explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

993: Brand Identity

2024-10-07T20:12:05Z

172.69.135.35: touch-up

{{comic
| number = 993
| date = December 21, 2011
| title = Brand Identity
| image = brand_identity.png
| titletext = Legally-mandated information would be printed on the back or discreetly along the bottom. In small letters under the nutrition information it would say 'Like our products? Visit our website!' There would be no URL.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic presents [[Randall]]'s idea for a line of food products all with clear black font on a white background. The products with black block lettering and white background stand out from the other items in this comic. The irony is that even though the branding isn't terribly creative, the ''lack'' of complexity is what causes the products to stand out. These product packaging styles resemble {{w|no-frills}} products and {{w|generic brands}}. For example, in Canada, the "{{w|No Name (brand)|No Name}}" generic brand of low-cost products sold by {{w|Loblaw Companies Limited|Loblaws}} features a plain yellow label with the description of the product in bold black text, and occasionally an image of the product (for people who can't read). The brand name is minimalized, as are other legally-required elements (e.g., the weight of the product). Another of Loblaws' generic brands, {{w|President's Choice}} (PC), currently has a plain white background with black bold text for the labels on most of its products (usually with an image of the product as well as the brand name), although more recently, text in accent colors has been introduced.

The style of packaging might be a reference to ''{{w|The Prisoner}}'' TV series from the '60s, a dystopia set in a village ("the Village") locked out from the outside world. The shops there sell only "Village food", as seen in [https://www.wemadethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Village-foods.jpg this example].

In the title text, the lack of a listed URL relates to the lack of branding on the package. It is possible that by omitting the URL, the consumer's curiosity will be aroused and they'll search the internet for the actual site.

===List of all products in the shelves===
[[File:993_numbering.png]]

*[1] Rainbow
*[2] Ruffles
*[3] [unreadable]
*[4] '''Potato Chips''' [new brand]
*[5] [unreadable]
*[6] cheese crackers [Flavor 1]
*[7] cheese crackers [Flavor 2]
*[8] - [12] [unreadable]
*[13] [?] Beets
*[14] - [16] [unreadable]
*[17] '''Tissues''' [new brand]
*[18] cervical caps [what product is this? see comments]
*[19] [unreadable]
*[20] blue stripe shells
*[21] ear tonic
*[22] - [24] [unreadable]
*[25] - [26] [unreadable]
*[27] '''Crackers''' [new brand]
*[28] - [29] [unreadable]
*[30] '''Matches''' [new brand]
*[31] - [32] [unreadable]
*[33] '''Peanuts''' [new brand]
*[34] hot sauce [probably not the new brand, see comments]
*[35] - [40] [unreadable]
*[41] sugar [probably not the new brand, see comments]
*[42] - [45] [unreadable]
*[46] '''Milk''' [new brand]
*[47] - [48] [unreadable]
*[49] '''Pasta''' [new brand]
*[50] caccalion [there is no pasta named like this says the {{w|List of pasta}}]
*[51] free
*[52] [unreadable]
*[53] coffee
*[54] [unreadable]
*[55] '''Coffee''' [new brand]
*[56] - [61] [unreadable]
*[62] white beans
*[63] - [66] [unreadable]
*[67] sanfra beans [there are no beans named like this says the {{w|Bean#Types}}]
*[68] pinto beans
*[69] bean
*[70] pinto beans
*[71] '''Black beans''' [new brand]
*[72] [unreadable]
*[73] do beans [there are no beans named like this says the {{w|Bean#Types}}]
*[74] black beans
*[75] [unreadable]
*[76] lima beans
*[77] '''Lima beans''' [new brand]
*[78] fart cutters
*[79] three [unreadable] can
*[80] [unreadable]
*[81] pine + giant bean
*[82] beans with [unreadable]
*[83] refrie[d beans; unfinished due to bowing of can]
*[84 top] [unreadable]
*[84 middle] [unlabeled]
*[84 bottom] Bees
*[85] [unreadable]
*[86] mayonnaise
*[87] roo's simple mayo
*[88] simp[le] mayo [unfinished word due to bowing of can]
*[89] '''Mayo''' [new brand]
*[90] [unreadable]
*[91] red meat sauce
*[92] [unreadable]
*[93] oil
*[94] [unreadable]
*[95] oil
*[96] '''Ketchup''' [new brand]
*[97] - [98] [unreadable]
*[99] maple syrup
*[100] - [101] [unreadable]
*[102] eye sand
*[103] tea [yellow package with clear black font]
*[104] tea
*[105] - [106] [unreadable]
*[107] tea
*[108] country loaf
*[109] '''Bread''' [new brand]
*[110] white bread

