explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

939: Arrow

2018-08-23T18:49:07Z

172.68.47.48: Undo revision 161756 by 162.158.63.238 (talk) no?

{{comic
| number = 939
| date = August 17, 2011
| title = Arrow
| image = arrow.png
| titletext = 'The Return of the Boomerang' would make a great movie title.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic appears to be a reference to [[475: Further Boomerang Difficulties]], which had a man throwing a boomerang that never returned. [[Cueball]] shoots an arrow off with a bow and a boomerang returns to him. This confounds him. As it was also a [[Cueball]] that threw the boomerang in the other comic, this may be the same Cueball that now finally has his boomerang return to him after a long time (464 comics later). This would really freak him out then.

The title text is a pun on how boomerangs always come back, along with how "The Return of X" is often used for movie names.

However, as shown in the prequel as well as in an even earlier comic, Cueball/[[Randall]] has to admit: [[I Am Not Good with Boomerangs]]. So for him it would be a surprise if the boomerang returned!

Boomerangs also became a main theme in the interactive comic [[1350: Lorenz]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands with a bow and arrow drawn tightly, aiming off-screen.]
:[He fires the arrow, it disappears offscreen. The bowstring vibrates for effect.]
:[He stands holding the bow by their side, watching the arrow fly away.]
:[A boomerang flies on-screen, coming from the direction the arrow was fired. Cueball reaches up to catch the boomerang.]
:[Cueball is now holding the boomerang, staring at it with confusion.]

==Trivia==
*Part of this comic and [[475: Further Boomerang Difficulties]] is the picture for the {{tvtropes|BrickJoke|Brick Joke}} page on TV Tropes.

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

2027: Lightning Distance

2018-08-02T04:54:23Z

172.68.47.48: /* Explanation */ added point that it still wouldn't work even if you had large distances

{{comic
| number = 2027
| date = August 1, 2018
| title = Lightning Distance
| image = lightning_distance.png
| titletext = The index of radio refraction does have a lot of variation, which might throw off your calculations, so you can also look at the difference in brightness between the visible flash and more-attenuated UV and x-rays.
}}

=Explanation=
{{incomplete|Created by a RADIO BURST - Update calculations and added values in km and miles. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The usual trick for determining the distance to a {{w|lightning}} flash is to count the seconds from when you see the flash until when you hear {{w|thunder}}, and divide by five to get miles (or three to get kilometers). This works because the {{w|speed of light}} is essentially instantaneous over the relevant distances, while the {{w|speed of sound}} is 331.2 m/s (1,087 ft/s, 1,192 km/h, or 741 mph, varying a bit based on temperature), or about 1/5 mile per second (1/3 kilometer per second).

This comic subverts the usual trick by having Megan describe a highly impractical alternative method. Megan's method is based on the fact that the speed of electromagnetic radiation, which includes light and radio waves, is not truly infinite. The radiation produced by lightning on Earth also has to travel through air, which changes its speed in a fashion which depends on its frequency.

According to {{w|List_of_refractive_indices|Wikipedia}} and [https://hypertextbook.com/facts/2005/MayaBarsky.shtml other sources], refractive index of air at 0°C is about 1.000277, which equates to a speed of light around 299709.4 km/s (186230.8 miles/s). According to [https://www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/fig_2002/Js28/JS28_rueger.pdf this paper], refractive index for radio waves in similar conditions is 1.000315, which equates to a speed around 299698.1 km/s (186223.7 miles/s). This means that to get the distance, the time difference in seconds between visible flash and radio burst should be multiplied by about 4.9 billion for miles, or about 7.9 billion for kilometers. More details for the calculations are in the comments below.

With sufficiently precise instruments, it would theoretically be possible to use this effect to determine the distance to a lightning flash, as proposed by Randall. The joke is that it is impractical for humans, both because we can't measure such small time intervals (one nanosecond for every 4.9 miles or 7.0 kilometers of atmosphere) and because we can't detect radiation outside the visible spectrum without very specialized instruments. For the purpose of the joke, the "5 billion" value used in the comic is a fair estimate which also references the original rule of 5 seconds per mile nicely, though the result can have a huge margin of error depending on actual conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.). Even if lightning was farther away, for example, if we were observing another planet, the time difference still would not be substantial, because the visible and radio waves travel at essential the same speed as each other in the vacuum of space (the difference in speed discussed above applies only to travel through air).

