explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3055: Giants

2025-02-24T21:00:13Z

162.158.91.14: /* Explanation */ Iron Giant clarification

{{comic
| number = 3055
| date = February 24, 2025
| title = Giants
| image = giants_2x.png
| imagesize = 341x423px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I can't get over the suspicion that all those viral pictures are photoshopped and 'Flemish' belongs in the lower right circle.
}}

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

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Class !! Explanation
|-
| Red Giant || Space || A type of star
|-
| Blue Giant || Space || A type of star
|-
| Iron Giant || Space, Not Real || Title character from a 1999 animated film and the 1968 children's book it was based on (written by English poet and author Ted Hughes and published outside the US as ''The Iron Man: A Children's Story in Five Nights'') : a robot from outer space.
|-
| Frost Giant || Not Real || Beings from Norse mythology.
|-
| Jolly Green Giant || Not Real || A mascot for a brand of canned vegetables.
|-
| Cardiff Giant || Geologic/Planetary, Not Real || An 1869 hoax
|-
| Atacama Giant || Geologic/Planetary || A prehistoric geoglyph
|-
| Salt Giant || Geologic/Planetary || A huge salt deposit below the Mediterranean sea
|-
| Gas Giant || Space, Geologic/Planetary || A gaseous planet like Jupiter or Saturn
|-
| Ice Giant || Space, Geologic/Planetary || An icy planet like Uranus or Neptune
|-
| The Man In The Moon || Space, Geologic/Planetary, Not Real || A face visible in a crescent moon's shadow, sometimes shown as a character in children's nursery rhymes

|}

The title text refers to the {{w|Flemish Giant rabbit}}, the largest breed of domestic rabbit (about the same size as a small dog like a terrier).

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

{{comic discussion}}

3013: Kedging Cannon

2024-11-19T04:13:17Z

162.158.91.14: /* Explanation */ clarify

{{comic
| number = 3013
| date = November 18, 2024
| title = Kedging Cannon
| image = kedging_cannon_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x259px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The real key was inventing the windmill-powered winch.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HEADCANNON. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Sailing vessels can navigate upwind through a technique called {{w|Tacking_(sailing)|tacking}} (or "tacking against the wind") which involves zigzagging across the wind's direction. However, this comic describes a fictional scenario where a ship's captain, unfamiliar with tacking, has developed an alternative method based on {{w|kedging}}.

Kedging is a historical maritime technique typically reserved for specific situations where conventional sailing methods are impractical, such as in calm waters, during precise maneuvering, or against strong opposing winds or currents. Traditional kedging involves deploying an anchor from the vessel, either manually or via a smaller boat, and then {{w|winch|winching}} the ship toward the anchor point using ropes or chains. The anchor points often utilize natural features such as trees or reefs. In this comic, the captain has modified this technique by inventing a specialized "kedging cannon" to project the anchor greater distances.

The title text indicates that the captain's system has evolved to incorporate a windmill mechanism that harnesses wind power to draw in the kedging rope, which makes the solution even less efficient, given that wind could be used for tacking.

{{cot|Speed and economic analysis of wind-winched kedging cannons compared to tacking}}
;System Overview
A dual-anchor kedging cannon system for sailing upwind, consisting of:
* Two kedging cannons firing 16 kg anchors
* 6-meter diameter windmill powering winch system
* Dual-winch setup for continuous operation
* Operating in 15 knot headwind conditions

;Physics Analysis

;Wind Power Generation
Available wind power is given by:
P = ½ρAv³η
where:
* ρ = 1.225 kg/m³ (air density)
* A = π(D/2)² = 28.3 m² (windmill area)
* v = 7.72 m/s (wind speed)
* η = 0.245 (combined efficiency)

This yields 1.95 kW of usable power.

;Drag Forces
Total drag combines water and air resistance:
F_drag = F_water + F_wind
where:
* F_water = ½ρ_w C_d A_w v²
* F_wind = ½ρ_a C_a A_f v²

Using:
* Water density (ρ_w) = 1025 kg/m³
* Hull drag coefficient (C_d) = 0.04
* Wetted area (A_w) = 40 m²
* Air density (ρ_a) = 1.225 kg/m³
* Air drag coefficient (C_a) = 0.8
* Frontal area (A_f) = 8 m²

Total drag force = 1053.4 N

;Anchor Ballistics
For 300m range with 45° launch angle:
* Required velocity = 54.7 m/s
* Launch energy = 23.7 kJ
* Black powder energy per shot = 680.4 kJ
* Launch efficiency = 3.5%

;System Performance
* Winch speed = 3.60 knots
* Cycle time = 194.7 seconds
* Effective speed = 3.04 knots
* Compared to tacking speed = 4.95 knots
* Speed ratio (Kedging/Tacking) = 0.61

;Economic Analysis
* Shots needed per nautical mile: 6.1
* Black powder cost per shot: $10 (0.5 lbs @ $20/lb)
* Cost per nautical mile: $60.76
* Powder consumption: 9.2 lbs/hour
* Operating cost: $184.90/hour

Example 100nm journey:
* Total powder cost: $6,076.12
* Journey time: 32.9 hours

;Conclusion
The dual-anchor kedging cannon system is both slower and significantly more expensive than traditional tacking:

