explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2422: Vaccine Ordering

2021-02-10T00:04:23Z

141.101.99.9: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2422
| date = February 8, 2021
| title = Vaccine Ordering
| image = Vaccine_ordering_-_high-resolution.png
| titletext = You know what they say: mRNA-1273 before tozinameran, you'll have to slay a banshee in a catamaran.
}}

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

This is another in the series of comics inspired by the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}. Two COVID-19 vaccines have been approved in the United States (one from {{w|Moderna}}, the other from a joint venture between {{w|Pfizer}} and {{w|BioNTech}}). Each of these vaccines require 2 doses, taken 3-4 weeks apart.

Megan is reading an article on her phone to Cueball. A report from the {{w|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC}} says that it's possible to get effective immunity against {{w|COVID-19}} when mixing {{w|RNA vaccine|mRNA vaccine doses}} from Pfizer and Moderna, but that this practice should not be the norm. The report in question can be viewed [https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/clinical-considerations.html here]; it stresses that mixing the vaccines is acceptable only in exceptional circumstances, such as "when the first-dose vaccine product cannot be determined."

Cueball wonders whether the order in which you receive the vaccines matters. Megan then attempts to create {{w|Mnemonic|mnemonic devices}} to help them remember which mix-and-match strategy is best for the mRNA vaccines (e.g., "Beer before wine and you'll feel fine; wine before beer and you'll feel queer"). The apparent {{w|truthiness}} of these mnemonics might be attributed to the {{w|rhyme-as-reason_effect|rhyme-as-reason effect}}, a cognitive bias that is often misleading - very much so in this case. Megan succeeds by rhyming "Pfizer" and "wiser," but struggles with finding a rhyme for "Moderna," settling for {{w|Smyrna}}, an ancient city located in what is now {{w|Izmir}}, Turkey.

A {{w|side effect}} of a drug is an effect incidental to the intended purpose of the drug. Side effects can be positive or negative, though in vaccine trials the greater concern is usually about negative side effects. Becoming ruler of an ancient city that is now only a historical ruin would certainly be an odd side effect.

The title text continues the theme of difficult rhymes, using the full names of both the Moderna vaccine drug ({{w|Moderna COVID-19 vaccine|mRNA-1273}}, rhymed with ''banshee'') and the Pfizer one ({{w|Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine|tozinameran}}, rhymed with ''catamaran'').

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are talking. Megan is looking down and reading a news story on her phone.]
:Megan: The CDC says it's okay to mix and match the mRNA vaccines for doses 1 and 2, but only in "exceptional situations".
:Cueball: I wonder which order works better, if either.

:[A slimmer panel. Megan has her finger raised and her phone to her side]
:Megan: Well you know what they say.
:Megan: Moderna before Pfizer, you'll be none the wiser.

:[A regular panel, Megan and Cueball still standing next to each other.]
:Megan: Pfizer before Moderna then you'll... rule ancient Smyrna.
:Cueball: Weird side effect.
:Megan: A lot of hard-to-rhyme drugs have those.

==Trivia==

This comic image was originally published with no {{w|Spatial anti-aliasing|anti-aliasing}}. All of its pixels were either fully black or fully white, with no shades of gray, giving the smooth lines a jagged appearance. This was fixed later in the day.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

Talk:2422: Vaccine Ordering

2021-02-09T01:16:14Z

141.101.99.9: forgot to sign, sorry

For those that read XKCD here first - yes, the original comic really is that low quality. I suspect Randall's going to replace it with a cleaner one at some point. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.134|108.162.237.134]] 23:10, 8 February 2021 (UTC)
:Unless the low quality is intentional, some way-over-my-head joke about vaccines and mRNA, maybe? -- or the low-quality of the image as an analogy for the low-quality of the rhymes? {{unsigned ip|172.69.234.138}}

Looks like he's uploaded a better version now. I don't know how to replace the image, though. [[User:Argis13|Argis13]] ([[User talk:Argis13|talk]]) 23:40, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

:It's still low quality at xkcd.com. [[User:Troy0|Troy0]] ([[User talk:Troy0|talk]]) 00:14, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

:You can't (I just tried it). The image shown is scaled up by 2×, and the non-scaled version (the one displayed) is anti-aliased. [[User:Bubblegum|bubblegum]]-[[User_talk:Bubblegum|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Bubblegum|contribs]] 00:20, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

