explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

285: Wikipedian Protester

2025-04-11T21:15:57Z

172.68.205.134: Better than a Incomplete Explanation. Needs work, maybe, but already more work was created by the strange way it was added, so best of a bad deal.

{{comic
| number = 285
| date = July 4, 2007
| title = Wikipedian Protester
| image = wikipedian_protester.png
| titletext = SEMI-PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION
}}

==Explanation==
The comic was released on the 4th of July, independence day, and that's relevant for americans. [[Cueball]] holds up a sign reading "[Citation needed]" during a political speech. The sign text is based on the {{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed|Wikipedia template}} that can be placed next to statements that need citations, (that look like this[citation needed]) usually because of questionable validity. Cueball is using this template to challenge the politician's speech, as political speakers often throw out claims having dubious or no factual basis. This comic was posted on Independence Day in 2007.

The title text represents an alternative sign the protester could be holding. It is a pun on popular phrase "protect the Constitution", which urges politicians to pass and enforce laws in a way that preserves the rules and rights set down by the {{w|Constitution of the United States|U.S. constitution}}. "Semi-protect" is a reference to the {{w|Wikipedia:Semi-protection policy|Wikipedia semi-protection policy}}, which is used to prevent important articles from being edited anonymously or by new users. Semi-protection on an article is shown by displaying this lock [[File:semi-protection-lock.png|12px]] on the top right of an article. Constitutional amendments are proposed by Congress, which isn't anonymous, meaning that in effect, all articles of the Constitution are technically already semi-protected. Funnily enough, the "{{w|Constitution}}" and "{{w|Constitution of the United States}}" articles on Wikipedia are now semi-protected due to excessive vandalism.

==Transcript==
:[A man (presumably some sort of electoral candidate) with flat, dark hair is standing at a podium. He is speaking to a crowd while standing behind a lectern. The lectern has a microphone on the top and sports an American flag in color on the side. He holds an arm on the lectern and the other arm is held up in front of him with a finger pointing upwards. There are four red stars on the side of the podium below him and behind him something that could be high curtains. There is an empty gap between the podium and the first people in the crowd followed by a stick with a red top, which indicates a fence to keep the crowd at a distance from the podium. After the fence there is a large crowd of people listening, most of them only partly drawn, and a lot of them lacking hair. Three signs can be seen above the heads of the crowd, but two are just blank white, except for one in the middle of the crowd. There, a Cueball has been raised above the rest of the crowd (possibly on someone else's shoulders) while holding a large sign above his head in both hands. The sign has blue text in black square brackets:]
:<big>[Citation needed]</big>

==Trivia==
* The ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' blog and this wiki use the {{Template|Citation needed}} template as a joke after statements that are blatantly obvious. For example, "The light from the Sun illuminates the Earth.{{Citation needed}}". On this wiki, the template has been used in [[:Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template|{{PAGESINCAT:Pages using the "citation needed" template}} pages]] and clicking on it leads to this comic's explanation.
* Randall {{w|User_talk:Xkcd#http://xkcd.com/c285.html|re-licensed this comic}} under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ the CC-BY 2.5 license] so that it could be {{w|File:Webcomic xkcd - Wikipedian protester.png|used on Wikipedia}}. By default, xkcd comics are licensed under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ CC-BY-NC 2.5], which is [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Licensing#Acceptable_licenses considered too restrictive for Wikimedia content]. On Wikipedia, this comic was featured as the {{w|Template:POTD/2018-11-23|picture of the day}} on November 23, 2018 and is used in the "{{w|Citation needed}}" article, the "{{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed}}" information page, and the "{{w|Wikipedia:Why Wikipedia cannot claim the Earth is not flat}}" essay.
* The template in this comic used to be [https://web.archive.org/web/20211215010112/https://store.xkcd.com/products/citation-needed-sticker-pack available as a sticker pack] in the xkcd store before it was [[Store|shut down]].
* xkcd fans have made [https://blog.xkcd.com/2007/10/01/the-meetup/comment-page-2/#:~:text=There%20were%20several%20gallant%20protesters%20insisting%20that%20all%20assertions%20be%20fully%20backed%2Dup. "Citation needed" signs in real life] as a joke.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:CC-BY-SA comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Public speaking]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

Talk:3074: Push Notifications

2025-04-11T21:12:57Z

172.68.205.134:

== April 1st comic ==

So...this is the April Fool's comic, if I'm not mistaken... Oh ye of little faith! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.106|172.71.26.106]] 20:00, 9 April 2025 (UTC)

I turned this on thinking it would just be a few every so often but I quickly realized how this is xkcd and it doesn't "joke". I had to turn this off because it disrupted my schoolwork by popping up every fricking 5 minutes{{unsigned|Moss|20:22, 9 April 2025 (UTC)}}
: Personally, I'm disappointed by how long I have to wait between notifications. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.32|172.71.178.32]] 15:39, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Apparently my employer (or ublock) is keeping me from experiencing the full effect of any notifications. All I get is "An *actual* error has occurred. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.173|162.158.91.173]] 20:52, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
:Yeah, I'm confused too. I've tried Chrome and got nothing. I've tried Edge and got effectively nothing. I progressed one message further, but nothing showed up. No notifications, popups, or whatever. And I have never installed an add-on for Edge. Edge did give me access to the game over screen by disabling notifications, but when I tried to re-enable them, nothing happened.
:Is this a mobile-only thing? [[User:EebstertheGreat|EebstertheGreat]] ([[User talk:EebstertheGreat|talk]]) 02:51, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:I'm having the same issue. Firefox doesn't work, which I understand, but neither does Safari. I haven't gotten a single notification. [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 06:57, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
::Problem solved! Turns out I *was* getting notifications, I just wasn't seeing them. --[[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 07:07, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

What the heck are the "Zoom Notification" ones, with just a pair of numbers? Now that I've been sitting with this for a little bit, they're by far the most common notifications, and the most mysterious. What is "zoom"ing or should be zoomed-in-on or whatever, and what do the two numbers signify? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.22.75|172.68.22.75]] 20:35, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
:I think they're coordinates. So far (x,y) has had x from 4 fo 73 (that I've seen) and y from 2 to 28. That gives a tad over 2000 possible combinations, but omething tells me there won't be more than 500 or so in total. Quite a few y=24 (not yet adjacent by x), and any given x has 0 to 3 different y partners (so far). They ''do'' repeat (I'm not recording how many times, but I'm scatterplotting what I get). The ones prefixed with "oh look!" are tightly clustered in x=6..13 and y=4..11, so far, with no non-"oh look!" ones there, so I'm plotting them in a different marker. I ''suspect'', after many many more Zoom Notifications, I'll be left with (enough of) a pixelated image's pixels (of two types, background colour excluded), or else I'm doing it wrong and I should be drawing lines between the dots, but I never managed to grab them all, so I'm relying on it being a random "spraygun droplets" sort of image-reveal. (Still some way to go...) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.66|172.71.241.66]] 23:08, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
: Also, Zoom is a video chat app, if you didn't know that. That's the joke. [[User:EebstertheGreat|EebstertheGreat]] ([[User talk:EebstertheGreat|talk]]) 02:53, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:"They're by far the most common" - not for me - I got a couple early on, and nothing since. All I'm getting now (apart from cat ones when I click a cat) is constant 'comment and subscribe' ones.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.28|172.71.178.28]] 16:07, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
::Last night, right from the start (well, as soon as I got around to going through the process, after I started this Talk page off), Zoom stuff was ''the'' most common. The messages would change as I was documenting them, they were more frequent than the "you have clicked N times" ones. This morning, on reconnecting (exactly how much "Push" there is to the Push Notifications, I don't know, I suspect it's more long-polling in the end), I have had zero new Zoom messages, the "clicked N times" had promoted itself to "click Nth away, N+1th pops up immediately" most of the time, with Constants and Leave A Message On This Random Wikitalk and Old Comic Published essentially, tying for next most frequent, except for when the occasional Cat Facts splurge gets mixed in (all this without re-viewing the comic-page's tab).
::Anyway, my "spraygun coordinates" list hasn't been expanded all today. I was wondering if its frequency had been reduced, server-side, ''because'' it was turning out to be the most polled (and/or pushed) bit of information... And that happened while I was asleep anyway.
::Whilst writing this, I only actually got three alerts... Old Comic, Erroneous Error and Have You Seen My Cat? No... now four, just had a Constant Reminder. Earlier today, I'd have had twice as many in merely a few seconds, at times. So maybe (effective) throttling back has happened across the board, one way or another. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.171|172.69.43.171]] 21:16, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

== Table of notification ==
Made a new page called [[3074: Push Notifications/Table of Notifications]], much like [[1506: xkcloud/List of Permalinks]]. I’m hoping that we can put all of the possible notifications into the table, along with any possible images that go along with it and an explanation (if necessary). '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:26, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
:I think it might be a good idea to make the table something more like source/name/notification, because there are chains of notifications where the name changes, like the How Many Times Can You Click This? notification. --[[User:Magicalus|Magicalus]] ([[User talk:Magicalus|talk]]) 23:19, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
::Might even want to track the URL that the notification leads to in the cases where it opens a new tab. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.57|172.71.142.57]]
:Did you mean a page much like [[1506:_xkcloud/List_of_Permalinks]]? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.171|162.158.175.171]] 01:25, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:: Weird, someone changed that. I just reverted it. --[[User:Jacky720|Jack]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|t]]|[[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|c]]) 02:07, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:Yes, the user {{diff|371988|behind this change}} appears to have a keyboard->leopard sort of autochanger active (for cloud->butt) (unless they're deliberately doing it alongside deliberate changes to try to get it under the radar?)... I reverted something else they did, with the intention to check everything else (in Right Click's explanation) and unreverting the actually good changes. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.160|172.70.162.160]] 08:39, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

