explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2415: Allow Captcha

2021-01-23T03:36:01Z

162.158.78.232: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2415
| date = January 23, 2021
| title = Allow Captcha
| image = allow_captcha.png
| titletext = To prove you're human, please click all the number pairs that appear together in your Social Security number.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a malicious design practice that already exists out there. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Shady websites often use similar tactics to trick you into allowing notifications, including saying "[https://www.bleepstatic.com/swr-guides/c/click-allow-to-verify-that-your-are-not-a-robot/notification-subscription-page.jpg Please allow notifications to confirm you are not a robot]". This comic combines that with a traditional recaptcha to try and trick savvier users too.

Title text is a similar recaptcha thing trying to also do identity fraud at coords 3,3 and 4,3.

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:362: Blade Runner

2021-01-14T22:17:47Z

162.158.78.232:

Definitely trolling, in my view...
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.83|173.245.54.83]] 15:54, 12 July 2020 (UTC)
In the explanation the DVD-owner is refered to as cueball, however in the transcript they are the friend, is this just a mix-up or...--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.206|173.245.52.206]] 06:10, 6 January 2014 (UTC)
: Which should be changed? The description and transcript completely disagree on who is watching/who is commenting. [[User:Ad1217|Ad1217]] ([[User talk:Ad1217|talk]]) 01:06, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
::I have corrected both explanation and transcript. As both look like Cueball then neither can be described as being him! Also added more info and links to explain [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:52, 8 May 2014 (UTC)
:::Please do not remove the Cueball references here. He is a standard character here. The category [[:Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] gives just an overview about all comics showing this stick figure. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:07, 8 May 2014 (UTC)
::::But who should define who Cueball is? You? I could see him as both here. And somebody did. You have just corrected back so that the Cueball in the explain is switched to the other charachter in the transcript. At least one of these should then be changed to match the other. It is thus also clear that people have different views of what Cueball stands for. Is he the one trolling, or is he the one who knows which movie Blade Runner is? Kynde (talk) 07:35, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
::::By the way - I did not remove the reference to the chategory - but only in the text as described above. Kynde (talk) 07:38, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
::::Now I have corrected the transcript so the Cueball here matches your choice in the explanation. Which I could not say is better that the reverse - but it is less confusing. Randall do not call him Cueball - that is his readers that have used this nane - which is also why there can be more than one "Cueball" in one comic. Neither of these should then be considered to be Cueball in my oppinion. But if you have a way to define why it should be the guy who watches the DVD who is Cueball I would like to hear. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:51, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
:Agreed that it's definitely trolling. Really don't think that paragraph needs the second part about possibly being confused. (Also, I feel like the troller makes a better "Cueball" because they're sort of the "protagonist", in that they're driving the discussion? idk. Doesn't matter too much though.)

Talk:866: Compass and Straightedge

2020-10-27T00:51:26Z

162.158.78.232:

No, the comic is funny because many geometrical theorems prove something along the lines of "With a compass and straightedge you cannot construct..." (e.g. a square and a circle with the same area) If you have knowledge of this type of proof, the humor is that you think he's about to talk about something that is impossible in geometry, but really he's talking about the inapplicability of geometry to real life. This is often a difficulty with nerds and brainy people, they try to apply their theoretical knowledge to human relationships and fail. [[Special:Contributions/75.103.23.206|75.103.23.206]] 19:53, 13 December 2012 (UTC)
:And then there's the converse: people who are able to apply theoretical knowledge and succeed. [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 04:33, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

The explanation mentions that there are "three such constructions", but doesn't go any further. What they are should at least be addressed (or linked to), even if we're not going to elaborate on the "why" of their impossibility. For the uninitiated, they are squaring the circle, trisecting any angle, and doubling the cube. [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 04:33, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

If such constructions are "impossible with the use of modern algebraic techniques," then why don't we just use older algebraic techniques? ;){{unsigned ip|213.203.138.251}}
:Those "modern algebraic techniques" just did prove that you can't solve this constructions by using only "classical geometry".--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:14, 29 June 2013 (UTC)

I tried forming a club for compasses and straight edges but no one signed up :( ~JFreund

Could the “most awsome birthday party“ bear another deeper meaning, for example be analogue to the rational polynom with rational coefficients?
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.100|162.158.202.100]] 04:30, 9 April 2017 (UTC)

Could this "most awesome birthday party" be a reference to Stephen Hawking's party for time travelers?
[[User:Spagovir|Spagovir]] ([[User talk:Spagovir|talk]]) 18:33, 10 August 2017 (UTC)
: I'm pretty sure you're right, it sounds like a Hawking party reference to me too. - [[User:CRGreathouse|CRGreathouse]] ([[User talk:CRGreathouse|talk]]) 06:17, 8 August 2018 (UTC)

Anyone think of adding a reference to 710 Collatz Conjecture? Where in a similar vein, he begins by explaining the steps for applying the conjecture, then finishes up by losing all his friends. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.17|108.162.246.17]] 16:26, 8 August 2018 (UTC)

There's some irony in the fact that Randall *could* give Cueball friends using only a compass and a straight edge, since Cueball himself can be drawn using only a compass (for the round head) and straight edge (stick figure).

1885: Ensemble Model

2020-10-16T04:01:07Z

162.158.78.232: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1885
| date = September 4, 2017
| title = Ensemble Model
| image = ensemble_model.png
| titletext = I'm in talks with Netflix to produce an alternate-universe crime drama about the world where sliced bread was never re-legalized, but it's going slowly because they keep changing their phone numbers and the door lock codes at their headquarters.
}}

==Explanation==
An {{w|ensemble forecasting|ensemble model}} is a combination of multiple, similar models to show a wider range of possible outcomes. The graphs on the left are tracks of predictions from multiple models. In this comic, [[Randall]] starts out describing actual changes that ensemble models show, but sinks into absurdity, describing strange alternate universes and scenarios that likely would not be necessary in an actual model.

The upper graph shows a typical plot of predicted wind speeds over time from various ensemble members. The graph shows that it is predicted that the storm will strengthen, with varying degrees of weakening depending on the ensemble member. The graph at the left bottom is a typical map of isobars (lines of equal {{w|Atmospheric pressure|pressure}}) for various ensemble members with the ensemble members showing slightly different configurations. The bottom right graph is a typical {{w|Tropical cyclone|hurricane}} path-prediction graphic, starting in the Atlantic moving westwards and then turning to north, often with the {{w|List of Caribbean islands|Caribbean Islands}} or the US coast in the path. Some hurricanes don't reach mainlands and after turning north they head eastwards and can reach Europe still as strong storm.

The term {{w|Universe (mathematics)|universe}} is in mathematics a class that contains all the entities of an ensemble in a given situation. Don't be confused with the more common usage of the words {{w|universe}}, the entire space where we live, and {{w|multiverse}}, a hypothetical set of possible universes.

The first three outcomes are real while the others are less serious. They are explained below:
;…rain is 0.5% more likely in some areas …wind speeds are slightly lower …pressure levels are randomly tweaked
These realistic outcomes are only possible under calm weather conditions. Predicting these values with an accuracy better than 1% indicates that the model is stable even when the ''initial conditions'' are slightly changed. Modern weather forecasts at normal circumstances are often not good as this and for a hurricane or tornado the variances are much higher.