:Looks like Randall fixed it now.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.86|172.68.174.86]] 00:39, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

::I believe that the proper file should be vaccine_ordering_2x.png Bubblegum is correct. [[User:Icil34|Icil34]] ([[User talk:Icil34|talk]]) 01:00, 9 February 2021 (UTC)Icil34

:Just uploaded the new version.[[User:DKMell|DKMell]] ([[User talk:DKMell|talk]]) 01:05, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

== I'd like to upload the original aliased files but I don't have permission to create new pages. ==

The original 1x version is [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627414163357958154/808498606017478706/vaccine_ordering.png here] and the 2x version, still aliased but with 4 pixels of #f7f7f7, is [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627414163357958154/808498606017478706/vaccine_ordering.png here] [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.9|141.101.99.9]] 01:16, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

2420: Appliances

2021-02-05T13:51:19Z

141.101.99.9:

{{comic
| number = 2420
| date = February 3, 2021
| title = Appliances
| image = appliances.png
| titletext = If you had an oven bag and a dryer that runs unusually hot, I guess you could in theory make tumbled eggs.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an OVERCOOKED T-SHIRT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows a {{w|confusion matrix}} of the applicability of various household appliances to different tasks. Green indicates an excellent performance, yellow not ideal, but usable, and red dismal or destroyed. The diagonal is green as it shows the tasks done by the machines they are supposed to be performed by. See [[#Table|table]] below. The comic is similar to [[1890: What to Bring]], but that comic does not use yellow or another intermediate color.

Salmon can be easily {{w|Dishwasher salmon|cooked in a dishwasher}}, so it's marked "cooked", and thus "cook a frozen dinner" is only yellow on the dishwasher entry.

The stove/oven has three green as it can also cook a microwave frozen dinner, although slower, and can toast bread, again slower than the toaster. It is by far the machine that has fewest red entries, only one, as it cannot wash clothes. It can also not clean dishes, but it might sterilize them, thus that entry is yellow. Also it might actually dry the clothes, but could also make it burnt, thus it is also only yellow.

The microwave oven can also cook eggs, thus it has two green, the only other than the stove/oven with more than one green.

The toaster and the washing machines are the only ones without any yellow, and with only one green, for making toast/washing clothes - they are thus the appliances with least other potential uses (zero). The washing machine will at least not destroy the clothes if you try to dry it, but it has the opposite effect, thus still red. The toaster will not destroy the dishes, but will potentially just make the dirt burn harder to them.

The title text mentions that it would be theoretically possible to cook eggs in a dryer, but it is not a common use for a dryer. {{Citation needed}} The joke is that it is not called {{w|scrambled eggs}} but tumbled eggs. It also mentions that the dryer has to become hotter than usual for a dryer (maybe dangerously hot for the clothes for it to work). And then the eggs should be cracked and put in a oven bag, that really needs to be tight and well zipped.

