explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1152: Communion

2020-08-22T22:26:42Z

162.158.74.141:

{{comic
| number = 1152
| date = December 26, 2012
| title = Communion
| image = communion.png
| titletext = The local police, growing increasingly concerned about this church, ask parishioners to take a sip of wine and then spit it back out for DNA testing. It's blood, and it matches a 1970s murder victim.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic plays on the Christian doctrine that the {{w|Eucharist|Holy Communion}} bread and wine are Jesus' flesh and blood. It is based on the words of Jesus from the {{w|synoptic gospels}} and {{w|Paul the Apostle|Paul's}} {{w|first epistle to the Corinthians}} during the {{w|Last Supper}}, today used by the priest as {{w|Words of Institution}}. According to the Roman Catholic doctrine of {{w|transubstantiation}}, as well as in the Eastern Christian tradition, the substance (using the {{w|Accident_(philosophy)|Aristotelian}} concept that all things have an accident, or physical make-up, as well as a substance, or true nature/purpose) of the bread and wine change to Jesus' flesh and blood, while their accidents remains the same. Many people, including many Catholics, believe this concept means the bread and wine literally turn (i.e., their accidents changes) into Jesus' flesh and blood during the ceremony. Some Protestant denominations reject this doctrine, both its actual and misunderstood application, with some taking the words as wholly symbolic of Jesus' sacrificial death and others believing the bread and wine create a real spiritual connection to Christ but do not change their substance.

In the second panel, [[Danish]] accurately describes what would happen at a traditional Christian Christmas service, though in such a way as to make it sound macabre.

After walking and thinking in panel three, she makes it more macabre when worrying that they, again, may have gotten hold of the wrong child for the sacrifice needed to drink blood and eat flesh.

The title text further spoofs the common understanding of the doctrine of {{w|transubstantiation}} and elaborates on [[Danish]]'s concern in the last panel by supposing that the act of taking a sip of wine during {{w|Eucharist|Holy Communion}} turns that wine into the blood, not of Jesus, but of a decades-old murder victim. Alternatively, the title text could be interpreted as saying that the wine actually acquires Jesus' DNA, and that Jesus was "killed" in the 1970s. The police, who investigated Jesus' 1970s death, would then have his DNA on file.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Danish are taking a stroll.]
:Cueball: How was Christmas? Did you go to church?

:Danish: Yup. We celebrated the birth of a child, then we ate of his flesh and blood.

:[Silence from Cueball.]

:Danish: ''Seriously'' hope we got the right child this time.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Christmas]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Religion]]

1150: Instagram

2020-08-22T22:23:11Z

162.158.74.141:

{{comic
| number = 1150
| date = December 21, 2012
| title = Instagram
| image = instagram.png
| titletext = I'm gonna call the cops and get Chad arrested for theft, then move all my stuff to the house across the street. Hopefully the owners there are more responsible.
}}

==Explanation==
As indicated by the title, this comic is an allegory for a controversy over {{w|Instagram}}, a photo-sharing social network now owned by {{w|Facebook}}. In December 2012, Instagram changed their [http://instagram.com/about/legal/terms/ terms of use], allowing the network to sell user-uploaded images, without profit to the content generators. This infuriated many users, who closed their accounts or stopped uploading images.

In the comic [[Cueball]] tells his Cueball-like friend about his problem with Chad, who just sent him a note telling him that he no longer wants to store all this stuff that Cueball has left in his garage. Cueball left it there because Chad has nice shelves and lets him in to see his stuff whenever he wishes, so that was really convenient.

Chad's note tells Cueball that he has a month to move his shit - after that he will try to get rid of it by selling it on {{w|Craigslist}}. This is a website where individuals can contact others interested in buying or selling goods. As a verb, it means to sell something on Craigslist. ({{w|FYI}} is an abbreviation of ''For Your Information'').

Cueball is outraged, as this is not way to run a ''{{w|Self storage|storage business}}.'' But when his friend asks him if he paid anything for this "storage business", it turns out that he did not. The friend then concludes that it is '''not''' a storage business.

This is exactly the problem with Instagram (or its users). A user does not pay anything, but to create an account you have to sign a terms of service/end user license agreement. A user has thus effectively signed their consent to whatever Instagram has written. Instagram can then change these terms if they give a forewarning (as Chad has done here). However, most users don't read the terms before clicking the "I agree" option, so it can come as a shock when Instagram uses the data in a way the user hadn't anticipated.

Instead of getting angry Cueball should thus just go and remove his stuff, but instead he is just going to ''almost'' (but not quite) stop giving Chad any more stuff.

This is also making fun of those Instagram users that complain about the new way of using their data, but at the same time keep uploading more pictures. The users have often developed a kind of addiction, so they cannot just stop sharing their life (in pictures).

In the title text Cueball continues with an idea of calling the cops. He thinks that Chad is a thief. He thus ignores that he left the stuff at Chad's house of his own accord. And after Chad has been arrested (which will of course never happen) he wishes to move all his stuff to another house, just to continue to get free storage.

There are two major flaws in this logic - and it is the same with the logic of the disgruntled Instagram users. You cannot accuse Instagram of stealing because it was you who gave them the images in the first place, and it is irresponsible to assume that this will not happen if you give your photos to another free social networking service (e.g. {{w|Facebook}}).

These kind of issues (with Facebook as the evildoer) are also the subject of [[743: Infrastructures]] and [[1390: Research Ethics]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, raising a hand, is talking to his Cueball-like friend who is sitting by his computer.]
:Cueball: I've been putting all my stuff in Chad's garage.
:Cueball: He has nice shelves.
:Cueball: And he lets me in to see it whenever I want.

:[In the next panel, without a frame, there is a close up of a note. Above the note is a small black frame with Cueballs comment:]
:Cueball (off-panel): But I got this note from him:
:[The note:]
:Dude
:In like a month im gonna Craigslist all that shit you left in my garage
:Just FYI
::-Chad

:[Zoom in on Cueball who lifts both hands palms up.]
:Cueball: It's an ''outrage!'' This is no way to run a storage business!
:Friend (off-panel): Are you paying him to look after your stuff?

:[Final frame almost like the first frame, but Cueball has taken his hands down.]
:Cueball: No.
:Friend: Then what he runs isn't a storage business.
:Cueball: Well, I'm ''this'' close to not giving him any more stuff.
:Friend: That'll teach him.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Social networking]]

1143: Location

2020-08-22T22:18:39Z

162.158.74.141:

{{comic
| number = 1143
| date = December 5, 2012
| title = Location
| image = location.png
| titletext = Ingress: Foursquare With Space Noises.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Ingress (game)|Ingress}} is an {{w|augmented reality}} location-based service game in which players have to visit certain real-world places marked by the game as containing in-game objectives called portals (much like in its far more well-known offspring Pokemon GO). The single guy in the comic owns a home surrounded by an abundance of portals, which makes it an attractive destination for the three friends who contact him via the computer. They are obviously not really friends of the guy, but just wish to come by because of the portals.

The portals in the comic are controlled by the green "Enlightened" team (and have links and a field), making them valuable resource caches for the "Enlightened" team, and priority targets for the blue "Resistance" team.

{{w|Foursquare}}, referenced in the title text, is another service that lets users check into places they visit for discounts in a similar way to how Ingress players visit portals for points. Unlike Foursquare places, which are businesses and public places such as parks, Ingress portals also include historic houses that are still private residences, as well as churches, so Ingress is more likely to reward people visiting a friend's house. "Space noises" refers to the ambient sounds when playing Ingress.

==Transcript==
:[Three people around a computer. One of them is typing.]
:Typing: Hey, party tonight?
:Typing: We'd all love to come see your new place!
:Reply (through monitor): Wait, what?

:[Cut to guy sitting at a laptop.]
:Reply (through the guy's monitor): We want to hang out!
:Guy typing: We're not, like, good friends.
:Reply (through the guy's monitor): I know, but we were thinking about it and we really like you!

:[Cut back to the three friends.]
:Typing: You should have us over tonight!
:Typing: For, like, an hour.
:Typing: It'll be fun!
:Reply (through monitor): Well, uh, sure.

