explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2492: Commonly Mispronounced Equations

2021-07-22T13:11:52Z

162.158.92.28:

This comic is obviously a take on the generation Z style of writing words without vowels so that they fit on T-Shirts, text messages or to avoid censorship, like "BRLN", "O RLY", "PIX PLZ". Some of the people from that generation are now established scientist, leading their respective fields forward. Obviously this is how they refer to common equations. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.29|162.158.92.29]] 13:10, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

I think the wave equation is wrong based on units, but it's been a while. The wave speed ought to be squared. Of course, ''c'' could be a squared speed, but it's usually not. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.164|172.70.34.164]] 01:22, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

:I agree, normally it's written as C squared... The equations in order are 1: Gravitational Attraction, 2: Einstein's Mass / Energy Conversion, 3: Pythagorean Theorem (triangle side relations), 4: Area of a Circle, 5: Entropy equation, 6: Ideal Gas Law, 7: Euler's Identity, 8: Newtons Second law, 9: Wave equation, 10: The derivative of a function f, and, 11: The Quadratic Equation... I don't understand the linguistic rules being applied to the names, but they seem to be visual as much as anything [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.66|108.162.237.66]] 02:04, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
::You should turn that into a table in the explanation. We can have a column where we try to come up with the pronunciation rule. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:10, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

The equation for the thing I have as what it was made by is
L
=
i
ψ
¯
γ
μ
∂
μ
ψ
−
e
ψ
¯
γ
μ
(
A
μ
+
B
μ
)
ψ
−
m
ψ
¯
ψ
1
4
F
μ
ν
F
μ
ν
.
{\displaystyle {\mathcal {L}}=i{\bar {\psi }}\gamma ^{\mu }\partial _{\mu }\psi -e{\bar {\psi }}\gamma ^{\mu }(A_{\mu }+B_{\mu })\psi -m{\bar {\psi }}\psi -{\frac {1}{4}}F_{\mu \nu }F^{\mu \nu }.}

when copy-pasted from Wikipedia. {{w|Quantum electrodynamics#Equations_of_motion|here is the link:}} [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_electrodynamics#Equations_of_motion These are both the links.]
For archival, this is the thing: LAGRONJ EYSIBARYMOODMOOSIOYLERSIBRYMOOAMOOBAMOOSIMASIBRSIQORTFAHMOOVYFAHMOOVY.
[[User:4D4850|4D4850]] ([[User talk:4D4850|talk]]) 02:22, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

My friends and I actually pretty often say "PəV-nert" for the ideal gas law. First syllable is kind of vowel-less, sort of a schwa if anything. But also stressed? Didn't know you could stress a schwa but, guess I did.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.160|172.70.130.160]] 02:36, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

I think this is the XKCD that has made me laugh the most, out of all 2492.
:I'd say it might be the one that made me laugh the most, out of all {{LATESTCOMIC}}. I won't, because it didn't, but I could. --[[User:4D4850|4D4850]] ([[User talk:4D4850|talk]]) 03:23, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

I tried to transcribe these pronunciations into IPA, because reading them like this is kind of ambiguous. I probably got a bunch of stuff wrong though.
fəˈdʒæmɚ |
ˈɛmkɑˌtu |
ætˈbutkut |
ˈæpɚˌtu |
həˈsplɒgpi |
ˈpævnɚt |
ˈaɪpɪn |
ˈfimɑ |
dut kəˈduks |
ˈfækslɪmˌoʊ ˈfæksəˌfɒx |
zəˈbɔbə fækˈtoʊɑ |
ˌɛpsɪˈhutəˌmu ˈdupsɪˌkwɔrps

Why is it a soft G in the gravity equation? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:10, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
:I believe it's a reference to the "gif" pronunciation debate. "Fuh-gam-er" is the obvious pronunciation, Randal is facetiously asserting "Fuh-jam-er" is correct.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.130|108.162.250.130]] 05:00, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
:I think it might be because the English letter "G" is pronounced "Gee" (i.e. "Jee"), which made its way into the pronunciation here.[[User:BenjaminTheBenevolent|BenjaminTheBenevolent]] ([[User talk:BenjaminTheBenevolent|talk]]) 10:27, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

The most similar time when equations are actually 'pronounced' a bit like this is the "soh cah toa" mnemonic for the trigonometric identities - should this be in the explanation? (the comic made at least me think that might be the original inspiration) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.204|141.101.99.204]] 06:42, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

:The circle area might be meant to read out like "upper two", referencing the square. I can't see the same for any of the others though. / [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.157|162.158.183.157]] 06:52, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

I see nobody has attempted the Transcript yet. (Also I'm wondering how to 'properly' pronounce P-One V-One Over T-One Equals P-Two V-Two Over T-Two.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.157|162.158.155.157]] 10:41, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

Sorry to come in as an amateur, but I think the equation pronounced Ha-SPLOG-pee is actually the equation for Shannon diversity. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.134|162.158.126.134]] 11:58, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

