explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2469: Astronomy Status Board

2021-05-29T20:26:19Z

162.158.75.14:

I don't think the two characters shown in the comic are necessarily junior astronomers. The title text seems more like a comment on how people new to a field would want to do big and exciting things, and groan when told they need to do boring but essential tasks. [[User:DrPumpkinz|DrPumpkinz]] ([[User talk:DrPumpkinz|talk]]) 04:35, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

Anyone else going to make the Destiny reference? Just me? Cool. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.111|172.69.35.111]] 06:08, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

The two phrases, "still there" and "gone" are from the movie "before midnight 2013" when they were watching the sunset. --[[User:Eta|Eta]] ([[User talk:Eta|talk]]) 06:36, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

I was thinking that (as well as the obvious Big Rip of hard(-probably) science) there might be an oblique reference to the old (19thC?) Verne/Wells-ish tale I cannot remember the true title and author of, in which an amateur astronomer becomes aware (through being one of the few knowledgable people observing on a given night - somehow almost globally cloudy?) that the Moon is in the wrong position. Derived from this (and its later return to where it should have been, plus other observed effects from the stars to the tides) is developed a new theological science of a divine flaw (a bit like a misplaced stone in the desert of [[505]]) that can then be divinely corrected. (i.e. science effectively ''is'' 'the planets being pushed around by angels', with mystical and natural causes being the same). - Though the fact I have to explain all the differences from mere presence/absence (and Google-Fu failing me when I try to ID the story) makes this much less likely to even be involved in the conception. Still, mentioning it in case it interests, or someone can do the YASID for me. ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.38|141.101.98.38]] 11:05, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

When seeing the comic the first thing that came into my head was http://www.hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com which gives a similar more or less obvious status report. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:30, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

Luckily they don't have indicators for individual pulsars. Those would be way more effort to maintain. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 12:26, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

... they may want to add a couple moons to the list. ;-) https://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos361.html [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.57|162.158.89.57]] 13:35, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

I would be a lot less concerned about this if I weren't currently reading Seveneves... [[Special:Contributions/172.68.57.91|172.68.57.91]] 15:13, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

This would have been very cool if he'd released the comic earlier in the week, and briefly changed the moon's status to "gone" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.14|162.158.75.14]] 20:26, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2366: Amelia's Farm Fresh Cookies

2020-09-30T23:19:33Z

162.158.75.14:

32841 is not a valid zip code. I'm also dubious that the town/city name is Orlando. Sure, it probably does start with an O (and not a cursive A, since the street name has a capital A to show the way the letter should look), but it certainly doesn't continue on long enough to be Orlando, especially with no ascending stroke for the 'd' and not appearing to end with a round shape for a letter like 'o'. It appears to me to be more of an n/m/r final letter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.14|162.158.75.14]] 23:19, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

2366: Amelia's Farm Fresh Cookies

2020-09-30T23:14:26Z

162.158.75.14: /* Transcript */ added the 6 in the street address

{{comic
| number = 2366
| date = October 1, 2020
| title = Amelia's Farm Fresh Cookies
| image = amelias_farm_fresh_cookies.png
| titletext = I told her I'd take her address off the packaging if she'd stop submitting anonymous food safety complaints about my bakery to the health department, but she sent me a note that said NO DEAL along with an extra large batch of cookies.
}}

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

The comic portrays the back side of a box of cookies (evidenced by the "nutritional facts"-style table on the left side). Most brands have on their packaging a romanticized origin story explaining the name or how they have a secret ingredient. Instead, this brand's origin story is a deliberate revenge on Amelia's part towards her grandmother, because Amelia never liked her grandmother's cookies for the reasons explained.

To complete her revenge, the "story" contains the grandmother's address. Creating false addresses for their mascots is often used as a publicity stunt for children to write testimonies to the brand's PR or marketing department. However, here it appears to be Amelia's actual Grandma's actual address, the goal being for her to receive thousands of letters on a regular basis about how her grandaughter's cookies are so great, while jabbing "unlike yours!"

The mouseover text suggests that the grandmother's address was not originally on the packaging, but rather appeared as their feud escalated. The implied chain of events is that after Amelia put out her brand, her Grandma called the health inspectors on her. Whether genuinely concerned the "gooey centers and slightly crisp exteriors" are being achieved through unsanitary means (such as not fully cooking that part) or simply a ploy to overburden Amelia's bakery with unnecessarily frequent inspections, it annoyed Amelia enough to put her Grandma's address on the packaging.

She additionally, now that it was clear how much Amelia hated her cookies, sent her an "extra-large batch", which would mean Amelia would be forced to eat them as punishment so they wouldn't go to waste.