:[Cut to color-inverted image of the guy's house. Four Enlightened-controlled Ingress portals are in the guy's back yard.]
:Friends (off-screen): ''YESSSS!''
:Guy (from inside his house): I still don't get why you're suddenly so excited to hang out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1112: Think Logically

2020-08-22T21:47:25Z

162.158.74.141:

{{comic
| number = 1112
| date = September 24, 2012
| title = Think Logically
| image = think logically.png
| titletext = I've developed a more logical set of rules but the people on the chess community have a bunch of stupid emotional biases and won't reply to my posts.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Chess}} is a centuries-old board game in which two players take turns moving one of their 16 pieces to try and checkmate the other player's king (one of the pieces). When one player is in a position to capture his or her opponent's king on their next move, and the opponent has no legal move available to avoid such capture, the opponent is said to be in "checkmate", and by definition immediately loses.

The game, with origins around the 6th century, and with the modern rules being essentially set in the late 15th century, has a significant amount of history. The rules and traditions are well established. The knight is a piece that can only move in an L-shaped pattern (two squares in one direction, and one square perpendicular), but has the unique ability to jump over other pieces.

The comic highlights two mistakes players often make in chess: complete fixation on the king at the cost of their other pieces, and failure to take advantage of the knight's movement patterns. At the same time this is a jab at how people sometimes oversimplify an argument when confronted with a topic they are not familiar with. Previously this was depicted in [[675: Revolutionary]] and [[793: Physicists]]. See also the {{w|Dunning–Kruger effect}}. The units in chess are widely agreed to be well-balanced, and [[Cueball|Cueball's]] criticism of the knight shows an obvious lack of knowledge of the knight's potential.

Given the long history of chess, a significant amount of writing and research has been dedicated to the game and its strategies. This is inadvertently mocked by Cueball who naively suggests it would be trivial to make a list of all situations in which a piece would move backwards (called a "retreat" in chess). Such a list — at least a partial one — certainly does exist, as do lists of numerous other chess moves and situations.

Cueball's friend, a guy with a {{w|knit cap}} (see the [http://xkcd.com/1112/info.0.json official transcript]) proceeds to demonstrate Cueball's lack of knowledge by beating him in four moves, which typically would only occur when an experienced player plays a novice. The checkmate depicted is likely the {{w|Scholar's mate|scholar's mate}}, or the {{w|Fool’s mate|fool’s mate}}, with both being classic checkmates in chess. It is in fact extremely easy to defend against both checkmates, moving your knights in the two knight defense would do, thus proving Cueball's inexperience. Although the scholar’s mate occurs often among amateurs, the fool’s mate is rare even among rank beginners.
Cueball, instead of admitting he underestimated the game, believes the failure is in the game itself. The title text indicates that Cueball attempted to suggest revisions to the rules of chess. Given that Cueball has no experience as a chess player, it is likely many of the changes are illogical or ridiculous. In the face of hundreds of years of history, it is not surprising that the chess community is ignoring them. The last major changes to the rules of chess occurred more than 400 years ago when, among other things, the pawn was given its two-space starting move and the queen was made into the most powerful piece (previously it was the weakest). The chess community's ties to the traditions of the game and their refusal to accept Cueball's suggestions are written off by Cueball as "{{w|emotional bias}}" suggesting his changes are logical, but that the community is letting their emotions cloud their rational decision making abilities, while in reality it is he who is being affected. If that can make Cueball feel any better, it could be pointed out to him that dozens and dozens of {{w|Chess variants|chess variants}} do exist out there.

The comic may also be a jab at competitive online games whose fans call for "buffs" (power additions) and "nerfs" (power reductions) to characters they believe to be underpowered or overpowered, often with inadequate knowledge of those characters. On the other hand, some online games and multiplayer computer games in general are unbalanced since they lack centuries of history to balance themselves, unlike chess.

The guy with the knit cap could either have been a man or a woman as from the drawing, but the [http://xkcd.com/1112/info.0.json official transcript] calls him ''knit hat guy''. In the two other cases (after this comic) where a person with hair has been shown with a knit cap, they have been women. The first was [[Randall|Randall's]] wife after chemotherapy in [[1141: Two Years]] and the second time it was [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|Knit Cap Girl]] in [[1350: Lorenz]]. Two Cueballs have also been shown using knit caps in [[1321: Cold]].

==Transcript==
:[A guy wearing a knit cap over short black hair is sitting down at a computer touching the keyboard with one hand. Cueball is standing behind watching the screen.]
:Laptop: ''*Move*''
:Cueball: Why'd you move your knight away?

:[Knit cap turns around and rests an arm on the chair looking at Cueball who holds out both arms.]
:Cueball: Just think ''logically''. The goal is checkmate, so you should always move pieces ''toward'' the other player's king.

:[Closeup of Cueball holding a hand to his chin.]
:Cueball: I guess occasionally you need to move backward, but it'd be trivial to make a list of those circumstances and-

:[Knit cap is leaning back in chair facing Cueball, panel is so slim that the lap top is not included.]
:Knit cap: Have you ever ''played'' chess?
:Cueball: Not much, but—
:Knit cap: Wanna?
:Cueball: Uh, ok.

:[Knit cap sitting and Cueball standing is playing chess with a board standing between them on a very small table or a four legged stool. The board extends quite far out on either side. Their moves are indicated above with four towards knit cap and three towards Cueball. It is clear both from this and from the pieces visible on the board that knit cap is playing white]
:<nowiki>*Move*</nowiki>
: _____<nowiki>*Move*</nowiki>
:<nowiki>*Move*</nowiki>
: _____<nowiki>*Move*</nowiki>
:<nowiki>*Move*</nowiki>
: _____<nowiki>*Move*</nowiki>
:<nowiki>*Move*</nowiki>
:Knit cap: Checkmate.

:[In a panel without frame Cueball is standing staring at the chess board, where there clearly are more pieces on his side of the board.]

:[Knit cap has turned back to the laptop with both hands on the keyboard. Cueball is standing behind the chess board holding a finger up in the air.]
:Cueball: This game isn't very well-designed. For starters, knights are too weak...

{{comic discussion}}

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

2288: Collector's Edition

2020-04-03T15:01:16Z

162.158.74.141: /* Hints */

{{comic
| number = 2288
| date = April 3, 2020
| title = Collectors Edition
| image = collectors_edition.png
| titletext = I'm sure you can find some suitable worldbuilding material if you scavenge through the archives.
}}

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

This is an April 1st comic. It is a large image, of which only part is visible, but it can be dragged around. The space acts as a virtual common sandbox where viewers can interact. "Items" (small, often humorous images) can be 'collected' from other comics and then placed in this image by viewers. The collection then updates for all viewers in real time. Multiples of the same item are often seen.

There is a "backpack" at the bottom, similar to "backpacks" in video games containing items collected by the player. Items can be found by visiting different XKCD comics/pages. Randomly, some pages will have a treasure chest which will contain the sticker related to the page. It is believed that the hint represents what page currently has a chest.

The sticker images can be seen at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot_XXX.png, where XXX is a number from 001-253. Additionally, some images can be found at custom urls, for example the periodic elements can be found at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/element-XX.png, where XX is the element, and text loot at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot-words-X.png, where X is the sentence.