The Pythagorean Theorem one made me think of the AT-AT debate for Star Wars

Talk:1253: Exoplanet Names

2021-06-29T17:29:06Z

162.158.92.28: Ballderaan is anagram of Aldebaran

This comic is referenced in 1555: Exoplanet Names 2 (https://xkcd.com/1555/). [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.177|199.27.133.177]] 04:54, 24 July 2015 (UTC)

One of the planets is similar to the child in Exploits of a Mom (http://xkcd.com/327/)
Robert Drop Tables
[[Special:Contributions/90.200.204.77|90.200.204.77]] 12:12, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
:Yes, they've seemed to have learned to sanitize their data inputs or just stick to parameters. [[Special:Contributions/69.14.148.254|69.14.148.254]] 12:33, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
Hair covered planet might be a reference to the book The Carpet Makers {{unsigned ip|41.221.193.211}}

The Blogosphere and Blogodrome planets are cited as synonyms of "blog." I believe this is an error, in that blogosphere is synonymous with "the collection of all posted communication." I would change it myself, but I don't feel like I'm sufficiently expert to state with conviction. ~Anthingy {{unsigned ip|76.105.133.220}}

I'm still missing the ''New Netherlands''... Lorenz [[Special:Contributions/142.244.63.246|142.244.63.246]] 15:34, 19 August 2013 (UTC)

Along with no ''New Netherlands'', I'm also disappointed to see ''Planet #14'' but no ''Planet 9 from Outer Space''. [[User:Ccurtis|Ccurtis]] ([[User talk:Ccurtis|talk]]) 16:04, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
:I'm sure my explain does cover this very well.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:04, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
::I don't understand your comment here. I was hoping for a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_9_from_Outer_Space Plan 9 From Outer Space], arguably one of the worst movies ever made and inspiration for the successor Unix operating system, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_9_from_Bell_Labs Plan 9]. [[User:Ccurtis|Ccurtis]] ([[User talk:Ccurtis|talk]]) 14:09, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

If memory serves, Stampy is the name of Bart Simpson's elephant. [[Special:Contributions/99.108.140.97|99.108.140.97]] 17:59, 19 August 2013 (UTC)

A* ("a star") is also a pathfinding algorithm taught in introductory Artificial Intelligence classes. I don't see the connection to the planet yet. [[User:Lastorset|Lastorset]] ([[User talk:Lastorset|talk]]) 22:19, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
:For the first, I did remove the corrupt wiki link. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:23, 19 August 2013 (UTC)

I just wonder where New Jerseys II through V are .... [[User:JamesCurran|JamesCurran]] ([[User talk:JamesCurran|talk]]) 03:24, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

'''Skydot''' could as easily be equivalent to the "Pale blue dot" that is Earth, from afar. '''New Jersey VI''' reminds me of the "New (New New New New .. New) New York" as visited in Doctor Who. '''help@gmail.com''' is either another bad input (as in "How Do I Join the IAU") or something more insidious. '''Moon Holder''' also reminds me of "Moon Watcher" from the (book of, at least) 2001: a Space Odyssey. '''Blainsley''' sounds to me like one of those portmanteau-names applied to a couple ("Blair-and-Ainsley"?). '''Unicorn Thresher''' could either be a random word string (I'd not have been surprisedto have seen "Correct Horse battery Staple" in the list) or ''perhaps'' something to do with the Invisible Pink Unicorn. '''Liz''' sounds like someone trying to get a planet named after their girlfriend or daughter or perhaps mother. [[Special:Contributions/178.104.103.140|178.104.103.140]] 11:39, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

:Anyone want an exoplanet named xkcd? {{unsigned ip|173.14.129.9}}

I was personally expecting a planet named "Gallifrey" or "Too expensive to get there, who cares?" {{unsigned ip|170.215.90.160}}

Maybe New Jersey VI is a reference to the Spaceship New Jersey from Bruce Covill's young adult "My Teacher Is An Alien" series?
-Jed [[Special:Contributions/70.208.76.161|70.208.76.161]] 00:47, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

I find it very meta that the line in the table explaining Cosmic Sands is formatted in Comic Sans, except for the reference to the Papyrus comic, which is written in Papyrus. I refer anyone interested to the discussion there about the propriety of that kind of self-referential cleverness, and I recognize that it sort of undermines the purpose of a wiki to do things therein that themselves require explanation... but I kinda like it. --Benny [[Special:Contributions/68.199.58.41|68.199.58.41]] 15:50, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

'''How Do I Join the IAU''' - instead of a lost user it very much resembles whinning of noobs in forums or in chat - "How Do I Get An Op?", "Please Mail It To Me" etc. '''Ballderaan''' might be a pun (if it's not actually there) on the Space Balls movie. --Ed [[Special:Contributions/217.31.207.1|217.31.207.1]] 14:04, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

permadeath might also be a play on permafrost. [[User:Peter|Peter]] ([[User talk:Peter|talk]]) 17:01, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Is Moonchild not an Aleister Crowley reference? {{unsigned ip|91.45.17.43}}

