explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2312: mbmbam

2020-05-28T13:04:49Z

162.158.2.222:

So ... what would the MMMbop unit be?

This has gotta be at least the third or fourth time he's referenced MBMBaM. https://what-if.xkcd.com/155/ and https://xkcd.com/1836/ I know are two more examples, but there might be more. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.13|162.158.107.13]] 00:54, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Am I the only one thinking that mbmbam should be a unit of ''work'', not energy? Force x distance... High school physics was a long time ago though. [[User:Philosophicles|Philosophicles]] ([[User talk:Philosophicles|talk]]) 03:15, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

:Work is energy [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.154|172.69.62.154]] 05:28, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

:: The only difference could be absolute or relative energy, comparable to height above sea level vs. distance. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.193|141.101.69.193]] 06:36, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

:My first instinct was "that´s a torque". But of course angles have no unit, and so torque and energy must have the same. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.74|162.158.88.74]] 07:15, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Is my vision going blurry, or does that second panel say "milliibarn"? -- [[User:Peregrine|Peregrine]] ([[User talk:Peregrine|talk]]) 09:09, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

: Yes, two 'i' before the barn. That must be a mistake. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.192|108.162.229.192]] 10:28, 28 May 2020 (UTC) <-- Either that or it's milli - i*barn, going into imaginary dimensions. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 11:58, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

: MBMBaM's tagline is "an advice show* for the modern era", not an advice podcast.

1669: Planespotting

2016-04-19T11:29:40Z

162.158.2.222: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1669
| date = April 18, 2016
| title = Planespotting
| image = planespotting.png
| titletext = No, a hydroplane doesn't land on water--that's an aquaplane. A hydroplane is a plane that gets electric power from an onboard water reservoir with a tiny dam and turbines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|So far mainly a list. Could be listed better either bullet or in a table.}}

[[Cueball]] and a [[:Category:Characters with Hats|man with a hat]] are out '''planespotting''', or {{w|Aircraft_spotting|aircraft spotting}}, a hobby where tracking the movement of aircraft allows plane fans to see as many different types of planes as possible. A knowledgeable spotter would just by the silhouette and maybe the engine sound of the plane be able to tell what type of plane it is. (And may be rather proud of the fact, if he or she can tell this before one of the other spotters...)

The plane in the comic is most likely a {{w|Bombardier Dash 8|Bombardier Q400}}, a twin-engine regional turboprop with a T-tail as depicted.

The man with the hat asks Cueball to identify the airplane flying overhead. Cueball (or [[Randall]] qua the caption), who "assumes" he knows a lot about planes gives a long, nonsensical answer, proving that he does not. As mentioned in the caption he never actually checked if what he thought he knew was fact or fiction. As it turns out it is mainly fiction, but of course with some reference to real planes or vehicles. (Due to the fact the characters are drawn in silhouette it is impossible to determine whether the character with the hat is [[Black Hat]] or [[White Hat]] or some other character).

*'''Boeing''': {{w|Boeing}} is a company that designs and builds aircraft, although not the Q400. It is one of the best known Aerospace companies in the world, so putting this in front is not a way of displaying any particular knowledge of planes.
*'''Q404''': The reference to Q404 is close to the Q400, which this likely is. [[404]] also refers to an error shown when a specific internet address or file is not found, or as in this case, the plane is not found!
*'''Twin-engine''': {{w|Category:Twin-engined_aircraft|Twin-engine}} refers to aircraft with two engines, so at least Cueball got that right.
*'''Quad band''': Communication equipment that can use 4 different radio frequency bands is called {{w|quad band}}.
*'''MiG''': {{w|MiG}} is a Russian manufacturer of military aircraft, formerly the Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau.
*'''MIG-380''': a type of welding equipment ({{w|metal inert gas}}, 380V). On the other hand {{w|A380}} is an aircraft developed by {{w|Airbus}}
*'''Hybrid''': A {{w|hybrid vehicle}} is able to use more than one distinct power source. Boeing is currently working on a [http://www.boeing.com/aboutus/environment/environment_report_14/2.3_future_flight.html concept hybrid plane] capable of using both electricity and natural gas.
*'''Dual wield''': {{w|Dual wield}}ing is using two weapons, one in each hand. It is highly unlikely that the aircraft is dual-wielded by its pilot, and it is equally ridiculous to imagine that the plane is dual-wielding anything.
*'''Mk.''': "Mk." (or Mark) is usually used to specify a model number using a Roman numeral.
*'''IVII ''': IVII is not a standard number in the {{w|Roman_numerals|Roman numeral system}}, under standard rules it would be written like VI = 6. On the other hand, it could be a mishmash way of writing "42", (IV = 4, II = 2) which could then make it a reference to the {{w|Phrases_from_The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Answer_to_the_Ultimate_Question_of_Life.2C_the_Universe.2C_and_Everything_.2842.29|Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything}} according to {{w|Douglas Adams}}' {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}, something referenced before in xkcd, for instance in [[1608: Hoverboard]] if you got [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1c/42_coins.PNG 42 coins]. The correct way to say 42 in Roman numerals is XLII. The number could also be MI, or 1001, but this is unlikely.
*'''Turbodiesel''': {{w|Aircraft_diesel_engine|Diesel engines}} are only rarely used in aircraft because of their low power-to-weight ratio. {{w|Turbo-diesel|Turbo-diesel}} engines are much more common in cars and trucks.
*'''797''': The {{w|Boeing 797}} has never been produced, but a hoax design has been circulating the Internet since the mid-2000's.
*'''Hydroplane''': A hydroplane either refers to {{w|aquaplaning}} a very undesirable activity of a wheeled vehicle crossing shallow water, or a type of {{w|hydroplane (boat)|boat}} for which hydroplaning is the desired mode of travel.