===Hints===

{| class="wikitable"
!Hint
!Comic
!Unlocked item
!Item image
!Notes
|-
|Doctors in a row||[[1529: Bracket]] ||Cory Doctorow || ||
|-
|Get out the (US) vote|| || || ||
|-
|Find a box of nice stuff on a picture with words like these|| [[1133: Up Goer Five]] || Signpost || ||
|-
|Plug in or find another power source||[[1373: Screenshot]] || || loot_228.png ||
|-
|Sweet dreams, kitty||[[729: Laser Pointer]] || || ||
|-
|What is this hint pointing to? Hell if I know.||[[28: Elefino]] || || ||
|-
|Somebody set up us the bomb||[[286: All Your Base]] ||Exploding rock || ||
|-
|Cowabunga||[[1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] ||Women Science Fiction Authors || loot_175.png || [[197: Ninja Turtles]] also works
|-
|I want to believe||[[2156: Ufo]] ||Ufo || ||
|-
|Bleeped|| || || ||
|-
|why waste time say few word when lot word do trick||[[1022: So It Has Come To This]] || First Annual Award for Excellence in Being Very Smart || ||
|-
|Cooler than electric scooters||[[2195: Dockless Roombas]]||An electric scooter|| || ||
|-
|Take it from the top||[[1: Barrel - Part 1]] ||I am a turtle || loot_095.png || ||
|-
|I accept the yucca gnocchi, this meal is a success!||[[1713: 50 ccs]] ||Scientist carrying Cs || ||
|-
|Catch up on the news|| [[1699: Local News]] || || ||
|-
|Participation trophy|| [[2288: Collectors Edition]] || Server rack || ||
|-
|Find an opportunity for a sojourn||[[1504: Opportunity]] ||Opportunity Mars rover || ||
|-
|Tastier than tau day||[[179: e to the pi times i]] ||First annual award for excellence in being very smart || ||
|-
|418 I'm a teapot||[[1866: Russell's Teapot]] ||S.S. NASA: Space is Hard || ||
|-
|26th September, 1983||[[2052: Stanislav Petrov Day]] ||White dove || ||
|-
|There are 4241 as of Apr 1, 2020|| || || ||
|-
|asableiK|| [[645: RPS]] || A reverse Polish hotdog || || "Kielbasa" backwards, which is "sausage" in Polish
|-
|Critical mass elements|| || || ||
|-
|Some Februarys are more equal than others|| [[390: Nightmares]]? || Cueball wheelie from [[272: Linux User at Best Buy]] || || Comic-hint connection largely conjectural; 390 was the first comic published on a leap day.
|-
|Five spice||[[1554: Spice Girls]]|| Rock guitarist || ||
|-
|Call the plumber|| || || ||
|-
|Was it a rat I saw?|| [[1632: Palindrome]] || Cueball with a large sack, pulling a wagon || ||
|-
|Churchill's gonna have to seriously rehydrate||[[1148: Nothing to Offer]]|| Bottle of soda || ||
|-
|Keep coming back|| || || ||
|-
|A new model released each year|| || || ||
|-
|Tea Time||[[579: The Race: Part 3]] ||Floor tea || ||
|-
|Try pattern-matching! Look for comic 'bout alphabet?||[[1045: Constraints]] || || ||
|-
|Where's Hilbert?||[[195: Map of the Internet]] ||maze || ||
|-
|Science fiction fetish|| || || ||
|-
|The first one was funnier||[[11: Barrel - Part 2]]||Falling feather || ||
|-
|It's up to over 260 million cycles!||[[121: Balloon]] ||idkHowToEditGud || ||
|-
|Sleeping Beauty is the same everywhere though|| || ||
|-
|On the internet, nobody knows you're an arachnid|| [[1530: Keyboard Mash]] || Cobwebbed frame || ||
|-
|Did James Cameron pay for the rice cooker too?||[[1598: Salvage]] ||Rice bowl || ||
|-
|Never going to give you up||[[351: Trolling]] || || ||
|-
|If red touches yellow, that's 24 ohms||[[1604: Snakes]]|| Yoda with an mp3 player from What If || ||
|-
|An enthusiastic but questionable business opportunity||[[1533: Antique Factory]] or [[1021: Business Plan]]|| Beret guy with a goat on leash || ||
|-
|Read the fine manual|| [[1343: Manuals]] or [[293: RTFM]] || || ||
|-
|That thing's undecimodal!||[[1347: t Distribution]] || Floating tentacled alien || ||
|-
|Actually, it's Myanmar-Shave now||[[491: Twitter]]||Expensive bottle || ||
|-
|You don't have to find all 99|| || || ||
|-
|Going in circles|| || || ||
|-
|Couldn't you try knitting, or maybe stamp collecting?||[[2123: Meta Collecting]]||Phishing License sign|| ||
|-
|It's the ciiiiircle of HONK||[[537: Ducklings]] ||DUCKLOOP'D? || ||
|-
|Fool me twice||[[880: Headache]] ||Raptor Attack || ||
|-
|oOOOoooo|| || || || https://xkcd.com/316/ ?
|-
|Maybe we can ask for new wishes||[[879: Lamp]] ||Genie and his bottle || ||
|-
|HACK THE PLANET||[[1337: Hack]] || || ||
|-
|Monetization haute couteur|| || || loot_162.png ||
|-
|Maybe writing a script would help||[[1319: Automation]]|| || ||
|-
|Go big to go small|| || || ||
|-
|Are you projecting||[[977: Map Projections]]| |Squirrel on a gun| || ||
|-
|Do spiders really have six legs||[[8: Red spiders]] || || ||
|-
|Istanbul or Constantinople or St. Trimble's Island?||[[1688: Map Age Guide]] ||Cephalopod || ||
|-
|Another rulebook?||[[393: Ultimate Game]]||Wizard in a chair || ||
|-
|Moooooon|| [[1300: Galilean Moons]] || MOOOOOON || ||
|-
|Take a flight from LOL to FFS|| [[1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations]] || || ||
|-
|Everyone deserves a second chnace|| || || ||
|-
|Community contribution|| || || ||
|-
|On the other side of the wardrobe|| [[969: Delta-P]] ||Authentic Reindeer pulling sled || ||
|-
|Today's your lucky day|| || || ||
|-
|[This hint has been redacted due to a copyright claim]|| [[1005: SOPA]] || || ||
|-
|Try a different approach|| || || ||
|-
|The cake is a lie!|| [[606: Cutting Edge]] || Cake || ||
|-
|Joanna, fire.||[[322: Pix Plz]] || || loot_026.png ||
|-
|Everything changes from time to time when the fire nation attacks||[[965: Elements]] ||Symposium || ||
|-
|90KG x 300M|| [[382: Trebuchet]] || Trebuchet || ||
|-
|Copyright Enforcement Brigade|| || || ||
|-
|Where Cape Town meets Chukotka|| || || ||
|}

==Trivia==
* This comic is the 2020 April Fools comic, and was supposed to be released April 1st. However, the below message was displayed on the top of the page until early Friday (April 3rd) morning, when the comic finally went live. It remains to be seen if Friday's intended comic will be published later.
<blockquote>
Note: For technical reasons Wednesday's comic will be posted Thursday instead. Apologies for the delay!
</blockquote>
* Placement is limited to 10,000 units from origin. Users will receive no messages if they try placing something outside the boundary.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands to the left of a vibrating box.]
:[The words "Collector's Edition" are written above him and boxed.]

{{comic discussion}}

2288: Collector's Edition

2020-04-03T14:24:27Z

162.158.74.141: Added a new hint

{{comic
| number = 2288
| date = April 3, 2020
| title = Collectors Edition
| image = collectors_edition.png
| titletext = I'm sure you can find some suitable worldbuilding material if you scavenge through the archives.
}}

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

This is an April 1st comic. It is a large image, of which only part is visible, but it can be dragged around. The space acts as a virtual common sandbox where viewers can interact. "Items" (small, often humorous images) can be 'collected' from other comics and then placed in this image by viewers. The collection then updates for all viewers in real time. Multiples of the same item are often seen.

There is a "backpack" at the bottom, similar to "backpacks" in video games containing items collected by the player. Items can be found by visiting different XKCD comics/pages. Randomly, some pages will have a treasure chest which will contain the sticker related to the page. It is believed that the hint represents what page currently has a chest.

The sticker images can be seen at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot_XXX.png, where XXX is a number from 001-253. Additionally, some images can be found at custom urls, for example the periodic elements can be found at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/element-XX.png, where XX is the element, and text loot at https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot-words-X.png, where X is the sentence.