I think, that help@gmail.com is a pun for the fact, that you usaually don't get any help writing to that address or that it is usually hard to communicate with google [[Special:Contributions/87.168.177.1|87.168.177.1]] 12:32, 4 October 2013 (UTC) Christian

Since computer scientists often start at zero instead of one when numbering things, the 15th in the list would be '''Planet #14'''
[[User:W3steve|W3steve]] ([[User talk:W3steve|talk]]) 23:25, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

Planet With Arms might also refer to the Birds With Arms thing on Reddit, where people humorously photoshop arms onto the bird pictures. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.5|108.162.246.5]] 21:10, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

I think the inclusion of Blue Ivy is a swipe at Beyonce and Jay-Z trademarking their daughter's name. Presumably, as well as being two words, it would be ineligible as a planet name for violating the guidelines on "avoiding commercial names, and being 'respectful of intellectual property'". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.46|108.162.216.46]] 15:48, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

"A star" is a planet not a star. I thought that was the joke. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.162|173.245.50.162]] 06:46, 18 October 2015 (UTC)

With recent developments in British ocean research, should we add a reference to "Boaty McBoatface"? Like M.Splashy Pants and the Mountain Dew flavour, this led the polls when the parent organization put the name of their cutting-edge research vessel to internet vote.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.134|108.162.242.134]] 22:18, 29 March 2016 (UTC)
:Do it. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 02:50, 30 March 2016 (UTC)

Help@gmail.com seems like a Douglas Adams reference, where he describes the complaints department of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation takes up several planets. Here's the [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/95859-share-and-enjoy-is-the-company-motto-of-the-hugely quote]. [[User:Yissachar1498|Yissachar1498]] ([[User talk:Yissachar1498|talk]]) 10:59, 24 November 2019 (UTC)

you all missed the point of "a star"

it suggests that the planet

'''is a star'''

you got nerdsniped and not one of you noticed [[Special:Contributions/172.68.143.82|172.68.143.82]] 20:50, 12 July 2020 (UTC)

Isn't Ballderaan just an anagram of Aldebaran? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.28|162.158.92.28]] 17:29, 29 June 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2255: Tattoo Ideas

2020-01-16T23:02:52Z

162.158.92.28: A remark on the quality of the title text's explanation

"Changeme" made me think of FIXME or TODO of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comment_(computer_programming)#Tags [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.150|162.158.106.150]] 06:03, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
:yeah, it's the equivalent but for stuff like passwords [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.91|162.158.154.91]] 06:42, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

The "Eurion Constellation" is a constellation-like pattern of dots on paper currency that when detected, prevents photocopiers from making copies of the bills https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tissot%27s_indicatrix Tissot's indicatrix] is a matrix of circles placed on a map that change size and proportions (possibly turning into ellipses) based on map distortion. As a tattoo, that would be useful in tracking any distortion of the skin since you had the tattoo. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.216|141.101.105.216]] 07:07, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

The [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/suffer-to-be-beautiful/ Snopes page on Epidurals and Tattoos] states that, as of 2005, doctors will administer epidurals (an anaesthetic procedure designed to lessen the pain of childbirth) through lower back tattoos, but that there is discussion in the Canadian medical community that there may be some risk involved with this procedure. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.177|172.69.54.177]] 07:23, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
:Until I clicked the link, I was under the impression you were telling us that the doctors would give women epidurals under the guise of tattoos or something... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 08:26, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

"The [https://www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/checklist/en/ WHO Surgical Safety Checklist] was developed after extensive consultation aiming to decrease errors and adverse events, and increase teamwork and communication in surgery. The 19-item checklist has gone on to show significant reduction in both morbidity and mortality and is now used by a majority of surgical providers around the world." [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.184|141.101.76.184]] 07:31, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

In the 2000 movie "Memento", the amnesiac protagonist uses "an intricate system of Polaroid photographs and tattoos to track information he cannot remember." ([https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_(film) Wikipedia]) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.154|141.101.76.154]] 07:40, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

Aww man, now I want the title text as a tattoo. Also, the words "You should add a dragon" abruptly in the middle of an intricate design[[User:V|V]] ([[User talk:V|talk]]) 08:03, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
:Or just "a dragon" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 08:24, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
::Or just tattoo "Your Tattoo" to show to anyone who asks to see your tattoo. --
:::My sister-in-law decided to get a pumpkin tattoo in memory of her late father, as "Pumpkin" was his nickname for her. I genuinely thought she was going to get a drawing of a pumpkin. I suppose there's a chance she did too... [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 19:06, 16 January 2020 (UTC)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.91|162.158.154.91]] 11:20, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
:Even though it's too soon (xkcd [[286]])? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.228|162.158.255.228]] 09:42, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

My phone refused to show this comic image until I viewed the url for the file directly. After reading about EURion sets, I wonder if Randall sneaked one in or something. It also started downloading an automatic "Play security information update" while I was trying to access the image. I guess if that's related causality could go in either direction. 16:14, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

