particular area for a particular event naturally causes huge issues of traffic and accommodations. One example is traffic jams, which can become huge and last for many hours. The Daily Gazette [https://www.dailygazette.com/news/northway-eclipse-traffic/article_b6caad62-f6b4-11ee-b1b7-a76cdd73b560.html reports] a number of traffic related slowdowns ([https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/dailygazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f6/df60ce28-f687-11ee-aff2-5f944ac2e1e0/661562238083b.image.jpg?resize=375%2C500 photo 1], [https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/dailygazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/2b/72b670a2-f687-11ee-bd48-074d85985429/661561749830e.image.jpg?resize=400%2C533 photo 2]) in Schenectady, New York as people return from viewing the eclipse. It states many people spent double the normal time to get to their destination as compared to normal (non post-eclipse) travel. The irony of waiting in traffic for hours in order to see an event lasting several minutes can be frustrating, and an image of the traffic jam may be a bitter way to capture this irony.

'''The Astronaut:''' Astronauts on the {{w|International Space Station}} had a particularly unusual view of the solar eclipse, seeing the Moon's shadow on the Earth's surface. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2024/04/08/total-solar-eclipse-photos-nasa-astronauts-take-historic-images-from-space/?sh=4139cb0465aa Forbes] has an article that shows the pictures of the [https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/6616ae80477b4ce765cb35fa/IMG-5058/960x0.jpg?format=jpg&width=1440 eclipse] from NASA and the ISS in orbit 250 miles (400 km) above the Earth.

'''The "Frustratedly Looking up the Cloud Situation in Australia for 2028":''' There were clouds over a large portion of the United States and Canada during the April 2024 eclipse. For a large portion of the country, this meant that heavy cloud cover [[2915: Eclipse Clouds|blocked their view of the Sun during the eclipse]], badly impacting the viewing experience. This was naturally highly undesirable, particularly those who had planned and traveled to see it. The joke here is that such a person, seeing only clouds during the eclipse, might try to figure out the next time that seeing an eclipse would be possible. There will be a {{w|Solar eclipse of July 22, 2028|total eclipse passing over Australia and New Zealand in 2028}}. For someone in the United States, this would require a much more significant trip than the 2024 trip, but someone who missed one eclipse might be willing to go to extremes to see another. The irony is that weather is impossible to accurately predict 4 years in the future, so such a plan would involve the risk of traveling halfway around the world, only to miss another eclipse due to weather.

One common type of eclipse image (albeit from more experienced photographers with photo-editing experience) is '''the timelapse''' photo (examples [https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Hf2bk7ineG6zdr3xn5CjxW-970-80.jpg here] and [https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/attachments/173-general-photography/627016d1708011779-time-lapse-upcoming-solar-eclipse-capture.jpg here]) which Randal does not reference in his comic. A timelapse eclipse photo includes multiple exposures of the eclipse at multiple times, often before eclipse totality, during totality and after totality; effectively superimposing the before, during and after shots of the eclipse in a single photo.

The title text refers to a [[:File:Apollo_12_view_of_Solar_Eclipse_(5052129615).jpg|photograph]] taken during the {{w|Apollo 12}} mission when the Earth came between the spacecraft and the Sun on the journey back home from the Moon. Technically there is a "Solar Earth Eclipse" every night, as the Earth is then between you and the Sun and shades your view of it, but Randall is referring to an incident when Apollo 12 was positioned such that the spacecraft, Earth, and Sun lined up. The photograph was taken shortly before totality; other pictures as well as video footage during totality [https://whenisthenexteclipse.com/50-years-ago-today-the-apollo-12-crew-created-their-own-total-solar-eclipse/ were taken], but are of considerably lower quality due to a shaky camera.

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

:<big>Types of Eclipse Photo</big>

:[Eclipse during totality]
:The Standard

:[Partial eclipse with lighter sky]
:The Partial

:[Two Cueballs and Ponytail looking and pointing at the sky]
:The Reaction Shot

:[Eclipse during totality with red "ribbons" around the Moon]
:The Fancy Lens

:[A blurry ring of light in the center]
:The Focus Issues

:[The rear of an SUV]
:The Traffic Jam

:[A dark circle on Earth's surface]
:The Astronaut

:[A gray cover of clouds]
:The "Frustratedly Looking up the Cloud Situation in Australia for 2028"