It's like herding LOLcats... anyone else remembering the Secretary arc about now? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.2|172.71.142.2]] 16:12, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

I clicked on the silence notifications at a cost button a lot and it set Cueball's PC on fire?
== Code source ==
I found what is presumably the source code (?) of the comic through the transcript. It’s all JS pages. No idea what they mean (I’m not good with code), but I’m sure that there are some on here that can help dissect it. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:50, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/manifest.json
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/js/42.4f5b21b3.js
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/js/index.js?v=1

: I found this list of states in there, saved to the "iU" variable: intro, wordgame, gameover, biglaptop, boat, default, floating, longdesk, missing, nekotree, nekotree2, nekowater, nodesk, onfire, peek, shark, spinning, squirrel, squirreldesk, squirrelplant, standing, sword, tallchair, tentacle, water, wizard, bigplant, catchair, catonhead, compiling, floor, plant, reverse. Presumably, this is all the images we're looking for. I'll get back to you if I identify what chooses them or all their actual filepaths. --[[User:Jacky720|Jack]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|t]]|[[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|c]]) 00:43, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

: I found more urls:
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/js/async/marconi-sw.e9d36d05.js
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/js/async/491.7b4e7556.js
:https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/js/async/491.7b4e7556.js --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.45|172.69.23.45]] 03:11, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

I have a sneaking suspicion the Zoom Notifications are sketching out an image of some sort
(Update: after plotting like 60 of them no apparent pattern is to be found) [[User:SkiesShaper|SkiesShaper]] ([[User talk:SkiesShaper|talk]]) 22:24, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
: I've plotted 397 and it seems to be forming some kind of animal. Maybe a cat, given the comic theme? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.119|172.68.35.119]] 23:24, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
:That could make sense yeah - there is definitely an organic sort of pattern emerging from the points I've been plotting out [[User:SkiesShaper|SkiesShaper]] ([[User talk:SkiesShaper|talk]]) 00:35, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
: I'm pretty sure it's a turtle. I have 311 points so far and while it isn't clear, it looks like a turtle. [[User:IMW|IMW]] ([[User talk:IMW|talk]]) 01:51, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:: After plotting more I think the "Oh look" coordinates help with drawing out a butterfly sitting on the left side of the turtle. [[User:IMW|IMW]] ([[User talk:IMW|talk]]) 03:36, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:: I also am seeing a turtle after graphing the non-“Oh look” ones (and flipping the image vertically). Could the “Zoom notifications” be a reference to [[1416: Pixels]], which is about “zooming” in on turtles? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.12.119|172.68.12.119]] 12:54, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
::: Is it fractal? If you zoom in, is it turtles all the way down? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.186.43|172.68.186.43]] 14:15, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:: Once we have enough coordinates, someone should plot them and upload the image. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.56|172.71.142.56]] 23:07, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
: when the image is saved, it appears to have a hex code as a file name. could be some other thing though [[User:Pncak|Pncak]] ([[User talk:Pncak|talk]]) 04:07, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Apparently one of the notifications is: "The Earth is spinning at a rate of 1 rpd" This is true if you round it, but not exact. The time it takes to rotate is called a sidereal day, and there's one extra sidereal day a year. Basically, there's one solar day removed in a year, because the Earth's motion around the sun cancels it out. Think of it with a tidally locked planet. It spins around once a year, but the sun never moves. Really there's 1.0027379 rotations per day. [[User:DanielLC|DanielLC]] ([[User talk:DanielLC|talk]]) 23:02, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
: then it is rotating at 1 revolution per ''sidereal'' day, which could still be written as 1 rpd [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 05:23, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

This is the most chaotic comic I've seen in a while. Part of me wants to keep notifications on to see what happens, and part of me wants to turn it all off and throw my phone in a lake [[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 00:40, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
== Sheet with coordinates ==
I am making a sheet with the cordinates: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/133jGfOM6EVuEco4j2NumOAOv6pEealyZpbDoMkESXvs/edit?usp=sharing [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.81|108.162.216.81]] 01:31, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Should we start uploading different images? [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 03:48, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
: And should we create a new page for the images or put them all on the same page, like with umwelt. [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 03:49, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Underneath the "Silence Notifications at a Cost" button, it says "Temporarily pause your notifications at the cost of notifying two random people". Does anyone know how for how long notifications stay silenced, or if there is a way to "unsilence" notifications? Also, when I click on the cats they just disappear. [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 04:09, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
: When I click on the cats I get a push notification with a cat fact.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.127.58|172.70.127.58]] 05:35, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
Just like any other button, you can click it really fast by clicking the button and then holding "enter" or spacebar. [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 04:35, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Someone should probably comment on "April 1st (observed)". I assume it's a reference to the fact that the comic is late? --[[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 07:53, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:Aye, as in: {{wiktionary|observed}} #2 [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.43|172.71.26.43]] 08:02, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Is it morally wrong to spam the temporary silence button, just because I want to give other people notifications? [[User:Broseph|Broseph]] ([[User talk:Broseph|talk]]) 08:01, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Notifications are so 2024. Ever since Trump imposed the penguin tariffs, <tt>dmesg</tt> is where it's at. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.126|162.158.91.126]] 09:07, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Finally yay!! [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!|Aprilfoolsupdate!]] ([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 10:28, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:Where have ''you'' been? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.160|172.71.178.160]] 10:39, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:Good, we don't have to hear you whine like a baby anymore [[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.202|172.70.100.202]] 18:54, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

I got the file for "Cueball sitting at his desk, with a cat in the foreground near the point of view.", what do I do to add it :⁾ [[User:Toby|Toby]] ([[User talk:Toby|talk]]) 13:24, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:upload it if you can (with the exact file name from imgs.xkcd.com), or copy paste the link here and someone else with uploading rights can upload it. the upload button should be under tools in the left side, under related changes and above special changes. or, you can click this [[Special:Upload|link]] '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:29, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

If you refresh the screen when a clickable cat is on it, it moves. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.173|162.158.62.173]] 14:49, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
== Notification typos ==
I revieved two typos in two different notifications:
"Or" is "r" in a message saying that it's confused whether is is fhe server or the client.
"Ratio" is "ration" in the message "At the tone, the Golden Ratio will be equal to one half of 1 plus SQRT(5)".
Does everyone get those typos? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.16|172.70.34.16]]
:I don't know if they're typos or part of the humor. Enjoy your golden ration. :) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.41|162.158.63.41]] 16:33, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

I am not getting any notifications. I have three questions: 1) Does anyone know how long the "temporary silence" button lasts? 2) Does its effect last after you press the emergency stop button and re-subscribe to the nonsense? And 3) Is there just a problem with using Chrome? Thanks, [[User:Xnerkcd|Xnerkcd]] ([[User talk:Xnerkcd|talk]]) 17:49, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:Update, the clickable cats are showing up but not doing anything
::They just sit there unless you refresh the screen. Then they can change where they are.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.108|162.158.62.108]] 17:52, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
::The problem's fixed; my computer had notifications disabled :) [[User:Xnerkcd|Xnerkcd]] ([[User talk:Xnerkcd|talk]]) 17:56, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Hi, I was able to get one of the currently placeholder images but just made this account to add it, looks like i'm to new to upload it. Is there a good way to get the file to the community? Namely it's the flooded one with the Shark Fin.--[[User:ItemCrafting|ItemCrafting]] ([[User talk:ItemCrafting|talk]]) 19:40, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:Links to both the Shark https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/a592ca.png and the Foreground Cat https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/cb0653.png .--[[User:ItemCrafting|ItemCrafting]] ([[User talk:ItemCrafting|talk]]) 20:23, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:: Also Found: https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/3b9830.png Large Tree, Current version looks to be a broken link. --[[User:ItemCrafting|ItemCrafting]] ([[User talk:ItemCrafting|talk]]) 20:39, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
::: thanks [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 21:20, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
::: Here's the cat version of the tree: https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/8eeb55.png [[User:Rerere284|Rerere284]] ([[User talk:Rerere284|talk]]) 01:10, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

April fools comic!!! LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - [[User:Bb777|me, hi]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 21:27, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

;Cat reference

The cat image itself and the concept of cats appearing after leaving the page idle for some time are a reference to Neko Atsume --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.82|162.158.103.82]] 21:52, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

I don't seem to ever get more than 2 clickable cats at a time.[[Special:Contributions/104.23.190.37|104.23.190.37]] 18:57, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

;Not working
The page doesn't work for me in Chrome on Google Plxel. I just get a image missing symbol. :( [[Special:Contributions/172.71.98.245|172.71.98.245]] 22:54, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:Same here -- the image loads initially and then real quickly it's replaced by the broken image. This happens using m.xkcd.com, but not the "desktop" site version. Chromebook with ChromeOS: Version 134.0.6998.183 (Official Build) (64-bit); also broken on Pixel 8 Pro, Android 15. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 23:10, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

;Push Notifications disabled in browser

My browser config doesn't allow sites to request push notifications, and the result is that once I reach the point of enabling them, the laptop immediately blows up. Is this worth mentioning in the summary? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.164.163|162.158.164.163]] 23:37, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
:did your laptop blow up or the one in the comic? --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.114.7|172.71.114.7]] 10:52, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

Near the bottom of the current Transcript is the line, '[...something appeared then dissappeared...]'. I saw this too, and on the third time through the game, I did a screen recording. Two messages briefly appeared. [text and background in shades of red, all caps] "Error Sending Push Notifications" and [text in black, background grey, all caps] "OK, You Win. Setting Up Push Notifications. [2nd line] Just Remember, we tried to warn you." [[User:Nekoninda|Nekoninda]] ([[User talk:Nekoninda|talk]])Nekoninda

