https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=172.68.110.115explain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-04-15T09:30:07ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2503:_Memo_Spike_Connector&diff=216649Talk:2503: Memo Spike Connector2021-08-16T16:33:05Z<p>172.68.110.115: </p>
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Just made my first ever wiki edit! There was no text yet so I filled in some basic info. I guarantee what I wrote will be removed though :( . Oh well, I tried! [[User:Zman350x|Zman350x]] ([[User talk:Zman350x|talk]]) 15:20, 16 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
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:Your first edit inspired me to my own first edit. Maybe at the end there will be a good article made entirely by noobs. :) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.115|172.68.110.115]] 16:33, 16 August 2021 (UTC)</div>172.68.110.115https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2503:_Memo_Spike_Connector&diff=2166482503: Memo Spike Connector2021-08-16T16:29:36Z<p>172.68.110.115: /* Explanation */ short-cicuits</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2503<br />
| date = August 16, 2021<br />
| title = Memo Spike Connector<br />
| image = memo spike connector.png<br />
| titletext = Backward-compatible with many existing cables, and can connect directly to phones or tablets if you press them down hard enough.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a HUMAN. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
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This is the 3rd entry in the [[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]] series.<br />
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The comic depicts a large metal spike with a wire coming from the base. The spike stabs through two other wires, thus creating an electrical connection between the three. As the name suggests, the spike resembles a {{w|Spindle_(stationery)|memo spike}}, formally known as a spindle.<br />
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Spindles are used to temporarily hold paper by "spindling" or impaling the paper onto the spike (as depicted in the comic). They're most known for their use in restaurants as a way to hold orders for the kitchen staff.<br />
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The joke of the comic is while any number of non-destructive connection standards exist, a large spike can provide much of the same results: a conductive object that retains a connection of multiple wires in a way that allows electricity to pass through.<br />
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Depending on the Type of Cable it is also not unlikely to create a short circuit, e.g. by Connecting both strands of a twisted pair of strands in a typical ethernet cable. In an enterprise environment this could even happen on a {{w|Power_over_Ethernet|PoE-Connection}}, which actually carry more noticable amounts of power (up to 25,5W)<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
''[A memo spike—a long spike that is often used to hold pieces of paper in place—is shown. There is a wire coming out of the base of the memo spike, and two wires are impaled upon it. Above is a title and below is a label.]''<br />
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Cursed Connectors #102<br />
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The Memo Spike<br />
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==Trivia==<br />
The {{W|Vampire tap}} is an actual connector that pierces into a coaxial cable to create an 10BASE5 Ethernet connection.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Cursed Connectors]]</div>172.68.110.115