1. Speed disadvantage:
* Achieves only 61% of tacking speed
* 100nm journey takes 32.9 hours vs 20.2 hours tacking

2. Economic disadvantage:
* High powder costs ($60.76 per nautical mile)
* Requires significant powder storage (303 lbs for 100nm journey)
* Additional wear and tear on mechanical systems

3. Key limiting factors:
* Limited wind power available (1.95 kW from 6m windmill)
* High drag forces (1053.4 N total)
* Poor ballistic efficiency (3.5% of powder energy converts to useful launch)
* Long cycle times due to realistic winching speeds

The system could potentially be improved by:
* Larger windmill (though practical size limits on boats)
* More aerodynamic anchor design
* More efficient powder-to-launch energy conversion
* Reduced transfer time between anchors

Therefore, given both the energy constraints and economic factors, traditional tacking remains far more practical for upwind progress. The key insight is that while the kedging cannon seems to "cheat" the wind by going straight upwind, it actually requires converting wind energy to mechanical work less efficiently than a well-designed sail plan, while also consuming expensive gunpowder. The indirect path of tacking makes better use of the available wind force with no consumable costs.
{{cob}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A two-masted sailing ship is floating on the sea. Two tiny figures can be seen at the ship's bow.]
:Captain: I hope someday someone invents a way to sail upwind.
:Captain: Using the kedging cannon just wastes so much gunpowder.
:[Close-up on the deck of the ship. Cueball is talking to the ship's captain, who is aiming a cannon containing an anchor. Chains are draped from the cannon.]
:Cueball: The ''what?''
:Cueball: Wait, do you not know how to sail upwind? Is that why your ship takes forever to--
:Captain: Stand by...''FIRE!''
:[Distant shot showing the anchor and its chain being launched out in front of the ship, towards the right of the panel.]
:SFX: BOOM
:[The line becomes taut and the ship is dragged forwards, towards the right of the panel.]
:SFX: Click click click

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:3003: Sandwich Helix

2024-10-26T04:18:12Z

162.158.91.14:

Sandwich presumably refers to {{w|compliment sandwich}}, but I don’t know what the helix is. --[[User:Galaktos|Galaktos]] ([[User talk:Galaktos|talk]]) 14:03, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

: Maybe {{w|Models of communication#Dance}}? --[[User:Galaktos|Galaktos]] ([[User talk:Galaktos|talk]]) 14:12, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

:The word "Helix" may be a reference to the previous comic. [[User:CategoryGeneral|CategoryGeneral]] ([[User talk:CategoryGeneral|talk]]) 14:36, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

That title text makes me reasonably upset. What nitwit decided "smart quotes" AND incompatible default encodings was a good idea? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.203|172.70.174.203]] 16:45, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

It seems that something like this could happen over time naturally if it's a saying that "everyone knows" so that real meaning stops being said, and then eventually that bit of information disappears. For instance KISS "Keep it simple, stupid" has a negative connotation, but the idea is very sound. So people keep saying the abbreviation but stop saying the full version, and new people hearing it the first time might get the basic idea without knowing why. Eventually even the meaning could be lost, and it could just become something that people say without knowing why. Maybe the assume the ancient designers and engineers liked to make out when they saw complex things. [[User:Andyd273|Andyd273]] ([[User talk:Andyd273|talk]]) 17:58, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

Frums - Options [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.14|162.158.91.14]] 04:18, 26 October 2024 (UTC)

==Grammar==
Minor grammatical point; please feel free to skip this. I just tweaked "a communication technique [...] which meaning has not been lost." to "a communication technique [...] whose meaning has not been lost.". "''Of'' which ''the'' meaning" or "whose meaning" both work, but the latter is less contrived. People keep forgetting that "whose" can refer to objects, as well as to people. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whose#Determiner>

The first rule of communication is "Always talk about communication." [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 15:36, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

==Helix==

I don't think the "helix" refers to software development. It could be about the helical model of communication, which conveys communication as a non-linear process.

This is perhaps a joke with these simplistic "rules" of communication (like the compliment sandwich), which portray communication as something much simpler.

If we assume that communication is complex and non-linear (as the helical model of communication portrays), we might conclude that there is no such thing as "#1 rule of communication"; something that could be observed by the misuse of the "compliment sandwich". {{unsigned ip|172.70.47.87|15:38+, 25 October 2024}} (Assuming all the above is the same IP editor, tweaking their comment.)

:Ah, thank you. I added the Spiral (for development) because I couldn't find the Helix one (for communication), and I thought this was the best linkable item out there. Now I know it's ''Helical'', I've found it and I can put a link on your addendum and perhaps remove my original 'placeholder'. That's collaborative communication! ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.77|172.70.91.77]] 15:56, 25 October 2024 (UTC) (PS, please sign Talk contributions, and wikilinks are a good idea if you can add them. ;p )

Talk:2378: Fall Back

2024-10-16T07:35:44Z

162.158.91.14:

Ah, that American thing. Late to The Great War, late to WW2, every year late turning the clocks back in '''autumn'''... ;)
(Seriously, though - at least under xkcd terms - surely [[320|2''9''-hour]] days.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.32|162.158.159.32]] 02:02, 29 October 2020 (UTC)
:That schedule doesn't change the length of the day, though, just the sleep cycle to accommodate 20 hours of wakefulness. [[User:OhFFS|OhFFS]] ([[User talk:OhFFS|talk]]) 16:40, 29 October 2020 (UTC)
[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 19:51, 29 October 2020 (UTC)Yep, both sides are convinced the other side has been in a state of altered consciousness for the past 6 years. And the 20% in the center thinks that both sides have gone insane.