In the title text the concept of hydroplane is mixed up with other concepts, none of which has anything to do with airplanes:
*'''Aquaplane''': An aquaplane is a similar to a short {{w|surfboard}}, on which a person stands while the board is pulled by a speedboat. The correct name for a plane that lands on water (on purpose) is a {{w|seaplane}}.
*'''Dam and turbines''': Powering an aircraft with a miniature {{w|hydroelectric dam}} connected to an on-board reservoir is an absurdity. Hydroelectric plants derive power from the potential energy released by a mass of water as it falls. Because the plane is lifting the water reservoir in addition to its own weight, such a dam could never produce enough power. Ludicrously small hydroelectric power systems were previously considered in [[what if?]] "{{what if|91|Faucet Power}}". In 2008, Randall discussed the more reasonable physics problem of whether an airplane would be capable of [https://blog.xkcd.com/2008/09/09/the-goddamn-airplane-on-the-goddamn-treadmill/ flight from a treadmill].

Only three weeks prior to this comic, [[1660: Captain Speaking]] was released only with a drawing of a plane in the air, where the captain eventually finds out that his plane is probably a Boeing...

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and a man with a hat is seen in silhouette standing on the ground looking towards the sky. A fixed wing aircraft can be seen in the sky, also in silhouette.]
:Man with hat: What's That Airplane?
:Cueball:Oh, that's a Boeing Q404 twin-engine quad-band MIG-380 hybrid dual-wield Mk. IVII Turbodiesel 797 Hydroplane.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I've always assumed I'm one of those people who knows a lot about planes, but I've never actually checked.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Characters with Hats]]

Talk:484: Flash Games

2016-04-02T02:26:17Z

162.158.2.222: added comment

http://reddawn.net/quilt/games/QCon/QCon.html {{unsigned ip|‎173.245.55.222}}

The explanation needs to explain the title text. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.45|108.162.216.45]] 23:25, 11 November 2013 (UTC)
:Yes, you are right. No time for me so far, maybe this comic should be on top at the "Today's incomplete explanation of the day" for one day more... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:37, 12 November 2013 (UTC)
:Already got it for you guys [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.66|199.27.128.66]] 07:33, 12 November 2013 (UTC)

Am I missing something or are you looking too hard for an explanation? To me, it seems as simple as what it says. There are amazing gaming systems, but a lot of flash games are way more addictive. So the character (Cueball I guess he's been called here) simply is telling himself that he'll only play for one more hour before playing with his new console. The joke being that in an hour, he will say the same thing again. And again. And so on. That's all there is to this. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.180|173.245.63.180]] 07:32, 12 November 2013 (UTC)
:Games are what happens to nerds while they are waiting for their lives.
:Comics are what happen to me when I am waiting to be right again.
:My most tiresome trait is my effort to be correct.
:One day I will run out of comics.

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 00:37, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Note the Wiimote blutacked to the television. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.222|162.158.2.222]] 02:26, 2 April 2016 (UTC)

1086: Eyelash Wish Log

2016-03-06T03:30:04Z

162.158.2.222: Added to explanation of February 29's wish

{{comic
| number = 1086
| date = July 25, 2012
| title = Eyelash Wish Log
| image = eyelash wish log.png
| titletext = Ooh, another one. Uh... the ability to alter any coefficients of friction at will during sporting events.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is based on a common belief/superstition that when someone's eyelash falls out, that person can make a wish on it. This comic appears to be a page from the fictitious Wish Bureau in charge of granting said wishes. And of course the wisher is [[Black Hat]] and he has quite a few wishes, most of them based on the previous wish. A common trope in fiction is that wishing for more wishes is prohibited and for many of his wishes [[Black Hat]] attempts to circumvent that.