==Trivia==
* The [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/types_of_eclipse_photo.png standard size] image was uploaded with a resolution/size of 8920 by 6909, larger than the supposed 2x version at 1189 by 921. This was likely an error, and has since been fixed.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Solar eclipses]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Photography]]

Talk:2815: Car Wash

2023-08-16T10:02:04Z

141.101.99.73:

You know, I've ''never'' been in a carwash. Not even through a hand-wash (these days set up in just about every other ex-petrol(/'gas') station forecourt not redeveloped otherwise. Driven (or walked) right past them on the ways to places (my walk to the supermarket goes past a hand-car-wash, grocery store and tyre business in an ex-petrol station - then I wander past the autocarwash 'booth' at the supermarket-aligned fuelstop, perhaps through the jetwash lanes if nobody's using them), but never took a car to one. There's buckets and sponges/etc at home. Am I missing something? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.11|172.71.242.11]] 20:40, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
:The bucket and sponge method takes time and effort. Automatic car washes are quick and easy. I'm mostly indifferent to car washes, but I like them more than doing it by hand because I'm lazy. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:46, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
::I'm indifferent to car washes too. Five years later you just have to do it all over again [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 23:09, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
::Time and money for the carwash: Driving there (risking incidents), possible queuing to get into retail park, queuing to pay (£££s!), possible queuing for car wash, waiting for it to do its thing (risk of damage!), possible queuing to get out drive back (risking incidents, also normal road-grime)...
:::I've never gone out specifically to get my car washed. I'm usually out doing other things, I notice the car wash, and realize that my car is dirty, so I go in. And I can't recall ever having to wait more than 5 minutes on the line, usually there isn't any line at all. It's probably not a coincidence that several of the carwashes in my area are near supermarkets. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:03, 15 August 2023 (UTC)
::Time and money for home-wash: Don't need to leave home. Buckets are older than me, sponges/cloths/brushes may in some cases by younger than 50 years old (but all pre-millenium), car-wax/-shampoo bottle (used sparingly) is 5-10yo and nowhere near empty, water (with a water meter, so does cost) is perhaps equivalent to two days of (hand-!)dishwashing [possibly buying a home jet-washer could bring that down, if it "does a lot more with a fastly moving lesser amount", but I might then also be tempted to jetwash the drive/windows/rooftiles as well and I'm not even sure it'd be less water through the nozzle as the tap] and (depending on time of year) may involve various mixes of hot and cold (so heating, though practically individible from other hot-water uses other than the kettle for drinks). Time taken: maybe 15 minutes (±5), at leisure while I appreciate all the distracting luxuries of home, or a highly abbreviated (one-bucket) washover/rinse at significantly less than 5 minutes (I'd still be trying to get into the supermarket, even with no queueueuing; perhaps I'd have been handwashed if ''they'' have no queue, but I wouldn't be back again...) and done. Maybe occasionally get the vacuum out and self-valet the insides, for another <5 minutes and probably entirely covered in electricity by what the solar panels have been feeding in during carwashing-friendly daytime conditions.
::Of course, it'll typically rain shortly afterwards (the rain-gods perhaps even being hopefully invoked by the very act of de-mudding the wheel-arches), but that's not going to differ between either (or neither) efforts to wash. :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.45|172.70.85.45]] 21:40, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
:::What is the point of [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.45|172.70.85.45]]'s comment above? Is it trying to suggest that the time to self-wash is low? Or is it trying to suggest that it is high? (It is hard for me to tell, and definitely not clear!) I am under the general impression that hand-washing of cars, like hand-washing of dishes in the kitchen sink, consumes more water than automatic washing, in addition to the questions about pollutants that are raised below. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 20:37, 15 August 2023 (UTC)
::::Less time, I'd say. A bit of personal effort, but can be done at leisure rather than having to take time out (even 'in passing') from other activities.