===Hints===

{| class="wikitable"
!Hint
!Comic
!Unlocked item
!Item image
!Notes
|-
|Doctors in a row||[[1529: Bracket]] ||Cory Doctorow || ||
|-
|Get out the (US) vote|| || || ||
|-
|Find a box of nice stuff on a picture with words like these|| || || ||
|-
|Plug in or find another power source||[[1373: Screenshot]] || || ||
|-
|Sweet dreams, kitty||[[729: Laser Pointer]] || || ||
|-
|What is this hint pointing to? Hell if I know.||[[28: Elefino]] || || ||
|-
|Somebody set up us the bomb||[[286: All Your Base]] ||Exploding rock || ||
|-
|Cowabunga||[[1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] ||Women Science Fiction Authors || || [[197: Ninja Turtles]] also works
|-
|Take a ride in a barrel|| || || ||
|-
|I want to believe||[[2156: Ufo]] ||Ufo || ||
|-
|Bleeped|| || || ||
|-
|why waste time say few word when lot word do trick|| || || ||
|-
|Cooler than electric scooters||[[2195: Dockless Roombas]]||An electric scooter|| || ||
|-
|Take it from the top||[[1: Barrel - Part 1]] ||I am a turtle || || ||
|-
|I accept the yucca gnocchi, this meal is a success!||[[1713: 50 ccs]] || || ||
|-
|Catch up on the news|| [[1699: Local News]] || || ||
|-
|Participation trophy|| [[2288: Collectors Edition]] || Server rack || ||
|-
|Find an opportunity for a sojourn||[[1504: Opportunity]] ||Opportunity Mars rover || ||
|-
|Tastier than tau day||[[179: e to the pi times i]] ||First annual award for excellence in being very smart || ||
|-
|418 I'm a teapot||[[1866: Russell's Teapot]] ||S.S. NASA: Space is Hard || ||
|-
|26th September, 1983||[[2052: Stanislav Petrov Day]] ||White dove || ||
|-
|Take it from the top|| || || ||
|-
|There are 4241 as of Apr 1, 2020|| || || ||
|-
|asableiK|| [[645: RPS]] || A reverse Polish hotdog || || "Kielbasa" backwards, which is "sausage" in Polish
|-
|Critical mass elements|| || || ||
|-
|Some Februarys are more equal than others|| [[390: Nightmares]]? || Cueball wheelie from [[272: Linux User at Best Buy]] || || Comic-hint connection largely conjectural; 390 was the first comic published on a leap day.
|-
|Five spice||[[1554: Spice Girls]]|| Rock guitarist || ||
|-
|Call the plumber|| || || ||
|-
|Was it a rat I saw?|| || || ||
|-
|Churchill's gonna have to seriously rehydrate||[[1148: Nothing to Offer]]|| Bottle of soda || ||
|-
|Keep coming back|| || || ||
|-
|A new model released each year|| || || ||
|-
|Tea Time||[[579: The Race: Part 3]] ||Floor tea || ||
|-
|Try pattern-matching! Look for comic 'bout alphabet?||[[1045: Constraints]] || || ||
|-
|Where's Hilbert?||[[195: Map of the Internet]] ||maze || ||
|-
|Science fiction fetish|| || || ||
|-
|The first one was funnier||[[11: Barrel - Part 2]]||No chest - hint disappears || ||
|-
|It's up to over 260 million cycles!|| || || ||
|-
|Sleeping Beauty is the same everywhere though|| || ||
|-
|On the internet, nobody knows you're an arachnid|| [[1530: Keyboard Mash]] || Cobwebbed frame || ||
|-
|Did James Cameron pay for the rice cooker too?||[[1598: Salvage]] ||Rice bowl || ||
|-
|Never going to give you up||[[351: Trolling]] || || ||
|-
|If red touches yellow, that's 24 ohms||[[1604: Snakes]]|| Yoda with an mp3 player from What If || ||
|-
|An enthusiastic but questionable business opportunity||[[1533: Antique Factory]]|| || ||
|-
|Read the fine manual|| [[1343: Manuals]] || || ||
|-
|That thing's undecimodal!||[[1347: t Distribution]] || || ||
|-
|Actually, it's Myanmar-Shave now||[[491: Twitter]]||Expensive bottle || ||
|-
|You don't have to find all 99|| || || ||
|-
|Going in circles|| || || ||
|-
|Couldn't you try knitting, or maybe stamp collecting?||[[2123: Meta Collecting]]||Phishing License sign|| ||
|-
|It's the ciiiiircle of HONK||[[537: Ducklings]] ||DUCKLOOP'D? || ||
|-
|Fool me twice||[[880: Headache]] ||Raptor Attack || ||
|-
|oOOOoooo|| || || || https://xkcd.com/316/ ?
|-
|Maybe we can ask for new wishes||[[879: Lamp]] ||Genie and his bottle || ||
|-
|HACK THE PLANET||[[1337: Hack]] || || ||
|-
|Monetization haute couteur|| || || ||
|-
|Maybe writing a script would help||[[1319: Automation]]|| || ||
|-
|Go big to go small|| || || ||
|-
|Are you projecting||[[977: Map Projections]]| |Squirrel on a gun| || ||
|-
|Do spiders really have six legs||[[8: Red spiders]] || || ||
|-
|Istanbul or Constantinople or St. Trimble's Island?||[[1688: Map Age Guide]] ||Cephalopod || ||
|-
|Another rulebook?||[[393: Ultimate Game]]||Wizard in a chair || ||
|-
|Moooooon|| [[1300: Galilean Moons]] || MOOOOOON || ||
|-
|Take a flight from LOL to FFS|| [[1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations]] || || ||
|-
|Everyone deserves a second chnace|| || || ||
|-
|Community contribution|| || || ||
|-
|On the other side of the wardrobe|| [[969: Delta-P]] ||Authentic Reindeer pulling sled || ||
|-
|Today's your lucky day|| || || ||
|-
|[This hint has been redacted due to a copyright claim]|| [[1005: SOPA]] || || ||
|-
|Try a different approach|| || || ||
|-
|The cake is a lie!|| [[606: Cutting Edge]] || Cake || ||
|-
|Go big to go small|| || || ||
|-
|Joanna, fire.||[[322: Pix Plz]] || || ||
|-
|Everything changes from time to time when the fire nation attacks||[[965: Elements]] ||Symposium || ||
|-
|90KG x 300M|| [[382: Trebuchet]] || Trebuchet || ||
|-
|Copyright Enforcement Brigade|| || || ||
|}

==Trivia==
* This comic is the 2020 April Fools comic, and was supposed to be released April 1st. However, the below message was displayed on the top of the page until early Friday (April 3rd) morning, when the comic finally went live. It remains to be seen if Friday's intended comic will be published later.
<blockquote>
Note: For technical reasons Wednesday's comic will be posted Thursday instead. Apologies for the delay!
</blockquote>

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands to the left of a vibrating box.]
:[The words "Collector's Edition" are written above him and boxed.]

{{comic discussion}}

2288: Collector's Edition

2020-04-03T13:28:52Z

162.158.74.141: /* Hints */

{{comic
| number = 2288
| date = April 3, 2020
| title = Collectors Edition
| image = collectors_edition.png
| titletext = I'm sure you can find some suitable worldbuilding material if you scavenge through the archives.
}}

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

This is an April 1st comic. It is a large image, of which only part is visible, but it can be dragged around. The space acts as a virtual common sandbox where viewers can interact. "Items" (small, often humorous images) can be 'collected' from other comics and then placed in this image by viewers. The collection then updates for all viewers in real time. Multiples of the same item are often seen.

There is a "backpack" at the bottom, similar to "backpacks" in video games containing items collected by the player. Items can be found by visiting different XKCD comics/pages. Randomly, some pages will have a treasure chest which will contain the sticker related to the page. It is believed that the hint represents what page currently has a chest.

The sticker images can be seen at `https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot_XXX.png`, where XXX is a number from 001-253. Additionally, some images can be found at custom urls, for example the periodic elements can be found at `https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/element-XX.png`, where XX is the element, and text loot at `https://xkcd.com/2288/collectors/static/loot/loot-words-X.png`, where X is the sentence.