==Table==
{| class="wikitable"
!
! scope="col"| {{w|Toaster}}
! scope="col"| {{w|Dishwasher}}
! scope="col"| {{w|Microwave oven|Microwave}}
! scope="col"| {{w|Washing machine}}
! scope="col"| {{w|Kitchen stove|Stove/oven}}
! scope="col"| {{w|Clothes dryer|Dryer}}
|-
! scope="row"| Make toast
| Yes, a toaster's function is to make toast from bread.
| No. A dishwasher would likely turn bread into mush, and is unlikely to be edible.
| No. A microwave could heat up bread, but would not brown the bread and make it crunchy. In this image, it appears that the bread is getting unevenly burnt.
| No. A washing machine would break the bread into several pieces, and is unlikely to be edible.
| Yes, toast can be made using a stove or an oven.
| No. A dryer would burn the bread due to its heat, and would break it up into crumbs due to its tumbling.
|-
! scope="row"| Wash dishes
| No. A toaster would not be able to wash dishes, and is likely to do nothing to make them clean.
| Yes, a dishwasher's function is to wash dishes.
| No. A microwave could heat up the dishes, but this would not serve any function in getting them clean, and could cause food to get even more stuck on the dishes.
| No. A washing machine would break the dishes.
| Maybe, a stove or an oven could theoretically sterilize dishes with high heat (but this would not clean off any stains or stuck food particles). Also, dishes and glasses would break due to the high heat.
| No. Worse than the washing machine, the tumbling of a dryer would thoroughly pulverize porcelain dishes and then possibly melt the grains together due to high heat.
|-
! scope="row"| Cook a {{w|TV dinner|frozen dinner}}
| No. A traditional toaster would not be able to cook a frozen dinner. A {{w|toaster oven}} combination would be able to do so (see stove/oven).
| Maybe. The fish could be cooked in a dishwasher, however the rest might not, but this is not a typical use of a dishwasher.
| Yes, a microwave is normally used to cook a frozen dinner.
| No. A washing machine would make the dinner soggy and inedible.
| Yes, a stove or an oven could also be used to cook a frozen dinner. The image shows the dinner being removed from its packaging and placed in a baking pan.
| No. A dryer would make the frozen dinner inedible due to its tumbling and heat.
|-
! scope="row"| Wash clothes
| No. A toaster would not be able to wash clothes and would instead leave burn marks.
| Maybe. A dishwasher would be able to get the clothes wet but the washing may be uneven.
| No. A microwave would just burn the clothes and not do any washing.
| Yes, a washing machine's function is to wash clothes.
| No, a stove or an oven would burn the clothes and not do any cleaning.
| Maybe. A dryer would heat the clothes and kill germs, but not get any stains out.
|-
! scope="row"| Cook eggs
| No. A toaster would not be able to cook eggs. This image seems to show that eggs were cracked directly into the toaster, which causes a large plume of smoke.
| No. A dishwasher generally cannot cook eggs. However, it does seem that [https://spoonuniversity.com/how-to/5-foods-cook-dishwasher this is plausible to do].
| Yes. A microwave could be used to cook eggs, {{w|poached egg|poached style}} as shown in the image.
| No, a washing machine's would destroy the eggs.
| Yes, a stove or an oven is typically used to cook eggs (and other foods).
| No. A dryer would overheat the eggs and tumble them to shreds.
|-
! scope="row"| Dry clothes
| No. A toaster would not be able to dry clothes and would instead leave burn marks.
| No. A dishwasher would be able to get the clothes wet but would not do any drying.
| Maybe. A microwave could (unevenly) get clothes dry.
| No, a washing machine's function is to wash clothes and would just get the clothes wet. A washing machine's spin cycle could dry clothes to some extent, but is not intended to fully wring all the water out of clothes.
| Maybe, a stove or an oven could be used to get clothes dry but runs a high risk of burning them, especially on parts that are in contact with metal.
| Yes, a dryer's function is to dry clothes after they are washed.
|}

== See also ==
The German TV show {{w|Nicht nachmachen!}} demonstrated steaming vegetables in a {{w|moka pot}}. They also filled a {{w|storage water heater}} with instant coffee, turning every hot-water tap into a coffee tap.

==Transcript==

:[The comic is laid out like a grid, with usages for common household appliances the left-hand side (Make toast / Wash dishes / Cook a frozen dinner / Wash clothes / Cook eggs / Dry clothes) and appliances for these activities across the top (Toaster / Dishwasher / Microwave / Washing machine / Stove/oven / Dryer). The grid illustrates the "match-ups", with a green square denoting a "correct" match-up, a yellow square denoting something that may work somewhat, and a red square denoting something that most certainly won't work.]

:[From the top left corner, going from left to right, top to bottom, with each first item being on its own line in the grid, the squares are as follows:]

:[Green square, toasted toast with stripe pattern]

:*'''Make toast''' with a '''Toaster'''

:[Red square, slightly broken soggy toast in a puddle of water]

:*'''Make toast''' with a '''Dishwasher'''