My word is "battery", I'm sure there are also lots of people who chose "horse" or "staple". Correct? --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.91|172.69.68.91]] 14:27, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
:Bird is the word, man.[[Special:Contributions/104.23.190.37|104.23.190.37]] 18:57, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
::I ''was'' going to try "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch", but accidentally submitted a blank word (it looks like others have too... well, the second part of my situation, I'm still not sure if the first bit even would have been accepted/enterable, never mind how many others would have tried it). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.134|172.68.205.134]] 21:12, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

== Mobile / Desktop behaviour depends on browser ==

I'm on Firefox for Android, and I got the signup behaviour described for the desktop version (no adfing to home screen; asks for Notification permission.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.95.57|172.71.95.57]] 08:17, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

I made a phone background using an image from this one! https://file.garden/ZXYYgWMYuz15fq8l/export202504102005490721.png [[User:JokinglyEvil|JokinglyEvil]] ([[User talk:JokinglyEvil|talk]]) 11:08, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

== Picture list ==
Pictures are prefixed by https://xkcd.com/3074/marconi/static/??????.png, from the list :
*Misc : static/ead1d8.png static/59b30d.png static/388e5b.png
*Bkground : static/4ad340.png static/3b9830.png static/2c83c1.png static/9e4fd6.png static/9d658f.png static/83824a.png static/220211.png static/a0314e.png static/e2eca2.png static/d56a28.png static/20b757.png static/226279.png static/1f2fee.png static/0bfd44.png static/20be4a.png static/cb0653.png static/313380.png static/31a492.png static/11a4b5.png static/a592ca.png static/1450b1.png static/e0f706.png static/fa52d2.png static/69af58.png static/a7d30d.png static/3e33fd.png static/da85bd.png static/303e90.png static/6f48dd.png static/342f4d.png
*Messages: static/fc9dfd.png static/8d9c55.png static/aa973f.png static/923036.png static/9141a2.png static/5f9f66.png static/6af293.png static/935279.png static/b286f5.png static/67da67.png static/b9fc1b.png static/7abdee.png static/c2e227.png static/8bdac7.png static/7e02cf.png static/b07329.png static/c6de0e.png static/a464c9.png static/7f6e55.png static/a96735.png static/ff6357.png static/876854.png static/cb5124.png static/2235f1.png static/e01a73.png static/a75f92.png static/f41766.png static/456b99.png static/d3e6db.png static/da4d83.png static/f3de11.png static/867baf.png static/6b2d69.png static/2705b9.png static/bedb72.png static/f9b33d.png static/3e269d.png static/b034f4.png static/eea7ff.png static/e83fd7.png static/8ebf3f.png static/c6ac3d.png static/a9779a.png static/eddb3b.png

There is another list with the same pictures but twice as large (same order) :

"static/0890d4.png static/198d53.png static/bb9aa1.png static/4ad340.png static/cbe58c.png static/b5a217.png static/618dcc.png static/323351.png static/17d10b.png static/6c8053.png static/0690ec.png static/8576c0.png static/2b79e1.png static/a80810.png static/41143b.png static/8eeb55.png static/99bb67.png static/b84fdf.png static/f0de4f.png static/b0cec1.png static/a4158d.png static/dbc071.png static/c969b2.png static/f3b793.png static/0cd47d.png static/8a5b95.png static/2a2199.png static/63ed1d.png static/2a67b6.png static/7ec02f.png static/8e981d.png static/77a1d5.png static/e49d32.png static/fe60e1.png static/dd3fd2.png static/2b8643.png static/017e3a.png static/e46fe0.png static/6ad951.png static/ef2e76.png static/7d6018.png static/905794.png static/52870c.png static/a17724.png static/aa18ad.png static/1094f5.png static/39bffe.png static/8635c4.png static/d63451.png static/f2c3df.png static/5fa4ed.png static/00050e.png static/026b2f.png static/bcd4f8.png static/f777a4.png static/713981.png static/ed794b.png static/b3696b.png static/a2fc4c.png static/f468fd.png static/bc9195.png static/2ef6f1.png static/1682f4.png static/6a6479.png static/9dd25c.png static/a2e92d.png static/442a18.png static/2139a1.png static/5378fa.png static/8edfa4.png static/25c931.png static/91b6d9.png static/eb016f.png static/519d53.png static/554084.png static/301dc6.png static/4bfe91.png static/7b89ac.png"
--{{unsigned|Biem|14:59, 11 April 2025 (UTC)}}
:Hey Biem, could you perhaps use <code>*</code> to make your message into a list? Thanks. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 15:08, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
::I certainly could, but it would take page space with no added value... [[User:Biem|Biem]] ([[User talk:Biem|talk]]) 15:54, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

Talk:April Fools' Day comics

2025-04-11T21:07:33Z

172.68.205.134:

"There was no april fool's comic in 2023." There was, and it's called escape speed - it was just the latest they ever made (see [https://chromakode.com/post/xkcd-gravity-escape-speed/ here] for my citation.) [[User:B for brain|B for brain]] ([[User talk:B for brain|talk]]) 20:35, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
:Thanks. I did not see this until others (involed in the making of the comic) wrote to me on my [[User_talk:Kynde#Justification_for_2023_April_Fools.27_comics|talk page]]. I now agree it was such a comic, but had not seen this proff before. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:57, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

== Moving to its own page ==

I think the text of the category is currently too hidden and in the wrong place. I bet almost now one clicking [Expand] expects such a long page to appear. We should have a page for [[April Fools' comics]] (do not create it on its own, it'll break page moving!), and keep the category for people who just want the links. Thoughts? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:44, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
:This should be the case with all Category:FOO pages that currently have an attempt to more or less itemise and extermporise about all the comics that then appear in the the actual membership list below. A simple "What this category is" should suffice, and would also not become outdated the moment that any new (or old!) comic gets given Category:FOO membership.
:And if there's a big need to further categorise all items in a category by various criteria, ''create such appropriate sub-categories''. Going into minutiæ about each is what each actual comic (or other-so-saved) page should already be doing. You can always summarise "of the <N> comics in this category, <M> were...", and shove bulleted (and sub-bulleted) analyses into a "Series Explanation" page with prose/tables/graphs/combinations-of-these/whatever. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.134|172.68.205.134]] 21:07, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3003: Sandwich Helix

2024-10-27T18:28:36Z

172.68.205.134:

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)
:I think sandwich refers to the context itself, as in, the context of something is both what is before that and what is after. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.222.236|172.71.222.236]] 15:19, 26 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)

:The moral of this story is "People will try to find meaning in anything, even things that are directly stated to be meaningless."[[Special:Contributions/172.70.176.43|172.70.176.43]] 23:01, 26 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)

''KISS Keep it simple, stupid'' was originally ''keep it stupid simple''. An emphasis, not an insult. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 05:12, 26 October 2024 (UTC)
: "Keep it stupid, simple" still sounds like an insult. [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 03:07, 27 October 2024 (UTC)
:maybe keep it stupidly simple?{{unsigned ip|172.69.34.176|04:56, 27 October 2024}}

Infodump: To my knowledge the only five encodings resulting in "â€™" for utf-8 encoded "’" are Windows-125X where X is an even decimal digit. {{unsigned ip|162.158.154.78|15:25, 27 October 2024}}
==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 )

I took the opposite point from that in the explanation so far, especially with the title text: Even if the encoding is wrongly specified, it's possible to figure out what was meant by some sequence of bytes. I imagine the teacher using a different nonce every time to make the point about the #1 rule of communication: Words don't have inherent meaning, it is acquired through use. (Though if I'm the only one with this interpretation it kind of sinks my idea I guess). [[User:Hcs|Hcs]] ([[User talk:Hcs|talk]]) 10:18, 26 October 2024 (UTC)

Is it not true that Cueball could basically be demonstrating the #1 rule, i.e. context is important, and that sometimes language is self-repairing? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.214.109|172.69.214.109]] 14:42, 26 October 2024 (UTC)

:<=========>
: ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
:<=========>

Helix sandwich. That did not render well.- TenGolf
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.58.19|172.69.58.19]] 18:20, 27 October 2024 (UTC)
:Like it now? (There are better ways, but is the simplest.)[[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.134|172.68.205.134]] 18:28, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Talk:3002: RNAWorld

2024-10-26T23:52:55Z

172.68.205.134: Undo revision 354702 by 172.68.210.14 (talk)

Is any of this specific to Disneyland or could it be Disney World, which would be more fitting for the title? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.43.93|172.70.43.93]] 18:43, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
:Yes, Ariel is from The Little Mermaid, which is a Disney film, Ratatouille is another Disney film, and Elsa is from Frozen and Frozen II, both of which are Disney films. I believe that RNAWorld is a play on Disneyworld. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 19:04, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
::I'm sure .43.93, above, understands that they are definitely Disney characters that are equally relevent to either Disney World or Disneyland (or Eurodisney, or...). It's the "World" bit that was important (and now is correctly referenced, so far as I can see). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.10|172.69.194.10]] 19:48, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
:::Pfft. "Euro Disney" is 'so' 1994. It reminds me of the arguments I had with people ~20 years ago who honestly thought the currency in much of Europe was officialy the "Eurodollar". Sure, Joachimsthal is in Europe... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.103.172|172.71.103.172]] 21:11, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
::::Depends what they meant by {{w|Eurodollar|'officially'}}, and when. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.186.107|172.68.186.107]] 22:08, 23 October 2024 (UTC)

the rat's name is Remy [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 20:06, 23 October 2024 (UTC)