The title text suggests another method of calculating distance to lightning. Since the absorption of light is also different in different wavelengths, it would be possible to calculate the difference by comparing the brightness instead of delays. This would, however, require the knowledge about prior relative brightness of lightning, i.e. the spectrum, in the compared wavelengths.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball and Megan stand on either side of a window, observing a bolt of lightning in a dark sky.]
:Cueball: What's that trick for telling how many miles away lightning is?
:Megan: Just count the seconds between the visible flash and the radio wave burst, then multiply by 5 billion.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2022: Sports Champions

2018-07-20T19:09:25Z

172.68.47.48: /* Transcript */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2022
| date = July 20, 2018
| title = Sports Champions
| image = sports_champions.png
| titletext = For a long time, people thought maybe Usain Bolt was the one for running, until the 2090s and the incredible dominance of Derek Legs.
}}

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

In an example of {{w|nominative determinism}}, the comic lists people whose surname relates to their participation in various sports. As the comic is of "sports champions", it is presumed that these people are at the top of their sport. It is presented as though it was created in the far future, reflecting on sports players over the decades through to the 2080s. The first three are real sportspeople, the remainder are imaginary players of the future.

The caricatures feature people participating in their sport, except for Jebediah who is standing at a {{w|lectern}}.

{| class="wikitable"
!style="width:20%"|Name
!style="width:10%"|Decade
!style="width:15%"|Sport
!style="width:55%"|Explanation
|-
|Margaret Court
|1960s
|Tennis
|{{w|Margaret Court}} is a Australian tennis player, former world number 1, who won many competitions in the 1960s and 70s. A {{w|tennis court}} is the playing arena used in that sport.
|-
|Gary Player
|1970s
|Golf
|{{w|Gary Player}} is a South African golfer who won nine major championships in the 1960s and 70s. Game competitors are often known as "players", for example, the golf tournament {{w|The Players Championship}}.
|-
|Lonzo Ball
|2020s
|Basketball
|{{w|Lonzo Ball}} is an American professional basketball player, currently with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 2020s decade listed is a projection of when he would likely become his most dominant in the sport, as he began playing professionally in 2017. Of course, basketball is a {{w|ball game}}.
|-
|Jake Halfpipe
|2030s
|Skateboarding
|A {{w|half-pipe}} is a structure used in extreme sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding.
|-
|Sarah Goggles
|2030s
|Swimming
|{{w|Goggles}} are protective eyewear used in many sports, such as swimming or skiing.
|-
|Kevin Slurve
|2050s
|Baseball
|A {{w|slurve}} is a baseball throwing technique, a portmanteau of '''sl'''ider and c'''urve'''.
|-
|Julia Chairlift
|2050s
|Skiing
|A {{w|chairlift}} is an aerial machine often used to transport winter sportsmen and -women up mountains.
|-
|Dwight Shuttlecock
|2060s
|Badminton
|A {{w|shuttlecock}} is a projectile used in the sport of badminton.
|-
|Brandon Sponsorship
|2060s
|Unclear
|Sporting professionals are often {{w|Sponsor (commercial)|sponsored}} by corporations. Brandon is holding a pair of shoes, which are probably a branded sponsorship item.
|-
|Kate Dopingscandal
|2070s
|Cycling
|There have been many {{w|Doping in sport|doping}} scandals in the world of sport. Since Kate is standing next to a bicycle, {{w|Lance Armstrong}} is a great example here. Recently one of the larger scandal was that {{w|Doping in Russia|many Russian competitors}} did {{w|Russia_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympics#Doping_scandal_after_Olympics|use drugs}} during the {{w|2014 Winter Olympics|2014 Winter Olympics}} in {{w|Sochi}}, Russia.
|-
|Jebediah Disasterous Postgame-PressConference
|2080s
|Unspecified
|At the end of sporting events - ie post-game - there is often a {{w|News conference|press conference}} where the competitors discuss the result. Sometimes, these live interviews are a disaster. Randall has chosen to spell his name as "Disasterous", rather than the more conventional "Disastrous".
|-
|(in title text)
Usain Bolt and Derek Legs
|2090s
|Sprinting
|From the title text, {{w|Usain Bolt}} is the (now retired) world record holder for the 100 meter dash and 4×100 meter relay events in {{w|Track & Field}}. Thus Randall considers him a solid contender for this list since he can ''bolt'' down the track. However the fictional Derek Legs ends up replacing Bolt on the list, either because they are an even faster sprinter, or because “legs” more clearly and unambiguously relates to running than “bolt” does.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Two rows of people wielding sports equipment are shown, six in the upper row, five in the lower, only the last has no equipment but is standing behind a lectern with a microphone attached to it. Below each person, their name is given and the decade in which they were champions of their sport is given below their name, in brackets. Here is a list of the 11 people:]

:[Woman with dark hair holding a tennis racket]
:Margaret Court
:(1960s)

:[Cueball with a golf club]
:Gary Player
:(1970s)

:[Cueball with a basket ball]
:Lonzo Ball
:(2020s)

:[Hairy on a skateboard]
:Jake Halfpipe
:(2030s)

:[Woman with dark hair wearing a swim cap and googles]
:Sarah Goggles
:(2030s)

:[A man with a baseball cap throwing a baseball to the right]
:Kevin Slurve
:(2050s)

:[A woman with long black hair in a knit cap is standing on ski holding ski poles]
:Julia Chairlift
:(2050s)