:[Red square, non-toasted and unevenly burnt toast]
:*'''Make toast''' with a '''Microwave'''
*'''Make toast''' with a '''Washing machine''': Red square, a few small soggy pieces of toast in a puddle of water.
*'''Make toast''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Green square, toasted toast with somewhat irregular pattern.
*'''Make toast''' with a '''Dryer''': Red square, large pile of breadcrumbs.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Toaster''': Red square, intact glass, somewhat bent fork and slightly cracked and sooty plate.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Green square, clean glass, fork and plate.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Microwave''': Red square, slightly broken glass, intact fork and sooty plate.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Washing machine''': Red square, broken glass, intact fork, broken plate.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Yellow square, Text reading "Sterilized, at least" with an arrow beneath it pointing at a slightly cracked glass, intact fork and sooty and cracked plate.
*'''Wash dishes''' with a '''Dryer''': Red square, large pile of broken porcelain and glass with part of fork sticking out of it.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Toaster''': Red square, badly burnt food box emitting smoke.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Yellow square, Text reading "Fish might be cooked" with an arrow beneath it pointing at a food box two thirds filled with water.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Microwave''': Green square, cooked food box.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Washing machine''': Red square, crumpled food box two thirds filled with water.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Green square, sideways view of steaming cooked food box with lid removed.
*'''Cook a frozen dinner''' with a '''Dryer''': Red square, open crumpled food box with burnt edges. Burnt food stuck to the panels borders.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Toaster''': Red square, smoking T-shirt with large stripe shaped burns.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Yellow square, unevenly wet/washed shirt.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Microwave''': Red square, slightly smoking shirt with spread out burns.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Washing machine''': Green square, clean wet shirt.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Red square, shirt with a large semi-burned area.
*'''Wash clothes''' with a '''Dryer''': Yellow square, slightly dirty-looking shirt.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Toaster''': Red square, toaster emitting a huge cloud of dense smoke.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Red square, slightly cracked eggs in a puddle of some kind.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Microwave''': Green square, egg in egg cup with text "(Poached)" beneath.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Washing machine''': Red square, egg shell fragments in a puddle, presumably the egg.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Green square, fried egg with beans on a plate.
*'''Cook eggs''' with a '''Dryer''': Red square, pile of egg shell dust and possibly scrambled eggs.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Toaster''': Red square, mostly wet shirt, with parts in the middle being somewhat dry. Smaller stripe shaped burns.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Dishwasher''': Red square, entirely wet shirt.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Microwave''': Yellow square, dry shirt with smaller burns.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Washing machine''': Red square, wet shirt.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Stove/oven''': Yellow square, dry shirt with small burn-like patches.
*'''Dry clothes''' with a '''Dryer''': Green square, dry shirt.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Food]]

1521: Sword in the Stone

2015-05-07T01:28:02Z

141.101.99.9: Added in reference to anti-english sentiment.

{{comic
| number = 1521
| date = May 6, 2015
| title = Sword in the Stone
| image = sword in the stone.png
| titletext = That seems like an awful lot of hassle when all I wanted was a cool sword.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Megan]] pulls out a sword from a stone. A flash of light comes down and music plays, and a heavenly voice tells her she has ascended to the {{w|throne of England}}. Megan then pulls out her phone and searches on Wikipedia for {{w|England}} (proving hereby that the setting is in the present). After having read for a while she begins, while reading on, to replace the sword into the rock.

The comic references the fables of {{w|King Arthur}} and the {{w|Knights of the Round Table}}. In Arthurian legend, whoever can remove {{w|Excalibur#Excalibur_and_the_Sword_in_the_Stone|The Sword in the Stone}} is the lawful king of England. Arthur is an orphan being raised in secret; he notices the sword, removes it, and is proclaimed king. The sword is sometimes identified as {{w|Excalibur}}, although in other versions Excalibur was acquired by King Arthur from the {{w|Lady of the Lake}}. The most familiar version of this story is {{w|The Sword in the Stone}} by {{w|T. H. White}} which is based on {{w|Le Morte d'Arthur}} by {{w|Sir Thomas Malory}}. The animated {{w|The_Sword_in_the_Stone_(film)|musical}} by Walt Disney is a well known version of this fairytale.

A key element of the joke is that as Megan begins to read about England, especially information concerning being an English ruler, she quickly thinks better of this and begins to put the sword back in its place. The punchline that Megan puts the sword back after reading about England is likely intended to suggest some degree of antipathy towards England and/or English people on the part of the character or author.

English history is rife with monarchic strife, and a brief inquiry into the {{w|List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death|cause of death}} will show that almost one in three {{w|British rulers}} have died either in battle or from murder etc. This would quickly lead most sane people to conclude that the risks associated with ruling England far outweigh the benefits.