::::I also don't trust the "hand washed dishes takes more water than dishwasher-washed" claim. It's quoted as something like 20 ''gallons'' of water for hand-washing. Couldn't work out if that's US gallons (75 litres) or imperial (90 litres), but a washing up bowl holds 8-10 litres ''full'' and you never really need to fill it to the brim (and it rarely needs to be above ⅓rd full) to do a good job even for a family meal's-worth of crockery and cutlery. Certainly not 7 to 10 bowls'-worth. (I'm guessing it assumes a continuously running tap for rinsing. If you need any rinsing, you just need a short spurt as necessary ''or'' being pre-rinsed under the tap as it third-fills up the bowl, at least in my experience. But only far more profligate methods can possibly reach 70-90 litres, mostly straight down the drain.)
::::Typically quoted UK usage for dishwasher, however, seems to be around 9.5 litres (a full bowl's-worth, i.e. definitely more than a handwash as described). You also can't easily then use the 'grey' water, not-in-a-bowl, directly on some garden plants if you want. So getting double-duty out of it is trickier.
:::: Not sure how much the car-washing bucket would be, but 20 litres seems to be capacity. Car-wash usages seem to be 120 litres (or greater), apparently less than home hosepipe/jetwash amounts, but (IME) I'd never use more than three (not full) buckets to wash even the dirtiest car. Perhaps two (wash and rinse, but the rinse being less full even than the not-full one that has the 'soap' in) or even just the one (rinsing it all, in one go, getting the top and windows nice with the 'fresh' water before working all the way round each level of possibly more mud-splashed bodywork, then hubcaps and wheel(-arches) last). 5 minutes? Yeah, if the car didn't need more than that rinse'n'shine. I'd set aside 10 minutes (non-continuous, if necessary, a bit at a time during TV ad-breaks perhaps) for a decent roof-to-wheels of a typical-sized family car. Can't speak for SUVs or other over-sized models. Much as I can't speak for wasteful hosepipe use or whatavyer... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.166|172.71.178.166]] 22:46, 15 August 2023 (UTC)
:In Germany, you are discouraged and in many localities it's directly forbidden to wash your car on your premises; it is completely forbidden to wash your car on the street. This because of oil that will enter the sewer system. Automated car washes will recycle water and seperate oil from it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.150.92|172.69.150.92]] 21:14, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
::Oil? If I notice oil in(/on) the water, I know there's a problem. Maybe a little residue from cleaning inside the fuel-port hatch. The way some people (over)use detergent, I could see ''that'' being an issue, but if you've an oil-leak then that's happening on or off your premises (and mostly off), I'd have thought and you might ''never even know...'' if you don't even wash your own car. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.45|172.70.85.45]] 21:40, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
:::Yeah. You wash your car because it is dirty, right? What exatly is that dirt, that is being washed off into the gutters? Some mud or earth, sure. But most of it is actually asphalt particles, tyre particles, oil (yes, most probably not from your own car, but from that vintage Cadillac that you were stuck behind all the way home from work), lubricants and grease from heavy trucks and machinery, soot particles and pollutants from industries and old/poorly maintained vehicles. The list goes on and on and most of the stuff is not very friendly to the environment and/or the runoff water treatment systems. Stuff that really should be disposed off properly, like in a dedicated carwash facility as stated above. {{unsigned ip|162.158.111.184|09:05, 16 August 2023}}
::::If it rains whilst your car is in the driveway(/at the kerbside), the same stuff potentially gets washed off. The fraction of particulates/contaminants that you can deliberately ''keep'' on your car until you go to a (''presumably'' particulate-filtering and safe-disposing?) car wash is minimal. Assuming it does filter, at all. The environment (and civil drainage infrastructure) cannot be considered that much better just because you take your practically clean car to the autowash occasionally just so that you could eat your dinner off of it. Perhaps a special exception when you've been off-road/driving through quarry tailings/whatever and are particularly caked with muddy grime/grimy mud, but not when dealing with the latest 'saharan sand' dustings/etc. There's scope for judgement, at least.
::::I'd worry more about surfactant over-use, but looking at the "one size fits all" foam-fest of a typical carwash/jetwash soaping (and unsure how you'd filter that from water, without effort, the whole point being the (half-)hydrophillic nature of the substance) I'm sure that adds more water-treatment effort at the ultimate end of the drains from either the home, street or nearby carwash (which, given we don't have separated rainwater and wastewater drainage systems is already potentially taking away everything that was left to settle on the roads, oil and dirt and mud and leaves and everything else that gets washed/dumped down there). Local laws/situations aside, I'm more comfortable with home-carwashing than it seems some are. Without wasting resources on running a home jet-wash. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.73|141.101.99.73]] 10:02, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