What should we call the girl with the Mickey/Minnie ears? Or is a physical description good enough? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 01:08, 24 October 2024 (UTC)
:Is he not a boy? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.206|172.70.90.206]] 02:59, 24 October 2024 (UTC)
::can't tell tbh [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 06:31, 24 October 2024 (UTC)
:::'He' has short hair and no ponytail, so probability 79% a XY mutant (all men are{{Dubious}} ;-) )' so for symmetry, how about Jack? [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 07:16, 24 October 2024 (UTC)
:::: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1662:_Jack_and_Jill --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.252|162.158.134.252]] 09:07, 24 October 2024 (UTC)

Okay so some guy removed literally everything, I undid that. But just for good measure, I also got rid of the guy saying there isn't abiogenesis. I didn't think a comic about RNAWorld would get as much controversy as the COVID comics but I guess I was wrong. Thanks guys for proving my theory that most people are just stupid [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.84|172.69.71.84]] 11:46, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

Recommend locking the page because the same guy keeps doing it. Stupid human being. I hope he steps on some hot Legos. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.84|172.69.71.84]] 11:58, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

Hi! I would like to inform you that you guys need some better work on citing your sources{{Citation needed}}. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.85|172.70.130.85]] 13:09, 25 October 2024 (UTC)
== Someone keeps wiping my user pages ==

First it was Victoria, now me too. What is happening? [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 12:14, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

:Please post your complaint [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Admin_requests|here]]. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 12:33, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

::Like I said, elsewhere, the idiot will find new places (and, it turns out, new ways) to be idiotic with. But already I said the rest of what I wanted to say. It's a pain, but we'll handle it. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.186.104|172.68.186.104]] 14:41, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

User:ConscriptGlossary

2024-10-26T23:52:33Z

172.68.205.134: Undo revision 354701 by 172.68.210.15 (talk)

This user page is no longer available. To view the original version of this page, see [http://neography.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:Glossary this page.]

The link above is no longer available.

[[Roman Numerals|CDIV]]

[http://google.com/search?q=Mayan%20numerals . θ ⡇]

If the other CG's and I managed to have children, our family "tree" wouldn't be a tree, but a ''non-planar'' graph. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 01:46, 27 September 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2691: Encryption

2024-10-26T23:51:42Z

172.68.205.134: Undo revision 354699 by 172.68.210.15 (talk)

More generally, when the explanation of the encryption algorithm needs example people, it picks names going sequentially through the alphabet. Alice and Bob are the canonical first two, names starting with C and D would be next. Eve, the eavesdropper, is next. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:01, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
:...though it depends upon {{w|Alice and Bob#Cast of characters|what other protagonists/required roles}} are to be featured in the scenario as to which initials get given to the 'normal' example correspondants. And I'm sure you could come up with other punny names for other novel roles, if you're in the position to require something special, only Alice and Bob being (normally!) inviolable as to both role and initialism. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.58|172.70.91.58]] 09:43, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Is this comic a subtle reference to Signal announcing the discontinuing of SMS/MMS support, thus vastly lowering the number of people that Signal users can send messages to? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.205|172.70.114.205]] 09:10, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
:... Maybe add some text explaining what Signal is? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.7|172.71.158.7]] 18:33, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

I'd reckon you're also banned from the app if your name is Mallory, which might be inconvenient if you're James Bond's boss. Then again, that's Voldemort... [[User:IByte|IByte]] ([[User talk:IByte|talk]]) 10:36, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

This was hilarious. And it's the only app you should be able to install on the [[2377:_xkcd_Phone_12|XKCD Phone]], for obvious security reasons. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 16:18, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Reminds me of a notorious movie from 1969, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, a plot point of which is knowledge shared incompletely between the four. I believe the names are coincidental but, not knowing when Alice, Bob, Charles and Diana were first used, it may not be. [[User:Dhugot|Dhugot]] ([[User talk:Dhugot|talk]]) 18:16, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
:... The naming convention appears to have started with the creators of the RSA algorithm.[[User:Dhugot|Dhugot]] ([[User talk:Dhugot|talk]])
:::Part of the reason for the genders are to make it easier to talk about it. If they're Alice and Bob, you can say "When she sends the message to him" and it's less ambiguous than if everyone was men or everyone was women. Making Eve non-binary would help this further. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.21|172.70.178.21]] 07:30, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

Since we know without question the name of the female character in this comic, does she join the list of other named characters for every other time we see someone with a similar hairstyle? [[User:Trimeta|Trimeta]] ([[User talk:Trimeta|talk]]) 02:58, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
:Not just yet. Unless we can definitively backdate her hairstyled appearance, but consider it upon reappearance. Three options to do it, though:
:* If there's not enough to split her from Megan (though I think there is), do as we <s>do</s> ''did''  with Rob for Cueball (incidentally mentioned here, but I think there's no category to cover that, just a mention within Megan that there's a not-Megan-but-nearly)...
:* Go for a full new character in her own right if she gets (or has previously gotten, without our realising until now) another distinct appearance or two...
:* If Randall repeats Alice/others in a further series of Alice And Bob 'tales' (plenty of scope for the actual appearance of Eve, or Mallory/Mike or whoever – ''if'' the whim takes him) group her and the 'gang under an "Alice and Bob" entry (e.g. if a clear Ivan appears even just the once, he gets tidily filed under his own subheader there)...
:..definitely some consideration to be had. Anyone could review hairstyles carefully (or dialogue?), both forward and back in time, and propose (or enact?) the solution that you think best applies. It's not up to me with no ability to create (or banish) new pages, but that's my immediate thoughts. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 09:34, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

Does this lend new information about named character Rob? The girl has a friend Robert, and this cueball has a brother, which seem to be separate people, both of whom could be called Bob. I don't see a particular connection, but I see there is investigation to who the girl is, and that may lead to something. FWIW I think she looks like Science Girl; based on age alone that could connect her to Bobby Tables. How does time pass in xkcd, do we expect child characters to grow up or remain the same age across comics? We should look across previous Rob comics and see if they're consistent with him being brother to this Cueball. [[User:Robm|Robm]] ([[User talk:Robm|talk]]) 16:36, 30 October 2022 (UTC)robm
:Considering the fact that Rob's computer username is robm, and m is Randall's last initial, I believe that Rob is a depiction of Randall's brother, though I obviously could be wrong. [[User:Yaygya|Yaygya]] ([[User talk:Yaygya|talk]]) 18:45, 20 December 2022 (UTC)

The proposed relationship with Twitter seems unlikely since both Twitter itself and Elon's announced prospect on the platform as of now have nothing to do with secured messaging app.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.223.68|172.70.223.68]] 16:13, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

Talk:1990: Driving Cars

2024-10-20T09:41:22Z

172.68.205.134:

Am I seeing things or is there a slight shadow figure behind cueball? [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 17:51, 7 May 2018 (UTC)
:You're not seeing things. It's a bigger Cueball, and its colors are colors like F9F9F9 and F8F8F8. [[User:Grabadora304|Grabadora304]] ([[User talk:Grabadora304|talk]]) 18:01, 7 May 2018 (UTC)
::That's very odd, someone mentioned this may have been from a draft. Have we seen anything like this before? Does anyone know Randall's actual drawing process? [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 19:24, 7 May 2018 (UTC)
:I saw nothing on my iPad, until I brightened the display to maximum AND zoomed in. Then I saw this faded Cueball to the left of him (not above like the description says, or bigger like Grabadora said here, but the exact same size and exact same pose. If he were in the comic drawn in black, he'd be described as directly behind Cueball). Before I saw it I wondered if Randall draws these on paper then scans them, in which case this could be bleed through from another page behind. But of course it's more likely he draws on a computer. Now that I've seen it... Same size, same pose suggests to me Randall Cut & Pasted Cueball, but his background drawing colour wasn't QUITE white when he did this, so this not-quite-white replaced Cueball where he was, leaving a "ghost" Cueball. EDIT: Okay, checking again, from his ankles to his upper arms, he's the same size, but shoulders and up he's bigger, his neck ending higher and his head bigger. Maybe Randall felt he made the head too big, to put it next to the speech bubble line, so he moved Cueball closer to make the head the right size. I also note the head's circle is more casual, with the ends not meeting, like most people would draw a circle. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:48, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

This comic may also be an indirect commentary on the concern some people have about the safety of self-driving cars, which may in fact be more capable of safe driving than someone who took a 20-minute test in high school. Maybe their concern about safety is misplaced! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 19:19, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