==Transcript==
:[The incredibly varied shelf of a supermarket aisle. There are many different types of products on this shelf. Each type has numerous different brands, all surrounding a very plain brand that has, as its only label, the type of product. A plain bag, labeled in plain black letters, says "Potato Chips" and is surrounded by all the other various brands of potato chips. The same exists for tissues, crackers, matches, peanuts, hot sauce, sugar, milk, pasta, coffee, black beans, lima beans, mayo, ketchup, tea, and bread. There is a stark contrast between the incredibly noisy and complex labeling of every other brand and this simple one.]

:[Caption below:]
:If I ever sold a line of supermarket goods,
:this is how I'd build a brand identity overnight.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Bees]]

Talk:2843: Professional Oaths

2023-10-27T21:59:32Z

172.69.135.35:

added transcript [[User:Certified_nqh|Me]][[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]][[Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template]] 05:47, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

every /^H.*ic$/ would be 4 syllables if it wasn't for hydroelectric [[User:Certified_nqh|Me]][[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]][[Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template]] 05:55, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
:Maybe that should be "hydrœlectric", then! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.85|172.71.242.85]] 21:59, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

His-tor-ic[[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.77|162.158.146.77]]SomeoneElse1624

Clearly some lone editor had a grudge against hermeneutics, putting 'study' in scare quotes like that. AzureArmageddon 07:38, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Hippopotamic Oath: First, lead your horse to water. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.139|172.70.86.139]] 08:02, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
:Cap doffed. Cap very much doffed. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 20:16, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Hypobolic Oath: Do your worst! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.73|172.70.250.73]] 09:55, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Hypochondriac Oath: First, pretend to be sick! [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:05, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
:Nitpick: Hypochondriacs don't pretend to be sick, they believe they have an illness or are unduly worried about the possibility of having an illness. Someone who pretends to be sick is a malingerer. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.135|172.69.70.135]] 16:43, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
::Ok, fair :) So: Hypochondriac Oath: First, consult your doctor! [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:32, 20 October 2023 (UTC)

"A hippodrome is a circular arena" The classical Greek/Roman was not circular:
"One end of the ancient Greek hippodromos was semicircular, and the other end square with an extensive portico"
Maybe it would be more correct to talk about '''pairs''' of hypergolic substances?
[[User:Rps|Rps]] ([[User talk:Rps|talk]]) 12:19, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

I think the hyperbaric oath is probably referring to hyperbaric chambers, which are used in medical settings, such as treating scuba divers suffering from the bends. 14:08, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
:I wonder if the "holigraphic" one is directly inspired by [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67080941 this recent display]. (Although, by my reading, that's not ''really'' holographic, just an advanced form of stereographic display.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.171|172.71.178.171]] 06:01, 20 October 2023 (UTC)

I missed the Hydroponic Oath (“first, maintain nutrient concentration”), the Hypocritic Oath (“first, judge others as you ''don't'' wish to be judged”), and the Hyperbolic Oath (“first, take two intersecting asymptotes”). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.60|108.162.221.60]] 15:34, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
:Isn't the Hypocritic Oath just "First, don't do this"?

I prefer the Hypocritical oath (insert political party of your choosing here). [[Special:Contributions/172.71.219.106|172.71.219.106]] 17:29, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
:All of them. [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Help_with_Creating_a_User_Page|Trogdor147]] ([[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Help_with_Creating_a_User_Page|talk]]) 18:18, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

The Hypodermic Oath: "I've got you, under my skin..." [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 20:20, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

The Hypoglycemic Oath: "First, eat some sweets!" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.19.56|162.158.19.56]] 00:17, 20 October 2023 (UTC)

The Hypothetical Oath: "First, presume there is an oath." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.18.71|162.158.18.71]] 00:23, 20 October 2023 (UTC)

The Hieroglyphic Oath - “First, do no tomb-robbing.” [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 04:16, 20 October 2023 (UTC)