Am I the only one who actually tried to find out whether baleen really used to be used in car washes or not?
: I added a quote on its use in the manufacture of brush bristles, although editing is needed. Next might be to figure out what vehicles were used in the 1800s and how they were washed. EDIT: https://academic.oup.com/liverpool-scholarship-online/book/43282/chapter-abstract/363026681?redirectedFrom=fulltext has a paragraph in google's cache that mentions that we can tell there was heavy use of baleen for brushes throughout the 1800s because of the heavy presence in museums. Maybe Randall's comment was inspired by a museum display. This seems possible because there's not much mention of this on the internet. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.185|162.158.154.185]] 01:34, 15 August 2023 (UTC)

No mention of the fact that baleen is in whale mouths, so that's where Randall got the idea that the brushes are "licking" the car? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:03, 15 August 2023 (UTC)

Do people actually like car washes? It always seemed like an uncomfortable and at times terrifying experience to me. Maybe some people like it, but I would be very surprised if it's just me, Cueball and now Ponytail who don't like it. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.31|198.41.238.31]] 18:30, 15 August 2023 (UTC)
:I always thought they were fun and cozy, like being in a car during a rainstorm. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.107|172.70.100.107]] 20:04, 15 August 2023 (UTC)

Apart from queueing, I am not against car washes - happy to stay inside but not always I am allowed to. Kids do not like it. However, most times the only time I wash my car is when I have to take a flight: the parking lot where I usually leave the car provides optional car wash plus interior cleaning during the stop. [[User:Vdm|Vdm]] ([[User talk:Vdm|talk]]) 19:42, 15 August 2023 (UTC)

I like car washes. I love the feeling of being enclosed like that; it feels rather like our spring and summer rainstorms in the Pacific Northwest. I also have to do it more often than most; my car is painted in pearl white (not my choice, I got it used like that 3 years ago and it's 20 years old so no point in changing it now), which is a trilayer paint that shimmers and has slight bluish undertones. It shows every speck of dirt and mud, so I need to clean it or it looks really bad. (Tricoat 062 is the color code). [[User:Darkwolf0218|Darkwolf0218]] ([[User talk:Darkwolf0218|talk]]) 23:49, 15 August 2023 (UTC)

The final line of the current explanation text is "Are there car washes without brushes?" There are. They use high-pressure streams of water, detergent, and possibly other chemicals. The following links distinguish (sort of) between 'brushless' and 'touchless' car washes. I don't know if this information has a place in the public-facing text. https://www.wikimotors.org/what-is-a-touchless-car-wash.htm https://www.wikimotors.org/what-is-a-brushless-car-wash.htm [[User:Nekoninda|Nekoninda]] ([[User talk:Nekoninda|talk]]) 02:25, 16 August 2023 (UTC)
:I removed that question (in amongst other edits I made) as either being rhetorical or a misplaced genuine query more properly voiced in here. As you've answered it, as well, I think there's no point deciding to transplant it, verbatim, any more than your quote of it. And, yes, useful additional info, but not really relevent to main explanation (if I'm any judge), just an interesting "not even Trivia" note that is welcome enough here in the Talk page/transclusion. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.73|141.101.99.73]] 10:02, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

Talk:1064: Front Door

2021-02-24T17:23:49Z

141.101.99.73:

What kind of place does Randall live in, to be so afraid of being outside at night? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:41, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Legal professionals take note of potential suspect or scapegoat. [[User:DruidDriver|DruidDriver]] ([[User talk:DruidDriver|talk]]) 02:27, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

It is possible that Randall's fear at his door is from [[87|Velociraptors]] --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 21:42, 30 April 2013 (UTC) --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 21:42, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

I don't think the lack of embarressment relates to being eaten by the wolf, but rather the fact that since a wolf being in your yard is a legitimate concern due to Randall releasing one in the next 30 years. Therefore any fear as you approach your front door would be reasonable as there may be a wolf, and you shouldn't feel embarressed about it. {{unsigned ip|108.162.218.47}}

[http://www.edreamsinterpretation.com/ dreams] {{unsigned|‎EditaStewart}}

I thought the graph showed that he tripped on the steps in the dark because he was going too fast, and felt embarrassed. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.58|108.162.216.58]] 14:19, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

For me its a swarm of killer bees--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.73|141.101.99.73]] 17:23, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

Talk:1064: Front Door

2021-02-24T17:23:13Z

141.101.99.73:

Talk:551: Etch-a-Sketch

2014-12-12T12:27:41Z

141.101.99.73: another comment against the just-erase-and-draw-something-else explanation

I always thought he was shaking the Etch-a-Sketch in anger at finding out what was actually inside as opposed to what he thought was inside. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 02:21, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

I just thought the same actually; and "proceeds to draw something else" is just plain wrong, because the story ends before that. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.73|141.101.99.73]] 12:27, 12 December 2014 (UTC)