The election has only been bitter to the liberals, because they are going to loose. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 21:16, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

Well, if you meant the liberals were showing signs of loosening (?), I can't say whether or not you were right, because I don't know what that means. But if you meant the liberals were going to LOSE, you were wrong. Sorry about that. [Dated November 13, 2020.][[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.4|172.69.62.4]] 13:00, 13 November 2020 (UTC)

Hwat? What makes you believe that? Nobody can be absolutely certain at this stage. The election hasn’t happened yet, so it isn’t “bitter” to anyone. Liberals are stressed out about it, because they m I g h t lose

This comment did not age well.

Everyone! Look here at the bumbling fool! He’s at it again!

@SDSpivey: Right? I still really like XKCD, but the peppering of political bias in the last few years is irritating. Not everything has to be fused with political commentary. Can't XKCD be it's own thing? It feels like how different TV shows start off great, then with their success start just riding the wistless wave of popular culture and public opinion in a sad attempt to stay relevant without making any substantive commentary (think about Simpsons, for instance). We've gone from normal life being fine to now EVERYONE having to state what side of every issue they're on. Just... be you. Stop making everything about whatever current story is in the news. I miss XKCD being XKCD rather than another player on the public stage imposing their political opinions. Just be a human we can all relate to, no matter the political persuasion. Political ideology doesn't correlate with IQ, and since XKCD caters to an audience with above-average IQ, Randall's making the same mistake as everyone else by isolating half the audience. [[User::Anonymous|Anonymous]] 16:01, 29 October 2020 (MST)
Everyone! Look here at the bumbling fool! You can’t just not be political. Even if you could, you wouldn’t be obliged to do so. Randall has literally always been expressing his views in XKCD. From the start.
::I don't think most people are aware how political the expressions that seem normal to them, seem to people of opposing politics. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.42|108.162.219.42]] 00:35, 2 November 2020 (UTC)
:Randall's only human. He's worried about the world too, since he live in it. He isn't working in a vacuum after all. His life experiences shapes the way he writes, both consciously and subconsciously. And outside 'I'm with Her', he hasn't written a single comic where he explicitly or implicitly states who you should vote for - Only that you SHOULD vote.The others simply explore the consequences the government's and people's decisions have wrought, and general comments on the news cycle.
:Hello, you two. Look at the comic. Look at the explanation. Look in this segment. Look at your two comments in particular. Which bit is stating an actual full on bias/preference? The bit with you two in. We know which way Randall leans as preference, as it happens, but if we thought he leant the other way the same comic coming from the anti-Randall would ''still'' work as well. If you can't see that, the problem isn't with xkcd. (And even if it was, everyone is free to find and appreciate anti-Randall's 'dckx' webcomic. In fact, if you know a good one, I wouldn't mind a look.) As to the result, those who can and wish to vote should do so (if they haven't already) and only when everyone has done that and been tabulated will we know this. If you have a sincere prediction, remember that loads of others have similarly sincere (but dissimilarly tinted) predictions and the universe isn't going to automatically obey your personal preference without everything else lining up. So maybe you'll he lucky. Me, I've got no skin in the game (except as someone living on the same planet) and can't influence the election even by a single vote. This isn't about changing opinions, it's about changing attitudes. And that's even less likely. Meh. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.113|162.158.158.113]] 01:02, 30 October 2020 (UTC)
::I have bias, I admit that. Everyone should. All the bitterness I have seen this year has come from the liberals (news reporters, comedians, actors) who claim to care about all of us, but really just care about their own pet projects, or just want to seem like they care.I don't care what my favorite entertainer thinks, just entertain me. That's what we pay you for. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 02:36, 31 October 2020 (UTC)
No. Just no. First of all, you do not pay Randall. Also, Randall has literally always used XKCD to state his opinions about things. Even if it isn’t about politics (which he has talked about for literal years), XKCD has never been this romantic bias free pure entertainment blob you seem to be longing for. Never has. Politics isn’t an abstract concept, and what happens affects actual real people. Randall is a literal human person on earth, who uses his platform to spread ideas and messages. He literally always has. Also, the rant about famous people or whatever acting bitter is completely unrelated. Plus, this comic is not even political. Many of Randall’s comics are political, but this one is not. It doesn’t remotely express a political view.
:::Yeah, and that's exactly what this comic pokes fun at - all the fearmongering the elites spread through their outlets causing anxiety to shoot through the roof, and in this comic, to such a point that Megan has started dissociating herself.
[citation needed]

Doing great here in the tenth and hopefully final year of the 2016 election. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.14|162.158.91.14]] 07:35, 16 October 2024 (UTC)