Hippy Oath: First, chill out, man! 
Hip-shaker Oath: First, do a shimmy. 
Hypotenuse Oath: First, find the squares of the other two sides. 
Hyperactive Oath: First, eat no sugar. 
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.236|172.70.91.236]] 10:36, 20 October 2023 (UTC)
::Hip-shaker Oath: First, do not lie.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.241|172.71.146.241]] 20:18, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

Hydrophilic Oath: First, attract water! 
Hydrophobic Oath: First, repel water! 
Hydrox Oath: First, enjoy a cookie! 
[[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]]) 14:24, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

Quite surprised that he didn't include a "Hypocritical Oath".
[[User:Nico31415926|An idiot]] ([[User talk:Nico31415926|talk]]) 06:11, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

I'm struggling to accept the shape of the hydroelectric turbine which appears more like a table fan to me. Is there something that could be explained? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.103|141.101.104.103]] 19:05, 25 October 2023 (UTC)
:Randall also had to draw all of the bricks in the wall. Maybe his hand was just tired. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.35|172.69.135.35]] 21:59, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

2787: Iceberg

2023-06-11T01:48:37Z

172.69.135.35: /* Explanation */ wikilink

{{comic
| number = 2787
| date = June 9, 2023
| title = Iceberg
| image = iceberg_2x.png
| imagesize = 258x397px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 90% of the iceberg is hidden beneath the water, but that 90% only uses 10% of its brain, so it's really only 9%.
}}

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

This is one of many comics in the [[My Hobby]] series. The previous comic in this series was [[2733: Size Comparisons]], released just over 4 months prior.

The [https://www.agcas.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/Resources/ITG/iceberg_metaphor.pdf iceberg metaphor] is a famous metaphor sometimes [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31633371/ misattributed to Freud]. It asserts that the majority (often stated as 90%) of an iceberg is out of sight below the surface, as a metaphor for the invisible aspects of something. For instance, about 95% of the mass in the universe does not appear to be in the form of ordinary ("{{w|baryonic matter|baryonic}}") matter, but rather {{w|dark matter}} and dark energy. Excluding dark energy, dark matter accounts for about 85% of the total mass of the universe. So baryonic matter is like the "tip of the iceberg," visible to us above the surface, while dark matter is the invisible majority of the iceberg below the surface.

The author deliberately misunderstands the metaphor by taking it literally. He thinks the teacher is saying the part of an iceberg below the surface is literally made of dark matter. He points out that the {{w|Titanic}} sank after its hull hit an iceberg underwater, which wouldn't be possible if it were made of dark matter, which is not known to interact at all with ordinary baryonic matter except by gravity; we have only detected dark matter gravitationally.

The title text references the myth that we use only 10% of our brain, and we could become more intelligent or powerful by "unlocking" the remaining 90%. If icebergs had brains, and the 90% in the "dark matter" part underwater used only 10% of its brain, while the tip also used 10% of its brain, then most of the cognition would occur in the underwater part. Hence the "9%" figure would refer to the cognition occurring underwater, with 1% of its cognition occurring above water. In reality, human beings use pretty much all of their brain. They just don't use it all at the same time. Doing so wouldn't result in heightened intelligence or superpowers, but a (most likely fatal) seizure.{{Actual citation needed}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail is standing on a podium and pointing to a chart with a stick. The chart depicts an iceberg in water, most of it is underwater but a little is above the surface.]
:Off screen voice: But then how did it interact with the ordinary baryonic matter in the Titanic's hull?
:[Label of iceberg above the water:] Normal Matter
:[Label of iceberg beneath the water:] Dark Matter

:[Caption below panel:]
:My Hobby: Refusing to understand the iceberg metaphor

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: My Hobby]]
[[Category: Physics]]

2783: Ruling Out

2023-06-01T18:08:10Z

172.69.135.35: /* Transcript */ obviously complete for such a simple comic

{{comic
| number = 2783
| date = May 31, 2023
| title = Ruling Out
| image = ruling_out_2x.png
| imagesize = 295x396px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We were able to replicate and confirm prior authors' detection of a moon orbiting the Earth with high confidence.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TECTONICALLY-ACTIVE BOT WITH SUBSURFACE OCEANS. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Most science studies are intended to discover new things. In astronomy, the goal is often to find different types of objects in space, or learn how astronomical objects are formed and behave. But often from studying things that exist, we also learn about limits of the kinds of things that ''can'' exist; when this happens, we say that we've "ruled out" the excluded phenomena.