===Hints===

{| class="wikitable"
!Hint
!Comic
!Unlocked item
!Notes
|-
|Doctors in a row|| || ||
|-
|Get out the (US) vote|| || ||
|-
|Find a box of nice stuff on a picture with words like these|| || ||
|-
|Plug in or find another power source||[[1373: Screenshot]] || ||
|-
|Sweet dreams, kitty||[[729: Laser Pointer]] || ||
|-
|What is this hint pointing to? Hell if I know.||[[28: Elefino]] || ||
|-
|Somebody set up us the bomb||[[286: All Your Base]] ||Exploding rock ||
|-
|Cowabunga||[[1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] ||Women Science Fiction Authors ||
|-
|Take a ride in a barrel|| || ||
|-
|I want to believe|| || ||
|-
|Bleeped|| || ||
|-
|why waste time say few word when lot word do trick|| || ||
|-
|Cooler than electric scooters||[[2195: Dockless Roombas]]||An electric scooter||
|-
|Take it from the top||[[1: Barrel - Part 1]] ||I am a turtle ||
|-
|I accept the yucca gnocchi, this meal is a success!||[[2032: Word Puzzles]] || ||
|-
|Catch up on the news|| [[1699]] || ||
|-
|Participation trophy|| || ||
|-
|Find an opportunity for a sojourn||[[1504: Opportunity]] ||Opportunity Mars rover ||
|-
|Tastier than tau day||[[179: e to the pi times i]] ||First annual award for excellence in being very smart ||
|-
|418 I'm a teapot||[[1866: Russell's Teapot]] ||S.S. NASA: Space is Hard ||
|-
|26th September, 1983||[[2052: Stanislav Petrov Day]] ||White dove ||
|-
|Take it from the top|| || ||
|-
|There are 4241 as of Apr 1, 2020|| || ||
|-
|asableiK|| [[645: RPS]] || A reverse Polish hotdog || "Kielbasa" backwards, which is "sausage" in Polish
|-
|Critical mass elements|| || ||
|-
|Some Februarys are more equal than others|| || ||
|-
|Five spice||[[1554: Spice Girls]]|| Rock guitarist ||
|-
|Call the plumber|| || ||
|-
|Was it a rat I saw?|| || ||
|-
|Churchill's gonna have to seriously rehydrate||[[1148: Nothing to Offer]]|| Bottle of soda ||
|-
|Keep coming back|| || ||
|-
|A new model released each year|| || ||
|-
|Tea Time||[[579: The Race: Part 3]] ||Floor tea ||
|-
|Try pattern-matching! Look for comic 'bout alphabet?||[[1045: Constraints]] || ||
|-
|Where's Hilbert?||[[195: Map of the Internet]] ||maze ||
|-
|Science fiction fetish|| || ||
|-
|The first one was funnier||[[11: Barrel - Part 2]]||No chest - hint disappears ||
|-
|It's up to over 260 million cycles!|| || ||
|-
|Sleeping Beauty is the same everywhere though|| || ||
|-
|On the internet, nobody knows you're an arachnid|| [[1530: Keyboard Mash]] || Cobwebbed frame ||
|-
|Did James Cameron pay for the rice cooker too?||[[1598: Salvage]] ||Rice bowl ||
|-
|Never going to give you up||[[351: Trolling]] || ||
|-
|If red touches yellow, that's 24 ohms||[[1604: Snakes]]|| Yoda with an mp3 player from What If ||
|-
|An enthusiastic but questionable business opportunity||[[1533: Antique Factory]]|| ||
|-
|Read the fine manual|| [[1343: Manuals]] || ||
|-
|That thing's undecimodal!||[[1347: t Distribution]] || ||
|-
|Actually, it's Myanmar-Shave now||[[491: Twitter]]||Expensive bottle ||
|-
|You don't have to find all 99|| || ||
|-
|Going in circles|| || ||
|-
|Couldn't you try knitting, or maybe stamp collecting?||[[2123: Meta Collecting]]||Phishing License sign||
|-
|It's the ciiiiircle of HONK||[[537: Ducklings]] ||DUCKLOOP'D? ||
|-
|Fool me twice||[[880: Headache]] ||Raptor Attack ||
|-
|oOOOoooo|| || || https://xkcd.com/316/ ?
|-
|Maybe we can ask for new wishes|| || ||
|-
|HACK THE PLANET||[[1337: Hack]] || ||
|-
|Monetization haute couteur|| || ||
|-
|Maybe writing a script would help|| || ||
|-
|Go big to go small|| || ||
|-
|Are you projecting|| || ||
|-
|Do spiders really have six legs||[[8: Red spiders]] || ||
|-
|Istanbul or Constantinople or St. Trimble's Island?|| || ||
|-
|Another rulebook?|| || possibly https://xkcd.com/393/? ||
|-
|Moooooon|| [[1300: Galilean Moons]] || MOOOOOON ||
|-
|Take a flight from LOL to FFS|| [[1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations]] || ||
|-
|Everyone deserves a second chnace|| || ||
|-
|Community contribution|| || ||
|-
|On the other side of the wardrobe|| [[2218: Wardrobe]] || ||
|-
|Today's your lucky day|| || ||
|-
|[This hint has been redacted due to a copyright claim]|| [[1005: SOPA]] || ||
|-
|Try a different approach|| || ||
|-
|The cake is a lie!|| [[606: Cutting Edge]] || Cake ||
|-
|Go big to go small|| || ||
|-
|Joanna, fire.|| || ||
|-
|Everything changes from time to time when the fire nation attacks|| || ||
|-
|90KG x 300M|| [[382: Trebuchet]] || Trebuchet ||
|}

==Trivia==
* This comic is the 2020 April Fools comic, and was supposed to be released April 1st. However, the below message was displayed on the top of the page until early Friday (April 3rd) morning, when the comic finally went live. It remains to be seen if Friday's intended comic will be published later.
<blockquote>
Note: For technical reasons Wednesday's comic will be posted Thursday instead. Apologies for the delay!
</blockquote>

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands to the left of a vibrating box.]
:[The words "Collector's Edition" are written above him and boxed.]

{{comic discussion}}

2249: I Love the 20s

2020-01-01T18:02:49Z

162.158.74.141: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2249
| date = January 1, 2020
| title = I Love the 20s
| image = i love the 20s.png
| titletext = Billboard's "Best of the 80s" chart includes Blondie's 1980 hit "Call Me." QED.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PEDANT. Please add more info.}}
This comic was released on the first day of {{w|2020}}. [[Megan]], [[Cueball]], and [[Ponytail]] are all happy for the beginning of the new {{w|decade}}, for a variety of reasons. However, [[White Hat]] disagrees, claiming that the "20s" don't start until 2021, citing that {{w|Century|centuries}} are "off-by-one" (for instance, the {{w|20th century}} lasted from 1901 to 2000) and attempting to draw something. Megan breaks up a heated argument on the topic between him and Ponytail by stating that {{w|MC Hammer}}'s song ''{{w|U Can't Touch This}}'', released in 1990, was featured in a 1990s-themed television show instead of its 1980s-themed counterpart.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

:Megan: Happy new decade!
:Ponytail: Welcome to the '20s!
:White Hat: ''Actually--''
:Ponytail: I'm excited we can name decades again.
:Ponytail: "Aughts" and "teens" never caught on.

:White Hat: Actually, the new decade doesn't start--
:Ponytail: Mostly, I'm just glad we can go back to attributing cultural trends to decades instead of generations.

:Cueball: Yeah.
:Cueball: Decades were silly, but making everything about "millennials" turned out to be even worse.
:Ponytail: Seriously.

:White Hat: It's technically not a new decade until 2021.
:Ponytail: OK, listen.
:Ponytail: If you're going to be pedantic, you should at least be right.
:White Hat: I ''am'' right!
:Ponytail: You're ''not''.

:White Hat: See, the 20th century didn't start until--
:Ponytail: But decades aren't centuries. They're not cardinally numbered.
:White Hat: You don't get it. Let me draw a--
:Ponytail: No, ''you'' don't--
:Megan (off-panel): Stop!