;January 9: That wishing on eyelashes worked
:This wish is pointless. If wishing on eyelashes worked, then this would do absolutely nothing (because it already works) and if it didn't then nothing would happen because wishing on eyelashes wouldn't work.

;January 12: A pony
:This wish functions as a test to see whether or not previous wish worked. It can be assumed that it did, as Black Hat then continued to make additional wishes. Wishing for a pony is a stereotypical wish made by very young girls; since Black Hat is an adult man, the contrast is humorous.

;January 15: Unlimited wishes
:This appears to have failed, due to the typical ban of wishing for additional wishes in conventional folklore.

;January 19: Revocation of rules prohibiting unlimited wishes
:An attempt to circumvent the ban in the previous wish.

;January 20: A finite but arbitrarily large number of wishes
:Another attempt to circumvent the ban on unlimited wishes.

;January 28: The power to dictate the rules governing wishes
:Yet another attempt to circumvent the ban on unlimited wishes.

;February 5: Unlimited eyelashes
:This wish likely caused Black Hat to grow unlimited eyelashes, which could be quite inconvenient and painful. And, yes, one more attempt to circumvent the ban on unlimited wishes.

;February 6: That wish-granting entities be required to interpret wishes in accordance with the intent of the wisher
:This wish is likely a response to the previous day's misguided wish. It's actually quite a common problem that people making wishes leave them open for misinterpretation.

;February 8: That wish-granting entities be incapable of impatience
:An attempt to prevent whatever being is powerful enough to grant wishes from becoming angry with Black Hat while he tries to manipulate the system.

;February 12 #1: Unlimited breadsticks
:The first wish of this day seems to be a reference to the unlimited {{w|breadsticks}} offered at {{w|Olive Garden}}.

;February 12 #2: Veto power over others' wishes
:A power that could be interesting to have. It also very much fits with Black Hat's character.

;February 19: Veto power over others' wishes and all congressional legislation
:An improvement of the previous wish. This would be very interesting to have indeed, especially if you are Black Hat, because you could veto any federal law, a power normally entrusted only to the President.

;February 23: The power to override any veto
:This wish would allow Black Hat to override vetoes which in addition to the previous wish would effectively make him control the US legislature and, to some extent, also all other governing bodies. (Notably the UN, where the veto powers wielded by the "big 5" cannot be overridden and can have large impacts on global politics.) Note that it will not allow him to turn laws off (veto them) and on again (override the veto) at any moment, as once a bill becomes law it cannot be vetoed. Without the ability to propose legislation, Black Hat's powers are still limited. The wish may also refer back to the February 19 wish: by granting himself veto power over wishes, Black Hat just made vetoes more powerful than wishes; now he is trying to control other people's vetoes as well, lest they one-up him.

;February 27: The power to see where any shortened URL goes without clicking
:This wish relates to a common practice especially in tweets or other short length media where full length specific HTML addresses such as <tt>www.somewhere.com/articles/specificdate/the page.html</tt> would not be feasible. So a more compressed but nonsensical string of seemingly random characters is used which links to a link of the full text address. This creates some problems for people who are security or privacy conscious and prefer to be informed beforehand where they will be traveling on the Internet. The use of shortened URLs is also central to many types of trolls or practical jokes, most notably Rickrolling (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5MDnkV8DZA for an example), by directing someone to a different location than the link would initially suggest. Thus Black Hat might be wishing to be able to tell where the links go for the purpose of avoiding this sort of trolling.

;February 29: The power to control the direction news anchors are looking while they talk
:This wish likely appeals to Black Hat's mischevious side, allowing him to cause news anchors to look at the wrong camera during live broadcast. Repeatedly switching to the incorrect camera would cause havoc in the studio. Additionally, Black Hat may also attempt to get a news anchor fired by having them stare where they should not such as a female anchor's breasts.

;March 7: The power to introduce arbitrary error into Nate Silver's predictions
:A reference to {{w|Nate Silver}}, who is a former writer for {{w|Baseball Prospectus}} working on predicting baseball players' stats and now writes for {{w|Five Thirty Eight}} in which he predicts the outcome of elections based on polling data. This would grant Black Hat the power to influence the result of elections. This would tighten the Black Hat's control of the US even more.