;…dogs run slightly faster
This is where the comic diverges from reality; there is no reason to have the locomotion speed of dogs as a parameter in a usual weather model.
The speed of dogs might be a parameter in a wildlife model, where the speed of a predator might affect the predator/prey ratios. In terms of weather models, dogs traditionally chase cats, so running faster might affect the number of cats. Cats prey on birds, which in turn eat insects. So faster dogs might increase the number of birds, reducing the number of butterflies. Butterflies in turn affect the weather through the {{w|Butterfly effect|butterfly effect}} (that is that the movement of a butterflies wings may change the development of tornados, or other weather, in difficult to predict ways, as for instance with the [https://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Quantum_weather_butterflies quantum weather butterfly]).

;…there is one extra cloud in the Bahamas
This situation is most likely too specific and subtle a difference to be useful to the model.

;…Germany won WWII
"What if Germany won World War II" is a {{w|Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II|very popular}} subject for {{w|alternate history}} stories.

;…snakes are wide instead of long
Snakes being wider than they are long (think "eyes and mouth in the middle of their body and a tail on both sides") in present reality would have enormous consequences for zoology and other fields of biology, including evolutionary biology. It would also have an impact on art history, especially where it involves paintings depicting certain scenes from the book of Genesis. Compared to these effects, the expected upshot for meteorology seems to be limited.

;…Will Smith took the lead in ''The Matrix'' instead of ''Wild Wild West''
Actor {{w|Will Smith}} famously{{Citation needed}} turned down the lead role of {{w|Neo (The Matrix)|Neo}} in ''{{w|The Matrix}}'', instead taking the role of Captain James T. West in the widely-panned action-comedy ''{{w|Wild Wild West}}''. The role of Neo ultimately went to {{w|Keanu Reeves}}.

Besides the significance of the role and what many surmise might have happened if Smith had pulled off the role in the iconic and groundbreaking film trilogy, another possible reason behind calling out Will Smith in particular is that he has turned down other offered roles that would place him in an ''ensemble'' cast, rather than the lead.

;…swimming pools are carbonated
A simple calculation reveals this as a serious {{w|Greenhouse effect|greenhouse}} problem. In the United States there are not less than 5,000,000 private owned pools. Conservatively assumed a volume of 25,000 liters per pool gives 125 billion liters of carbonated soda. According to Wikipedia the U.S. sales reached around 30 billion bottles of water in 2008 (including non carbonated water) which is surely much less than all the pool water. While all those bottles are not considered to have an impact on the green house effect this scenario is getting even worse. Open a bottle of carbonated water and fill the content into glasses. More or less soon the sprinkling is over, meaning you have to open the next bottle and so on. In a pool at the bottom the pressure is high enough to hold the carbon dioxide but on the surface it behaves like the glass. So, while a glass needs new carbonated water every two hours, or ten times per day, let's say it's three times per day for the pool which leads to one thousand times per year. The total number in this scenario would be 125 trillion liters of carbonated soda, ejecting carbon dioxide, per year. But stop: The carbon dioxide used for artificial carbonated water is taken from the air and because of the pressure at the bottom of the pool it doesn't release all back this should have a positive effect. But as Randall has shown in {{what if|88|Soda Sequestration}} this effect would be minimal.

;…sliced bread, after being banned in January 1943, was never re-legalized.
{{w|Sliced bread}} was in fact {{w|Sliced bread#1943 U.S. ban on sliced bread|banned in the US}} for about two months in early 1943, as a supposed wartime conservation measure. The issue was not the bread itself, but that the pre-sliced loaves required a heavier {{w|wax paper}} wrapping to prevent them from drying out too quickly.

The title text suggests that Randall has been pitching an absurd "alternate-universe crime drama" to {{w|Netflix}}, apparently based on the premise that a permanent sliced-bread ban would spawn a criminal underground (similar to those created by alcohol and drug prohibitions in actual history). The first half of the sentence is set up to imply that production had started on the series but a breakdown in communication has occurred between them, playing on the reader's expectations. The conclusion of the sentence nonetheless makes it clear that Netflix has zero interest in the pitch, and so Randall has become overzealous in pushing his idea, to the point that Netflix employees are changing their numbers (presumably they can't block his number because he has resorted to calling from many different phones). He has even taken to infiltrating Netflix's corporate headquarters using ill-gotten security codes, which is definitely illegal{{Citation needed}}, much like [[Elaine]]'s "meetings" with Steve Jobs in [[1337: Part 3]].

However, it is clear that Netflix is uninterested and is attempting to prevent Randall from contacting them (or trespassing into the building).

==Transcript==
:[Inside this single panel comic the header on top reads:]
:In an ''ensemble model'', forecasters run many different versions of a weather model with slightly different initial conditions. This helps account for uncertainty and shows forecasters a spread of possible outcomes.

:[To the left side a picture shows several gray overlapping swirling lines emitted from a point, then gradually diverging rightwards. Below are two smaller pictures; the first shows the lines connected to several loops and in the second it's still a similar figure to the above but moving into the opposite direction with the point emerged to a spiral.]

:[The text right to the pictures reads:]
:'''Members in a typical ensemble:'''
:A universe where…
:…rain is 0.5% more likely in some areas
:…wind speeds are slightly lower
:…pressure levels are randomly tweaked
:…dogs run slightly faster
:…there's one extra cloud in the Bahamas
:…Germany won WWII
:…snakes are wide instead of long
:…Will Smith took the lead in ''The Matrix'' instead of ''Wild Wild West''
:…swimming pools are carbonated
:…sliced bread, after being banned in January 1943, was never re-legalized.

==Trivia==
[[2149: Alternate Histories]] also deals with the alternative history setting of Germany winning WW2 and subsequently more weird alternate history settings.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:The Matrix]]

2017: Stargazing 2

2019-10-01T14:39:45Z

162.158.78.232: https://xkcd.com/1646/info.0.json was changed to female pronouns but this explanation wasn't updated until now

<noinclude>:''"2017", this comic's number, redirects here. For the comic named "2017", see [[1779: 2017]].''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 2017
| date = July 9, 2018
| title = Stargazing 2
| image = stargazing_2.png
| titletext = I mean, it wasn't exactly MY thesis. When the FAA came to shut down our observatory for using the telescope mirror to shine light at airplanes, I took a thesis and a bunch of doctorates from the supply cabinet on my way out.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the second comic in the [[:Category:Stargazing|Stargazing]] series: The first was [[1644: Stargazing]], two and a half years earlier.

This comic continues with the TV host mixing accurate astronomical information with trivialities, as well as utterly bizarre statements. In the first panel, the host voices surprise that the stars are visible again after disappearing during daylight.

The host mentions three stars in a constellation which she says is called The Triangle, likely referring to the constellation {{w|Triangulum}}, which is in fact just three main stars in a narrow triangle. However, this may also simply be intended to show the host's lack of knowledge of constellations, since he then goes on to point out three other stars forming a triangle and concludes that one can form lots of triangles by connecting groups of three stars. In Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, any set of three non-collinear points will form a triangle, so to say that there are a "lotta triangles" is both trivial and an understatement.{{Citation needed}} (There are about 125 billion triangles visible in the night sky with around 9096 visible stars.)