I don't understand, why would updating your password tattoo be difficult? Just add a character or two every 6-12 months, making it more and more secure over time. Some characters could even be modified, an underscore easily becomes an 'L', a parentheses becomes a zero or 'O'. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 17:20, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

I disagree with the slide rule explanation. If the two halves of the slide rule were put on opposite arms, you would always be able to use it assuming: the tattoos are uncovered, you can get the two sides close enough, and your skin doesn't sag too much.
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.106|172.68.34.106]] 21:08, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
:I too instinctively disagreed, under the same assumption that it would be on different sides of the body to slide against each other (because both 'slides' on one patch of skin would make it of no practical use - albeit ''xkcd''ish because of that!) but you'd still depend upon no unequal linear distortion (even if bilaterally the same in their non-linear stretching) to make the linear and log/etc scales remain usefully referential for all 'slide' positions, and I'm really not sure if (fr. ex.) forearm growth or fattening (muscle ''and/or'' flab) handily pulls the skin taught/promotes dermal stretching in a totally consistent manner. So I left my objection unsaid. Though still worth commenting on in here, I suppose. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.196|141.101.98.196]] 17:12, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

The phrase '"All Your Base Are Belong to Us" is broken English phrase' in the explanation of the title text is itself broken English.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.28|162.158.92.28]] 23:02, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

553: Pirate Bay

2019-06-12T13:03:54Z

162.158.92.28: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 553
| date = March 9, 2009
| title = Pirate Bay
| image = pirate_bay.png
| titletext = We find you guilty of closing your torrents as soon as they finish. Your sentence is unremovable Hungarian subtitles on everything.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|The Pirate Bay}} is a website dedicated to facilitating {{w|Bittorrent|BitTorrent}} downloads of popular media. The site's servers were taken down, briefly, and the operators were {{w|the pirate bay trial|taken to court}} in Sweden, back in 2009.

Unlike normal downloads, files downloaded via Bittorrent are not stored on any web server, but instead transferred in small pieces by other people torrenting the same file; these other people are called "peers." Bittorrent allows websites to provide downloads without using up disk space or bandwidth serving up the entire file; instead, they can host smaller torrent files, which simply describe what the finished file should look like and a few "tracker" servers where lists of other peers can be found, and the peers themselves handle all of the bandwidth issues. This approach is used by a number of websites for completely legal downloads (it's popular among smaller game companies providing digital downloads, for instance), but it's mainly associated with piracy.

However, Bittorrent depends on peers actually having the file blocks that you need. People who have already downloaded the entire file, but continue to connect to the network solely to provide that file to others, are called "seeds," and they are an essential part of a healthy torrent. General etiquette demands that people should continue to seed a file until the ratio of data uploaded to data downloaded exceeds 1, although many people feel that one's ratio should be much higher. In any case, closing your torrents as soon as they finish, as mentioned in the title-text, is extremely ''bad'' etiquette, so it is punished with nuisance subtitles. This punishment was likely chosen because finding correct and well timed subtitles, in whatever language, for a pirated show tends to be quite hard sometimes.

This comic is essentially a pun on this second meaning of the word "peer" - in the US court system, a "jury of your peers" means a jury composed of everyday people like you, while the [https://vpnalist.com/proxy-mirror-the-pirate-bay Pirate Bay] operators interpret it to mean a jury composed of people who they've shared files with in the past. The [[Cueball]] that does the talking, and thus is the prodigy of the comic, feels that his approach would give him lenience in the trial, since he has always seeded well, thus ensured those peers had a good downloading experience.

The title text shows what punishment this kind of peer group would make if they find you guilty - unremovable subtitles in {{w|Hungarian language|Hungarian}}. Many pirated videos originate from countries where no {{w|Dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbed}} version is available in the regional language, so the only way to understand what's being said is by applying subtitles. These videos are then uploaded with subtitles still included, causing consternation among downloaders who can understand the spoken words but not the subtitles. Annoying Hungarian subtitles are just an example for a language most people don't understand. Finnish, Czech, or Polish wouldn't be better.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the frame:]
:Awaiting the judges' ruling at the Pirate Bay trial.

:[4 Cueball-like guys in a cell: 3 sitting down on a bench and one is standing, presumably looking at the fence.]
:Cueball: I wish this were in America.
:Cueball-like guy: Why?
:Cueball: I hear we'd go before a jury of our peers, and I've always seeded generously.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Puns]]

2161: An Apple a Day

2019-06-10T18:06:26Z

162.158.92.28: Fixed external link

{{comic
| number = 2161
| date = June 10, 2019
| title = An Apple a Day
| image = an_apple_a_day.png
| titletext = Even the powerful, tart Granny Smith cultivar is proving ineffective against new Gran-negative doctors.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an APPLE-RESISTANT DOCTOR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is a common expression. It suggests that eating one apple daily will keep you healthy, and, therefore, reduce your necessity to go to the doctor. However, in this comic, this expression is reinterpreted to mean that the reason an apple a day keeps a doctor away is because apples literally prevent doctors from coming. It also suggests that keeping doctors away is of great importance, presumably because doctors in this scenario are threatening.