;March 15: A house of stairs
:This wish refers to the {{w|lithograph}} {{w|House of Stairs}} by {{w|M. C. Escher}}, or perhaps another of his lithographs, {{w|Relativity (M. C. Escher)|Relativity}}

;March 23: A universe which is a replica of this one sans rules against meta-wishes
:Another attempt to circumvent the rules against wishing for more wishes.

;March 29: Free transportation to and from that universe
:While the previous wish appears to have worked, Black Hat notes a problem with it: he is still in our universe with no ways to get to the new one.

;April 2: A clear explanation of how wish rules are structured and enforced
:It appears that one or both of the previous two wishes failed, so Black Hat tries to discover exactly what is offending the Bureau. Having clear rules and how they work helps anyone finding loopholes in them.

;April 7: The power to banish people into the TV show they are talking about
:Black hat is obviously fed up of hearing people talking about certain TV shows, and would like to be able to banish them into the show, thus prevent him having to listen to those people.

;April 8: Zero wishes
:An attempt to hack the wish-granting system by using a quite common vulnerability in input validation: an unexpected value. There may be multiple vectors this can work:
:* in many computer systems, 0 is reserved for unlimited
:* the number may be used as a divisor in some equation and this will make the system divide by zero and probably crash
:* there also may be an assertion like "number of wishes granted == 1" which would fail, again crashing the system
:* similarly, if viewed as a computer system, it is possible that the wish decrement is performed after the wish is granted, thus resulting in either -1 wishes (another common placeholder for unlimited numbers), or an integer overflow if the wish counter is stored in an unsigned integer; the overflow can result in an exception, otherwise -1 becomes represented as MAX_INT-1 - basically, an arbitrarily large number.
:However it seems the eyelash wish-granting system does proper input validation on zero because it did not crash or grant unlimited wishes
:This wish may also be a reversal of the January 9 wish. Black Hat is attempting to win his game by introducing a logical contradiction: if he gets "zero wishes", this is one wish granted; however, if it is not granted, then, de facto, he will have been granted zero wishes. This is a common technique used in logical proofs to show that an earlier assumption does not hold (in this case, the possibility of eyelash wishing to work).

;April 15: Veto power over clocks
:Midnight, April 15 is the deadline for filing income tax returns in the United States.
:It may also be that Black Hat, now in control of all human legislation, is attempting to extend this to further control also rules of nature -- in this case: time. The strange wording is likely to be due to Black Hat having consulted with the wish-hacking manual he acquired April 2.

;April 22: A pokéball that works on strangers' pets
:A reference to the cartoon and video game series {{w|Pokémon}}. A Pokéball can be thrown at a Pokémon (or in this case, a pet that the Pokéball thrower finds either annoying or cute) to capture/contain it and/or achieve ownership of it. Unless cheats are used, Pokéballs cannot be used on Pokémon owned by other people in the Pokémon games. Many players wish to obtain the often high-level Pokémon of NPCs, and black hat guy may also be interested in pranking other players by stealing their powerful Pokémon

The title text is another yet another mischievous wish. The coefficients of friction, though usually not noticed as they are unchanging, are all-important when performing physical activities — imagine trying to play hockey on a field of sand or sprinting over a sheet of ice. In addition to the difficulty going where you want or getting any balls that might be in play where you want them to go in a changing friction environment, angular momentum would also be very difficult to control.

==Transcript==
:{|
! align="left" colspan="2" |Eyelash Wish Log
|-style="color: gray;"
|
|align="right"|Wish bureau ID#:
|-
|
|align="right"|21118378
|-style="color: gray;"
|
|align="right"|Date range:
|-
!scope="row" style="color: gray;"|Wisher
|align="right"|Jan-Apr 2012
|}

:{|
!align="left" width="50px"|Date
!align="left"|Wish
|-
|Jan 09
|That wishing on eyelashes worked
|-
|Jan 12
|A pony
|-
|Jan 15
|Unlimited wishes
|-
|Jan 19
|Revocation of rules prohibiting unlimited wishes
|-
|Jan 20
|A finite but arbitrarily large number of wishes
|-
|Jan 28
|The power to dictate the rules governing wishes
|-
|Feb 05
|Unlimited eyelashes
|-
|Feb 06
|That wish-granting entities be required to interpret wishes in accordance with the intent of the wisher
|-
|Feb 08
|That wish-granting entities be incapable of impatience
|-
|Feb 12
|Unlimited breadsticks
|-
|Feb 12
|Veto power over others' wishes
|-
|Feb 19
|Veto power over others' wishes and all congressional legislation
|-
|Feb 23
|The power to override any veto
|-
|Feb 27
|The power to see where any shortened URL goes without clicking
|-
|Feb 29
|The power to control the direction news anchors are looking while they talk
|-
|Mar 07
|The power to introduce arbitrary error into Nate Silver's predictions
|-
|Mar 15
|A house of stairs
|-
|Mar 23
|A universe which is a replica of this one sans rules against meta-wishes
|-
|Mar 29
|Free transportation to and from that universe
|-
|Apr 02
|A clear explanation of how wish rules are structured and enforced
|-
|Apr 07
|The power to banish people into the TV show they're talking about
|-
|Apr 08
|Zero wishes
|-
|Apr 15
|Veto power over clocks
|-
|Apr 22
|A Pokéball that works on strangers' pets
|}