2971: Celestial Event

2024-08-15T06:23:35Z

162.158.91.14: /* Explanation */ merciless edit per talk

{{comic
| number = 2971
| date = August 12, 2024
| title = Celestial Event
| image = celestial_event_2x.png
| imagesize = 471x300px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If we can get a brood of 13-year cicadas going, we might have a chance at making this happen before the oceans evaporate under the expanding sun.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CURSED SHOP THAT APPEARS EVERY FOUR POINT THREE BILLION YEARS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic highlights the extreme rarity of witnessing multiple special events—{{w|aurora}}s, total solar eclipses, great comets, and {{w|Periodical cicadas|17-year cicada emergences}}—all occurring simultaneously in the same location. It calculates that such an event would happen only once every 4.3 billion years, a time span comparable to the age of the Earth. The comic was posted shortly after some people reported seeing auroras in conjunction with the {{w|Perseids meteor shower}}.[https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/the-2024-perseid-meteor-shower-and-northern-lights-overlapped-in-a-rare-cosmic-display-see-photos-of-the-dazzling-event/ar-AA1oJKKC]

The events listed include total solar eclipses, which [[Randall]] estimates occur once every 350 years at a given location, a value close to the 320-year interval for his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, based on [https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JSEX/JSEX-index.html NASA's data.] The calculation assumes that these events occur independently and that their probabilities remain constant over time, leading to the improbable result. However, this is a simplification, as factors like orbital mechanics and atmospheric conditions are not entirely random. Randall also includes a 50% chance of clear skies, which further reduces the odds of witnessing all events together. The comic exaggerates the difficulty of this happening, emphasizing that these conditions align less often than Earth's lifespan, suggesting such a celestial spectacle might only occur once before Earth becomes uninhabitable.

The title text humorously suggests using 13-year cicadas instead of 17-year ones to improve the odds, reducing the interval to 3.29 billion years. This idea, along with the possibility of weather manipulation, reflects Randall's satirical take on humanity's desire to control or predict natural phenomena, even when the timescales involved are beyond human comprehension. Earth's oceans may evaporate in about a billion years [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131216142310.htm], adding a layer of urgency and humor to the idea of witnessing this "super-event" before life on Earth ceases to exist.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Approximate frequency in my area

:Active northern lights: 20 days per solar cycle

:A naked-eye "Great Comet": 2 months every 50 years

:Total eclipse: once every 350 years

:Clear skies: 50% of the time

:17-year cicada emergence: 2 months every 17 years

opening bracket

20 days over 11 years multiplied by

2 months over 50 years multiplied by

1 over 350 years multiplied by

one half multiplied by

2 months over 17 years

closing bracket to the power of -1

equals 4.3 billion years

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Every 4 billion years or so, my neighborhood gets to see a ''really'' spectacular show.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Solar eclipses]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2964: Olympic Sports

2024-07-30T01:36:36Z

162.158.91.14: /* Transcript */ assume this is from viewpoint of randall

{{comic
| number = 2964
| date = July 26, 2024
| title = Olympic Sports
| image = olympic_sports_2x.png
| imagesize = 553x328px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Thankfully for everyone involved, the Winter Olympics officials spotted me and managed to stop me before I got to the ski jump.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A VERY CONCERNED OLYMPIC OFFICIAL - Provide an explanation of each sport for the convenience of those unfamiliar with some or all listed sports. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic was officially published on the day of the opening ceremony of the {{w|2024 Summer Olympics|2024 Paris (Summer) Olympics}}, though it actually appeared early the following day.