:We have 10-12 90-minute evening lectures, a 40-minute multiple-choice test, plus 10 mandatory hours of training behind the wheel and a half-hour practical examination, but I'm really not sure to which side ''I'' want to lean with autonomous cars ... ;-) --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.248|141.101.77.248]] 20:08, 7 May 2018 (UTC)
::While it varies dramatically by state, I think Randall is generally referencing the licensing practices in the US, which are definitely lax compared to Europe/Australia but probably more stringent than less-developed nations. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 20:38, 7 May 2018 (UTC)
:::In the state of Colorado, USA, I took a ~5 minute multiple-choice test & a ~12 minute driving test, with no other requirement except possession of a learner's-permit. No driver's education classes, no formal training at all. Just pay the fee, fill the form, take a perfunctory test (drive around the block) & drive away with a license. This was around 1998, if I recall correctly. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 00:22, 8 May 2018 (UTC)
::::Back in 1993, here in Canada, my requirements were a bit more slack than they are now, but stricter than that. I feel like we had to do about 20-30 minutes on the multiple choice theory exam, and the practical felt longer (though the stress might have made it feel long and it only WAS 12 minutes). I know the practical test was rather strict, I failed a couple of times for silly reasons - I remember once the examiner felt the need to show me where my blind spots were, I later realized that I had accidentally developed the habit of using my peripheral vision to check them, to maximize how much I keep my eyes on the road, so when he was watching he missed when I checked them. I know the rules are stricter because they changed them BEFORE I got my license, I was allowed to slip past the new rules because I had my learner's permit before - I know one rule I skipped was that new drivers got probationary licenses for 2 years or until turning 25, whichever came first. I know driving school is mandatory now (you have to register for the driver's test through your school), while I optionally took it, and I took an advanced, extra-safe school called Young Drivers Of Canada. It was something like 10 classroom sessions of I think an hour each, and something like 10 practical lessons in a car of an hour each. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:48, 8 May 2018 (UTC)
::::In Colorado these days you need to drive with a licensed adult in the car for 50 hours and wait a year once you get the permit before you can take the test, at least if you are under 21 or something. If you want to get the permit before you are 17, I think you need to take a class. These rules are actually really complicated and have like 6 different age groups that all have different requirements. Still not that hard to get a license, you can even fake the 50 hours if you want to. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 04:00, 8 May 2018 (UTC)
:I'm looking forward to legally using my cellphone while driving, but not to major security vulnerabilities becoming public in my car's firmware. I worry what a distant hacker could find funny. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.142|172.68.54.142]] 01:13, 8 May 2018 (UTC)
::Some cars can already be turned off on the road or can even have brakes applied. You can hack your car and set the root password to something other than the default, though that doesn't help if the guy in front of you gets hacked. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 04:00, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

Is the transcript still "incomplete"? [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 20:04, 7 May 2018 (UTC)
:I've removed the tag. But maybe he "rubs his hands"? Any thoughts? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:26, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

Anyone know the brand of car? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.65|172.69.33.65]] 20:10, 7 May 2018 (UTC)
:Looks kind of like a Prius? (Source: absolutely not a car guy in any sense of the term) [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 20:36, 7 May 2018 (UTC)
::Definitely looks like a Prius to me. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 00:22, 8 May 2018 (UTC)
:::IDK, I feel like I usually see Priuses depicted shorter, perhaps even two-door (my main reference being Brian's car in Family Guy) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:48, 8 May 2018 (UTC)
::Look at the triangular window near the front windshield. Some prius's have that, but it is usually smaller or filled in with plastic. I know that some Honda Fits have a window that looks a lot like it, but the back of those cars is flatter than the one in the picture. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 15:18, 8 May 2018 (UTC)
:Randal used this image (or similar) of a Prius to trace/draw the car: https://www.toyota.com/imgix/responsive/images/mlp/colorizer/2018/prius/3T7/4.png?q=85&fm=jpg&w=1024&fit=max&cs=strip&bg=fff

While cars are significant source of pollution, it would IMHO be hard to identify anyone dying prematurely just due to them (especially if you want to take JUST cars and not trucks); most likely, it's the total amount of pollution being bigger than your ability to deal with it killing you, not any specific pollution. So I'm pretty sure the joke is in amount of people dying in car accidents.

And BTW, the reason people generally don't see driving is scary is because 90% of drivers thinks they are in the 10% of best drivers and that accidents only happen to bad drivers, which is both obviously incorrect. Nevertheless, yes, if "having cars" and "not having cars" would be only options, it would be worth it. In reality, we COULD make driving safer by skipping unnecessary trips and by lot of other measures ...
:wrong on two accounts. 1) the statistic you give is “ex rectum” (Latin for “you pulled it out of your ass”) and 2) the reason more than half of drivers think they are better than average is because there are multiple dimensions on which to evaluate driving skill and different drivers weight those dimensions differently. For example, I weight achieving good fuel economy highly, other drivers weight getting to their destination in the shortest possible time highly. One driver cannot excel on both dimensions at the same time, but if I get good mileage and weigh that highly then I am better than average, and the person who is adept and weaving in and out of traffic is better than the average driver at getting to the destination sooner, and is better than average. Yet, clearly we aren’t both better than average when using the same metric (either fuel economy or time). We are each individually better at the skills we think more important to “good driving” and since our own views of what constitutes a good driver reflects our own strengths rather than weaknesses then naturally more than half of us believe ourselves better than average, because we define what it means to be average.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.153|162.158.62.153]] 04:19, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
::That wasn't even SUPPOSED to be statistics and I though it's clear from context fuel economy is not what I'm speaking about. I'm speaking about SAFETY. And while speed is related to safety, I would be surprised if any driver would THINK he is driving dangerously fast, no matter how fast he drivers. (And BTW, you didn't addressed the second point - namely, that no matter how good driver you are, you can still be killed in accident caused by other driver in way you couldn't possibly prevent.) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:19, 9 May 2018 (UTC)

... which reminds me, those big patriotic american cars are actually SAFER than small cars. They consume more oil, but they protect driver better in crash. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 06:42, 8 May 2018 (UTC)
::I'll just [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect leave this right here]. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 13:43, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
:Which is just unfair for those who cannot afford it, but either dye when run into by these or from their extra pollution... :) See [[677: Asshole]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:42, 8 May 2018 (UTC)
:yet in 2015 more people died in Ford F-150’s than in Toyota Camry’s, Honda Accord’s, Ford Taurus’s and Ford Fusion’s combined.
:Just a note that statistics and data could probably be used to pretty much isolate the decrease in lifespan due to car pollution if you could gather diverse enough deaths data such that things correlated with auto pollution are represented in a fair way. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.16|172.68.54.16]] 22:50, 8 May 2018 (UTC)
::Actually it seems that Volvo's XC60 is the safest car on the road, based on its performance in crash tests. Apparently no one has died in a crash while driving it, despite 500,000+ sold. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 00:19, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
:::ugh, you sound like Rush Limbaugh bragging about his “death proof” Mercedes. While the XC60 may be very safe, to extrapolate that it is the “safest car on the road” seems a stretch when there are barely 50,000 on the road. A valid comparison would need to (at the very least) take in to account total vehicle miles driven, and then there is the divide by zero problem of extrapolation when there has been “none” of something. Is car X with 1 death and 100,000 units sold over 4 years less safe than car Y with 0 deaths in 10,000 cars sold over 1 year?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.153|162.158.62.153]] 04:19, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
::::Two things: 1. Sorry, I missed a zero in my previous post, it should be 500,000+. I've edited that, sorry if that caused some confusion. 2. I didn't just look at the number of deaths, the XC60 also performed extremely well in the Euro NCAP crash tests, I did take that into account. And by the way, I was not "bragging" about "death proof cars" (which part of my previous comment sounded even remotely close to bragging?). [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 04:42, 9 May 2018 (UTC)

I altered the final paragraph, deleting some of the stuff about pollution so as to more directly address the comic itself--I don't think Randall meant to imply too much about pollution in this particular comic. It seems to be more about the immediate physical danger entailed by the widespread practice of fragile humans driving around at high speeds in large chunks of metal, with less-than-exhaustive training in safely doing so. [[User:Berets|Berets]] ([[User talk:Berets|talk]]) 01:21, 25 May 2018 (UTC)

So what kind of car is it? {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.169|03:08, 20 October 2024}}

2998: Ravioli-Shaped Objects

2024-10-19T19:01:33Z

172.68.205.134: Ok, revamped with "old image was..." info all applied to Trivia, with various refinements of the prose within its old and new locations.

{{comic
| number = 2998
| date = October 14, 2024
| title = Ravioli-Shaped Objects
| image = ravioli_shaped_objects_2x.png
| imagesize = 608x569px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's a real accomplishment to mess up a ravioli recipe badly enough that the resulting incident touches all four quadrants of the NFPA hazard diamond.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BULGING LITHIUM BATTERY THROW PILLOW BEING EATEN WITH A FORK- Ideally the article would contain grounded explanations of both of the views that bulging lithium batteries are either dangerous or safe. How would an explosion happen, or why would it not? Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Ravioli}} are a kind of stuffed {{w|pasta}} comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough, commonly square shaped, and serving as the object of this comic's table, which can be seen as a kind of {{w|confusion matrix}}. This comic compares four ravioli-shaped objects (square shaped objects with bulging cross-sections due to their filling) with some common actions associated with them.