Then she points to planets, calling them dots known as "fool's stars" (like fool's gold). This is understandable as planets such as Venus and Jupiter are often mistaken as stars, and one Latin term for a planet was "stella errans", meaning "wandering star". He also notes that lacking interstellar transportation, humanity will likely only reach the planets within our solar system. However, he then makes the seemingly ludicrous assertion that humans will turn these planets into interplanetary landfills, which might be a comment on how humans have used the Earth.

The host also notices a dot of "space trash": An artificial satellite. Since the nascent Space Age, the Earth's orbit has gradually accumulated artificial materials that include satellites, spent rockets, and space stations. There are concerns such debris accumulation will increasingly imperil current and future space projects. However, the host claims there is an app that can tell you "whose fault it is," presumably a satellite-tracking smartphone app such as [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skyview-satellite-guide-find/id694309958?mt=8 SkyView] which can inform you who launched a given satellite and thus whose "fault" that particular bit of space-junk might be.

The host eventually goes off on a tangent when someone from the audience points out something blinking in the sky. The host says it is a plane, and tells them what is inside it. The host continues, "don't bother trying to catch that one." This could be understood as he means it's too hard to point the telescope at it properly because it is moving too fast. In the title text, however, she means this literally, revealing that at one point during his studies he apparently used the reflective mirror of a telescope to shine light directly at airplanes, which caused the {{w|Federal Aviation Administration}} (FAA) to close down the observatory. She claims it was worth getting shut down by the FAA because she completed her thesis for his graduate degree. "Got a thesis out of it" is a phrase typically used by a scholar after discussing a research project, as a way of indicating that it was actually the main research they had conducted as a student in graduate school. Conducting research and writing it up in a thesis is one of the major hurdles toward earning a graduate degree (masters or doctorate).

In the title text, she clarifies that as she was exiting the observatory, she literally "got", as in "stole", someone else's thesis paper and multiple doctorates (presumably framed degrees), either to fraudulently claim them as his own accomplishments, or perhaps just because he wanted to steal stuff. Usually "got a thesis" is shorthand for the process of "writing a lengthy thesis paper and having it be accepted as a requirement for graduation", however in this case she simply swiped someone else's document. The revelations that she's extremely unqualified (and unethical) would explain her many bizarre statements.

==Transcript==
:[In a dark panel, a TV host is standing in front of a group of 5 people: two Cueballs, Ponytail, Hairbun and Megan.]
:Host: Welcome back to stargazing.
:Host: When the stars disappeared this morning, I figured I had to find a new job, but they're ''back!'' This ''rules!''

:[A frame-less white panel in which the host points to the upper right with Megan, ponytail and Cueball looking in that direction.]
:Host: Those three stars form a constellation called the triangle.
:Host: Those three are another triangle.
:Host: Lotta triangles. Very important shape.

:[Back to a dark panel with the host now pointing to the upper left in a close-up.]
:Host: Those dots are planets, or "fool's stars." Without interstellar travel, they're the only ones we can realistically hope to dump trash on.
:Host: Speaking of space trash, that dot is a satellite. There are apps that will tell you whose fault it is.

:[The host is now turned right not pointing, still in a close-up.]
:Off-panel voice: What's that blinking one?
:Host: Airplane. They're full of snacks and money and stuff, but don't bother trying to catch them- they're ''way'' too high up.
:Host: Learned that the hard way in grad school.
:Host: Got a thesis out of it, at least.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Stargazing|Stargazing]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Stargazing]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] 
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

Disappearing Sunday Update

2019-08-05T00:41:47Z

162.158.78.232: Monday is the 5th, not the 4th

{{comic
| number = 2185
| date = August 5, 2019
| title = Disappearing Sunday Update
| image = disappearing_sunday_update.png
| titletext = This comic won't exist in the archives. NOTHING IS REAL.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The comic claims to be a special Disappearing comic that will disappear Monday August 5th, and is an advertisement for The upcoming book "How To".
This includes a drawing of the cover, on set of pages, and a sampling of the table of contents of the book.
The second part of the comic apologizes for various bots that automatically catalog xkcd comics that might break because of this special comic.
This website is one example assigning the comic a number of 2185 despite the comic not having a designated number. The comic even broke the xkcd site its self as the previous comic (2184) has a next button that links to comic 2185 (which does not exist) and displays a [http://http.cat/404 404] error.
One of the bot methods mentioned may be in reference to [http://www.xkcd.com/2180 2180 : Spreadsheets] where Queball debates making a real program to do a task, or to use a spreadsheet instead.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
~SPECIAL DISAPPEARING SUNDAY COMIC~

I'm posting this ephemeral sunday update to let you know that I wrote a book! It's a guide to solving everyday problems in terrible ways using science.

It comes out next month, and it's available for preorder now.

The cover looks like this

and the inside looks like this.

Chapters include:
How to charge your phone
How to throw a pool party
How to move
How to build a lava moat
How to ski

You can learn more and preorder it at xkcd.com/how-to

and read an excerpt at blog.xkcd.com

If you read xkcd through unusual means, including apps, custom screen-scraping systems, google reader clones, twitter bots, bash scripts, gopher portals, lynx-based ascii art browsers, third-party sceond life feeds, rfc 2549, or massive google docs sheets full of =importhtml() and =image() formulas, I hope this ephemeral ghost comic doesn't break them too badly.

It will disappear with the normal monday update.

(At least, I think it will. I've never tried this before. So I'm honestly not sure what the server will do.)
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1504: Opportunity

2019-02-13T20:03:09Z

162.158.78.232:

"Everything the light touches is our kingdom" are Mufasa words from 'The Lion King' (1994) --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 08:39, 27 March 2015 (UTC)
- The "You must never go there" line is also from Lion King. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/quotes?item=qt0371437 [[User:Drmouse|Drmouse]] ([[User talk:Drmouse|talk]]) 11:40, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

May someone make this Transcritpt better? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.10|141.101.104.10]] 08:58, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Hey, thanks to whoever tidied up my explanation [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 11:01, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

I think the second line ("We must never go there") is from the same scene in ''The Lion King'' as the first line, not a reference to ''Space Odyssey'' . See [[http://youtu.be/K5lEJlbEgz4]] from 0:52 to 1:23. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.55|108.162.216.55]] 11:04, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

It seems to me to be common currency that the 'missing' word in "one small step" is "a", not "this" (whether as a fluffed line, in the moment, or a temporary radio drop-out over that bare syllable). Also, while it's highly ''suggested'', there's no certainty in the title-text that the new Mars-landing quote ''necessarily'' ended in fatality. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 14:31, 27 March 2015 (UTC) (Someone seems to have edited the text that inspired these comments, now... so you may now ignore me. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 22:41, 27 March 2015 (UTC))

I just don't get how the rover could gain more power. It is after all, isolated on mars. All it could do is get weaker. Maybe it was already strong enough to control half of mars. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 15:05, 27 March 2015 (UTC)
:My take was that even without batteries, it was still getting enough power from the solar panels (and maybe it somehow became sentient enough to reconfigure to create additional solar power arrays sufficient for its needs, like some suggestions for 'builder' robots on the Moon, perhaps mixed in with Von Neumann machine ideas). Which makes the "dark part of Mars, don't go there!" even more intruiging. (Have we done to Opportunity what 'we' tried to do to the Matrix's machine-civilisation? Darken the environment? And thus how is it still dangerous? The same reason as the Matrix machines are still powered on ''that'' world? Or has it raised the cloud of darkness itself; Because It Can, to delineate its territory or as an actual terraforming effort of its own, more suited to its own current needs and 'desires'? And how many ''more'' questions can I raise?) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 22:41, 27 March 2015 (UTC)
::The reason is because this is a joke. A little light-hearted confusion generating narrative which hinges on the unlikelihood of the Opportunity rover not only surviving far beyond it's projected time-period, extrapolated into the absurdity of it somehow taking over half the planet. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 00:09, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

I'm surely not the only person who read the title text and thought, "Well, that's more work for the Death of Being Ground by a Mars Rover Rock Abrasion Tool." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.171|108.162.216.171]] 18:01, 27 March 2015 (UTC)
:I just wanted to say pretty much the same thing, so no, you're not the only. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.168|173.245.53.168]] 09:12, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

Did something happen to inspire this? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 19:28, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

On March 20 Opportunity completed a reformat of its flash memory and started accumulating more data. On March 24 it logged 26.219 miles (42.195 km) in the 11 years and 2 months since it landed, the length of a marathon.