:[Hairy holding a badminton rackets bouncing a shuttlecock on it]
:Dwight Shuttlecock
:(2060s)

:[Hairy holding a pair of shoes in his hand]
:Brandon Sponsorship
:(2060s)

:[Hairbun standing next to a bicycle.]
:Kate Dopingscandal
:(2070s)

:[Hairy standing behind a lectern with a microphone on it.]
:Jebediah Disasterous Postgame PressConference
:(2080s)

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Fun fact: Every sport eventually produces a champion competitor named after a common element of the game.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Baseball]]
[[Category:Basketball]]

1365: Inflation

2018-06-28T08:27:15Z

172.68.47.48: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1365
| date = May 7, 2014
| title = Inflation
| image = inflation.png
| titletext = Wait till they notice the faint reflection of Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny in the E-mode.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic is inspired by the {{w|BICEP2}} discovery of {{w|gravitational waves}} from the early universe, hence providing evidence for the {{w|Inflation_(cosmology)|cosmic inflation}} hypothesis. [[Megan]] is excited about this and tells [[Ponytail]] all about it. She is impressed by the fact that these waves were created when the universe was extremely small and the expanding universe has "imprinted" the gravity waves. (See also [[1642: Gravitational Waves]]).

She compares this to the nature of a microscope - which optically expands a small image, just like the universe has done to itself. Ponytail is impressed by it until Megan looks at the image captured by the {{w|Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe|Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)}}.

The concept of an {{w|Metric expansion of space|expanding universe}} is sometimes explained by the "balloon model", where the two-dimensional skin represents our three-dimensional universe and the inflation of the balloon represents expansion over time. But instead of showing a balloon [[Randall]] uses a basketball which can not inflate that much like a balloon.

The elliptical {{w|Mollweide projection}} of this {{w|Cosmic microwave background|cosmic microwave background (CMB)}} image of the sky makes the map look a bit like a basketball. Randall emphasizes this by superimposing the traditional curves that are visible on a basketball and the {{w|Spalding (sports equipment)|Spalding}} company logo over the original image available at the bottom here.

Megan and Ponytail are both disconcerted by this, and the title text references the 1996 basketball movie ''{{w|Space Jam}}'' by promising images of main characters Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny if the polarization of the view is changed to {{w|B-modes|E-mode}}.

The image was updated between 7 AM and 8:30 AM EST on May 7. Originally the Spalding logo was shown from left-to-right; however, in the updated image, the Spalding logo is shown in reverse. The WMAP image has the correct orientation in both versions. This was likely due to a mistake on Randall's part, as the comic suggests the universe is contained inside a Spalding basketball. Seen from the inside, the Spalding logo would be shown in reverse, as seen in the updated image. The first image can be found [[Media:inflation first version.png|here]]. Both the original and updated version don't exactly match the pattern on a typical basketball. Most basketballs are divided into eight identical (ignoring reflection) pieces in a pattern that allowed traditional leather basketballs to be made from a single template, while the image shows a pattern that would split a basketball into two types of pieces.

==Transcript==
:[Megan sits at a computer, conversing with Ponytail.]
:Megan: Imprinted on the sky are the gravity waves that were sloshing across the universe when it was ''this'' big.

:Megan: So really, we're using the entire universe as a giant microscope pointed at itself when it was small.

:[Megan turns to face the computer.]
:Ponytail: That's neat.
:Megan: Yeah. But...
:Ponytail: But what?
:Megan: Well, look.

:Ponytail: Oh. Hmm.
:Megan: Yeah.
:Ponytail: What...
:Megan: I don't know.

:[Below is an image of the universe showing the cosmic microwave background, featuring a series of circles and the Spalding basketball logo, as though the universe had been imprinted with the image of a basketball.]

==External links==
*[http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/121238/index.html Original cosmic microwave background image published by NASA.]
*[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Spalding_logo.svg Image of Spalding logo on Wikipedia.]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Basketball]]

1131: Math

2017-11-26T03:57:11Z

172.68.47.48: /* Explanation */ update based 2016 results

{{comic
| number = 1131
| date = November 7, 2012
| title = Math
| image = math.png
| titletext = As of this writing, the only thing that's 'razor-thin' or 'too close to call' is the gap between the consensus poll forecast and the result.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain the title text.}}

In another election-themed comic (this one posted the day after the {{w|United States presidential election, 2012|2012 U.S. presidential election}} November 7, 2012)—(see also [[1122: Electoral Precedent]], [[500: Election]], [[1127: Congress]], and [[1130: Poll Watching]])—this comic shows a bar graph representing expected (see note below) {{w|Electoral College (United States)|electoral college}} votes in the election, including a dotted line indicating the 270 electoral votes needed to win, a span of projections ("Forecast"), and the actual result.