The title text furthers this plot, having Megan comment on the hassle when the only thing she was interested in was the cool sword. Apparently Megan is not enthusiastic about power, and her choice is made when she sees how problematic it could be to reign over the country of England.

From the time of the {{w|Roman Empire}} all the way up to {{w|Charles II of England|Charles II's}} reclamation of the throne, England was one of the most contested and most difficult to hold chunks of real estate on Earth. Besides the constant threat of usurpation, as evidenced by the numerous wars for the crown, such as the {{w|Norman_conquest_of_England|Norman conquest}} and the {{w|War of the Roses}}, there were also constant difficulties in managing the frontier regions. This can be seen from {{w|Hadrian's Wall}}, a creation of the titular Roman Emperor designed to keep the ever difficult Scots out of the areas of Roman control (the Scots would be a constant problem for England up until the reign of King James; think of the movie {{w|Braveheart}} for a good example of the regular headaches they caused, seen from the English point of view), as well as the {{w|List_of_Anglo-Welsh_Wars|Welsh uprisings}} that occurred with such consistency that you could set your watch to them.

It should be noted that in Arthurian Legend, it is stated that Arthur would return when England most needed him. It is possible that Megan in this comic is a 21st century version (reincarnation) of the old Arthur.

The timing of this comic might relate to the birth of princess {{w|Princess_Charlotte_of_Cambridge|Charlotte Elizabeth Diana}} on May 2nd, 2015 just four days before this comic, and the burden of a royal of having a whole life in public shaking hands of strangers. Since {{w|Succession to the Throne Act, 2013|2013}} the {{w|Line of succession to the British throne|line of succession}} was changed to {{w|Primogeniture#Absolute_primogeniture|absolute primogeniture}}, meaning that she will keep her current position in the line (4th after her {{w|Prince George of Cambridge|older brother}}) even if she later gets baby brothers. Before this year, that would not have been the case, as the male gender took rank over birth order.

It is also probably not a coincidence that this comic was published the day before the {{w|United Kingdom general election, 2015|UK General Election}}, on May 7, 2015. This election decides the modern day leader of England and the rest of the UK. And the problems they face today, may even be more likely to cause Megan to give away the throne, than the risk of untimely death she would have faced in Arthur's days.

==Transcript==

:[Megan walks up to a sword in a stone.]

:[Megan tries to pull the sword out of the stone.]

:[A flash of light and music plays as she removes the sword.]

:[While standing with the swords a voice from heaven speaks in gray shaky letters:]
:Heavenly voice: ''The Throne of England is yours''

:[Megan takes out her smart phone and writes:]
:Wikipedia
:England

:[Megan reads on her phone.]

:[Megan starts to replace the sword back into the stone.]

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

Talk:941: Depth Perception

2015-03-19T14:05:28Z

141.101.99.9:

Somebody needs to try this. Couldn't be that hard.
[[Special:Contributions/71.178.11.180|71.178.11.180]] 21:27, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

Those must have been some tall goalposts if his point of view is above the clouds! -- mwburden [[Special:Contributions/70.91.188.49|70.91.188.49]] 13:16, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Also, the cameras should be mounted on servos so that when the phone is moved or tilted the cameras can follow, so your viewpoint isn't fixed in one direction. -- mwburden [[Special:Contributions/70.91.188.49|70.91.188.49]] 13:18, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

:That wouldn't work. The entire football field would have to swivel, or else he'd get some wicked image shearing... [[Special:Contributions/108.28.72.186|108.28.72.186]] 01:42, 7 August 2013 (UTC)

::actually, it might be possible to correct for that, using bipolar geometry. Essentially, you can derive a 3d model from 2 images from different view points. [http://danielwedge.com/fmatrix/ Here] is a (very geeky) demontration of what can be done. Watch the end, where they construct a fly-around video from two images of the opera house in sidney. -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.22|141.101.104.22]] 21:10, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

::: Interesting link, thanks, but I don't think the video was generated from only 2 images, there isn't enough information. If you select "Download the Opera House sequence" you can download the original 43 photographs used. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.9|141.101.99.9]] 14:05, 19 March 2015 (UTC)