:Megan: I can resolve this.
:Megan: *ahem*
:Megan: MC Hammer's ''U Can't Touch This'' (1990) was featured in ''I Love the '90s'', not '''80s''.
:White Hat: ...That settles that.
:White Hat: Yeah, I accept VH1's authority.
:White Hat: You win.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

2249: I Love the 20s

2020-01-01T18:00:28Z

162.158.74.141: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2249
| date = January 1, 2020
| title = I Love the 20s
| image = i love the 20s.png
| titletext = Billboard's "Best of the 80s" chart includes Blondie's 1980 hit "Call Me." QED.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PEDANT. Please add more info.}}
This comic was released on the first day of {{w|2020}}. [[Megan]], [[Cueball]], and [[Blondie]] are all happy for the beginning of the new {{w|decade}}, for a variety of reasons. However, [[White Hat]] disagrees, claiming that the "20s" don't start until 2021, citing that {{w|Century|centuries}} are "off-by-one" (for instance, the {{w|20th century}} lasted from 1901 to 2000) and attempting to draw something. Megan breaks up a heated argument on the topic between him and Blondie by stating that {{w|MC Hammer}}'s 1990 song, ''{{w|U Can't Touch This}}'', was featured in a '90s album.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

:Megan: Happy new decade!
:Ponytail: Welcome to the '20s!
:White Hat: ''Actually--''
:Ponytail: I'm excited we can name decades again.
:Ponytail: "Aughts" and "teens" never caught on.

:White Hat: Actually, the new decade doesn't start--
:Ponytail: Mostly, I'm just glad we can go back to attributing cultural trends to decades instead of generations.

:Cueball: Yeah.
:Cueball: Decades were silly, but making everything about "millennials" turned out to be even worse.
:Ponytail: Seriously.

:White Hat: It's technically not a new decade until 2021.
:Ponytail: OK, listen.
:Ponytail: If you're going to be pedantic, you should at least be right.
:White Hat: I ''am'' right!
:Ponytail: You're ''not''.

:White Hat: See, the 20th century didn't start until--
:Ponytail: But decades aren't centuries. They're not cardinally numbered.
:White Hat: You don't get it. Let me draw a--
:Ponytail: No, ''you'' don't--
:Megan (off-panel): Stop!

:Megan: I can resolve this.
:Megan: *ahem*
:Megan: MC Hammer's ''U Can't Touch This'' (1990) was featured in ''I Love the '90s'', not '''80s''.
:White Hat: ...That settles that.
:White Hat: Yeah, I accept VH1's authority.
:White Hat: You win.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

2249: I Love the 20s

2020-01-01T17:56:25Z

162.158.74.141: /* Transcript */ begin transcript

{{comic
| number = 2249
| date = January 1, 2020
| title = I Love the 20s
| image = i love the 20s.png
| titletext = Billboard's "Best of the 80s" chart includes Blondie's 1980 hit "Call Me." QED.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PEDANT. Please add more info.}}
This comic was released on the first day of {{w|2020}}. [[Megan]], [[Cueball]], and [[Blondie]] are all happy for the beginning of the new {{w|decade}}, for a variety of reasons. However, [[White Hat]] disagrees, claiming that the "20s" don't start until 2021, citing that {{w|Century|centuries}} are "off-by-one" (for instance, the {{w|20th century}} lasted from 1901 to 2000) and attempting to draw something. Megan breaks up a heated argument on the topic between him and Blondie by stating that {{w|MC Hammer}}'s 1990 song, ''{{w|U Can't Touch This}}'', was featured in a '90s album.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

:Megan: Happy new decade!
:Ponytail: Welcome to the '20s!
:White Hat: ''Actually--''
:Ponytail: I'm excited we can name decades again.
:Ponytail: "Aughts" and "teens" never caught on.

:White Hat: Actually, the new decade doesn't start--
:Ponytail: Mostly, I'm just glad we can go back to attributing cultural trends to decades instead of generations.

:Cueball: Yeah.
:Cueball: Decades were silly, but making everything about "millennials" turned out to be even worse.
:Ponytail: Seriously.

:White Hat: It's technically not a new decade until 2021.
:Ponytail: OK, listen.
:Ponytail: If you're going to be pedantic, you should at least be right.
:White Hat: I ''am'' right!
:Ponytail: You're ''not''.

:White Hat: See, the 20th century didn't start until--
:Ponytail: But decades aren't centuries. They're not cardinally numbered.
:White Hat: You don't get it. Let me draw a--

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]

Talk:565: Security Question

2019-11-27T14:59:56Z

162.158.74.141:

The explanation says "security questions are treated much more seriously than passwords." I completely disagree. People generally understand that a password should be complicated but just pick something easily memorable for the security question. The security question is often easier to crack as they can be looked up and the user might tell you the answer inadvertently. For example, in Now You See Me, they trick their rich benefactor into giving up his bank account security answers. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.7|108.162.219.7]] 02:35, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

:I agree, and I've changed the explanation text. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 11:17, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

:Also now with social media if you don't have enough privacy settings enabled an attacker can find the answers on say your facebook page, and even if you did have the privacy stuff it won't help if the attacker is on your friend list. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.117|141.101.99.117]] 19:35, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

“Of course, by taking the drink Cueball also admits having buried bodies ''at all''.”
Uh, no, he doesn’t? If he never hid any bodies south of Main Street, it doesn’t imply he hid any bodies anywhere else… right? ~ [[User:VoidPhantom|VoidPhantom]] ([[User talk:VoidPhantom|talk]]) 21:23, 10 September 2015 (UTC)

:You have that backwards. If he'd buried bodies ''north'' of Main Street (or hadn't buried any at all), then he ''wouldn't'' take a drink. --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]]) 22:10, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
::I have corrected this back in the explanation. Double negatives confuse people it appears.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.72.89|162.158.72.89]] 22:24, 26 May 2016 (UTC)

The cop sitting at the desk has what appears to be a foot rest or pedal that deliberately has attention drawn to it with 'bump' marks. What does this represent? [[User:ClaireFreund|ClaireFreund]] ([[User talk:ClaireFreund|talk]]) 14:49, 12 November 2018 (UTC)
:Could be a speaker for those not wearing headphones [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.57|162.158.93.57]] 17:49, 3 January 2019 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure the claimed date of the comic's release is wrong. Correct me if I'm wrong, but following the normal schedule, it should state the release date as April 5th, not April 3rd.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.141|162.158.74.141]] 14:59, 27 November 2019 (UTC)

1809: xkcd Phone 5

2017-03-12T04:53:33Z

162.158.74.141:

{{comic
| number = 1809
| date = March 10, 2017
| title = xkcd Phone 5
| image = xkcd_phone_5.png
| titletext = The phone will be collected by the toll operators and mailed back to you within 4-6 weeks.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Seems almost complete now!}}
This is the fifth entry in the ongoing [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]], and once again, the comic plays with many standard tech buzzwords and horribly misuses all of them, to create a phone that sounds impressive but self-evidently isn't to even the most ignorant customer. The previous comic in the series [[1707: xkcd Phone 4]] was released almost 8 months before this one.

The slogan beneath the phone, "We're trying to catch up to Apple but refuse to skip numbers", is a reference to inconsistent product numbering, such as {{w|Samsung}} releasing the {{w|Note 7}} after the {{w|Note 5}}, likely in an attempt to catch up to the numbering of either the {{w|iPhone}} or {{w|Galaxy S}} series, both of which were already at 7. Similarly, there was also no official ''iPhone 2''. But there is an [[xkcd Phone 2]] available. The trademark sign behind the word "numbers" probably indicates a reference to the Apple spreadsheet app with the same name.

The title text that says that the phone will be returned to you by the toll operators is a reference to E-ZPass partnership feature, see explanation in the table regarding that feature.