In this comic, [[Randall]], who has no athletic training, imagines himself participating in various Olympic events, with his degrees of failure measured in terms of their humor potential.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Olympic sports ranked by how funny it would be if a regular person competed
! How funny !! Sport !! Reason
|-
|rowspan=5| Not that funny || {{w|Rowing}} - One or more people row a boat to a destination.|| The person would struggle to row effectively, falling out of cadence and fouling the oars of the other rowers in their boat. However, if Randall competed in the single sculls, such coordination would not be an issue, and he would likely just be much slower than the other competitors. Or fall in the water.
|-
| {{w|Fencing}} - Two contestants attempt to land hits on each other with a long fencing weapon.|| They might fail to land any hits, but it wouldn't be overly humorous. Randall is evidently not masochistic enough to consider putting on protective equipment disastrously wrong and hospitalization funny.
|-
| {{w|Weightlifting}} - Contestants lift weights, getting heavier with each round, until all but one fail to lift the weight.|| They might just fail to lift the weights.
|-
| {{w|Golf}} - Contestants attempt to hit, with golf clubs, a golf ball into one or more holes in as small a number of hits as possible.|| They would likely miss the ball or hit poorly, due to an incorrect stance/swing when hitting, using a club whose loft (angle of the front face) is inappropriate, or just basic lack of skill.
----
''The comic illustrates this by having Randall putt and misses the hole at very close range.''
|-
| {{w|Archery}} - Using a bow and arrow, contestants attempt to hit a target with as much accuracy as possible.|| Arrows might miss the target, but it's not particularly amusing (unless Randall forgoes armbraces & discovers the bowstring's propensity for smacking the inside of his wrist after releasing it).
----
''The comic shows Randall missing all his shots on the target.''
|-
|rowspan=5| Pretty funny || {{w|Swimming}} - Contestants swim to a destination or complete lengths as fast as possible.|| They might struggle to stay afloat (particularly in open water swimming, where they would be buffeted by other contestants) or {{w|Eric Moussambani|swim awkwardly}}. They are also likely to have a markedly different physique to the other competitors, which would have a comic effect.
|-
| {{w|Long jump}} - Contestants, with a running start, attempt to jump as far as possible.|| They would likely make a very short jump, or perhaps foul every jump.
|-
| {{w|Pole vault}} - Using a bendable pole, contestants attempt to propel (vault) themselves over a bar.|| They might miss the plant and end up dropping the pole and running under the bar. If they did manage to get some lift, but failed to get enough to reach the mat, it would probably be concerning, rather than funny.
|-
| {{w|Diving}} - Contestants attempt to fulfil multiple criteria while diving into water.|| Awkward or painful-looking dives could ensue. Potential for injury would be high.
|-
| {{w|Hurdles}} - Contestants run on a track with hurdles positioned at various places.|| They might trip and fall over the hurdles, or just knock them all over as they fail to clear them.
----
''Drawn in this section, Randall repeatedly and unpleasantly runs into the hurdles, unable to jump over any of them. He has his arm raised bent in front of his face in a classic hurdler's pose, but appears to have failed to get much, if any, height off the ground.''
|-
|rowspan=5| Incredibly funny || {{w|Figure skating}} [The only Winter Olympic discipline featured in the main comic] Competitors perform artistic routines set to music while skating on an ice rink, and are judged on a combination of skating skill, composition, and presentation. || They might slip and fall continually on the ice, with a high risk for sprained joints or bone fractures. This might have particular comic potential if Randall were skating as part of a pair, awkwardly attempting to lift and spin a partner, or perhaps doing nothing but being lifted and dragged around by them.
|-
| {{w|Horizontal bar}} - A horizontal bar is used to perform gymnastics.|| They might fail to perform any flips or lose their grip on the bar, falling to the safety mats below. In all likelihood, having been lifted to the bar, they would simply hang helplessly beneath it, managing minimal swings backwards and forwards.
|-
| {{w|Equestrian sports}} - Various activities involving the use of horses.|| They might struggle to control the horse or fall/get thrown off.
----
''Randall is shown completely unable to control his horse. He is in the process of falling off and is flailing his arms.
|-
| {{w|Freestyle BMX}} - Contestants ride BMX bikes and perform various tricks, and are then judged by trick quality.|| They might crash or fail to perform tricks.
|-
| {{w|Pommel horse}} - Using a gymnastic device somewhat similar to a horse, gymnasts perform various tricks.|| They might awkwardly flop around, fall off, or lose their balance & risk crushing {{tvtropes|GroinAttack|a particularly squashy part}} of their anatomy, which could, depending on one's sense of humor, the context, & the exact aesthetics of the incident, elicit laughter.
----
''Depicted, Randall is awkwardly perched atop a pommel horse with the rather basic {{w|The_Lexicon_of_Comicana|agitrons}} surrounding him suggesting that he is wiggling some body parts but otherwise not moving much at all. However, he seems to be unaware of this, excitedly demanding that people look at what he presumably thinks is an impressive feat of athleticism.
|}

The title text may be a reference to ski jumper {{w|Vinko Bogataj}}, whose spectacular crash at a (non-Olympic) {{w|Ski_flying|ski flying}} event in 1970 in Oberstdorf, (then) West Germany became emblematic of the expression "the agony of defeat" in the opening narration of the popular US television program "{{w|Wide World of Sports (American TV program)|Wide World of Sports}}". Alternatively the reference may be to {{w|Eddie the Eagle}}, whose poor performance in the {{w|Ski_jumping|ski jump}} at the {{w|1988 Winter Olympics}} led to the introduction of a rule requiring entrants to be ranked internationally in the top 50 and top 30%.

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

:[Header above three panels:]
:Olympic Sports ranked by how funny it would be if I, a regular person without athletic training, snuck onto the team to compete:
:[Three panels are shown with a header, a bullet list with five listed sports in each, and one or two depictions of sports.]

:Not that funny
:Rowing
:Fencing
:Weightlifting
:Golf
:Archery
:[Cueball putts a ball with a golf club and misses the hole from a close distance.]
:[Cueball is aiming with a bow. Three arrows are on the ground at various distances from the target.]

:Pretty funny
:Swimming
:Long jump
:Pole vault
:Diving
:Hurdles
:[Cueball runs stomach-first into a hurdle, while holding an arm in front of his head. Another hurdle behind him has fallen down.]
:Cueball: [Bonk] Ow! [Bonk] Ow!

:Incredibly funny
:Figure skating
:Horizontal bar
:Equestrian
:BMX freestyle
:Pommel horse
:[Cueball tries to balance himself on a pommel horse. His both hands and one leg are down, while the other leg is slightly raised.]
:Cueball: Look! Look!
:[A horse rider wearing a black helmet is struggling to maintain balance on the running horse, with both hands and one leg raised.]
:Horse rider with black helmet: AAAAA!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]

2963: House Inputs and Outputs

2024-07-25T08:22:05Z

162.158.91.14: /* Explanation */ factual corrections

{{comic
| number = 2963
| date = July 24, 2024
| title = House Inputs and Outputs
| image = house_inputs_and_outputs_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x684px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = People think power over ethernet is so great, and yet when I try to do water over ethernet everyone yells at me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a possible reference to [[1037: Umwelt]] in panel 16 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is another comic in a series depicting {{w|confusion matrix}}es, similar to [[2420: Appliances]], [[2813: What To Do]] and [[1890: What to Bring]]. It is arranged as a table of five columns of conduits to and from a house, by five rows of resources and people, each of which typically enter, exit, or enter and exit the house via one or two of the conduits. The table cells are shaded green for compatible methods of transit and red for the more problematic pairings.