Next, when the comic says that some doctors are resistant to apples, this references situations where creatures can adapt to deal with threats. In this case, the comic advocates stockpiling apples to prepare a strategic assault on the doctors who adapted.

In the title text, the gran-negative references bacteria staining, in which certain bacteria are stained and come out positive, and the others, negative.

The comic is a clear reference to the overuse of antibiotics in modern medicine, leading to an increase in antimicrobial resistance ("Superbugs"), which has seen increasing awareness in the last few years. The World Health Organisation had the first Antibiotic Awareness Week[https://antibioticawareness.ca/] in 2015, where a talk similar to the one in the comic would seem very appropriate.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan stands at a podium.]
:Megan: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
:Or at least, it used to.

:[The comic zooms out on the stage. Megan is pointing at a poster promimently featuring Doctor Ponytail and three apples.]
:Megan: Over time, some doctors have developed a resistance to apples. Keeping them away takes two or three apples instead of one.
:And there are worrying signs that a few doctors have become completely immune.

:[The comic zooms in again on Megan and her podium.]
:So we must stockpile our finest apples in reserve, using them to fend off only the very worst doctors.
:Honeycrisps still work on most of them, but we don't know for how long.

{{comic discussion}}

2161: An Apple a Day

2019-06-10T18:04:46Z

162.158.92.28: Added reference to antiobiotic resistance.

{{comic
| number = 2161
| date = June 10, 2019
| title = An Apple a Day
| image = an_apple_a_day.png
| titletext = Even the powerful, tart Granny Smith cultivar is proving ineffective against new Gran-negative doctors.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an APPLE-RESISTANT DOCTOR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is a common expression. It suggests that eating one apple daily will keep you healthy, and, therefore, reduce your necessity to go to the doctor. However, in this comic, this expression is reinterpreted to mean that the reason an apple a day keeps a doctor away is because apples literally prevent doctors from coming. It also suggests that keeping doctors away is of great importance, presumably because doctors in this scenario are threatening.

Next, when the comic says that some doctors are resistant to apples, this references situations where creatures can adapt to deal with threats. In this case, the comic advocates stockpiling apples to prepare a strategic assault on the doctors who adapted.

In the title text, the gran-negative references bacteria staining, in which certain bacteria are stained and come out positive, and the others, negative.

The comic is a clear reference to the overuse of antibiotics in modern medicine, leading to an increase in antimicrobial resistance ("Superbugs"), which has seen increasing awareness in the last few years. The World Health Organisation had the first [Antibiotic awareness week](https://antibioticawareness.ca/) in 2015, where a talk similar to the one in the comic would seem very appropriate.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan stands at a podium.]
:Megan: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
:Or at least, it used to.

:[The comic zooms out on the stage. Megan is pointing at a poster promimently featuring Doctor Ponytail and three apples.]
:Megan: Over time, some doctors have developed a resistance to apples. Keeping them away takes two or three apples instead of one.
:And there are worrying signs that a few doctors have become completely immune.

:[The comic zooms in again on Megan and her podium.]
:So we must stockpile our finest apples in reserve, using them to fend off only the very worst doctors.
:Honeycrisps still work on most of them, but we don't know for how long.

{{comic discussion}}

1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations

2018-01-03T16:32:42Z

162.158.92.28: Added San Jose to the transcript

{{comic
| number = 1937
| date = January 3, 2018
| title = IATA Airport Abbreviations
| image = iata_airport_abbreviations.png
| titletext = IATA stands for International AirporT Abbreviation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Expansion needed. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is making fun of the three-letter codes assigned to all airports. These codes are overseen by the IATA (International Air Transport Association). Some airport codes are very intuitive, taking letters from the city name (e.g. DEN for Denver). Other codes are somewhat intuitive, taking a letter or two from the nearby city name but adding an additional letter (e.g. LAX for Los Angeles). Other codes make seemingly no sense at all (e.g. ORD for Chicago's O'Hare International, due to it formerly being named Orchard Field). In many cases, the airport codes are being conflated with various abbreviations and acronyms.