An updated solution would be to put the two stabilised cameras on quadracopters which are coded to remain a set distance apart. When you want to look left/right it would take a while for the pair of drones to rotate around their centre point but not too long..... Then you could also get a perspective from the height of a giant (drones can go to any height) and with their degree of parallax (from whatever value of height and eye spacing you choose). {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.225}}
:This is a very cool project indeed! Some hardcore image stabilizing software would be required too, since you would get nauseous if the two images weren't perfectly aligned at all times. But this setup is the only one I could think of that would enable you to perceive the view from the last frame. [[User:Mumiemonstret|Mumiemonstret]] ([[User talk:Mumiemonstret|talk]]) 08:44, 17 December 2014 (UTC)

Look at this in stereo mode: http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Solar and cross your eyes so you see three images, then hold your hands up so you only see the one, then...
I forget...

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 12:44, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

I used to do that all the time at one time ... until I got a l...ot of things different to do..

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 12:44, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1438: Houston

2014-10-27T21:46:06Z

141.101.99.9:

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)
:I think this is the idea behind the comic too. Kind of like a "What if it had happened today?" It sure sounds like the kind of hotline support we get today. [[User:Deantwo|Deantwo]] ([[User talk:Deantwo|talk]]) 10:29, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

::I agree. This is definitely comparison between the original mission control center and current outsourced helpdesk centers. Although it would be interesting to know what specific incident caused Randal to comment on it. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:28, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

: I'm going to throw in the idea that this might be a reference to the "Facebook generation", hard to know what the reference is, but a few weeks ago in Australia, or national curriculum organization published a new curriculum program for year 9/10 students, teaching them how to be functional in the work place, respect for the workplace, other employees, bosses, work time, etc... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.217|108.162.250.217]] 14:32, 27 October 2014 (UTC)

What is going on is this strip? Usually it's a reference to something or a commentary, but I don't get it at all. [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 05:32, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

I think I figured out enough of it to remove the "incomplete" tag. This is definitely one of the weird ones. [[User:Shachar|Shachar]] ([[User talk:Shachar|talk]]) 06:02, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Reference to Continuum? (Canadian sci-fi show)
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.106|199.27.133.106]] 06:41, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Ebola? Really? Where is that..what? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.79|173.245.49.79]] 09:34, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

I agree, there is no evidence to back up the ebola reference. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 09:36, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Also, I took it to refer to people being distracted on the phone in general (hence the title text) or generally not taking their jobs serious. Maybe the idea that for NASA, space travel has become so routine that mission control is no longer as engaged in the missions. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 09:38, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Perhaps the guy answering the phone is called "Houston"? A misplaced Skype call from a rather shell shocked astronaut? {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.111}}
:But then it wouldn't make sense, that he says he's at work.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.29|173.245.49.29]] 13:36, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

There are a LOT of anachronisms, or things that don't match the way things were back in the 1960's, not just the flat screens. (And I do still remember the sixties, despite "if you can remember the sixties, you wern't really there" - a reference to the drug scene.) We didn't say "cool" or "you suck at doing that" back then, and it's very unlikely that communications with the mission and a simple telephone call would be selectable from the same headset, and the michrophones on headsets were larger and probably had dangling wires back then. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 13:22, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

It could be a commentary on privatizing space travel by NASA (among others to Boeing). Would explain, why Cueball knows it's a "airplane or whatever".--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.29|173.245.49.29]] 13:36, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

I understand it's a reference, but is this supposed to actually be the Apollo 13? I understood it was just another mission happening today. I find the anachronism explanation nonsensical. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.211|108.162.212.211]] 13:57, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

"At first glance, this comic appears to be an "alternate reality" view at what could happen today, given that most people in the XXI century seem to suffer ADD." I don't think that we can assume this at all. Also, that's not what ADD is. [[User:Lomky|Lomky]] ([[User talk:Lomky|talk]]) 14:16, 24 October 2014 (UTC)
:Yeah. I think it's far more clear that Randall's commenting on unhelpful tech support than anyon'es short attention span. I've edited the explanation above. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.146|199.27.128.146]] 15:34, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Did Randall have a bad experience with a call center operator? [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 14:38, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Can someone explain why this is supposed to be funny? The explanation page doesn't quite get there. {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.199}}
:xkcd is a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language; humor is not guaranteed. I see no indication that Randall is trying for humor here. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 03:22, 25 October 2014 (UTC)
:: It must be the math then... [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.201|199.27.128.201]] 00:40, 26 October 2014 (UTC)