{| class="wikitable" style="background-color: lightpink;"
! !! Well !! Garage !! Power lines !! Front door !! Septic tank
|-
! Fresh water (Input)
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| The purpose of a well is usually to pump fresh water into the home, primarily for drinking or washing. || This would not be helpful at all, and would more than likely destroy your car. || Water either shouldn't, or cannot be carried through electrical lines. || Many people prefer to control the amount of water they get, and the water may damage things inside the house. || Most people don't want anything they drink to contain (or go through pipes that have contained) sewage.
|-
! Cars (Input/Output)
| Most cars manufactured in recent years can't fit inside a well.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| Garages are in fact built for the storage of cars and other similarly-sized vehicles. Placing a car in one will both help protect it from the elements and make it easier to access from inside your own home. || As of yet, cars cannot be transferred through power lines and require roads to travel on. However, this could significantly reduce travel costs. || Most cars can’t fit through doors. || Comedian {{w|Garrison Keillor}}'s 2008 ''More News from Lake Wobegon'' includes a story where an old septic tank is discovered to actually be a buried car.[https://theseriouscomedysite.com/comedy-cd-or-download/garrison-keillor-more-news-from-lake-wobegon/]
|-
! Electricity (Input)
| This would contaminate your water supply. || In the United States, lightning is responsible for causing around 24,600 structure fires annually, resulting in $8 to $10 billion in losses.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| Power lines are designed to facilitate the connection of individual homes to the broader local power network. || {{w|Benjamin Franklin}} independently re-invented the {{w|lightning rod}} to prevent lightning strike damage to structures. || As Knit Cap demonstrates, this would not be the most convenient idea.
|-
! People (Input/Output)
|style="background-color: black; color: lightpink;"| This cell depicts a view from inside a well, a very dangerous place for most people.{{Citation needed}} The motif resembles the poster art for the 2002 horror movie remake ''{{w|The Ring (2002 film)|The Ring}}'' which involves a girl left to die in a well becoming a vengeful ghost.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| Though not outright designed for it, a person can enter and exit their home through the garage door just fine, provided the garage has an internal door to the rest of the home. Not the best way to welcome guests though. || Overhead power lines to homes are generally not strong enough to climb, and attempting to do so incurs a very serious risk of electrocution.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| The front door of a home is designed for entry and exit of humans and similarly sized items. || In general, people find crawling through waste unwanted. Also, the septic tank is not connected to the street.
|-
! Sewage (Output)
| Sewage in drinking water can cause disease.
|colspan=3| Sewage spills are smelly, disgusting, hard to clean, and can destroy carpets, floors, and drywall.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| A {{w|septic tank}} is an underground chamber through which wastewater flows for basic {{w|sewage treatment}}.
|}

The title text references {{w|Power over Ethernet|Power over ethernet}}, first implemented in the early 2000s, which passed electric power along with data on twisted-pair Ethernet cabling. This was a welcome development, as it removed the need for many network-connected devices to have independent power supplies. While networked water delivery ("running water") is also a welcome development, doing so over ethernet cables would be an unmitigated disaster, and Randall would get off easy if he were merely to be yelled at.

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

[A 5x5 grid of squares.
The columns are labeled: Well, Garage, Power lines, Front door, Septic tank. Each row's label has an arrow and a house next to it.
The rows are: Fresh water (horizontal arrow towards house), Cars (two-directional horizontal arrow and house), Electricity (horizontal arrow into house), People (two-directional horizontal arrow and house), Sewage (vertical arrow out of bottom of house).]

Well, Fresh water: [green]

Garage, Fresh water: [red]

Power lines, Fresh water: [red]

Front door, Fresh water: [red]

Septic tank, Fresh water: [red]

Well, Cars: [red]

Garage, Cars: [green]

Power lines, Cars: [red]

Front door, Cars: [red]

Septic tank, Cars: [red]

Well, Electricity: [red]

Garage, Electricity: [red]

Power lines, Electricity: [green]

Front door, Electricity: [red]

Septic tank, Electricity: [red]

Well, People: [red]

Garage, People: [green]

Power lines, People: [red]

Front door, People: [green]

Septic tank, People: [red]

Well, Sewage: [red]

Garage, Sewage: [red]

Power lines, Sewage: [red]

Front door, Sewage: [red]

Septic tank, Sewage: [green]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics with confusion matrices]]

2958: Hatchery

2024-07-12T23:52:24Z

162.158.91.14: /* Transcript */ programming too

{{comic
| number = 2958
| date = July 12, 2024
| title = Hatchery
| image = hatchery_2x.png
| imagesize = 239x336px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Anadromous fish are more vulnerable in rivers, since the lack of salt means you can quickly crack passwords using rainbow trout tables.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT EXECUTING REMOTE COD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Remote code execution}} is a type of {{w|software exploit}} that takes advantage of a bug to allow a remote user of a computer application to make it run code that it was not intended to execute. For example, a webserver with such a bug might allow a user of a web page to make it run a program that deletes system files or displays private information.