{| class="wikitable"
|'''IATA Code''' || '''City/Airport''' || '''Description in the comic''' || '''Explanation'''
|-
| AMD || Ahmedabad || Amsterdam || Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. Its Airport (called Schiphol) has the IATA code AMS.
|-
| ANC || Anchorage || Ankh-Morpork
|-
| ATL || Atlanta || Atalantë
|-
| BAE || Barcelonnette || Beijing || Beijing is the capital of China. Its Airport has the IATA code PEK.
|-
| BLT || Blackwater || Baltimore
|-
| BUF || Buffalo || Sunnydale || Sunnydale is the fictional setting of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''.
|-
| CLT || Charlotte || [CENSORED] || The censored word may be "clitoris."
|-
| DFW || Dallas/Fort Worth || Down For Whatever
|-
| DTF || not assigned || Dartford || "DTF" is an acronym used to indicate "Down To Fuck".
|-
| DTW || Detroit || Down To Whatever
|-
| DWI || not assigned || Delaware International || "DWI" is an acronym for "Driving While Intoxicated" or "Driving While Impaired."
|-
| EWR || Newark || Edwards Air Force Base || Edwards Air Force Base (which has the IATA code EDW) is a United States Air Force installation in southern California, about 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Lancaster and 15 miles (24 km) east of Rosamond.
|-
| FFS || not assigned || Flagstaff Station
|-
| FHQ || not assigned || FHQWHGADS
|-
| FYI || not assigned || Fayetteville || "FYI" often stands for "For Your Information".
|-
| HGM || not assigned || Hogsmeade
|-
| HSV || Huntsville || Huntsville
|-
| IAD || Washington || Idaho (Boise)
|-
| IUD || Doha || Washington Dulles
|-
| JFC || not assigned || Jefferson City
|-
| KUL || Kuala Lumpur || Kingdom of Loathing
|-
| LAX || Los Angeles || Las Angalas
|-
| LOL || Lovelock || Louisville || "LOL" often stands for "Lauging Out Loud".
|-
| MDW || Chicago (Midway) || Midway Atoll
|-
| MIA || Miami || Colombo, Sri Lanka
|-
| OMW || not assigned || Omaha
|-
| ORD || Chicago (O'Hare) || Orlando
|-
| PDX || Portland || Pordlanx
|-
| PHL || Philadelphia || Pittsburgh
|-
| SAN || San Diego || San Diego San Juan San Jose San Francisco San Antonio
|-
| SEA || Seattle || [Indicates Water Landing]
|-
| SFW || Santa Fe || Sherwood Forest
|-
| SMH || Sapmanga || Smithfield
|-
| STL || St. Louis || Silent Hill
|-
| TBA || Tabibuga || Tribeca
|-
| TMI || Tumlingtar || Turkmenistan International || "TMI" often stands for "Too Much Information".
|-
| YYY || Mont-Joli || Toronto Downtown || The small airport in downtown Toronto is Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport which has an IATA code of YTZ.
|-
| YYZ || Toronto || Toronto Pearson
|-
|}

==Transcript==
Confused by those airport abbreviations used by your friends who fly a lot? Just memorize this list.
:Aside 1: I'm flying into EWR tonight, then DTW tomorrow.
:Aside 2: Ok, Cool. I definitely know what those mean without Googling.

{| class="wikitable"
| ||
|-
| AMD || Amsterdam
|-
| BAE || Beijing
|-
| ORD || Orlando
|-
| IAD || Idaho (Boise)
|-
| JFC || Jefferson City
|-
| IUD || Washington Dulles
|-
| FYI || Fayetteville
|-
| LOL || Louisville
|-
| ATL || Atalante
|-
| HGM || Hogsmeade
|-
| OMW || Omaha
|-
| ANC || Ankh-Morpork
|-
| HSV || Hunstville
|-
| SAN || San Diego
|-
| SAN || San Juan
|-
| SAN || San Jose
|-
| SAN || San Francisco
|-
| SAN || San Antonio
|-
| DWI || Delaware International
|-
| DFW || Down for Whatever
|-
| DTW || Down to Whatever
|-
| TMI || Turkmenistan International
|-
| LAX || Las Angalas
|-
| EWR || Edwards Air Force Base
|-
| PHL || Pittsburgh
|-
| SWF || Sherwood Forest
|-
| KUL || Kingdom of Loathing
|-
| STL || Silent Hill
|-
| BUF || Sunnydale
|-
| TBA || Tribeca
|-
| SMH || Smithfield
|-
| BLT || Baltimore
|-
| YYY || Toronto Downtown
|-
| YYZ || Toronto Pearson
|-
| MIA || Colombo, Sri Lanka
|-
| CLT || Censored
|-
| FHQ || Fhqwhgads
|-
| FFS || Flagstaff Station
|-
| DTF || Dartford
|-
| MDW || Midway Atoll
|-
| PDX || Pordlanx
|-
| SEA || Indicates Water Landing
|}

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

{{comic discussion}}

1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations

2018-01-03T16:30:49Z

162.158.92.28: Added descriptions from the comic to the explanation table

{{comic
| number = 1937
| date = January 3, 2018
| title = IATA Airport Abbreviations
| image = iata_airport_abbreviations.png
| titletext = IATA stands for International AirporT Abbreviation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Expansion needed. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is making fun of the three-letter codes assigned to all airports. These codes are overseen by the IATA (International Air Transport Association). Some airport codes are very intuitive, taking letters from the city name (e.g. DEN for Denver). Other codes are somewhat intuitive, taking a letter or two from the nearby city name but adding an additional letter (e.g. LAX for Los Angeles). Other codes make seemingly no sense at all (e.g. ORD for Chicago's O'Hare International, due to it formerly being named Orchard Field). In many cases, the airport codes are being conflated with various abbreviations and acronyms.