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

:[What looks like the back of a package of cookies is shown.]

:[Top left: Product logo.]
:Amelia's Farm-Fresh Cookies

:[Bottom left: Illegible squiggles representing a standard Nutrition Facts panel and Ingredients list.]

:[Right side:]
:Our Story
:Growing up on my grandma's farm, I spent so many cozy mornings in the kitchen, watching her take trays of fresh-baked cookies from the oven.
:Her cookies were just ''awful''.
:She used the finest ingredients. Eggs straight from the coop, stone-ground flour, hand-churned butter. But she squandered them. It's so sad. She told me I was too picky, but I know what cookies are supposed to taste like.
:When I started a bakery, I vowed not to repeat her mistakes. These cookies won't fall apart in your hands. They have gooey centers, and slightly crisp exteriors, not the other way around, ''Grandma''. There's no mysterious gritty texture. Why would there be?
:If you enjoy these cookies, please write to my grandma to let her know.
:Thanks! Amelia

:[A partially legible squiggled out address appears at the bottom left of the Our Story part of the box.]
:Ms W[illegible] M[illegible]
:1[illegible]6 A[illegible] Ln
:Orlando, FL 32841

{{comic discussion}}

1403: Thesis Defense

2020-07-19T17:34:39Z

162.158.75.14: Fixed an error in the transcript

{{comic
| number = 1403
| date = August 4, 2014
| title = Thesis Defense
| image = thesis_defense.png
| titletext = MY RESULTS ARE A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ON THE STATE OF THE AAAAAAAAAAAART
}}

==Explanation==
In the comic, [[Megan]] is presenting evidence on her {{w|thesis}}, a theory on the evolution of threat displays in mammals, in front of a panel of some people. To conclude her exposition she charges at the audience, shouting a {{w|battle cry}}, and brandishing a sword. The audience flinches. As the audience is composed of mammals and is responding to a displayed threat, we should assume that this response provides some key evidence about the threat displays in mammals.

This comic is a play on a thesis defense and the {{w|adage}} "{{w|The best defense is a good offense}}". The adage means that a strong offensive action will preoccupy the opposition and ultimately hinder its ability to mount an opposing counterattack, leading to a strategic advantage. A thesis defense generally involves an oral exam on the topic the candidate has chosen, and should involve no physical violence.

For added humorous effect, in the title text Megan extrapolates how she improved the state of the art, i.e. what she has added to her field of study, while screaming the word art.

==Transcript==
:[Megan runs towards a desk with two microphones on it, waving a broadsword high in the air. Cueball and one other sitting behind the desk are taken aback, while Ponytail standing off to the side holds an arm in front of her face protectively. A slide is projected on a screen behind Megan, reading "The evolution of threat displays in mammals".]
:Megan: In conclusion, AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
:[Caption below the panel:]
:The best thesis defense is a good thesis offense.

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

2292: Thermometer

2020-04-10T22:32:18Z

162.158.75.14: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2292
| date = April 10, 2020
| title = Thermometer
| image = thermometer.png
| titletext = I hate how many times you have to press it to get to the system normal people use, degrees Rømer.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ROUGE RADIAN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic makes fun of people's use of different units of temperature. Randall, as he was an engineer, would likely have strong opinions with units, as unit conversion is often a gripe for many engineers. Celsius units are used in most of the world, while Fahrenheit is used in the United States. Kelvin are a unit often used in scientific fields. It is based on Celsius, where 0 K is absolute zero or -273 °C. Degrees Rankine are similar to Kelvins, but far less well known. It is the Fahrenheit equivalent to Kelvin, starting at absolute zero with 0°R (equal to -459 °F). The use of either of these units for home temperature gauging is ridiculous, as they are far too large and uncommon to be practical for the average user. While at any temperature, the kinetic energy of a particle will vary wildly, the Average Transnational Kinetic Energy for a molecule at a given temperature can be calculated using Boltzmann's Constant, hence why it is on the side of the device for convenience. The title text references another temperature unit, Rømer[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rømer_scale], which is a scale whose fixed points are 7.5 as water's freezing point and 60 as water's boiling point. A unit on the Rømer scale is about 41/20 of a unit on the celsius scale.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Cueball stands in the center of the panel holding a thermometer.]
:Cueball: This thermometer is in Celsius. How do you change it?
:Off-panel voice: Long press the button.

[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Kelvin
:Cueball: No...

[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Degrees Rankine
:Cueball: What.

[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Average Translational Kinetic Energy
:Cueball: This is the worst thermometer.
:Off-panel voice: Boltzmann's constant is on the side if you need it.
{{comic discussion}}

{{comic discussion}}