The joke arising from this comic is that if you remove the "e" from "code", you get "remote cod execution". This refers to killing ("executing") codfish remotely, using an exploit in a network application that allows you to view the hatchery.

The title text contains a pun on {{w|rainbow tables}}, referring to {{w|rainbow trout}}, one type of which ({{w|steelhead}}) is {{w|anadromous fish|anadromous}} (migrating up rivers to spawn -- {{w|salmon}} are another well known example). Rainbow tables are used when trying to crack hashed passwords; it's simply a file with many possible passwords and their corresponding hash values, which can be compared against retrieved hashed passwords. To prevent such comparisons, most modern password systems use "{{w|salt (cryptography)|salt}}", an extra random string that gets appended to the password before hashing so the same password will potentially have many different hashes, and it becomes infeasible to store all of them in a file. An additional pun is that rivers contain fresh water, so there's no salt (the chemical kind) and the fish are therefore more vulnerable.

The comic dialogue itself starts the whole chain of puns off by using the phrase "shooting fish in a barrel", which is figuratively used to mean that the task is a "piece of cake", but here becomes clear that he is literally {{w|Capital punishment|executing}} fish, without needing to be there in person.

{{w|Fish (Unix shell)|fish}} is also the name of a {{w|UNIX shell}}. Shells are popular targets for computer hackers as they are capable of being used to run arbitrary commands if sufficient access is gained through them.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is sitting at a computer desk, with Cueball standing behind him.]
:Black Hat: Shooting fish in a barrel.
:Computer: Blam!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:A new fish hatchery exploit allows remote cod execution.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computer security]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Programming]]

2945: Broken Model

2024-06-13T04:41:26Z

162.158.91.14: /* Explanation */ Gemini 1.5 Flash...

{{comic
| number = 2945
| date = June 12, 2024
| title = Broken Model
| image = broken_model_2x.png
| imagesize = 278x448px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = In addition to eating foxes, rabbits can eat grass. The grass also eats foxes. Our equations chart the contours of Fox Hell.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by Gemini 1.5. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The comic shows a teacher explaining a mathematical model of a predator-prey relationship. The model has the numbers swapped, showing that 400 rabbits are preying on 20 foxes. The teacher realizes this mistake and says "If this were an ecology class, I would have to fix that." The last panel notes that mathematical models can provide a glimpse into a terrifying alternate universe.

The comic plays on the idea that even seemingly simple mathematical models can have unexpected and potentially horrifying consequences, especially if they are flawed or inaccurate. This is a common theme in xkcd, which often uses humor to explore complex scientific and philosophical concepts.

The title text is a humorous addition to the comic, playing on the absurd implications of the flawed mathematical model. It suggests that the model is so wrong that it creates a bizarre, terrifying "Fox Hell" where rabbits and grass both prey on foxes, leading to a chaotic and ultimately fatal situation for the foxes. This is an example of xkcd's signature dark humor, where even seemingly harmless concepts like mathematical models can have darkly comical consequences. The title text extends the absurdity of the comic's premise, taking the flawed model to its most extreme and unsettling conclusion.

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

{{comic discussion}}

690: Semicontrolled Demolition

2024-02-26T19:02:21Z

162.158.91.14: /* Explanation */ wording

{{comic
| number = 690
| date = January 18, 2010
| title = Semicontrolled Demolition
| image = semicontrolled demolition.png
| titletext = I believe the truth always lies halfway between the most extreme claims.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center}} towers were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks ({{w|9/11}} in American date notation). The planned attack was for two planes to collide with the north and south towers simultaneously, but what ended up happening was that [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g6V8KZE3GA&t=35s plane 1 hit the north tower at 8:46 am], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KYE4zViAAg&t=11m44s the second plane hit the south tower a little less than 20 minutes later]. In the ensuing investigation many people raised questions that didn't seem to get a satisfactory answer for several months, if not years. Many people, who called themselves {{w|9/11 Truthers}}, began to claim that the whole thing was a government conspiracy, in what has come to be known as the "controlled demolition plot" (referenced by the title of this comic), which alleges that the towers were brought down not by the fires caused by the planes but by demolition charges intentionally placed there by the government.

[[Cueball]] proposes a compromise for both those who believe in the conspiracy and those who don't. Since there is only a government related video of a plane flying into the north tower — done by a man who was with {{w|FDNY}} fire fighters — that was a government conspiracy. But it just so happened that the government decided to demolish the north tower on the same day that terrorists decided to attack the south tower.

The title text is a restatement of the {{w|Argument_to_moderation|Golden Mean fallacy}}: that the truth can be found in a compromise between two opposite positions. In this comic, one of the positions is a fanciful conspiracy theory and the other is a sober fact-based conclusion. The error of this fallacy is apparent here, as it can lead to even more ridiculous conclusions. In this case, the compromise theory would make no one happy because both sides would have to concede claims which they have already dismissed as bogus, as well as accept an incredibly unlikely coincidence.