{{Comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]

Talk:526: Converting to Metric

2016-03-06T00:45:38Z

162.158.2.222: added comment

Objection: In Australia are bottled drinks are 600 mL. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.222|162.158.2.222]] 00:45, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

Why is 3L a two-liter bottle?[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 21:16, 28 April 2013 (UTC)

:Because this is America and we supersize our sodas! {{unsigned ip|72.68.9.56}}

:It is the volume of the bottle itself. I have added this explanation. [[User:Sten|Sten]] ([[User talk:Sten|talk]]) 22:39, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

:A 2L bottle doesn't take 3L of space, not even close. I also think it's a reference to overly large drinks in the US. But even if it isn't, the current explanation is wrong. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.34|108.162.229.34]] 22:28, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

: I suspect he's just messing with us, because the approximate volume of a two-liter bottle should be obvious. Many beverages sold in the US are already labeled in metric. Soda is routinely sold in one and two liter bottles, with three-liter bottles common in some markets. Bottled water is often sold in liters and half-liters. Liquor and wine are sold in 375 and 750 mL bottles. Also, since 1 quart = 946 mL, an approximate (+/- 5%) mental conversion from quarts to liters is already quite easy. [[User:Fryhole|Fryhole]] ([[User talk:Fryhole|talk]]) 01:35, 25 January 2014 (UTC)

:: Yes. He is just joking. The name of the bottle contains its volume. The 3 liter measurement is a joke. It would be like saying a cup has 2 cups of volume. [[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 01:58, 4 January 2016 (UTC)
:::My coffee cup is 12 ounces. Given a standard 8 ounce cup, my coffee cup is 1.5 cups.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 15:24, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

My names River, that is all --[[Special:Contributions/139.216.242.254|139.216.242.254]] 02:52, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

:Tick tock, goes the clock, 'till River kills the Doctor

Earth's hottest is 70,7 °C... [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.29|199.27.128.29]] 03:06, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

:The world record as per wikipedia (and Guiness) is "only" 56.7. See corrected explanation above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:03, 6 March 2014 (UTC)

There was an incomplete asking for checking all measures and also for making sure that the references to serenity and velociraptors was mentioned. I did this, the last two by assigning the categories (firefly), and then also creating a new [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Your_Mom category:Your Mom]. I now consider this explanation complete. Although if someone will speculate two whom the remaining two from the Serenity crew tower then please do so ;-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:03, 6 March 2014 (UTC)

:Simon and Kaylee is my guess. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.85|173.245.55.85]] 22:17, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

The speed of rapors given here is very different from [[135: Substitute]]. [[User:B jonas|B jonas]] ([[User talk:B jonas|talk]]) 14:58, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

This sentence in the 'Mass' section has a [small] error: 'This is a common theme in XKCD.'-- it should be 'xkcd', not 'XKCD'. See the website for Randall's personal opinion on this. Anyways, it's small, but kinda stands out if your a reeallyy hardcore fan. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.73|173.245.55.73]] 05:39, 9 April 2014 (UTC)
:Thanks for your hint, an update is done. But please add your comments here at the bottom. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:26, 9 April 2014 (UTC)

-40 degrees centigrade is also -40 degrees Fahrenheit! The only such temperature.--DrMath 07:51, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

This is tagged with "Featuring real people" -- I don't see any real people in here, should we removethat tag? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 02:21, 25 July 2014 (UTC)

: It refers to Shaq, Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Summer Glau, your mom... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 08:18, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Ron Paul is not a republican though. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|Yourlifeisalie]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 16:33, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

kph got me confused, because "km/h" is the usual way of displaying kilometers per hour. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.212|162.158.90.212]]

As a Maine resident I concur with this sentiment: "at -30°, the user is incapable of closing their mouth after starting the first "fuck", and so extends it into one long one." However, try uttering the word "fuck" without closing your mouth... uck-uck-uck... {{unsigned ip|Npsych}}