NASA JPL press releases: http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/newsroom/pressreleases/20150323a.html http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/newsroom/pressreleases/20150324a.html [[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 22:59, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

What citations does this explanation require?--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 11:39, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

What does the transcript require for it to be complete? As far as I can tell, it is complete. --[[User:Zbee|Zbee]] [[User talk:Zbee|talk]] [https://github.com/zbee git] ([[User talk:Zbee|talk]]) 17:16, 28 March 2015 (UTC)
:I think the transcript is incorrect, rather than incomplete. In the 2450 panel Meghan-M and Cueball-M appear to be standing in daylight. In that case it would be wrong to say they are "pointing in the dark". It would be better to say they are "pointing towards a dark, mountainous region". Someone feel free to edit the transcript if you agree.[[User:These Are Not The Coments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Coments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Coments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 19:21, 28 March 2015 (UTC)
::I hadn't caught that before; I've changed it and think it is good now.--[[User:Zbee|Zbee]] [[User talk:Zbee|talk]] [https://github.com/zbee git] 20:02, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

"[...] and will not allow humans to enter his dark reign." Shouldn't it be "it's dark reign."? [[Special:Contributions/188.114.97.151|188.114.97.151]] 23:35, 14 December 2015 (UTC)
:There, fixed. This is an open wiki, if you see an issue you think should be sorted out, do so. If you screw up and don't notice, someone else can fix it. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 01:49, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

I got rid of the apostrophe in "it's dark reign". It should be "it's…".[[User:Saspic45|Saspic45]] ([[User talk:Saspic45|talk]]) 03:13, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

Kind of funny, Opportunity came within a year of being on Mars with the 2020 Rover. It should be glad it will never have to duel Opportunity.

2105: Modern OSI Model

2019-01-30T23:56:29Z

162.158.78.232: fix broken wikipedia link

{{comic
| number = 2105
| date = January 30, 2019
| title = Modern OSI Model
| image = modern_osi_model.png
| titletext = In retrospect, I shouldn't have used each layer of the OSI model as one of my horcruxes.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a seven-layered BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The {{w|OSI model|Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model}} is a computing model for network communications that abstracts a communication between two services like a Facebook client and Facebook servers all the way from physical to user interaction layers. As Facebook is one of the most used websites in the world with more than a billion users, Randall claims that the "application" layer (what the client sees and uses) is mostly {{w|Facebook}}.

A light gray shape labeled "Google & Amazon" surrounds all seven layers of the model in an irregular shape indicating that Google and Amazon, by dint of their size and dominance at multiple layers of the model influence the entire structure. An example of Google's influence would be their introduction of new protocols like {{w|QUIC}} and {{w|SPDY}} as replacements for the existing HTTP protocol that was a foundation of the web.

The significance of the irregular pattern of the "Google & Amazon" blob isn't clear. It is likely that it is in reference to the irregular way in which their modifications to the OSI stack have evolved. Potentially with extensions to the left representing the influence of google, and extension to the right representing the influence of amazon. However, it is also notable that the irregular structure of the stack is arranged so as to resemble a {{w|Jenga}} tower. Jenga, for those unfamiliar, is a game in which blocks are added and removed from a vertical pile until the whole collapses. This may be a commentary on the instability of the stack in general, or on how Google and Amazon's additions and changes to it have destabilized the networking protocols. Or, the specific blocks to be pulled out (presentation, session, and network) may be the ones whose removal collapses the tower while the other ones can be easily removed and replaced (like the center blocks in Jenga), implying that between Google and Amazon, even if these were pulled out, the tower would stand. What this says about the three layers that would destabilize the tower, is unclear.

The title text refers to {{w|Magical_objects_in_Harry_Potter#Horcruxes|Horcruxes}} used by {{w|Lord Voldemort|Voldemort}} in the ''{{w|Harry Potter}}'' book series. A Horcrux is a magical artifact used to house a wizard's soul, preventing them from dying if their body is destroyed. Since they can only be created by murdering other people, they are heavily forbidden, and before Voldemort it was unheard of for a wizard to use more than one. Voldemort used seven -- the same number of layers Randall uses in the OSI model. However, while Voldemort hid his seven Horcruxes in different places to make himself that much harder to kill, Randall has stashed all seven in the same place, defeating the purpose of using more than one. Alternatively, transforming each layer of the OSI model into a horcrux may be regarded as a strategy to prevent them from being destroyed since doing so would destroy networking. This strategy would fail in the modern world, since some of the envisioned layers were rarely used and in the case of cloud infrastructure potential exists to provide even more shortcuts.
The title text may also be a reference to a [[1417|prior comic]] about Randall mixing up things that come in groups of seven, like data layers and Horcruxes.

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

:'''Modern OSI Model'''

::Application (Facebook) (supported on both sides)

::Presentation (pulling out would collapse the tower)

::Session (pulling out would collapse the tower)

::Transport (supported on both sides)

::Network (pulling out would collapse the tower)

:Google & Amazon

::Data link (supported on both sides)

::Physical (supported on both sides)

{{comic discussion}}

2100: Models of the Atom

2019-01-20T18:22:14Z

162.158.78.232: /* Explanation */ connect 538 to quantum model

{{comic
| number = 2100
| date = January 18, 2019
| title = Models of the Atom
| image = models_of_the_atom.png
| titletext = J.J. Thompson won a Nobel Prize for his work in electricity in gases, but was unfairly passed over for his "An atom is plum pudding, and plum pudding is MADE of atoms! Duuuuude." theory.
}}

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

This comic humorously describes the changing view of what an {{w|atom}} is. This has happened so much it seems that we never really knew what we are looking at, and there have been many competing theories aside from the mainstream ones we are taught in school. He lists major depictions in the history of our understanding of an atom, and adds a few humorous ones in to poke fun at how diverse, contentious, and in retrospect often foolhardy, this history has been.

;Small hard ball model
The first model shown, in 1810, is said to be a "small hard ball model." Around this time, {{w|John Dalton}} published his textbook ''A New System of Chemical Philosophy'' which linked existing ideas of atomic theory and chemical reactivity to produce a combined {{w|Law of multiple proportions}} which proposed that each chemical element is comprised of a single unique type of atom, and introduced the concept of {{w|Molecular mass|molecular weight}}. Dalton's theories form the basis of what is known today as {{w|stoichiometry}}, which underpins chemical reactivity. As atoms were considered at this time to be the smallest possible division of matter the scientific community thought of them as "hard round balls" of different sizes; thus the name described here. The "small hard ball" model is still commonly used when teaching and discussing chemical molecules which do not require the level of detail provided by more advanced models, with atoms represented as small, hard, round balls connected by sticks representing chemical bonds.

