Talk:2419: Hug Count

2023-09-25T21:45:58Z

162.158.155.82: Added my statistical analysis

I don't know how this makes me feel. I just don't hug. Maybe a couple of female relatives as I leave the traditional Christmas gathering (that didn't happen in 2020) because ''they'' expect it of me. But some societies (I'll namecheck the Italians, but there are many others) would possibly break those totals in a day (pre-Covid) just by going to the market-place and sealing deals with the local tradespeople. So my chart dipped drastically ast year, but not so much by absolute count. (No, not looking for sympathy, or virtual hugs, just saying...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.126|141.101.77.126]] 23:33, 1 February 2021 (UTC)

What happened in 2007? Seems like a sizeable spike. Being in a reception line at a wedding, for instance? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.211|173.245.54.211]] 23:43, 1 February 2021 (UTC)

No citation. Is this Randall's personal chart, do you figure? [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 00:18, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
:The title text would certainly suggest so. [[User:Fyndegil|Fyndegil]] ([[User talk:Fyndegil|talk]]) 19:32, 26 February 2021 (UTC)

2007 was the year of the xkcd meetup, which involved a lot of hugs, some of which may have involved Randall. Randall also moved from Virginia to Massachusetts that year, which may have resulted in separate small groups of people hugged in the same year. (Both of these facts are mentioned in his blog post from that October 1st.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.56|108.162.219.56]] 01:35, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

The {{w|Free Hugs Campaign}} peaked between 2006 and 2007.

2011 is the year Randall announced his gf's cancer. This might mean more people hugged him in support. 2010 might have been a time when some people close to him already knew about that (before the announcement), this would explain the big number in 2010, too. In 2015 he went on a book tour and had many signing sessions, where people might have hugged him. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.129.59|162.158.129.59]] 03:54, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

Mine is between 0-3 every year since 4th grade. Primarily my sister, my mother, and now my niece. I am nearly old enough now to go through a midlife crisis. Any other true anti-social people here just now realizing how little you get out? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.134|108.162.237.134]] 09:22, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
:I'm probably in the 10-15 range most years, but around 5 for the past year. Being mostly confined to the house really hasn't bothered me, though, so I might well qualify as anti-social... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.108|162.158.78.108]] 12:42, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
:Thinking about it, there are just three months in year (and not even WHOLE months) I'm getting out less with covid than without. Winter vacation with possibly shopping for it, summer vacation with possibly shopping for it, and then I'm going on one con. Outside of those three opportunities I don't really mind AND nothing really changed. I'm still angry for losing those three opportunities. Also, well, outside of family the con tends to be only opportunity to hug someone ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:53, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

Whether or not this is significantly less for some people or not, it's still sad for me. Of course, being an extrovert might have impacted that, but to me, it just represents everything, in general, that's happened. [[User:Char Latte49|Char Latte49]]
:It's sad about 2020, but appears to be hopeful about 2021. He already has 2 hug in the first month. If that trend continues, it should end up being an average year. And it may accelerate as more people are vaccinated. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 18:13, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
:: If he has a small set of people he can get hug under Covid rules, likely he'd hug them early in the year, and the number would look normal at first but then not increase much in later months. Just saying: hope is good, yes, but the number of hugs in January doesn't really mean much. --[[User:Pi one|Pi one]] ([[User talk:Pi one|talk]]) 19:23, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

I did a quick statistical analysis of that, and neither 2020 nor 2021 are an outlier (above lower fence), but 2020 is unusual (z-score of -2.05)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.82|162.158.155.82]] 21:45, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

2778: Cuisine

2023-09-23T12:48:34Z

162.158.155.82: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2778
| date = May 19, 2023
| title = Cuisine
| image = cuisine_2x.png
| imagesize = 200x312px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My connection to it goes way back, to my early days, when I was just a cloud of primordial hydrogen collapsing in the darkness of space.
}}

==Explanation==

[[Cueball]] is explaining a recipe to [[White Hat]], describing it as {{w|Fusion cuisine}}, typically used to describe a style of cuisine based on combining aspects of the cuisines of two or more cultures{{Citation needed}}, such as a combination of French and Chinese food, or Mexican and Korean food. However, he conflates this with {{w|nuclear fusion}}, combining atomic nuclei to create new kinds of atoms.

The recipe is described as the initiation of {{w|deuterium}} fusion in a kilogram ("four cups") of {{w|heavy water}} and allowing the reaction to continue to its endpoint, {{w|iron}}. The "very high heat" specified in the recipe would start at the four million-plus Kelvin at which {{w|deuterium fusion}} is initiated in stars, and could possibly reach the billions of Kelvin at which {{w|supernova}}s synthesize atoms heavier than iron, such as copper, zinc, selenium and iodine, which are essential in trace quantities for mammals. Unfortunately, heating a saucepan to even four million Kelvin would likely vaporize even the largest of kitchens, and any cooks therein. Most heavier elements are probably created when two Neutron stars spiral into each other (but they are remnants of super nova explosions).

It should be noted that these are frequently omitted starting steps for every known recipe, as they are how the ingredients themselves are created.

The title text refers to the time before {{w|stellar fusion}}, just after the Big Bang when most matter was hydrogen atoms. See [[2723: Outdated Periodic Table]] for more on what other atoms were present. These primordial hydrogen atoms formed clouds that eventually collapsed into galaxies, forming stars that then created all heavier elements in one way or another. It took a long time but eventually some of these hydrogen atoms created Cueball and everything else on Earth. See [[1123: The Universal Label]]. People often say that an interest of theirs goes back to their "early days", referencing their childhood, but in this case it appears that Cueball's interest goes back to several billions of years before he was born, indicating that it is his atoms that are interested in this cuisine – not himself – as they were the ones around when his interest began. Actually mainly his protons. And it was because of their interest in fusing together that Cueball came to be.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat stands behind Cueball, who is cooking on a stove seen from the side. Cueball has his left hand on the handle of a pot which is on one of the stove's burners. In Cueball's right hand is a small cup.]
:Cueball: Next, we heat four cups of heavy water over '''''very''''' high heat until it thickens and becomes rich in iron.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I'm getting really into fusion cuisine.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Puns]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2419: Hug Count

2778: Cuisine