The forecast range is above the 270 line, showing that the ''Blue Candidate'' {{w|Barack Obama|Obama}} (the {{W|Democratic Party (United States)|democratic candidate}} is the ''Blue Candidate'' and the {{W|Republican Party (United States)|republican candidate}} is the ''Red Candidate'' according to a convention used since the 2000 election) was always projected to win by statisticians like {{w|Nate Silver}} and others. The only question among these people was how much he was going to win by. (The electoral college votes are expectations until the official voting result is announced early in November.) Randall is attempting to use this particular election to imply that polling data accurately indicates the likely outcome of a Presidential election. However, the close match between prediction and result in this one election could be a coincidence; the outcome of U.S. Presidential elections frequently differs from projections. Notably, in 1948, the Chicago Tribune printed a headline which turned out to be false and in 2016, polling data indicated that Clinton would defeat Trump.

By contrast, most of the media was calling the election too close to call, with some news outlets actually projecting a {{w|Mitt Romney|Romney}} win. Essentially the large number of republican '''{{W|pundit|pundits}}''' who helped increase the pressures of right wing self referencing media denial, the tendency of media to give any issue at least two dramatically or fictionally equal voices (for supposed "fairness") regardless of the relative merits of the two sides, and the desire to present the election as a suspenseful "horse race" resulted in a lot of ''talking heads'' (i.e. pundits) disbelieving the polls. These factors shaped the "too close to call" narrative, leading to the punch line of this story:

You don't need to believe in science or statistics for it to effectively describe or predict reality. The progressively more radicalized republicans of this era are known for disregarding scientific or statistical consensus which reflects reality but does not conform to their world view. However, they were correct in their belief (in defiance of statistical data to the contrary) that Donald Trump would be elected in 2016.

For those unfamiliar with the {{w|United States presidential election|US Presidential electoral process}}: Unlike other political offices, the election for president is not a direct election. Instead, each state is apportioned a certain number of "electoral college" votes based on population. For the most part (and there is perennial discussion on whether this should be changed) the candidate that receives the most votes in a given state receives all the electoral college votes for that state. With 538 electoral votes total, receiving 270 electoral college votes ((half of 538) + 1) is sufficient to be declared president-elect. For this reason, sometimes one candidate actually receive more "popular" votes (more people voted for the candidate) but have fewer electoral college votes. This happened three times in the nineteenth century with elections of {{w|United States presidential election, 1824|John Quincy Adams in 1824}}, {{w|United States presidential election, 1876|Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876}} and {{w|United States presidential election, 1888|Benjamin Harrison in 1888}}. Then it did not happen again until the election of {{w|United States presidential election, 2000|George W. Bush in 2000}} and, most recently, {{w|United States presidential election, 2016|Donald Trump in 2016}}.

==Transcript==
:[A frame with a bar chart showing 58% blue and 42% red. A header shows a range between 53-63%]
:Forecast
:[An arrow below the chart is pointing at the line between the blue and the red sections of the chart with a heading]
:Result
:[Below the frame is a caption]
:'''''Breaking:''''' To surprise of pundits, numbers continue to be best system for determining which of two things is larger.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Statistics]]

871: Charity

2017-11-26T01:18:09Z

172.68.47.48: /* Explanation */ punctuation

{{comic
| number = 871
| date = March 11, 2011
| title = Charity
| image = charity.png
| titletext = I usually respond to someone else doing something good by figuring out a reason that they're not really as good as they seem. But I've been realizing lately that there's an easier way to handle these situations, and it involves zero internet arguments.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Seems incorrect, also missing the title text.}}

Organizations such as {{w|Steam (software)|Steam}} often offer sales where certain games are available for low prices--in order to compel or persuade buyers to make donations to worthwhile charities. [[Cueball]] is participating in one of these purchases (to fight {{w|malaria}}), but [[Megan]]'s snide denigration of Cueball's act of charity as inadequate and self-serving has dissuaded him from any act of charity at all. People donating to charity are in fact buying a feeling that they are good people doing good things. If you take this feeling away, many people stop donating, which is shown on the third panel.

However, whatever somebody's internal motivation was, charity is a good thing. Therefore the proper response, is to neither care what people say about you nor attack other people's charitable giving. The action that Randall recommends here is the right one, which is to donate anyway without caring about what others say or do. Clicking on the original image leads to [http://www.nothingbutnets.net the website of] {{w|Nothing But Nets}}, an organization that distributes mosquito bed nets in Africa for the eradication of malaria.

In the title text, Randall expresses an opinion critical of "respond[ing] to someone else doing something good by figuring out a reason that they're not really as good as they seem", in part because supporting charity shouldn't cause "internet arguments." Subsequently, comments responding to anti-malaria charities, celebrities who raise money for charity, and charity directors in general, by figuring out reasons that they're not really as good as they seem, were posted on [[Talk:871:_Charity|the discussion page at EXPLAINxkcd for this comic]]. However, this did not lead to internet arguments.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: I'm going to buy this $10 game I want, and I'm donating $10 for malaria eradication.

:Megan: If you actually cared, you'd skip the game and donate all $20.
:Megan: What's more important? Games, or mosquito nets and medicine for kids?