{| class="wikitable"
|'''IATA Code''' || '''City/Airport''' || '''Description in the comic''' || '''Explanation'''
|-
| AMD || Ahmedabad || Amsterdam || Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. Its Airport (called Schiphol) has the IATA code AMS.
|-
| ANC || Anchorage || Ankh-Morpork
|-
| ATL || Atlanta || Atalantë
|-
| BAE || Barcelonnette || Beijing || Beijing is the capital of China. Its Airport has the IATA code PEK.
|-
| BLT || Blackwater || Baltimore
|-
| BUF || Buffalo || Sunnydale || Sunnydale is the fictional setting of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''.
|-
| CLT || Charlotte || [CENSORED] || The censored word may be "clitoris."
|-
| DFW || Dallas/Fort Worth || Down For Whatever
|-
| DTF || not assigned || Dartford || "DTF" is an acronym used to indicate "Down To Fuck".
|-
| DTW || Detroit || Down To Whatever
|-
| DWI || not assigned || Delaware International || "DWI" is an acronym for "Driving While Intoxicated" or "Driving While Impaired."
|-
| EWR || Newark || Edwards Air Force Base || Edwards Air Force Base (which has the IATA code EDW) is a United States Air Force installation in southern California, about 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Lancaster and 15 miles (24 km) east of Rosamond.
|-
| FFS || not assigned || Flagstaff Station
|-
| FHQ || not assigned || FHQWHGADS
|-
| FYI || not assigned || Fayetteville || "FYI" often stands for "For Your Information".
|-
| HGM || not assigned || Hogsmeade
|-
| HSV || Huntsville || Huntsville
|-
| IAD || Washington || Idaho (Boise)
|-
| IUD || Doha || Washington Dulles
|-
| JFC || not assigned || Jefferson City
|-
| KUL || Kuala Lumpur || Kingdom of Loathing
|-
| LAX || Los Angeles || Las Angalas
|-
| LOL || Lovelock || Louisville || "LOL" often stands for "Lauging Out Loud".
|-
| MDW || Chicago (Midway) || Midway Atoll
|-
| MIA || Miami || Colombo, Sri Lanka
|-
| OMW || not assigned || Omaha
|-
| ORD || Chicago (O'Hare) || Orlando
|-
| PDX || Portland || Pordlanx
|-
| PHL || Philadelphia || Pittsburgh
|-
| SAN || San Diego || San Diego San Juan San Jose San Francisco San Antonio
|-
| SEA || Seattle || [Indicates Water Landing]
|-
| SFW || Santa Fe || Sherwood Forest
|-
| SMH || Sapmanga || Smithfield
|-
| STL || St. Louis || Silent Hill
|-
| TBA || Tabibuga || Tribeca
|-
| TMI || Tumlingtar || Turkmenistan International || "TMI" often stands for "Too Much Information".
|-
| YYY || Mont-Joli || Toronto Downtown || The small airport in downtown Toronto is Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport which has an IATA code of YTZ.
|-
| YYZ || Toronto || Toronto Pearson
|-
|}

==Transcript==
Confused by those airport abbreviations used by your friends who fly a lot? Just memorize this list.
:Aside 1: I'm flying into EWR tonight, then DTW tomorrow.
:Aside 2: Ok, Cool. I definitely know what those mean without Googling.

{| class="wikitable"
| ||
|-
| AMD || Amsterdam
|-
| BAE || Beijing
|-
| ORD || Orlando
|-
| IAD || Idaho (Boise)
|-
| JFC || Jefferson City
|-
| IUD || Washington Dulles
|-
| FYI || Fayetteville
|-
| LOL || Louisville
|-
| ATL || Atalante
|-
| HGM || Hogsmeade
|-
| OMW || Omaha
|-
| ANC || Ankh-Morpork
|-
| HSV || Hunstville
|-
| SAN || San Diego
|-
| SAN || San Juan
|-
| SAN || San Francisco
|-
| SAN || San Antonio
|-
| DWI || Delaware International
|-
| DFW || Down for Whatever
|-
| DTW || Down to Whatever
|-
| TMI || Turkmenistan International
|-
| LAX || Las Angalas
|-
| EWR || Edwards Air Force Base
|-
| PHL || Pittsburgh
|-
| SWF || Sherwood Forest
|-
| KUL || Kingdom of Loathing
|-
| STL || Silent Hill
|-
| BUF || Sunnydale
|-
| TBA || Tribeca
|-
| SMH || Smithfield
|-
| BLT || Baltimore
|-
| YYY || Toronto Downtown
|-
| YYZ || Toronto Pearson
|-
| MIA || Colombo, Sri Lanka
|-
| CLT || Censored
|-
| FHQ || Fhqwhgads
|-
| FFS || Flagstaff Station
|-
| DTF || Dartford
|-
| MDW || Midway Atoll
|-
| PDX || Pordlanx
|-
| SEA || Indicates Water Landing
|}