;Plum pudding model
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the study of these "atom" things faced a crisis: where would the newly discovered "{{w|electron}}s" go? In 1904, physicist {{w|J. J. Thomson}}, who discovered electrons, had an idea: maybe the electrons were small point charges moving around in a big mass of positive charge. This was the "{{w|plum pudding model}}", the second model on the comic, called this because people imagined the positively charged mass as a "{{w|Christmas pudding|plum pudding}}". (The title text references Thomson as well, along with the humorous observation that plum puddings themselves are made of atoms.) The problem with this approach is that same charges generally repel, resulting in the more mobile or unbalanced charges forming a surface shell around the others, attempting to escape, rather than being content to being randomly distributed among them.

;Tiny bird model
There were many competing ideas in the formative years of what-are-atoms-made-of-ology, [[Randall]] makes up a 1907 "tiny bird model."

;Rutherford model
Ultimately, the tentative winner in the battle was the model of Thomson's student {{w|Ernest Rutherford}}, who discovered from electrostatic scattering experiments that the positive charge seemed to be concentrated in the center of the atom, and proposed his {{w|Rutherford model}}, or "planetary model", in 1911, where electrons orbit a very concentrated positive charge. This model has often been compared to the orbit of the planets around the sun, with the electrostatic attraction of the electrons and protons shaping the orbits, rather than gravity. This is the fourth model in the comic.

;Bohr model
The Rutherford model could not explain the discrete spectral lines in absorption and emission spectra. It also did not explain why electrons did not spiral in to the nucleus. {{w|Niels Bohr}} patched the model up by proposing that electrons could only exist in distinct "energy levels" at discrete distances from the nucleus. The 1913 "{{w|Bohr model}}", the fifth model shown here, was part of beginning quantum mechanics. Physics behaves differently at the small scale of atoms than the large scales we are more familiar with.

;Nunchuck model
Randall facetiously suggests a "{{w|Nunchaku|nunchuck}} model", the sixth model shown, of a packet of protons swinging a packet of electrons around. One can imagine a handle filled with electrons bonded by the strong nucleur force to a chain made of neutrons, bonded again by the strong nuclear force to a handle made of protons. The heavier protonic handle acts loosely as an orbital center as the electron-filled opposite handle swings wildly around it, attempting to resolve its electrostatic attraction within the restraints of its chain.

;Chadwick model
The next refinement was in the structure of the nucleus. Note that at this time, nobody thought of splitting up the nucleus into {{w|proton}}s and {{w|neutron}}s. But pretty soon people noticed that protons and neutrons existed; {{w|James Chadwick}}, who discovered the neutron, figured that the atom had a nucleus of neutrons and protons, along with a bunch of electrons orbiting around it in a Bohrish manner. This is what the layman today often thinks of as an atom, and is the seventh model shown here.

;538 Model
The eighth model shown is a made up "538 model," in 2008. {{w|FiveThirtyEight|538}} is a statistical analysis website that gained fame in 2008 for predicting every race but 2 correctly in the {{w|2008 United States presidential election|US presidential election}} and predicting every state and Obama's win in the 2012 election. Unlike most other media and polling institutes it saw a rather high probability of 29% for Trump to win the 2016 election by summing up the uncertainties in all the battle states. It has since been known for making mathematical models for everything; the model jokingly suggests that 538 has modeled and presumably made predictions about the atom. The {{w|pie chart}} shows the statistical composition of neutrons, protons and electrons, 38%, 31%, and 31% respectively. This could either be the average of a massive body with several isotopes or represent gallium-69, the most abundant {{w|Isotopes of gallium|isotope of gallium}}, with 31 protons, 31 electrons and 38 neutrons. FiveThirtyEight has previously been mentioned in several xkcd comics, including in [[477: Typewriter]], [[500: Election]], [[635: Locke and Demosthenes]], [[1130: Poll Watching]], [[1779: 2017]], and [[2002: LeBron James and Stephen Curry]]. It's appropriate to list the 538 model as a precursor to the quantum model, as it is a step towards considering the likelihood of different quantities of subatomic particles to be in different volumes of space, rather than considering them as strictly kinematic particles. The comic moves this development into 2008 in support of this joke, when it was actually made much earlier.

;Quantum model
But is the Chadwick model what scientists endorse today? No!
{{w|Maxwell's equations|The theory of electromagnetism}} says that accelerated charges, like the electrons circling, would lose energy emitted as electromagnetic waves and would quickly orbit into the nucleus. Bohr only postulated that this would not happen, but his model could not explain why. Another problem{{Citation needed}} is that atoms, even the hydrogen atom are not flat - which they would be, if a single electron orbited in a circular or elliptical trajectory.
Today (i.e. actually since 1926, 29 years after the discovery of the electron) physicists subscribe to a quantum model, which is the ninth model shown here. Instead of electrons with definite location and momentum (~speed), the parts of the atom are described by probability fields of possible locations and momentums. The changes in momentum probability normally cancel each other out, so there is no electromagnetic radiation. This is very abstract, and in the last model, the model is postulated to get so abstract that it is just a "small hard ball surrounded by math" model, the last model shown. This then is remarkably similar to the model we started out from, the "small hard ball model" (without the math).

;“Small hard ball surrounded by math” model
The picture for the "small ball surrounded by math" depicts a circle with several numbers around it. While the numbers seem to symbolize the "surrounding math" in a general sense, some of them suggest constants used in actual mathematical equations or other numbers related to the quantum model. The shapes and densities of the atomic orbitals are calculated with the {{w|Schrödinger_equation}}, which is complex and difficult to solve. Or with string theory, which does not make it easier. For this reason atoms are generally precisely considered in only very simple simulations, and the details of interactions of many atoms at large scales that form our daily lives are incredibly hard to precisely understand and predict on an atomic level. It comes down to "these roundish things we call atoms are moving around in these approximate ways obeying this complex equation with too many numbers involved in most situations to accurately model, so let's use a different, empirically derived formula that describes the behavior of the system in general."

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Number !! Explanation
|-
| 18 || Maximum number of electrons in the third (M) {{w|electron shell}}
|-
| 0.1 || 1/10th, a simple decimal
|-
| π || The {{w|Pi|number pi}} ratio of circumference of a circle to half its diameter. Pi is present in many physics equations, often as its double value (2π); also in the definition of the {{w|Planck_constant#Value|reduced Planck constant}} present in quantum-mechanical equations.
|-
| 173 || Possibly a typo (could be 137) referring to the fine structure constant which value is approximately 1/137
|-
| √2 || An irrational constant, the square root of two, which comes up frequently
|-
| 4i || A simple complex number; i is considered the square root of -1 (4i is the square root of -16)
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[One large panel with a caption centered on top and ten small drawings in two rows. Each drawing has a description below it.]