[[Cueball]] lists five obviously impossible objects.

* "Earthlike stars": A play on "Earth-like planets" which scientists are very interested in finding. The Earth is not a star, hence stars cannot be Earthlike.
: Searches for both {{w|List of potentially habitable exoplanets|Earth-like planets}} and {{w|Solar analog|Sun-like stars}} go unabated, with various near matches found.

* "Exoplanets in our solar system": {{w|Exoplanet}}s are by definition not in our solar system.
: Planets in our solar system (even {{w|Planets beyond Neptune|undiscovered ones}}) are unaffected, as is the {{w|List of exoplanet search projects|search for exoplanets}} around other stars, with conclusive evidence of both.

* "Habitable-zone quasars": {{w|Quasar}}s in the {{w|habitable zone}}s of stars are only theoretically feasible for small {{w|black hole}}s with active {{w|accretion disk}}s near the Earth and brighter than the Sun, because of the technical criteria for classifying them in terms of their {{w|apparent magnitude}} relative to that of their galaxy.[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/728/1/26] None such have ever been observed.{{fact}} While typical galaxies usually have only one quasar in their center, merging galaxies often have two far apart.
:While not certain, habitable zones around some quasars have absolutely not been ruled out.[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ab1b2f/meta][https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/2364/1/012057/meta]

* "Stars with subsurface oceans": Because the temperatures inside stars are higher than that which can support the existence of liquids as we understand them, stars cannot have subsurface oceans. After many billions of years, a {{w|white dwarf}} will cool to the point where it no longer emits significant heat or light, becoming a {{w|black dwarf}}, eventually cooling to the point where it might develop subsurface liquids.{{acn}} However, the universe is not old enough for any black dwarfs to exist yet,[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/375341/pdf] and sufficiently cool black dwarfs would probably not even be considered stars, but rather {{w|rogue planet}}s.
: The possibility of subsurface oceans within various planets and moons is an {{w|Extraterrestrial liquid water|active subject of study}}.

* "Tectonically active black holes": Black holes do not have {{w|tectonic plate}}s, so they cannot be tectonically active.
: There are theories that neutron stars can exhibit {{w|Quake (natural phenomenon)#Starquake|tectonic-like movements}} (as some of the more typical rocky bodies certainly do), but the physics of the 'inside' of a black hole are thought to involve {{w|Black hole#Singularity|strange physics}} incompatible with any form of geology, and cannot be observed anyway – it is believed that the only externally-observable properties of black holes are mass, electric charge, and angular momentum, poetically called the '{{w|no-hair theorem}}'.

The joke is that you don't actually have to study anything to come to these almost patently obvious conclusions. The counter-proposals would need far more effort to even justify them as valid theories, by common understanding, and greater still to try to observe any supporting proof.

Some studies are also done to confirm the results of previous studies, to ensure that the conclusions were not mistaken or a fluke. The title text describes a study that was done to confirm the existence of a moon orbiting Earth, even though the existence of the moon has been known for at least as long as humanity has existed, and the fact that it orbits the Earth has been assumed or known for upwards of 3000 years. The ancient Greeks and Babylonians, for example, thought that the Moon orbited the Earth, though they lacked a detailed physical understanding of the system (they also believed, erroneously,{{Citation needed}} that {{w|Geocentric model|everything else in the universe orbited the Earth too}}). {{w|Anaxagoras}} (c. 500–428 BC) is credited with the correct explanation of lunar eclipses, and reportedly was the first to explain that the Moon shines due to reflected light from the Sun. However, it was not until the work of {{w|Nicolaus Copernicus}} in the 16th century that a detailed and accurate model of the Moon's orbit around the Earth was developed. Regardless, at this stage, a study to confirm the validity of Copernican orbits would contribute nothing to the scientific process, much less a study confirming the mere existence of the Moon.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball is talking to Megan.]
:Cueball: So far our astronomy group has published studies ruling out the existence of Earthlike stars, exoplanets in our solar system, habitable-zone quasars, stars with subsurface oceans, and tectonically active black holes.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Science got way easier when we realized you were allowed to do studies just to rule stuff out.

{{comic discussion}}

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