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1923: Felsius

2017-12-04T11:52:07Z

162.158.92.28:

Thanks who, at the same time as I, wrote the better explanation with formulae; you're welcome for the table (which, for my first attempt at a MediaWiki table, and in a big hurry to be first*, I think came out all right). ((*Go ahead and edit at will!)) --'''BigMal''' // [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.184|108.162.216.184]] 16:44, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

Seems like this is awfully relevant: https://xkcd.com/927/ -- '''Derek Antrican''' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.23|108.162.246.23]] 16:54, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

You can't write formulas like that! °C is degree(s) Celsius, not the value of some temperature as measured in degrees Celsius. You should write something like [°C] or °C-1 instead (if we treat °C as an affine function mapping dimensionless values to temperatures). Or you can be explicit and say something like "x°F = ((x − 32) * 5 / 9)°C". --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.22|172.68.54.22]] 19:59, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

Fahrenheit contribution to the name is disproportionately small for an average of two scales. It should have been at least Falsius, with added punniness, or Fahlsius, to be more unique. -- '''Average Alex'''
: It should be ‘Fahlsius’, or even ‘Fählsius’, but notice that the pronunciation will still be more or less like ‘Felsius’ and not like ‘Fall-sius’ (for the same reason that ‘Fahrenheit’ or ‘Fährenheit’ is pronounced more or less like ‘Fair-enheit’ and not like ‘Far-enheit’. —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 04:58, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
:It should be Centiheit[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.239|141.101.104.239]] 09:32, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
:No, it should be Celsiheit. Either case, the name would also fit the sign better than Felsius[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.28|162.158.92.28]] 11:52, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

I'm obliged to share https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=227Hdz8VFKo. As a pedant, I have to point out that water's melting and boiling point aren't quite at 0 °C and 100 °C (and that Celsius originally had it backwards). And I *do* like "Falsius". [[User:Fluppeteer|Fluppeteer]] ([[User talk:Fluppeteer|talk]]) 21:19, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

Watch out for Felsius/Celsius or Felsius/Fahrenheit hybrids: https://xkcd.com/419/ [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 22:20, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

What is an "epislon"? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.170|162.158.88.170]] 23:02, 1 December 2017 (UTC)
: A Greek letter; follow the link where the word first appears in the explanation. —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 04:58, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
:: I'm pretty sure there's no Greek letter epislon. Which is presumably why it got corrected.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.239|141.101.104.239]] 09:40, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

I think the Ukranian Ye (Є) would be closer, visually speaking.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.42|162.158.186.42]] 23:40, 1 December 2017 (UTC)
: Or the mathematical symbol ⋲ (ELEMENT OF WITH LONG HORIZONTAL STROKE) or C̶ (LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C + COMBINING LONG STROKE OVERLAY)? Or ℃̶ (DEGREE CELSIUS + COMBINING LONG STROKE OVERLAY)? [[User:Sabik|Sabik]] ([[User talk:Sabik|talk]]) 11:36, 2 December 2017 (UTC)
:: Yes, ELEMENT OF WITH LONG HORIZONTAL STROKE seems exactly right (not only by look, but also since ELEMENT OF is basically a lunate Epsilon already and changing the HORIZONTAL STROKE so that it is LONG is precisely the modification WITH which it needs to be equipped), and I think that we should switch to this immediately! —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 04:58, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
::: Done. [[User:Sabik|Sabik]] ([[User talk:Sabik|talk]]) 06:42, 3 December 2017 (UTC)

Apparantly someone needs to be taught about the Rømer scale that is the ancestor of both Celcius and Fahrenhet. It has fixed constants for all three of water boiling, freezing and the temperature of brine.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.226|162.158.202.226]] 23:06, 2 December 2017 (UTC)

I remove the reference to ammonium chloride from the temperature table because, while it is cool (both figuratively and literally), it's also obsolete: in the modern Fahrenheit scale, this happens at 4°F, not at 0°F. (See the table at {{w|Frigorific mixture}}.) —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 04:58, 3 December 2017 (UTC)

If the creator of the website that was inspired by the comic created one that was based on SE Asian countries, I would like to know the felsius of that. I am curious as heck.Boeing-787lover 06:33, 3 December 2017 (UTC)

Note that as visible on the {{w|Kelvin}} page, the temperatures actually used to define the scales are absolute zero and the triple point of water, as other points, including the boiling temperature of water, body temperature, room temperature, pure water freeze and saturated salt water freeze one, are hard to measure reliably (due to pressure requirements). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:59, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

Do you think Randall made up a new symbol for Felsius with the intention of making the job difficult for explain xkcd (or at least knowing that it would complicate matters)? [[User:Sensorfire|Sensorfire]] ([[User talk:Sensorfire|talk]]) 03:15, 4 December 2017 (UTC)