===Table of features===
{| class="wikitable"
!Feature
!Explanation
|-
|'''Hook shot'''
| In ''{{w|The Legend of Zelda}}'' the [http://zelda.gamepedia.com/Hookshot Hookshot] is a recurring weapon/tool. It is a machine consisting of a chain and hook. When used, the chain extends and sends then hook which is attached to it. It is used to bring items to {{w|Link (The Legend of Zelda)|Link}} or bring Link closer to a goal (''Link'' is the name shared by the main protagonists, each possessing the Spirit of the Hero). Likely a reference to new video game ''{{w|The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild}}'', which was released a week prior to this comic. In the comic the hook shot is shown as a small add on to the phones top.
|-
|'''Bluetooth speaker'''
| {{w|Bluetooth}} speakers are often used to play audio from a smartphone wirelessly, usually with more volume and better quality than the phone's small built-in speaker can provide. Embedding a bluetooth speaker into the phone would allow the phone to play audio from outside sources through its built-in speaker, which could be useful if no better speakers were available but would generally be avoided given the previously noted limitations of phone speakers. This is perhaps a jab at the current trend of playing music or Internet content audibly in public through the tiny, tinny speaker embedded in most phones. The Bluetooth speaker is located in the normal place for a phone's speaker.
|-
|'''Stained-glass display'''
| {{w|Stained glass}} is colored glass, traditionally used for decorative windows in buildings most often churches. It is generally much thicker and because of the color much less transparent, especially for some colors, than the glass types normally used for touch-screens, making the phone difficult to use as it would remove some of the colors shown on the screen below the glass. A typical feature noticed about the glass for real phones would be its strength, as in work phones for construction workers.
|-
|'''Gallium chassis remains solid up to 85°F'''
| Many high-end electronic devices have chassis made of alloys of light metals such as {{w|magnesium}} or {{w|titanium}} rather than {{w|steel}} or {{w|plastic}}. Besides being lightweight and of superior quality and durability than ordinary sheet steel or cheap plastic, these are often perceived as bragging points by the users, boasting about 'rare' metal chassis.

{{w|Gallium}}, however, is an uncommon metal with a very low melting point of 85 °F (or 29.8 °C), making it one of only four metals (along with {{w|Mercury (element)|mercury}}, {{w|rubidium}} and {{w|caesium}}) that can be liquid around room temperature. Because the melting point is lower than the average {{w|human body temperature}} of 98.6 °F (37 °C) a gallium smartphone chassis would melt in the user's bare hand, assuming it hadn't already done so due to heat produced by its internal components. Even if the electronics had good heat management, cooling in smartphones is normally accomplished by distributing heat to the case, not exhausting it.

A similar real advertisement regarding the chassis would be that it was {{w|waterproof}} down to some depth (say 85 feet or 25 meters). See also the feature below regarding this.
|-
|'''Soundproof'''
| A {{w|Soundproof}} chassis could result in the unwanted effect that the speakers and microphone may not work as no sound may enter or leave the phones chassis. A more likely feature would be waterproof see above point.
|-
|'''Can feel pain'''
| Possibly a reference to {{w|intelligent personal assistant|intelligent personal assistants}} like {{w|Siri}}, {{w|Cortana (software)|Cortana}} or {{w|Amazon Alexa|Alexa}} gaining consciousness (see [[1807: Listening]] for the latter). Such {{w|artificial intelligence}} references is a [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|recurring subject]] on xkcd.

This could mean that either the phone feels pain for damages inflicted upon it or it feels the user's pain level (regarding either physical and/or emotional pain). The meaning would quickly become apparent for the user if the chassis melts on contact with exposed skin leaving the phone with "open wounds".

This could be seen as a similar feature of the first xkcd phone, [[1363: xkcd Phone]], where the title text notices (among many other things) that the ''phone will drown'' if submerge in water. A similar thing is also mentioned for [[1549: XKCD Phone 3]]. That phone is ''waterproof but can drown''. Since this phone is soundproof but not waterproof, see the two points above, the drowning issue may still be relevant. The second phone, [[1465: xkcd Phone 2]], ''cries when lost'' a similar display of emotions/feelings. That phone also mentions waterproofing, but here it is only the interior, and although it is washable, it is only a one time feature (like the fold-ability of this one, see two points below). Finally also [[1707: xkcd Phone 4]] mentiones it is waterproof, but not between 30-50 m down...
|-
|'''E-ZPass partnership: Phone can be dropped into coin basket to pay tolls'''
|{{w|E-ZPass}} is an electronic toll collection system. The vehicle drives through the toll lane without stopping, and sensors detect the pass and deduct the appropriate amount from the user's account. The phone's integration with E-ZPass is absurd since the phone needs to be dropped into a coin basket to work. Not only would you have to stop in order to throw the phone into the coin basket, which defies the idea of E-ZPass, but you would also lose your phone.

In the '''title text''', however, it says that the phone will be returned by the toll operators and returned by mail within 4–6 weeks. So this mitigates the problem of losing the phone slightly, but there would be about a month where the phone could not be used.
|-
|'''Foldable (once)'''
|Almost anything long and slim can be "folded" by simply snapping it in half. But as it says this can only be done once because the phone cannot be unsnapped and will not work anymore once it has been folded.

This is a reference to the [http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/samsung-foldable-smartphone-news/ rumors of the new Samsung Galaxy X] that is really foldable like a pice of rubber. See [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fro_CNjxYwM this video].

It could also refer to the fact that a version of iPhone had a weak spot that lead it to easily folding and breaking. And it could be reference to the type of cellphones which [https://www.doro.dk/doro-phoneeasy-624.html are designed] so they can be opened and closed by hinges.
|-
|'''Screen transfers images to skin'''
| Transferring images to the skin sounds like either real {{w|tattoos}} or the water tattoos used by children or other kinds of {{w|temporary tattoos}}. Likely it should be understood that it would be possible to transfer the image displayed on the screen to your skin, hopefully when activating the feature rather than by accident. And preferably also none permanent. This may also be a reference to the experimental Cicret Bracelet's ability to project images onto your arm: [http://www.snopes.com/photos/technology/cicret.asp]
|-
|'''Retina storage'''
| This is a play on the name of Apple's prized "{{w|Retina Display}}". The joke may be in reference to Apple's possession of a trademark for the word "retina" in regards to computer equipment, which is made to seem absurd by the unusual use. It is not made clear whose retinas are meant to be stored. Could also be a reference to retinally implanted computers. The retina storage is a slot at the bottom of the phone right of the charging port.
|-
|'''Background task automatically catches and eats Pokémon'''
| A reference to {{w|Pokémon Go}}, an augmented reality game where the goal to go to specific locations and play a mini-game in order to catch virtual creatures called {{w|Pokémon}} (see [[1705: Pokémon Go]]). This phone apparently catches Pokémon automatically, similar to the external device {{w|Pokémon_Go#Pok.C3.A9mon_Go_Plus|Pokémon Go Plus}}. However, this feature also eats them, which is something that is not part of the game and wouldn't be desirable, as it is about collection and storing as many different Pokémon as possible. It could be a coincidence, but it seems funny that the label for this background feature is the only one that point at the back of the phone.
|-
|'''Supercuts partnership: Trims hair fed into charging port'''
| {{w|Supercuts}} is an American hair salon chain that provides hair cuts and styling. The implication here is that the user can get a haircut by Supercuts by sticking hair into the charging slot. This is not only impractical and would only work for hair long enough to be fed into the port, but it would most likely result in a bad haircut. Also the slot would soon be filled with hair. The charging slot is otherwise placed in the normal spot and looks like a regular charging port.

This feature could actually be quite dangerous if the hair is not removed from the charging slot afterwards because the hair could melt or catch fire inside the phone.
|-
|'''Squelch knob'''
|{{w|Squelch}} is a feature of two-way radios (CB, ham, etc) which quiets background noise when no signal is present. For a smartphone, perhaps this knob could control the "signal-to-noise" ratio of your Facebook feed or other social media platforms. It takes the place of the headphone jack, replacing the normal hole with a small knob.
|-
|'''IBM buckling-spring Home button'''
|{{w|IBM}} {{w|Buckling spring|buckling-spring}} keyboards are favorites of geeks for the feeling of quality and auditory feedback (keys click loudly when pressed) they provide. Real smartphone's home button, typically located exactly as in this image, provides little to no such satisfaction when pressed.
|-
|'''Cot-caught merger switch'''
| This is a reference to the {{w|cot–caught merger}}, a linguistic change happening among English speakers, particularly in some parts of North America and the British Isles, which causes caught (previously pronounced "kawt") to be pronounced the same as cot (pronounced "kot"). The switch is clearly visible on the side of the phone. There is no typical feature similar to this one most smartphones, although it could look a bit like a volume control, although that would not usually be a sliding switch.
|-
|'''60x optical zoom camera'''
|A powerful optical {{w|zoom lens}} is usually a desirable feature for cameras. However, as shown in the comic, it results in very bulky lens. If 60x zoom should be achieved the lens needs to be as big as shown on the backside of the phone, and the whole idea of being able to carry the smartphone easily in a pocket would be defied.