:(Caption above the comic)
:Later:
:Cueball: I think I'm going to buy these two $10 games I want.
:Friend: Cool; which ones?

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

871: Charity

2017-11-26T01:16:17Z

172.68.47.48: /* Explanation */ title text

{{comic
| number = 871
| date = March 11, 2011
| title = Charity
| image = charity.png
| titletext = I usually respond to someone else doing something good by figuring out a reason that they're not really as good as they seem. But I've been realizing lately that there's an easier way to handle these situations, and it involves zero internet arguments.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Seems incorrect, also missing the title text.}}

Organizations such as {{w|Steam (software)|Steam}} often offer sales where certain games are available for low prices--in order to compel or persuade buyers to make donations to worthwhile charities. [[Cueball]] is participating in one of these purchases (to fight {{w|malaria}}), but [[Megan]]'s snide denigration of Cueball's act of charity as inadequate and self-serving has dissuaded him from any act of charity at all. People donating to charity are in fact buying a feeling that they are good people doing good things. If you take this feeling away, many people stop donating, which is shown on the third panel.

However, whatever somebody's internal motivation was, charity is a good thing. Therefore the proper response, is to neither care what people say about you nor attack other people's charitable giving. The action that Randall recommends here is the right one, which is to donate anyway without caring about what others say or do. Clicking on the original image leads to [http://www.nothingbutnets.net the website of] {{w|Nothing But Nets}}, an organization that distributes mosquito bed nets in Africa for the eradication of malaria.

In the title text, Randall expresses an opinion critical of "respond[ing] to someone else doing something good by figuring out a reason that they're not really as good as they seem", in part because supporting charity shouldn't cause "internet arguments." Subsequently, comments responding to anti-malaria charities, celebrities who raise money for charity, and charity directors in general, by figuring out reasons that they're not really as good as they seem were posted on [[Talk:871:_Charity|the discussion page at EXPLAINxkcd for this comic]]. However, this did not lead to internet arguments.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: I'm going to buy this $10 game I want, and I'm donating $10 for malaria eradication.

:Megan: If you actually cared, you'd skip the game and donate all $20.
:Megan: What's more important? Games, or mosquito nets and medicine for kids?

:(Caption above the comic)
:Later:
:Cueball: I think I'm going to buy these two $10 games I want.
:Friend: Cool; which ones?

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

Talk:871: Charity

2017-11-26T00:58:45Z

172.68.47.48: This discussion is what Randall meant by an Internet argument provoked by support for charities

What's with the '0 internet arguments' in the title text? I don't get that part. [[User:Runxctry|Runxctry]] ([[User talk:Runxctry|talk]]) 15:04, 11 April 2013 (UTC)
:I did add a small explain on this but I think it's still incomplete.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:16, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
:Look at the posts below about charity directors, overfishing, and celebrities raising money for charity. He's saying that letting others know that you think a charity is good is going to lead to an argument online about whether you are really doing good or not. And he's clearly been proven right by this discussion page.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.48|172.68.47.48]] 00:58, 26 November 2017 (UTC)

Isn't he only holding one game? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 17:07, 9 April 2014 (UTC)
:I think that is actually a phone, so he could be either browsing a site like gamestop to buy PC/console games, or thinking about buying apps. [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 14:44, 13 June 2014 (UTC)

How much do the directors of the charity get paid?

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 00:17, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

Randall is sexist :P [[User:Vctr|Vctr]] ([[User talk:Vctr|talk]]) 21:06, 18 April 2015 (UTC) Vctr

'''sorry, but they destroy all fish's life''': see NY times etc.: [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/world/africa/mosquito-nets-for-malaria-spawn-new-epidemic-overfishing.html?_r=0 mosquito-nets-for-malaria-spawn-new-epidemic-overfishing] -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.17|162.158.92.17]] 12:07, 6 October 2015 (UTC)
:This point maybe valid, but it's also an example of what Randall says he used to do: Respond to someone else doing something good by figuring out a reason that they're not really as good as they seem, and thereby starting an internet argument.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.48|172.68.47.48]] 00:58, 26 November 2017 (UTC)

My favorite whine is about celebrities endorsing 'causes'. They are essentially saying something like 'I have millions of dollars, and this cause is close to my heart. However, I won't give any of my money. Rather, I'll sing a beautiful song. And then you, wage-earner with modest disposable income, should donate money to the cause; while I get honors and recognition for all the money I raised." [[User:Danshoham|Mountain Hikes]] ([[User talk:Danshoham|talk]]) 03:46, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
:This is also an example of someone responding to someone else doing something good by figuring out a reason that they're not really as good as they seem, and thereby starting an internet argument. Randall's point is definitely right.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.48|172.68.47.48]] 00:58, 26 November 2017 (UTC)