Am i the only one interpreting Cueball as a script kiddie with too much spare time who somehow managed to hijack the communication line between Apollo 13 and Houston? The alt text is consistent with the basement dweller stereotype. Wouldn't explain the other call though.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.169|108.162.219.169]] 17:22, 24 October 2014 (UTC)
:No, that was my impression as well. [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 01:10, 26 October 2014 (UTC)

Nasa just uploaded several audio recordings of their missions on soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/nasa). Maybe Cueball is just playing with those while he is at work. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.230.53|108.162.230.53]] 17:31, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

"It's always 'problem, problem, problem' with you guys. Don't you ever call just to say 'hi'?" {{unsigned|PheagleAdler}}

I don't get the context here. Is this supposed to be a biting satire on how the new generation sucks at social tact with their cell phones? How is a guy at NASA mission control being an asshat supposed to be funny or thought-provoking? Even the helpdesk angle doesn't really make sense, as inept as they can be I've never had one outright antagonize me like this guy does. {{unsigned ip|‎199.27.128.114}}

I found the comic to be more of a reference to that of a "friend" who does not care what your problems are and doesn't wish to help you solve them- like if you had lost homework or forgotten to do a project and called your friend at the last minute, he would mock you for your incompetence and blow you off. I found the comic to be a little pedanticism, as if what if mission control was filled with the "friends." I had no thought as to tech support... Maybe because all my tech support has been helpful. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.27}}

The problem in call centers is that the businesses that run them cannot afford to train all incoming staff in the entirity of the technical
knowledge required to actually be able to diagnose problems, so they design a "script" to be followed so that the staff can determine the problem and
explain the solution. However, for those that do this job day in and day out and constantly have people calling with the "Same problems, over and over",
they get really good at predicting when someone's situation is leading to a certain forgone conclusion in the script, and may develop a disdain for the
callers due to the problem being "so painfully obvious how to fix, why does this person need to call me to fix that? Why don't they know how to do it
themselves?" Which is caused by the fallacy of treating the entire job as being one experience with a single userbase rather than individual experiences
with individual users. For those that are less versed in the technical knowledge that are just trying to do their jobs, their reaction when receiving
this attitude tends towards "Why are you being so difficult? I called you for help!"

The largest problem created by this mindset is that people start seeing everyone else as idiots because they seem like they don't know what they're doing
to the individual, but that's only caused by the fact that they are overexposed to their overly simplistic jobs and thus believe everyone else ought to
know how to do what they are doing too - the fallacy here is coming from the fact that all the other individuals have their own specialized jobs -
individuals don't get the opportunity to experience anything outside their own job experience very often because their jobs consume so much of their
personal lives. Because of these overly simplified jobs individuals throughout the populace all have a sort of learned helplessness - they are all very
good at one or two things, but rubbish at most everything else. And since the governments need good consumers to drive the money wheels of the economy,
they pacify the intellectual needs of the people with entertainment. Those that still disobey the rules and are not creating enough money and jobs for
the economy are jailed. Those that are creating enough money and jobs for the economy then hire lawyers and lobbiests to change the laws to protect
their interests.

Of course there is also the issue that since those who are applying for the position aren't always required to have some background training in the field
they are supporting, the applicant may have no interest in it whatsoever other than as a paycheck - these folks tend to be the ones that stick closest to
the script, because without the script they themselves are lost - these type of personnel can and have been replaced by automated prompts by some
companies. By allowing the customer to step themselves through the script, you no longer need an employee on the line to do that with the customer.

The consequence of leaving someone like this to answer incoming requests is that they generally feel their life is more important than the client calling
in because they have no idea what they are actually doing other than following a script, and generally don't care, "as long as I get my 40 hours in" , or
however long their work week is set to. They see the position as a prison they are submitting to so they can get the money to do what they want/need to
in their time off - A job rather than a career. This mindset can be seen all over the employment base of countries that have changed most working
environments into assembly line like jobs where each worker knows only one or two steps of the overall process, but almost no one knows the entire
process - because if the workers know the entire process, they could easily quit their low paying jobs and start their own business making the same
product but cheaper because they would not have all of the administrative overhead.