:'''Models of the Atom'''
:over time

:[A somewhat imperfectly drawn circle.]
:1810 Small hard ball model

:[A rounded-corners trapezoid inside which there are four small plus signs and four small circles with minus signs inside them.]
:1904 Plum pudding model

:[A bigger circle, with four birds on the surface and music notes above.]
:1907 Tiny bird model

:[A small circle with dots circling around it, drawn with paths.]
:1911 Rutherford model

:[A circle with a plus sign with three circles around it, each with a dot.]
:1913 Bohr model

:[A nunchuck swinging, with the left stick filled with circles with plus signs and the right stick filled with circles with minus signs.]
:1928 Nunchuck model

:[A nucleus with three circles around it, each with a dot.]
:1932 Chadwick model

:[A pie chart, where a part of it has a circle, a part of it has a circle with a minus sign and a part of it has a circle with a plus sign.]
:2008 538 model

:[A small circle with clover-like orbitals around it and surrounded by two outer partly dashed circles.]
:Today Quantum model

:[A circle surrounded with numbers.]
:Numbers: 18, 0.1, π, 173, √2, 4i
:Future "Small hard ball surrounded by math" model

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Physics]]

2098: Magnetic Pole

2019-01-14T20:19:09Z

162.158.78.232: added context

{{comic
| number = 2098
| date = January 14, 2019
| title = Magnetic Pole
| image = magnetic_pole.png
| titletext = People keep trying to come up with reasons that we should worry about the magnetic field collapsing or reversing, but honestly I think it's fine. Whatever minor problems it causes will be made up for by the mid-latitude auroras.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CONVECTION CURRENT IN THE OUTER CORE and a chicken. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Over the last couple of months, Earth's magnetic fields have been shifting rapidly. Although the magnetic fields do move regularly, the current shift has been unexpected and unprecedented. As GPS and many other location systems are reliant on the magnetic fields to function, the accuracy of such tools is being shifted beyond the maximum acceptable error.

Locational and navigational systems use the magnetic field, in addition to a model, to do fancy math and pop out data. Due to the rapid shifts, a new model was scheduled to be out; however, because of the US government shutdown, the model has been considerably delayed.

As shifts occur, the error of geopositional data will increase until a new model is released. The effect is especially pronounced as you move toward the poles.

Since the movement is only equal to about two-fiths of a degree, it wouldn't cause very much disruption for cueball or require him to adjust anything about his lifestyle or habits, but since the speed of the change has been steadly increasingover the past few years, it may mean we are heading for a geomagnetic reversal in the next few decades, which would be very exiting indeed. During a magnetic reversal, the poles wouldn't just switch places, but sevral diferent poles would form and interact very chaotically, and, statistically speaking, it's likely that one of them would end up close enough to where randall lives to cause aroras to become more common at some point during the transition

in the title text, randall mentions that there are reasons people could be concerned, but says that they would be more than made up for by newly being able to experiance mid altitude auroras.
==Transcript==
:[White Hat and Cueball are talking to each other. White Hat has a cellphone in his hand, while Cueball is raising his hands in the air in mock exasperation.]
:White Hat: I just read that the Earth's North magnetic pole is drifting rapidly.
:Cueball: Oh no! I must update our declination tables post haste, lest our merchant schooners run aground on the shoals!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I like when the Earth's magnetic field does weird stuff, because it's a huge, cool, urgent-seeming science thing, but there's nothing I personally need to do about it.

{{comic discussion}}

2098: Magnetic Pole

2019-01-14T20:12:49Z

162.158.78.232:

{{comic
| number = 2098
| date = January 14, 2019
| title = Magnetic Pole
| image = magnetic_pole.png
| titletext = People keep trying to come up with reasons that we should worry about the magnetic field collapsing or reversing, but honestly I think it's fine. Whatever minor problems it causes will be made up for by the mid-latitude auroras.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CONVECTION CURRENT IN THE OUTER CORE and a chicken. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Over the last couple of months, Earth's magnetic fields have been shifting rapidly. Although the magnetic fields do move regularly, the current shift has been unexpected and unprecedented. As GPS and many other location systems are reliant on the magnetic fields to function, the accuracy of such tools is being shifted beyond the maximum acceptable error.

Locational and navigational systems use the magnetic field, in addition to a model, to do fancy math and pop out data. Due to the rapid shifts, a new model was scheduled to be out; however, because of the US government shutdown, the model has been considerably delayed.

As shifts occur, the error of geopositional data will increase until a new model is released. The effect is especially pronounced as you move toward the poles.

Since the movement is only equal to about two-fiths of a degree, it wouldn't cause very much disruption for cueball or require him to adjust anything about his lifestyle or habits, but since the speed of the change has been steadly increasingover the past few years, it may mean we are heading for a geomagnetic reversal in the next few decades, which would be very exiting indeed.

in the title text, randall mentions that there are reasons people could be concerned, but says that they would be more than made up for by newly being able to experiance mid altitude auroras.
==Transcript==
:[White Hat and Cueball are talking to each other. White Hat has a cellphone in his hand, while Cueball is raising his hands in the air in mock exasperation.]
:White Hat: I just read that the Earth's North magnetic pole is drifting rapidly.
:Cueball: Oh no! I must update our declination tables post haste, lest our merchant schooners run aground on the shoals!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I like when the Earth's magnetic field does weird stuff, because it's a huge, cool, urgent-seeming science thing, but there's nothing I personally need to do about it.

{{comic discussion}}

2098: Magnetic Pole

2019-01-14T20:08:34Z

162.158.78.232: added adition context

{{comic
| number = 2098
| date = January 14, 2019
| title = Magnetic Pole
| image = magnetic_pole.png
| titletext = People keep trying to come up with reasons that we should worry about the magnetic field collapsing or reversing, but honestly I think it's fine. Whatever minor problems it causes will be made up for by the mid-latitude auroras.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CONVECTION CURRENT IN THE OUTER CORE and a chicken. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Over the last couple of months, Earth's magnetic fields have been shifting rapidly. Although the magnetic fields do move regularly, the current shift has been unexpected and unprecedented. As GPS and many other location systems are reliant on the magnetic fields to function, the accuracy of such tools is being shifted beyond the maximum acceptable error.

Locational and navigational systems use the magnetic field, in addition to a model, to do fancy math and pop out data. Due to the rapid shifts, a new model was scheduled to be out; however, because of the US government shutdown, the model has been considerably delayed.

As shifts occur, the error of geopositional data will increase until a new model is released. The effect is especially pronounced as you move toward the poles.