For that reason, such lenses are never used in smartphones, although rarely some devices, like the {{w|Samsung Galaxy Camera}}, use a smaller lens with a similar design. But this is no longer a smartphone.

This feature would seem to be a jab at the variety of add-on devices, including close-up lenses, handles and external flashes, that are currently in use to enhance the phone's ability to function like a camera (and the {{w|selfie stick}}).

Some phones might instead mention their {{w|digital zoom}} level instated. But that is not a popular feature among photo enthusiasts, as it makes no difference to the image quality if you zoom like this or just zoon in on a normal picture taken without zoom, as no optical resolution is gained in the process of digital zooming. Randall has made several comics about cameras before; see for instance [[1719: Superzoom]] and other comics linked via this.
|-
|'''LORAN navigation'''
| {{w|LORAN}} (Long Range Navigation) was a precursor to modern {{W|Global Positioning System|GPS}} navigation, using land-based transmitters. Once developed for sea shipping, it is accurate to about 300 meters (1,000 feet). The joke, of course, is that all modern smartphones have integrated GPS navigation which is far more accurate. Due to the much lower frequencies involved, reception of LORAN signals though is much better in areas with obstructed view of the sky. However {{w|LORAN#Commercial_use.2C_decommissioning|LORAN has been decommissioned}} more or less completely since before 2000.

Incidentally, some receivers of the {{w|Decca Navigator System}} (which operates on a similar principle as LORAN) featured moving map displays, something we associate with modern GPS devices.
|-
|'''28-factor authentication'''
| An {{w|Authentication#Factors and identity|authentication factor}} is a way of proving one's identity. There are [http://www.nikacp.com/images/10.1.1.200.3888.pdf 3 generally recognized forms]: something you know, something you have, and something you are. It can be a password, a fingerprint, a physical key, etc.... Secure applications may include two or more factors; a common example is the "PIN and chip" system used with credit cards, where you need both the card and secret code to authorize a transaction. Many online services now provide two-factor authentication to protect against password-based attacks. 28-factor authentication would likely be very secure in theory but also so impractical that it would be unusable.
|}

==Transcript==
:[An image of a smartphone with a common optical camera lens attached on its back is shown. Over the entire length the case is slightly rounded. There are several features visible as bottom like features at the top and bottom of the front as well a microphone like slit at the top. A sliding switch is visible on the side, and at the bottom there is a knob, a connector port and a small slit. Clockwise starting from the top left all the labels read:]
:Hook shot
:Bluetooth speaker
:Stained-glass display
:Gallium chassis remains solid up to 85°F
:Soundproof
:Can feel pain
:E-ZPass partnership: Phone can be dropped into coin basket to pay tolls
:Foldable (once)
:Screen transfers images to skin
:Retina storage
:Background task automatically catches and eats Pokémon
:Supercuts partnership: Trims hair fed into charging port
:Squelch knob
:IBM buckling-spring home button
:Cot-caught merger switch
:60x optical zoom camera
:''LORAN'' navigation
:28-factor authentication

:[Below the phone:]
:Introducing
:<big>The</big> <big><big>xkcd Phone 5</big></big>
:''We're trying to catch up to Apple but refuse to skip numbers®TM''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]

1802: Phone

2017-02-23T00:00:30Z

162.158.74.141: grammar word

{{comic
| number = 1802
| date = February 22, 2017
| title = Phone
| image = phone.png
| titletext = [*disables social networking accounts*] [*social isolation increases*] Wait, why does this ALSO feel bad?
}}

[[Media:Example.ogg]]==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Check for grammar errors and organize paragraphs.}}

When someone asks you if you wanna go for a walk they often expect to have a conversation, while enjoying both the exercise, the fresh air and the company. Thus any disturbance not related to the walk is not welcome. Going for a walk is often seen as a way to relax from all the daily stress, as it takes the walkers away from work and chores.

[[Cueball]] agrees to go for a walk, but not to all the associated expectations. His first instinct is to bring along his smartphone, though rather than call it such, he opts for a lengthy description detailing all the functions he intends to use. Conspicuously, long-distance communication (ostensibly the primary function of a smartphone) is not listed.

Instead he describes the phone as his device that gives him a continuous ({{w|24/7 service|24/7}}) stream of information, much of which is often out of context. The stream contains people's opinions, context-free but scary news, and other random stimuli.

The opinions could be from news or bloggers but it could also just be from his friends on social media platforms. News stories that are shared on social media are often scary, which becomes even worse because news outlets are likely to use a title that exaggerates the topic to create a fear reaction. The random emotional stimuli could be from many things such as text messages/emails and pictures of kittens and babies on social network, and shared internet memes or viral videos. All things that could cause a quick shift in emotions.

As if all this was not enough to leave the phone at home, Cueball even says he will also take his spare battery, so he won't risk that his {{w|Web feed|constant feed}} could be interrupted, because he will not be able to recharge his phone during the walk.

All in all, his choice and constant need for staying updated and being on-line violates all the usual expectations, that his friend could have expected from asking him out for a walk.

The title text shows it would be possible to take an action to avoid this feed. In the first bracket a person (could be Cueball or [[Randall]]) ''disables all his social networking accounts''. Most of his news feed will thus disappear. But this leads to the next bracket which states that such a choice would lead to ''increased social isolation'', since he will no longer be in contact with any of his on-line friends. And today many people also get into contact with their "real" local friends through social media. One might thus miss out on events like parties or get-together, plus his friends not sharing a dislike for social media will not understand the decision. And this leads to the final sentence ''Wait, why does this ALSO feel bad?'' So there is no good choice, because it is bad to be off-line, but being on-line all the time is also bad. And it is hard to find the right balance. This problem with finding the right balance between two things seems related to the recent [[1796: Focus Knob]]

This comic could be seen as a counter to [[1773: Negativity]], as both deal with the inability to escape the media during objectively peaceful pastimes. While in the former, the nature attacks Cueball with the types of comics he wishes to avoid, here, he brings along his phone even though it will ruin the goal of the walk he is going to take.

==Transcript==
:[Someone off-panel asks Cueball a question which he answers while walking to a small table with some items laying on it.]
:Off-panel voice: Wanna go for a walk?
:Cueball: Sure, just need to grab my device that feeds me a 24/7 stream of opinions, context-free scary world news, and random emotional stimuli.
:Cueball: Plus a spare battery so the feed won't be interrupted.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]

Talk:1776: Reindeer

2016-12-23T14:03:24Z

162.158.74.141:

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)

1776: Reindeer

2016-12-23T14:00:14Z

162.158.74.141:

{{comic
| number = 1776
| date = December 23, 2016
| title = Reindeer
| image = reindeer.png
| titletext = And then in a twinkling, a sound gave me pause / From the roof came the scratching of eight tarsal claws.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs lots more stuff.}}
Black Hat is at it again, by replacing the eight reindeer of Santa's sleigh with a single spider-legged reindeer. He considers this "more authentic" because Santa Claus is based in part on Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology. On the pagan holiday of Yule, Odin was said to ride his eight legged horse, Sleipnir, across the land. Children would leave one of their boots out and fill it with hay for Sleipnir to eat, then Odin would refill the boot with gifts. This obviously presages the Christmas tradition of hanging stockings by the chimney.

The intuitive interpretation of a horse with eight legs is probably making the body longer to make an additional set of normal equine legs fit in. Such a creature could be made to look natural. Black Hat's interpretation is to change the type of legs in order to fit all eight legs in there. Many people do think of spiders when they think of "eight legs." But the result of this is to make a chimera (Greek word for any animal with body parts from two or more different animals), and a terrifying one at that. Black Hat plays upon the very common arachnophobia, or fear of spiders. A slightly more terrifying creature (to some) would be if he had used octopus tentacles instead of spider legs, but we do not call those "legs."

==Transcript==
Black Hat: In earlier Norse myths, the eight reindeer were actually one steed with eight '''legs'''.

Black Hat: So I think this is more authentic.

Boy: AAAAAA!

{{comic discussion}}