;The whole point of this comic

I thought the whole point of this comic was NOT to think in terms of non-SI units. The only reason (we) Amercans cling to customary/imperial units is because when some quantity of something is expressed in SI units you may as well tell them it's however many quatloos, because the average American has no idea what the units are like...nothing to which to compare that item. Approach learning SI units EXACTLY how you learned customary units: pick up a kilo (pound) and feel how much Earth's gravity tugs on it, stick your hand out in the outdoor air and feel what the NWS or a thermometer tells you what the C (F) temp is, eyeball a meter (yard) stick and try to remember how long that is, and so on. You're only hamstringing yourself by constant numeric conversions to some other system. For example, just accept a cm is a cm, and DON'T WORRY about how big that is in any other system. IMHO it is counterproductive to have the customary units (the conversions) in this explanation, and ALL of them should be removed. {{unsigned|RChandra}}

Talk:296: Tony Hawk

2016-01-17T09:44:29Z

162.158.2.222: added comment

Although it probably is, in my opinion it is nowhere implied that this would be bad idea #270 [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.49|141.101.104.49]] 18:32, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

Fact: In at least one Tony Hawk game, you can actually ride a supercharged segway. Dropping into a halfpipe ends much less messily because on the segway there is literally no way to crash. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.222|162.158.2.222]] 09:44, 17 January 2016 (UTC)

296: Tony Hawk

2016-01-17T09:42:30Z

162.158.2.222: Added words to explanation to make it more accurate

{{comic
| number = 296
| date = July 30, 2007
| title = Tony Hawk
| image = tony_hawk.png
| titletext = Bad idea #271: Dropping into the half-pipe on a Segway.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is seen using a {{w|PlayStation_Portable|PSP}}, a hand-held game system, while on a skateboard. He is playing one of the many {{w|Tony Hawk's (series)|Tony Hawk}} titles in which you control a skater and perform tricks to gain points and achievements. While playing the game on his PSP, he wants to simultaneously perform the trick in real life both because it is exceptionally difficult to do both and because the game will give him praise when he does a trick successfully.

The title text implies that this could be bad idea #270 as the title text adds the next item to the bad idea list: #271 Dropping into the {{W|half-pipe}} on a {{w|Segway PT|Segway}}. Since a Segway uses a gyroscope to keep you balanced, trying to "drop into a half-pipe" while using one will likely violently fling the rider back into the upright position probably hurting them against the side of the half pipe as well as possibly damaging the Segway itself. Since it's being added to the list, it's also likely that Cueball tried this at some point in time (along with his Tony Hawk hobby and at least 269 other bad ideas).

==Transcript==
:My Hobby:
:Doing skateboard tricks in ''Tony Hawk'' while also doing them in real life.
:[Cueball moves towards a quarter pipe on his skateboard while manipulating his PSP.]
:''Beep''
:''Click''
:''Beep''

:[Cueball is in mid air having performed a Frontside 360°, both literally and on the PSP.]
:''♪ Frontside 360°! ♫''
:''Frontside 360°!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

Talk:856: Trochee Fixation

2015-11-28T23:01:53Z

162.158.2.222: added comment

Bad advice mallard would like a word with you. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:08, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

"Cowboy" but no "Bebop"? (Also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_Bebop a real cartoon show], albeit an adult anime -- NOT FOR KIDS.) I'm disappointed. --BigMal27 // [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.88|173.245.55.88]] 11:55, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

Why... why does the little girl say "hooker" at the end of the comic? 13:16, 18 June 2014 (UTC)
:Why not? Perhaps she's seen some television cop shows which use the term. Or perhaps she likes rugby (it's the name of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_positions#Hooker one of the playing positions]). [[User:Grutness|Grutness]] ([[User talk:Grutness|talk]]) 01:56, 26 July 2015 (UTC)

In particular I think the Neil Stephenson reference is to Snowcrash, where hackers are able to transmit a linguistic virus that disrupts speech patterns into what appears to be intense aphasia or glossolalia. According to the science* of the book, a similair technique could be used to manipulate the brain in a variety of ways, including a 'trocheeotomy.' {{unsigned ip|199.27.133.57}}

The current explanation mentions a reversal of the stress pattern at the end, but that doesn't happen. As discussed in the comic, the girl has simply come up with a new list of trochees. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.203|108.162.246.203]] 22:54, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

Trochee is autological. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0 8.8.8.8] 11:22, 30 May 2015 (UTC)

I feel like the two words "raptor Jesus" could be a reference to the meme. 02:05, 4 November 2015 (UTC)

----
But what if you're fixated on three-syllable words? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.222|162.158.2.222]] 23:01, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1608: Hoverboard

2015-11-25T23:47:00Z

162.158.2.222: That's no 'Children's Swimming Pool', it's a ball pit!

Well, this will be the next incomplete explanation for a while. -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.165|162.158.90.165]] 21:58, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

Yes, one thing to note is how to get the hell out of the cave near the volcano [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.159|108.162.249.159]] 22:38, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

The image is made up of small images with addresses of the form http://xkcd.com/1608/XXXX:-YYYY+s.png (although not every coordinate inside the bounds has an image associated). A script could probably dump out all the images and paste them together. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.6|108.162.216.6]] 22:46, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

West -- Under Lava Pools -- Elon Musk's Secret Volcano Base (not as enjoyable as you might expect).

The Starship out east contains, among other things, Darth Vader, apparently explaining Steven Universe to a subordinate. (Steven and the Crystal Gems can be found a the west end of the ship, near an ice cream cooler.) The same ship contains an elaborate homage to the original Prince of Persia. {{unsigned ip|162.158.56.5}}

There, have at thee an image! [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 22:58, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

There are 168 coins spread throughout the map according to the source code [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.53|173.245.54.53]] 23:03, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

When using a device, instead of saying "use arrow keys to move", it says "tilt to move, tap to jump". It's also a lot harder to control. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.159}}

It's actually 169 coins (t.length). --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.129|188.114.111.129]] 23:22, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

I got 153 coins!! :D There's two starships, one's a star destroyer with an expansive maze dropping regular torpedoes on the other. May be noteworthy that there are various references to Star Wars and Steven Universe throughout. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 23:27, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

The second starship is the TantiveIV, Leia's ship at the beginning of episode 4. Note directly below the Tantive, the terrain seems to be sand dunes. Also there are two more space ships by the volcano; an X-wing at a gas station and an Apollo Command Module. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.24}}

https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js - Looks like there's an easier to read version of the code there. Maybe that'll help someone with extracting all the images. {{unsigned ip|

I've got all the images downloaded. Zipping/uploading now. Should I post a link here when complete or what's the best way to share these? I'm also working on setting up a zoomable map. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.53|173.245.54.53]] 23:57, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

The collision detection is glitchy. I keep landing/bumping against platforms I'm far away from. Is getting stuck against walls normal? --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.234|199.27.130.234]] 00:01, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Tiles are located here in a zip: https://up1.ca/#Gi51KPFyPRELe0T1D6q9Mw All I did was iterate over http://xkcd.com/1608/X:-Y+s.png from X=[916...1116] and Y=[916...1116]. I'm working on putting a zoomable map together. If anyone has interest in helping we could hop on IRC? [[User:Jcox|Jcox]] ([[User talk:Jcox|talk]]) 00:15, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I've written a zsh script to iterate over all possible tiles (does anyone know the height limits? the source only gives the left and right limits) and glue them together into one giant file. I'll upload the results as soon as it's finished. [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 00:17, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I don't think it's limited vertically at all. I found a zoomable map on the reddit topic http://codepen.io/KyleDavidE/full/605dc87b614ff6b2bd716f4c6f640203/ (by kyledavide) [[User:Miraries|Miraries]] ([[User talk:Miraries|talk]]) 00:21, 25 November 2015 (UTC)Miraries

Here's a zoomed out map of all the game area: https://i.imgur.com/rNU9ZgN.png. From ''luke_in_the_sky'' at Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxc1245]. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.129|188.114.111.129]] 00:35, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Alright, the full png of the entire map is almost finished, I should have used white tiles as blank tiles but I guess I can fix that up in gimp, and I'm not sure how to account for the 1 pixel overlap with just imagemagick convert. The last step is to merge allthe layer images into one giant image, wish my laptop the best of luck! [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 01:00, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Someone beat you to it, but keep on it: that one doesn't have right limit tiles. https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxc0p8x --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.129|188.114.111.129]] 01:19, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps we can change the screenshot at the top to this? It's a quickly hacked overview of the entire map: http://imgur.com/Mz9arHz [[Special:Contributions/199.27.129.167|199.27.129.167]] 01:27, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
: I think it might make more sense to just add it as another image, mediawiki supports this after all. The syntax should be: <nowiki>[[File:filename.png|thumb|Subtitle|alt=alt]]</nowiki> [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 01:34, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

[http://files.mckaysalisbury.com/xkcd/hoverboard.html] This one loads all of the images quickly (From the xkcd site), and uses browser zooming. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.47|173.245.54.47]] 01:29, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

:The impassible backgrounds are RGB(0,0,0), and the passable ones are RGB(1,1,1). <code>#explore > :first-child {filter:brightness(30);-webkit-filter:brightness(30);-moz-filter:brightness(30);-o-filter:brightness(30);-ms-filter:brightness(30);}</code> ... See https://twitter.com/BadPhysics/status/669354631869304832 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.155|108.162.249.155]] 03:40, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Here are all the secret passages marked I could find: http://imgur.com/a/fKE1Q --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.220|162.158.91.220]] 00:50, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I wrote a tampermonkey script that shows you your coordinates and lets you teleport; will make coordinate sharing a lot easier. You do need tampermonkey installed for this to work. [https://github.com/minerguy31/xkcd-hoverboard-mod/raw/master/XKCD%20Hoverboard%20Mod.user.js Click to install] [[User:Minerguy31|Minerguy31]] ([[User talk:Minerguy31|talk]]) 04:17, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I got 159 coins without the map. If you guys are still wondering how to escape the volcano, move to the right for as long as you think you can, then start spamming the up key while switching between holding the left and right keys. It worked for me on my first try.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.252.119|162.158.252.119]] 07:06, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Didn't take down the coordinates, but the layout to the first level of the original Prince of Persia is in there, including the guard standing by with his scimitar! I found it in the ship atop the pyramid east of the play area. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.245|108.162.218.245]] 06:24, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Just thought this was interesting, when you "complete" the game by dropping coins, the following line of javascript is run, which sends your result to the server (L is number of coins, z is seconds used):
(new Image).src = "//xkcd.com/events.gif?coins=" + L + "&seconds=" + z;
Don't be tricked by the .gif extension, it doesn't show an image when opened, and the server probably handles this request by logging it to somewhere. {{unsigned ip|141.101.80.87}}
: It actually returns a 1 by 1 pixel white GIF. [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 13:14, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Is there a way that we can merge the "game" part of this comic with the map of [[1110: Click and Drag]]? Allowing us to explore that one in a similar way? [[User:Bon|Bon]] ([[User talk:Bon|talk]]) 11:03, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Well I managed to find (nearly) everything, except the floating rock island, and 162 coins without the map, but even with looking at several maps, I didn't pass any graveyard nor found the way to the grey ocean, which I assume is underneath the "continent". Does anyone know where the entrance is? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.218|162.158.90.218]] 11:54, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Just thought I should say; the comic supports some alternative movement controls, there's the arrow keys, WASD, and also the vi keys (hjkl), and the numpad (8426). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.125|108.162.242.125]] 13:29, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I was not able to get to some points because they were surrounded by text, people or other objects. Is that normal, or are there tricks to get to every coin without using cheats (console)? It would be nice if this could be mention / explained in the article. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.135.35|162.158.135.35]] 13:31, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
:In some cases you can come in from the side as opposed to trying to come down through or up through something. Example: at the X-Wing "gas station", to get that coin, land on the ground to the left of the X-Wing and move to the right on the ground towards the gas station. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:45, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

The list of "areas" in the map would be much easier to read, and much easier to correlate with the map, if the origin were set to the starting area (that is, if the coordinates of the starting area were set to x:0, y:0). What is the reason for the very large numbers? --[[User:BlueMoonlet|BlueMoonlet]] ([[User talk:BlueMoonlet|talk]]) 15:50, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

The starting area is in no way related to pac-man. The lines are not all right angles, there is a timer, there's gravity, there are no aggressors, you're collecting coins instead of pellets.... Not every line maze is pac-man. This is an erroneous reference that should be removed. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.167|198.41.235.167]] 17:16, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

The source code found at https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js does not seem to be complete. I would personally work on de-obfuscating the full source code using the fragment found there but technically the source is covered by implicit copyright laws and that means that if I published a derived work I would be breaking those laws. Should I just change the line from "The source code can be found at ..." to "The full (obfuscated) source code can be found at ...tigl.min.js and a deobfuscated piece of the source code can be found at ...tigl.js". [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 18:28, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I added quick coordinate / teleport access on right-click to the quick hack map. [[User:Kyledavide|Kyledavide]] ([[User talk:Kyledavide|talk]]) 20:45, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Can't be bothered working out how to edit the page, but the explanation contains the phrase "People holding anchor lines to a Star Destroyer" - they're holding anchor lines to a CR90 Corvette, specifically the Tantive IV, commonly referred to as the "Rebel Blockade Runner", which in turn is being *attacked by* a Star Destroyer. I'll get my coat. {{unsigned ip|162.158.153.47}}

That's no 'Children's Swimming Pool', it's a ball pit! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.222|162.158.2.222]] 23:46, 25 November 2015 (UTC)