Since the movement is only equal to about two-fiths of a degree, it wouldn't cause very much disruption for cueball or require him to adjust anything about his lifestyle or habits, but since the speed of the change has been steadly increasingover the past few years, it may mean we are heading for a geomagnetic reversal in the next few decades, which would be very exiting indeed.
==Transcript==
:[White Hat and Cueball are talking to each other. White Hat has a cellphone in his hand, while Cueball is raising his hands in the air in mock exasperation.]
:White Hat: I just read that the Earth's North magnetic pole is drifting rapidly.
:Cueball: Oh no! I must update our declination tables post haste, lest our merchant schooners run aground on the shoals!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I like when the Earth's magnetic field does weird stuff, because it's a huge, cool, urgent-seeming science thing, but there's nothing I personally need to do about it.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2097: Thor Tools

2019-01-14T15:39:36Z

162.158.78.232:

I think the comment about the axis direction is based on how you interpret the terms Best and Worst - either for Thor or those who encounter him. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 17:15, 11 January 2019 (UTC)
:I agree. That interpretation should be in the explanation instead of the present one.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 19:58, 11 January 2019 (UTC)
::Nah. It's definitely "Best" as "Funniest". -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:07, 11 January 2019 (UTC)

Many nail-guns use cartridges filled with a combustible material (gunpowder or similar) rather than a supply of compressed air. A blank load of a .22 rimfire pistol cartridge is typical. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder-actuated_tool [[Special:Contributions/50.202.80.200|50.202.80.200]] 18:35, 11 January 2019 (UTC)

Is there a possibility that the reversed axis suggests an (aero)plane as the worst weapon? Bad taste rules it out I suppose. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.179|108.162.212.179]] 18:46, 11 January 2019 (UTC) Nic

I think a lightning staple/nail gun would be pretty dope...[[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 18:52, 11 January 2019 (UTC)

I've been hit or otherwise injured by most of these, but I do not know of anyone who has been planed, that's how dangerous planes are, everyone knows to be careful. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 19:17, 11 January 2019 (UTC)
: I'm not sure if you're being humorous or if you have experience with powered board planers. Are they dangerous? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.178|162.158.78.178]] 20:37, 11 January 2019 (UTC)
:: It's like that World War II story about warplanes returning to base with an especially large amount of bullet holes away from the engine compartment: the reason being that shots to the engine were often fatal to the vehicle. Similarly, there are few people who are left to tell the horrors of plane tool injuries, as they are almost universally fatal. (I'm interpreting OP's post as a joke, for the record)[[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.10|172.69.62.10]] 02:53, 12 January 2019 (UTC)
:::I have a neighbor who is missing the tips of several fingers on both hands. When asked what happened he explained that he pushed a board through a power planer without using a push-stick and slipped and the plane took off his fingertips. When asked about his left hand he explained that he used his left hand to push boards through the planer while his right hand was healing. (Yes, the tool most likely was a joiner not a planer, let’s not go down that particular rabbit hole)[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.25|173.245.54.25]] 04:55, 12 January 2019 (UTC)
:::No, quite serious, planes are deceptively dangerous.[[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 17:57, 12 January 2019 (UTC)
::::It's notable that Randall specifies _hand_ tools. He likely meant a hand plane. Having tried to produce the curve in a bow by kneeling over it and scraping toward myself using the leverage of my legs and back, I can see these as potentially being dangerous, too. But most don't appear very dangerous as they have guards preventing deep cutting. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.232|162.158.78.232]] 15:39, 14 January 2019 (UTC)

It's a pity he didn't add "Screwdriver (sonic)" to the chart. [[User:JamesCurran|JamesCurran]] ([[User talk:JamesCurran|talk]]) 19:48, 11 January 2019 (UTC)

There are some nailguns that don't use compressed air tanks or combustible materials - they have air compressors in them, powered by drill batteries or wall outlets. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.120|162.158.167.120]] 20:12, 11 January 2019 (UTC)

Also, unless that's an electric staple gun, the transcript should say nail gun. Look at how it's being held - as if there's a trigger, not as if there's a big handle on the back. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.120|162.158.167.120]] 20:17, 11 January 2019 (UTC)
: It looks like a staplegun to me, which is the most common of the options. I figure the lever is pressed. But that's a good point, his hand is up towards the top, not down towards the bottom for leverage. (edited from previous comment when I realized I was wrong and wanted to talk nicer) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.178|162.158.78.178]] 20:37, 11 January 2019 (UTC)

Interpretations of items (feel free to change if desired): [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.178|162.158.78.178]] 20:37, 11 January 2019 (UTC)
* Thor holds an adversary who refuses to free hostages, swiping the plane closer and closer to their. Soon chunks of hair are flying. "OH MY GOD DON'T PLANE ME!"
* Thor throws his flying dremel towards the control board of a distant nuclear bomb on a timer, where it _CUTS THE RED WIRE THE TIMER READS 0:00_
* An evil corporation is marketing a new treatment for depression. Thor marches into a demonstration being broadcast worldwide. Brandishing Mjolnir, his digital calipers, he measures the subject's left eyeball. THE TREATMENT HAS GROWN IT BY TWO THOUSANDTHS OF AN INCH.

Actually Mjolnir was supposed to be in original myth a weapon, not a tool. Hammer used as weapon is different from hammer used as a tool; this is even more pronounced for axes: the fighting axe is quite different (less weight, much thinner and sharper blade) than e.g. woodcutter axe. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 22:07, 11 January 2019 (UTC)

Soo... I'm guessing that chainsaw was left off because it would require a log axis? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.63|173.245.48.63]] 22:36, 11 January 2019 (UTC)

Does anyone else fell like the first items are an Infinity War reference?

Depending on which type of digital caliper is wielded, it can be a nasty weapon or more like a rock. The kind that looks like a C-clamp not so fierce. But the Vernier digital caliper can be used like a double sided pick. Imagine Thor driving the inside caliper tines into the side of your head and then spinning the wheel to crack open your skull. Wait... don't imagine that. [[User:Fungible|Fungible]] ([[User talk:Fungible|talk]]) 00:47, 12 January 2019 (UTC)
: Would the caliper still function as a measurement tool after this use? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.106|162.158.78.106]] 15:59, 12 January 2019 (UTC)

It appears to me that a lot of the punchline of the comic is the "dremel", whatever that is, as it is near the right side of the comic and is allegedly what Thor is wielding in the last image. I think it definitely needs further explanation! Maybe I am the only person that has never heard of "dremel" before today, but I doubt it? Even looking it up just tells me that the Dremel company makes "hand held rotary tools", but that doesn't tell me what those are used for, and makes me think of phones... and Wikipedia says they also make other products such as 3D printers... [[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 12:50, 12 January 2019 (UTC)
: The article is seriously missing a list of tools with photos. Could somebody familiar with markup at least make a skeleton table for the rest of us to slowly fill in? I think a dremel is a small powered object like a thick pencil, with a small bit at the end that spins at high speeds. I think you can place the spinning bit against stuff to cut, grind, clean, or polish it, depending on the attachment, not sure, never used one myself. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.106|162.158.78.106]] 15:59, 12 January 2019 (UTC)
::A Dremel tool is a small motor-powered tool with a locking chuck into which you can insert the shaft of various attachments. Typical attachments include small carbide cutting/grinding heads, thin abrasive cutoff disks, small saw blades, cylindrical abrasive drums, drill bits, soft polishing disks, etc. There are probably hundreds of different attachments available for just about any type of small work requirements. They do indeed run at high speeds, although some of the tools have variable speed control. Their advantage is the ability to control their application on small craft items with extreme precision. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 04:20, 13 January 2019 (UTC)
::: It's more properly called a die grinder or rotary tool. Dremel is simply a brand name that has fallen into regular usage as a generic trademark (much like kleenex, velcro, teflon, etc). That said, most people I talk to have no idea what I mean by "rotary tool" so I've sort of given up on using the tool's actual name. It's important to note that the tool relies on speed rather than torque for performing most functions. A dentist's drill is a good example of the possible application of this tool. [[Special:Contributions/103.22.200.144|103.22.200.144]] 13:18, 13 January 2019 (UTC)
:::: Thor meets Inspector Gadget: Archaeology [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.228|172.68.65.228]] 16:15, 13 January 2019 (UTC)
::::: I don't know if it was on Randall's mind, but this old TV commercial for a Dremel multi-tool is quite apt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgKLhzArQTI . In the commercial, a narrator enthusiastically rattles off all of the various DIY tasks that can be accomplished by a Dremel... but the punchline is a hammer banging a nail into a piece of wood, the one thing that Dremel can't do (although it can cut the nail). [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 13:42, 14 January 2019 (UTC)

There exist electric jackhammers and pyrotechnic nailguns, so compressed air supply is not essential for Thor. -- [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.46|198.41.242.46]] 17:16, 13 January 2019 (UTC)

I'm not sure if Randall was watching Infinity War closely enough. The axe is far, FAR more powerful than the hammer.