On January 6, 2016, ''{{w|The_Onion|The Onion}}'', a satirical news site, reported that the government has confirmed Cueball's theory by releasing an article titled, [http://www.theonion.com/article/government-admits-it-was-only-behind-destruction-o-37699 Government Admits It Was Only Behind Destruction Of North Tower.]

This is one of the [[:Category:Compromise|compromises]] Cueball (or Randall) has proposed, most of which will also be unlikely to be accepted...

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is holding up a pointer to a screen with an image of the World Trade Center towers mid-disaster.]
:Cueball: Based on my analysis, I believe the government faked the plane crash and demolished the WTC north tower with explosives.
:Cueball: The south tower, in a simultaneous but unrelated plot, was brought down by actual terrorists.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The 9/11 truthers responded poorly to my compromise theory.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Public speaking]]
[[Category:Compromise]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]
[[Category:9/11]]

Talk:2586: Greek Letters

2022-02-28T06:51:15Z

162.158.91.14:

Pi also shows up in lots of extremely advanced equations as pi, not as something else, adding edit. 123.456.7890

zeta_0 is also used for the first transfinite ordinal that is unreachable through addition, multiplication, exponentiation, and epsilons subscripting. EDIT: phi is used for the Veblen hierachy. [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 05:11, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

Don't you have an English saying: '''simple/easy as π'''? [[User:Nukio|Nukio]] ([[User talk:Nukio|talk]]) 05:51, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
:the saying is '''easy as pie''' as in the dessert. sometimes we write it '''easy as π''' as a nerdy joke. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.230|162.158.107.230]] 08:08, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

Related: https://xkcd.com/2520/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.224|162.158.103.224]] 08:59, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

I've found a use for capital Xi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harish-Chandra%27s_%CE%9E_function that seems to be from the field of Harmonic Analysis. [[User:Douira|Douira]] ([[User talk:Douira|talk]]) 14:50, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

The part that says the farad is "unusually large" is incredibly biased IMO. On the scale of planets its "unusually small", In fact, on the scale of EV's its even pretty normal. The writer is only considering small electronic circuits. Also the Henry is very well scaled to the Farad so how "unusual" is it really? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.33|108.162.241.33]] 17:13, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

:Apologies for the incredible bias. You're right in saying that I'm only considering small electronic circuits; I haven't worked on power distribution systems or applications with large capacitor banks, so my only hands-on experience of components measured in whole farads would be supercapacitors. In consumer electronics, where capacitors are typically labelled in pico, nano or microfarads, the whole farad is rarely encountered. I do still think that capacitors are a good counter-example of items using Mu that you can see and touch, in so many modern electronic devices. But as my previous use of language was so divisive, I'll let someone else attempt to reintegrate the point, if they feel it's useful. [[User:Kazzie|Kazzie]] ([[User talk:Kazzie|talk]]) 16:11, 27 February 2022 (UTC)

Isn't the ''capital'' psi used for the wavefunction? [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 19:35, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
:Yes, but rarely. The lowercase ψ is much more common (AFAIK it dates back to [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grave_Schroedinger_(detail).png Schrödinger himself].

How sad that there is no '''η'''! Missed chance to blame steam machine engineers for not trying harder to invent the perpetuum mobile. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.242.177|172.70.242.177]] 20:01, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

The lowercase epsilon is used much more often for something else - usually to denote that the "variable" on the lefthanded side is a member of the "set" of the righthanded side of the lowercase epsilon. Of course, this is totally unimportant ;-).
:You are referring to the "element of" sign, which is distinct from lowercase epsilon (although based on it).

I highly doubt that the use of Ξ has anything to do with it "looking like a UFO." Rather, I'd suggest it's because it's essentially never used, at least among the English speaking mathematicians in the US, and probably Europe. [[User:Douira|Douira]] went out of their way to find an example, and found something increadibly obscure, which supports the point. ''Why'' Ξ is rarely used is another question. Maybe because it could easily be confused for an E or Sigma, with lazy handwritting? Maybe because it's a Greek letter without a direct Latin counterpart, so doesn't correspond with the first letter of any common words? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.49|162.158.63.49]] 22:50, 26 February 2022 (UTC)som

In my experience lower case eta, zeta, (and xi) most commonly show up as dummy variable in an integral. Any two may be used for a double integral and all three for a triple. Double and triple integrals are often quite terrifying, particularly when somebody cannot write all three symbols consistently and distinctly, so many integrals become "integral squiggle squiggle dee squiggle dee squiggle".[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.219|172.70.174.219]] 10:10, 27 February 2022 (UTC)

π is also commonly used as the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime-counting_function prime-counting] function in number theory. Most problems regarding primes are usually considered hard, like the twin prime conjecture.

Lower-case sigma is also used in sigma-algebras, which is part of the theoretical background underlying statistics, among other things. I second that the lower-case epsilon drawn by Randall is the lunate variant that looks indistinguishable from the "is an element of" symbol and should probably get mentioned. On an unrelated note, there's a story of someone using capital xi at a math conference specifically to annoy some other mathematician who *really* didn't like them. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.26|172.70.211.26]] 20:30, 27 February 2022 (UTC)

Alpha is also used in aeronautics for the angle of attack of the airflow over a wing. Exceeding a critical angle of attack leads to an aerodynamic stall, which has been cause of many fatal accidents.