1920: Emoji Sports

2017-11-25T04:47:40Z

172.68.47.48: /* Explanation */ Owlstuffing

{{comic
| number = 1920
| date = November 24, 2017
| title = Emoji Sports
| image = emoji_sports.png
| titletext = No horse has yet managed the elusive Quadruple Crown—winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, the Belmont Stakes, and the Missouri Horse Hole.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Missing title text explanation - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{| class="wikitable"
!scope="col" style="width: 100px;" |Emoji
!scope="col" style="width: 150px;" |Sport
!scope="col" |Description
|-
|🤽‍♂️🌋
|Lavaball
|Throwing a ball into an active volcano would quickly end the game. That would be a secondary concern though if the water in water polo was replaced with lava.
|-
|🤾‍♀️🤺
|Bladeball
|Would also lead to the quick destruction of the ball - unless you are padding your weapons like in {{w|jugger}}.
|-
|💃💃⚽
|Fancyball
|It would be difficult to kick a giant football while wearing high heels (though possible with a normal sized one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GykP0XsLIA).
|-
|🕳️🏇🏇🏇
|Horse hole
|Horses might not cooperate or be serious injured when raced into a large hole. Not to be confused with horse golf, which is one way of describing polo. Both this segment and the title text may relate to Episode 354 of My Brother My Brother And Me, "Beanfreak", where a potential punishment for losing horses in a race is described as a trapdoor leading to a "pony pile" beneath the track. (Many of the podcast's episodes deal with horse racing and horse behavior, including some impassioned conversations on the performance of specific horses and the unregulated nature of the widely recognized Triple Crown achievement.)
|-
|🔪🏀⛏️
|Basketball Shredding
|Another sport which would be destructive on the equipment.
|-
|🥚🔭🕵️‍♀️
|Eggspotting
|This could be a combination of {{w|Egg_hunt|egg hunting}} and {{w|birdwatching}}; named like Trainspotting. A popular sport on Pinterest.
|-
|⛷️🐊
|Alligator Jumping
|Fast paced and popular spectator sport but limited season when both snow and alligators are readily available. This is actually a crocodile emoji. Not to be confused with "jumping the shark".
|-
|👩🎣🧜‍♂️
|Merfishing
|You probably won't catch a lot when fishing for {{w|Mermaid|mermaids}}.
|-
|👨🏸🧚🏸👩
|Tinkerball
|Playing badminton with a fairy, named after [[wikipedia:Tinker Bell|Tinker Bell]]. Probably hazardous to the Fae.
|-
|🥌🦔🥌
|Hedgehog Curling
|Hedgehogs are generally perfectly capable of curling without assistance (although they may get stuck on the ice).
|-
|🗜️🍔
|Burger Clamping
|What everyone wants to do after ordering the 3-layer burger, then wondering how to fit it into their mouths.
|-
|👩‍🚀🏹🛰️
|Consequence archery
|Archery on a space station would lead to the potentially explosive decompression of the space station, and necessitate the evacuation of the astronauts aboard.
|-
|🦉➡️📬
|Owlstuffing
|This appears to consist of attempting to stuff owls into mailboxes, which would be doubly illegal, because it would be cruel to the owls and interfere with delivery of the mail. The mailbox is shown with the flag up, which normally indicates that there is mail in it, but it appears to be empty, perhaps so that the owl can be stuffed in it. Possible reference to Harry Potter owls carrying mails.
|-
|🍴🕯️🍴
|Candle Eating
|An unhealthy form of {{w|competitive eating}}. Eating large amounts of candle wax can cause {{w|Bowel_obstruction|intestinal obstruction}}.
|-
|⛳💣🏌️‍♀️
|Consequence Golf
|Rather than rewarding hole-in-ones, heavily punishes their absence. Also, would seriously damage the golf course.
|-
|👉🐍👈
|Snake Shaming
|Probably a play on snake charming. Also a possible reference to the biblical story where the snake is shamed for deceiving mankind by being doomed to crawl on its belly.
|-
|🔥🧗‍♀️🔥
|Hell Escape
|Trying to escape the {{w|lake of fire}} is the pastime of damned souls.
|-
|🎮🥑🎮
|Multiplayer Avocado
|May lead to guacamole. Very different from the adult version, multiplayer eggplant (🎮🍆🎮; see [[1870: Emoji Movie Reviews]]).
|}

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

:<big>New sports</big>
:created from random emoji

:[Man Playing Water Polo + Volcano]
:🤽‍♂️🌋 Lavaball

:[Woman Playing Handball + Person Fencing]
:🤾‍♀️🤺 Bladeball

:[Woman Dancing (2 emojis) + Soccer Ball]
:💃💃⚽ Fancyball

:[Hole + Horse Racing (3 emojis)]
:🕳️🏇🏇🏇 Horse hole

:[Kitchen Knife + Basketball + Pick]
:🔪🏀⛏️ Basketball Shredding

:[Egg + Telescope + Woman Detective]
:🥚🔭🕵️‍♀️ Eggspotting

:[Skier + Crocodile]
:⛷️🐊 Alligator Jumping

:[Woman + Fishing Pole + Merman]
:👩🎣🧜‍♂️ Merfishing

:[Man + Badminton + Fairy + Badminton + Woman]
:👨🏸🧚🏸👩 Tinkerball

:[Curling Stone + Hedgehog + Curling Stone]
:🥌🦔🥌 Hedgehog Curling

:[Clamp + Hamburger]
:🗜️🍔 Burger Clamping

:[Woman Astronaut + Bow and Arrow + Satellite]
:👩‍🚀🏹🛰️ Consequence archery

:[Owl + Right Arrow + Open Mailbox]
:🦉➡️📬 Owlstuffing

:[Fork and Knife + Candle + Fork and Knife]
:🍴🕯️🍴 Candle Eating

:[Flag in Hole + Bomb + Woman Golfing]
:⛳💣🏌️‍♀️ Consequence Golf

:[Pointing Right + Snake + Pointing Left]
:👉🐍👈 Snake Shaming

:[Fire + Woman Climbing + Fire]
:🔥🧗‍♀️🔥 Hell Escape

:[Video Game + Avocado + Video Game]
:🎮🥑🎮 Multiplayer Avocado

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Emoji]]

Talk:1912: Thermostat

2017-11-11T18:41:31Z

172.68.47.48:

Maybe the the last sentence is about moses parting the sea so he can walk through it.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.221|162.158.91.221]] 05:55, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
: I interpreted it that way. In computing, partitioning separates parts of a drive that are to be used for different purposes, so parallels might be drawn there. - [[User:Emmia|Emmia]] ([[User talk:Emmia|talk]]) 07:24, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
: Not so sure about that. It's possible, I guess, but it's not obviously funny. I think it's more related to the title text about the helpline operative being afraid to upset whatever god of technology has cursed him with this unfathomable tech problem, and suggesting to him that the situation is so dire he may as well just end it all. (Obviously overreacting, as the failure of an IoT-enabled thermostat is definitely a First World Problem and not the horrendous event the characters are considering it to be.) 09:57, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
:I also thought about the "parting the sea" idea...consider that in the Old Testament, the gods of other cultures were spoken of as alive, and the Israelite God as directly challenging and defeating them (see the challenge issued to the Egyptian deities in Exodus). Perhaps, rather than helping Cueball himself, Hairy thinks that by invoking the Most High, Cueball might be able to defeat whatever technology god he has angered. Hence, Hairy suggests that Cueball try to play the role of Moses. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.76|172.68.34.76]] 16:11, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
:No, just talking about abandoning hope and that Cueball should escape life. This use of walking into the sea is a commonly used result of giving up at life, a reaction to not wanting to deal with people, reality, etc. any more. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:37, 7 November 2017 (UTC)
: I read it more as a comment along the lines of "if we've got to the point where we're making something as trivial as a thermostat this complicated then there's no hope for us and we may as well just end it all".[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 17:31, 7 November 2017 (UTC)

I think there's additional humor to the extent of his boot problems. Monthly Energy Report (1).doc would be a normal document a smart thermostat may create. But if it became a boot volume it'd brick the device.

: Maybe "Monthly Energy Report (1).doc" was meant to resemble a malware-laden email attachment. The "(1)" could indicate a name-collision-avoidance suffix of a downloaded file. [[User:Bob Stein - VisiBone|Bob Stein - VisiBone]] ([[User talk:Bob Stein - VisiBone|talk]]) 11:48, 6 November 2017 (UTC)

:'Monthly Energy Report.doc' might be a normal document a smart energy device might produce (can't see why it would be producing energy reports if all it is is a thermostat), but the '(1)' on the end suggests it's been unable to overwrite a previous report. or for some reason produced a copy of the original document.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 17:23, 7 November 2017 (UTC)

:When generating a report with a static filename every month, instead of using report names which include a variable such as 'Monthly report November 2017.doc', the generation will cause a naming collision the second time a report is run.
Why there would be a process to guard against overwriting the previous report, or what the significance would be to know the device is 2 months old, I do not know.

I guess, in real life, this could happen when the thermostat has this guard against filename collisions in place and characters such as ( are not properly escaped in the script used to update the bootloader.
Possibly a reference to xkcd 327? Though it feels like a stretch.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.247|162.158.111.247]] 22:46, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

I believe Cueball has accidentally discovered that the thermostat—supposedly simple device—is actually doing surveillance on the house (and is poorly coded). Now the tech support guy is astounded by the fact that somebody has found out, but then promptly suggests suicide in a non-direct manner to clean up evidence, covering this is with religious explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.244.24|172.68.244.24]] 06:37, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
:I'm not sure about the surveillance. It seems to me that the .doc is somehow a record of power usage of the thermostat. However, it remains to be determined a. why it is running Android b. why it is mounting and booting a .doc c. how it got there [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.12|162.158.106.12]] 07:11, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
:: The .doc file is the trojan that was installed on the device. It was supposed to look innocent, but actually contains an encoded sysroot with the real spyware. It's just also terribly written. Very genuinely Russian.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.106|162.158.202.106]] 21:46, 6 November 2017 (UTC)

I took it as a variation on this joke in HHG:
: "Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans."
...Which in the BBC TV series was accompanied by visuals of Douglas Adams himself walking into the ocean. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.86.58|172.68.86.58]] 07:27, 6 November 2017 (UTC)

Might be a reference to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nest_learning_thermostat Nest Thermostat], which like Android is an Alphabet thing. While Nest doesn't run Android, its OS is Linux-based like Android. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.89|108.162.246.89]] 08:07, 6 November 2017 (UTC)

While reading the title text my first thought was http://americangods.wikia.com/wiki/Technical_Boy [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:16, 6 November 2017 (UTC)

Not sure if "Android error screen" deserves emphasis in the explanation, as lately many very simple devices have Android, it shouldn't be surprising to find a thermostat running it. [[User:Fvalves|Fvalves]] ([[User talk:Fvalves|talk]]) 10:12, 6 November 2017 (UTC)

https://xkcd.com/349/ also mentions tech issues and the sea. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.78|141.101.107.78]] 10:36, 6 November 2017 (UTC)

As a (former) network engineer for the largest IoT deployment at a major ISP, I can say with complete certainty that this is nothing. A hard reset (typically, holding the power and some other button down for 5+ seconds) will skip the attempt at local boot and go directly to a BOOTP wipe from the mothership, which should have that thermostat up and running the Russian military/mob's firmware in ten minutes tops. Soon your thermostat will be mining bitcoin and staging attacks on your local vital infrastructure like all the other thermostats, don't you worry. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.196|141.101.98.196]] 11:14, 6 November 2017 (UTC)

Should we make a category for this? It's becoming a recurring theme on xkcd. [[User:RamenChef|RamenChef]] ([[User talk:RamenChef|talk]]) 15:49, 6 November 2017 (UTC)

: Sounds like this may be referrng to recent news where some Google Pixel 2 owners received phones [https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/2/16599938/google-pixel-2-xl-operating-system-shipping-quality-control-issues without any operating system]. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 16:59, 6 November 2017 (UTC)

Refer to https://xkcd.com/801/ on using a complex OS for single purpose Hardware [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.101|172.68.46.101]]

Perhaps it's referring to the story of Jonah. In an effort to get Jonah to go back to where he was supposed to go, God sent a terrible storm that devastated the ship that Jonah was escaping on. In order to appease God, the crew had to throw Jonah into the sea, where he was subsequently swallowed up by a giant fish.

"the extension .docx has been the default from Microsoft Office 2007 onwards and is generally favored over the preceding .doc extension."... No, not "favored", just that it's the default, and the default default, and most people don't know to change it, or how, or that they should. :) I've found docx more u stable, more buggy, and less readable (seeing as people who have the sense not to blindly downgrade through 2007 and 2010 and 365 won't natively be ale to open it, and may have trouble with the file support extension). Actually, Randall's use of .doc here suggests to me he's one of us who are wise enough to stick with Office 2003, or at least stick with using .doc. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:37, 7 November 2017 (UTC)
:Moreover, the adding of "(1)" to a filename, when asked to avoid overwriting with conflicts, is itself only a more modern implementation within the Windows family (possibly Vista onwards, but Win8 onwards more certainly), for what used to be a purely overwrite/do not overwrite decision of sorts, although it does also mirror one of many possible user-based method of versioning/forking that wouldn't be unknown...
:(My reading of the comic, BTW, is that someone in the household has opened up the device to a very insecure remote access to grab data to convert into a personal record - and, for some reason, this was being done in .doc rather than .xls or something more usefully statistical - the document for this somehow then written onto the raw partition,perhaps having deleted everythibg else (i.e. the virtual boot partition file the device normally goes to, as part of the bootstrap) leaving that document there for the bootloader to go "well, this is the only file,it must be the partition!" in an overly flexible/helpful but ultimately misguided firmware-led booting process. But there's ''so'' much wrong with even this scenario that I'm with the tech support guy in dispair that it ever happened.)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.130|141.101.76.130]] 22:35, 7 November 2017 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.48|172.68.47.48]] 18:41, 11 November 2017 (UTC)I can't figure out if it's just a typo or if there's some meaning that "Have you tried walking into the sea." ends with a "." rather than a "?". The author isn't one to make grammatical errors, but I can't think of a clear interpretation - perhaps this is because, while worded as a question, it really only makes sense as a command - if Cueball had already tried walking into the sea, then he probably wouldn't be calling tech support now. That made me realize that we're hearing this from Cueball's perspective, so homonyms could be at play - for example, rather than referencing the "sea" Harry could be referring to the lower level programming language "C" (a predecessor to C++), which could be part of a larger explanation. [TH] [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.48|172.68.47.48]] 18:41, 11 November 2017 (UTC)