Don't show this comic to the Brits - they'd ban all the tools listed, and more. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.128|162.158.88.128]] 15:16, 14 January 2019 (UTC)

== Gary Larson ==

How about "thor's hammer, screwdriver and crescent wrench " (https://www.pinterest.de/pin/482025966347236010/) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.76|162.158.114.76]] 09:21, 14 January 2019 (UTC)

2097: Thor Tools

2019-01-11T23:15:24Z

162.158.78.232: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2097
| date = January 11, 2019
| title = Thor Tools
| image = thor_tools.png
| titletext = CORRECTION: After careful evaluation, we have determined that the axis label on this chart was printed backward.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Add a list of the tools in the comic. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Thor}} is a god of lightning and thunder in Norse mythology. His signature weapon is a magic hammer called {{w|Mjölnir}}. He's likely best known for his role in {{w|Thor (Marvel Comics)|Marvel comics and films}}, which his appearance here seems to be referencing.

Although the hammer was historically a weapon, this comic interprets it as it would more commonly be interpeted today -- as a tool. The comic is listing various hand tools in order of utility and viability as Thor's weapon, besides hiss actual, enchanted hammer. Hammers are heavy, blunt, and can do large amounts of damage to an opponent, whereas a hand plane is sharp, but only in one place, and will only inflict surface wounds.

Some of these tools require power, which would generally require Thor to stay near an outlet or keep a battery charging, such as the circular saw, or Dremel. However, being the god of lightning may allow him to circumvent this. Thor would also need compressed air for the nail gun or jackhammer, only allowing Thor so many shots before reloading the air tank at an outlet, or via a concentrated wind storm.

The nail gun and staple gun would also require nails or staples respectively to function as a weapon. Although Mjölnir is believed to return to Thor if thrown, it's not clear how similar system could work with nails and staples.

In the title text, Munroe says the the order should be reversed. There are a few interpretations of this:
* Randall proposes that Thor armed with a plane or digital calipers would be much more fearsome than with a hammer.
* The "value" of the more strange-seeming items would be much higher than his tradition hammer, perhaps more gory or more humorous.
* "Best" and "worst" are to be interpreted for Thor's enemies rather than Thor himself.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[A timeline labeled "Hand tools Thor could have ended up with" with "Best" on the left and "Worst" on the right.]

[Points on the line are labeled "Hammer", "Axe", "Claw hammer", "Circular saw", "Jackhammer", "Shovel", "Socket wrench", "Bolt cutters", "Hacksaw", "Nail gun", "Staple gun", "Coping saw", "Screwdriver (flat)", "Ball-peen hammer", "Screwdriver (phillips)", "Awl", "Digital Caliper", "Dremel", "Plane"]

[A figure wearing a winged helmet is seen preparing to use: a Circular saw, a Socket wrench, a Nail or Staple gun, and a Dremel.]

{{comic discussion}}

2097: Thor Tools

2019-01-11T17:47:26Z

162.158.78.232: Transcription

{{comic
| number = 2097
| date = January 11, 2019
| title = Thor Tools
| image = thor_tools.png
| titletext = CORRECTION: After careful evaluation, we have determined that the axis label on this chart was printed backward.
}}

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

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[A timeline labeled "Hand tools Thor could have ended up with" with "Best" on the left and "Worst" on the right.]

[Points on the line are labeled "Hammer", "Axe", "Claw hammer", "Circular saw", "Jackhammer", "Shovel", "Socket wrench", "Bolt cutters", "Hacksaw", "Nail gun", "Staple gun", "Coping saw", "Screwdriver (flat)", "Ball-peen hammer", "Screwdriver (phillips)", "Awl", "Digital Caliper", "Dremel", "Plane"]

[A figure wearing a winged helmet is seen using: a circular saw, a socket wrench, a staple gun, and a Dremel.]

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2062: Barnard's Star

2019-01-10T13:22:57Z

162.158.78.232:

Uh . . . I'm pretty sure that stars don't talk. {{unsigned ip|172.68.58.113}}
: And [[1578|squirrels don't ring]]. This comic can be absurd sometimes. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.58|172.68.141.58]] 17:05, 22 October 2018 (UTC)
::{{Citation needed}} --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.160|172.68.54.160]] 18:05, 22 October 2018 (UTC)
:Why are you so sure that stars don't talk? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.70|162.158.38.70]] 18:23, 22 October 2018 (UTC)
:I think it was a NOVA doco where they describe the inner workings of the sun and how hydrogen atoms, photons, plasma, and magnetic flux interact, and it sounded a heck of a lot like the function of neurons and signals in the brain. Maybe I was just high, but I got to thinking that, with photons from every star in the universe connecting to every other star, the stars are in constant communication with eachother in some sort of neural-like network with each star having it's own neural-like network complete with it's own sentient thoughts (albeit probably far outside the realm of our imagination). FORTY TWO! {{unsigned ip|162.158.74.27}}
:Obviously, stars, being in vacuum, don't talk in classic acoustic way. But they emit lot of light, which includes radio emissions ... and remember that properly encrypted signal is hard to recognize from random noise. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:05, 22 October 2018 (UTC)
Stars can talk but usually don't. Maybe because they are under a lot of pressure ? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.45|141.101.69.45]] 08:45, 24 October 2018 (UTC) BadJokeNinja

Am I'm the only one, who is reminded by the beginning "...AAAA" and the ending "EEEEEAAA..." to the [https://xkcd.com/417/ "The Man Who Fell Sideways" comic]?--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.20|162.158.94.20]] 12:17, 24 October 2018 (UTC)

"a small Red dwarf has a lifespan of about a trillion years." A trillion years? Any source for this? The universe is around 14 billion years old. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.160|172.69.62.160]] 13:32, 24 October 2018 (UTC)comicreader

:That doesn't mean it's that old now. It means it will last that long, which means it's a relative youngster at this stage of its life. I'm sure a trillion years is a very general estimate for its lifespan, which is highly dependent on its mass. As for the source of this estimate, it's probably well-sourced on Wikipedia that serves as the source of much of the explanation's current content. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 13:48, 24 October 2018 (UTC)
::And click the Wiki link for {{w|Red dwarf}} in the explanation. You will read: "...Red dwarfs therefore develop very slowly, maintaining a constant luminosity and spectral type for trillions of years, until their fuel is depleted. Because of the comparatively short age of the universe, no red dwarfs exist at advanced stages of evolution." --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:34, 24 October 2018 (UTC)

Faster comunication than photons could be possible with plasma entanglement but I'm still skeptical as to whether or not stars are big giant sentient brains. Why is it traveling so fast I wonder... a remnant of some previous galactic merger?