{| class="wikitable" | style="background:#E6C3C3;"
! Ravioli-Shaped Objects
! scope="col"| Eat with a fork
! scope="col"| Rest your head on
! scope="col"| Puncture and slurp
! scope="col"| Install in your phone
|-
! scope="row"| {{w|Ravioli}}
| style="background:#C5E6C3;"|Ravioli pasta would indeed be suitable to be eaten with a fork, as shown.
|Ravioli pasta is not structurally strong enough to support the weight of a human head while reclining, and would break and spill its filling over one's head and the object one is resting on. It may also be covered in sauce, adding to the general mess.
|style="background:#FBF8CE;"|If the ravioli filling is fluid enough, one could slurp it out with a straw. This would waste the pasta component, if it were not eaten afterwards.
|Phones are not meant to run on ravioli. Stuffing a phone with a raviolo would cause it to break as shown, spilling the filling through the phone, which is a terrible idea.
|-
! scope="row"| {{w|Throw pillow}}
|Throw pillows are made of cloth and are inedible, whether one uses a fork or not.
| style="background:#C5E6C3;"|A throw pillow is meant to be used as head support while reclining on furniture.
|Throw pillows do not usually have liquids inside them. Hence, Cueball finds, to his dismay, that it's empty.
|Throw pillows are significantly bigger than phones and as such can't fit inside them, nor can typical pillows power them. As depicted, the attempt to force a pillow inside the phone has split the latter in half; the top half of the phone is visible on top of the pillow, and a bit of the bottom half can be seen beneath it.
|-
! scope="row"| {{w|Capri Sun}}
|Eating a pouch of sweetened juice with a fork would most likely simply pierce the pouch and spill the liquid all over Cueball.
|style="background:#FBF8CE;"|A Capri Sun would serve as a waterbed of sorts, and wouldn't be unduly uncomfortable in a pinch. However, it's still possible that the pouch could rupture and leave you with a sticky head and no support.
|style="background:#C5E6C3;"|Capri Suns are meant to be drunk like this, and are enjoyed by many.{{citation needed}}
|The phone shown is surrounded by spilled Capri Sun, implying that the attempt to force the two together punctured the pouch. The resulting spillage would most likely just result in the surface of the phone becoming annoyingly sticky, but if the liquid managed to get inside the phone (especially if the cover had been removed to try to put it in the compartment that usually holds the battery) it could cause a more significant and difficult to clean mess. Once actual power is provided (either an actual battery being subsequently used or the device offered external power by cable or inductance charger), the remaining residue could cause any number of further faults, and perhaps even critical component damage.
|-
! scope="row"| Bulging {{w|Lithium Battery}}
|Bulging lithium batteries are explosive hazards and should not be punctured lest they explode. Additionally the contents of the battery are toxic if one were to somehow manage to eat the burning bits of the battery.
|A lithium battery is a small, hard object, and a bulging one is no exception. Since the bulging comes from a buildup of heat and gas, (the primary gases being hydrogen and carbon dioxide), it would also be a constant fire hazard, which would not be conducive to relaxation.{{cn}} Lithium battery themed throw pillows, which bulge similarly to such batteries, do exist as a novelty item. Notably, these types of batteries are often referred to as "spicy pillows".
|Similarly to the 'eat with a fork' example, puncturing a bulging lithium battery is a bad idea.
|A bulging lithium battery ''could'' be installed in a phone, if one is willing to break the phone a bit (like the screen in the comic) to accommodate the bulging of the battery. More commonly, bulging batteries form inside the phone itself; if you don't usually have reason to charge or store it separately, you might only notice the problem when it causes the case or screen (shown as partly cracked, in the image) to distort significantly.
Upon noticing the bulging of a battery, it is strongly suggested that you uninstall it from the device it is in. It is at least no longer good at holding/delivering its power, and may even become at least as {{w|Lithium-ion battery#Fire hazard|hazardous}} as when used in all the other scenarios, so you should [https://www.reading.ac.uk/health-safety-services/fire-safety/lithium-battery-information/i-have-a-swollen-lithium-ion-battery-what-should-i-do ignore it at your peril].
|}

The title text refers to the {{w|NFPA 704}} diagram for hazardous materials, a diamond figure put out by the {{w|National Fire Protection Association}} showing four kinds of fire hazards. A ravioli that touched all four quadrants would be a health hazard, fire hazard, and demonstrate (chemical) reactivity, and have some other miscellaneous hazard(s). The NFPA diamond was previously mentioned in [[2638: Extended NFPA Hazard Diamond]].

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

:[A 4x4 grid of squares. The columns are labeled: Eat with a fork, rest your head on, puncture and slurp, install in your phone. The rows are: Ravioli, throw pillow, Capri Sun, bulging lithium battery. Each row has an image of each respective item above the title, with the words “Home Sweet Home” on the throw pillow, and “Fruit” on the Capri Sun.]

Top-Left
:Ravioli, eat with a fork: [green]
::[Cueball sits on a chair in front of a table with a jar of sauce on it. He is eating from a plate from ravioli.]
::Cueball: ''Nom Nom Nom''

Top Mid-Left
:Ravioli, Rest your head on: [red]
::[Cueball is lying down on a couch with ravioli smooshed on his head and the couch. Ravioli bits can be seen on the ground]
::Cueball: Eww.

Top Mid-Right
:Ravioli, puncture and slurp: [yellow]
::[Cueball is slurping from a ravioli through a straw. In front of him is table with two plates, presumably with ravioli on them.]
::''Slurp''

Top-Right
:Ravioli, Install in your phone: [red]
::[A phone is shown with bits of ravioli sticking out and tomato sauce is dripping out.]

Top-Mid Left
:Throw pillow, eat with a fork: [red]
::[Cueball sits on a chair in front of a table with a jar of sauce on it. He is poking with a fork at a throw pillow covered in tomato sauce.]
::''Poke poke''

Top-Mid Mid-Left
:Throw pillow, rest your head on: [green]
::[Cueball is looking at his phone and is lying on a couch. His head is resting on a throw pillow.]

Top-Mid Mid-Right
:Throw pillow, puncture and slurp: [red]
::[Cueball is sucking on a straw that is inserted in a pillow.]
::Cueball: Aw man, this one is empty.

Top-Mid Right
:Throw pillow, install in your phone: [red]
::[A phone is shown on a throw pillow that has the words “Home Sweet Home” partially obscured.]

Bottom-Mid Left
:Capri Sun, eat with a fork: [red]
::[Cueball sits on a chair in front of a table with a jar of sauce on it. He has stabbed a Capri Sun on a plate and is now splattered with juice.]

Bottom-Mid Mid-Left
:Capri Sun, rest your head on: [yellow]
::[Cueball is looking at his phone and is lying on a couch. His head is resting on a Capri Sun.]
::Cueball: Honestly kind of comfortable.

Bottom-Mid Mid-Right
:Capri Sun, puncture and slurp: [green]
::[Cueball is drinking from a Capri Sun through a straw.]
::''Sluuurp''

Bottom-Mid Right
:Capri Sun, Install in your phone: [red]
::[A phone is shown to be squishing a Capri Sun. Juice is trickling out.]

Bottom Left
:Bulging lithium battery, eat with a fork: [red]
::[An explosion bordered by 4 skull and crossbones.]

Bottom Mid-Left
:Bulging lithium battery, rest your head on: [red]
::[Cueball is looking at his phone and lying on his couch. His head is resting on a smoldering battery.]
::Cueball: This fire hazard is uncomfortable.

Bottom Mid-Right
:Bulging lithium battery, puncture and slurp: [red]
::[An explosion bordered by 4 skull and crossbones.]

Bottom Right
:Bulging lithium battery, install in your phone: [red]
::[A phone with a bulging back, presumably from the bulging lithium battery. The phone’s screen is cracked in the center.]

==Trivia==
Surprisingly, the bottom right square was [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/4/4f/20241019165156%21ravioli_shaped_objects_2x.png initially marked in  green ] rather than  red  (or  yellow ) when it was first uploaded. This square may have been marked in green because, although putting a bulging battery in a mobile phone is not normal usage, it is a situation that can ''arise'' from normal usage when a "healthy" battery begins to fail. One other suggestion was that this was an [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd phone]], and a dodgy battery is part of a 'feature', such as an 'integrated hand warmer' or 'dynamic expansion').

More likely, it was just because Randall automatically went with the default association of "Row N is appopriate for Column N", as is his [[:Category:Confusion matrices|usual design]] for these comics, to which he adds adjustments for other surprises, exceptions and outright jokes.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Confusion matrices]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Phones]]

Talk:2984: Asteroid News

2024-09-25T17:56:21Z

172.68.205.134: a different candidate body

Not sure!! Maybe it is "2016 AJ193" Found this news https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/nasa-detects-the-1000th-near-earth-asteroid-within-colliding-distance-4171781.html , but I can't find a NASA comment or any reputable source.
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.23.189|172.68.23.189]] 00:10, 12 September 2024 (UTC) WaywardMinstrel

The "DEFINATLY" in the explanation header is intentional, a reference to [[2871]] [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 00:52, 12 September 2024 (UTC)

'''Which asteroid is it?''' The explanation currently points towards the 2024 MK asteroid, which might be the most likely contender in that it is recently discovered and had the potential to do something interesting, but the 2063 line makes me hesitant to declare that it is a comic about that asteroid. Feel free to revert my changes if you have evidence pointing specifically to the 2024 asteroid or a theory explaining the 2063 reference (could 2024 MK return to earth in 39 years??). I haven't been able to find much information on this yet. Another possibility is that it is about a fictional asteroid, inspired by this year's discovery. [[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 02:55, 12 September 2024 (UTC)
:Likely to be one of the recently-removed objects on the Sentry list: https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/sentry/removed.html Hard to tell though as Sentry doesn't display impact probabilities for removed objects. You'd need some kind of archive of Sentry from a week ago. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.124.147|172.71.124.147]] 05:07, 12 September 2024 (UTC)

Is there a category for comics involving boredom? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.100|172.70.211.100]] 03:52, 12 September 2024 (UTC)
* [[13: Canyon]]
* [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]]
* [[52: Secret Worlds]]
* [[402: 1,000 Miles North]]
* [[731: Desert Island]]
* [[877: Beauty]]
* [[895: Teaching Physics]] [[Special:Contributions/172.68.22.9|172.68.22.9]] 04:05, 12 September 2024 (UTC)
:I do not think this is relevant. This is not even about boredom, just mentioning that an event is boring. Also some of those comics mentioned here are not really about boredom, and given that there are several, it is not special in this comic. And I really do not think we need another boring category ;-) Have removed from explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:45, 12 September 2024 (UTC)

Cmon hit the IOF lil asteroid [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.64|172.70.90.64]] 07:00, 12 September 2024 (UTC)
:Not even close. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.241|172.70.206.241]] 07:08, 12 September 2024 (UTC)
::we just gotta believe :) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.183|172.69.79.183]] 07:30, 12 September 2024 (UTC)
:::I tots believe in you <3 [[Special:Contributions/172.68.22.8|172.68.22.8]] 07:33, 12 September 2024 (UTC)
::::thanks ig [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.253|172.70.91.253]] 07:42, 12 September 2024 (UTC)
:::::Let's make out. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.147.145|172.71.147.145]] 07:50, 12 September 2024 (UTC)
::::::Muah! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.96|172.70.207.96]] 08:22, 12 September 2024 (UTC)

I don't think it's right to attribute the opinions of the comic to Blondie. Everything she says is quotes from the astronomers- even "so what's the point" is in quotation marks. --[[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 09:35, 12 September 2024 (UTC)
:I completely disagree. This is Blondies interpretation of what she is talking about. It is in her line of though that it is exiting and boring. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:40, 12 September 2024 (UTC)

I think the title text is probably referring to [[1291:_Shoot_for_the_Moon]]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.42.82|162.158.42.82]] 14:58, 12 September 2024 (UTC)

A web search tells me that 2024 ON made a "close passage" (1 million km) on 17th September, and returns to the vicinity of the earth in 2063 (and 2035, 2052, 2072, 2109, 2111, and 2120). It's a relatively big asteroid (100s of meters) for an earth-crosser. I haven't found any reports of initial calculations giving a 2063 impact risk. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.134|172.68.205.134]] 17:56, 25 September 2024 (UTC)

1603: Flashlights

2024-08-27T00:00:22Z

172.68.205.134: /* Explanation */ Better way of linking internally. Subtly different, more efficient.

{{comic
| number = 1603
| date = November 13, 2015
| title = Flashlights
| image = flashlights.png
| titletext = Due to a typo, I initially found a forum for serious Fleshlight enthusiasts, and it turns out their highest-end models are ALSO capable of setting trees on fire. They're impossible to use without severe burns, but some of them swear it's worth it.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] has acquired or built a new high powered {{w|flashlight}} ("torch" in British English), which he wants to demonstrate to [[Megan]]. When Cueball refers to older flashlights as dim and finnicky, this gives reason to assume that the flashlight he is holding is going to be ridiculously overengineered.

Indeed, when he switches it on outside the house, the intense light beam completely drowns out the scene. Only the reflected light from the forest lights up the part of Cueball and Megan's faces that are turned towards it. Megan is holding up a hand, apparently to shield her eyes.

Cueball comments that the flashlight lights up the entire forest, but Megan observes that it is the trees that are on fire, indicating that Cueball's flashlight is so overpowered that the energy of its beam is sufficient to cause the organic matter of trees to combust.

Of course, a flashlight that cannot safely be pointed at things is fairly useless for the traditional purpose of a flashlight, which would be to find things in the dark by directing light over them. This mundane and practical reasoning does not seem to matter to Cueball of course, who appears only interested in the intensity and brightness the device is capable of achieving. The comic may refer to the flashlight forums [http://budgetlightforum.com/ Budget Light Forum] or [http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/content.php candlepowerforums], devoted to people discussing new LED emitters and who can build the brightest flashlight using them.

Cueball might allude to a number of technical improvements, notably xenon-based incandescent bulbs, multiple-LED assemblies, Lithium batteries (usually used for photography flashes) or rechargeable batteries. A number of companies market "[[1833: Code Quality 3|tactical]]" flashlights that are supposedly powerful enough to incapacitate an opponent, using terms such as "scorching" to advertise their products. See for instance this video about a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiKzrnKR3Ts Wicked Lasers Torch] of the brand [http://www.wickedlasers.com/torch Torch] that ignites paper and melts stuff. Not strong enough to put a forest on fire but it is not safe to point at anything close by!

[[Randall]] has also looked at what lasers could do of damage in two ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' articles: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/13/ Laser Pointer] and [http://what-if.xkcd.com/119/ Laser Umbrella].

The title text refers to {{w|Fleshlight}}, a brand of masturbation appliances for phalluses modeled after various human orifices. Cueball (or Randall) claims that he only arrived on a forum for Fleshlight enthusiasts due to a typo. Apart from the "e" vs. "a" in Fleshlight, they are also fashioned to look like oversized flashlights. On that forum he found out that the highest-end models of their product lines was also capable of setting trees on fire. This would probably happen due to violent vibrations inside the orifice, or excessively powerful internal heating. Anything powerful enough to burn trees would indeed cause the user severe burns in a very unpleasant area. But some of the enthusiasts swear that it is still worth it, in the same manner that Cueball only cares about the intensity of the flashlight, regardless of the consequences. Maybe they are just trying to trick you into doing something stupid! Or maybe they're just into that kind of thing.

References to Fleshlight is a [[:Category:Fleshlights|recurring theme]] in xkcd and using powerful "sex toys" that cause severe burns (on a woman though) have previously been alluded to in [[596: Latitude]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball carries a flashlight walking towards Megan who is sitting on a couch.]
:Cueball: Remember how flashlights sucked when we were kids? Always dim and finnicky?
:Megan: I guess?

:[Cueball and Megan walking to the left.]
:Cueball: Well, I discovered there are now internet flashlight enthusiasts.
:Cueball: And the technology has... improved.
:Megan: OK, Let's see.

:[It is dark outside where Cueball turns on the flashlight. The beam is very bright and very visible even seen from the side. Backscattered light reflects off Cueball and Megan's faces, turning them into bright white beings in the dark. The facade of the house and the stairs are also visible in the same manner, with deep dark shadows where anything is in the shadow. Megan averts her face from the light holds up a hand to cover her eyes. When the flashlight turns on it even makes a sound, written in white above the beam:]
:Flashlight: '''''Fwoosh'''''

:[Cueball and Megan look at what the beam falls on (outside the frame). Megan has taken her hand down. Both their faces are only lit up like a crescent moon. Cueball is holding the flashlight with both hands as if it is pushing back on him. The text is written in white on the dark sky above them.]
:Cueball: See how it lights up the whole forest?
:Megan: ...The trees are on fire.
:Cueball: Real bright, though.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Fleshlights]]

Talk:2973: Ferris Wheels

2024-08-17T00:11:14Z

172.68.205.134: /* Are the transcript eds going to go into the speeds depicted? */

Where is the Cueball shouting "wheee!!"? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:59, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

In the transcript I described how the cars are hanging, but I'm worried I've gone too far from transcript to explanation. Hopefully someone can improve it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:02, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

There's no category for "X fired me because" comics. There probably should be. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:06, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

== Just HOW fast? ==

I was vaguely surprised to see nobody had done the math yet. So here it goes -- someone more confident in editing the main entry can feel free to adapt this if you think it's interesting enough (I doubt anyone would want to read the math as I wrote it). But first, someone please check my work. :)

I opened the comic in a pixel-level photo editor, and took some quick measurements. The wheel on the left seems to be approximately 160 pixels wide, whiile the inner hub is about 14 pixels high.

So the gear ratio is 160:14 or about 11.04 Just for simplification, let's call it a 10x ratio.

The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_wheel#The_original_Ferris_Wheel original Ferris Wheel] took about 20 minutes to load and unload passengers, then ran for 9 uninterrupted minutes for another, full, rotation. So again, let's round up and say the wheel on the left takes about 10 minutes to go around once.

The middle wheel, then, would take a minute. And the last one, a tenth of a minute, or 6 seconds.

The original wheel (again) was about 265 feet across, or a circumference of 832 feet. So if these wheels are the same size (why not?), any car on the right-most wheel would move about 832 feet in 6 seconds, or 138 feet per second, which is about 94 miles per hour (151 kilometers per hour).

I can see why he was fired.

Taking the reverse: The rightmost wheel would take about 10 minutes for a rotation, the middle wheel, 100 minutes (1:40), and the left most, 1000 minutes (16 hours and 40 minutes).

Actually, if you move slow enough that the right wheel can load and unload (let's say 20 minutes, just like the original wheel), it'd take over a day to load the left wheel.

@DarthNull@infosec.exchange [[Special:Contributions/172.70.175.87|172.70.175.87]] 20:58, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

This Amusement Ride manufacturer has a helpful diagram of rotational speed on their website: https://www.sinorides.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ferris-wheels/#q11
The example wheel happens to have 18 gondolas, just like Randall's and appears to be roughly the same scale. The sample values they provide are a linear speed of 4 m/s at the edge of the wheel and a rotational speed of just under 3 revolutions per minute. My best guess at the gearing ratio of Randall's belt driven wheels is 10:1, so if the left wheel is being driven at normal speeds, the center wheel would be 40 m/s or 30 rpm and the left wheel would be 400 m/s or 300 rpm. This exceeds the square root of the specific strength of standard steel, so we'll need to hope that the right most Ferris wheel is made of a particularly strong alloy. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.97|172.69.71.97]] 21:19, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

: Ah, well, I started down my own road for calculations, based upon the assumption that they were 75 feet diameter (from the height of the figures, assuming that the ones I actually checked definitively up to 6ft, give or take, although pixel-counts upon antialiased graphics can be quite inaccurate the fewer 'apparent' pixels there are). As a truck-portable/mounted fairground-style ride, it's probably quite a bit smaller than the 'original Ferris wheel' and many of those 'permanent' wheels (London Eye, theme park rides, etc) that are built specifically to be architectual 'statements'/tourist-magnets. I'm thinking more the kind that you'd see in Grease (though that one's 55-foot, apparently) or the one that 'Night Monkey' had to deal with in Spiderman: Far From Home. I also looked up [https://www.giantwheel.co.uk/35m-vision-ferris-wheel-hire/ actual specs] (that's 35m, ~105ft, and 0.5rpm, so not too far off my initial assumptions). There also was a rather larger 60-metre (197 ft) {{w|Wheel of Sheffield|semi-permanent}} transportable version with 13 minute continuous 'ride', but that'd be completely out of scale to those depicted.
: If there are any actual 'carnies' out there who know what kind of thing actually gets used at County Fairs in the US, that might help. (Here in the UK there's currently a Fun Fair about a quarter of a mile from my house, at the moment - though I'm not there at the moment, but they have no 'big wheels' of that kind, only the more energetic types that ''do'' fling their riders around, like the "Terrifying Claw" and various other heavy duty hanging and/or spinning-seat rides.) ((Slightly ninjaed, now, by the above contribution.))) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.197|162.158.33.197]] 21:37, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

I can't help but think of this as Randall wanting to make an upscaled version of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrkiJZKJfpY Steve Mould's Spintronics video] from a year ago... [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.126|172.68.50.126]] 21:54, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

Given that air resistance increases exponentially with air speed, this setup would actually act as its own speed regulator, with the main factor being the torque of the power source. Which wheel is powered would not matter much [[Special:Contributions/172.71.118.167|172.71.118.167]] 22:05, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

If you powered the middle one, you'd end up with one moderately exciting ride, one normal ride, and one really long ride, which would be highly impractical, but not overly dangerous (depending on the structural strength of the fast wheel). [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.88|172.71.142.88]] 23:08, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

== Are the transcript eds going to go into the speeds depicted? ==

Should the transcript involve the diameter ratios when explaining the speed depiction gray lines? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.83|172.70.211.83]] 23:06, 16 August 2024 (UTC)
:Such analysis is going towards the speculative. Perhaps we can say that the wheels are <so many> people-heights high, but that doesn't give us any actual definitive speeds to go with the lines, with no actual given first-wheel speed (two minutes a spin? three minutes per spin? thirteen minute 'trips'?). It might be reasonable to mention the hub-to-rim ratio details, but the speed-lines just need to be subjectively described. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.3|172.70.58.3]] 23:24, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

By my measurement, wheel1 (outer) is 203 pixels from left edge (at the belt 'grip surface' radius, i.e. as far in as the outer-black-line is before it becomes 'background white' wheel rim), wheel2 hub is 16 pixels (likewise), wheel2 outer is also 203, wheel3 hub is 15 (debatable). Wheel3 (outer) is 202, but the relevence here is more that it's 238 pixels from gondola-bottom to gondola-bottom. (Wheel1 hub is 15, but doesn't even have that relevence.) Can't measure the verticals of the outers, because of the supporting structure, but the the vertical hub measurements agree exactly with the horizontal spreads (which at least means that Randall can draw circles reasonable accurately). 203/16=12.6875, 203/15=13.533... Maybe I should be looking a pixel further out, which gives 204/17=12 or 204/16=12.75. 1:12 (and, by extension 1:144 for the both) seems nicely numbered slightly better and more symbolically than 1:12.5 (or 2:25) and its square (4:625) might be, whatever choice of measurements came up with that. - The tallest figures are 10 pixels high (maybe you could stretch some to 11, depending upon where you 'zero' the ground-line), meaning 20(and-a-bit) figure-heights (some are smaller, single-pixels could be variations/stereotypically slightly smaller females, but I think there are clear child/adolescent figures as part of/all of some groupings, whether by deliberate artistic design or just a matter of how the quick squiggles turned out). 120ft (6 foot figures) is not really far off the 35m mentioned above (with the wrong feetwise equivalent!) as an actual wheel of 0.5rpm. So 6rpm and then 72rpm. 22m radius (taking a decent round figure, whilst metrifying the extended width of the) at that speed seems to be 128g (if I've not messed up), a nice 'round' figure to a nerd. But that'd be at the base of the gondalas, and decrease (bit by bit) if you move even a pixel 'inward' from the that (and a 128g centrifuge isn't going to have a paper-thin floor!)... Plenty of open questions/rooms for error in all that, so not at all worth giving as an Explanation calculation, nor Transcript detail, but it's where I personally ended up. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.134|172.68.205.134]] 00:11, 17 August 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2968: University Age

2024-08-11T21:05:59Z

172.68.205.134:

[[1477]] anyone? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.41.131|162.158.41.131]] 03:29, 6 August 2024 (UTC)
:Not relevant in my opinion. In [[1477: Star Wars]] Cueball is surprised by how fast time seems to flow past him. Not surprised that everything ages at the same rate as the Cueball in this comic. There are more than 40 comics relating to [[:Category:Time|time]] on explain xkcd... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:50, 6 August 2024 (UTC)

::Reminds me of [[209]]... the kayak (and the university) travel through time just like everything else. [[User:VeraqueVeritas|VeraqueVeritas]] ([[User talk:VeraqueVeritas|talk]]) 18:13, 9 August 2024 (UTC)

Was there a USA political debate this week that I didn't hear about? About. Hear of it's existence. I Assuredly didn't hear it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.175.121|172.70.175.121]] 06:27, 6 August 2024 (UTC)

On a related note, today I set a new personal best for time spent continuously being alive. I'm still well behind the world records, but I have beaten pretty much all of the current collegeate athletes. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 07:08, 6 August 2024 (UTC)
:Happy birthday :) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.16|172.70.86.16]] 12:59, 6 August 2024 (UTC)

"'''Unfortunately, I have terrible news'''" kind of feels to me like — almost — there is a pop culture reference here that I am missing (I'd say I feel 33% of the way towards that feeling; certainly somewhere less likely than even). It just seems like a little too strong of a statement to be what President Cueball would say in the moment. That said, I can't find any support for such a half-baked theory. Although there is an "I have terrible news" (without "Unfortunately") from [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2572734/characters/nm0278979 The Office, Season 9, "Vandalism"] ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo8RzH-6Tfw&t=614s video]), but it doesn't strike me as particularly significant. 
¶ Apart from that, I sort of expected more emphasis on obscure schemes, like (a) increasing the average altitude of the rival university to increase its velocity for the tiny relativistic effect, e.g. by funding construction of an observatory for its astronomy department; (b) attempting to measure the founding dates more precisely, e.g. what if it were only 1-year-183-days older; (c) merger with the rival, ala the proposed MIT/Harvard mergers of the early 20th century; &c. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 09:51, 6 August 2024 (UTC)

: I thought the terrible new was that, after sending the rival university on a round trip at relativistic speed, due to an unfortuneate miscalculation, the rival university would collide with Earth while still going too fast, causing the destruction of the planet. --[[User:Itub|Itub]] ([[User talk:Itub|talk]]) 11:51, 6 August 2024 (UTC)

: I think it's more a commentary on the futility of university administration plans and goals, given that actual success for a prestigious university involves mostly decisions entirely out of administration hands. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.109|162.158.90.109]] 20:55, 6 August 2024 (UTC)
:: What do you think the universities alluded to were? I'm guessing MIT in 1861 and UMass (originally Amherst) in 1863. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.20|162.158.186.20]] 21:39, 6 August 2024 (UTC)
:::From the deletions at [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2968:_University_Age&diff=prev&oldid=348220], "The particular years referenced in the comic (218 years before 2024 would require a university founded in 1806) do not appear to match with any institution of higher learning in the United States. However, there is a very close near-twin that this might refer to - Miami University was founded in 1809, making it 215 years old, and Ohio University was founded in 1804, making it 220 years old."
:::Of course, those are in different states. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.100|108.162.245.100]] 01:15, 7 August 2024 (UTC)
:::: Actually, those two universities are in the same state! Both [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_University Miami University] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_University Ohio University] are in the state of Ohio - in fact, Miami University is in the confusingly named city of Oxford, Ohio. [[User:ChunyangD|ChunyangD]] ([[User talk:ChunyangD|talk]]) 22:16, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

:Wouldn't it be more sensible (or less un-sensible...) to dig down your own one, instead of artificially elevating the other one? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:13, 7 August 2024 (UTC)

The way I read the "overtaking our rival by 3" part was that part of the "intensive program" was the sabotage of the other university, effectively ending its aging. This would then be the terrible news to share. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.166.219|172.71.166.219]] 14:02, 6 August 2024 (UTC)
:But that wouldn't be "unfortunate" for Cueball. It would be a win. And there would be no point in the redoubled efforts announced in the title text if they had already successfully destroyed their rival - what would they be doing for the next 10 years if the goal was already achieved? No, the terrible news is the failure to overtake the age of the other university.
[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 09:55, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

I have good news for Cueball: when he took over, their rival was 0.94% older. Now it's only 0.92% older. After the 10-year plan finishes, the gap will have closed to 0.88%! The gap is closing slower than he hoped, but with dedicated work, he'll get there. {{unsigned ip|172.70.80.48|16:39, 7 August 2024}}

I find it weird that Cueball calls his rival university also increasing its age to be "terrible news". Disappointing, yes, but not terrible. Suppose that Cueball had made his goal to have the largest student body, the largest faculty, the largest library, or the largest endowment of any university in the state. He might have succeeded in outdoing his rival's former standard but nobody would have been shocked to find that the rival university had also grown as well. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.6.221|172.69.6.221]] 20:16, 11 August 2024 (UTC)
:I don't know about that. Imagine the analogue of "We managed to increase our footfall by 50%, but everyone else ''also'' increased their footfall by 50%, so all our efforts are effectively treading water, and maybe we'd have increased even without trying..." Terrible news, in that the stretch-goal turns out to be worthless. (Unless you can actually prove that ''not'' having stretched for the goal would have sent them relatively further back down the rankings. In which case, well done for maintaining position against the passive trend downward.) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.134|172.68.205.134]] 21:05, 11 August 2024 (UTC)