So overall I'd say the comic is a social commentary combined with a play on the famous events of Appolo 13. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.158}}

;Wrong number

Maybe the call has just somehow been routed to the wrong number? If Cueball were staffing some other type of helpline or call centre, his detachment and lack of understanding would probably be a natural everyday response to people who ring up with problems that aren't in his field. The line about 'your airplane or whatever' suggests he's not NASA at all.

Or maybe he's staffing one of those call forwarding services, and the problem is that the astronauts forgot to say 'Could I speak to NASA, please'. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.176|141.101.98.176]] 08:35, 26 October 2014 (UTC)

:Houston is more than just mission control. If Apollo 13 is calling "Houston", they get Cueball in some Houston-based call centre. I think this, with your conclusion, explains the strip well - except the anachronism, and what's a little anachronism among friends.

'''The Time Traveler's Radio'''
Wow. I interpreted this very differently from others. Cueball is working at a modern company that allows him to access all communication from all times. His initial "Cool" was him getting the system to intercept a radio message from the past that he could then interact with in real-time. He trolled Apollo 13 from (thier) future.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.191|108.162.216.191]] 18:51, 27 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:929: Speculation

2014-03-18T12:59:49Z

141.101.99.9:

I love the comics like this that work on multiple levels. They really lend to the legitimacy of xkcd as a thinking man's webcomic, and they're great comics to link to when I'm trying to make a point. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:24, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

It's a bolt. Longbows fire arrows, crossbows fire bolts. 'K?
:That bolt looks maighte like an arrow to me... but let's not quarrel about this. --[[User:Qwach|Qwach]] ([[User talk:Qwach|talk]]) 23:35, 31 August 2013 (UTC)
::Crossbows do fire bolts, so the only reason you wouldn't want to quarrel about it is because you would be wrong.
::However, the word "arrow" comes from the official transcript, so YOU don't want to quarrel about it either, 'K? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 07:19, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

::Quarrel? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarrel]--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.9|141.101.99.9]] 12:57, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

The explanation states that it is Black Hat speaking in the title text. It makes much more sense if it is Randall speaking, but just demonstrating a slightly black-hat tendency. In my opinion. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 17:58, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Talk:929: Speculation

2014-03-18T12:59:20Z

141.101.99.9:

I love the comics like this that work on multiple levels. They really lend to the legitimacy of xkcd as a thinking man's webcomic, and they're great comics to link to when I'm trying to make a point. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:24, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

It's a bolt. Longbows fire arrows, crossbows fire bolts. 'K?
:That bolt looks maighte like an arrow to me... but let's not quarrel about this. --[[User:Qwach|Qwach]] ([[User talk:Qwach|talk]]) 23:35, 31 August 2013 (UTC)
::Crossbows do fire bolts, so the only reason you wouldn't want to quarrel about it is because you would be wrong.
::However, the word "arrow" comes from the official transcript, so YOU don't want to quarrel about it either, 'K? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 07:19, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

::[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarrel|Quarrel]--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.9|141.101.99.9]] 12:57, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

The explanation states that it is Black Hat speaking in the title text. It makes much more sense if it is Randall speaking, but just demonstrating a slightly black-hat tendency. In my opinion. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 17:58, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Talk:929: Speculation

2014-03-18T12:58:32Z

141.101.99.9:

I love the comics like this that work on multiple levels. They really lend to the legitimacy of xkcd as a thinking man's webcomic, and they're great comics to link to when I'm trying to make a point. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:24, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

It's a bolt. Longbows fire arrows, crossbows fire bolts. 'K?
:That bolt looks maighte like an arrow to me... but let's not quarrel about this. --[[User:Qwach|Qwach]] ([[User talk:Qwach|talk]]) 23:35, 31 August 2013 (UTC)
::Crossbows do fire bolts, so the only reason you wouldn't want to quarrel about it is because you would be wrong.
::However, the word "arrow" comes from the official transcript, so YOU don't want to quarrel about it either, 'K? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 07:19, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

::[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarrel|Quarrel?]--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.9|141.101.99.9]] 12:57, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

The explanation states that it is Black Hat speaking in the title text. It makes much more sense if it is Randall speaking, but just demonstrating a slightly black-hat tendency. In my opinion. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 17:58, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Talk:929: Speculation

2014-03-18T12:57:30Z

141.101.99.9: