explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2957: A Crossword Puzzle

2024-07-10T21:00:16Z

162.158.62.249:

{{comic
| number = 2957
| date = July 10, 2024
| title = A Crossword Puzzle
| image = a_crossword_puzzle_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x937px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hint: If you ever encounter this puzzle in a crossword app, just [term for someone with a competitive and high-achieving personality].
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|CreAAAAAAAAted by AAAAAAAAAA BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

* 1 across. Famous pvt. wilhelm quote: Reference to the {{w|Wilhelm scream}}.
* 11 across. An IPv4 record is an "A" record, an IPv6 record is four times the length and is designated an "AAAA" record.
* 22 across. Unary's when you get to use just the one symbol. E.g. 32 in unary would be 11111111111111111111111111111111. The first four strings in unary, if you used A as the first (and only) symbol, would be A, AA, AAA, AAAA.
* 36 across. I.e. "open up". Or an expression of pain; particularly the only kind you can make with dental tools in your mouth. (As Autechre put it: [https://youtu.be/UppsLKz1iD4 "Now, I don't want you to panic... just lean back and relax."])
* 41 across. Macaulay Culkin's review of aftershave: Famously in the movie {{w|Home Alone}} he puts it on because he's home all alone and dislikes it, emitting a scream, which could be transcribed like A's.
* 1 down. {{w|AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity}} - notably the title is commonly extended in promotional material beyond 6 A's.
* 34 down. 440Hz is an "A" note. 7 pulses would be AAAAAAA

"Are all the answers just varying numbers of As?" is a question a hypothetical reader might ask to which the unique correct answer would be "yeah".

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

{{comic discussion}}

2957: A Crossword Puzzle

2024-07-10T20:58:20Z

162.158.62.249:

{{comic
| number = 2957
| date = July 10, 2024
| title = A Crossword Puzzle
| image = a_crossword_puzzle_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x937px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hint: If you ever encounter this puzzle in a crossword app, just [term for someone with a competitive and high-achieving personality].
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|CreAAAAAAAAted by AAAAAAAAAA BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

* 1 across. Famous pvt. wilhelm quote: Reference to the {{w|Wilhelm scream}}.
* 22 across. Unary's when you get to use just the one symbol. E.g. 32 in unary would be 11111111111111111111111111111111. The first four strings in unary, if you used A as the first (and only) symbol, would be A, AA, AAA, AAAA.
* 36 across. I.e. "open up".
* 41 across. Macaulay Culkin's review of aftershave: Famously in the movie {{w|Home Alone}} he puts it on because he's home all alone and dislikes it, emitting a scream, which could be transcribed like A's.
* 1 down. {{w|AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity}} - notably the title is commonly extended in promotional material beyond 6 A's.
* 34 down. 440Hz is an "A" note. 7 pulses would be AAAAAAA

"Are all the answers just varying numbers of As?" is a question a hypothetical reader might ask to which the unique correct answer would be "yeah".

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

{{comic discussion}}

2957: A Crossword Puzzle

2024-07-10T20:57:43Z

162.158.62.249:

{{comic
| number = 2957
| date = July 10, 2024
| title = A Crossword Puzzle
| image = a_crossword_puzzle_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x937px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hint: If you ever encounter this puzzle in a crossword app, just [term for someone with a competitive and high-achieving personality].
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|CreAAAAAAAAted by AAAAAAAAAA BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

* 1 across. Famous pvt. wilhelm quote: Reference to the {{w|Wilhelm scream}}.
* 22 across. Unary's when you get to use just the one symbol. E.g. 32 in unary would be 11111111111111111111111111111111. The first four strings in unary, if you used A as the first (and only) symbol, would be A, AA, AAA, AAAA.
* 36 across. I.e. "open up".
* 41 across. Macaulay Culkin's review of aftershave: Famously in the movie {{w|Home Alone}} he puts it on because he's home all alone and dislikes it, emitting a scream, which could be transcribed like A's.
* 1 down. {{w|AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity}} - notably the title is commonly extended in promotional material beyond 6 A's.
* 34 down. 440Hz is an "A" note. 7 pulses would be AAAAAAA

Are all the answers just varying numbers of As?

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

{{comic discussion}}

2944: Magnet Fishing

2024-06-17T12:00:13Z

162.158.62.249: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2944
| date = June 10, 2024
| title = Magnet Fishing
| image = magnet_fishing_2x.png
| imagesize = 522x356px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The ten-way tie was judged a ten-way tie, so no one won the grand prize, a rare fishing monopole.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Magnet fishing}} is the act of using a magnet to find ferrometallic objects in a body of water. It can be used to recover specific lost items, help to clear a stretch of water of dumped items and/or simply to see what interesting (perhaps valuable) items can be found. This is reminiscent of magnetic fishing games (such as [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13166/lets-go-fishin "Let's Go Fishing"] and [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172530/go-fishing "Go Fishing"]) where players use fishing rods with small magnets on the ends to "catch" fish.

A World Magnet Fishing Championship was apparently only held once, because of the contestants' magnets getting stuck together. This resulted in the fishing lines becoming tangled together, or "tied", for a pun on the competition being declared "tied". It also looks like a tautology, though the first "ten-way tie" depicts how the ten lines are 'knotted' together, and the second indicates the equality of the final score. This suggests that nobody 'fished' anything ''other'' than "all the other nine magnets", prior to the inevitable conclusion.

It's unclear why the World Magnet Fishing Championship has contestants competing simultaneously. Participants go one at a time in a great variety of sporting competitions -- such as diving, figure skating, gymnastics, equestrian -- and the individual performances are graded and compared to determine a winner. If the World Magnet Fishing Championship contestants took turns, it wouldn't have to be cancelled.

The title text states that the competition's prize would have been a "fishing monopole" which typically means the right to fish a certain area exclusively. It has several more meanings though as it could as well refer to a {{w|fishing rod}}, also called a fishing pole, with only a single rod rather than multiple. Most fishing rods only have a single pole so this would not be considered rare. It could also refer to a magnet fishing rod where the magnet is a {{w|magnetic monopole}} rather than a {{w|magnetic dipole}} like all known magnets. This would certainly be rare since no magnetic monopoles have been found and thus would be a certainly be a valuable prize for a competition. The irony of this is that such a magnet would have alleviated the issue of the magnets attracting while fishing. The currently known laws of physics require that if magnetic monopoles exist, electric charge must be quantized. Electric charge ''is'' quantized which is consistent with (but does not prove) magnetic monopoles existing. Finally, 'pole position' (usually in Motorsport) is awarded to the first place qualifier in a competition. With all competitors coming joint first, this is a 'monopole' result.

==Transcript==
:[Ten people are standing on a bridge connecting the steep banks on either side of a body of water. They have all cast strings with magnets over the edge and are holding on to them. All their magnets have, however, got stuck together and as they are pulling them up they hang in a bunch above the water under the middle of the bridge, with all ten lines going out from the bunch of magnets. The characters from left to right are: Hairbun, a person with white hair, Cueball, Megan, another Cueball, White Hat, another Megan, a guy with spiky hair, Ponytail, and Hairy.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The first, and last, World Magnet Fishing Championship

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Physics]]

327: Exploits of a Mom

2021-05-14T15:20:42Z

162.158.62.249: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 327
| date = October 10, 2007
| title = Exploits of a Mom
| image = exploits_of_a_mom.png
| titletext = Her daughter is named Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Mrs. Roberts]] receives a call from her [[Little Bobby Tables|son]]'s school. The caller, likely one of the school's administrators, asks if she really named her son <code>Robert'); DROP TABLE Students;--</code>, a rather unusual name {{citation needed}}. Perhaps surprisingly, Mrs. Roberts responds in the affirmative, claiming that she uses the nickname "Little Bobby Tables." As the full name is read into the school's system's databases without {{w|Data sanitization#SQL injection|data sanitization}}, it causes the "Students" table in the database to be dropped, meaning it gets deleted.

The title of this comic is a pun. ''Exploit'' can mean an accomplishment or heroic deed, but in computer science, the term refers to a program or technique that takes advantage of a vulnerability in other software. In fact, one could say that her exploit is to exploit an exploit (her achievement is to make use of a vulnerability). The title can also refer to her choice of name for her son, which is rather extraordinary.

In {{w|SQL}}, a database programming language, commands are separated by semicolons <code>;</code>, and strings of text are often delimited using single quotes <code>'</code>. Parts of commands may also be enclosed in parentheses <code>(</code> and <code>)</code>. Data entries are stored as "rows" within named "tables" of similar items (e.g., <code>Students</code>). The command to delete an entire table (and thus every row of data in that table) is <code>DROP TABLE</code>, as in <code>DROP TABLE Students;</code>.

The exploited vulnerability here is that the single quote in the name input was not correctly "escaped" by the software. That is, if a student's name did indeed contain a quote mark, it should have been read as one of the characters making up the text string and not as the marker to close the string, which it erroneously was. Lack of careful parsing is a common SQL vulnerability; this type of exploit is referred to as {{w|SQL injection}}. Mrs. Roberts thus reminds the school to make sure that they have added data filtering code to prevent code injection exploits in the future.

For example, to add information about Elaine to a data table called 'Students', the SQL query could be:
 <code>INSERT INTO Students (firstname) VALUES ('Elaine');</code>

However, using the odd name <code>Robert');DROP TABLE Students;-- </code> where we used "Elaine" above, the SQL query becomes:
 <code>INSERT INTO Students (firstname) VALUES ('Robert');DROP TABLE Students;-- ');</code>

By insertion of the two semi-colons in the odd name, this is now three well-formed SQL commands:
 <code>
INSERT INTO Students (firstname) VALUES ('Robert');

DROP TABLE Students;

-- ');
</code>

The first line is valid SQL code that will legitimately insert data about a student named Robert.

The second line is valid injected SQL code that will delete the whole Student data table from the database.

The third line is a valid code comment (<code>-- </code> denotes a comment), which will cause the rest of the line to be ignored by the SQL server.

For this to work, it helps to know the structure of the database. But it's quite a good guess that a school's student management database might have a table named <code>Students</code>.

Of course, in real life, most exploits of this kind would be performed not by engineering a person's name such that it would eventually be entered into a school database query, but rather by accessing some kind of input system (such as a website's login screen or search interface) and guessing various combinations by trial and error until something works, perhaps by first trying to inject the <code>SHOW TABLES;</code> command to see how the database is structured.

To correctly and harmlessly include the odd name in the Students table in the school database the correct SQL is:
 <code>INSERT INTO Students (firstname) VALUES ('Robert<nowiki>''</nowiki>);DROP TABLE Students;-- ');</code>

Note that the single quote after Robert is now sanitized by doubling it, which changes it from malicious code to harmless data, and the full first 'name' of the student <code>Robert';DROP TABLE Students;--</code> is now stored correctly.

It should be noted that while data sanitization can mitigate the risks of SQL injection, the proper prevention technique is to use {{w|Prepared statement}}s.

Noting the difference between the "actual" name using the word TABLE and the child's nickname being Bobby Tables, one could argue that there's an implied reference to one of the most argued topics of database naming conventions - should table names be singular or plural.

The title text references that Mrs. Roberts' daughter is named "Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory". This is a play on how if someone is stuck and forced to work in a manufacturing factory/plant, then they will write on the product "Help I am trapped in a ____ factory" in order to tell people on the outside. Having this name would cause any police officer who pulls her over to show some concern. And getting the license in the first place would likely be difficult. The idea of inserting a help message like this was already used in [[10: Pi Equals]].


==Transcript==
:[Mrs. Roberts receives a call from her son's school on her wireless phone. She is standing with a cup of hot coffee or tea (shown with a small line above the cup) facing a small round three-legged table to the right. The voice of the caller is indicated to come from the phone with a zigzag line.]
:Voice over the phone: Hi, This is your son's school. We're having some computer trouble.

:[In this frame-less panel Mrs. Roberts has put the cup down on the table turned facing out.]
:Mrs. Roberts: Oh, dear – did he break something?
:Voice over the phone: In a way –

:[Mrs. Roberts is now drinking from the cup again looking right. The table is not shown.]
:Voice over the phone: Did you really name your son <code>Robert'); DROP TABLE Students;--</code> ?
:Mrs. Roberts: Oh, yes. Little Bobby Tables, we call him.

:[Mrs. Roberts holds the cup down.]
:Voice over the phone: Well, we've lost this year's student records. I hope you're happy.
:Mrs. Roberts: And I hope you've learned to sanitize your database inputs.

==Trivia==

This comic has become rather famous, spawning a site at http://bobby-tables.com about preventing SQL injection and also at the official [https://docs.python.org/2/library/sqlite3.html Python SQLite documentation]. Noted security expert {{w|Bruce Schneier}} (who often quotes xkcd) [https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/10/pen-and-paper_s.html mentioned a similar attack] that happened in the 2010 Swedish general elections, and [https://blog.xkcd.com/2010/05/03/color-survey-results/ several people tried it on Randall's color survey].

In [[1253: Exoplanet Names]], someone (presumably Mrs. Roberts) attempts to perform a similar trick, submitting the name <code>e'); DROP TABLE PLANETS;--</code> to the IAU.

It is later revealed in [[342: 1337: Part 2]] that the daughter's middle name is [[Elaine]] (full name: ''Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory Elaine Roberts''). This is thus the first time Elaine is mentioned. Seems like this comic was a setup for the "[[:Category:1337|1337]]" series where both this exploiting mom's kids are shown for the first time.

This comic is available as a signed print in the [https://store.xkcd.com/products/signed-prints xkcd store].

In 2020 this happened in real life: [https://www.engadget.com/compan-changes-name-over-website-hack-risk-215412415.html Company made to change name that could be used for website hacks].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Mrs. Roberts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Little Bobby Tables]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Elaine Roberts]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]

1601: Isolation

2018-09-04T20:13:19Z

162.158.62.249: /* Explanation */ Streamlined explanation to be more correct, and cleaned up the rest of the explanation

{{comic
| number = 1601
| date = November 9, 2015
| title = Isolation
| image = isolation.png
| titletext = 2060: The gregarious superintelligent AI, happily talking its way out of a box, is fast becoming a relic of the past. Today's quantum hyper-beings are too busy with their internal multiverse sims to even notice that they're in boxes at all!
}}

==Explanation==
The comic begins by showing how people have always complained about the negative effects of technology on conversation - that people get '''isolated''' while using these new technologies (whether they be books, TV, or smart phones), hence the title.

In the first panel, a [[Cueball]]-like guy complains that books are having this effect. In the second panel, another Cueball complains about newspapers, then a third Cueball complains about magazines, a fourth complains about television, a fifth complains about portable music players, and the sixth complains about smart-phones.

The joke is a subversion of expectations: On reading the first five and a half panels you're led to believe the comic is a commentary on how new technologies are often wrongly criticized for their effect on social interaction (Similar to [[1227: The Pace of Modern Life]]). The sixth panel reveals that the person criticizing the new technology in each panel is actually the same unaging Cueball - and rather than the technologies referenced being the cause of social isolation, those around him have instead been using new technologies as excuses to ignore him for nearly 200 years, as they find him annoying.

The title text refers to the [http://yudkowsky.net/singularity/aibox/ AI-box experiment], formulated by {{w|Eliezer Yudkowsky}}, which argues that creating a super-intelligent artificial intelligence can be dangerous, because even if it is put on a secure computer ("box") with no access to the Internet, it can convince its operators to "release it from the box" just by talking to them. This idea was already mentioned in [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]], although there the AI already did not wish to leave the box.

According to the title text, the first AI that did talk its way out of its box turned out to be a {{w|Friendly artificial intelligence|friendly AI}} that was fond of others company and in general very sociable (''[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gregarious gregarious]''). This happened at some point between 2015 and 2060, because by 2060 this AI had already become a relic of the past, and the new generation of ''quantum hyper-beings'' ({{w|quantum computing}} AI minds, vastly more intelligent than either humans or the aforementioned superintelligent AI) are spending all of their time playing in their own {{w|multiverse}} simulators to even notice that, in the real world, they are locked up in a box.

==Transcript==
:[Above each panel a year is written in a small box that breaks the top of the panels frame. Cueball is talking in all six frames. In the first frame he is standing between a standing guy with pageboy hairstyle and a sitting Ponytail. She is sitting in an armchair. Both are reading books. Cueball points towards them with his arms out.]
:1840
:Cueball: The modern bookworm is too busy ''reading'' about the world to ''look'' at it.

:[Cueball is pointing to the left with both arms out towards Hairy who is sitting at a dining table with his breakfast eating something while reading his newspaper. On the table are a cup and a plate.]
:1880
:Cueball: No one '''''talks''''' anymore - we take our daily newspapers in silence.

:[Cueball is pointing to the right with one arm at Megan who walks away from him while reading a magazine.]
:1910
:Cueball: The magazine is destroying conversation. We even read as we walk!

:[Cueball is standing to the left. In the background Ponytail and Hairy is sitting on a rug in front of a TV standing on top of a small TV table. The TV is of the broad kind with cathode ray tubes and it has two antennas on top.]
:1960
:Cueball: Television has put an end to family discussion.

:[Cueball is standing up in a bus holding on to a railing. To his left stands Ponytail and to his right sits Hairbun. Both of them are listening to their Walkman’s which they are holding in their hand while listening to them through headphones.]
:1980
:Cueball: Thanks to the Sony Walkman, anti-social isolation is now the norm.

:[Cueball is standing to the left. Megan and another Cueball-like guy are standing to the right facing each other but looking down at their smartphones. Both are listening to them through their headphones.]
:2015
:Cueball: We've become too absorbed in our phones to notice the-
:Megan: '''''Dude. ''''' It's been '''''two centuries. '''''
:Megan: '''''Take a hint. '''''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

417: The Man Who Fell Sideways

2018-08-13T02:33:32Z

162.158.62.249: /* Explanation */ Example of antanaclasis?

{{comic
| number = 417
| date = April 30, 2008
| title = The Man Who Fell Sideways
| image = the man who fell sideways.png
| titletext = Strip originally conceived in conversation with Jeph Jacques. Soon to be a major motion picture.
}}

==Explanation==
[[File:A Matter of Some Gravity.png|right]]

This comic is humorously built-up like a short drama story, about a man with an unusual condition.

It might have been inspired by the {{w|Uncle Scrooge}} adventure comic "{{w|A Matter of Some Gravity}}" ([http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=D+96001 Inducks]) by {{w|Don Rosa}}, in which {{w|Magica de Spell}} makes gravity pull sideways at {{w|Scrooge McDuck}} and {{w|Donald Duck}}.
The same topic is covered by 1996 graphic novel ''{{w|L'enfant penchée}}'' (''The Leaning Child'') but, as it was only published in English in 2014, it’s very unlikely to be a source of inspiration for this comic.

"Soon to be a major motion picture" in the title text might refer to ''{{w|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button}}'', a film released later in 2008 (and based on a short story), in which the protagonist Benjamin suffers of the impossible condition of aging backwards.

"Over land... and sea", might be from the song "Nature Boy" by {{w|eden ahbez}}. Nat King Cole sung (the most famous version) about "A very strange, enchanted boy. They say he wandered very far, very far over land and sea".

The title text mentions {{w|Jeph Jacques}}, who runs the webcomic ''{{w|Questionable Content}}''. Jeph has also described the creation of this comic in his [http://jephjacques.com/post/11265563239/qa-dump-09 blog].

When Cueball hits Megan, he knocks her down and knocks her up, in what is probably intended to be a visual form of {{w|antanaclasis}}. Megan tells [[Hairy]] about a person knocking her over and tumbling into the distance. She hints that she is falling for him which might be a joke regarding Cueball's condition.

The baby shares his tendency to be pulled sideways by gravity, but this apparently does not start until she is born, because Megan and the doctor do not seem to have been expecting it. If gravity had affected the unborn fetus in the same way, Megan would have been able to feel it, would have noticed that her uterus was hanging differently, and would have had difficulty balancing due to the sideways forces.

The last panel is a reference to the opening scene of ''{{w|The Lion King}}'', called 'The Circle Of Life'.

The first part of the comic has some resemblance to this much later comic: [[1376: Jump]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball standing, with a dotted line perpendicular to him and a 30 degree angle going downwards.]
:From a young age, gravity pulled him wrong.
:[Cueball bouncing around his house.]
:Sometimes east, sometimes west. When he was restrained, it grew erratic.
:''WHAM WHAM''
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground.]
:So he fell.
:Cueball: AAAA
:''THUMPA THUMPA''
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in a desert.]
:Constantly
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling off a rock on the ground in a desert.]
:Over land...
:Cueball: AAAAA-''THUD''-A
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in the desert.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in the desert.]
:Cueball: A-''THUD''-AAAAAA
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in the desert.]
:Cueball: AA-''THUD''-AAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:And sea.
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:Cueball: AAAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAA
:[Tree in the savanna, with Cueball off the panel.]
:He found, where he could, food-
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAA
:[Tree in the savanna, with Cueball still off the panel, but zoomed out so that part of Cueball's bounce/roll path is visible.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball upside-down, still bouncing/rolling in the savannah, with a gazelle galloping away from him.]
:''GALLOP GALLOP''
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Savanna with a tree in it.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAA
:[Megan standing, with Cueball off screen.]
:And love.
:Cueball: AAAA-''THUD''-AAAA
:[Megan standing, with Cueball off screen.]
:Cueball: ''THUD'' ACK ''CRASH''
:[Cueball crashing into Megan]
:Cueball: Hiwhat'syourname-
:''WHAM''
:[Megan on the ground, with Cueball off screen.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAA-''THUD''-AAA
:[Megan speaking to Hairy.]
:Megan: I met this guy. He knocked me over and tumbled into the distance.
:[Megan speaking to the same man from the previous panel, with Hairy's hand to his mouth.]
:Megan: We only shared a few seconds, but in his panicked scream I heard something beautiful.
:[Megan speaking to the same man from the previous panel.]
:Megan: I think... I think I'm...
:[Megan speaking to the same man from the previous panel.]
:Hairy: Falling for him?
:Megan: I wasn't going to say it.
:[Megan at hospital with doctor, giving birth.]
:She never saw him again. But nine months later...
:Doctor: Okay, push!
:[Megan at hospital with doctor and new baby, who is bouncing/rolling away.]
:Doctor: It's a gir-
:Megan: !!
:Doctor: Whoops!
:Baby: Ga! Ga!
:[Baby bouncing/rolling out of hospital.]
:Baby: WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE
:[Baby bouncing/rolling in front of a sunset.]
:Baby: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
:The End

==Trivia==
There is a [https://youtu.be/Rew-Q1b7kdo fan made animated version of this comic].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:The Lion King]]

1930: Calendar Facts

2017-12-18T18:44:58Z

162.158.62.249: /* Explanation */ Indiana is not a joke

{{comic
| number = 1930
| date = December 18, 2017
| title = Calendar Facts
| image = calendar_facts.png
| titletext = While it may seem like trivia, it (causes huge headaches for software developers / is taken advantage of by high-speed traders / triggered the 2003 Northeast Blackout / has to be corrected for by GPS satellites / is now recognized as a major cause of World War I).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by BLACKHAT / A BOBCAT / TIME TRAVEL / BAD CODE / A VELOCIRAPTOR / AN ANONYMOUS COWARD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Randall]] presents what appears to be a generator of 156,000 facts, about calendars, most of which are false or have little meaning{{Citation needed}}. The facts are seeded by a mishmash of common tidbits about the time of year.

The formula for each generated fact goes as follows: "Did you know that '''[a recurring event]''' '''[occurs in an unusual manner]''' because of '''[a phenomenon or natural property]'''? Apparently '''[wild card statement]'''."

This is the fifth time that Randall has referred to the phenomenon of a [[:Category:Supermoon|Supermoon]], which he tupically makes fun of, most prominent in [[1394: Superm*n]].

The title text continues the chart with an inside information of what this tiny trivia actually have of real life consequences.

{| class="wikitable"
! Entry
! What it is
! Relation to other entries
|-
! colspan="3" | Recurring Events
|-
| The [Fall/Spring] Equinox
| The time of year at which the Earth's axis is on a plane perpendicular to the line from the Earth to the Sun, and the time that the Sun is above the horizon is 12 hours across the globe.
| Before the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1582, the equinoxes fell on earlier and earlier dates as the centuries went by, due to the Julian calendar year being 365.25 days on average compared to the tropical Earth year of 365.2422 days. Pope Gregory's decision to remove the leap days on years that were multiples of 100 but not 400 corrected the average length of the calendar year to 365.2425 days.
|-
| The [Winter/Summer] Solstice
| The winter and summer solstices are the time of year at which the Earth's axis is on the same plane as the line from the Earth to the Sun, and the days are the longest in the Northern or Southern hemisphere respectively.
| Similar to the equinoxes, the solstices were also falling on earlier dates every year before the Gregorian Calendar.
|-
| The [Winter/Summer] Olympics
| The Winter and Summer Olympics are the Olympic Games in two different seasons.
| The Olympics do not have any set dates, and seem to have been included simply because they are also something that alternate occurring in the winter and summer.
|-
! colspan="3" | Unusual manners in which the events occur
|-
| happens [earlier/later/at the wrong time] every year
|
| The solstices and equinoxes happened earlier every year ''before'' the decree by Pope Gregory in 1582. The earliest sunrise happens one hour later than it "should" happen due to daylight saving time having turned the clocks forward one hour.
|-
! colspan="3" | Phenomena or political decisions
|-
| the zone legislation in [Indiana/Arizona/Russia]
| Some states or provinces have time zone legislation that sets the standard time to something other than what the natural latitude of that location would suggest.
| * The state of Arizona generally does not observe daylight saving time, keeping their clocks on UTC-7:00 Mountain Standard Time year round. However, the Navajo nation inside Arizona does observe it, causing the two regions to have different times in the summer and the same time in the winter.
* Time zones in Russia are all one hour behind what their latitude would suggest.
* Indiana has a complicated history with Daylight Savings, likely related to the state being split between two Time Zones. (see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Indiana Time in Indiana])
|-
! colspan="3" | Consequences
|-
! colspan="3" | Title Text
|}

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

Title: -Calendar Facts-

''Shown is a branching flow chart of sorts that begins at the phrase "Did you know that", then flows through various paths to build up a sentence. (Note that the "→" arrow symbol is used below to indicate a new branch with no intermediate text from a previous branch.)''

* Did you know that:
** the ( Fall | Spring ) Equinox
** the ( Winter | Summer ) ( Solstice | Olympics )
** the ( Earliest | Latest ) ( Sunrise | Sunset )
** Daylight ( Saving | Savings ) Time
** Leap ( Day | Year )
** Easter
** the ( Harvest | Super | Blood ) Moon
** Toyota Truck Month
** Shark Week
* →
** happens ( earlier | later | at the wrong time ) every year
** drifts out of sync with the
*** Sun
*** Moon
*** Zodiac
*** ( Gregorian | Mayan | Lunar | iPhone ) Calendar
*** atomic clock in Colorado
** might ( not happen | happen twice ) this year
* because of
** time zone legislation in ( Indiana | Arizona | Russia )
** a decree by the pope in the 1500s
** ( precession | libration | nutation | libation | eccentricity | obliquity ) of the
*** Moon
*** Sun
*** Earth's axis
*** equator
*** prime meridian
*** ( international date | mason-dixon ) line
** magnetic field reversal
** an arbitrary decision by ( Benjamin Franklin | Isaac Newton | FDR )
* ?
* Apparently
** it causes a predictable increase in car accidents.
** that's why we have leap seconds.
** scientists are really worried.
** it was even more extreme during the
*** Bronze Age.
*** Ice Age.
*** Cretaceous.
*** 1990s.
** there's a proposal to fix it, but it
*** will never happen.
*** actually makes things worse.
*** is stalled in congress.
*** might be unconstitutional.
** it's getting worse and no one knows why.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Daylight saving time]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Supermoon]]

1930: Calendar Facts

2017-12-18T18:40:00Z

162.158.62.249: /* Transcript */ minor typo cleanup

{{comic
| number = 1930
| date = December 18, 2017
| title = Calendar Facts
| image = calendar_facts.png
| titletext = While it may seem like trivia, it (causes huge headaches for software developers / is taken advantage of by high-speed traders / triggered the 2003 Northeast Blackout / has to be corrected for by GPS satellites / is now recognized as a major cause of World War I).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by BLACKHAT / A BOBCAT / TIME TRAVEL / BAD CODE / A VELOCIRAPTOR / AN ANONYMOUS COWARD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Randall]] presents what appears to be a generator of 156,000 facts, about calendars, most of which are false or have little meaning{{Citation needed}}. The facts are seeded by a mishmash of common tidbits about the time of year.

The formula for each generated fact goes as follows: "Did you know that '''[a recurring event]''' '''[occurs in an unusual manner]''' because of '''[a phenomenon or natural property]'''? Apparently '''[wild card statement]'''."

{| class="wikitable"
! Entry
! What it is
! Relation to other entries
|-
! colspan="3" | Recurring Events
|-
| The [Fall/Spring] Equinox
| The time of year at which the Earth's axis is on a plane perpendicular to the line from the Earth to the Sun, and the time that the Sun is above the horizon is 12 hours across the globe.
| Before the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1582, the equinoxes fell on earlier and earlier dates as the centuries went by, due to the Julian calendar year being 365.25 days on average compared to the tropical Earth year of 365.2422 days. Pope Gregory's decision to remove the leap days on years that were multiples of 100 but not 400 corrected the average length of the calendar year to 365.2425 days.
|-
| The [Winter/Summer] Solstice
| The winter and summer solstices are the time of year at which the Earth's axis is on the same plane as the line from the Earth to the Sun, and the days are the longest in the Northern or Southern hemisphere respectively.
| Similar to the equinoxes, the solstices were also falling on earlier dates every year before the Gregorian Calendar.
|-
| The [Winter/Summer] Olympics
| The Winter and Summer Olympics are the Olympic Games in two different seasons.
| The Olympics do not have any set dates, and seem to have been included simply because they are also something that alternate occurring in the winter and summer.
|-
! colspan="3" | Unusual manners in which the events occur
|-
| happens [earlier/later/at the wrong time] every year
|
| The solstices and equinoxes happened earlier every year ''before'' the decree by Pope Gregory in 1582. The earliest sunrise happens one hour later than it "should" happen due to daylight saving time having turned the clocks forward one hour.
|-
! colspan="3" | Phenomena or political decisions
|-
| the zone legislation in [Indiana/Arizona/Russia]
| Some states or provinces have time zone legislation that sets the standard time to something other than what the natural latitude of that location would suggest.
| * The state of Arizona generally does not observe daylight saving time, keeping their clocks on UTC-7:00 Mountain Standard Time year round. However, the Navajo nation inside Arizona does observe it, causing the two regions to have different times in the summer and the same time in the winter.
* Time zones in Russia are all one hour behind what their latitude would suggest.
* Indiana is a joke.
|-
! colspan="3" | Consequences
|-
! colspan="3" | Title Text
|}

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

Title: -Calendar Facts-

''Shown is a branching flow chart of sorts that begins at the phrase "Did you know that", then flows through various paths to build up a sentence. (Note that the "→" arrow symbol is used below to indicate a new branch with no intermediate text from a previous branch.)''

* Did you know that:
** the ( Fall | Spring ) Equinox
** the ( Winter | Summer ) ( Solstice | Olympics )
** the ( Earliest | Latest ) ( Sunrise | Sunset )
** Daylight ( Saving | Savings ) Time
** Leap ( Day | Year )
** Easter
** the ( Harvest | Super | Blood ) Moon
** Toyota Truck Month
** Shark Week
* →
** happens ( earlier | later | at the wrong time ) every year
** drifts out of sync with the
*** Sun
*** Moon
*** Zodiac
*** ( Gregorian | Mayan | Lunar | iPhone ) Calendar
*** atomic clock in Colorado
** might ( not happen | happen twice ) this year
* because of
** time zone legislation in ( Indiana | Arizona | Russia )
** a decree by the pope in the 1500s
** ( precession | libration | nutation | libation | eccentricity | obliquity ) of the
*** Moon
*** Sun
*** Earth's axis
*** equator
*** prime meridian
*** ( international date | mason-dixon ) line
** magnetic field reversal
** an arbitrary decision by ( Benjamin Franklin | Isaac Newton | FDR )
* ?
* Apparently
** it causes a predictable increase in car accidents.
** that's why we have leap seconds.
** scientists are really worried.
** it was even more extreme during the
*** Bronze Age.
*** Ice Age.
*** Cretaceous.
*** 1990s.
** there's a proposal to fix it, but it
*** will never happen.
*** actually makes things worse.
*** is stalled in congress.
*** might be unconstitutional.
** it's getting worse and no one knows why.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Daylight saving time]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Supermoon]]

1062: Budget News

2017-11-28T22:49:03Z

162.158.62.249: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1062
| date = May 30, 2012
| title = Budget News
| image = budget_news.png
| titletext = I will vote, no questions asked, for any candidate who describes themselves as 'more of a deficit sugar glider.'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a use of homonym of the word "hawk" in the phrase "{{w|Deficit hawk}}". Wikipedia has a great definition: "Deficit hawk is an American political slang term for people who place great emphasis on keeping the federal budget under control. Deficit hawks believe the best way to reduce the deficit, pay off national debt, and balance the budget is by a combination of increasing taxes and cutting government spending."

And obviously, a {{w|hawk}} is a type of bird of prey. In this case, the prey is politicians. This event may have been contrived, as a certain [[Black Hat]] is visible in the audience.

In the title text, there is a reference to the {{w|sugar glider}}, which is a small gliding possum originating from the {{w|marsupial}} infraclass or subclass. They are generally considered to be cute and harmless, as well as being relatively obscure, indicating a politician who is humorous and good-natured enough to make such a comparison, as well as nerdy enough to know what a sugar glider is.

==Transcript==
:[The front page of a newspaper with the name of the paper in large gray letters at the top, and several unreadable sections left of, right of, and below the main front page news. A large heading is written to the left of a photo on the right. In the photo a man with black hair who has been standing behind a lectern with a microphone delivering a speech is falling towards the left and holding out one hand in that direction while blocking his face with the other hand against an attack from a large black bird. Below the podium with the lectern is the top of the crowd in the front row. Five Cueball-like guys (two cut off at the edges), a person with black hair and Black Hat to the right can be seen. Below the headline and below the picture are black lines indicating the main text in the article.]
:Title:The <big><big>'''Daily News'''</big></big> 
:Headline:'''Deficit Hawk Attacked by Regular One'''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1056: Felidae

2017-11-27T22:30:48Z

162.158.62.249: /* Explanation: */ fixing spelling, added note on names.

{{comic
| number = 1056
| date = May 16, 2012
| title = Felidae
| image = felidae.png
| titletext = 'Smilodon fatalis' narrowly edged out 'Tyrannosaurus rex' to win this year's Most Badass Latin Names competition, after edging out 'Dracorex hogwartsia' and 'Stygimoloch spinifer' (meaning 'horned dragon from the river of death') in the semifinals.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic shows a graph with three parts.

First, the names are sorted up by genera (plural of {{w|genus}}, a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms) from bottom to top of which animals would win in a fight. Secondly, the names within the genus are then sorted by coolness of name from left to right (the degree of "coolness" of the name is apparently determined in subjective manner by the author). Thirdly, in red you can see the direction that {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple}} has taken with nicknaming the versions of their {{w|OS X}} operating system. They started at v10.0 "Cheetah", and have moved through genera from there in no order that this chart can make out.

{| class="wikitable"
!OS X version
!Code name
!Year released
|-
|10.0||Cheetah||2001
|-
|10.1||Puma||2001
|-
|10.2||Jaguar||2002
|-
|10.3||Panther||2003
|-
|10.4||Tiger||2004
|-
|10.5||Leopard||2006
|-
|10.6||Snow Leopard||2008
|-
|10.7||Lion||2010
|-
|10.8||Mountain Lion||2012
|}

Please note that the second words in "Snow Leopard" and "Mountain Lion" are capitalized in the table because they are used as the proper names of the operating system versions. In their normal use, as species {{w|vernacular name}}s, they are not capitalized and are written as "snow leopard" and "mountain lion".

[[:Category:Bobcats|Bobcats]] are a running XKCD joke, so their inclusion is to be expected. The genus ''Puma'' here only lists synonyms for the puma (see {{w|cougar}}) instead of {{w|Puma_(genus)|the actual genus}}. Of course, the three OS X versions named by three of these synonyms are not the same.

Since this comic was published, Apple has stopped naming versions of OS X after big cats. Now, Apple names their OSX versions after Californian landmarks. OSX v10.8 "Mountain Lion" was followed by v10.9 "Mavericks", named after a beach in California, followed by v10.10 "Yosemite", named after the California national park, v10.11 "El Capitan", named after the rock formation in Yosemite National Park, and v10.12 "Sierra", named after the Sierra Madre Mountains located in western California.

The title of the chart depicted on the comic ("OS X problem") is perhaps an allusion to the {{w|Travelling salesman problem|travelling salesman problem}}, as the directed arrows and graph nodes might appear as a possible path of the salesperson between the cities. The computational difficulty of the travelling salesman problem might echo with the difficulties that the author has with trying to figure out the underlying reason for naming the OS X versions in particular order. The chart thus looks like a parody on the scientific presentation.

In the title text, a Smilodon fatalis is a saber-tooth cat, a Dracorex hogwartsia is a dinosaur whose skull looks like that of a fairy tale dragon, and a Stygimoloch spinifer is one of the last dinosaurs before the K-T (Cretaceous-Paleogene) extinction about 66 million years ago. Notably, it's possible both Stygimoloch and Dracorex are in fact juvenile members of the genus Pachycepholosaurus who were wrongly identified as a separate species, meaning two of Randall's top four coolest extinct animal names would no longer be recognized. All of the animals mentioned in the title text are now extinct.

==Transcript==
:Well-known felines:
:[A graph organizing various feline species labeled with common names ordered by genera (in order of which would win in a fight) on the y axis, and coolness of name on the x axis.]
:Smilodon (extinct): "Saber-toothed cat (scientific name: Smilodon fatalis)
:Panthera: "Jaguar", "Leopard", "Snow Leopard", "Tiger", "Lion"
:Puma: "Cougar", "Puma", "Panther", "Mountain Lion"
:Other felidae: "Ocelot", "Cheetah"
:Felis & Lynx: "Housecat", "Bobcat", "Wildcat", "Lynx"
:[Some elements are further connected using an unbranched acyclic digraph. The elements are connected thus: "Cheetah" -> "Puma" -> "Jaguar" -> "Panther" -> "Tiger" -> "Leopard" -> "Snow Leopard" -> "Lion" -> "Mountain Lion".]
:The OS X Problem

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Bobcats]]
[[Category:Animals]]

36: Scientists

2017-01-17T02:21:25Z

162.158.62.249: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 36
| date =  2006
| title = Scientists
| image = scientists.jpg
| titletext = A leading expert characterized the situation as 'retarded'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic plays on the type of statement that news reports often use: "in what [group of experts] are calling '[quote]'", to add more weight and credibility to their stories. In this case, [[Cueball]] is using the phrase to attempt to add gravitas to the (relatively mundane) fact that his shoes are missing and he thinks it's "pretty gay" by assigning this opinion to scientists (rather than it being, presumably, his friend's or his own opinion). The same joke is at play in the image text where a leading expert thinks the situation is "retarded".

There may be a second level to the joke: Randall was still working for NASA at the time the comic was posted, so his friends at that time would presumably include scientists and "leading experts". If his friends made fun of him for not being able to find his shoes, it would therefore be accurate to say that scientists had made those statements. However, since their being scientists is irrelevant to the legitimacy of their opinions about Randall's shoe problems, presenting their teasing as an expert opinion is humorously misleading; a similar joke is at play in [[1206: Einstein]].

The phrases "pretty gay" and "retarded" are politically incorrect slang for "dumb", and so they are the opposite type of speech expected of experts on news reports.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is staring at an empty box on the floor.]
:In what scientists are calling "pretty gay", I can't find my shoes.

==Trivia==
*This comic was never posted on [[LiveJournal]].
**But its "comic number" was still among the 44 comics that was posted on the day the xkcd web site opened (1st of January 2006).
**41 one of these were previously posted on LiveJournal; only three were not.
**The other two are [[5: Blown apart]] and [[12: Poisson]].
*However comic #36 was originally posted as a duplicate of comic [[10: Pi Equals]]. This was corrected some time between [http://web.archive.org/web/20060423175703/http://www.xkcd.com/c36.html April 23, 2006] and [http://web.archive.org/web/20060705231511/http://xkcd.com/c36.html July 5, 2006] when the current version showed up in the web archive (see the links).
**The comic looks like one of Randall's old drawings. So when he realized his mistake (over three months after it was originally posted) he probably found an old drawing he never originally intended to use, and posted it, to not make it stand out compared to the other comics from that time.
**This is the reason there is not date for this comic. It can be any time between the two dates mentioned above.

{{Comic discussion}}
[[Category:No date]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Language]]

Talk:1776: Reindeer

2016-12-23T15:19:45Z

162.158.62.249:

Captcha does not work on mobile browser. (Android Firefox) Had to switch over to laptop to make edit. Also, it's two words, not one as the thing above implies ("To help protect against automated edit spam, please type the word you see in the box below:") ~Dartania [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.141|162.158.74.141]] 14:03, 23 December 2016 (UTC)

: This post was made with Firefox on Android. Are you sure you didn’t just get a difficult CAPTCHA? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.214|108.162.216.214]] 14:32, 23 December 2016 (UTC)
Title text could be a parody of "When what to my wondering eyes should appear/but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer" from "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ('Twas the Night Before Christmas) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus's_reindeer#Eight_reindeer
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.10|172.68.78.10]] 14:42, 23 December 2016 (UTC)
: Seems more likely to be a few lines later, “And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof / The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.” [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.249|162.158.62.249]] 15:19, 23 December 2016 (UTC)

Talk:121: Balloon

2016-12-20T06:16:51Z

162.158.62.249: What would really happen?

From the wording of the comic, I think this is a reference to a film or a TV show.{{unsigned ip|120.148.234.14}}

[[Special:Contributions/72.193.171.120|72.193.171.120]] 00:40, 23 September 2013 (UTC) I thought it was a reference to a scene from the French Film, The Red Balloon, but I couldn't find a full movie where I could watch it for free without signing up for something. If there's a restaurant scene in that movie, that might be my guess.[[Special:Contributions/72.193.171.120|72.193.171.120]] 00:40, 23 September 2013 (UTC)

The title text could be a reference to the pilot episode of Firefly where Mal says, "I am a bad man" after tormented Simon for fun. --[[Special:Contributions/160.5.148.8|160.5.148.8]] 07:25, 24 October 2013 (UTC)

The balloon never goes inside in the movie [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Balloon The Red Balloon].[[User:Adamaustin|-adamaustin]] ([[User talk:Adamaustin|talk]]) 16:39, 13 November 2013 (UTC)

I think the first comment here was wondering if "The Restaurant" is the name of any piece of work. Mainly because that's whati was wondering, though. :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.23|108.162.208.23]] 18:31, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

I could be wrong, but I don’t think most ceiling fans or balloon strings are strong enough to lift any child that size. I’m not sure what would happen, though, and it almost certainly depends on how securely the child is holding the balloon. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.249|162.158.62.249]] 06:16, 20 December 2016 (UTC)

1769: Never Seen Star Wars

2016-12-18T21:17:39Z

162.158.62.249: Change verb tense on Rogue One release date

{{comic
| number = 1769
| date = December 7, 2016
| title = Never Seen Star Wars
| image = never_seen_star_wars.png
| titletext = If anyone calls you on any weird detail, just say it's from the Jedi Prince book series, which contains so much random incongruous stuff that even most Expanded Universe/Legends fans collectively agreed to forget about it decades ago.
}}

==Explanation==
[[White Hat]] tries to start a conversation with [[Cueball]] about the [[wikipedia:Star Wars|''Star Wars'']] space opera film franchise, which Cueball cuts short by stating that he has never seen the movies. This deeply astonishes White Hat. Because the movies are known worldwide and are ingrained into American pop culture, White Hat considers seeing ''Star Wars'' a universal experience.

Cueball reasons that not having watched the films is the "default option", the option that applies if a person makes no explicit choice. In this case it means that if a person does not make the explicit choice to watch the films, then they remain in their initial state of not having watched them. There is some (mildly flawed but still relevant) logic to this: it has been estimated that about 1 billion people, about 15% of the world's population, have seen at least one of the Star Wars movies. This means that about 85% of people alive today have, intentionally or otherwise, exercised that default option. Even accounting for people who have never had the option of seeing Star Wars movies (through poverty, age, country of residence, what have you) people who have not seen Star Wars are still in the majority.

However, the Star Wars mythology is so frequently referenced in American popular culture that it's difficult to consume a normal media diet in the US without being exposed to enough quotes, clips, references, parodies and analogies to piece together most of the plot and major scenes of the films, even having taken no action to see them. Even without having watched it, it's reasonable that White Hat would expect Cueball to know something about the series. He is right, as it happens, since Cueball is able to recognize that "{{w|Death Star}}" is a ''Star Wars'' reference, and later knows that Darth Vader is a major character and that there exists something known as Jedi.

When White Hat finally begins to grasp that Cueball has indeed not seen ''Star Wars'', he declares that they must see it very soon or even immediately. When Cueball again shows a lack of interest, White Hat seemingly calls in social reinforcements to agree with him that having watched ''Star Wars'' is the norm. Cueball feels threatened by his friend's unreasonably assertive behavior and quickly removes himself from the situation.

White Hat's attitude during this exchange can be contrasted with [[1053: Ten Thousand]], where Cueball instead handles a similar knowledge gap as an opportunity rather than something horrifying.

Later, [[Ponytail]] likewise wishes to start a conversation about ''Star Wars'', this time about a new movie coming out. Based on his previous experience, Cueball reconsiders admitting to not having seen the past movies, and instead pretends to be looking forward to the new one. Ponytail then tries to continue the conversation, so Cueball bluffs with an incorrect declaration that Darth Vader eats Jedi, likely constructed from other mentions of the ''Star Wars'' characters that he has overheard throughout his life. Cueball carefully chooses his words to make it seem as if he knows what he is talking about.

However, Ponytail doesn't call him out on this error, instead agreeing with it. Cueball is relieved—expressed as his thinking an onomatopoeic sigh of relief—as he believes he has guessed at an accurate piece of information and has avoided entering a similar situation to the previous one. The punchline of this part of the comic is Ponytail's identical feeling of relief, showing that she likewise hasn't seen ''Star Wars'', is also hiding this fact, and is also glad to not be caught. It may be inferred that Ponytail thinks not starting a conversation about ''Star Wars'' might expose her as someone who doesn't follow the series closely.

The "{{w|Star Wars expanded universe|Expanded Universe}}" (EU) was the term used to refer to canonical content outside of original six motion pictures, including novels, comic books, and video games, which existed in a shared continuity. After the ''Star Wars'' franchise was acquired by Disney it was announced that the "Expanded Universe" would be discontinued and rebranded as "Legends", so that the new ''Star Wars'' movies would not have to adhere to the established EU canon.

The title text is a tip for people like Cueball, to help them hide deception when roped into conversations about the films. It argues that since the ''{{w|Jedi Prince series|Jedi Prince}}'' series of novels established so many strange concepts that don't mesh with most other canon information, it makes for an excellent scapegoat to blame ill-fitting declarations on, seeing as even the most devoted, well informed fan has agreed to forget the entire series. Casually bringing up such a forgotten series might also make the bluffer out to be extremely knowledgeable about the ''Star Wars'' franchise as a whole.

This comic may be inspired by the fact that a new ''Star Wars'' movie, ''{{w|Rogue One}}'', was released into American theaters on December 16, 2016, 9 days after the publishing of the strip.

The huge pop cultural success of Star Wars means it is genuinely surprising to encounter an individual who has not seen it (at least amongst the typical audience of XKCD). The TV series ''{{w|How I Met Your Mother}}'' had {{w|Do I Know You?|an episode}} based around this premise, and there is a radio comedy chat show on {{w|BBC Radio 4}}, as well as a television version in the UK titled ''{{w|I've Never Seen Star Wars (radio series)|I've Never Seen Star Wars}}'', in which celebrity guests try out experiences that are common to others, but new to them.

==Transcript==
[White Hat is facing Cueball while talking to him]
:White Hat: You know the scene on the Death Star where—
:Cueball: Nah, I've never seen ''Star Wars''.

[Close-up of White Hat in a smaller panel]
:White Hat: <big style="background:#000;color:#fff;">''WHAT.''</big>

[White Hat and Cueball are still facing each other]
:White Hat: ''…How?!''
:Cueball: Uh, it was easy?
:Cueball: It was literally the default option.

[Close up of Cueball, White Hat is speaking off-panel]
:White Hat: But… How did you—
:Cueball: Not doing things is my superpower. I'm not doing an infinite number of things ''as we speak!''

[White Hat and Cueball are still facing each other]
:White Hat: We ''have'' to watch it.
:Cueball: Nah, I'm good.

[White Hat has turned away from Cueball and has his hands to his mouth to shout to people off-panel. Cueball has likewise turned away as he walks away and is speaking back over his shoulder]
:White Hat: ''Hey everyone! This guy's never seen Star Wars!''
:Cueball: Listen, I gotta go.

{|class="wikitable"
|Later…
|}
[Ponytail is looking down at her phone in her left hand while Cueball is facing her]
:Ponytail: Wait, there's a new ''Star Wars''?
:Cueball: Oh, I've nev—
:Cueball: …Yeah! Excited for it! Big fan.

[Ponytail holds her phone to her side, transferred to her right hand, as she and Cueball face each other]
:Ponytail: What'd you think of the last one?
:Cueball: Uh… That Darth Vader, man.
:Cueball: Sure does love eating Jedi.

[Ponytail and Cueball continue facing each other]
:Ponytail: Haha, he sure does!
:Cueball [thinking]: Phew!
:Ponytail [thinking]: Phew!
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]